Page 37 of The King of Hearts

His hand comes to my thigh, and he runs the pads of his fingers up the inside. I widen them, letting him know that I wanthis touch. I don’t think it makes a difference, though. I get the sense he’ll touch me whether I want him to or not.

The closer his fingers get to the center of me, the harder it is to breathe. When he reaches my pussy, I let out a low moan and lift my hips, needing more.

There’s a slight sting when he slips his fingers between my folds and swipes the area where the dagger nicked me. The pain only adds to my desire and makes me rock my hips more. He smashes his palm against me, and it easily slides over my flesh because the whole area down there is soaking wet.

All too soon, he takes away the pleasure. The protest is on my lips, but it falls short when he puts his hand in front of my face.

“Lick it clean,” he orders.

His hand glistens with my arousal and the red of my blood has made the clearish liquid a light pink. I part my lips and lay my tongue on the center of his palm, licking it from the bottom all the way up to his fingertips. It tastes salty, slightly bitter, with a hint of copper. I do it a couple more times before he shoves two of his fingers into my mouth. He’s not gentle in the slightest as he pushes them to the back of my throat. I gag and lift a hand to grab his wrist, but his harsh demand stops me.

“Hands on the fucking mattress,” he barks.

My arm drops back down with a thump.

He shoves his finger deeper, and the room fills with the sound of my gagging. I can’t even taste myself or my blood anymore because he’s so far past my taste buds.

He takes his fingers out of my mouth and I suck in a breath, my throat working to swallow down the saliva he activated.

His long fingers wrap around my throat, and he pulls me up at the same time he drops his face close. The bottom of his mask is still lifted and his mouth takes mine in a conquering kiss meant to dominate and show power. A stinging bite of pain explodes on my bottom lip when his teeth sink into the pillowysoftness hard enough to draw blood. Then he’s swiping his tongue across the small wound, licking the crimson away.

“Sweet and addicting,” he growls. “A dangerous combination for you, Vicious.” He bites at my lip again, drawing more blood into his mouth. “Until next time.”

He turns and walks to the balcony doors, slipping out into the darkness and closing them behind him.

Leaving me utterly breathless and every bit a needy little whore.

I’m notsure how much time passes before I get up. I’m still in shock over what happened tonight. How I used a dagger to get myself off. How I allowed a complete stranger to manipulate me. A stranger who shows classic signs of being a psychopath.

The area between my legs is sore from the knife, but it doesn’t take away the needy feeling that still lingers.

I grab the dagger and get up from the bed. If I had been smart, I would have used that dagger against him. I should have shoved it against his throat and demanded he leave my room and to never return.

Guess I’m not smart. I guess what they say about lust making people do crazy things is true. That’s why lust is one of the seven deadly sins.

I look around my room, checking the corners and the small cat bed under the window. I don’t see Loki anywhere. The bathroom door is open, but my closet door is shut, which I usually don’t close. I go to it and pull the door open. Loki immediately darts out, seeming no worse for wear. The closet must be where he was the first time my devil came to me. Loki jumps on the bed, paying me no attention, as he walks in acouple of circles before settling down into a ball on one of the pillows.

I leave him there and go to the bathroom. My thighs are sticky from my juices and blood, and there’s no way I’m sleeping like that. I turn the dial for the shower, and within seconds the water turns warm. After I pull my hair up, I walk underneath the spray. The water falling down my body to the drain runs pink.

My shower is quick and only necessary to rinse away the evidence of my depravity. Once I’m done, I pad out to my room naked. I hate to disturb Loki, but the duvet on my bed needs to be changed. In the morning, I’ll stuff it inside a bag and pass it on to Marcelo to dispose of. I grab a spare cashmere throw blanket from the small trunk in my closet and carry it back with me to the bed.

Pulling open my bedside drawer, I pull out the bottle of vitamins I take every night. I place the pill on the back of my tongue and take a sip of water from the glass bottle of Hallstein I always have sitting there. Then I climb under the soft throw blanket.

Within moments, my eyes start to drift closed, exhaustion quickly taking me under. And almost immediately, a shadowy image of my devil looming over me comes to mind.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

HER

For the first time since Liliana and Harper were brought here, when I knock on their bedroom door, Liliana opens it. She stands on the other side wearing a pair of black jeans and a pale-green baggy sweatshirt that looks two sizes too big. Her hair is twisted into a braid that hangs over one side. Our eyes meet and hers look a little uneasy. Her face is pale, like she’s not really sure she wants to follow through with what we’re getting ready to do. Harper, who’s smashed against her mother’s side, peeks her head around Lili’s thigh, her big green eyes staring up at me.

Lili moves her gaze to the person next to me.

“Lili, do you remember Caroline? She’s my mother,” I tell her.

When she first came here, I thought it was a good idea to limit Lili and Harper’s exposure to other people. With her uneasiness, we didn’t want to overwhelm her with too manyfaces, so I’ve been the primary person who visits her daily. Mom’s only been by a couple of times.

“Hello,” Lili replies, her voice quiet and reserved.

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