Ravenous Kingpin (Kingpins of the Syndicate #4)

23. Killian

CHAPTER 23

Killian

T he sadness in her eyes was so deep its sharp edge shot daggers at my chest.

I was seeing a glimpse of the carefree girl she was six years ago, only it was overrun by sorrow.

“You don’t have to be strong with me.”

“Yes, I do.” Her voice trembled and she slammed her eyes shut. Moisture coated her eyelids when she opened them next, gutting me from the inside out. I wiped a finger under the delicate skin, wishing I could read her mind and take her pain for my own.

Every burden of hers would be mine. I wouldn’t hesitate to go after the strongest heads of any and all organizations and seek revenge. For her.

However, I needed Emory’s trust, and I vowed I’d earn it.

This woman had been impossible to erase from my head and heart, no matter how hard I tried. Even when I learned of her supposed death, she remained buried deep in my chest, impenetrable.

“I’ll give you time. We have our whole lives.” I wrapped my free hand around her throat. “But I won’t tolerate you putting yourself in harm’s way. Understood?”

She gaped like a fish out of water before she found words. “You can’t talk to me like that.”

“When it comes to your safety, I will stop at nothing. Put yourself in danger, and I’ll punish you.”

“You… You can’t punish me.”

Her voice trembled on the word punish, and her eyes hazed over. “Oh, I very much can, and I will. Also…” I tightened my hold around her neck, not hard enough to cut off her oxygen but firm enough to keep her attention on me. “You only talk to Atticus when I’m around.”

I didn’t trust that fucker as far as I could throw him.

“Or what?” she said. “You’re going to punish me?”

“I will.”

“Show me.”

“Show you?”

“Yup,” she whispered as if she didn’t want anyone else to hear. “Punish me.”

Fuck me.

My dick strained against my sweatpants with the need to fuck her again so hard that she wouldn’t be able to walk for days. This couldn’t be healthy. At this rate, I’d fuck her every hour of the day. I suspected I was at risk of getting drunk on her. Fuck, maybe even addicted.

“Why are you looking at me weirdly?” she demanded. “Why aren’t you punishing me?”

I leaned over the table and sealed her lips to mine. I feasted on her, licking and nibbling, and it took only a second for her to open herself to me with a moan. Her whimpers encouraged me to get lost in her taste.

Aware of the danger that posed, I wrenched my mouth from hers. She was panting, her expression asking for trouble.

But instead of giving it to her, I released her neck and pulled away from her.

Emory blinked up at me. “What happened to my punishment?”

“As if I could ever hurt you, Emory,” I said, and she forced her eyes shut as a tear slid down her cheek. “But know this. I’ll take a sledgehammer to the walls around your heart if I have to, but I will get through to you, one way or another.”

Then I turned around and left her to ponder those words.