by Kate Stewart
“It’s not a game. You scare me, Angel.”
I crossed the room until I towered over her and then slowly ran a finger over her naked hip. “My wife doesn’t have to be afraid of me.”
“But I’m not your wife. Our fathers were fools.”
“They’re far from it, Sprite. They knew exactly what they were doing when they forged our marriage. They used us for their interests, and now we’re husband and wife.” I wrapped my hand around her nape and pulled her body into mine. “Till death do us part.”
Her green eyes blazed with irritation. “You should sleep with one eye open, husband. We wouldn’t want to part sooner than later.”
“I should heed that seeing as you’ve tried to kill me once before.”
“It would be wise.” I felt myself harden at the possibility of her murdering me in my sleep and chuckled. Her scowl deepened as my cock pressed against her bare stomach. She tried to pull away, but I swiftly wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her closer.
“You don’t need to run away from what’s yours.” I took her hand and slid it under the waistband of my gym shorts. Her small hand closed around my cock, and with her head tilted, keeping our eyes connected, she petted my beast with small strokes. I couldn’t resist taking advantage and pressed my lips against hers. Her lips moved with mine, but she was still holding back. “Let me have that sweet tongue, baby.”
“If I do, you’ll fuck me.”
“I’ll fuck you harder if you don’t.” She couldn’t hold back her reaction. Her body trembled in my arms, and I tasted her moan. “You want to sin with me, don’t you, wife?”
Her answer was to grip my cock tighter in her palm. I backed her up to the nearest wall and lifted her. “Then again… it’s not a sin for a man to fuck his wife.”
“Unless she’s unwilling.”
“Are you unwilling?”
She answered by wrapping her legs around my waist while I pushed my shorts down enough to free my cock. “This doesn’t mean anything,” she moaned as I slid inside her. She was soaking wet and taking me greedily inside her.
“Is that right?”
“It’s just sex. An itch to scratch.”
I chuckled as I moved her hands from my shoulders to the wall above her head. The pain in my chest her words had created would have to wait. Right now, she was oblivious, completely vulnerable.
I moved inside her skillfully, drawing out her pleasure, and convincing her she’d do anything to have more. I tasted the sweat on her skin and smiled at the sound of her sweet moans. The sound was nothing compared to her screams when she was overwhelmed by what my body did to hers.
I wanted that again.
Before I could consider control, my hips moved with a mind of their own, turning our fucking from slow and easy to frenzied. “Am I scratching your itch, Sprite? Huh?” She could do nothing but take it as I pounded her. Her squeals of pained pleasure spurred me on. “Tell me, have I reached the mother fucking spot?” I moved my hand between our bodies and found her clit. Her mouth fell open, and her head fell back. She convulsed violently, shocking me and scaring herself. She had never come this hard before. I was forced to let her hands go and wrap my arms tight around her to keep from losing control.
“You…bastard,” she gasped with harsh breaths. I could still feel the tight heat of her pussy pulsing around me.
“A bastard couldn’t make you come that hard.”
“Why did you—”
“Fuck you until you saw stars?” I was already moving inside her again. She gasped and clutched my shoulders.
“Don’t make me come like that again.” The tremble in her voice sounded like real fear.
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I lied. It didn’t take long before I felt my balls tighten. I was still feeling vengeful, so I waited until the very last moment before pulling her to her knees. I used her slender neck to pull her head back and came all over her pretty innocent face. Her mouth fell open in shock, and a drop of cum slid over her top lip. “Lick it up and swallow it,” I ordered when she gaped. Her tongue obediently swept her lips, taking more of my cum when she closed her lips.
“Good girl.” I pulled my shorts up and backed away from her before I gave in to the urge to take her again. “Let me know if you get an itch again.” I headed for the bathroom. I needed a shower and space to think. I had a war to win and I all I’ve done was find my way between Mian’s thighs.
“Asshole,” I heard her mutter just before the door closed.
