Burning Your Lies (King and Queen Duet #2)

42

Huxley

I am not a man of nerves, but as I stand opposite the chipped door, my body won’t stop shivering. Inhaling deeply, I knock on the door. It takes a few seconds before it opens and an older woman is staring at me.

“Good evening. My name is Huxley Ray. May I come in?”

She eyes my tailormade suit with suspicion.

“Who are you? Does my stupid son owe you money?”

An unfamiliar ache presses against my chest. I shake my head.

“Apologies ma’am. I am not here to collect a debt. I am here to pay one.”

Confusion douses her.

“Who lent you money?”

“May I please come in? I assure you, I am not here to cause any trouble.”

With hesitation, she pulls the door open and moves to the side to let me into their small hallway. The petite woman leads me into a room that’s the same size as my closet. Though outdated, it has a homely feel to it. She gestures to the chunky sofa, choosing to sit on the chair opposite it.

As I look around, I realise why Jordan wasted his life gambling. He wanted to give his family more than they could afford. His mother looks like her bones are going to break any moment; probably from working her whole life to keep her family afloat.

“Is your husband home?”

“Daniel! There’s a man in a suit here!”

She grumbles under her breath as she waits for her husband to join us.

“Old man is probably sleeping.”

She’s proven wrong when a bald gentleman enters the room. Like his wife, he looks at me with suspicion.

“What did that boy do now? Did you tell him we don’t got nothing to steal? Those last boys took the TV.”

“I’m not here for that.”

“Why are you here?”

That is a good question. Nobody asked me to come. I owe nothing to these people. Except I can’t stop thinking about Jordan. That day we went to visit Henry keeps popping into my head; when he spoke about how he’s an only child and his parents have no one to take care of them. While I can’t rectify that, I can take away one burden from them.

I place an envelope on the small square coffee table.

“This is money I owe Jordan for some work he did for me.”

His dad shakes his head and scowls as he says, “We don’t need no blood money.”

“It’s not blood money. It’s honest money he earned.”

His mother asks, “Where is my boy? He hasn’t been home in some time.”

Her husband replies before I can.

“He’s probably drunk in some casino. What else?”

The exhaustion from Jordan’s sickness is written on his face.

The ache in my chest intensifies. I struggle to find words to convey that their child is no more because of us. If we never got him involved, he would be alive.

“He moved abroad to join Elliot,” I lie.

“Without telling us?”

“It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and he took it.”

The room falls silent and I can almost feel them calling me a liar. But I can’t tell them the truth. Not only to protect Savannah, but also their hearts.

“There is one hundred thousand in there.”

Neither of them acknowledge my statement, both lost in their thoughts. A single tear falls down his mother’s cheek as she stares at the ground.

“He’s dead, ain’t he?”

his father asks.

I open and close my mouth, unsure of what to say.

He takes my silence as confirmation.

“Was it quick?”

Their faces blur behind my tears. My voice comes out quiet and shaky. “Yes.”

“Will he be returned to us?”

“I don’t know.”

He grabs the arm of the sofa to help pull himself up. He stands in front of me and offers a handshake.

“Thank you.”

I grip his hands.

“What for?”

“For saving us the heartache. My son was a good boy. He was just a little troubled. He wanted more than we could ever give him. That does not make him a bad person.”

I stand up and hold his shoulder.

“Your son was a good person. He died protecting the life of someone he cared very much about. He was brave. He was witty. And I miss him.”

My throat tightens. I need to get out of here.

“If you ever need anything, please find me.”

I rush out of there, needing air in my lungs.

But no matter how fast I walk, I hear the bone-crushing howl of a mother mourning for her son.

I close my eyes and tilt my head up. The droplets from the showerhead hit my face at a fast tempo. The bathroom fills with steam as the water scalds my skin. But nothing eases the dull ache in my chest.

You’re stronger than this, Ray. Pull yourself together, dammit. He was one life of the millions that exist. You’ve taken the lives of many yourself. Stop acting like a weakling.

