Page 97 of Reign of a Billionaire

“Nothing.” It was curious but not exactly surprising. He struck me as a private man. After all, there had to be a reason they called him Ghost.

“How did you know who my father was?” I asked Alexei.

“Secrets aren’t kept for very long in the underworld. As you well know.”

Alexei was right. No secret was safe. It was why my twin and I had always wanted out. Surviving wasn’t the norm, it was the exception.

Sitting on the floor in the back of the van, my knees pulled to my chest, I stared out the tinted windows. I missed having asibling. But Ivy, through no fault of her own, would never be that to me.

The sun crested over the horizon, bringing with it another day. Another nightmare. Another fight.

“I had a sibling, a twin, and she died.” I turned my head and met Alexei’s gaze. “My father left us with our mother, knowing exactly what she was. He went back home to his sheltered children, and he left us at the mercy of the wolves.” I swallowed, glancing out the window. “So no, I don’t want to get to know her. I don’t want to know about her childhood and how it could have been ours, if only our father had had the balls to do something about my mother.”

Kingston didn’t comment, but he reached out his hand and I followed his gaze to the weapon I still held, reminding me I was still his prisoner. Although it didn’t feel like it, and to my own amazement, it never occurred to me to shoot him or Alexei during our little mission.

I handed him my weapon, and the rest of the trip was spent in silence.

Once the girls were safely situated in a women’s shelter in Greece—courtesy of Lykos Costello—Alexei headed back to Portugal and Kingston and I got on a helicopter that would take us back to Kingston’s island. And I was so very willing to go back, which was ridiculous. Stockholm syndrome at its finest.

“You sure there aren’t parts missing in this helicopter?” I asked sarcastically as he leaned over and buckled the seat belt over my chest.

Kingston remained still, so close that his T-shirt brushed my bare arm. So close that I could count his eyelashes. So close that there was barely half an inch between our lips. Taking a deep breath, his aftershave seeped into my lungs and my entire body hummed with anticipation.

My reason demanded I pull away. My heart urged me to close the distance. And my body… It implored that I ravish him and feel all the things I’d not felt since the last time he kissed me.

He made the decision for me, skimming his lips over mine as he said, “Once we go down that road, there’s no going back. I won’t let you go.”

Every touch seared through my skin, setting my heartbeat into a wild rhythm while electricity crackled around us like sparklers.

“What if I don’t want to go back?” I breathed, brushing my lips against his. There was a haze inside my mind. A lungful of air I couldn’t seem to inhale. “I don’t want to be alone anymore.”

My heart drummed in my ears, and a part of me hated feeling so vulnerable. The other, more dominant part of me just wanted to let go, knowing he’d catch me.

His eyes were dark and his hand slid up my neck, fisting in my hair. He traced my lips with his thumb. Fire and adrenaline shot through my blood while he watched me.

Like I waseverythinghe wanted. Like I was the only thing he needed.

The press of his lips against mine made my blood sizzle. My lips parted, welcoming the heat of his tongue, and when he nipped at my bottom lip, then licked it, an explosion of fire burst inside me. A moan traveled up my throat and he swallowed it, sliding his tongue inside my mouth.

My hands came to his shoulders, not to push him away but to pull him closer. The warmth of his chest against mine sent a tremble through me, my nipples tightening. The heat of his body alone stole my breath away. My body melted against his, like he was a piece of me that had been missing forever. He deepened the kiss and my fingers curled, digging nails into his shoulders. I panted against his lips while his mouth traveled down my neck, nipping and sucking at my throat.

Then, without a warning, he pulled away, his eyes on me, full of promises.

“Let’s go home.” His rough voice blazed a path down my spine, his words soft and desperate like my need to feel him inside me.

Home.Somewhere along the way, his prison had become home.

Chapter 47

Liana

Twenty-four hours had gone by since that searing, unforgettable kiss.

To my dismay, once we got back to the island, Kingston didn’t scoop me off my feet and ravish me. In fact, he acted as if nothing had happened. It left me no other choice but to behave the same.

I’d rather die than beg a man—even one as hot as Kingston Ashford—for attention.

And then there was the guilt that gnawed at me. Kingston was Lou’s love, not mine. So why did it feel so right? I pulled at my hair and groaned. It might be for the best that we didn’t stoke the fire.