Page 115 of Unforgiving Queen

“Open one gift and I’ll tell you.”

I clenched my fist, the bagel crumbling under the pressure. I let it fall onto the plate with a thud, wiped my fingers, and then ripped the first shiny pink package open. A black velvet box. A soft clank and the box opened.

I stared at it, tears burning my eyes. I refused to let them fall. A platinum bracelet with the symbols for yin and yang, encrusted in opalescent and black diamonds, holding each other as one. Separate but together.

I refused to move, to touch it. Why did he keep giving me jewelry?

Almost as if he could read my mind, his next words slashed my heart in two. “You’re the sun and the moon. Diamonds are just the stars that dance around you. So you can shine brighter, and I can always find you.”

Damn Amon Leone and his stupid sweet words. I didn’t want them. I didn’t want him.

He reached for it, then grabbed my hand and clasped it on my wrist. He concentrated on my wrist where his fingers made contact, his touch and the gift fraying the edges of my nerves. I was approaching dangerous territory, letting him touch me.

I yanked my hand back. “Where are we?”

“South of France. Going back to where we started.”

I stared at the man—a heartless monster—and realized I no longer knew him.

Maybe I never did.

42

AMON

She looked around, tilting her chin over the horizon. “So how far from the shore are we?”

Her tone was too aloof and an alarm instantly shot through me. Call it a sixth sense or premonition, but I knew she’d try to run. Some way. Somehow.

Her eyes roamed about the deck casually until they landed on a knife, and I watched her body tense. She shot up, but instead of lunging for it, she flicked a glance my way.

“I want a tomato sandwich.”

“Suit yourself.” I pulled out my phone, scrolling down my emails to answer the ones that needed my immediate attention.

From the corner of my eye, I watched as she made her way to the other side of our table, reaching for a dragon fruit and a tomato. Clearly she wasn’t paying attention because nobody would mix the two.

The corner of my mouth lifted as she reached for the knife. She was so predictable it was almost endearing.

The breeze swept through the upper deck, blowing her wild curls around her heart-shaped face.

She cut the tomato into slices, slowly and methodically. I watched her fingers flex around the handle and I could almost hear her mind working, weighing her options.

“I wouldn’t if I were you,” I murmured softly.

Her head whipped in my direction. Tension sang in the space between us, her lips parting and her fingers trembling. The moment she made a move to raise her arm, I was up and behind her, grabbing hold of her wrist.

The knife dropped with a loud clunk, clattering against the table, and a frustrated cry tore from her throat. “I hate you.”

I chuckled darkly. “So you keep saying. Although your moans could have fooled me last night.”

“Go to hell,” she muttered, striding away from me and throwing herself into the farthest chair where she proceeded to stare out to sea.

Crouching, I picked up the knife and threw it into the basket of dirty dishes, then fixed her a sandwich.

I put the food in front of her and sat back down, giving her some space. Wordlessly, she started eating, ignoring me a little too well.

Now that I knew my brother hadn’t touched her, the fury within me eased. However, I wanted to know if anyone else had heard her soft moans, felt her clenching around their cock. I wanted their names so I could find them and kill them.