Page 35 of To Curse A Knight

That was news to me. I couldn’t tamp down my protective instincts, learning she had been preparing to take on the devil that was my father. Whatever she was planning, I was bound to help her—I couldn’t walk away and I couldn’t risk her failing.

Her fate was now mine, even if I could never give her what she needed. I swallowed the fear burgeoning in my belly. The thought of losing her was more painful than any considerations of my death.

Remaining close to her was going to be much harder than keeping my distance. But my fear would not be enough to break the magnetic hold she had on me, so I was well and truly stuck.

A steely resolve filled her features, dangerous intent flashing in her eyes. “I’ve got you, Viking. And no one is going to fuck with what’s mine.”

What’s hers. I liked those words on her lips. A lot.

A growl rumbled from within my chest; throaty and possessive. I rolled her toward me to take her body once more, but this time, it wasn’t for an escape into her.

I would escapewithher. Maybe that would make all the difference in the world.

“I’ve never had Christmas in a secret dungeon before.”

Lucky’s cheerful declaration was met with an irritated grunt from the bearded Viking seated beside him.

We were driving to the Palace—Joey in the driver’s seat, as usual, with me in the passenger seat alongside her, despite vehement protests from her and Kellan.

We needed to take one vehicle to the safe house for safety’s sake, and Kellan couldn’t sit up front in case anyone with interest spotted us. Sure, it was unorthodox for me to be up there, but certainly less obvious than eitherof them.

So, my two companions sat side by side in the rear seat, one a giddy bundle of energy like an untrained puppy, the other a broody ogre who apparently worshipped the Grinch.

The Grinch and Max. That’s who they were. I almost snorted into my coffee mug. Joey cocked a questioning eye in my direction, but I waved her off, choosing to keep that little observation to myself.

I’d blindfolded Lucky, like Aaron had been. He had willingly allowed me to tie the black silk around his face with sly mutters of, “You and Conan have the same kinks, eh, Blondie?”

Kellan, since he’d set up the facility, didn’t need it. Four people in the universe knowing the location of this place was enough.

After deciding I wasn’t spending one second with my father for the holiday and not wanting Aaron to be alone or Kellan to waste the day away working, I’d come up with the insane plan to spend Christmas together. In an apocalypse-proof safe house.

Naturally, our captive had to come with us. I knew nothing about Lucky’s private life, other than he had been staying with his mother—if that cover story even held—so I had no idea if, had we not shoved a tracker into his arm and held him in flexible captivity, he even had someone to spend Christmas with in America.

I’d felt guilty about that for the briefest of moments, before remembering he was actually trying to play me for a payout, and then the guilt of forcing an Alpha male Christmas on him dissipated immediately.

He certainly didn’t seem upset by it—he was outright excited to glimpse what he called my “Armageddon Barbie House.”

Biting my lip, I took another swallow of coffee to hide my growing amusement. Lucky’s wit was a secret indulgence I allowed myself. That he annoyed the shit out of Kellan was just a side bonus.

Kellan. I snuck a glance in the rearview mirror to catch the blond God unapologetically staring at me, as if conducting a rare jewelry appraisal. Dark blue eyes stared intensely through mine, the range of emotions passing in a flash I couldn’t pick out a single one.

Our last ‘session’ had changed something between us. The bullshit he regularly spewed about protecting me ornotprotecting me was absent, but I couldn’t help the niggling feeling that he had been staking a claim for Aaron’s sake; like I was a prize between them he needed to covet.

Admittedly, knowing he’d watched Aaron and I fucking like rabbits by hacking my private feeds was a massive red flag, but also incredibly hot. The timing felt too coincidental, though—like he was afraid he’d lose all of me to Aaron, so he needed to remind me he could give me what I needed, too.

He'd proven that over and over in the bedroom—but in real life?

I was waiting for him to turn back into the sullen, self-destructive Viking again, where he pushed me out the door with my ass on the pavement, while watching through his security cameras to make sure I got home safely.

Aaron had painstakingly proven over our entire lives I could trust him with my heart. It took years for me to wake up, but I finally could see the hold he had on me—and my hold on him.

Kellan hadn’t earned that trust. He would protect me in the wayshethought appropriate, even if it meant running away. I wasn’t willing to hand him my heart on a platter for a slew of hollow promises.

Lucky I barely trusted, but it was a finicky line. Sure, I’d taken all necessary precautions; a tracker, several cameras, and a beefy Viking bodyguard to keep him in check, but he was an integral part of our plan, so now I was bringing him to my secure facility.

If I was being really honest with myself, our chemistry was undeniable; even now, blindfolded and a sitting duck, the smooth line of his jaw, pouty lips set into a permanent smirk, and the way he filled out his jacket… Lucky was undeniably hot.

Fine and fuckable, and his inability to treat me like a scary billionaire princess was refreshing and attractive. He was trying to steal from me—what he was after, I still didn’t know—but he could have taken a very different approach. He could have been sniveling and simpering; worse, he could have had tiny dick syndrome, where he attempted to “put me in my place” with bravado and fake Big Dick Energy.

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