Keaton growled and thrust a finger in the man’s face. “You fucking threatening my wife?” he asked in a low, deadly voice.

  “Come on, Keaton,” the second guard said. There was something haughty about his tone, something that implied he didn’t take Keaton too seriously. “We all know you forced her to marry you. Out of every spirit in the Void, it wouldn’t surprise me in the least that you managed to figure out what to do in order to get around the consent part of the vows. So, let’s not kid ourselves. You don’t care about her. You don’t care about anyone but yourself. And that’s going to work in your favor with the Prince.”

  “Reginald,” the first guard snapped, glaring. “The Prince specifically said they are supposed to report to the palace immediately. Nothing else needs to be said.”

  “My ass,” Keaton said. “I ain’t going shit with you –“

  “What’s the penalty?” I spoke up before I could think about whether that was a good idea or not. The truth was, I didn’t want to be separated from Keaton after already being away from him the last few days. And the last thing I wanted was him getting hurt in any way.

  He could be mad all he wanted, and, judging by the glare he shot me, I knew he was.

  Both guards stopped sniping at each other and looked at me. I shifted with discomfort and Keaton positioned himself even further in front of me.

  “Did she speak?” the first one asked.

  “To us?”

  “I’m not sure how I feel about that.”

  “Who does this Breather think she is? Does she even know who she’s talking to?”

  “Do you know who you’re talking to?” Keaton demanded, glaring between them. “I ain’t going, and neither is my wife. If the Prince wants us so bad, he can summon us himself. As it is, fuck off.” He flicked his wrist dismissively, emphasizing the point. Then, he slammed the door.

  Tellingly, he made sure to lock it before whirling around and hunching over me. The guards pounded on the door, screaming, but Keaton didn’t even look back at them. His entire attention was focused on me.

  “What the fuck d’ya think you’re doing, babes? Who cares what the penalty is? That fuck face Prince wants you. There’s no way I’m going to deliver you to him on a silver platter.”

  “He’s going to come for me,” I said. I didn’t know how I knew that, but I did.

  Keaton sucked in a breath, rolling his shoulders back. “I know,” he said.

  “I don’t want to be punished because you’re being stubborn,” I said.

  “Oh, but you’re fine frolicking in a fucking castle. What, you heard the Prince is interested in you and suddenly you’re soaking your panties at the thought of being a damned princess?”

  I should have controlled myself. I wasn’t a violent person. Really. I wasn’t. But the thought that Keaton so easily believed I was ready to turn him over for a chance at the Prince was hurtful and infuriating.

  I slapped him hard.

  “How dare you?” I asked in a low voice. I couldn’t bring myself to shout. I was already putting in enough effort to keep control over myself as it was. To not slap him again.

  “Yanno babes,” he said through gritted teeth, each word like a bullet being put in the cartridge of a gun. “I don’t let anyone put their hands on me without consequences. I don’t care if you’ve got a cunt or not.”

  “Yeah, well I don’t let anyone insult me by insinuating I’m just going to ditch you for some Prince,” I snapped back. “Or did you forget I was sitting in some Keepers cell after protecting you from them?”

  Keaton opened his mouth, but nothing came out. I smirked. It wasn’t normal to render someone like Keaton speechless.

  His eyes narrowed on my lips. “Who the fuck do you think you are?” he asked.

  “I’m your wife,” I replied. I leaned forward, getting into his space. I was nowhere near as tall as he was, but I wasn’t going to back down no matter how intimidating he could be. “And as your wife, I think it’s important that you’re well aware of the fact that I have no intention of seeing anyone else. You’re my husband. You’re…” My eyes widened.

  I nearly said, You’re the only one I want to be with.

  But that couldn’t be right.

  No.

  I didn’t want to be with him. I married him because I had to.

  Because of Richard.

  He closed the distance between us, forehead on mine, but the gesture was anything but romantic.

