Malek pushed Jess’s head down against the mattress with one hand while he shackled her slender wrists at the small of her back with the other. She was bent over on her knees, his thighs opening her legs as he fucked her hard from behind.
Anger roiled just beneath his skin, and sweat poured from his body as his muscles strained against his aggression. Damn Micah to hell for making light of his feelings for Carmen. He would show Micah how wrong he was about Gina. Malek didn’t need Gina or anyone else.
He punctuated the thought with a violent thrust, grunting harshly as his body slapped hard between Jess’s legs, her ass rippling from the impact.
Jess cried out and whimpered. He was hurting her.
Good. As he saw Gina under him instead of Jess, he growled with satisfaction at giving her pain.
“I don’t need you, fucking whore.” Malek pounded hard inside her again, tightening his grip on her wrists and driving her head further against the mattress. “Do you hear me? There’s no room for you here.” Again he slammed into her.
Gina yelped again, sounding distressed.
Her cries pleased Malek. He wanted to hurt her, to make her see he had no room in his life for her. Spiraling down further into hell, Malek lashed her body with his, trapping her beneath him, showing her who was boss and that he would never see her as anything more than a fuck to milk his cock when he felt the urge to abuse her. He would never take her as his mate. Never! Fuck biology and fuck his instinctual needs. Malek would never bow down to either and take Gina as his mate. Not at the cost of tainting Carmen’s memory.
“You’re nothing, Gina. Nothing but a whore.” His voice hissed with venomous rage.
He pulled back and flipped her over, manhandling her, bruising her flesh as her wide eyes met his. Fear shone through. She was terrified of him.
Once more, his brutal fucking lashed her, his knees shoving her legs apart before she could close them, his hands pressing down her arms so she couldn’t fight him.
“Stop…Ow! Malek, stop!”
Her pleas only fueled him to take her harder, sweat dripping off the tip of his nose, his long hair damp and hanging over his face.
Gina! God, but she was beautiful. NO! He refused to see her as anything more than a vessel. She would never measure up to Carmen’s memory. Carmen, sweet Carmen. How he had loved her. Loved and lost, but never would he soil her memory by taking another.
Malek’s mind spun out of control, his lust rising, his body answering the call to let loose his desire. But no matter how hard he tried to keep Carmen’s face in his mind, it was Gina’s that kept pushing forward.
“NO!” He shouted, relentlessly abusing her body to drive back her image as he drove only to give her pain while finding his pleasure.
“Ow! Malek! Stop. Ow! You’re hurting me!”
Closing his eyes, Malek struggled to see his perfect, beautiful Carmen, fighting to hold onto her, clashing with Gina’s mental image, trying to resist her clawing hands. She reached for him, scratched him, tried to latch on.
When Malek opened his eyes again, he saw that his hands were squeezing Gina’s throat. Her arms flailed, her hands slapping him as she gagged and choked.
With a jolt, Malek pulled back.
The woman was no longer Gina, but Jess. God, what had he done?
Jess heaved for air and coughed, gasping as Malek fell backward. Wide-eyed and terrified of what he had done, Malek could only stare. He had thought the woman with him was Gina. He had tried to kill her and hadn’t even realized it.
“Oh my God. Jess. Oh fuck.” He tried to reach for her, but she slapped his hand away.
“Stay away from me, you freak! I never said I was in to asphyxiation.” She coughed again, sitting up and fixing Malek with a horrified glare. “You almost killed me!”
“I’m sorry…God, I’m sorry.” Malek scampered off the bed, paced away in a confused daze, then turned and rushed back, wanting to help her and make this right.
Jess flinched and nearly fell off the bed to get away from him. “Don’t touch me!” She got her footing and grabbed her clothes. “I thought you were different. I thought….” She shook her head. “To think I felt sorry for you last night.”
“Jess, please. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
Malek needed to get his shit together. He didn’t know what was happening to him, but he needed to figure it out fast before he hurt somebody. He glanced at Jess. Well, he already
had
hurt somebody, which meant that if he wanted to make sure it didn’t happen again, he needed to wrap his head around what was going on.
