Chapter 8

There was nothing more beautiful in the world than the look on Carina's face as she came. I scooted her onto the desk, making certain she wouldn't fall before I rose and leaned over her. Her eyes were unfocused, her face painted in bliss. My lungs felt too big for my chest as I stared down at her splendor.

It wasn't until my fingers found the wet warmth between her thighs again that Carina came back to me. She blinked away the heavy fog and locked her pretty gaze on mine. Then she reached for me, grabbed my face and pulled me to her. I would have been happy to spend the rest of the night kissing her, but she stopped me before I could.

"Tell me."

"Carina." I bit my tongue, then traced her opening with my finger, trying to distract her.

Though she chased my touch with her hips, I recognized the hard set to her jaw—there was no stopping her when she wanted something. "Now, Kingston."

Hesitation lined every cell in my body. I could lose her if I told her the truth.

I could lose her if I didn't.

"I never had a mother," I finally said, stilling my hand as I chose my words carefully. "My father hired women to help care for me and the house. I was spoiled." I shook my head. "He was a rich man, and he gave me everything I ever wanted, and the women were enough to fill any void a missing mother left behind."

Carina shook beneath me and bit her lip, and I realized I hadn't stilled the way I thought. I traced her opening again, then dipped a finger inside her, the look on her face holding my attention.

"There was a girl," I told her, my mind warring with me to keep Brigid out of it even though there was no way to. "She belonged to one of the women, but they all took care of her like they did with me. I thought of her like a sister. She was at least ten years younger than me, but I barely remember a time when she wasn't there. She was sweet, an innocent, quiet little thing, and I loved her the way you love a sibling."

"Loved?" Carina lifted her head slightly, peering up into my eyes. "Past tense?"

With my nod, she lowered her head to my desktop. My gaze caught on the exposed skin on her chest, the edge of her lacy white bra peeking out behind her black silk dress. I dipped my head, pressed kisses to her flesh, and sank another finger into her cunt.

She gripped the back of my head, holding me to her as I tugged the edge of her dress aside and swiped my tongue across her peaked nipple. She hissed my name, tightened her hold on me and yanked me back to her face. "More."

Whether she wanted more of my words or more of my body, I wasn't sure. She dropped her hands, her slim fingers working through the buttons of my shirt before I pinched her clit with my thumb. She squirmed, working faster. She grabbed for my pants, undoing the button before she grabbed the tie around my neck and pulled me to her.

"I need more, Kingston. Being a spoiled little rich boy doesn't give you the right to take away my livelihood and dictate what I do with my pussy."

"Carina," I growled, yanking my fingers from her tight clutch before I was tearing open the condom I'd pulled from my desk drawer and slipping it on. "You fucking try me, darling."

"Then do what you said you'd do, sugar," she spit, tugging at my tie again until I had to slam my palms into the desktop to keep from flattening her. "What happened to the girl?"

"She died," I bit out.

She narrowed her eyes. "Tell me how."

Closing my eyes did nothing to relieve my guilt. Brigid's sweet face flashed behind my eyelids. "I was away at college." I swallowed hard. "Living it up. Partying with my friends and not giving a shit about what was going on back home. I got into a fender bender. Decided to drive home one night to trade my car for one of our others."

"You had multiple cars as a college student?"

"Do you want the story or not?"

"Are you going to fuck me or not?" she snapped back, her hand snaking between us and gripping my sheathed dick. Her tight grip soothed me, but not as much as the feel of her pussy as she lined me up and I shoved my way inside. "Tell me."

For a moment, I couldn't move. Carina felt like heaven, and my past was nothing but hell. I was stuck in purgatory, burning in an everlasting fire to make up for my sins.

"She was a child," I whispered before sliding back and thrusting into Carina's tight cunt. I gripped her harder, not wanting to go on, not wanting to stop. "Fuck. She was a child, and he used her. He used her and he strangled her for one of his sick fetishes, and when I got there, she was gone."

Carina whimpered under the force of my thrusts, clung tight to me as I took the punishment I deserved out on her.

"All those women," I continued, my breaths heaving from my chest as I drove myself into her, "every last one of them was a slave. He bought them and used them and killed them whenever he wanted. He kept me and Brigid and killed all the rest. He wanted me to carry on his legacy, to take his place at the helm. But I couldn't, Carina, I couldn't. I never could have, even if he hadn't?—"

I bit my fist, tightened my grip as I drove harder, faster, until I was out of my fucking mind. My eyes blackened with rage, my heart ripped in two, and the festering wound I'd been carrying inside of me for more than a decade started to bleed. A stabbing pain tore through me, a knife wound through my chest, and if it weren't for Carina's words and her soft touch, I would have thought I was dead.

"It's okay, baby," she said, her voice choppy as I slammed into her core. "You're alright, you'll be okay. I'm here, sugar, I'm here."

My voice was strained as I buried my face in the crook of her neck. "I couldn't let my father get away with it."

"What'd you do?" It sounded like a whisper. Like a blaring siren's song that pierced my ears and strung me up by my balls. That razor sharpness traced up my spine, tearing at my flesh until I was sure I was bleeding all over my desk.

A roar tore through me, my cum surging out of me until I was sure it was stabbing her too. She whimpered and shook and tightened her grip on my tie, pulling me into her and not letting go.

My body was soaked, my muscles weak as I fell atop her and breathed in her sweet scent. My lips found her throat, my tongue traced a line up to her ear. I nipped at her earlobe, pressed a kiss to her temple. Then I whispered, "I fucking killed him."

Carina twisted in my grip, and I knew I'd lost her—the one woman who had ever owned my heart. But instead of kicking me off her or tearing my flesh from my face with her nails, she grabbed my head and slammed her lips to mine.

Her kiss was brutal, a punishment of its own, and I lived for it, let it breathe life into mine. She bit my lip, soothed it with her tongue, then sealed her mouth over my own. I plunged and plundered and took from her everything I'd never deserve. She gave me her body, her trust, and this…

This…

Whatever this was.

"I never wanted to hurt you," I told her when our kisses finally slowed. "Everything I do is for you. To keep you safe. To keep you here. I need you Carina. I don't want to live another day without you by my side."

"King." She buried her face in my throat, wrapped her arms around my neck. "Don't tell me things like that unless you mean it. I don't think my heart can take it."

"Everything I've said is the truth. You're the only one I want, darling. The only one I've ever wanted. Tell me you want this, and I'll be yours as long as I still walk this earth."

She lifted her head, locked her eyes on mine. "I want you." She smoothed her hands down my chest, her head tilting to one side as her lips curled into the most perfect smile "Spoiled rich boy. Asshole. A man with secrets I'll take to my grave. I want you, Kingston Donaghue. Every last piece of you."

"Then you'll have me, darling. Forever."