6. Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Killian
I watch her like a hawk as she slices the perfectly tender cut of meat and places it in her mouth. Her eyes expand in delight, which she quickly tries to cover up with a look of disdain, but I see it. I see her. “Good?”
“I’ve had better,” she lies as she takes another bite. Her microexpressions give her away, even if she doesn’t want to look in my direction.
“I’ll be sure to let Guillermo know to do better, or else . . .” I say.
She turns to look me in the eye. “What do you mean ‘or else?’” You can tell she’s worried about him, and she doesn’t even know him. I can’t imagine the protectiveness she feels for those she loves. I want to feel that . . . the last time I felt real love was my parents. My uncle raised me after their passing, but there was never any warmth there.
Axel’s snort in the corner makes me laugh—pulling me out of my thoughts. “Or else he’ll have to keep trying. Contrary to your beliefs, I’m not evil.” Her eyebrows shoot up. “Okay— that evil. I reward loyalty with loyalty.” It’s a joke, but there’s some truth to it when it comes to those I care about. Little does she know, I’d burn the world down for her.
“Is that what you are . . . ?” She turns to look at Axel. “Loyal to him?”
His eyes meet hers and he smirks. “You’ll learn that there’s more to see in this situation.” Axel leans into the table as lights dance behind his eyes. “And I have a feeling you’ll like it more than you’re willing to admit right now.”
“I guess it’s like you said, there’s more than meets the eye,” she says.
“Don’t I know it,” I teasingly challenge.
She smirks at me. “No, no you don’t. You think you know the real me. But you haven’t even scratched the surface, Killian.” That intrigues me, because I’m sure there’s so much I wouldn't know from just watching her for months. But it also solidifies me knowing how deep that fire burns within her soul.
“Won’t you tell me?” I ask.
“If you think you know everything then why am I here?” Naomi counters. “Why did you bring me here to this prison?”
“I’d hardly call it a prison. You have everything your heart can desire . . . has desired. All of those darkest desires you’ve kept to yourself are a reality in my castle.”
Her eyes look conflicted. You like being my queen don’t you, firecracker? But she says with resolve, “All but the key to escape. No, you seem to get off on the idea of trapping me.”
“Aren’t you sweet for thinking of things that tickle my fancy?” I chuckle. “Well, I’m not afraid of bindings or being trapped. And something tells me you’d be a willing participant in those decadences.”
There’s a spark igniting in her eyes that she tries to blink away to no avail. Oh, my little firecracker. “That doesn’t answer my question,” she says, but there’s a barely noticeable stutter.
“No, but you ignoring him may speak to what he said being more accurate than you want to admit.” Her cheeks flush.
“Can I watch?” asks Axel as I’m mid-sip of my wine, making me choke as I laugh.
“Shut the fuck up.”
“Calm down. I’m joking to ease the tension,” he says.
“To answer your question, I’ve been watching you for a long time, and I believe we’d be the perfect pair.”
“Yeah, in death,” she says, rolling her eyes.
“That can be arranged. I want you in all lifetimes, but for now this life will have to do,” I profess.
“Can I go back to my room? Or will Your Majesty have me stare at you both until you’re done.” Looking at her plate I see she cleared everything except for the carrots. I make a note to tell the cooks not to put them on her plate next time. I also notice the steak knife missing, which thrills me.
“Let me escort you.” I stand up and walk to her as she tries to use the length of her arm to hide the blade. I step closer than necessary because I can’t help it, but I also want to provoke her. “I wouldn’t want you to get lost.”
I expect her to back up, but she gets closer. “Wouldn’t want the secrets hidden away in these walls to get out, would we Killer ?” Something about the way the word killer rolls off her tongue has my stomach fluttering.
“All in due time, little firecracker.” My eye catches on a loose strand of hair on her head. Instinctively, I go to move it, expecting her to swat my hand away. She surprises me when she leans into it and our eyes lock. If only for a moment, there’s a lustful wanting mirrored in our gazes.
It may have been too much for her, as her anxiety gets the best of her. “Don’t. Fucking. Touch. Me,” she spits as she winds her arm back for momentum. She brings the hilt of the knife to her palm so she can stab me, but my other hand is ready for this. I grab her wrist and twist.
“Nuh-uh-uh.” I try to be gentle with my movement as I force the knife out. “I see everything.”
“Scalpel,” Naomi calls out to the nurse next to her, who immediately hands it over.