  “Puh-lease,” he said. “I know how girls work. I may not have a fucking castle and I’m not a fucking prince, but I take care of my own – in every sense of the word. That Prince wouldn’t be able to touch you like I would. Wouldn’t be able to make you come the way I do.”

  “I never said he –“

  Before I could finish my sentence, demanding Keaton pay attention to what I was trying to say to him, he crashed his lips onto mine. I immediately opened for him, immediately wrapped my arms around him and pulled him down, closer to me, closer, closer, closer. His tongue immediately clashed with mine, and we clanged our teeth together, both trying to fight for dominance.

  One hand gripped my hip tightly. The spot was already sore from before, and he was going to leave another nasty bruise on me, but I didn’t care. I wanted it. I wanted proof that I was his in more than just a silver ring on my finger.

  His other hand cradled the back of my head in a vice grip, his fingers running through my locks and pulling them down, forcing my head to tilt backward so he could deepen the kiss even more.

  I groaned.

  I couldn’t help myself.

  I reveled in his possessiveness. The way his hardness pressed into my hips, promising me of what was to come. Who was to come.

  “You’re mine,” he growled against my lips. “No one else’s.”

  I huffed. He nipped my bottom lip with his teeth and I let out a strangled cry. He pushed into me. I was barely able to stand up. If he hadn’t been holding me, I would have sunk down to the floor. The strong taste of iron filled my mouth and I realized his bite cut my lip. I glared at him, ready to rip into him for his carelessness, when his hands released their hold on me, only to cup my cheeks. He stared at me for a long moment and then bent his head. He didn’t kiss me, not really. If anything, his lips sucked on my bottom lip, as though cleaning the cut.

  When he finished, he moved his head so his lips brushed the crest of my ear. “Even your blood tastes delicious.”

  I swallowed. I didn’t understand how words like that could turn me on, but they did. I swallowed, trying not to think about the implications of that.

  Blood.

  “We will not see the Prince –“

  “And what happens when he comes for us?” I asked. “What’s your plan then? You’re going to have to trust me at some point, Keaton. What more do I have to do –“

  “Why can’t you trust me?” He threw his arms out but he didn’t back away. His anger was like a hurricane, spinning around, destroying everything in its path, and I was his prime target. “If I say you’re not coming with me in regards to your brother, if I say we’re not going to the Prince –“

  “Why do you get to make all these decisions?” I asked. I wanted to stomp my foot if it wouldn’t have made me look so juvenile. “Why don’t you talk to me about them first?”

  “We’re in the fucking Void, babes. I’m sorry, but you don’t know shit about what goes down here so why would your opinion hold any weight?”

  “You’re a belittling, territorial bastard, and I hate you!” I screamed at him.

  So much for not being juvenile.

  But I couldn’t help it.

  If he was going to treat me like a child, I was going to act like one.

  Petty, I knew, but I didn’t care.

  “You’re a fucking child, and you need to be spanked!” He grabbed my waist, and without warning, he hauled me up and carried me like a piece of luggage over to the couch.

  Without warning, he plopped me down and threw me over his lap. Before I could even comprehend what was going on, he yanked down my pants and underwear. The cool air nipped at my backside, and my entire body tightened.

  I opened my mouth, ready to ask him just what the hell he thought he was doing, when his hand met my backside with a harsh thwack.

  I let out a grunt, throwing my head over my shoulder. I burned. I couldn’t see straight. Fury coiled deep into my gut, but I couldn’t actually figure out what to do.

  “What the hell –“

  He spanked me again. Locked eyes with me. Daring me to question him, to stop him.

  And then, a third time. The skin on my ass was raw. Tears filled my eyes. I whimpered.

  But there was something more.

  Keaton rubbed his palm over my cheek like a balm. I closed my eyes and moaned. It felt good, his hands on me. Soothing the injuries he, himself, had given me.

  “Don’t fucking do that again,” he said.

  “Or you’ll do what?” I quipped.

  It was a stupid thing to say. I knew that.

