by Kate Stewart
As we made our way to the kitchen, I noticed the staff working in harmony. They dusted, wiped, and rushed from room to room to complete their tasks. It must take a small army to keep a place this size polished and running smoothly. I could easily get lost if I wanted to. The house wasn’t any less intimidating without the music or finely dressed guests or Angel’s grandfather. If anything, the silence was haunting.
The enormous kitchen was made up of stainless steel and white marble. Angel had, at his disposal, appliances fit for a world-renowned chef. He moved around the kitchen pulling pots from carefully selected spots and ingredients for breakfast from the largest pantry I’d ever seen.
“All of this is a bit much for just one person, isn’t it?”
He set a bowl of applesauce in front of me with a spoon as he answered blandly, “I’m fully expected to produce an heir and plenty of back up heirs.”
“What about heiresses?” I challenged as I fed Caylen.
“You tell me,” he said, wiping the smirk off my face. His burning gaze met mine when I looked up. “Would you want that?”
I laughed to disguise my uneasiness. “You’re delusional.”
“Am I?”
“I won’t have your baby,” I denied with less aplomb. “This marriage isn’t real.” My gaze dropped to my empty finger. It was the only evidence I had that my father didn’t betray me.
“Your father has had ample time to figure out his biggest regret in life.” He turned the silver knob on the stove, turning on the flame, and setting a frying pan on top. “Are you curious to know the answer?”
“Why don’t you tell me?”
“You,” he answered without hesitation. He removed bacon from the packaging and placed the slices in the pan. “He doesn’t regret not choosing you, Sprite. He just regrets you.”
“Your parents didn’t love you enough,” I countered. “I get it. It made you sad, so I’ll excuse your ignorance, but my father loves me.”
“You’ve never considered that maybe he wishes he didn’t?” He continued cooking as he coldly ripped apart my father’s love—love that always made me feel safe without fail. “It would be easier for him to walk away and forget you. He’s tried every day since that summer afternoon nine years ago.”
“Stop it.” My throat was clogged, so I had to force words through.
“He even married you when you were only sixteen fucking years old to a man he knew would corrupt you so he wouldn’t feel responsible for you.”
“Please. Just—”
“Would he die for you, Sprite?” I couldn’t take anymore. I pushed away from the bar and stood up from the stool with Caylen in my arms. He was still hungry and started to cry and fight to free himself from my arms. I just needed to get away.
I hurried from the kitchen just as Angel snatched the pan from the burner and started after me. He caught me just outside the kitchen just as Z appeared. Before I could do anything, Angel gently pried Caylen from my arms and gave him to Z.
“Leave us alone!” He ignored me as he gave Z orders to finish feeding Caylen before dragging me up the stairs.
We were back in his domain, but this time, the air was heavier and more dangerously charged than before. “Why are you crying?” he demanded.
“You had no right to say those things!”
“Why? Because they were true?” He shoved all ten of his fingers in my hair and forced me against his chest. “Do the lies your father tell hurt less?” I pushed against him until he growled and shoved me on his bed. “Your father is not a man. He abandoned you when you needed him most, and who did he give you to?” I crawled through the rumpled bedding to get away from his possessive energy before it consumed me, but he caught my ankle and dragged me back as he growled, “You have no idea how hard I’ve tried not to hurt you.” He lifted me up by the front of my shirt and nipped my bottom lip. “But what’s control without a little chaos first?”
Brutally, he pressed his lips against mine. When I refused to kiss him back, he ripped open the shirt he’d given me. My lips fell open from shock, and his tongue found mine, coaxing me to play. We fell so deep that I feared we’d never find the surface again.
Eventually, I needed air, but the kiss went on until I was beating on his chest, begging for it. I drew in gulps of precious air when he finally let up.
“Every breath you take is a show of mercy, Mian.”
“I hate you,” I confessed to his beautiful, scowling face. “Why do you care if I love my father?”
“It doesn’t matter anymore, does it? Your father will die, and you’ll still be mine.” I felt his promise seep into my veins and warm my blood. I was Angel’s, body and soul. He’ll possess one or destroy the other. “I want to hurt you for what you did in the warehouse.” His lips coasted over my throat as he pushed me on my back and slipped my panties down my thighs. “I just might.”
“You think I chose him?" I didn't recognize my quaking voice. "I love him because he’s my father. I never had a choice. I’ve loved you since I was twelve. That was my choice. You were a choice.” And a bad one.
“And what do you choose now?” His kisses trailed to my breasts, and then he slipped my nipple into his mouth as he moved between my thighs. He took my hands and moved them to his hips. My fingers had a mind of their own as they gripped the waistband of his sweatpants. Fucking was the only thing that could calm our storm. It was wrong, but it was ours. When his head lifted, brown met green. “Right now is when you decide how your life with me will be.”
“I could give you what you want, but you’d never believe it was real.” I didn’t break our stare as I pushed his sweats down until they stopped under his ass. “You shouldn’t.”