No matter how much I reprimand myself, my lungs expand and then I am crying. My tears wash down the drain with the rest of the water, but does little for my pain. My fists come down on the tiles as my cries grow and soon I am sobbing.

He wasn’t just a life. He was a person. He was a son. His parents have to grieve for a son they didn’t deserve to lose. They can’t give him a final resting place. No parent should have to bury a child, but at least that gives them a sense of closure. They won’t ever get that.

And there is Mia. What is her family doing? How much worry is consuming them? Nobody has contacted Savannah to query her whereabouts. Have they not wondered where their daughter is? Or, like Sara, is she going to remain a hidden secret of Xavier’s?

I don’t flinch when a pair of arms wrap around my waist. Savannah rests her cheek against my back. She holds me as I grieve for a set of human I grew to care about.

“They shouldn’t have died.”

Savannah is crying too. “I know.”

“Did we do this?”

I turn around. I hold her chin so I can look at her.

“Are we the reason they are lying lifeless in a warehouse somewhere?”

“I did this.”

Her hand holds my cheek.

“It was not you. I stole the diamond. I pulled the trigger. This is not your burden.”

Pulling Savannah against me fills me with a warmth the burning water couldn’t. I hold on to her as if it will erase the heartache I have felt since I heard of their murder.

“I miss them,”

she whispers.

“They were the only family I had left. Sometimes I lay in bed and it’s like there’s a weight sitting on my chest, crushing me. And nothing makes it go away.”

Every bone in my body aches from carrying guilt.

“I went to see Jordan’s parents.”

Savannah pulls back and stares at me.

“Why? What did you say?”

My hand runs down her hair.

“I went to give them some money like that would make up for their son being dead. They just knew, Sav. They never had much, but at least they had one another, you know? Jordan was far from ideal, but they loved him. And I just…”

I shake my head.

“I just keep thinking about all the families I’ve done that to. I say I kill for justice. But what justice is that to all the families I’ve robbed a child of?”

She places a kiss above my heart before laying her head against my chest.

“You are a good person. You were getting justice for those they wronged.”

“That’s not true. I’ve made myself judge and executioner.”

My fingers rub up and down her back. I think about the danger I’ve put her in with Rowan.

“I helped someone steal from their brother because I decided one was more right than the other. But what right did I have to decide that? I helped him steal millions and the love of his life. Turns out I was wrong. The man used the girl to steal the money. They’re both dead now.”

Savannah stills.

“Does the brother know?”

“No. I know he’s searching for the money, but I think he’s looking for her. He truly loved her.”

My arms tighten around her.

“And I know I would turn the world upside down if someone took you. I would literally die without you. My wrong judgment has resulted in three people dying.”

She turns the water off and strips her soaking clothes off. Reaching for two towels, she hands one to me and wraps the other around herself.

“You did not murder them.”

With the towel wrapped around my waist, I step out of the shower and follow her into our bedroom.

“No. I just smuggled them into Bosnia, took the money and left them without a care.”

Savannah sits me down on the bed and towel dries my hair without saying another word on the subject. She takes the time to brush through my locks and apply lotion over my skin. Her fingers are gentle, as if she’s scared I’m going to physically break. Once she’s done, she stands up and heads into the closet before returning with some pyjamas.

I stand up and point at my seat.

“Let me take care of you.”

Mirroring her, I towel dry her long hair first. She lets out a few yelps when I pull too hard. I pull at her towel and let it fall onto the bed. Her smooth skin raises with goosebumps as I massage the cream into it. Her breathing deepens when I go over her breasts. Climbing off the bed, I kneel on the floor. I try not to look between her legs, but can’t help it. My eyes meet hers and I see the lust in them.

She clears her throat.

“You don’t have to do my legs.”

I want to.

Collecting more of the emollient, I start with her feet and work my way up. Her stomach tightens the closer I get to her thighs. I feel her muscles tighten. I should stop. But my fingers massage her thighs until they stop at her womanhood.

“Hux,”

she breathes.

I want her. I need her.

My thumb brushes over her clit and she gasps. I kiss her knee and work my way up.