Chapter 15
MIAN
“WE GOT A problem,” Lucas announced.
I’d fucking say.
After our fight, Z had brought a fed and sleepy Caylen upstairs for his nap, and the three of us spent the rest of the morning locked away in Angel’s bedroom. Angel had his hand planted over my mouth, so I didn’t wake the baby while he tortured me with his mouth and fingers. I was on the precipice when Lucas barged in with a scowl and a gun in his hand. Angel took his time freeing my nipple from his mouth and his fingers from my pussy, but when he saw Lucas ready for war, he was out of bed before I could blink. I scrambled to pull the sheets he’d kicked to the foot of the bed over my body and tried to act normal despite their casual disregard for my nudity.
“What’s up?” Angel questioned as he stepped into his jeans commando-style.
“Reginald is here.”
Angel’s mood shifted right before my eyes as he cursed, threw on a t-shirt, and stormed from the room with Lucas on his heels. Curiosity had me scrambling for our bags in the corner and quickly dressing. I checked to make sure Caylen was still asleep before following them. Guns meant this wasn’t a social call, so I wisely stayed hidden near the stairs when I found Angel, Lucas, and Z in the foyer, towering in a circle around two men of middle height and build. The men didn’t appear intimidated. In fact, the older man with a full head of thick, salt and pepper hair wore a smug smile and held his head high. The second man’s back was turned. I studied his wavy, brown hair and broad shoulders that rivaled Lucas’s, his waist narrow, reminding me of a football player in uniform.
“You want to tell me why you’re here uninvited?” Angel growled.
“You know as well as I do that I have as much right to be here as you do. The estate is home to anyone with Knight blood.” It was then I noticed the suitcases at their feet.
“You know the rules. I haven’t welcomed you, have I?” There were only a few times I’ve witnessed Angel so menacing and none of those occurrences ended well.
“You should. My home was broken into and vandalized last night.” He lowered his head and voice conspiratorially. “What do you think they were looking for?” I shook my head from the shadows. Baiting Angel was a bad idea, yet this man didn’t look worried.
“Careful, cousin.” I guess that would explain why he wasn’t worried.
“It isn’t me who should take care. We all know what it will mean for you if you cannot keep our family protected.”
“There may be a time when your line rules again, but that time is not today.”
Angel started to walk away when the older man shouted, “I demand your protection, Angeles! You can’t deny me sanctuary. You know this.”
From my vantage point, I could see Angel’s jaw working before he turned on his heel, picked up the man’s suitcase, and shoved it in one of the staff’s hands. “Please, show my cousin and his son to a guestroom for the night.” My gaze drifted to the son Angel referred to. He couldn’t have been much older than I am, and he didn’t possess the hard edge Angel did, though I could see a faint resemblance between them. Throughout the entire exchange, he hadn’t spoken, but when he turned, I could see the same smugness on his face that his father displayed so foolishly.
Z repeated Angel’s actions and directed the staff to take their bags. It didn’t look like they were planning to stay long, but Angel was clearly not happy to have them here. I was ready to slip back upstairs, but I couldn’t take my eyes away. The guys had alre
ady put their guns away, but their expressions remained hard.
“I was so sorry to hear about your grandfather,” the son spoke. It was odd that he didn’t sound the least bit sympathetic. “Did you ever catch who was responsible?”
“No, but I’ll find them.”
“Eventually. You’ve got your hands full already, don’t you?” Angel’s cold gaze sliced to the older man. I held my breath as I waited to hear his response or to see what he might do.
Suddenly, movement to my left caught my attention. Lucas had somehow spotted me and moved unassumingly toward my hiding spot. “What are you doing,” he hissed when he reached me. He grabbed my armed and pulled me deeper into the shadows. I could hear Angel speaking but couldn’t make out what he was saying. Whatever they were discussing didn’t sound friendly.
