Page 43 of Christmas Mafia Prince
I exhale and stroke his forearm as we ride our magical horses. “I used to have a crush on one of my cousins. He was a bit of a rebel, had a mohawk, and I thought he was the coolest person I ever met,” I tell Kill, my eyes drifting to the trees as I recall the last time I rode this merry-go-round.
Kill’s face whips to me in an instant. “No! Yourcousin? Which one?”
Is he jealous?
Maybe it’s immature of me, but Iwanthim to be jealous.
“Corvus. The one in black? I almost kissed him right here, a very long time ago,” I say and lean a bit closer to Killian, my hand tight around the pole keeping my seat in place.
Kill watches me with eyes shifting from side to side as he’s digesting this information. “Do you… still have a thing for him? Is he gay?” His nostrils flare as he asks that, and he’s a bit flushed.
If I didn’t promise him not to lie, I’d manipulate the truth to get him even more jealous, but I have to stay honest.
“No, I’ve grown out of that crush. And I’m not wasting my time on closet cases like him. My tastes have matured, and I’m very particular,” I whisper, eyes locked on Killian’s.
He seems to melt like fresh snow but stays put. Should I make my move already? That would be putting all my cards on the table, and I feel just like I had fifteen years ago, on this damn carousel, waiting to be kissed. The stakes are so high. I don’t know what I’ll do if he rejects me now.
“Hope it’s not ‘cousins’,” Killian jokes to disperse the tension he must surely feel between us.
“No, this person and I are not related,” I say, leaning that bit closer as my heart pumps wildly. With every passing day I want him more. His mouth on my dick, his wrists in my hands, his sweet little moans. I don’t know if it’s the way he’s withholding that’s driving me mad, but I’ve never been this certain about a man.
Just as Kill opens his pretty lips, the carousel comes to a halt with an ungodly screech, and he yelps, jumping off the pony. And out of my reach. “Oh fuck! Sorry! Flashback to the saw. Can we get off?”
I reach for him, but it’s for nothing, because this carousel brings me bad luck, since I’ve had to suffer yet another fiasco.
I switch off the mechanism and join Killian by the horses. It’s difficult to not let my emotions drag me down, but I help him onto Bessie and mount Renoir before leading the way back toward the stables.
I’m feeling a bit grim, chewed up by the lust and other unnamed emotions twisting in me every time I look at Killian’s profile. Whenever I think of the exes who abused him, I want to make them the object of my own, personal hunt. He deserves thebest, and if he could only see that the best is me, our lives would become much easier.
“But the carousel was very beautiful,” he says after a while. “Thank you for bringing me here. And for the horse ride. And for everything. I never had the opportunity to try so many new foods, sleep in such soft sheets, or received so many gifts and attention from a man. I really appreciate it all.”
I swallow, trying to push down my bitterness, because there is a way for us to come together again. I know there is. “What aboutyourfirst love? The one your parents banned you from home for?”
Killian sighs, letting out a cloud of vapor, then rubs his face. “He cheated on me within the year. I’m obviously over that now, but he broke my heart. I just hate the lies so much, you know? I give myself completely, but get scraps in return. You’d think I’d be used to it by now, smarter, but I don’t do half-measures, and then I end up trusting the wrong man, too enamoured by the first hints of love.”
Oh, now I’m angry. My chest is boiling with pure, unadulterated rage, because how dare some fuckup discard a treasure like Killian when I might not get him? I understand why Kill might be hesitant about giving me another chance after the ordeal Titus put him through, but that doesn’t mean being rejected hurts any less.
I want to find the man who hurt him so badly and take his dick so he can never fuck again. And I’d make sure Killian never finds out what a beast I can be.
“You deserve more than that. Not scraps, not the bare minimum. It’s rare to find someone as open as you, and I am so damn jealous of that bastard. Were I your first, your heart would have never been broken.”
“What if—”
A shot rings through the air nearby, and poor old Bessie rears up. Kill screams, holding on to her neck for dear life, and I’m not fast enough to grip the lead in time. She rips out of my grasp and bolts forward with Killian on her back.
Chapter 16
Killian
Ilostmytrainof thought as soon as the horse bolted.
“Damen!” I yell, but still note that I’m not as terrified as when two saws were about to turn me into mince. Maybe nothing will terrorise me as much again.
I hold on to Bessie’s neck despite not knowing if that’s the best way to not die, but it’s not as if I got detailed safety instructions other than the obvious—don’t fall.
Hooves stomp over the snowy track, and the world around us is a blur. I can only hope Damen knows how to save me before I slide off, because the horse he advertised to me as completely docile is galloping so fast I don’t know what direction we’re taking. With the massive body jerking under me, I clutch to both Bessie’s mane and the front of the saddle.
My heart is in my throat every time the horse attempts to toss me off, but just when death by trampling seems to be written in the stars, Damen appears at my side, squatting on his saddle when he reaches for Bessie’s lead.
