by Penelope Sky
The Skull Ruler
Skull #3
Penelope Sky
Hartwick Publishing
The Skull Ruler
Copyright © 2019 by Penelope Sky
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
1
Balto
The elevator doors opened, and I stepped inside my home with Cassini beside me. I laid my pistol on the entryway table along with the knife I kept in my pocket. My feet slowly carried me into the room, the burden of my decision weighing across my shoulders like a three-hundred-pound bar.
My decision would come with consequences.
I wasn’t afraid of Lucian’s wrath because I wasn’t afraid of anything. Most men feared death, but they failed to understand it was a gift. When this life became too much, when the pain became too unbearable, there was a way out. It would be painless, quiet, and empty. Watching my enemies die under my boot was violent and cruel, but they were always rewarded at the end.
With the sweet relief of death.
I sauntered to the floor-to-ceiling window and knew it was only a matter of time before my phone started to ring. I was already late, but Lucian didn’t want to cave first and call me. His retaliation wasn’t what I feared. What I feared had already come to pass. I’d softened for a woman, made a decision based on emotions rather than logic. I put her life before an item so valuable that the people of the world would kill one another for it.
All for a single woman.
What did that say about me?
Cassini came up behind me. “Do you—”
“Leave me alone for the night.” I stopped in front of the glass and saw my reflection in the window. I still looked like the barbaric ruler who put men to death every single day. To anyone else, I looked the same. But I didn’t feel the same. I judged myself for the decision I’d made, but at the same time, I wouldn’t have done anything different.
Cassini stayed behind me.
I didn’t ask her again. I’d just spared her life and sacrificed that diamond for her. I shouldn’t have to ask her again.
Her footsteps sounded as she headed down the hallway. Judging from the length of her footsteps, she went into her bedroom instead of mine.
I kept my eyes glued to the bright city below me, the lights from the cathedral the brightest because it was the tallest building nearby. The city was quiet tonight, but that peace wouldn’t last long.
My phone rang.
Without looking at the screen, I knew exactly who it was. I answered. “Yes?”
“You’re an hour late.” Lucian didn’t yell, but his oily tone showed his frustration. He probably had all his men posted at the estate, ready for whatever was about to happen. He probably had anticipated I would cross him just the way I anticipated he would do the same thing. Maybe I would make the exchange then shoot Cassini in the back of the head before I drove off. We were two men who innately distrusted each other—but that was his fault.
“I’m not late. I’m not coming.”
His silence was filled with anger.
“I changed my mind.”
“You choose a woman over one of the most flawless diamonds in the world?” he asked incredulously.
Not only was I choosing her over a priceless jewel, but also over the explosives I could use for the Skull Kings. It was possible Lucian and I could have formed an alliance at some point, or the very least, a truce. But I was throwing away that possibility too. “She’s worth more than all the diamonds in the world—but you already knew that.”
He turned quiet, letting the tension burn over the line.
The only thing we could promise each other at this point was war.
“You’re making a mistake, Balto.”
I’d regretted the decision the instant I made it, but I would have regretted it more if I’d followed through with the plan. I despised myself for letting my feelings get to this level. I lost my self-respect for turning so soft for pussy. The signs had been there all along, especially when I hunted down Evan and gave him a beating that almost killed him. I could argue that I did it for Cassini, but she didn’t even know about it. I did it entirely for myself—because I cared about this woman more than I was brave enough to admit. “You made a mistake when you crossed me, Lucian. None of this would have happened if you hadn’t been such a sleaze bag. In this world, earning the respect of your enemies is just as important as earning it from your friends. You’ve managed to earn it from no one.”
I slept alone then woke up early the next morning. I headed to the gym and spotted my brother there. We both liked to get our workout completed first thing in the morning, so we always crossed paths.
With my towel hanging over my shoulder, I sat on the bench and rested my arms on my knees.
Heath racked his weights then sat on the bench across from me, his muscles thick and pulsing from the weight he’d just benched. He patted his forehead with his towel then threw it over his shoulder. “You want to talk about it?”
“No.”
He nodded slowly. “You know we’re going to talk about it anyway, right?”
The question forced a smile across my lips. “I assumed.”
Heath rubbed his hands together, his fingers callused from gripping the metal bars of the weights. “What changed your mind?”
“I don’t know.”
He gave me a hard stare.
“I forced myself to give her back…but I didn’t really want to do it. I wanted to prove to myself that nothing had changed, that this woman hadn’t softened me. I never wanted to be one of those men who allowed a woman to corrupt them, to change their priorities and affect their decisions. But here I am…changing everything for a single person.” I broke eye contact and stared down at my hands, ashamed of who I was. This wasn’t the kind of man I wanted to be. This wasn’t the kind of ruler I’d worked to become. “I want to go back to who I was. It was a different woman every night, whether it was a whore or a stranger. All I lived for were money, power, and sex. And now…everything is complicated.”
