Page 54 of King of Desire

My stomach fills with lead. My brother is willing to fight battles with me, ready to go to war to preserve my happiness. I’ve seen all the ways in which my dad fucked us, the way I’ve taken the brunt for this family. But I might have missed just how tightly my brothers have my back.

“I’ve known Honeyeh for a week, I have no fucking idea how I feel. But I know I can’t let her struggle alone under the weight of her brother’s illness. She’s doing an amazing job, but she’s soft. He needs?—”

“She took your spanks with a lot of grit,” Rush says with a half-smile. “I gotta be honest, I’m giving spanking a try. That shit was hot?—”

“Shut up,” I bite back. That was a private moment, because she scared me so fucking much.

He laughs me off, not the least bit concerned. “Fine. I agree. She needs help. And any woman that strong can only be an asset.”

“So what are we doing about Dimitri?” Ryker asks. “Because we poked the fucking bear, today.”

“We already poked the bear, Ryker, when we made a move against his best casino.”

“Right,” he nods. “True.”

“What just happened with Honeyeh is only moving up the timeline of his counterattack.” Which is true. But honestly, it likely made things worse. I’m not telling my brothers that, though. In this way, I can protect Honeyeh. I don’t need them thinking she’s a problem. And as much as I wasn’t looking for the responsibility of a woman in my life, I think I’m taking on Honeyeh’s problems as my own. “And honestly, I’m not convinced that it was an accident. Killian threatened his family a few months ago. And Brittany, one of Dimitri’s women, the girl who led Honeyeh to Dimitri’s door, just happened to befriend Honeyeh at Killian’s wedding?”

“Fuck,” Rush rumbles. “You think he contracted Honeyeh on purpose?”

“It’s a possibility.” Which means, Honeyeh needs my protection. I’m strong enough. Always have been. And what’s more, it matters to me that Honeyeh, if I really needed her, would go to any length to protect someone she cared about.

Fuck. It hits me in the chest, the lengths she’d go, the danger she’d put herself in for the people she loves.

I’ve always known Honeyeh was different. But the specifics are becoming clearer. Heart and grit right along with beauty. There isn’t a spoiled bone in her body.

I file that away. “I can’t prove it. And I won’t lose my head. I’m going to have to offer Dimitri a bone to try and move forward, but Mason isn’t going to like it.”

Ryker rumbles. “Right. Rock, meet hard place.”

Too true. I’ve got to find an offer tempting enough to pacify Dimitri while not completely pissing off Mason.

If I don’t make a deal the Russian can live with… I’ve always known that Dimitri will not sit idle. He will attack and attack, again and again.

Any number of us could be targeted.

Killian and myself most of all.

It’s that or Dimitri needs to be eliminated permanently. Like Ryker said. Rock, meet hard place.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Honeyeh

The soundof the door opening wakes me from the light sleep I’ve slipped into.

I lift my head, my eyes blinking into the last rays of light filtering in through the windows.

Triston stands in the door, holding a tray of food. “When’s the last time you ate?”

I push myself up, lifting my shoulders and chest off the bed. “I’m the maid. I’m supposed to bring trays of food to you.”

He doesn’t say anything at first, setting the tray on a console, before he crosses the room to close the door behind him.

I push the covers back, determined to get up. I discarded all the lingerie, stealing one of Triston’s T-shirts from his closet. It smells like him, and I fell asleep with his scent all around me.

“Stay,” he rumbles, moving toward me. His hand threads into my hair as he cradles my skull, titling my face up to bend down and give me a quick, fierce kiss.

“I borrowed a shirt,” I whisper as he looks down at me.

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