“Fuck you. You got that. Fuck you. You can keep your goddamn money for all I care. I’m out of here, asshole.”
Malek couldn’t blame her. After nearly getting choked to death, he would split like his ass was on fire, too. But he couldn’t let her leave without paying her. Not after what he had done.
“No…Jess…”
But she was already flying at Mach speed up the stairs.
Malek grabbed his stash of bills and darted up after her, but she was already out the door. Not even caring that he was as naked as a jaybird, he ran after her, catching her wrist.
Screaming, she spun around and slapped him. “Let go of me.” She continued trying to beat him, crying out as tears streamed her face.
“Just hold on. Let me at least call you a cab. Jess! Stop fighting me.”
“I don’t want you calling me a cab. I don’t want anything from you. Just get away from me and never come looking for me again!” Her palm connected with his face one last time, the slap ringing out like the crack of a whip.
Malek pulled back, letting go of her, stumbling and falling to his ass on his lawn as the realization that he had fucked up beyond all recourse finally sank in. Jess took off, and all he could do was watch her go.
Numb, Malek sat in the grass, staring into space until the cold, early morning air caused him to shiver. Pushing himself off the ground, he gathered his bearings as best he could and went back inside.
He was falling apart. He hadn’t meant to hurt Jess, but his conflicting emotions had spun him into delirium, and before he had known what he was doing, he had almost strangled her to death, thinking she was Gina.
If Gina had just stayed in the back of his mind so he could enjoy his precious Carmen, none of this would have happened. But that bitch had bullied her way into his thoughts, forcing him away from the one who mattered most, stealing him away from his first and only mate. Damn Gina to hell for causing this nightmare. This was all her fault.
God help Gina if Malek ever saw her again, because sure as shit, if he got his hands around
her
throat, he wouldn’t let go until she stopped breathing.
King Bain dismissed the meeting an hour before dawn, but Gregos stayed behind.
“What’s on your mind, Gregos?”
His liaison bowed respectfully and stepped forward. “A matter I feel needs your attention.”
“Speak.”
Gregos cleared his throat. “Tristan from AKM called me tonight. He offered a solution to the…um…problem that plagues you.”
“What problem is that?” His eyes narrowed. He had a feeling this had to do with his daughter. Couldn’t this matter just go away on its own?
“Sire, forgive my candor, but Tristan offers a discreet solution to Miriam’s…well, her extracurricular medicinal usage.”
Clever phrasing. With the care Gregos was using to choose his words, perhaps Bain would listen to his proposal. Obviously Gregos understood how he felt about the matter of Miriam’s escapades and defiant behavior.
“Go on.” He sat back in the massive, leather chair at the head of the oval table. With a controlled wave of his hand, he gestured toward the chair beside him as he turned to face Gregos.
Gregos bowed again and sat. “Sire, Tristan and I know how delicate this situation is, and I truly feel that Tristan’s solution is wise. A member of his team used to have a similar ailment as your daughter, but he was able to overcome it. I understand this person often assists in counseling sessions conducted at AKM on the issue. He is an expert in treatment and I am assured that if you put your daughter in his care, he would treat the situation with the utmost privacy and diplomacy.”
King Bain considered the proposal for a moment. “Who is this male?”
Gregos cleared his throat and blinked several times. “Io, Sire. The male who tended to Miriam last night. And saved her life, I might add.”
The hair stood up on the back of Bain’s neck. Miriam had spent the night and day with Io—in his home, no less. And despite the fact that Io had, indeed, saved Miriam’s life as Gregos said, he still didn’t like the idea of his daughter being anywhere near him. The male had a reputation as a chauvinistic womanizer. A real Casanova. The fact that he had been a former cobalt addict didn’t score him any Brownie points.
However, Donovan and his security team had come back claiming innocence of what they had found in Io’s home. They all said the same thing: that Miriam had slept in the bed, perfectly chaste, while Io dozed in a nearby chair so he could monitor her condition.