  But I liked goading him on.

  I liked getting a reaction from him.

  “Don’t tempt me, babes,” he warned, his voice gravelly and low. “Don’t start games you can’t finish.”

  “You going to spank me again?” I taunted.

  Like an idiot.

  “Let’s not pretend you didn’t enjoy it.” He smirked, and, as if to prove his point, he slid a single digit inside of me. “Look at how wet you are. Jesus Christ, babes.” Without warning, he slid a second digit inside of me.

  I inadvertently clenched my walks around his fingers, closing my eyes.

  I didn’t understand my body’s response, the way I was slick with desire even after the way he talked to me, the way he hurt me.

  “Want me to stop?” he drawled.

  I pressed my lips together.

  I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction.

  I wanted to wipe the smirk off his face.

  I wanted –

  I wanted to come.

  My teeth clenched together. I hissed. His movement was so terribly slow, and when he pulled out, he pulled out all the way.

  I hated it.

  I hated the emptiness it left me with.

  “Tell me, babes.”

  I couldn’t.

  “Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he said before removing his fingers.

  Suddenly, he was behind me, and before I knew it, he had me on all fours on the couch, ass in the air, and his throbbing cock buried deeply inside of me.

  Chapter Ten

  I wanted to hold back a moan. I wanted to rub it in his face that he couldn’t tell me what to do.

  I was my own woman.

  I didn’t need him.

  I didn’t need –

  His grip on my hips tightened and I hissed again. The way he filled me, I couldn’t tell if I was wrapped up in pleasure or if the pain was too much.

  At this point, it didn’t matter.

  He drew back, pulling all the way out the same way he had with his fingers.

  I arched my back, my hips in the air, searching for him, for this fulfillment I needed from him but couldn’t seem to find. Because he was purposefully holding it back from me. Because he wanted me to beg. He wanted me to give in and lose and succumb.

  “Do you want me to stop? Beg for it. Tell me what you want.”

  I clenched my teeth together. I couldn’t give him the satisfaction.

  I wouldn’t.

  He filled me up again and I clutched at the couch, sinking my nails into the flimsy material. He held me with little consideration for my weight, but every time he moved, he pressed as deep as he could go inside of me, so we were practically joined.

  Damn him.

  I needed him to go faster. I needed him to put more pressure deep inside of me.

  I arched my back again, pushing back, trying to seek it out, to demand it of him. He hissed, though he didn’t want to. If I wasn’t caught up in my own torment, I would have smirked. At least I knew I wasn’t the only person affected by this.

  “Oh, fuck,” he drawled out.

  My brows knitted together and I managed to look over my shoulder in order to catch sight of his face..

  Bad idea.

  It was contorted into a look of pure pleasure, wrapped with the lace of despair. Juices dribbled out of me, running down my body and his. I didn’t understand how he was able to affect my body in this manner. I’d never been this wet before. It was almost embarrassing.

  “That’s right,” he said. “All over me. Tell me I’m the only one who can do this to you.”

  He thrust in again, practically pushing me into the couch. I groaned.

  “I’m not going to let you come until you tell me,” he said.

  “If I don’t come, you can’t either,” I managed to get out. How my voice was this steady, I didn’t know. My body was quaking. Every inch of me was on fire and I needed him to put me out. I needed him to release me from this prison.

  “Says who?” he asked, opening one eye to look at me. “I’ll fucking come. I’ll fucking come right now. There’s nothing you’re going to do to stop me. I don’t have to wait around for you.”

  I glared at him as he increased the pace. My fingers gripped the arm of the couch and he hissed the way I knew he would. His own nails dug into my skin and I moaned even with the pain. He liked this roughness, liked the thought of leaving marks on my skin. I did too. It was wrong and I never –

  Fuck, I never thought I’d want this, want him, want any of it.

  He rutted inside of me. His breathing was ragged and dominant, more animal than man or heathen or whatever the hell he was. The flame that had been simmering inside of me sparked an explosion. The tension that had slowly built up over time blew up and took me with it.

