Page 84 of The King of Hearts

“Months ago?” I ask with no small amount of surprise.

“Yes.” He takes his hands from his pockets and comes so close I can feel the heat of his body through my clothes. “I told you, Savina, I’ve been waiting two years for you. Every move I’ve made since the day I first saw you has been leading to this.”

I don’t know what to say to that, so I change the subject. “Why do you have the paintings I sold to galleries?”

“Because I’m a selfish bastard and don’t want anyone else to have them.”

“You bought them all?”

“Every single one you’ve sold,” he replies unashamedly.

It’s too much, this obsession he has with me. I should be scared out of my mind, frightened of how far this man will go. There seems to be no limit, and any woman in their right mind would be terrified if they were in my shoes.

I turn away from him and walk between the two easels so I can look out the glass. The ocean is calm, the sky a brilliant blue with not a cloud in sight. There are a few birds off in the distance. Down below, I can barely see the edges of jagged rocks, and while I can’t actually hear the waves crashing against them, I can hear them in my mind.

It’s a symphonic sound that perfectly matches the turmoil in my head right now.

I stiffen when Ryker comes up behind me. His reflection is right in front of me, and through that reflection, I don’t miss the blatant need in his gray eyes. It’s a need that echoes my own.

I hate the man with every fiber of my being.

But I want him with an unequaled passion.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

HIM

“Remember, baby boy, you don’t want to go too deep. Not enough to hit the meat, but enough that you pierce the first couple layers of skin so the blood flows slowly, not in a rush.”

I wince and tears fill my eyes when the tip of the blade slides into my skin, just beneath the surface, as Aunt Rosa just instructed. Blood immediately blooms beneath the knife, but it flows slowly.

Aunt Rosa, who’s sitting on her knees between my legs, moans in the back of her throat and dips her head down. She licks along the small cut on my lower stomach, right above my pubic area. Her tongue almost stings worse than the cut itself. I squeeze my eyes shut and will the pain away. If I complain or try to get her to stop, things will only get worse.

She uses the knife two more times, once on the inside of my thigh and once in the crease of my leg. When she moves the knife to a new area, my whole body stiffens. I ball my handsaround the black sheet beneath me and brace myself for the new pain that’s going to come.

She grabs my cock in her soft hands with her red-painted nails, and my teeth grind together when I feel the first signs that I’m getting hard. I don’t understand this. Why does my body react this way when I know what’s coming? When I hate everything this woman does to me and forces me to do to her. The pain is always unbearable when we have these lessons, so why does my body like the feel of her touch?

She slides her hand up and down until my cock is fully hard.

“Such a pretty cock you have,” she whispers as she stares at it, looking like she wants to take a bite out of it. “You’re going to be magnificent when you’re a grown man. I’m jealous of the women you’ll give this to.”

If it were up to me, I’d chop the thing off, just so no one else can touch it.

Before I can stop myself, the plea slips out of my mouth. “Please stop.”

She slowly lifts her ice-blue eyes to me. “Stop?” she asks, tilting her head to the side. “No, baby. I won’t stop. You need these lessons to make you into a big, strong man. You want to be big and strong, right?”

I do want to be big and strong because I want to take care of Momma since Daddy isn’t here anymore to do it.

Reluctantly, I nod my head.

“That’s a good boy,” she purrs slowly. “Little boys need their aunties to make them into men.” She moves her hand up and down. “So they can grow up to be strong for their women and show them how to please them. It’s important for a woman to please a man in any way he wants.” Her head drops and her tongue goes to the head of my cock. “Just like it’s important for a man to make their woman please them. Dominance and submission are crucial.”

She uses her other hand and scrapes her nails across my balls, then latches her fingers around them. I whimper in pain when she squeezes.

“That’s why these lessons are required, right?” She squeezes harder, and I bite the inside of my cheek instead of crying out like I want to. “Right, my handsome boy?”

She waits until I choke out, “Yes,” before she releases her hold.

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