King's Wrath (Sydney Storm MC 5)
Fucking Christmas.
If I could wipe this fucking season off the calendar, I fucking would.
Ten minutes or so passed before Kree came back to me. Anguish covered her face. “I can’t accept that money, King.”
“Why?” I challenged her.
“It’s too much. There has to be at least five thousand in that envelope.”
“Ten thousand,” I corrected her, ignoring the way her eyes widened in shock. “And you still haven’t given me a good reason.”
She swallowed hard. “I don’t want to owe you.” Wrapping her arms around her body, she added, “I never want to owe anyone ever again.” That was when her voice cracked. I knew the reason for that, too, but I didn’t bring it up. Kree struck me as a proud woman; the last thing she needed was me throwing her past in her face when she was trying desperately to leave it behind.
I picked up the envelope and placed it in her hand. “Take it and don’t fucking argue with me. We both know you need it. I’m not going to mention it again, and you don’t owe me,” I said with force. “And one other thing, I’m switching your shifts around at work so that you don’t have to work as many nights anymore. Those kids need you at home.”
With that, I stalked down her hallway, not waiting for her response. My body crawled with the need to get out of there as fast as I fucking could.
Good deeds weren’t my fucking thing.
I rubbed the back of my neck again, feeling the beginning of a headache forming.
Motherfucker.
I needed to screw my way through tonight and fuck this tension out of my body.
Hell, I needed to fuck my way into oblivion and forget every-fucking-thing about Christmas.
Bonus Scene 2
King
This scene goes with the events of Devil’s Vengeance after King discovers Jen’s betrayal.
* * *
Tightening my grip on the glass of rum I held to my mouth, I drained the last drop of alcohol as I watched Jen make her way towards me. The anger that had worked its way deep into my bones over her betrayal flared like fucking fireworks—loud, bright and fucking overwhelming. But then, this dance of anger and forgiveness wasn’t new to us. Throughout the five years we’d been together, we’d fucking danced that tango almost daily. It had fuelled our relationship. Until it didn’t, and we were left with wounds we’d never recover from, and a whole lot of fucking regret.
“You finally came home,” she murmured as she inched closer to me.
I dropped my gaze to watch her close the distance between us, knowing her next move before she even made it. To most people, Jen was an unpredictable mess of chaos and bad decisions, but not to me. Probably because I lived and breathed chaos myself.
Pressing my hand against her stomach to stop her, I clenched my jaw and bit out, “You’re not gonna like what I have to say.”
She didn’t surprise me when she ignored my warning. Pushing my hand away from her stomach, she took the last step she needed to ensure our bodies touched. When she responded to what I’d said, her voice held a smoky promise. “It wasn’t what you said that kept me around for five years, King. It was always what you did that held me captive.”
My eyes closed for a moment while I waited for her to take hold of my dick. This was all classic Jen. On the other hand, me allowing her to make her move was not my signature style. But then, this whole fucking situation was unlike any I’d ever been in before. And it was fucking with my head in ways I barely fucking comprehended.
Her warm breath fanned across my cheek as she moved her mouth to whisper in my ear while she slid her hand into my jeans. “You can tell me to leave all you like, or try to kick me out, but we both know that you and I have something special. Something that you’re powerless to walk away fr—”
Rage swam in my eyes as I squeezed my hand around her throat and pushed her face away from mine. My breaths pumped furiously from me, and we stood staring at each other in silence, her eyes wide with shock. “What we fucking have, Jen, is something as far as fucking possible from special as you can get.”
She attempted to pry my fingers from her throat, her efforts growing desperate when she realised I had no intention of loosening my grip. Sucking in the little breath I granted her, she begged, “King!”
Our relationship flashed through my mind, just like it had for the past few days while I’d contemplated the path forward. Her actions and disloyalty had carved the kind of hole in me that could never be patched or filled or fucking healed. This wasn’t something that could ever be fixed. In one night, she’d managed to wipe five years worth of trust and love.
I walked her backwards and shoved her against the wall, finally letting her throat go. Ignoring her gasps for breath, I said, “I came home to tell you that you can stay here for the rest of your pregnancy if you need to. After the baby is born, you get your shit together and find your feet, and then I want you the fuck out of here and out of my life.”
The way her body froze told me she hadn’t expected that. Her strangled words confirmed it. “After everything we’ve been through, that’s how you’re going to end this?”