39. Chapter 39 #2
“I killed my father.” I stiffen but wait for him to continue.
“I came home from a trip. Mama had promised to pick me up from the airport, but she wasn’t there when I arrived.
I called and called her, but she didn’t answer.
I knew something was wrong. When I arrived home, I found my father crying over my mother’s dead body.
He-he was high and drunk.” I can feel his heart beat faster as he speaks.
“I knew he resented me and my grandfather, but I never thought it’d lead to him hurting Mama.
He and I had an altercation. I remember it as if it were yesterday.
I grabbed my brass knuckles and hit him.
I hit him over and over. His blood splattered on my clothes, my face, the floor, but I didn’t stop. When I finally did, he was dead.”
“What happened next?”
“I called for help. I called the one person my mother told me to call if I needed help. Then I called Tia Susana and told her my father had left and had no idea where he was. We all knew his temperament, so it wasn’t out of the norm.
When it came to Mama’s death, I told Tia Susana she’d fallen and hit her head.
It’s amazing how money can change a medical report.
My father was a paranoid man; he thought my mother was going to leave him.
But he wasn’t wrong. Mama wanted to return to Veridian Bay.
If I had stayed home, I could have been there to protect her.
I failed her.” He tightens his hold on me.
“I promised myself I wouldn’t fail you. I made a promise. ”
I turn to face him and hold his face in my hands. “You can’t blame yourself.”
“Neither can you,” he throws back. “I know it makes me a monster, but I don’t regret it. Just like I don’t regret my part in Vaun’s death. I hate what you did. I hate it with every fiber of my being. Another man touching what’s mine. His hands. His lips.”
“He’s dead?! Are you out of your mind?!” I shout.
“For you.” He wraps his arms around me. “Haven’t my actions proven that I'm out of my mind for you and only you? You’re mine, Veronica Kayde. You’ve always been mine. God help anyone who stands in my way. I made peace with that. And you should too.” His voice lacks remorse.
I know it’s wrong, but I can’t help but smile. Knowing that he hurt someone for touching me. “Miles, that isn’t a reason to kill a man.”
“Says you.” He brings his lips to mine, grazing them.
“You already know the kind of men your family has.” He places a kiss on my lips.
"You’re a queen who’s surrounded by monsters who will kill at your command.
Make no mistake—that includes me. And you’re the only one I’ll ever get on my knees for.
” He leans in until his forehead rests against mine, his gaze dark and hungry.
“They’ll kill for you. They’ll bleed for you.
But only I get to keep you.” He kisses me again.
“Veronica, I need you to tell me something. And I want the truth.”
“Okay.”
“What did Eric say to you that night at the club?”
“He called me sweetheart. It’s the nickname Tony used for me. Miles, I’m so angry. I feel so shattered,” I confess. “I don’t know what to do with it. It’s just there. The rage.”
“Baby, we are shattered. I’m your shattered king, and you’re my shattered queen, but we are each other's.”
I wrap my arms around his neck and crash my lips into him. I missed this. The heat of his body envelops me. No one else exists but us.
He pulls back. “Do you trust me?” he asks with so much sincerity in his voice.
“Yes.”
He interlocks his hand with mine, and I follow as he leads me a couple of yards farther into the jungle, where we reach a large tree. “Now, be a good girl and undress yourself.”
“Out here?” I stutter. "What if we’re seen?”
“No one will see you. If they do, they’re dead. This is private property, and people know not to come near this land. Now, clothes off.”
I do as I'm told. My clothes lie on the ground. He doesn't move to touch me yet; he simply watches.
"Good girl," he murmurs, the praise vibrating through me. He steps closer, until I feel the heat from his body. It’s the only thing keeping the chill of the night at bay.
He reaches out, not to pull me into him, but to place a single hand against the bark of the tree, pinning me within the cage of his shadow.
“Now turn around and put your hands on the tree. Do not—and I mean it—do not take your hands off it. No matter what. Do you understand?”
I nod.
“Use your words, baby.”
“Yes.”
“Such a fucking good girl when you want to be.” He walks away.
I hear a sound that I can’t quite make out.
He comes back. “Bend over and show me that magnificent ass of yours.” He caresses the inside of my thigh.
“You’re so fucking drenched for me.” I look at the ground beside me and see his discarded clothes next to mine.
The jungle’s humidity clings to us like a second skin, thick with the scent of rain and damp earth. I can feel the heat of his cock pressing against my entrance, teasing the ache. My breath comes in shallow pants. Then.
Snap.
A sharp, stinging fire explodes across my skin. My gasp is cut short as the shock of it ripples through me. My mind stutters. Did he just hit me?
I look over my shoulder. He stands there, magnificent and terrifying and naked, looking less like a man and more like the predator. He’s holding a small, flexible tree stick, the bark dark and wet. His eyes are pinned on mine.
"Sometimes a queen needs to be reminded who her master is.”