Page 50 of Dove

“No.” She spoke softly but firmly. I resisted the urge to rub between my eyes. She knew who I was, but a part of me didn’t want her in the room to see it. She considered Henry a friend, and it would hurt her to see me punish him. It would take a part of her. Taint her. I didn’t want to do that.

But I would.

If it meant she understood what would happen to her if she tried to get away. Because I was never letting her go. If she tried to leave me again, I’d punish her as well. My cock throbbed at the thought of branding my little dove. She’d look so good with my initials carved into her inner thigh. No one would dare touch her then.

“Little dove, this is not for your eyes.” I continued to stare at where my knife dug into Henry’s skull.

“I’m not going anywhere.” I heard the shifting of fabric behind me, and I imagined she had crossed her arms in defiance.

Silence fell upon the room as they waited to see what I would do. They already knew I had deferred to her once. That I’d held back on killing Tristan at her insistence. I wasn’t worried about that. She owned me, and I didn’t care who knew it. It had been obvious enough when I’d made the city bleed after she’d been taken.

“Tristan, I suggest you get your eyes off me before you end up on your knees next to Henry.” My gaze snapped to Tristan’s at the venom in Kincaid’s voice. I just caught his smirk before he averted his gaze to the floor. Apparently, I wasn’t making my point, not to him, at least.

Unable to keep my attention focused on my task, I turned to her. Kincaid sat perched on my desk, her bare legs crossed, showing a lot of her smooth porcelain thighs. Her arms were crossed over her chest, but it did nothing to hide the way her nipples were visible through the shirt she wore.

My shirt. It was stained with her blood. My cock thickened at the memory of how her blood had gotten there. Of how she’d moaned as I cut her. How I’d taken her ass at her insistence.

“Everyone out.” I barked as I stalked towards her. I was going to punish her for walking around like this in front of my men. She’d done it on purpose to distract me. And I’d allowed her to win. Because the punishment I’d give her would be so much better than resisting.

“Henry, stay.” She said without taking her gaze from mine. I narrowed my eyes as I gripped her hips. Her legs fell open to wrap around me. She didn’t even seem bothered by the sharp blade that pressed against her back. She didn’t flinch or hide from it. Instead, she leaned into my touch. Accepting who and what I was. Finally.

“Explain.” I growled. She only had moments before I ripped her clothes off and fucked her. I’d do it in front of the young guard if only to stake my claim.

“Henry would never touch me.” She sighed as she toyed with the buttons on my shirt. Her fingers skimmed across the exposed skin at my collarbone. “He’s gay.”

“Fuck.” Henry’s soft curse came from behind me. I released my little dove and turned to him.

Unlike before, he was in a state of panic. Sweat dotted his upper lip and forehead. He trembled on his knees as he avoided my gaze. He ran his uninjured hand through his messy hair as he sucked in a shaky breath. “Is that true?”

He glanced at me briefly before looking away again. His whispered word almost didn’t make it across the room to me. “Yes.”

Kincaid placed a hand on my shoulder as she spoke. “It wasn’t his fault. He never touched me. You saw what I wanted you to see. I grabbed his shirt. He tried to move away from me, but I wouldn’t let him. No other part of our bodies touched.”

She grabbed my jaw and turned me to face her. Her winter gray eyes pleaded for understanding. “I didn’t really want anyone else to touch me. I just wanted to make you think I did. Tessa and Tristan told me you’d think I was disgusting and let me go if you believed I cheated. I’m sorry.”

Fucking Tristan. He was so worried about our position in the family he would do anything to keep me focused. What he failed to realize was that the other capos were too afraid to ever threaten me. This was why he wasn’t ready to become a capo himself; he didn’t see the big picture.

My little dove did. She’d know Bash was struggling. She’d known Tristan was cunning. She’d figured out Henry’s secrets before me. She saw what others didn’t. She was made for this life more than she realized.

She pressed her forehead into mine, our breath mingling as she waited to see what I would do. I brushed my thumb along her silky bottom lip, my dick throbbing with the need to shove between those beautiful lips. My stomach tightening at the image. Reluctantly I turned to look at Henry.

“Now that I know you have no interest in my little dove, you can continue to be her guard.” I felt Kincaid’s exhale against my neck. I pulled from her hold as I turned to face Henry fully. “Clean your cut. But you’re not permitted to get stitches. You’ll wear the brand for life.”

“Maddox.” Her voice was desperate in my ear. She felt bad that her little stunt would cause Henry harm. A part of me cared, but another part knew she needed to understand that she could never do something like that again. That there was nothing that could take her away from me now. She glanced at Henry’s bloodied hand where you could barely make out the ‘V’ for Vancini through the red liquid.

“It’s fine.” Henry nodded. “I always felt there should’ve been consequences when I failed to stop her kidnapping. I’ll take them now.”

“No! That was-“

“Little dove.” I stoked her cheeks gently. “Henry will live and continue to be your guard, but he still needs to serve as an example.”

Her lips pressed into a tight line as she stared at me. I could see the defiance behind her wintery eyes. I held her gaze. I wasn’t backing down. Finally, she conceded.

“I’m sorry, Henry.” She whispered as she pulled me closer. She might be mad at me for how I handled my men, but she also sought me out for comfort. He slowly turned his head to look at her.

“I’m sorry I let them take you.” A ghost of a smile flicked across his lips. “Let’s both stop being stupid now, huh?”

“Okay.” She nodded sadly.

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