Bain sighed. Perhaps Gregos’s solution was worth a try. He needed to keep Miriam’s…
problem
…out of the public eye, but he also needed to make it go away. He couldn’t very well put her into a public treatment program, because then everyone would find out about the blemish on his family. Bain wanted to keep his family’s affairs private, which was becoming harder to do with Miriam’s antics growing worse and more unpredictable each day. Putting Miriam under Io’s care would make keeping their dirty secret private much easier.
“How would this work?” he asked, eyeing Gregos.
“Your daughter would stay with Io. Tristan will give him leave from patrol so he can monitor Miriam. Io would oversee her recovery from her…ailment, and then treat her through, um, withdrawal. Then we could work out an aftercare arrangement.”
“And how long do you think this will take?” He didn’t like the idea of Miriam living with Io, but Io certainly couldn’t come here. No one but his liaisons and consultants were allowed inside the royal home.
“Given the state of your daughter’s ailment, as well as normal treatment times, I would say we’re looking forward to at least three to four weeks for the initial treatment. Then her aftercare would begin and, depending on how well she re-assimilates, that could last a few months or up to a year. But she would return here after the initial treatment and only see Io for follow-up or as needed.”
“As needed?”
Gregos nodded. “Yes, if she…relapses, for example. He is a qualified counselor and program sponsor at AKM.”
“I see.” Bain considered what Gregos had told him, and despite his reservations about Io personally, he had to admit the male did sound qualified to handle Miriam’s care and recovery. “The treatment is rather long, don’t you think?”
“Yes, Sire. But it’s highly successful. All the data support the program is working very well.”
King Bain took a moment to think it over.
“What is your opinion, Gregos?”
Gregos tipped his head respectfully. “I believe this is your best choice, Sire. Io comes with high commendations, despite his misgivings in other matters, and Tristan speaks well of him. The best part is that this solution does keep the affair private.”
Throughout the conversation, Bain felt himself swaying in the same direction Gregos recommended. Sure, Io was a hedonist and a lecher, but he sounded qualified to handle Miriam’s problem. Damn, but Bain just wanted this aggravation to go away. Whatever it took, he wanted Miriam well again.
King Bain sat forward, the decision made. “Arrange it. But, I want a key to the residence, and he will be subject to inspection any time I see fit. He is not to touch her except to treat her, and he is to speak to her only in a manner fit for the princess. Make this clear. If he defies my rules, he will be punished. This is not a vacation for my daughter. She is to be treated, taken seriously, and will return home after she is no longer ill.”
Gregos stood and bowed. “Yes, Sire.”
“Put together the proper paperwork. I want her treatment to start as soon as possible. Tonight. Make it happen, Gregos.”
“Yes, it will be done.” Gregos hurried out of the room. He had a lot to do during daylight hours.
Rising from his chair, Bain strode from the large conference room and headed for the stairs that led to the wing of the home where Miriam’s room was.
When he reached her door, he knocked. “Miriam?”
“What?” Her obstinate tone bit back at him. When had she grown to hate him so much? All they did was fight now. She had been much more enjoyable when she was younger. If only she was still that way, young and impressionable, gazing upon him as if he were her hero.
He opened the door and found her lying on her bed, the canopy drawn around her. He glanced around the room, frowning at the décor as if the mish-mash of styles and colors hurt his eyes. A half-f bottle of water caught his eye on her dresser.
“What’s this?” He picked up the bottle.
She huffed. “Io gave me that. It’s medicine for my
addiction.
It helps with withdrawal.” She spoke as if trying to hurt him.
He winced at the mention of addiction. She was not an addict. She was merely sick. That’s all. But he didn’t want to fight with her. Not now when she would be leaving him to get better. He set the bottle back down.
“You are leaving for treatment tonight,” he said with unceremonious fanfare.
She sat up and pushed the canopy aside to look at him. She appeared confused. “What?”
“For your ailment. You will return to Io’s home, the one who treated you yesterday.” He frowned as what looked like excitement crossed her face.
The brief flash of emotion made him uncomfortable. She was attracted to Io, which was unsettling, but he wanted her well. He would have to lay down the law and make it clear to her what this was about. Her foray was not a vacation or a jaunt to be taken lightly.