Page 51 of Dove

“Stand up.” I sighed as I rubbed my eyes. He scrambled to his feet, no doubt fearing a delay in my command would earn him another punishment. “You know I don’t care that you’re gay. As long as you keep her safe, you can stick your dick in whoever you want.”

His cheeks flushed as he pulled on the back of his neck. Kincaid let out a soft gasp. Did they really think it mattered to me? He shrugged. “Macho guys. You never know how they’ll react.”

“You’re not wrong. There are some in the family who won’t agree, but I’ll deal with them.”

“I don’t—why?” His brows furrowed in confusion.

“The family owns a kink club which I frequent. Or I used to.” I placed the knife on the desk, longing that I wouldn’t get to use it again tonight. “We’d be stupid to turn away business because of their sexual preferences even if the older generation is still stuck in their ways.”

He didn’t say anything more as we stared at each other. It made me comfortable to know the one guard who’d gotten close with my little dove didn’t prefer her company. It made it easier to know they spent time together.

“Head to the gambling club. Bash has secured a few idiots who owe us a debt. Teach them a lesson and let them get a few hits in.” I sighed. “When the men ask, tell them they’re from me.”

“You’re not going to….” He let the rest of the question hang in the air between us.

I cracked my neck to ease the tension. “No. I believe you’re loyal, and I’d like you to stay that way. The brand is enough.”

Once again, he proved his worth by simply nodding and leaving the room. I could feel Kincaid’s mind turning as she sat on the desk next to me. I didn’t look at her. I knew the questions that were coming, and they had nothing to do with what Henry had suffered.

“How many?” Her voice betrayed her anxiety. I turned and pulled her across the desk until I was once again between her creamy thighs. Her shirt rode up, revealing her bare pussy to me.

Cazzo.

My hands twitched with the need to touch her. To see if she was wet. To feel myself slide easily into her warmth.

“None.” I answered as my fingers skimmed up her legs, heading to my version of heaven. The only version I would ever get. Just as I brushed her pretty cunt Kincaid snapped her thighs shut.

“Don’t lie to me, Maddox.” She shoved my hand away and went to push off the desk. I slammed my large palms on her legs, trapping her with me.

“If you want to know how many people I’ve fucked I couldn’t even begin to tell you. Hundreds.” I felt nothing at the thought of the others. No interest in them as people. No desire to have them again. But Kincaid’s face contorted in pain, made my chest tight. Pulled forward the emotions I’d never known I had. I brought one hand to cup her cheek. Tracing along her smooth skin. “But not one of them meant anything. They were toys. Fuckable holes. I didn’t care about them.”

“I was a toy once too.” She whispered as she closed her eyes and tried to ignore my gentle caress. Tried to pretend it didn’t affect her in the same way it affected me.

“You were never a toy. I wanted to believe you were.” I brushed my lips to hers briefly. “You’re different. I didn’t think I could feel until you came along.”

Her eyes flicked open again. She searched mine looking for the truth. “How? How am I different from them?”

I threaded my fingers through her hair, tilting her head back so she could look at me fully. “I never fucked a single one of them without a condom. I’ve never given them my cum. My spit.” Her eyes narrowed. I knew it wasn’t enough. She wanted more than sex. And she had it. “No other woman has been in this house. Ever. You’re the only one who’s slept in my bed. Eaten at my table. You’re the only one who’s seen me.”

I pressed my forehead to hers. She was mine, no matter what. But I wanted her to understand. “I’ve never claimed another woman. I’ve never told anyone else I love them. Only you, my little dove.”

Kincaid sighed as she pressed her lips into mine. I surged in, forcing her to open for me. I dove deep, tasting all of her. Claiming. Possessing. Willing her to see us for what we were. I squeezed the nape of her neck as I pulled back.

“Do you understand? There is no one else. There will never be anyone else.”

“Okay.” She shook her head before kissing me again.

She was the only one. The only one who ever affected me. Changed me. Made me a part of her. No one else.

25

Kincaid

Iwished I could plug my ears so I didn’t have to hear the sound of my vomit as it hit the water. I gagged again before slumping forward and flushing the toilet. My head slipped from the sweat as I rested it on my forearm. My arm clung to the seat. I didn’t have it in me to care about the germs, not when I felt like death warming over.

My body shook with the fever even as I wished for a blanket to keep me warm. I groaned as my stomach cramped again. I closed my eyes to try and stop the room from spinning around me, but it didn’t help. It also didn’t stop the pounding in my skull. I had been like this for hours.

I’d felt fine when Maddox and I had gone out to dinner; he was starting to trust that I wouldn’t try and leave again. We’d come home where he proceeded to punish me for every hour we’d been out, and he’d had to wait to fuck me. Afterward, I’d fallen asleep until my stomach pains had woken me up.