Page 21 of King of Desire (Kings of Las Vegas #2)

CHAPTER TWENTY

Triston

Seeing Honeyeh up on that stage, every gorgeous curve on full display as every man in that room pictured sinking inside her has uncorked some feral male drive inside me.

I’m going to kill every man here, and when I’m done…

My hand comes down on Honeyeh’s ass again. I’m going to spank her raw for putting herself in danger and then?—

I make myself stop. Because I’m right back where I was yesterday. I was a fool to think I could have Honeyeh under my roof, in front of my eyes, without touching her.

Ryker’s luxury SUV sits idling at the curb.

He climbs into the driver’s seat, Rush moving to the passenger’s chair. I open the back door, tumbling Honeyeh inside, before I climb in too, closing the door.

Ryker’s peeling out before I’ve even sat down, Honeyeh’s legs in the way. I don’t move them. Instead, I roll her on her stomach and smack her ass three more times with hard decisive strikes.

She doesn’t make a sound. “You haven’t answered me yet,” I snarl.

She’s got her face turned into the seat, her hair blocking her face. “What was the question?”

Anger and fear are beating through me in equal measures, and I smack her sweet ass one more time. It’s bright red and clearly visible through the see-through fabric. “Why the fuck would you go there instead of coming to me?”

She barely moves, doesn’t lift her face. “After last night…”

Her words taper off, but I know what she means. We left things very tense and rather ambiguous. I hang my head, sitting next to her legs on a sliver of the seat, as I rest my hand on her ass. “You still should have asked me.”

She shakes her hair, her glossy curls moving with her. “I need my job. I couldn’t jeopardize that by asking you for ten thousand dollars.”

“Ten? You were going to sell yourself for ten thousand dollars?” I ask, so pissed I nearly spank her again. I just wired Dimitri a hundred thousand. If Mason knew I pumped that kind of money into one of Dimitri’s businesses…

Not to mention that Dimitri and I are far from done. If anything, this made relations between us much worse.

But those are both problems for another time because Honeyeh’s head jerks up. “My phone!”

Rush passes her bag back, which he’d collected on her behalf, and I take it from him, giving it to her. She scurries up, her legs draped across the seat still, as she digs through the bag. Does she have any idea how stunning she looks like this?

I see Ryker’s gaze linger on her in the rearview mirror as she pulls out her phone, and I give him a quick jab in the soft part of his neck with a single knuckle.

He sucks in a breath as his gaze returns to the road.

She taps the phone and then lets out a rush of air. “Thank goodness.”

“What?” I ask, my gaze narrowing.

“Dr. Lawrence. They might have a liver for Darius. If it comes, I need to get him to the hospital within the hour.”

“How were you going to do that from a whorehouse?” I bite back, irritated all over again.

“He’s nearly sixteen. He can take the bus,” she looks up at me then, tears staining her cheeks.

“Still, Honeyeh, it was fucking stupid. Do you know what kind of man you might have had rutting on top of you?”

She makes a choking noise. “I don’t have health insurance. He wouldn’t perform the surgery without a down payment and if Darius doesn’t get the surgery soon, he’ll die.”

My jaw locks. She’d sell herself to save her brother. I have long taken the heat in my family, been the person who bears the full weight of burden.

In some many ways, Honeyeh and I are opposites. But in this regard, she is a kindred spirit. She’d fight with every weapon in her possession for her family.

Rush makes a gurgling noise in his throat, clearly understanding her predicament, as I pull Honeyeh close, wrapping my arms around her. She melts into me. “I’m sorry,” she whispers.

I pull her even closer, my cheek dropping to the top of her head even as one of my hands threads into her hair, cradling her skull while the other wraps around her body. “I’m sorry,” I whisper into her hair. Because a bunch of this is my fucking fault.

She tips her head back, her brow furrowing. “For what?”

“For last night. For not being clear that you can always come to me.” And then I drop my mouth to hers, giving her a soft, slow kiss.

My brothers have remained silent, despite likely having a thousand questions. I expect one of them to interrupt at any moment, but the sound that breaks the kiss is the shrill ringing of Honeyeh’s phone.

She jerks away, grabbing the device. “Hello?” she says in a breathy voice, her gray eyes wide.

“Honeyeh? It’s Dr. Lawrence.” I can hear his voice clear as a bell and I make no move to pull away.

“Dr. Lawrence. I’m glad to hear from you.”

“I have news.” I can tell by his tone, it isn’t good.

“Yes?”

“The potential donor has recovered from the coma. It doesn’t seem as though…”

Honeyeh’s face crumples. “That’s wonderful news for him.”

Dr. Lawrence clears his throat. “Try not to lose hope. We’ll keep fighting.”

“I will. I mean I won’t.” More tears roll down her cheeks, and she swipes them away as she attempts to collect herself. “Thank you, doctor.”

“I’d like to see Darius on Monday to assess his progression and see what further steps can be done.”

“Of course,” Honeyeh answers even as she slumps back on the seat.

I follow her, wrapping my arms around her body, pressing my chest to hers.

Her arm comes around my neck. “I’ll see you Monday,” she murmurs into the phone before she hangs up.

“There’s no liver after all,” she says into my collar before a giant sob racks her body.

I gather her closer, hugging her for a moment, before I ease back, but only to lift her and settle her in my lap.

She curls into me, making herself as small as possible as she cries into my collar.

I stroke my fingers down Honeyeh’s arm, fitting her tighter against my chest. I don’t even realize I’m murmuring words of comfort until Rush clears his throat.

My jaw locks as I go silent again.

