Page 17 of Volatile King (The Kings of Wayward Academy #6)

N ash

“Bring him,” Father snarled as he marched toward the front door of Mya’s house. The two guards had cuffed my hands and put tape over my mouth so I couldn’t yell to warn anyone. Not that it mattered. Men had already surrounded the home.

My father’s head soldier, Shane, pulled out the key that Mya had given me to sneak into her house and unlocked the door. He disabled the alarm, and within seconds, the house was swarming with men.

I fought against my captors as Mya was dragged into the room right along with her parents. Mya’s mother screamed, and the closest soldier punched her in the face, shutting her up.

“Put them in chairs,” Father ordered.

Mya’s father tried to fight back as the men yanked him to his feet. The soldiers were relentless as they punched and kicked him until he was barely conscious, then propped him up in a chair like a rag doll.

Mya’s eyes locked with mine, and the terror gripping her mirrored my own. This was all my fault. Why had I told my father?

“Nash, help, please,” Mya begged, her green eyes vivid in the moonlight pouring through the window.

“Le…dem…go,” I roared, but it came out muffled.

Father walked over to me and ripped the tape off my mouth.

“Let them go,” I said, glaring at my father.

“No, I don’t think so. I warned you about your carelessness and how your actions have consequences.

And yet you didn’t listen. You think you’re always right, Nash, and that is a problem, not just for you, but for everyone.

You need to learn a real lesson,” he said, pulling out a pair of black gloves from inside his coat.

“No, please. I’m begging you not to do this. I’ll do better. Do you want me to get on my knees? I’ll do it.” The men restraining me let me fall to my knees, crumbling at my father’s feet. “I love Mya, and she is carrying your grandchild, your blood. Please, I’ll do anything if you let them live.”

I’d never begged him for anything. I’d spent my entire life hating him, but this wasn’t about me anymore. My heart hammered as he stared down at me, his eyes cast in dark shadows that made him and the evil he carried in his soul feel more ominous.

“Does she really mean that much to you? She is nothing more than middle-class garbage, not even worthy to shine your shoes, let alone carry your child.”

Father walked over to Mya and gripped her chin, making her whimper. I tried to stand, but strong hands forced me back down to my knees.

“She is certainly beautiful and fuckable. I can see the appeal.”

“Get your hands off of her,” I growled, but that was a mistake.

He turned his head and smirked, chilling me to the bone. Father lifted his hand and shot Mya’s mother in the head, right between the eyes.

Blood and other bits flew in all directions, some of it landing on Mya’s cheek, and she began shrieking hysterically.

“No, no, Mya, don’t scream,” I begged her, but the panic had already taken over.

Smack.

My father backhanded her across the face.

Bursting to my feet, I yelled, “Don’t touch her!”

Then, I fell face - first to the ground as my knees were taken out from behind. Unable to catch myself, I hit the tile hard and was left winded and gasping for breath.

Her mother’s blood spread across the floor, coming toward me.

“Put him on his knees,” Father commanded.

Rough hands gripped me and once more yanked me upright.

“Please…if you ever loved me, please don’t do this.”

My father’s answer was to shoot Mya’s father in the head. I winced as his body jerked and then toppled sideways. His head landed on his wife’s lap. Mya’s parents could have passed for drunk with how they were slouched on their chairs.

Mya cringed and whimpered as she cried. Her eyes found mine again, silently begging. But I couldn’t stop what was happening to either of us.

Father grabbed Mya by the throat and dragged her off the chair, forcing her to kneel beside me. I looked over at her.

“I begged you not to say anything,” she said.

“I know. I’m sorry,” I said.

“You’re not, but you will be,” Father said as he tightened his grip on her throat, and she gasped for air.

“No…stop…please.”

The image shifted, and instead of Mya, it was Ren on her knees, her silver eyes filled with fear as she stared at me. Her hands clawed at my father’s arm as her mouth moved silently, begging me to help her.

“No!”

G asping awake, confused, and with no idea where I was, I jumped when a cool hand touched my face.

As soon as I recognized Ren’s worried eyes, the past and present collided, and everything came rushing back. She stroked my cheek, but all I could see was my father’s hand around her throat.

“I failed you,” I said, even though I wasn’t supposed to mention anything she hadn’t remembered on her own. “I promised to protect you, and I failed you.”

Tears formed, and I looked away. But Ren slowly shook her head as she leaned in and kissed the escaping droplets. Closing my eyes, I took the comfort even though I didn’t deserve it.

