Page 84 of Filthy Royal

This one blasted him so hard that he flew back into her.

Her head struck the wall.

Darkness consumed her.

4

DAMIEN

“What the hells?” Damien came awake with his cheek pressed to packed dirt, the taste of ash in the back of his throat, a sore dick, and a body that felt like a space shuttle had landed on it. Then he noticed the manacles.

Clamped around each wrist and ankle, the restraints curled his body into a c-curve: his arms bolted to his ankles, his ankles locked to the floor.

“Ah, he awakens. Enjoy your nap, big brother?”

Damien recognized that voice. And the snark.

He snapped his fangs as a wave of aggression rolled through him.

“Still in the last throes of rut, huh?” Maddox chuckled. “Just give it a few more breaths, and her scent will dissipate. Then your mind should right itself—as much as it’s able.”

Unamused, Damien rolled upright—or attempted to—the chains rattling as he teeter-tottered like an idiot thanks to his restricted movement.

A humiliation tactic he knew was deliberate, as he was the one who’d bolted the damned restraints into the ground in the first place.

So what the hells was he doing in them?

They’d commandeered this room for imprisoning and interrogating others. Not him.

“You ready to behave? No more murderous rut rampages?” Maddox shuffled closer.

Damien growled low.

But not because of the kid’s condescending tone.

Because the memories of his recent behavior were slamming into him hard and fast.

Fuck. Him.

While his actions were fuzzy and colored by the haze of rut, he recalled enough: Him all over Scarlett. The need to claim her, scent her, rut her a raging compulsion inside his veins and cock.

He’d been two heartbeats away from fucking her against the wall without a care for the guards or their mission.

Definitely not the I’m-over-you vibe he’d intended.

Shame slithered through his veins.

“Remember how you said you had no issues being back here with her?” Maddox’s big boots came into full view, illuminated by the glowing crystals set in the wall; although long past their prime, they still managed to emit a low light. “I don’t fucking think so.”

“Enough.” Damien rocked enough to get himself upright, bringing the rest of the interrogation room into view. “Just shut up and let me…”

He noticed the slight form curled up inside one of the two cages they’d set up in the room. His mouth went dry as something squeezed tight inside his chest.

Scarlett’s eyes were shut, her gorgeous face pale and still while her hair lay tangled across her cheek, and the crystals’ faint light sent shadows dancing over her body.

“She’s fine.” Maddox spoke fast. “I checked her vitals.”

Damien grunted and tried to pretend like he didn’t give a shit.

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