Page 14 of The Kingpin's Omega Lover
“Kens shot him once. I emptied the chamber into him.”
“You acted in an extremely heated moment. No one can blame you for what you did, much less call it murder. At the very least, it was self-defense. They were abandoning the Farm. Decker was going to kill you or leave you to die, and we both know it.”
“I killed before the Farm.”
King’s eyebrows rose for several long seconds before settling, his mouth flattening. “Why?”
Not who, when or how. Just why. Malori didn’t like thinking about his past, especially not those regrettable years when he sold misery to others to feed both his stomach and his own addiction. “He was trying to take what was mine. I wouldn’t let him.”
“So…in other words, it was self-defense.”
Malori growled. “Stop it.”
“Stop being honest? I promised you when we met that you could trust me. I’m trying to keep that promise by not lying about my perception of your actions. You are not a murderer simply because you’ve taken lives. You aren’t on a straight path to a criminal life where you have to kill to maintain what you’ve got.”
“I still have choices, right?” Malori mocked him.
King sighed, a bit like an exhausted teacher losing patience with a disagreeable student. “Yes, you do, but I can’t force you to see them or accept them. Like I said before, I want to give you allthe knowledge I possibly can. The choice you make in what to do with that knowledge is your own.”
“Then teach me to kill.”
King held his gaze for a long time before blinking. “I can arrange for us to visit a firing range. Get you acquainted with using a gun the right way.”
“What, more self-defense? Why can I only defend myself?” Something hot and painful and blinding slashed through Malori’s chest. “I’ve had so much taken from me, King, why can’tI take from people too?I’m allowed to take, too!” That slashing thing shocked through his system so hard and fast he didn’t even register moving.
Malori didn’t understand what he’d done until he was crouching over King’s supine body, knees digging into the padded floor, both hands wrapped around King’s throat, holding pressure without choking. He couldn’t comprehend what he’d done, could barely breathe, he was so angry—at King, at Decker, at the world at large for being so fucking ugly and unfair.
As their positions truly sank in, Malori pinning King to the floor, disrespecting his host in his own home in such an egregious manner, Malori waited for fear to overtake his fury.
But it didn’t. He didn’t back down. Not this time. He would not cower again, not even if it meant a beating for his actions.
Malori held King’s unblinking stare and braced for impact.
FIVE
“I’m allowed to take, too!”
The guttural, almost feral way Malori screamed those five simple words ripped at King’s soul. He felt the fury in his gut, his heart, and in deeper emotions that had never been stirred up before, not by anyone, man or woman. An intense, desperate need to take away Malori’s rage, to soothe every hurt, to keep him safe, all warred with another part of King that had sworn to never be overpowered again. To never be vulnerable to another man in any way.
Being knocked on his ass had startled King into momentary paralysis, but as soon as those slender hands closed around his neck, King’s instincts kicked in. He needed to protect himself from any possible harm by dislodging the threat above him, but his heart stopped him. A racing heart that already knew Malori wasn’t angry with King; he was angry at the situation. His heart knew Malori could draw blood or raise a bruise, but he wouldn’t mean it.
King wasn’t his enemy. King was justthere.
This was also the first time Malori had made this sort of full-body physical contact with King in a non-emergent situation. King carrying Malori out of the farmhouse didn’t count, andneither did carrying him into their safe house for the night. They’d shaken hands twice since, and that had been it.
Until today.
Touching Malori during today’s lesson had been a gift. Knowing Malori trusted King enough to be alone in a room with him, a shut door, no windows, and no clear exit strategy, was everything. Knowing Malori trusted King enough to allow them to touch each other for the lesson was more than everything. For as violent as Malori’s outburst had been, the fact that he was sitting on King, his butt flush to King’s stomach, hands wrapped around King’s throat…it shouldn’t have been endearing, but it was.
The way Malori was still fighting—no, he wasdemanding—was also sexy as all fuck.
Curious what Malori would do with his newfound power, King remained limp beneath him, instead of breaking the chokehold with moves he could perform in his sleep. He studied the way Malori seethed, the tiny flickers of fear in his eyes, hiding behind the raging anger. King pressed his palms flat to the mat so he didn’t do something dumb, like grab Malori’s hips—not to push him off but to pull him closer—and waited.
Malori stared down at him, an impressive array of emotions playing across his face as he understood King wasn’t retaliating. That Malori wasn’t going to be punished for his actions, not physically or verbally. That he was being given the chance to act and react in a safe place. With a very safe person.
The pressure around King’s neck eased at the same rate as Malori’s stiff shoulders loosened. Malori’s hands slid down until his palms rested on King’s shoulders, and he sat more heavily on King’s stomach.
For no reason King could explain to himself, the way Malori was conceding the fight pissed him off. “You said you wanted totake,” King said. “So, take something. Take my life, if you want it.”
