Fierce King by Ivy Mason

Nineteen

Somethinginside me shattered in the museum.

There was a look in Bourbon's eyes, the way he kept staring at me, the simplest touches, the magnetic way he gravitated wherever I went, all revealing the feelings he was keeping inside.

And then that kiss...

God, that kiss was everything.

I felt the monumental effect of it. The way he didn’t hold back, like he had every other night.

Something had changed between the three of us. With Bourbon opening up about his mom, and Coulter coming to me when he was the most vulnerable, it was almost as if… as if they trusted me.

The thought scared me, but it also made me wonder if I could trust them too.

On the way home, Bourbon tucked me into his side, his fingers caressing my bare shoulder. I leaned against him, and he brushed his lips across my temple, occasionally pressing a soft kiss there. I felt warm, safe, taken care of.

What if my father had lied? What if they didn’t kill Lily?

The whole drive back, I questioned this. Could I really ask them for the truth?

When we pulled up to the gates, I decided to confront my fears. To ask them upfront about Lily and that, even if the truth was as heartbreaking as I expected, I had to hear it from their mouths.

Instead of entering the back of the property, we drove through the front gate. All of the lights to the house were off, except for the front ones lighting up the entranceway. I didn't speak much as the car stopped at the front door, my stomach in my throat as I climbed out after Bourbon.

His hands went to my cheeks, clasping them as he tilted my head upwards to gaze into his eyes. My nerves slipped away as soon as I saw Bourbon's open gaze. "Why are we here, Bourbon?"

"I want you in my room tonight."

My lips parted in surprise. "But I thought--"

He leaned down, kissing me, twisting my heart in the process. "It's just you and me tonight. My family is gone, and Coulter's at the Luna Azzurro.”

My gut rolled at the mention of the popular club in town, where whispered rumors of what you could buy in the back rooms were common.

Bourbon chuckled at the look on my face. "Don't worry, darling. Coulter owns the place, he's just taking care of business.”

"I--" I tried to protest, to tell him I didn’t care, but Bourbon stopped it with another kiss.

"I don't want to talk about Coulter right now," he grumbled against my lips, then he pulled me up into his arms, carrying me over the threshold to his large mansion, still kissing me the whole time.

It felt strange to be carried.

My whole life, I'd never had anyone who truly cared for me. And yet, Bourbon held me close like he treasured me. Like he would carry me across the world if I needed him to.

Like he actually cared about me.

It was a new sensation and one I was falling into way too quickly. I needed my feet on the ground, grounded in reality, but it was quickly becoming impossible with the sweet way both Bourbon and Coulter were taking care of me.

Bourbon carried me up to his room, his mouth consuming mine the whole time. When we made it into his room, he placed me on my feet and swirled me around, his hand going to the zipper of my dress.

I clenched my hands to my stomach, suddenly nervous.

Was he really doing this?

The whole time we'd all been together, not once had they ever tried to fuck me.

And believe me, I'd wanted it, practically begged them for it. But they'd always kept themselves aloof enough, pulling away after I came, even though they both clearly showed that they'd wanted me.

But now, the knuckle of Bourbon's finger traced down my back as the cool air of the room hit my skin, moving slowly downward as he undid the zipper.

My breath caught as his fingers moved to my waist, pulling the dress down to the floor. My nipples pebbled in the cool air.

"Step out of the dress, Rose." Bourbon's voice had a dark, smoky edge that rumbled against my back.

I bit down on my lower lip, holding back my whimper at the way his voice made me feel.

I stepped out of it and his hands on my hips swirled me around to face him. Then they traced up my side, feeling the curves of my hips to the side of my breasts.

He let out a low breath, closing his eyes as he pressed his forehead to mine. "You have no idea how much I've wanted this, Rose. How much I wanted to be the one to touch you, taste you,” his throat bobbed, “to make you come.”

I bit my lower lip, saying the words I’d wanted to say for so long. "Then why didn’t you?”

He gripped my waist, yanking me off my feet and threw me onto the bed. Surprised, I yelped, catching myself on the mattress. I landed on my ass, bouncing and stared at him with wide eyes.

His eyes immediately went to my breasts. Making a low noise in his throat, he stalked towards me, a predatory look in his eyes.