“Who are they?” I asked even though I already knew. Until the funeral, Angel’s family had been but a myth. He’d barely spoke to any of them at the funeral, but even so, the hostility between Angel and Reginald was certainly a twist.
“Reginald and Andrew are father and son. They’re also Angel’s cousins.”
“Why are they here?”
He took a deep breath and blew it all out at once. “It doesn’t matter. They’ll be gone tomorrow. You just need to stay away from them.”
“It’s going to be kind of hard with them in the same house, isn’t it?”
“I’m serious, Mian. Stay away from Reginald. He’s bad news, and you don’t want him to find out about you and Angel?” His lips closed in a tight line.
“What is it that Angel doesn’t want them to know?” I demanded. I was sick of them forcing me to live by their rules. If Angel was going to keep me here, I had a right to know what my father married me into.
He shoved his fingers in his hair before saying, “You should really be hearing this from Angel.”
“Well, according to Angel, I’m his wife, so why don’t I found out right now? Family should meet, after all.” Before he could react, I walked around him and hurried into the foyer. I was met with surprised looks from Reginald and Andrew. Angel, Z, and Lucas, however, were not amused.
“Hi.” I held out my hand to Reginald who was slow to get over his shock.
“I don’t believe we’ve met,” he said as he shook my head. “Who are you?”
“I’m sorry. My name is Mian Ross,” I paused and peeked over my shoulder at Angel before saying, “Actually, I guess it’s Knight now.” If I thought I took him by surprise before, it was nothing compared to the startled incredulity taking over his face now.
“Come again, young lady?”
“Angel and I are married,” I giggled, playing the role of a happy bride. I shouldn’t have enjoyed pissing Angel off as much as I did. I felt fingers wrap around one side of my waist before I was pulled away from Reginald and Andrew. I looked up and found Angel’s simmering brown gaze boring into me.
“What are you doing?”
“Honey, you didn’t tell me we were having guests. I would have put on something more appropriate.” His eyes promised retribution as Reginald introduced me to his son. Their gazes were curious and calculation as they sized me up.
“So when did this happen?” Reginald questioned while looking between Angel and me.
“Three years ago,” I blurted before Angel could stop me. I was going to be bound and gagged to his bed later. I just knew it.
“My dear, you don’t look old enough to have been married for three years. How have we’ve never heard about your marriage before?” Reginald directed the question to Angel, but it was I who answered.
“I was only sixteen when our fathers arranged for us to be married against—”
I never got to finish that sentence when Angel picked me up and hauled me over his shoulder before walking away, leaving his perplexed family behind.
He carried me into a room, dropped me on my feet none too gently, and shut the door. He kept his back turned, and his hands braced on the door. His shoulders moved as he breathed in and out deeply. A few moments passed before he turned and regarded me with his back against the door, seemingly calm.
“What the hell was that, Sprite?”
“You insist that this marriage our fathers forged is real, so I’m just playing the part, husband.”
“You think you can play this game, but let me enlighten you, wife, this isn’t a chess board. When you move your pieces, you better be goddamn sure of the play.”
“How can I be sure of anything if you keep secrets from me?”
“Reginald isn’t your fucking concern.”
“Then why does Lucas think I should hear it from you?”
He cursed and said, “What happens to you now is on you. Remember that.” He then ripped open the door. “Go upstairs and wait for me.” He didn’t speak after that, and neither did I. He was wound tight as he held the door open. Upstairs, I held my son and waited for the consequences of what I’d done.
Chapter 16
ANGEL
IT WAS ALL I could do not to follow Mian back to our room and forget about the problem that showed up on my doorstep and the one that waited for me beyond it.
Her stunt had written her fate in stone. Once a Knight, you die a Knight.
There had been a rumor among my family regarding my willingness to produce an heir. Mian was a threat to Reginald and all of Alexander’s line. Not even Caylen was safe, even though the blood of Caylen’s father running through his veins ensured he could never inherit from me.
