Cruel Seduction (Underground Kings 2)

“I’m fine, Sebastian. Stop fussing over me. I’m okay. Owen said they didn’t even need stitches. They were all pretty shallow. I was more hysterical knowing—”

“He was here. I know. I just don’t know how he got by the security.” There is no way he is as good at hacking as I am. Kendrick is smart, but I am smarter. I checked all the security cameras, but they didn’t catch anything. I couldn’t even find a section of the tape that had been paused or erased somehow, but I will. He did something, and I plan on figuring out what.

He is too fucking close. He was in my fucking house. My room. He watched my girl.

Mine.

Not his.

He thinks he owns her?

Fuck him. She isn’t the type of woman to be owned. She is like everyone else when it comes to being abused so long—she got worn down, the fight got tiring, and eventually she felt like she had no choice but to give up.

But now?

Gabriella is the kind of woman that fucking owns. She is the player in the wicked game. She has no idea the power she consumes, the ability she has to send me to my goddamn knees; if anyone has the control here, it is her.

Kendrick is underestimating her, and I can’t wait until Gabriella gets her revenge. It is going to be sweet.

Not bitter.

I won’t miss the fucking asshole.

“I don’t know, baby. Maybe we should stay here. I’m not … I’m not comfortable going out. You could get hurt.”

She slaps her knees with her hands and stands. “You are not going to take this away from me. You said you’d take me kayaking in the ocean to whale watch. I’ve never seen a whale. I’ve been locked in a damn house with a maniac for far too long.” She grips me by the shirt, and for a second I think my health is in jeopardy. “You’re going to take me on that damn kayak, and I’m going to see a damn whale! And it’s going to be fucking awesome. And you’re going to love me for it, and later you’re going to fuck me, and it’s going to be a great goddamn day! Damn it!” she screams at me before pushing me back to the couch, and she stomps to the room, slamming the door

with emphasis.

I’m not one-hundred percent, but I think I've pissed her off.

“You’re so stupid.” Heaven chuckles over his bowl of cereal. Julia is next to him, but she has headphones in her ears as she reads a Vogue magazine. On the front in pink letters it says, ‘How to be unforgettable in bed in 100 ways.’

I have a feeling she is reading that section right now.

“What did I do? I’m trying to be supportive and protect her.”

“She doesn’t want protection right now.” Heaven scoops Cinnamon Toast Crunch into his mouth and slurps the milk just before it drips from his lips. “She wants to live her life. Something she hasn’t been able to do for a long time. She understands the risks. She wants to see whales with you, dude. Fucking whales. How cool is that? If she stays in another prison, like she is right now, she’s going to resent you, no matter how much she loves you. You have to show her the world because she’s been missing it, man.” He nudges Julia with his arm to get her attention. “Right?”

“What?” She takes the earbuds out of her ears and lays them on the table.

“Just tell him he is being an idiot.”

“I cannot say that!” she sputters and fluffs out her magazine again to begin reading. “But I will say, if it has anything to do with the lovely Gabriella, Heaven is right.”

“What if she gets hurt?”

“What if she gets hurt here?” Julia tosses in my face. “Life isn’t safe; it isn’t supposed to be. It’s meant to be lived. Risks are supposed to be taken. Reward will come after.”

“You’re a smart woman, Julia.”

She lifts a shoulder and huffs. “Ah, I’ve been around the block a time or two. I know some things.”

“How many things?” Heaven lowers his voice and wiggles his eyebrows. “You married? Single? Looking for a good time?”

“Heaven!” I warn him not to say anything else. We lost Ingrid already, who wasn’t even hired as a maid but took on the role anyway. Julia was a last minute hire Jaxon decided on because he figured we needed the extra help, and we did. Men are idiots when it comes to housework and groceries. Pizza and beer. We are good. Julia has been making meals. Like real home-cooked meals. Steak and potatoes, lasagna, meatballs. Fuck me, those meatballs are good.

“What? Women her age need good loving too. I’m an equal opportunity man whore.”