I scrambled backwards, which made the glint in his eyes even sharper. He crawled up the bed like a hunter, slowly stalking his way towards me, his eyes not leaving me the whole time. When he got to me, he jerked me up and into his lap, and my legs folded around his waist like they were made to be there.

Like my body was made perfectly to mold against his.

His hand went to my throat, pressing his thumb into the delicate skin there. He kept his eyes locked on mine and I couldn’t look away, even though he was cutting off my oxygen.

Finally, he leaned forward, kissing me, still not letting up on his hold over my neck.

My own arms wrapped around his neck and I tilted my head upwards, submissive and needy.

If he killed me tonight, I would let him. For he was the king of this world, and I, only a pathetic girl whose sole goal in life was to protect her only remaining sister.

He moaned a rumble of need, and his other hand slid down towards the white lace panties I was wearing. He dragged his fingers over my soft skin, still kissing me, still consuming all the air in my lungs.

They were burning.

In fact, my whole body was burning, with his presence sucking up all the power in the room.

Feeling lightheaded, I parted my lips to suck in a breath. His eyes caught on mine, his hold letting up just enough to let me take a sip of air, then another, before they closed around my neck again.

I stared deep into his eyes, not letting his gaze go. Telling him with my expression, you can have whatever you want, even my very life.

I had nothing left to give, except the secrets of my heart, and that was worth dying for.

His gaze burned, fire glowing like a raging inferno, and he moaned, pushing me to the bed. “God, you’re perfect.”

I took in the opportunity to drag in a breath, little wisps of darkness flickering in my vision before it was consumed with his face again. Then his eyes were trained on me and everything was gone. The walls, the anger, the predatory look.

It was only Bourbon revealing himself to me, and it was glorious.

Then he kissed me again and my whole body writhed under his touch. He wasn’t soft or sweet, but urgent and wild, passionate, carnal emotions overcoming all thought. His nails dug into my skin as he gripped me tight. His dick was hard in his pants, pressing into my cunt. My legs were still wrapped around his waist and I was shifting my hips, the only thing keeping us from braking the barrier of my flimsy hymen was white, delicate lace and the zipper to his pants.

I was completely absorbed into him.

His presence, his intensity, the way his lips controlled mine, his hands moving me where he wanted me. My panties were drenched, my nipples sore from being rubbed by the buttons of his shirt.

He was still completely dressed, down to his jacket and shoes, while I, only wearing panties and my stilettos.

And yet, he was a man possessed, so lost to the kiss that a power pulsed between us.

Something grew inside me, something I’d never felt before. It filled my whole body, making my fingers tingle and my chest roar with it.

It was power. The knowledge that I could make a strong, controlling man lose himself in me.

I reveled in the feel of it, grew drunk off of it.

Even though I was almost naked and writhing under him, I was the one with all the control, and it was everything.

And then, there was the sound of someone clearing their throat.

Blinking my eyes open, I turned my head, and froze.

Coulter stood in the doorway.

Even in his ruffled state, with his suit jacket missing, his tie loosened, his cuffs folded back to reveal strong forearms, and his hair rumpled, he still oozed sex, from the wide expanse of his chest, to the tattoos on his arms.

His heated, jealous gaze burned into me.

Bourbon's mask was back in place, and he didn’t move, except to stare back at Coulter, giving him a smirk. “You decided to show your face.”

Coulter's face darkened. “Surprised?”

Bourbon sat back, straightening. He pulled me up and into his lap, turning me so that my back was to his chest, facing Coulter. One of his hands went to the inside of my hips, forcing my legs open, while the other slid up between my thighs, where his fingers slid over the white lace, softly stroking me there.

My lips parted with want, and a red blush spread across my chest, a whimper of need escaping me.

I didn’t know why I was embarrassed.

Bourbon had looked on while Coulter did the exact same thing.

Coulter's eyes blazed, his gaze roaming over my breasts, then down to Bourbon's fingers stroking me.

My own gaze moved over him. He had that same smell as always, the smell of alcohol, smoke, and sex. A rouge of red was smeared across the collar of his white, button-up shirt, and glitter graced the skin of his neck.

And I grew angry.

How dare he walk in here like we owed him something, when he’d just been having sex with some girl at the club.

I tilted my chin upwards, staring into his eyes and spoke, my voice mocking. “Yes, Coulter? Did you need something?”