I found Reginald waiting in the grand library, standing before the original paintings of the Bandits. The ones in my father’s home were copycats he insisted having.
“Tell me why you’re really here.”
“I think I’ve been more than patient, Angeles. I suspect I’ve long had the right to claim your life. No one who carries our name will question my mercy when I do.” He paused as if in thought while an evil gleam filled his eyes. “You aren’t fit to rule, and once I prove it, your head is mine.”
“Since when did your line care for tradition? What do you think will happen to you when you try to sell the book?”
“I’m not as foolish as my grandfather. I’m going to wield it just like you, only for a better profit.”
“Getting fucked in the ass is okay as long as you’re getting paid to bend over, right?” I grinned, but he didn’t share my amusement. Instead, he turned to the makeshift bar my ancestors made out of the bookcase shelving and poured a drink.
With his back turned, he said, “Your friends Lucas and Zachariah are quite good at doing your job. Arturo trained them, did he not?”
I didn’t need to guess what he was hinting at. “They’d never work for you. You’ll be lucky if they don’t kill you if I die at your hands.”
“Every man wants money and power, Angeles. I’d be willing to offer them more than you’ve ever given them. What will happen to me then? Do you think your childish idea of brotherhood will survive when the worms are crawling from your skull, and you have only our dead ancestors to keep you company?”
He turned to face me with a confident grin curling the thin line of his lips. “The more you offer, the slower they’ll kill you.”
“Well, that’s too bad.” He shrugged. “I guess they’ll have to be taken care of as well. I’m a resourceful man. I may not have the muscle or skill for killing, but you shouldn’t underestimate me, cousin.”
“I make a point not to underestimate anyone,” I assured him.
“Hm. So your father did teach you something after all,” he whispered wistfully.
“Fuck. You.”
“Angeles, I am not your enemy nor am I the villain.” He slowly lifted the glass, but stopped just before the rim could touch his lips and said, “I am simply returning the mercy your line showed mine.”
He took a slow sip of his drink before moving toward the door and bumping my shoulder lightly on his way out. I stood alone in the library and pondered my next move. The gazes of all the K
nights before me, including my father, bore down on me with expectancy within the gold that framed the paintings, but I only had eyes for Archibald Knight. The painter successfully captured the cold greed in his blue eyes.
Reginald told the truth. He wasn’t the villain of this story.
I heard a knock and then, “Penny for your thoughts?” Mian’s soft voice went straight to my cock, and I didn’t try to hide it from her when I turned away from my dead predecessors and faced my future. Her gaze dipped and then shifted as a blush spread over her cheeks.
“I thought I told you to go upstairs.”
“I’m your wife,” she sneered, “not your child.” She moved around me, and I turned with her to keep her in sight and watched as her head tilted. “You had the paintings moved?”
“These are the originals,” I answered, matching her bland tone. When she fell silent, I didn’t bother to wait for her to reveal her hand. “How much did you hear?”
“What makes you think I heard anything?” she parried. I moved closer and watched her shoulders stiffen when she felt me press against her.
“Because you wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t.”
“Does it matter? If I ask, you’ll just lie to me.” I wrapped my arms around her entire midsection and anchored her to me. To a perfect stranger, I was just a man holding his wife.
“Tell me what you heard.”
She sighed and slammed her head a little too hard against my chest. I stifled a groan and waited. “I heard him say you shouldn’t underestimate him.”
“I don’t intend to.”
“I heard that too,” she confirmed. She pushed to break free of my arms, and I let her, but then she surprised me when she didn’t put distance between us. She turned and dug her nails into my chest, her eyes desperate. “Tell me that my son and I are safe here.”
I took the pain because I deserved it. “You’re safe with me.”
Her gaze narrowed. “What were the two of you talking about?” I hesitated too long. “If you don’t want to wake up one morning and find us gone, then tell me everything.”