kaius
The kitten mysister had dragged into the lion’s den had just shown her claws. And I couldn’t decide if I wanted to rip them out one by one or let her mark me as her favorite prey. I tilted my head, examining the woman at the other end of the table. Dark hair curtained part of her face, but the glimpse I saw made me more than intrigued. Hazel eyes locked onto mine, the hint of challenge glinting in them had my cock hardening.
If it weren’t for the little symbol hanging around her throat, I’d have cleared the room and had her on her knees, looking up at me with those defiant, storm-filled eyes.
“What did that man, Dominic, I think he said his name was, call you tonight? The King of Lovelen?” she growled out, words full of fire that were setting heat to my blood. “You are fucked in the head if you think I will ever bow to you or any of your little Knights.”
Nolan let out a sharp laugh from behind her. “You have no idea how accurate your observation is, sweets.”
I tossed him a dry look, which was only responded to with a shrug. A collection of muffled laughs traveled around the table. This little kitten had balls, and every Knight in this room felt that raw, untamed thing in her. Most who came to the roundtable succumbed to the power surrounding them immediately upon entering, but this woman reveled in it.
A true queen without a throne to claim.
“You saved my sister tonight,” I said flatly.
It wasn’t a question, and the entire room knew it. The woman straightened, hands still planted firmly on the table that held more blood-soaked history than she could even begin to understand. She wasn’t as tall as Astoria, but what she lacked in height she made up for in attitude that matched a seven-foot man. “I wanted to thank you personally for that…”
“Acelynn,” she said, voice clipped. “Acelynn Thorton.”
I gave her a single nod. She shifted uncomfortably, clearly thrown by the civility in my tone. The necklace shifted again, catching the light and my attention.
“Got any family around here?” I asked.
“No.” Her jaw clenched. A flash of something overtook her features. A mix of rage and regret crossed her face so fast that only someone trained to notice would have caught it. “The last of my mother’s family died recently. I inherited their estate here in Lovelen. I don’t speak to my father anymore.”
Acelynn brought the left side of her bottom lip between her teeth, chewing lightly as her nerves began to bleed through the cracks. She was hiding something. But as long as it didn’t have to do with a Spade, there was no reason to pry any further into a random girl’s personal life. She would be gone soon enough once she saw what the Knights were. It was one of the reasons Astoria resented the club. She never had a “normal” friend stick around.
“Does this have to do with that rival club that attacked the diner tonight?” Acelynn looked down as she spoke. “Or maybe the one with the spade symbol?”
She peered up at me through her lashes, shoulders sagging in defeat. “Astoria already grilled me about it.”
“The Spades are dead.” Vincent’s voice was deep and gravelly as he spoke.
Acelynn’s eyes snapped to him without hesitation, watching the man to my right with a healthy amount of caution. Most made it a point to not even look at the man if they could avoid it, but Acelynn didn’t even bat an eye at him. Whether that was from boldness or sheer stupidity was yet to be determined.
Vincent was a man of very few words, but they always made their point. He was the epitome of the stereotypical biker club member, with his unruly dark hair, beard, and tattoos covering almost every inch of his skin from the neck down.
“Well…” Acelynn wet her lips once. “That sounds unfortunate for them.”
Vincent watched her for any deception, then grunted once in response to her comment. That was as close as anyone got to impressing him.
I rolled my eyes at him and downed the last of my whiskey. The burn of the liquor grounded me as I muttered, “You done testing the stray?”
Another grunt passed through him, and I knew he wouldn’t be saying anything else for the rest of the meeting. Moody bastard.
“Nolan said Dominic gave you a message for me,” I said, pulling the conversation back to the main topic at hand.
Acelynn gulped at the mention of the leader of the Iron Serpents. I could see the purple bruises and light pink cuts that were scattered across her skin from the fight she must have putup against the man. The sight had something deep inside me pulsing with rage.
“Yes,” she whispered. It took her another beat before she spoke again. “Dominic said to tell the Knights that your trade deal was off. They found a new Muze dealer who is willing to pay them double for the runs.”
I ground my teeth together. If Joshua had spilled more tonight, this might have been avoided. But I had a feeling this new dealer wasn’t a stranger who had just happened upon Muze. No, there was a lone Spade left who was now continuing their trade route in hopes of salvaging what hadn’t burned with their club.
“Thank you,” I ground out, the tension in the room growing as the Knights all looked toward me for answers I had not come up with yet. Drumming my fingers against the table, I continued, “Do you have a place to stay tonight?”
She raised a brow at me in accusation. I cut her off before whatever snarky comment she was going to say could be heard.
“That was not an invitation to my bed.”
