Page 44 of We Three Kings

A cruel sneer twists his lips. “Then give me what you owe me.”

His fingertips dig into my skin as he grasps my jaw and forces his lips against mine. I try to yank my head to the side, but he crushes the bone tighter with his punishing grip.

He’s hurting me.

He’s going to hurt me worse.

I fight for my life, shoving and kicking with everything I’ve got. Fistfuls of his jacket are ripped from my hands as he grabs my arms and yanks them over my head, pinning them to the mattress. His gaze spans my body and back up to my face as he grinds his dick between my legs. Proof of what he intends to do.

I bend my knees and try to drive the bottom of my foot into his balls.

“Bitch!”

The smack across my face stuns me from the shock and the sting. No one’s hit me since Melissa and Craig, but I know from them how much things can escalate after a slap. I refuse to let Casey do that to me too.

With my hand now free, I claw at his face and eyes, just like they taught us in the self-defense class I took at school for my gym credit.

Except he’s so much stronger than me and easily bats my arm out of the way. He squares up to punch me when suddenly he’s flying backward. Wide eyes meet mine before he’s dragged through the doorway and tossed into the living room.

Balthazar.

He twists around, and I can’t see anything beyond Balthazar’s broad back. Until Casey’s lying on the carpet. He doesn’t move.

But Balthazar does.

He spins toward me, his face blazing with fury as he descends on me. Scooping me up, he holds me so tight I think we’re both shaking.

I clench my eyes closed, shutting out Casey and his attack. I cling to Balthazar, breathing in his scent, feeling his strength, hearing his powerful breaths.

I know I am safe.

I am safe.

I am safe.

Our hearts pound against each other. His chest heaves as he pants and strokes my hair.

“Angel.”

The feral tone of his voice should terrify me. He sounds like he’s losing control, barely hanging on to his temper. So I grasp him tighter, not letting him go for both of our sakes. “Please hold me. Don’t leave me.”

“Never.”

The guttural timbre vibrates in his thick chest, and I nod my appreciation against his jacket. I have no idea how long we stay this way until my first rational thought hits me. My feet aren’t touching the floor. Balthazar has engulfed me so entirely I’m dangling in the air.

I wrap my legs around his waist, and he moans into my hair with his approval.

“Are you okay?”

I don’t know if I am or not. Here, like this, with him, feels like no one can ever harm me. But Casey’s groans and thrashing on the floor remind me I won’t walk away from this unscathed.

Footsteps that I know can’t be Casey’s clatter from the hallway.

“Oh my god. What happened?”

Anxiety pulses in Bree’s question, and I make myself slide down Balthazar’s body and face my friend. He allows only a few inches between us as I side-step him to see her before he drags me back to him, wrapping his arms around my chest and waist, comforting me with his backward embrace.

Alex races forward and drops to one knee by Casey, trying to determine what’s wrong with him since no blood or injuries are visible except from my scratches on his cheek.

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