  I was there, I was floating, I was so close.

  “If you’re going to come, babes, you better do it now. I’m gonna – oh, Kara. Kara.”

  I came undone. My orgasm shook something deep inside of me, quaked and sucked in as much of Keaton as I could. I clung to him like a buoy, like a lifeline, and I held onto the couch as hard as I could, but it wasn’t enough. It was never enough.

  His warmth spilled inside of me, a cherry on top of the overwrought pleasure he had already bestowed on me.

  I wasn’t sure how long we were there. It could have been a few moments, an hour. It didn’t matter. My knees started to pinch due to my position, but I didn’t him to leave me just yet. I didn’t want him to pull out.

  “Fucking stubborn,” he muttered in my hair. “Fuck, you’re so fucking stubborn.”

  I leaned my head on his shoulder. My breathing slowed until my heart reached its usual pace against my chest. I didn’t feel as though it was banging against me trying to get out.

  I ignored his comments. I didn’t think he meant me to have any sort of response.

  His arms must have strained. He slowly pulled me into a standing position but only let go when my feet were firmly planted on the floor, and even then, he put his hands on my waist, like he was trying to keep me steady. For all his talk, he was sweet when he wanted to be. Considerate, even.

  “Jesus, fuck,” he said. “I don’t know what the fuck you do to me.”

  “I hope that’s a good thing,” I managed to get out, voice still breathy.

  “It’s somethin’,” he said. He pulled back so he could look at me, fingers much softer on my hips than they had been in the throes of passion.

  Keaton sighed, slumping slightly against the couch as he fixed his pants. I pulled up my underwear and tried to adjust it. His seed leaked out of me. I blushed, feeling slightly uncomfortable. When I glanced over at him, there was a predatory smirk on his face, eyes dark and heated as he glanced down at my leg where his desire remained.

  I sighed. I didn’t even remember why I was upset with him, why we argued, why things got so heated between us. But I was glad it had.

  I liked this.

  But then…

  “What are we going to do?” I asked.

  He arched a brow and pulled a cigarette out of thin air. He lit it with his usual snap of his finger and took in a long drag.

  “‘Bout what?” he asked.

  “I don’t know?” I crossed my arms over my chest and tried to lean back against the wall. My legs were still jelly and I wound up sliding down to the floor. “Everything? My brother and your lead, the Prince.”

  “Fuck the Prince.” He flicked ash with a scowl.

  “What is the deal with you and the Prince?” I asked, straightening out my legs. “I know he’s a creep and everything, but –“

  “The Prince wants what isn’t his,” he snapped. He chewed on the butt of his cigarette, gnarled teeth. “He takes. And he uses. And he gets everyone to do his shit. Bastard doesn’t get his hands dirty.”

  “You sound like you have personal experience,” I said, glancing over at him.

  He looked at the cigarette between his fingers. Instead of answering, he grunted.

  I paused. I wanted to ask him about it. I was curious. I wanted to know more about him, his past. I couldn’t help it. Nobody knew anything about him, and here he was, practically offering it up. Not because he wanted to necessarily, but because he brought it up in his own way. I didn’t think that kind of omission was common. I also didn’t think it would come up again.

  But maybe he’d be in a good mood. He had, after all, enjoyed himself during our…sex. I didn’t think love making was the right term, and while fucking seemed more appropriate, it was also crude. Maybe he’d be in a good mood to reveal more about himself to me.

  “What did the Prince take from you?” I asked, before I held my breath.

  Keaton shifted his eyes so they were on me. There was something in them. He frowned, pausing everything except blowing out smoke through his flared nostrils.

  “Not a what,” he said finally. “A who.”

  I raised my brows, then snapped them down. I couldn’t seem eager for this information. I didn’t want to scare him off by any means. He had already started talking and I didn’t want him to stop. But I had so many questions.

 

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