“You are too good for me,” I said. “I’ve hurt you, lied to you, hurt you again, and then you finally trusted me to protect you, and I couldn’t even do that properly.”

“S…s…stop.”

“You don’t understand,” I said, opening my eyes. Ren’s lips were almost touching mine. “I’m so sorry. I never should’ve fallen in love with you. Shit…I…fuck.”

Ren’s eyes went wide. What the hell was wrong with me? I tried to look away to get the fuck out of this room before I screwed anything else up, but she held my face tighter.

“I…you…fault.” She took a deep breath, and I could see her fighting with herself, trying to get out what she wanted to say. My heart broke into a million pieces watching her struggle. “No,” she growled and took me completely by surprise when she kissed me hard.

The chaos knotting my mind and heart melted away. The room disappeared, and where we were didn’t matter. For however long this lasted, the world was okay. We were okay. There were no secrets or lies, no pain or betrayal, no guilt, and no fear.

Ren leaned back against her pillow, bringing me with her. With my arms around her, holding her close, I felt alive. Even the dead parts that had become ash long ago glowed with new life.

Breaking the kiss, I nipped at her bottom lip. Fuck me, she was beautiful.

“You’re supposed to be taking it easy,” I said, even though the last thing I wanted to do was stop and have this moment end. “Doctor’s orders,” I said, and then groaned as she glared at me.

The devious minx reached down and rubbed me through my track pants. I sucked in a deep breath. Her caress was like an electrical shock. Gripping the edge of the bed, I stared down into her eyes.

“You better stop. I haven’t even touched myself since we were in California,” I said, gritting my teeth. “I know my limitations, and you’re pushing it.”

My entire body shuddered and jerked as she tightened her grip.

“Fuck, Princess, you’re killing me. I should get up and let you sleep.”

She growled at me, and I couldn’t contain my satisfaction.

“No.”

I smoothed back her hair. “I’m not great at being gentle, but for you…for you…fuck…”

My body betrayed all thoughts of doing the right thing when Ren put her finger on my lips.

She looked up at me, eyes glassy and full of emotions she couldn’t explain.

But I saw every word written in her expression.

Love. Fear. Gratitude. Longing. It was all there, raw and trembling like a song only I was meant to hear.

I trailed the backs of my fingers down her cheek, lower to her throat, and then back up to her luscious lips.

“You don’t have to speak,” I whispered. “I hear you.”

She wasn’t just touching me…Ren was claiming me. Silently telling me she wanted me, daring me to think she loved me back. The real me, including the wreckage that was my life.

My mouth brushed against the curve of her jaw.

“Tell me if it’s too much,” I whispered, and she nodded.

The heat of her body warmed me as I slid under the blanket. I loved how Ren responded to me and how her eyes begged me for more as my fingers pulled the thin hospital gown up over her hips.

Ren’s skin was like silk, her breath hitching as I cupped her gently.

She was already wet. Already trembling. I rubbed slow circles over the cotton material with my fingers, just enjoying for a moment watching her come undone.

Ren’s head tipped back, lashes fluttering, her chest rising like each breath cost her everything.

“Look at me,” I growled, the sound more of a plea than a command.

She did, and fuck me, I nearly lost it. Her eyes were filled with a lust that shot through my body and straight to the tip of my cock. She bit her bottom lip and moaned, and in that moment, she was the most devastatingly beautiful thing I’d ever seen.

She was a mysterious miracle that had managed to put a broken man back together with a fierceness that challenged me every second. To be better, to be more, to be the best, and worthy.

My fingers worked her, applying just enough pressure to make her whimper. Ren gripped the side of my neck like I was her lifeline. Her body bowed beneath me, her hips moving in desperate rolls that told me everything—she needed more and she trusted me to give it to her.

And fuck, I would. God help me, I would.

“You’re so sensitive,” I murmured, kissing the hollow of her throat. “So, fucking beautiful.”

With deliberate care that was so far from my nature that it felt completely foreign, I hooked a finger into the side of her panties and moved them aside. Stroking her up and down, my cock began to throb. Beating back the urge to take what I craved, I slipped into her tight heat.

“Fuck, Princess.” I groaned into her ear as I pushed deeper, making her thighs tremble.

Ren was still rubbing me, but I wanted to feel her skin.

“Stop teasing me and grip me for real,” I ordered as I pumped faster. Her breath matched every thrust.

Ren wiggled her hand under the waistband of my track pants and wrapped it around my hard shaft.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, Princess…you’re killing me.”