He smiled against my lips, and I slid off his lap.
It took a minute to clear out the weapons, and another minute for us to settle on the bed. Then I slid under the covers next to him and pressed my head against his chest, listening to his strong heartbeat. I listened to him breathe and found comfort in it.
“I like how you smell,” I murmured against his chest, his constant petting soothing everything inside me. “My favorite flavor.”
He stilled for a moment, then let out a soft breath. “You, sunshine, are my favorite flavor.” My brows furrowed at the change of the nickname.
“No more ice princess?” I asked, tremor lacing my voice.
Tension radiated from him, every muscle in his body pulled taut. His fingers trembled as they brushed over my hair. “No more.”
I felt his lips against my forehead, the gesture so simple after the earlier encounter, but it had every fiber of me trembling with so many feelings. My fingers traced over his ink, his muscles flexing under them.
I loved how big and strong he was. I even loved that he was a morally gray man. It was exactly what I needed. His gaze touched me everywhere, like he was seeing me for the first time. I couldn’t wrap my head around it, but I loved his attention.
His hands brushed over every inch of my skin, then he shifted and I let out a soft protest. “Don’t go anywhere.”
He let out a sardonic breath. “Nobody, not even God himself, will tear me away from you,” he rasped as he reached for my left wrist and hooked the bracelet around it. “This is yours.”
My brows knitted, studying the delicate jewelry made of teeth dipped in real gold. It didn’t bother me though. In fact, it felt as if it belonged there all along.
“It’s a weird gift, Kingston,” I murmured softly. I brought my wrist close to my chest and cradled it, that familiar throbbing there. “But I like it. A lot.”
I nuzzled into him, my eyes locked on the shining metal. Why did it feel right to have it on?
“I still can’t believe it,” he whispered so low that I barely heard the words.
I lifted my head. “Believe what?”
He shifted us over, his body covering mine. I slid my arms around him, those scars that his ink hid rough under my fingertips. The truth was, I loved them, because they screamed he was a survivor. It made me feel safe with him.
“That you’re here with me.”
Bliss hummed beneath my skin as his weight covered mine. “So you won’t be leaving me anymore after we… kiss?”
There was vulnerability in my voice, and I was sure he was able to see it in my eyes.
He ran a rough palm across my cheek and his lips brushed mine. “I’ll never leave you again.”
The promise seared through me like a romantic song and my heartbeats slowed to nothing.
“Ditto,” I vowed, realizing I fully meant those words.
It might have been wrong, but my possessiveness over this man roared to the surface, and I’d hold on to him until my last breath.
His mouth trailed over my neck before he buried his head in my nape.
That night, we held each other all night.
Chapter 50Liana
The skin on the back of my neck itched as the cries of torture traveled through the castle. I looked at my twin and reached for her hand, interlocking our fingers while my other hand gripped the bracelet. It gave me strength. It kept me safe.
He’d given me a new one for every birthday. My twin didn’t like it. She found the hard enamel and rugged dents gross, but she appreciated the strength I drew from it.
My twin squeezed once, then pulled away to rest her chin on her knees and wrap her arms around her legs, staring into the fire. Winter months in the Siberian manor were brutal, especially when Ivan Petrov was here. I shouldn’t complain, especially knowing that I wasn’t the only one suffering. Mother and Ivan’s prisoners had it worse—a lot worse.
My legs shook while my mind chanted over and over again, “Where is he?”
I pressed my eyelids together as “Born To Die” by Lana Del Rey played in my head on repeat. I’d started to wonder whether our finish line would be death. It would seem our entire lives had led us to this point. To die. Our road to freedom had been unending. It couldn’t fail us now… Could it?
I pushed at my temples with closed fists. Everything about the lyrics made me want to cry, and I knew there was no time for tears.
My palms pressed into my skin, my fear a white-hot current. He wouldn’t hurt us. Mother was here. She wouldn’t let him. But then where was she? Where was Kingston?
I hid my face in my lap to smother my cries. Please, please, please. I just wanted him. I wanted my—
The door crept open, and my sister and I whipped our heads up. I tasted her fear like it was my own, just as I knew she could sense mine. We scooted back, pressing ourselves into the dark corner.
Liana’s breath fogged the space between us. Or maybe it was my own. I rocked, mouthing to myself, I’m not scared. I’m not scared. Eventually, I’d believe it.
The footsteps were getting closer. The hardwood creaked, piercing through my eardrums. Tears ran down my cold cheeks, searing a path down to my lips. My twin’s hands gripped me hard.
He was getting closer. He was…
I jumped when a hand touched me. My back slammed into the wall and pain shot into my shoulder.
A scream pierced the ice-cold air.
I launched up off the floor and jumped onto the broad back, ignoring the shaking fear that gripped every fiber of my being. In the next breath, I was thrown off effortlessly, my limbs coming down hard on the stone floor.
The world tilted. My vision blurred. Pain surged through my temples.
Even with my head buzzing with adrenaline and pain, I tried to move, but my body refused to listen.
But then reality filtered in through the horror.
My eyes widened. A large hand covered my mouth while the other roamed down my body, lower and lower, until it reached my crotch. I bucked and kicked, my screams muffled and the back of my head hitting the floor again. The stench of tobacco and cheap cologne assaulted my senses.
My eyes roamed the room frantically, watching as my sister fought off another man. Disgust and despair clogged my throat.
“Stop fighting,” he rasped. I could feel my energy waning, but I couldn’t give up. Not now. Not ever.
Suddenly, his dead weight slumped onto me, suffocating me. Blood splattered my face and neck, coating me in crimson. My pulse roared in my ears, disorientation and confusion thick in the air as I blinked repeatedly.
I looked up to find my vengeful ghost looming over me.
“I’m sorry I’m late, sunshine,” he said, extending his hand to me, his other already offered to my sister, who looked just as gruesome as I did. But his eyes remained on me, chasing my fears away and lending me his strength.
“I-it’s… okay.” My teeth clattered, but I almost melted with relief.
He kneeled for a brief moment, pulling a tooth out of each man’s mouth, then straightened up. I met his eyes, harder and darker than ever before, flickering with fury.
He still held his knives, blood dripping on the hardwood. One more atrocity added to his plate. When would I be the one to protect him?
“Where were you?” my twin cried, accusation clear in her voice.