Cruel Kings by Skye Knight

33

Noah

My gaze roved over the pages of a business proposal that was currently being discussed by the board of directors at Amhurst Co. The glass of wine on the side table was nearly empty but I didn’t feel like taking my eyes off the iPad's screen to give myself a refill.

A timid knock sounded on the closed door of my room.

“Come in,” I called, still keeping my attention on the graphs presented on my screen.

“Master Amhurst,” said a familiar voice. “Miss Camilla is home.”

The mention of her name made me look up at once.

Hubert, one of the older valets, watched me intently. His wrinkled face looked even more lined than usual. It took me a moment to realize the old geezer was frowning at me.

“Do you have something else to say?” I asked coolly.

“You did a very bad thing to the young lady,” he said in an admonishing tone. “Being a bully won’t make her like you better.”

Hubert didn’t care much about kissing ass. He was one of the very few people in the world who could talk to me that way.

“Who says I want her to like me?” I asked, shifting on the couch. “She’s a gold-digger like her mother. People like them don’t suffer from embarrassment or humiliation.”

Hubert shook his head. “You don’t know anything about Ms. Eva. If you did, you wouldn’t inflict such pain on her only daughter. I have lived far more years than you, Master Noah. Trust me when I tell you that nothing hurts worse than regret.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You won’t hurt her again,” he replied in a strict tone.

I hmm’d. Hubert had no idea of the extent of torment I’d unleashed on Milla. Yesterday’s incident was a mere prank compared to the things we forced on her.

“She’s innocent,” Hubert said in an indignant tone. “I thought I raised you better than to bully and hurt women.”

“Give it a rest,” I said, not liking the way he wouldn’t stop lecturing me. “What’s done is done.”

“How about apologizing to her?”

“Are you serious?”

“I am.”

“You’ve gone senile,” I said. “Maybe I should tell Dad to put you on retirement.”

He shook his head and mumbled something under his breath.

“What was that?” I asked, grinning at him. Hubert was a pain-in-the-ass but he was like a grumpy grandpa who could be cute at times.

“I wish you still listened to me!” he shouted and turned away, tottering out of the room.

I let out a long breath and got to my feet, stretching my arms over my head.

Perhaps, it wouldn’t be so bad to go and meet her. Maybe she’d beg me for help. She knew I could get the whole school to back away from taunting her.

Suddenly, an image of Milla kneeling before me rose in my mind. Her big blue eyes staring up at me pleadingly while her tongue licked drops of creamy cum off those luscious lips.

A groan escaped me.

The mental image was enough to send a jolt of heat through me. My cock stirred, wanting to bury itself in her soft, hot core.

I should distance myself from her to avoid complicating things further but my needs outweighed all rational thought. Before I could stop myself, my feet were already taking me down the hallway.

I’ll just see what she’s up to, I told myself, hoping to console the desperateness I felt within.

Reaching the room where Dad conducted his business meetings, I slowly pushed the door open. My gaze searched for Milla, spotting her on a couch in the distance.

Standing at the threshold, I watched her.

Milla was slumped against the couch. Her body was still. Only her chest rose and fell at a regular rhythm. Her dark auburn locks fell over her eyes, effectively shielding her from the bright lights overhead.

An overwhelming urge to move those strands took hold of me.

I moved forward. The thick carpet silenced my footsteps effectively, leaving Milla blissfully unaware of my presence.

Reaching her, I stared at her. Simply watching her sleep was enough to make my cock throb hard.

Kneeling before her, I gently moved the strands away from her eyes.

There was a pinched look on her face. She looked disturbed even in slumber.

I wanted to kiss her lips and smooth that frown.

The thought took me by surprise at once. Why the hell did I even care about her? I should be happy she was in pain. I should just take what was on offer and forget about the rest.

I didn’t owe this woman anything.

She invaded my life and my home without invitation. She deserved everything happening to her right now.

Hatred and desire fueled my rashness. My mind blanked out between the conflicting emotions rising inside me.

Without caring about consequences, I grabbed her shoulder and clamped my mouth against hers. Her lips opened up easily, allowing me to slide my tongue in.

She moaned. Her body stirred.

And suddenly, she was fully awake, struggling to push me away, but I’d already caged her in.

My mouth devoured all her protests as I sucked on her tongue. Her nails scraped against my arms but it only heightened my hunger for her.

I sank my teeth into her bottom lip, punishing her for resisting me this hard. It was easy for her to please me. She just had to submit, yet she chose to fight.

“Mr. Jenkins! Help!” she moaned.

I froze at once. Letting her go, I straightened up at once and turned around.

I was confused for a moment. There was no one in the room.

Milla shoved me aside. Taken by surprise, I stumbled back a step but was quick enough to grab her wrist before she could escape.

“Oww!” she squealed, her face contorting in pain.

I glared at her. She was making a fuss when I hadn’t even put any pressure on my hold.

“Let go!” she hissed. “It hurts.”

I realized she wasn’t tricking me anymore. Her blue eyes were brimming with tears as she pleadingly stared at me.

Instead of letting her go, I took a closer look at her wrist.

The skin over her right hand and wrist were filled with angry red blisters.

“Please,” she whispered, breathing hard. “It hurts.”

“How did this happen?”

She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Did someone do this to you?” A sliver of anxiety snaked around my chest. I knew people at campus were taunting her about the video but was anyone hurting her over it?

I didn’t like the idea of someone hurting her. Yes, I wanted to hurt her, but it had to be my own hands and in a way I deemed fit. Other than me and my brothers, no one else had any right to touch her.

A loud sob escaped her. “What do you want from me?” she asked in a choked voice. “Will you be satisfied when you’ve killed me?”

My arm went around her waist, bringing her against me. I mashed my mouth against hers, kissing her forcibly while she pounded her fist on my shoulder.

She needed to know how I felt. I didn’t want her life. I wanted her.

She looked on the verge of breaking down into tears when I broke the kiss.

I loosened my hold on her wrist but quickly grabbed her other hand. There was no way I was letting her go without learning how she’d gotten hurt.

“Let me go,” she said, glaring at me despite the angry tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Tell me who hurt you.”

“You did,” she hissed. “Your plan is working perfectly. They think I’m nothing but a whore. Everyone wants a piece of my cheap ass.”

I felt like someone splashed a bucket of icy water on me. Had someone already laid a hand on her? A fierce emotion crashed through me.

“Tell me who hurt you,” I said in a low, seething voice.

“You did,” she replied back stubbornly.

I pulled her closer, breathing down her face. “Tell me or I’ll really hurt you, Milla.”

“Fuck you.”

“Milla...” Her name was a growl on my lips.

The loud sound of someone clearing their throat made me look up. Fuck, I cursed internally as my gaze landed on Mr. Jenkins, the old geezer that worked for my dad.

“Is everything okay here?” Jenkins asked, looking from me to Milla.

She was hurriedly brushing her hands over her face, wiping her tears away. “It’s fine, Mr. Jenkins,” she said in a shaky voice. “I was just upset over something stupid.”

I didn’t care to explain anything to the fucker who interrupted me. Still, I had to reluctantly step away from Milla.

“I’ll leave you to discuss your business,” I said in a nonchalant tone and walked away from her.