I should probably be looking at the surgery, but I can’t keep my eyes off her. Forcing myself, I look away to the man she’s doing trauma surgery on after a bad car crash.
Naomi’s eyes are furrowed in concentration as she sticks her hand out expectantly. “Suction.”
It wasn’t hard to get in here. A little fake badge and some IT magic let me inside. And thankfully we’re all gowned and masked-up in the surgery room. No one will be the wiser.
She’s super precise with her cuts. It’s almost an art form.
“What did he do?” whispers one of the nurses to the other. I see Naomi’s eyes twitch in their direction, but she doesn’t say anything. She prefers peace and quiet when she’s working.
I almost want to yell at the nurse, but before I can even finish the thought the other one responds, making my blood boil. “He was driving drunk with his pregnant wife and two-year-old child. They didn’t make it.”
My eyes instantly go to Naomi, who freezes. She looks more obviously toward the two nurses, who immediately stand up straighter. “Sorry,” they both blurt out, averting their eyes.
“The time for gossip is outside my OR,” she seethes, but I think the anger is toward the man on the table rather than the nurses. I see her hand twitch as she goes back to work. She pauses and takes a deep breath before cracking her neck.
I wonder if she’s considering letting him die on this table. But she goes straight back to work, standing by her Hippocratic Oath. But it was there, I saw it. That moment of consideration whether to do the wrong thing for the right reasons. He doesn’t deserve to live. He dies a day later from internal bleeding. It makes me wonder: was that at the hand of God or my firecracker?
She tries to lunge with her other hand, but I grab that one with my free hand. Naomi forces her head forward, but I take each wrist still in my grasp and twist so her arms hold her like a straight jacket with her back to my chest. I lean over to her ear. “Shhh. It’s okay.”
“Let go of me!” she screams as she tries to thrash around and head-butt me again.
“If you promise to behave.”
“I’ll never promise that,” she snarls.
“You’re right, misbehaving sounds way more fun, don’t you think?” I whisper into her ear as I feel her quiver against me with desire. I hear a glass clink against a plate and look up to see Axel still in his seat, sipping his wine.
He raises his glass in cheers in our direction. “Don’t mind me, I'm enjoying the show!”
“Ugh. Fine. Let go!” As her head shakes to try and get free, the apple cinnamon smell of her hair consumes my senses. Delicious. I bet she’s as sweet and tart as an apple. “What are you smirking at?” she demands.
“Nothing.” I smirk. “I have a proposal—let me train you.” It was always the plan to help her truly embrace that ruthless side of herself that I first saw at the coffee shop. She was fully composed, but I knew she was just itching to fully kick his ass. She’s good at defense already, but there’s always room for improvement. That’s why Axel and I also train non-stop.
Her head shakes in disbelief as her cute eyebrows furrow. “Why the hell would you want to do that?”
“So you can feel more in control, firecracker.”
Naomi continues to thrash. “I’m in control.”
I snort out a laugh. “Yeah, it totally looks like it.”
She groans out, “Let go.” I fully release her, and she instantly takes the moment to put some distance between us.
“Let me train you for the next few days.”
“Few days!?” she exclaims. “This is insane!”
“Yes, it may be, but anything worthwhile is. Besides, it’ll give us a chance to get to know each other and give you a way to defend yourself. And at the end of each day you’ll have a chance to fight me. Beat me and you can leave.”
“You want me to fight for my freedom?” Naomi raises an eyebrow at me.
“I will have it no other way, my queen.”
“I am not your anything.”
“Not yet. But you will be. Either way, you need to learn to defend yourself.”
“What if I don’t beat you? Will you keep me caged?”
“Not quite. You get to come to the dungeons with me.” She has to see every dark part of this world and myself. “And you have more freedom here than you realize.” I leave it at that. But after tonight she’ll have full access to everything within the property, she just has to dare to explore it.
“Of course you have a fucking dungeon. Fine, I’ll take your deal, not that I have a choice. But I have my own bargain.”
I turn my head sideways—curious. “What would that be?”
“I want freedom.”
“I — ”
“I want to be able to see this mansion daily. I’ll let you or Axel supervise and decide the time limit, but I refuse to be locked away in the room all day.”
She doesn’t even realize she’s had that all along, but I won’t deny myself her willing company. “In return I get?”
“One question.”
“I know everything I need to know about you, little firecracker.”
She has a toothy grin. “You think you do. But that’s not my problem. You get one question answered. It’s your responsibility not to squander it with something stupid.”
“Game on.”