Page 168 of Black Castle

“You killed him,” she whispers, raising her teary eyes to him, her fist tightening around her dress. “Why did you kill him?”

Something flickers in his gaze, his jaws clenching as a shadow passes over his face, but he says nothing.

His silence unnerves her. It stirs bitterness in her chest. How dare he not have an explanation for why he took away the only person in her life, the steady ground that has been keeping her afloat?

“Why did you kill him?” Her voice cracks as she stumbles forward, her bloodied fingers threading through a fistful of his shirt.

“He was off-limits!” she sobs, her free hand throwing punches at his hard chest, her shoulders vibrating with every ragged breath. “He was all I had left. Why did you do this to me? Why did you have to cause me so much pain just to prove a point? Why? Answer me! Why?!”

He says nothing. Not even a word.

His silence becomes an abyss, swallowing her sorrows, her fury, her pain.

“Why did you do this to me?” Her grip loosens on his shirt as she crumbles to the floor. “Why have you ripped everything away from me in one night? Why didn’t you just leave this one for me? I would have come back to you. I was gonna come back to you. Why did you take Kenji away from me?”

Her gaze lifts to him. She catches the tic in his jaw, the flexing of his fingers beside him.

And then without a word, he turns on his heel, heading for the door. He opens the door and walks out, locking her in…again.

As his feet echo down the hall, the grief claws out of her chest and engulfs her whole.

Chapter Fifty-four

Vivienne

The night is quite empty—no stars, no moon. Just an endless expanse of darkness stretching on and on. Vivienne grips the balcony railing, fingers white, nails digging into the cold metal as if anchoring herself against the storm brewing inside her.

The wind up here is undeniably sharp, but it’s nothing compared to the heat searing through her body. The unbreakable, inescapable warmth of him. His presence slithers over her skin before his body even touches her, like an invisible brand staking its claim.

“Sadly, there are no stars out tonight.” His voice is velvet and smoke as his front presses against her, the strength of him sinking into every tense line of her body. “But I can make you see one if you want.”

His lips ghost the shell of her ears. And she hates the way her breath catches, the violent jolt of electricity that races through her spine.

It’s been two days since Kenji and his mom possibly died. Two days of being out of the loop, knowing not if their bodies were found on time or if they were buried properly. All she wants to do is feel numb, keep the fire of rage inside her burning bright. But here she is, her body defying her resolve to never let this man come an inch too close to her. Here she is, her body gravitating toward his touch, grounding her in place.

“All I want is for you to set me free from this cage.” Her words are bitter, slicing through the air like the sharp edges of a knife.

But he chuckles, low, lazy…dark, as his hands find her hips, his grip possessive, while his thumb traces slow, agonizing circles against the fabric of her silk nightwear.

“Ladybird,” he murmurs, his chin resting on the crown of her head. “Until when are you going to realize that this is not a cage but an empire. And you’re not some trapped little bird, but the queen?”

Her breath hitches. Whether in rage or something far more catastrophic, she doesn’t care to learn of it.

“Queen?” The words are visibly laced with spite as she whirls around sharply, her fingers curling into a fist against his chest. She means to shove him far away from her, to strike him, to hurt him, to cause him even a sliver of the pain he has caused her, but his hands are already on her, gripping her wrists, twisting her fight into something else, something that has her gasping sharply, has him caging her in his body with the heat and the brutal weight of his fiery stare.

“Yes, queen,” he bites out, a dark growl reverberating through his chest. “My fucking queen. Whether you like it or not.”

His breath is a sharp furious thing as his fingers grip her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. And his pupils are blown wild, a tempest barely restrained. And she knows that it doesn’t matter the weight of the fight left in her, he will still devour her whole.

Maybe that’s why she does what she does next. Maybe that’s why her nails rake down his chest. Maybe that’s why she yanks his head down, her mouth colliding with his in something that’s not a kiss but a battle, all rage and teeth, and molten, soul-consuming heat.

His groan is raw, his grip bruising as he hauls her up, her legs wrapping around his torso as if he wants to fuse her into his bones. Her back presses harder against the railing, the cold bite of metal a stark contrast to the inferno of his body, of his touch.

When he uses his thigh to push her legs apart, positioning himself at her opening, she knows she shouldn’t want this, shouldn’t need this, shouldn’t crave the way he claims her with each drag of his lips, each bruising touch, each sharp, possessive pull of his hands.

But she does. And that’s why she hates him most of all.

A ragged gasp claws at her throat as he slides into her, stealing the air from her lungs and splitting her open with a force that should make her scream. Should. But instead, her body betrays her, taking him in, welcoming him as if he belongs inside her. As if two days ago, he hadn’t driven a knife into Kenji’s chest for God knows how many times and made him bleed to death. As if less than forty-eight hours ago, he hadn’t watched life drain out of her best friend’s eyes as he twisted his knife into his stomach, watching life drain from the only person she had left in this world.

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