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CHAPTER SIX
ROYCE
I love my siblings, but at this moment, I want to burn every bridge.
The meeting is over, but the weight of it lingers, pressing down around me, sinking deep into my bones as I sit in the car and stare at the house. It’s been less than three days with Gia, and she’s iced me out. It’s better this way. The less we have to interact with each other, the better.
The only downside is that she hasn’t allowed me to spend any time with my daughter.
I scowl, gripping the leather wheel. This isn’t how the plan was supposed to go, and yet now that it is, I find Gia throwing another wrench into it.
After taking a deep breath, I get out of the car and head to the house, climbing up the steps, scanning my fingerprint, and listening for the whir of the door unlocking.
It’s dark as I step inside, the only light a warm white glow cast from the lamp in the living room.
Gia isn’t sitting there, but that doesn’t surprise me. I don’t think she leaves her room if she knows I’m home. It’s fine by me. The less I have to see her, the less I have to fight for control. I don’t mind the fight, but on days like today, I’m not sure I could keep myself from snapping and taking things too far.
Whether that means killing her or fucking her, I don’t know.
Unbuttoning the sleeves of my shirt, I roll them up my forearms. My shoulders sag as I turn off the light before climbing the stairs.
As soon as my foot hits the top step, soft moans echo down the hall.
Is she fucking someone else in my house?
Nails bite into the palms of my hands as they curl into fists. Like hell is she going to stay in my house and screw someone else. I’ll kill the bastard and then give her the lesson of her life for thinking that she belongs to another man.
I didn’t think I had to make a rule about not bringing men to the safe house, but apparently, I was wrong.
Taking a deep breath, I try to collect myself. It’s after midnight and Bianca is probably sleeping. I don’t want to wake her up and send her wailing for her mother.
Killing people in silence can be more thrilling than the screams. I might turn the man Gia is with loose outside and hunt him down. I could stalk him through the trees, taking my time as he runs, not knowing that there isn’t a way to escape my property.
Then when I found him, I would take my time slicing off his cock and feeding it to him. I would cut each ounce of flesh from his body, taking pictures along the way to show Gia the result of her actions. As I near the door to Gia’s room, my blood only boils faster. I don’t know who the hell she thinks she is or what she’s been allowed to get away with, but this is where it ends.
I’m not going to have her put our daughter in danger just because she wants a mediocre orgasm from some sniveling little shit who thinks it’s a good idea to fuck with what’s mine.
Not mine. She made her choice a long time ago.
Still mine. Mine to hold hostage. Mine to kill. Mine to fuck if I want to sink that far down into depravity.
Without a second thought, I grab the handle and turn it, slamming the door open just as my name falls from her lips.
“Well now,” I say, smirking as I cross my arms and lean against her doorframe, eyes narrowing in on where her finger slides against her bare pussy, “if you wanted me, all you had to do was ask. I’m not above a pity fuck.”
The scent of her arousal is thick in the air, making my cock ache as I watch her. My heart races with the thought of commanding her to keep going, bringing herself to the edge of another orgasm before forcing her to stop.
I could keep her wanting and waiting as a punishment for thinking that her fingers could fuck her better than I can.
Or I could use this chance while she’s vulnerable to make my point. I could start the torture slow, bringing her to tears before I ever touch her.
She jumps out of bed, almost falling over the side, but she manages to catch herself at the last minute. Her gaze drops to the bulge in my pants. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“I thought I was coming home to you being in bed with some poor guy you picked up off the side of the street. Had an entire plan for how I was going to kill him before punishing you. Turns out you were just fucking your fingers to the thought of me.”
Gia’s high cheekbones turn a deep shade of rose as she clutches the silk sheets closer to her body. They do little to hide the way her nipples pebble as she looks at me.
“What do you know? You like that I caught you. You wanted me to stand here and watch you. Tell me, Gia, are you a little bit of an exhibitionist?” I push off the wall, taking a couple steps into the room, standing at the footboard of the wooden bedframe.
Gia points at the door but she can’t summon the anger she clearly wants. “Get out!”
