“Wow.” Her expressions flicker from shock to curious to awe in the span of five seconds. Gabriella rises onto the tips of her toes, jumping in place, and I can’t help but look at her breasts. The way they bounce. How perky they are with tiny little points that press against the fabric of my shirt she’s still wearing. “...visit it?

“I’m sorry, what?” There’s no shame in my expression, and she doesn’t catch me looking either. The woman is too excited, rambling a bit, and I hold up both hands to pause her. “Slower, sweetheart. What were you saying?”

“I said, Mr. Astor...is it open to the public?”

“Yes and no.”

Her perfectly sculpted brows furrow. “Yes and no?”

“It’s not open to the public but would be for you. We can go after you—” This time, I’m interrupted and it’s Tero’s ringtone. He’s not one to interrupt me unless it’s important, and I don’t hesitate to pull a different phone from the one I let the detective use at the hospital. Only he and his wife have this number. “What?”

“My apologies for the interruption. I know you’re still with Miss Moore, but something has come up that you need to see.” He sounds a little out of breath. Agitated. “Can I meet you at the office or penthouse in an hour?”

“Office, and clear the building,” I say, my eyes watching Gabriella. She’s curious, a little worried, but tries to pretend she isn’t listening while bending to pick up the ruined towel. That one is tossed in the wastebasket before she grabs another, spraying more solution on the floor and repeating the process until it’s clean. “Can you swing by the penthouse and pick up the file atop my desk? There’s something in there we need to go over as well.”

“Done.” The sound of a car door closing comes through the line before the start of an engine. “I’ll see you soon, and again, my apologies for the interruption.”

“None needed. See you soon.”

“If you need to go, it’s okay.” Picking up her cleaning supplies, she puts everything back where it goes and then turns to face me again, her hands twisting in front of her. “We’ve been here a while now and everything seems fine.”

“Unfortunately, something work related does need my attention, but I’m not leaving yet.”

“No?”

“No.” Holding a hand up, I let my eyes wander around the room and take in a few pieces. She’s truly gifted. Has a certain emotional touch to each painting that comes through the canvas and settles in your bones. “First, I promised you I’d look around and make sure that the cleanup crew I hired removed the mess left behind.”

“What mess? Everything looks fine, and please don’t run late because of me.”

“The forensics team was here, and your home was searched from top to bottom, especially the downstairs doors and backyard, for clues. They dusted for fingerprints while others combed the yard for any clue as to how he got here in the first place. All procedural, but I don’t want you to have to see or handle that.”

“You’re too kind, Theodore.” There’s a hint of relief mixed with so much gratitude in her tone. She makes me feel like the saint I’m not. If anything, I’m selfish in my need to care for her, to shield her as best I can from what cannot be stopped. “Has anyone ever told you that?”

“Only with you, Gabriella.” Taking the steps between us, I lean down and place my lips on her forehead. I breathe her in. Her natural sweetness with a hint of vanilla and cherries still lingers after showering at my home. “Only with you.”

20

King

M

y pretty girl. My poor, trusting pretty girl.

Because souls like hers aren’t meant for this world. No. They should only exist in a reality where they’re protected—cherished—and yet, most are destroyed before they’ve had the chance to shine.

To grow and love. To relish in their freedom.

To discover what makes them different from everyone in the crowd, but then again, there’s a beautiful lesson to be learned about true emotions. Because honest and pure don’t exist, but loyalty and death are two things that will never fail you.

Someone who is loyal will never leave your side in sickness and in health. For richer or in your time of destitution.

And it’s because I love her with a sickness that I do what I do. What I must.

My loyalty will break Gabriella and then put her back together again.

She will never leave me. Not again. Not by choice or circumstance.

Moreover, no amount of time walking this earth will ever erase how I feel about the whimpering woman before me, thrashing in her bed as she dreams of me. Of the darkness I control, and she will join, but only after I’ve broken her down to nothing. When I’ve stripped her of every ounce of innocence and unleash the demoness that’s crawling beneath her soft, fragrant skin.

“I’m here, Gabriella.” At my words, a whimper passes through her plump lips, her chest arching slightly off the bed before settling back down. Her legs, though, kick off the bedsheet and I catch a glimpse of the nearly bare pussy between her thighs. The shine of slickness that merges with her cherry vanilla scent, creating the perfect ambrosia. “Fuck, pretty girl. How you tempt me.”

My mouth waters at the sight, and my teeth dig into my bottom lip, I want her. Yearn to hold her in my arms again and the time is drawing near, but not yet, and this is all I can take at the moment. To hover above her bed while watching. To lightly run the pad of two fingers up her thighs to her hip bone and then pause long enough to draw in another deep breath.

She’s in the air all around me, her essence pulling me in closer.

“Where are you? Why can’t I see you?” she murmurs in her sleep, head moving from side to side, and I smile. Soon she’ll never have to wonder where I am or what I want as my need will be tattooed on her flesh for every motherfucker to see. “Show yourself, dammit.”

Her impatience is a turn-on.

“Soon.” A promise. A threat. My patience runs thin every single second I don’t have her in my arms. “The world will weep blood before I lay it at your feet. They will all pay for what they’ve done.”

But first, I have a game we are going to play. A scavenger hunt.

I’ll leave my clues, and she will follow.

And for every item found, I’ll gift her the revenge she unknowingly seeks.

Slowly. Methodically. Painfully.

Her enemies, known or not, are mine, and I take care of what belongs to me.

Because my love for her will never be soft or innocent, but it is honest. It’s passionate and cruel to anyone who rises against my pretty girl. So for now, Theodore Astor is useful and brings her comfort, which I’ll allow, but that will only last but so long. I’ll let him watch out for her until it’s time. I’ll let him check the corners of her home—comb through her yard for anything being out of place— while I leave behind traces of my presence that can only be found by her.

Like the one she’s yet to uncover in her closet.

Like the small charm I just added to her bracelet.

Like the black rose I placed atop her mail pile with a note attached while she bathed her dog earlier. The perfect distraction to slip inside and watch for a few minutes, to bring the shirt she left atop an oversized chair to my face and inhale deeply, nearly drowning in her maddening scent. His mischief granted me that moment of reprieve, and I’ll thank him kindly for it in the future.

Moreover, the police never saw me in her yard through the cameras easily bypassed by its own technology when I hacked the system. They have no recollection of the man that’s always near and watching, of the way I hunt with methodical movements while revealing each piece of the puzzle my pretty girl will soon understand.

“Long live the queen.”

21