“Because you love this woman.”
I kept my eyes on the ground, my heart pounding against my chest with more force than it had a second ago. “I never said anything about love.”
“But that’s what it is. It was obvious when you went after Evan. Cassini got no pleasure out of that, only you did. That was entirely selfish, because you wanted to punish the man who hurt the woman you love.”
I finally lifted my eyes to meet his, my gaze impassive and fearless.
“Money used to be the most important thing to you. But now she’s more valuable than that diamond. You don’t even care about the diamond anymore. It’s not worth losing this woman who made you committed the first time you slept with her. She’s cast a spell on you, and there’s nothing you can do to counteract it.”
“Don’t say this bullshit to Cassini. Don’t want her to think it’s true.”
“Balto.” He gave me a pitying look. “She already knows it’s true.”
I wished I’d been cold enough to give her back. I missed the man I used to be, a man incapable of feeling anything. I threw my own brother in prison for six months because that was how heartless I was. But this woman made me feel things.
“A man wouldn’t have made such a sacrifice for any other reason.”
I’d laid my cards on the table—and now she saw my hand.
“And what’s the big deal if she knows? She must feel the same way. Why else would she wait up for you every night? Why else w
ould she get jealous of other women? Why would she risk her neck by having an affair with you?”
It didn’t matter how she felt. Our feelings could never be reciprocated to each other. “Nothing will ever come of it.”
“Why not?”
“Because there’s no future for us.”
Heath raised an eyebrow. “You don’t think you can kill Lucian?”
“That’s not why.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“I’m the Skull King—that’s the problem.”
He still stared at me blankly.
“It’s a life sentence. It’s a responsibility. I will sit on the throne until I’m killed in the line of duty or challenged by combat. It’s a life of crime, violence, and unpredictability. Cassini doesn’t belong in my world. She wants a husband and a family. I will never be a husband, and I will never father children.”
“You’re thinking too far ahead…”
“I’m being pragmatic. She’s not what I want, and I’m not what she wants.”
“If that’s true, why save her?”
I saved her because I cared about her. But I also saved her for another reason entirely. “Because she deserves a better life. A life that has nothing to do with Evan, Lucian, or me. She’s a bird that’s been locked in a cage for too long—and I want to set her free.”
2
Cassini
Balto was gone when I woke up.
I slept alone that night because he asked for space. After he decided to keep me, I thought we would roll around on the sheets and have amazing make-up sex. I thought it would be an act of catharsis, of relief that we finally understood where we stand.
But he pushed me away all over again.
I knew he spoke to Lucian on the phone because I had my ear pressed to my bedroom door.
She’s worth more than all the diamonds in the world—but you already knew that.
Balto defended me from Lucian and was willing to fight to keep me. He would kill Lucian and finally exterminate my demons. One day, I would wake up and know that Lucian was no longer breathing.
Instead of coming to my bed, he went to his own.
And now the silent treatment continued.
I sat at the dining table with my bowl of cereal in front of me. I considered calling Case to tell him what happened, but since Balto could walk in the door at any moment, I decided not to.
It could wait.
Finally, the elevator beeped and the doors opened.
Balto stepped inside wearing his gym clothes, but he didn’t look sweaty and fatigued. His muscular arms weren’t throbbing with the blood that pumped in his veins at a higher rate. He headed for the table, his blue eyes locked on to my face.
I stared at my captor and savior and only felt gratitude in my heart. But I also felt a million other emotions. The one I felt the strongest was longing…I missed this man. We’d been distant for the past week, hardly speaking and never touching. Now that he’d made the ultimate sacrifice to keep me, I trusted him deeper than I ever had before. If it weren’t for Balto, I would have been Lucian’s prisoner until he killed me or I killed myself.
He stopped at the chair facing me, his arms resting on the back of it.
I stared at him, frozen in place by those blue eyes. They always had an icy appearance, but when I was the recipient of that gaze, I only felt warmth. I stared at this behemoth of a man, paralyzed by his strong presence.
He continued to stare, like that was a sufficient replacement for a conversation.
I hadn’t really had a chance to express my gratitude or ask why he’d changed his mind. The second he made his decision, he pushed me away, like he hated himself for not giving me to Lucian. Instead of spooking him, I decided to talk about something completely unrelated. “How was your workout?”
He couldn’t stop the surprise from creeping into his gaze. “A waste of time.”
“Just weren’t feeling it?”
“Heath and I talked the entire time.”
“Oh…” There was only one thing they could have talked about.
He turned away. “I’m going to take a shower.”
I watched him leave, disappointed by the cold conversation. I’d assumed he would be in a better mood today, but he seemed to be in a worse one.
I joined him in the large shower, stepping in behind him and shutting the door behind me.