We arrive at my house, the gate swinging open. When it clangs behind us, I breathe out. “How soon do we need to discuss next steps?” I ask Ryker as he pulls up by the front door.

His mouth forms a grim line. “I’m going to need ten minutes of your time, and then the rest of us will start forming a plan.”

I nod, pushing open the car door. Stepping out with Honeyeh in my arms, I set her on her feet long enough to take off my sports coat and wrap it around her body. She hugs it tight around her middle as I wrap my arm around her, leading her toward the house.

Mrs. Raith appears in the doorway, but I wave her away. “Clear the house,” I order as I walk Honeyeh up the stairs.

Mrs. Raith jerks her chin and then disappears.

“I’m mortified,” Honeyeh whispers next to me even as Ryker and Rush fan out on either side of us.

“Never be embarrassed for giving all of yourself for the people you love,” Ryker says from next to her.

Her chin notches up and her spine stiffens. “Thank you for that.”

He meets my eye again as he stops to let Honeyeh and myself in the house.

By the time we reach the stairs to the second floor, I lift her into my arms once again and carry her up. I don’t set her down until we’ve made it to my bedroom.

As I gently set her on her feet, I whisper, “I’ll be right back. Go lay down and close your eyes.”

She nods and I kiss her one more time before I force myself to turn and head back down the stairs.

Much as I’d like to stay with her, I’m also a man who sacrifices for his family.

My brothers are coming up the stairs as I exit the bedroom, and I lead them silently into my office.

We’ve barely made it through the door when Rush asks, “What happened last night?”

“That’s your question, of all the questions?” I cross to the window, staring out at the front yard.

“Mine too,” Ryker adds, taking one of the chairs by the desk.

I let out a long breath. “I got carried away before she told me that she hadn’t ever…” They already know she’s a virgin. It was part of her auction.

“And?” Rush prompts.

“I stopped,” I bite back.

“But you were really pissy about it,” Ryker finishes, not asking a question but stating a fact.

“Wouldn’t you be?”

“For sure,” he chuckles. “Honeyeh is other-level hot.”

I turn to glare, my lips thinning enough to expose my teeth. “Touch her and I will?—”

His hands go up. “Off limits. Got it.” He puts his hands down to lean forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “But when I said you were really pissy, I meant it more as like a general state of being.”

“I thought we came up here to talk about Dimitri and the threat he poses. Not stage an intervention about my mood.”

Rush sits on the top of my desk. “Ryker is right. You have been getting increasingly agitated, Triston. Over the last year. Two. Until last night…”

I open my mouth to speak, but then close it again. When I think of last night, right up until I drove Honeyeh home, that was the happiest I’ve been for a long time. “Fuck.”

“Now you’re a guy who saves other people’s asses,” Ryker continues. “But if you’re not serious about Honeyeh, we should not have rushed in there like that. If you are, though, serious about her, then I’ll be happy for you, and I’ll be by your side to tear Dimitri to the ground.”

My stomach fills with lead. My brother is willing to fight battles with me, ready to go to war to preserve my happiness. I’ve seen all the ways in which my dad fucked us, the way I’ve taken the brunt for this family. But I might have missed just how tightly my brothers have my back.

“I’ve known Honeyeh for a week, I have no fucking idea how I feel. But I know I can’t let her struggle alone under the weight of her brother’s illness. She’s doing an amazing job, but she’s soft. He needs?—”

“She took your spanks with a lot of grit,” Rush says with a half-smile. “I gotta be honest, I’m giving spanking a try. That shit was hot?—”

“Shut up,” I bite back. That was a private moment, because she scared me so fucking much.

He laughs me off, not the least bit concerned. “Fine. I agree. She needs help. And any woman that strong can only be an asset.”

“So what are we doing about Dimitri?” Ryker asks. “Because we poked the fucking bear, today.”

“We already poked the bear, Ryker, when we made a move against his best casino.”

“Right,” he nods. “True.”

“What just happened with Honeyeh is only moving up the timeline of his counterattack.” Which is true.

But honestly, it likely made things worse.

I’m not telling my brothers that, though.

In this way, I can protect Honeyeh. I don’t need them thinking she’s a problem.

And as much as I wasn’t looking for the responsibility of a woman in my life, I think I’m taking on Honeyeh’s problems as my own.

“And honestly, I’m not convinced that it was an accident.

Killian threatened his family a few months ago.

And Brittany, one of Dimitri’s women, the girl who led Honeyeh to Dimitri’s door, just happened to befriend Honeyeh at Killian’s wedding? ”

“Fuck,” Rush rumbles. “You think he contracted Honeyeh on purpose?”

“It’s a possibility.” Which means, Honeyeh needs my protection. I’m strong enough. Always have been. And what’s more, it matters to me that Honeyeh, if I really needed her, would go to any length to protect someone she cared about.

Fuck. It hits me in the chest, the lengths she’d go, the danger she’d put herself in for the people she loves.

I’ve always known Honeyeh was different. But the specifics are becoming clearer. Heart and grit right along with beauty. There isn’t a spoiled bone in her body.

I file that away. “I can’t prove it. And I won’t lose my head. I’m going to have to offer Dimitri a bone to try and move forward, but Mason isn’t going to like it.”

Ryker rumbles. “Right. Rock, meet hard place.”

Too true. I’ve got to find an offer tempting enough to pacify Dimitri while not completely pissing off Mason.

If I don’t make a deal the Russian can live with… I’ve always known that Dimitri will not sit idle. He will attack and attack, again and again.

Any number of us could be targeted.

Killian and myself most of all.

It’s that or Dimitri needs to be eliminated permanently. Like Ryker said. Rock, meet hard place.