“There’s nothing about us that will ever be anything but real.” Slowly, he slid inside me, making me feel every hard inch of him as he did. Soft lips brushing my ear, he whispered, “You wouldn’t fit so perfectly if you weren’t made for me.” I didn’t have time to argue his point when he flipped us over leaving me on top and him smiling sexily from below me. “Ride me, Sprite.” He gave my ass a hard slap. “Fuck your husband.”
I shouldn’t have let his words get to me, but they did. My hands stacked on top of his chest for balance as I found a slow rhythm for my hips to dance. His cock filled me fully, and despite the ache left behind when he was no longer deep inside me, it felt good too.
His hands slid to my ass helping me move. The look of wonder in his eyes as I brought us pleasure was truly a Kodak moment. I could tell he was holding back, willing himself not to give in so soon. I was angry with myself for wanting it. But I remembered what it felt like to have him come inside me. It was hot, it was addictive… it was dangerous…
“Oh. My. God. Condom,” I gasped. He drove deeper with a wicked look in his eye. I wasn’t on birth control. I couldn’t get pregnant again. I couldn’t have Angel’s baby and be forever tied to him.
“It’s too late, Sprite. Not stopping.”
I shook my head wildly and slowed my hips. I needed to stop this before it was too late. Angel growled and swiftly caught my hips before flipping me onto my back and driving even deeper.
“You want me to prove you’re mine?” I scoured his back with my nails, and he smiled through his grunt. Maybe we were both insane.
“The only thing you’ll prove by making me come,” I panted, “is that you can fuck.” I lifted my head. “But I already knew that,” I whispered in his ear.
“Then maybe I should let Lucas and Z have a turn.” He wrapped his hand around my neck when I started to pull away. “See if they make you come as hard as I do.” Next thing I knew, he’d lifted me from the bed and had me braced against the headboard with his knees digging in the mattress and my legs spread wide as he pounded me. “You hear that, Sprite?” My cries mixed with his grunts and the headboard banging against the wall as he showed me no mercy. “That’s the sound of me owning you.”
“Yeah?” I tightened my pussy around his cock, making him groan. “
Is that the sound of me owning you?”
Angel’s brutal kiss was heady. Addictive.
But Angel coming inside me?
It was the end of my world.
Chapter 14
ANGEL
November 28th 2013
I COULDN’T BE reasoned, stopped, or controlled. My ascension to power had been paved in my father’s blood, but only with Theo’s blood could I secure my place as the Bandit and the Knight. For a month, Theo managed to remain off-grid.
Until today.
I tailed the rust bucket he drove through the streets of Chicago. Two days before, he called Victor to set up a meeting in which Victor had relayed the information to me, proving his loyalty to my father even after he was dead. Theo, unaware he had fallen into a trap, had come alone because he had no options. Without my father, he was nothing, and he’d bit the hand that fed him. It took every grain of control to stay hidden and let the meeting happen without interfering. Victor was as clueless as I as to what the meeting was for. My guess was that he’d try to convince him of his innocence. It was too bad for him that Victor already knew the truth about that night and would protect my mother. He’d offered to kill him, but there was no way in hell I was giving him the honor. Letting someone else avenge my father would be disgracing the birthright my great-grandfather seized.
I’ve waited weeks to feel guilt for framing my godfather, but my mother hasn’t been the same since that night. The fragmented piece I had left of my mother was the reason remorse eluded me. I’d had to hire a nurse just to ensure she wouldn’t wither to dust. Lately, however, Victor had been overseeing her care. I had a lot to thank him for it seemed.
My thoughts drifted to Mian. Theo had hidden her well. The smartest thing Theo had ever done was keep his life before my father secret. Z had found his parents living on the outskirts of Illinois, but it had proved a dead end. A perverse part of me had entertained the idea of killing them an eye for an eye, but framing him and then killing him would have to be enough. When he was dead, Mian would need somewhere safe to go… if I didn’t find her first.
I’d found the engagement ring and dress I sent to her for the party in their abandoned home. The ring was now tucked away in the locked compartment of my glove box.
We were ten minutes away from the outskirts of Chicago when Theo made an unexpected stop at a small neighborhood park. I strangled the steering wheel, eager to get him alone, but also hoping he’d lead me to Mian and save me the trouble of hunting her.
He unfolded his long frame from the car holding a small duffel, and a few seconds later, shook hands with a man I didn’t recognize. I’d only gotten a brief glimpse of him before he was hidden from view. Theo was out in the open, unaware and completely vulnerable. I could take the shot, leave Theo bleeding on the concrete, and get the fuck out of dodge. But then I remembered the other half of my objective.
To find his daughter.
The meeting between them ended quickly, and the man disappeared down the street. Theo watched him go until he disappeared around the corner. I noticed the slump in his shoulders and the worry in his eyes after he turned toward his car. His hand was on the handle when he stopped. There was tension in his body as his gaze moved around the busy area. He could feel me watching him.
I had a clear shot at him, but I knew I couldn’t kill him here. I could hear my father’s voice in my head, warning me not to be sloppy.
I made the decision to slide down in my seat and hide a moment too late. Theo was now staring at my car parked across the street. He couldn’t be sure it was me. The tint was too dark, but it didn’t matter to a man desperate to live.
He was already reacting.
