Page 116 of Reign of a Billionaire

“Did… did we… You were my first and I was yours?” A light blush crept up her cheek. Her fair skin always betrayed her, and those eyes… Fuck, I should have known. Lou’s eyes were always the windows to her soul.

This time, when a memory came, I welcomed it. I watched it happen and let myself remember it with everything I had. It was eight years ago, when we’d been able to sneak away after trying for so many months. She stood there in the abandoned hallway, under the blanket of darkness, her golden locks lighting my world.

Leaning against the stone wall, my arms folded over my chest and my breaths fogging the air, I watched as she danced across the floor, lost in her own little world. It terrified me thatone day one of Ivan’s men would sneak up on her and hurt her, so I’d made it my mission to train her to be vigilant.

Lou was sometimes too focused on one thing, oblivious to her surroundings, but we’d been working on it. She was getting better each day.

The oil lamp flickered, throwing shadows over me, and she finally spotted me.

My chest stirred, the same way it did every time I saw her. The girl had me wrapped around her little finger.

“Happy birthday, sunshine.” Her smile lit up the dark and cold hallway. “Shouldn’t you be in bed?”

She ran the rest of the way, her dainty feet soundless against the marble floor. My pulse rocketed, achingly beating only for her. She single-handedly made my time here bearable. If it wasn’t for her, I would have attempted to run—and likely gotten killed—years ago.

I opened my arms and she fell into them, burying her face into my chest as I lifted her.

“How does it feel to be eighteen?”

She looked up, her smile somewhat sad. “The same. Except that now we’re legal adults, we should have the freedom to live our lives freely.”

I nodded, wishing I could take us far away from here, where she’d be protected from all the ugliness she was forced to witness. I worried about the toll it was taking on her soft heart. Her sister was the tougher one of the two.

“How does Liana feel about turning eighteen?”

She shrugged.

“Pretty much the same. She’s still mad Mother forbid her to go to MIT.” It was always a far-fetched dream. Sofia was far too controlling to allow her daughters out of her sight. “Anyhow, I kissed Lia, wishing her a happy birthday at midnight, then headed here.” Her voice was breathy andexcited. She never hid her emotions around me, which was so damn refreshing. “You’re home to me, and even though we’re both here, it means something.”

“I want to give you a real home.”

“Soon,” she murmured.

“Soon,” I vowed.

Sliding her down my body, she hit the ground and brought her arms around my neck.

“Were you waiting for me?” she asked, her lips brushing against mine. She always tasted sweet. It’d become my favorite taste. Fuck chocolate. Fuck strawberries. Give me vanilla any time of day or night.

“Yes.” There was no sense in pretending that I wasn’t. If there was anything we learned living under this roof, it was that tomorrow might never come. “I have your birthday present.”

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a bracelet.

“You don’t need to make me gifts, Kingston. You’re all I need.” Her hand came down from my neck, her fingers trembling as she traced the bracelet with the pad of her thumb. “So many men you had to kill for me.”

Brushing my mouth against her forehead, I murmured, “I’d kill them all again for you, sunshine.”

She released a shuddering breath. “I need to protect you, Kingston.”

“Shhh.” I breathed hard, my fingers shaking as they stroked the side of her face. “I’ve got you. I’ll always have you.”

Something clogged in my chest, knowing how little I could offer her. Her life hung in the balance between her mother’s and Ivan’s threats, but I would always be here to protect her. Until we ran.

Lou was a sacrifice worth making.

“Kingston?”

“Yes?”