King of Me (The King Trilogy #3)(15)
Author: Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

“Don’t f**king touch her.”

I laugh. It pleases me when the king’s feathers ruffle. “I bet she’ll enjoy the whip, too. I know you do.”

The king says nothing at first. He is realizing he cannot win.

“If you do this, there is no going back. And the outcome will not be in your favor. Best to cut your losses and let her go.”

“Let her go? And deny myself the pleasure I’ve waited so long for?” Yes, she wants me to tear away her clothes, to make her scream, to claim her.

“For f**k’s sake, you are goddamned sick. Which is why your plan will not work.”

He’s doing it again. Trying to undermine me, make me doubt myself. But I will not fall for his tricks. I am the stronger one, the smarter one.

“Let her be, and end this. It is time for our suffering to be over. Time for us to move on.”

I think it over. Part of me shares the old king’s desire to stop our pain. But I want what I want. I want to finally take what’s mine. I want to f**k her and hurt her and break her. I know she will love it.

And when the time comes, she will choose me.

“It will never work.”

“Shut the f**k up. No one is asking you.”

CHAPTER SIX

Red. I saw nothing but red light in King’s eyes. And I knew without a doubt that he intended to harm me.

I screamed, struggling in his iron grip while we moved up the hill with a speed my brain could not process. When he stopped, he threw me to the ground, and I landed with a thump in the darkness onto a hard wooden surface.

Torches burst to life around us, and I quickly saw we were underneath some sort of large circular thatched roof structure. In the middle was an enormous bed with restraints. I sat up staring at it, my mind buzzing with adrenaline. “Why are you doing this, King?”

He stood next to the bed and began removing his white shirt, one leisurely button at a time. “I know you’ve dreamed of this, Mia. Of me f**king you like a savage, of me taking you hard. And I plan to make all of your dreams come true tonight.”

“Those were my nightmares.”

He walked over and crouched in front of me, the fire dancing in his eyes and the red light of his evil soul swirling all around him. “Come, come now, my sweet Miss Turner; there is no reason to hide the truth from me.”

“What’s happened to you, King?” I whispered, desperately trying not to think about the things Mack had said. Because he had been right: this was not the King we knew. This was not that same disciplined and calculating man. This King was out of control. Vicious. And he had the right aura to prove it.

No, I must keep my thoughts to myself.

He laughed. “There are no secrets between us, Mia. I can crawl inside your mind and take what you won’t give me. Just as I can take from your body.”

King’s handsome face looked almost demonic.

“Did the 10 Club do something to you?” I whispered. “Did they put some sort of spell on you?” It was the only explanation I could think of.

“The 10 Club?” He roared with laughter. “I own those f**king clowns. They can’t touch me!”

Was he serious?

He grabbed me by the hair and dragged me to the bed. I kicked and screamed, but it only seemed to amuse him, make him laugh.

He threw me onto the bed, face down, and I felt him harnessing my ankle and then the other. I looked up at my wrist and caught sight of the gleaming silver cuff. I only had a moment before he tied my arms. I slid the cuff over to my left wrist to cover my “K” tattoo and shut my eyes, hoping something might happen—him suddenly unable to see me or…something.

Instead, I felt my right wrist being bound. “King, please stop! Please, I don’t want this. I won’t ever love you if you do this.” He tightened the restraint over my left wrist, and knowing that there was nothing I could do now, I started to pray for my life.

“You won’t be needing this.” He slid the diamond ring from my finger.

Oh f**k. He’s going to kill me.

“Not yet.” He laughed. I felt him rip my dress down the back and whip it from my body. “Oh yes, look at that f**king ass.” He palmed my flesh and slapped it hard.

I sucked in a sharp breath from the pain and tried not to cry, because it only made him more excited.

No, must remain calm. Try to talk to him, make him see this is wrong.

“King, please stop,” I said. “I know there’s something inside you that understands what you’re doing isn’t right. I know a part of you cares.” I just don’t know where it went. But please come back to me. Please.

His sharp teeth bit into my back as he stripped away my panties and strapless bra, leaving me completely bare and face down. This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening. I don’t want this.

He slid his hand between my legs from behind and stroked me hard.

I cried out.

“Yes. Scream, just like that, my little Seer bitch. Just like that.”

I held my breath, bracing for what I knew would come next: a horrible nightmare coming to life.

Where had he gone? The King who’d saved my mother, who’d save me once, too. I thought of that man, and of how Mack tried to warn me. “Run, Mia. Fucking run.” Why hadn’t I listened this time?

The tears of desperation poured from my eyes as I felt King lay over my unwilling body, prodding me with his erection through his black jeans.

“This is what you want, isn’t it?” he asked.

“No.” Dear God, no.

“Yes, it is. That’s the good little girl speaking. But I’m not giving you your prize just yet.” He backed off, reaching for something. “First, a little foreplay. Then I will f**k you until that boring bitch is purged from your body.” He leaned over to whisper in my ear. “We’ll be together, Mia. You, me, and that black little heart of yours. Because I know you love me…I know I am what you really want.” He straddled me, and from the corner of my eye, I saw his hand lift high into the air. In it he held a whip with multiple arms and knots on the ends, the kind that looked like it could take the skin clean off.

My heart isn’t black. I’ll never love you.

He roared with laughter. “Says the woman who slit a man’s throat today and enjoyed it; just as I’d hoped. Now try not to move. This will only hurt a little,” he said with a sinister tone that clearly meant it would hurt a lot.

My mind, perhaps to protect me from the horror, instantly focused on a place that was safe, a place where King couldn’t go: my heart. He could never touch it. I would be safe there.