“Not happening.” I brace my hands on the footboard, leaning over the edge of the bed, close enough to touch her but holding back. Tension climbs between us, so thick it could choke me. “Now, if you want me to strip down and give you some help with that, I would be more than happy to offer you my assistance. It’s more generous than you deserve, but I like to think I’m a giving man.”
“I don’t want anything from you,” she says, her words spewing venom as she glares at me. Her thighs press closer together beneath the sheets, her eyes filled with lust. “Certainly not a pity fuck.”
My cock strains against the front of my jeans as one of her long legs slides out from beneath the sheet. I skim my fingers along the inside of her leg, smirking when she shivers. “Didn’t seem that way when you were moaning my name.”
“Maybe I know another Royce. Did you ever stop and think about that, or are you so self-centered that you think you’re the only Royce who could ever exist?”
“Defensive.” I grab the hem of the sheet, letting the cool fabric run between my fingers.
“Annoyed.”
“I doubt that.”
Testing her, I give a light tug on the fabric, pulling it down her chest, exposing the swells of the tops of her breasts.
The blush spreads downward. I want to chase the path with my tongue before ending between her legs. I could have her screaming my name. Begging me to fuck her hard and fast. I could draw out the orgasm until she can’t feel her limbs anymore. She would be begging me for release.
It would be mine to give and it would be mine to take away.
She might learn what it means to fuck with me.
I tug on the blanket again, pulling it lower as her exhale comes in a shaky little burst.
Even though I hate her for lying to me, it doesn’t mean that I can’t get past that for a night of fun.
Gia clutches the blanket as tight as she can, her foot shooting out to catch me in the wrist. “Enough of this shit, Royce. I don’t want you and I know that you don’t want me.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.” I reach for the top button of my shirt, smirking when her gaze follows my fingers. “You want me. I could hear you when I came up the stairs. Do you think I forgot the sound of your moans or how wet you used to get for me?”
“Seems a little pathetic to still be thinking about that two years later, don’t you think?” Her tone is sharp as she gets out of bed, wrapping the sheet around her body tight.
“I wasn’t the one knuckle-deep in pussy, thinking about my ex.”
Her nostrils flare. “You know what, this right here is why we never would have worked out. You’re infuriating!”
Chuckling, I sit down on the edge of the bed, stretching my legs out in front of me and crossing them at the ankles. I can take my time with her, even if my cock is trying to force its way through my pants. “You’re the one who got yourself into this situation.”
“You told me that you weren’t going to be home tonight and that Dean was going to be staying outside, watching over the house. I thought I was alone.”
What else will she do when she thinks that she’s alone?
The possibilities are endless. I could install a hidden camera in her room. Take videos of her touching herself to the thought of me. It would make for some interesting entertainment on nights when I need a little inspiration for my hand.
“Well, you aren’t.”
“I knew that you leaving was going to be a good thing in the long run. I’m just glad you came back to prove it.” Gia rakes a hand through her hair. “I was so stupid back then.”
“You really shouldn’t throw stones at glass houses.”
She whirls on me, jabbing a finger into the center of my chest. “You need to get the hell out of here so I can get dressed. And then you need to stay out. You might be holding me here, but I still deserve some privacy.”
“You know, other men would’ve thrown you naked in a cell and left you there.”
I’m only trying to get under her skin now. There’s not a single thought in my mind that believes it’s better to sit here and aggravate her instead of doing something else, but I love the way her eyes flash with anger, like she could go scorched earth and burn me with the force of her stare if she tries hard enough.
I reach out, hand snaking through the gap in the sheet, skimming up her thigh.
She scowls and takes a step back, swatting my hand. “Am I supposed to thank you for treating me like a human?”
“Might be nice to hear a thank you for once.” I run my tongue over my teeth and shrug. “Normally it’s just please don’t kill me, or I swear I didn’t mean to do it. And then there’s my favorite. I have a wife and kids. ”
Gia presses her fingers to her lips, chipped nail polish close to being completely gone. “I never should’ve slept with you. Hell, when you asked me on a date, I should’ve turned and ran away. I wouldn’t be in this mess right now if I did.”
“You wouldn’t be in this mess if you had just told me the truth from the beginning!” I stand and loom over her, trying to keep my voice low so Bianca doesn’t wake up in the next room over.