Her fingers thread through the hair she just brushed through. Her hips buck up the closer I get to where I want to be. With one gentle push, she’s on her back and bared to me. She bends one leg and gives me what I’ve missed. Her heavy breath is one of relief as I run my tongue up her slit.

I pay attention to every crevice of the area, enjoying the smooth glide against my tongue. I flick my tongue over her sensitive nub and it earns me a moan. Hungry for more, I give her the affection she deserves.

Savannah moves up on the bed and lies on her pillow. She smiles at me in a way that makes me feel whole.

“I love you.”

I lay next to her and pull her against me. Pulling one leg around me, I use her arousal to lubricate myself. Just as I ease into her, I whisper, “I love you too, sweetheart.”

Her arms wrap around my neck, desperate to get as close to me as she can. She meets my thrusts. We’re both moaning and grunting from the pleasure of being with one another.

Her soft whimper almost makes me fill her.

“That’s so deep.”

Her lips are on mine and the kiss swallows our incoherent mumbles. Her fingers wrap around my hair and she pulls when I fill her whole.

“You feel so good,”

I say, breaking the kiss. When she pulls my hair again, my hips buck faster. My hands are on her ass, trying to push myself deeper inside her.

Her head falls back. “Slower,”

she begs.

“It’s too deep.”

My favourite view will always be Savannah being fucked by me. Her eyes are screwed shut and her mouth a little open. Her breasts bounce with every thrust and her nipples beg for attention. My lips wrap around one and I suck.

“Slower.”

A groan emits from her.

“I’m going to come.”

She pushes my chest.

“Slower. Oh God. Slower, Hux.”

I slow my pace just to enjoy the show. My skin stings from where her nails claw at me.

“Are you okay?”

Her wild eyes land on me.

“It’s so deep.”

My laugh slips out. I kiss her jaw.

“So you keep saying. Too much for you?”

Her legs tighten.

“Oh, fuck.”

A loud, long moan fills the room.

“It feels so good, it hurts.”

Her teeth clamp onto my shoulder as her body shakes. “Hux.”

Pressing her against me, I suck the skin on her neck.

“Come for me, sweetheart.”

I can barely see straight as her walls tighten around me.

“That’s my girl. Come on, baby.”

Her body jerks. She’s trying to push me away, but I selfishly hold her in place, desperate to feel her spasm around me.

“Pull out. I can’t take it.”

I lick the tear of pure pleasure that streaks down her cheeks.

“I’m almost there.”

“Hux.”

The desperate plea brings me closer. “I can’t.”

My fingers reach to where our bodies are joined, and I rub her clit.

Instantly, her stomach arches. “Stop.”

Her words are the opposite of what her body wants because she’s grinding against me.

“I’m going to come again.”

I smile against her neck. “So soon?”

I kiss her neck.

“Always so greedy.”

I kiss her jaw.

“So needy.” I kiss her lips.

“And all mine.” Picking up my pace, I fuck her harder. “So fucking perfect.”

The moment her mouth drops open and nothing comes out, I fill her. The wave of pleasure starts in my toes until every muscle in my body locks and I grunt as she steals every drop out of me.

Neither of us moves. We stay immobile like that; joint and satisfied. Our clammy skin sticks together, but we don’t care. She fiddles with my hair and I run my fingers up and down her spine.

And for the first time in weeks I feel like I can breathe again. The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them.

“We need to give Mia’s family closure. They deserve to mourn her.”

Savannah lifts her head and looks at me.

“How are we going to do that?”

The plan is already forming in my head.

“I’ll handle it.”

She shakes her head.

“Hux, I don’t want you to do that. You said you want out. And I’m glad we’re working on us, but that doesn’t mean you have to be involved again.”

I kiss her hard, hoping she understands how much I love her.

“Let me be the judge and executioner one more time. And once we’re done, I will put down my gavel and you will put down your sword. We’ll simply be two people in love. We will settle down where nobody knows us. We will get married. We will have beautiful children. And we will live until death do us part. I promise.”