Page 41 of Knuckles & Knives
“Is that it, then? You’ve grown tired of me? You made a choice to go down from four men to three? Or have you picked Dom and are going to toss the rest of us aside?”
“I… No, that’s not…” I shake my head. “You and I both know that going up against your family… If you go against their direct order…”
Kieran runs both hands through his hair, destroying what’s left of his careful styling. “I told you the truth. I’ve wanted you for a long time, and the closer we’ve become… the more intense my feelings have grown. I’m not looking for an angle. This isn’t a power play. I want you. My feelings are genuine, and… My family are fools. They think you’re a spoiled princess playing at being dangerous. Someone they want me to manipulate or eliminate without a second thought.” His laugh is bitter and self-deprecating. “I’ve given my family just about everything they asked for me and more, but the one thing I want… the one woman I want… I want you to know I’m willing to give it all up.”
“Kieran—”
“My grandfather called a family meeting three hours ago,” he continues. “Full council, all the old guard present. The topic was simple: the Blackwood problem and how to solve it permanently.”
A chill runs down my spine despite the warmth of his office. “And their solution?”
“Elimination. Swift, decisive, and public enough to send a message to anyone else who might consider challenging our territory.” His jaw tightens. “They have doubts about my handling it so they’ve already contracted the Volkov brothers for the job. Professional assassins, very expensive, very thorough.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow night. They know about your regular training schedule at the gym and the routes you take home. They’ve been watching you since you resurfaced.” Kieran moves closer. “Raven, they’re not planning to make this quick. They want you to suffer first, to send a message about what happens to people who challenge the Sterling Syndicate.”
The details are delivered with clinical precision, but I can hear the underlying current of rage in his voice. He’s furious about his family’s decision.
“So what’s your angle?” I ask, even though I already know the answer. “What do you get out of warning me?”
“The chance to make a choice that’s mine instead of theirs.” He’s close enough now that I can see the gold flecks in his ice-blue eyes, the way his hands are trembling slightly with suppressed emotion. “For twenty-seven years, I’ve been the perfect heir, the obedient son, the strategic asset they could deploy however they saw fit. But this…” He reaches out, hisfingers ghosting along my cheek with surprising gentleness. “This is the first time I’ve wanted something more than I want their approval.”
The touch sends electricity through me. For so long, I hated Kieran Frost. He’s been my enemy, my rival, the heir to the empire partially built on my father’s grave.
But he’s none of that, and he hasn’t been for some time now, and this only cements the hold he has over me.
His kissing me is one thing, and words are sometimes only words, but actions are forever, and this choice of his, his willingness to pick me over his family, says all I need to know about who Kieran Frost truly is.
“What are you proposing?” I whisper.
“That we stop pretending this is just about revenge and territory and ancient grudges.” His other hand comes up to frame my face, holding me with surprising reverence. “That we acknowledge what’s been building between us since the moment you walked back into this city.”
“And what’s that?”
“Something that could either destroy us both or save us from becoming the monsters our families expect us to be.” His forehead comes to rest against mine, and I can feel his breath against my lips. “I’m tired of being a part of the Sterling Syndicate, Raven. I want to find out what it feels like to be just… Kieran. With you.”
The vulnerability in his voice breaks something loose in my chest. This is Kieran Frost without the armor of family name and inherited power, without the careful calculations and strategic manipulations. This is just a man who’s tired of living his life according to other people’s expectations and willing to risk everything for the chance to choose his own path.
“This is insane,” I breathe, but I don’t pull away. “Your family will disown you. This is the ultimate betrayal for both of us. We’ll have enemies on all sides.”
“I know.” His thumb traces along my lower lip, and I have to suppress a shiver. “But I’d rather face that with you than spend the rest of my life wondering what we could have been.”
I’m not sure who kisses who, but I hold him close, and he responds with a growl of approval that rumbles through his chest.
Kieran kisses with complete focus, devastating efficiency, and an intensity that leaves me breathless. His hands tangle in my hair, angling my head to give him better access, and I can taste the desperation on his lips, the need to claim something real in a world built on lies and manipulation.
“Stay,” he says, his voice rough with want and something deeper. “Tonight. Let me show you what it could be like if we stop fighting this.”
“Kieran…” I start to voice all the rational objections, all the reasons this is impossible.
“I know it’s complicated,” he cuts me off, his hands still framing my face like he’s afraid I’ll disappear if he lets go. “I know we have a dozen different reasons to hate each other, to see each other as enemies, but, Raven, when I’m with you, I remember what it feels like to want something for myself instead of just accepting what’s been decided for me.”
The raw honesty in his voice undoes me completely. “What about the Volkov brothers? The threat to my life?”
His smile is predatory. “Do you honestly think I would have invited you here if you were in danger of any kind? It’s already been handled. The contract has been… terminated. Along with the contractors. My family will assume you somehow discovered the threat and eliminated it yourself.”
“You killed them for me?”