Reaching behind his back, he pulled his gun and took aim. I was prepared to do the same when we both heard, “Sir, drop your weapon down and get down on the ground!” When Theo didn’t obey, the officer screamed the command again. The other pedestrians screamed and ran to get away from danger. I watched, enraged, as Theo lowered his gun and the officer immediately cuffed him.
My only window to silence Theo forever was gone.
Present
“WHY DID YOU frame my father?”
I was running my nose over every inch of her skin, breathing her in and enjoying her scent, as she voiced her question. This wasn’t a conversation I wanted to have naked in bed, but I could hear in her voice there was no avoiding it.
“There had been a witness that night who knew the only two people with my father when he died was Theo and my mother. Killing her wasn’t an option since she had already reported the murder to the police. I had to protect my mother. My father wouldn’t have expected any less. Even for Theo.”
“So let me get this straight.” She pulled out of my arms to face me. “Your father fucks another woman—my mother—your mother pulls the trigger, and my father gets screwed?”
“Theo wasn’t just there to confront my father. He was there to kill him, and he succeeded. He also destroyed what was left of my mother, and I couldn’t let her live with the consequences.”
“My father didn’t destroy your mother. Your father did. Why can’t you see that?”
“When you thought you killed me, did you feel different? Like your humanity had been stripped from you the moment you plunged that knife inside me?”
Her gaze lowered, shielding the pain in the jade. “Yes.”
“My mother loved my father, and not only did she kill him, but she learned he’d been unfaithful with the woman she used to call a friend. It changes you. The woman I was left with wasn’t my mother. I had your father to thank for that.”
“So your mother’s mental state helped you feel less guilty?”
“I didn’t feel guilty at all,” I confessed. “Not until I saw you standing in my father’s home ready to kill me to free your son.” I couldn’t handle the way her eyes bore into me, so I pulled her back into my arms and laid her head over my heart that didn’t deserve to beat.
“I kept waiting for you to show up and tell me you didn’t blame me, but then you never did, so I never let myself think about you.”
My hand slid between our bodies until it reached her breast. I slid my thumb over the nipple and grinned at her gasp. “You weren’t so easy to forget.”
I was seconds away from pulling her under me and making sure she’d never forget me again when she grabbed my hand and laid it on my bare stomach. “My father wasn’t the only one you condemned that night. Did you ever once consider what it would do to me to lose the only parent I had left?” I could see the answer she wanted to hear in her eyes, but I couldn’t hand her the lie.
“Yes.” She wasn’t expecting my answer, and I wasn’t expecting to give it to her.
“You’re such a hypocrite,” she breathed. She shoved me away, hopped up from our bed, and faced me with tears running down her face. “You hate my father for the same reason you betrayed me. You chose her over me. But why wouldn’t you? She’s your mother. Don’t you see how unfair that is?”
“I didn’t—”
“You did!” she screamed. “You put my father in prison knowing what it would do to me.”
I sat up, ripped the covers from my waist, and stood on the other side of the bed facing her. “I knew I would hurt you, but I never meant to lose you. I searched for you, and after some time, when I couldn’t find you, I figured your father hid you so that never would, and then I accepted that you’d be better off.”
“Except I wasn’t. Should I blame you for that like you blamed my father?”
“Being with me wouldn’t have been any better.”
“I know. Look how your mom turned out,” she answered with a curled lip.
“Careful,” I warned. My voice had gone deep, demanding submission. As always, Mian wasn’t willing to give it so easily. We ended up in a staring contest that I broke. I decided I’d rather continue this argument without my dick out.
“Victor said he was the one to show my dad the video. That day, I heard my father speaki
ng to someone just before he left. It all makes sense now.” She paced the floor of my bedroom as I slipped into gym shorts. “It had to have been Victor. I was trying to ask him about the party, but he was so angry. He raised his voice when I asked questions. He never raised his voice to me. He told me he had a job, and a few hours later, he told me he was leaving Illinois. Not us. Him.” I could hear the hurt and frustration she felt three years ago.
“He wouldn’t have wanted you anywhere near him if I found him, and I did find him.”
Her eyes widened. “What happened?”
“I fucked up. He came back to Chicago to meet with Victor. I trailed him after the meeting, but he spotted me and pulled his gun. A cop noticed him before we could kill each other.”
“I can’t believe you were going to kill him after what you did.” She looked at me as if she had only just realized I was a bad man.
I shrugged feigning casualness. “It needed to be done, Sprite. I didn’t know if he’d talk.”
“You mean prove his innocence?”
“Yeah.” I held her gaze. She needed to know how ruthless I truly was. My family prospered by taking what we didn’t deserve, and her father had been at the head of it all until the tables were turned.
She shook her head, and a single tear slipped down her cheek. “We can never be, Angel. There’s too much bad history between us.”
Was I mistaken or did she mourn the truth?
I wanted her father dead for causing my father’s death and my mother’s destruction, and now both my parents are dead. Theo was the only thing left to fuel my vendetta, but looking at her, I realized I had every reason to give it up.
“Come here.”
“No.”
I sighed. “One day, this cat and mouse game will get old,” I lied. It would never get old. I’d always chase her, and she knew it too.