Page 145 of Injustice and Absolution

Too quickly, the kiss ends, pulling a whimper from me. And as he slides back onto the bed next to me again, I realize this serious conversation is far from over.

“All in good time, kitten,” Royce promises me with a low, gravelly laugh. “But first, there’s more I need to know”.

I turn toward him and take a deep breath when his grave expression returns.

“What else?” I just want to get this over with. When he’s done interrogating me, I have a few inquiries of my own.

Royce fires off question after question, and I walk him through each sordid detail that occurred after he left Spotlight on the night that became the beginning of the end for me.

He wasn’t able to stay still in bed the entire time. He got up, paced the room, and by the time I got to the part about the pictures of him and Draven carrying my father’s dead body away from our trailer, he’d already punched two separate holes in the wall of the bedroom.

As I finish my recollection, he’s sitting on the edge of the bed, his red face in his hands, looking lost and despondent—two more emotions I’ve never seen him express before today.

As the minutes tick by and he still hasn’t moved, I get out of bed and go to him. Kneeling between his legs, I place my forehead on his.

“Royce...” I try to get him to open his eyes.

When he doesn’t, I press my lips into a thin line and break out the big guns. Using his distraction to my advantage, I lean forward and close my mouth around him, sucking him in deep until my lips connect with the base of his cock.

“Fuck.” His shocked curse comes out with a twitch of his dick. “Delilah, stop. You don’t have to do that, kitten.”

He takes my head gently in his hands and removes himself from my mouth. His eyes on mine the whole time.

“I know I don’t.” I cock an eyebrow, letting him know I wanted to.

With a hand still cupping my cheek, he closes his eyes and shakes his head. When he speaks again, his voice cracks, breaking my heart.

“I saw the video—thevideos...” My entire body goes cold, knowing Royce watched some of the worst moments of my life unfold. I didn’t realize he was aware of exactly how severe my time with Drew was when I recounted my saga for him earlier. “Watching how he punished you that night... If I would have known, Delilah, I swear to God, I would have killed him on that sidewalk.”

Noticing a change in my demeanor, Royce picks me up from the ground and situates me on his lap. I can’t look at him. The shame I feel, knowing he witnessed the punishment that occurred as a result of that night … and who knows what else.

Unable to hold in my tears, they break free of my eyes as a sob racks my whole body.

“Kitten... I’m so fucking sorry.”

Royce stands then lays me back down on the bed. The mattress dips as he curls in beside me before wrapping me tightly in his arms and letting me cry.

“It’s … not your … fault.” I need to assuage his guilt. He truly did nothing wrong, and I won’t have him thinking otherwise.

“Delilah, I’m sorry I couldn’t get to you sooner. I had to make a plan to ensure your safety. I didn’t know what kind of people he had at his disposal or exactly how unhinged he was. I couldn’t chance you getting hurt because I fucked up.”

A little calmer than before, I sit up and look at him.

“Royce, you saved me. It doesn’t matter when or how. All that matters is that you came for me.”

He sits up and stretches his legs out, one on each side of me. I place my legs over his, and Royce pulls me closer to him. As my core draws closer to his cock again, I have to fight every instinct I have to impale myself with it and ride him hard.

“Oceans couldn’t keep me from you, kitten.”

“I have a question for you, if that’s all right?” I look at my hands, playing with an imaginary hangnail.

“Anything,” he answers.

“How did you end up in that hotel room? I was scared out of my mind. And when I realized it was you, I … I think I was in shock, going from intense fear to intense relief.”

I listen intently as Royce fills in all the blanks from his end. The only time I interrupt is when I gasp at the amount of money he lost. I remember Drew telling me how much, but I wasn’t sure that I believed him at the time.

Without missing a beat, he told me he would pay that ten times over to get me back. Then he added that he’s never going to let me out of his sight again.

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