“I told you everything about me except my half brother’s last name!”
“And you think that makes it better?” I cross my arms, hands curling into fists as my body almost vibrates with anger. I glance past her out the window at the stars shining over the trees. “You might have kept that from me, but you were hiding a fuck ton of other things too. You had your secrets. You thought betrayal would be easier than fucking talking to me. Well, guess what, Gia, I’m done fucking talking.”
Maybe it would’ve been better to stay with my siblings instead of coming back home and dealing with this.
I don’t think she’s ever going to see the way her secret damaged us.
The color drains from her face as she stares up at me like she’s seen a ghost. She swallows hard and for a moment, I think about lunging. I could grab her right now and drag her outside, hunt her down like I thought about doing to the lover she doesn’t have.
It’s tempting.
Gia brushes past me, heading into the closet and slamming the door behind her. When she comes back out, she has on a pair of joggers and a sports bra.
I’m sure it’s in an effort to make her look less attractive, but the thin material shows off the curve of her hips and the material clings to her ass before flaring out and tapering back in at her angles.
She could roll in mud and I’m sure I’d still want to sleep with her at least once before I killed her.
Well, at least my dick would think it’s a good idea to sleep with her. The smarter part of me knows that no good can come of crossing that line with Gia.
Gia cocks one hip to the side, matching my stance. “You need to leave. Just go. We’re not going to stand here and argue about this when it’s in the past. All I want to do is move on with my life and I’m sure you want to do the same.”
“Unfortunately, until your brother either negotiates or dies, you and I are going to be seeing a lot more of each other.” I stride over to her, taking her chin in my hand, forcing her to look at me even when she tries to look away.
Gia’s lips part, her breath hitching as her body presses closer to mine.
The last time we were standing together like this after an orgasm was the night I told her I was going to marry her one day.
We hadn’t wasted much time after that getting into bed and losing all our clothing.
That’s not the way tonight is going to end.
She’s lucky that she’s still alive, and yet she keeps trying to push me further.
“If you were honest with me sooner, I would have been able to get you out of this mess before the danger started ramping up. I could’ve taken you and Bianca somewhere safe. Zoe too. You realize that, don’t you? Hell, I would’ve brought your mother along with us if that’s what it took to keep you safe from that monster. And then you went and you fucking lied to me.”
“Well, if that isn’t the biggest case of the pot calling the kettle black I’ve ever heard, I don’t know what is.” She puts her hands on my chest, pushing me back a step. I step right back into her space. “I don’t know what you think it is you need to keep me safe from, but I’m fine.”
“Yeah, sure. I know who Noah is and what he’s like, but you’re going to tell me that everything is fine?” I scoff and drop my hand. “You have no idea what you’re dealing with. You keep secrets and lies, thinking you can protect yourself, but you have a weakness to exploit. You think he won’t go for that?”
She pales at the mention of our daughter, her gaze uncertain. “Yes.”
“And you don’t think I looked into your life before I took you? You don’t think that I spent time watching you? Following you around and paying attention to what you did?”
“If you had really done that every hour of every day, you would’ve known about your daughter.” She gives me a smug look, making it clear she thinks she has the upper hand.
“Dean watched you at night. He decided Bianca wasn’t an important factor in whether or not we took you.”
Her jaw clenches, hatred burning in her gaze. “You’re telling me that you were going to leave her behind?”
Shrugging, I tuck my hands in my pockets and head for the door. “How the hell am I supposed to protect her when you wanted to pretend she didn’t exist?”
“You’re a bastard.”
“And you’re so high up on your damn horse that you can’t see the game you’ve set in motion by keeping my daughter from me.” I pause in the doorway, looking to her for a moment. “But for what it’s worth, the next time you want to get off, just call. I’d be happy to help.”
All I hear as I close the door is a loud bang, sending it rattling on the frame.
Even as I walk down the hall, the image of her—cheeks flushed, eyes blazing—stays with me.
She may have stripped me of control for now, but she won’t get away with it forever. I’m not playing any fucking games.
Gia’s about to learn that the hard way.