He’d just rinsed his hair of shampoo when he turned to me. His eyes didn’t light up with arousal at the sight of me. Instead, he seemed annoyed that his privacy had been breached. The man was exceptionally moody for someone so rugged and cold.
“Do you mind if I join you?”
“Does it matter? You’ve already joined me.” He grabbed the bar of soap and rubbed it across his powerful chest.
I moved past him and under the water so my hair could become slick against the back of my neck. The beads of warm water ran down my chest, making my tits firm at the change in temperature. My nipples hardened as goose bumps sprinkled across my body.
He rubbed the bar of soap over his left arm as his eyes stared down at my body because it was impossible for a man like him to resist boobs right in front of his face. He stared at them without shame then moved the bar of soap to his other arm.
“Why are you ignoring me?” I didn’t wash my hair because I’d already showered that morning. My makeup wouldn’t survive under the water for long. The humidity would make my waterproof mascara weaken, and soon it would drip down my cheeks.
“I’m not ignoring you. I’m staring at your rack, aren’t I?” He moved the bar of soap down his grooved abs and to his hardening dick between his legs. He rubbed the soap around the area and lifted his cock to rub his balls.
“You know what I mean, Balto.”
He returned the bar of soap to the shelf, his dick hardening further.
“This conversation has to happen eventually. You aren’t the kind of man to shy away from things.”
“But I’m also not a man who enjoys conversation either.” He maneuvered under the water, forcing me out so he could rinse the soap from his body. “If I could live the rest of my life without speaking, I would.”
“Then you wouldn’t be able to tell me how you want to fuck me.”
His gaze darkened as he looked at me. “I wouldn’t have to tell you. I would just do it.” He let the water run over his head and down the back of his neck. His palms moved to his face, and he ran his fingers through his short hair. When he was finished, he stepped out of the water so I could move back in.
Since he would deflect me every chance he could, I got to the point. “Why did you change your mind?” When I moved under the water again, my nipples had the exact same reaction. They stiffened at the comfort of the warm water.
His eyes stared into mine, ignoring my breasts. “Because I did.” He turned away and stepped out of the shower, dismissing the conversation once we talked about something real.
I lingered under the water for a moment, disappointed that he’d cut himself off from me. I turned off the water then followed him, wrapping myself in a towel.
A towel was around his waist, and beads of water still dropped from his hair, down his neck, and to that rock-hard chest that used to be on top of me every night. He stood at the sink and shaved, getting rid of his deep shadow before it could grow into something serious.
I watched him in the mirror as I rubbed the towel over my hair, letting my naked body be visible in the background. Now that the warm water no longer surrounded me, I was cold. My nipples hardened again for the opposite reason.
Balto focused on his face, shaving his chin until it was completely smooth once more.
My hair was dry enough, so I tossed the towel on the rack. I moved to his backside and pressed a kiss to the center of his shoulder blades. Once he felt my kiss, he stiffened noticeably, letting my lips touch him wherever I wanted. “I’ll be waiting for you on the bed whenever you’re ready.” I grabbed his towel and yanked it off, reve
aling a fully grown dick that liked my kiss as much as I liked giving it.
I walked out and got into his bed, the bed I hadn’t slept in for a week. It smelled just like him, felt so comfortable, it was like I’d never left. I got on my hands and knees with my ass to the bathroom door, knowing he would like the sight of my freshly shaved body.
His footsteps sounded then stopped.
Without looking at him, I knew he was taking a moment to soak me in.
I glanced at him over my shoulder. “It’s rude to keep a woman waiting.”
His eyes remained deeply serious, but the corner of his mouth rose slightly. He got on the foot of the bed then maneuvered up to me, his big dick ready to be reacquainted with its long-lost love.
He grabbed my hips and rolled me to my back. “That’s better.”
“You like my tits more than my ass?” I opened my legs and bent my knees toward my waist.
“No.” His arms locked behind my knees. His heavy body positioned itself on top of mine, making the bed dip in the way it always did. He slowly lowered himself until his long dick pressed right against my clit.
I closed my eyes for a brief moment, loving the pressure of that throbbing dick.
“Because I want to kiss my woman and watch her come.” He ground against me slightly, his lips just inches from mine.
My plan was to get answers from him and to use sex as an incentive. But now my ambition had decreased substantially.
His lips grazed over mine, but he didn’t kiss me. Instead, he teased me, tortured me. His lips moved to my neck, and he kissed me hard there, his teeth lightly digging into my flesh from time to time. His warm breath trickled across my skin as he devoured me like an animal.
I closed my eyes and tipped my head back, giving him more room. “Balto…” My hands smoothed over his chest, appreciating his muscles and his strong heartbeat. If this man wanted to keep me to himself forever, I was fine with that. There was nowhere else I’d rather be, no other man I’d want between my legs.