Page 112 of Always A Villain

He kisses my sweaty temple. “You okay?”

I nod slowly. “Yeah.”

Brushing his fingers over the bite on my shoulder, he smirks when I wince. “Good. You’re perfect like this.”

His arm rests across me. Protective. Possessive.

We lie in silence for a while, my body softening against him. But something’s clawing at me, and it won’t go away.

I trace circles on his chest. “I overheard Arsen and Griff talking earlier.”

He hums, unconcerned.

“They said the Sovereign found Conrad’s body.”

He doesn’t say anything. His silence is loud.

“They said it was…brutal.”

I swallow, shifting to look at him. His eyes are on the stars, but I know he’s not looking at the sky.

“Is there something you want to ask me, little siren?”

I hesitate. “I just want to know he suffered. That he didn’t get to die easy.”

His gaze cuts to mine, sharp and endless.

“He felt every second. I didn’t slit his throat. I didn’t shoot him in the head. I made him bleed, made him scream,made him beg.”

I shiver, but I don’t look away.

“He died choking on his own blood with a hammer buried in his skull. That motherfucker raped and killed your mother and took you from me. You think I’d let him go without pain?” His voice turns vicious. “I carved my name into his fucking soul.”

There’s no remorse. No apology.

Only vengeance.

I reach up and cup his jaw. “Thank you.”

His hand covers mine, rough and warm. “Anything for you.”

My eyes sting.

“I mean it,” I whisper. “You gave me peace.”

He leans in, his lips brushing mine, softly for once. “I gave you justice. You gave me everything else.”

A single tear slips down my cheek. He kisses it away, then pulls me tighter against him.

“You’re mine, Victoria Hawthorne. Forever. No one will ever hurt you again.”

I press my forehead to his. “I love you.”

“Good. Because you’re stuck with me.” He grabs my thigh and pulls me until I’m straddling him, one hand drifting down to my ass. “And tomorrow, you walk down that aisle in white. Like a fucking lie.”

A laugh burst past my lips, breathless.

“But later that night?” He squeezes. “You’ll be on your knees. Wearing nothing but my last name branded on your ass.”