Page 53 of Unmasked

It wasn’t working with me.

All it did was leave me wanting her more.

The mystery revolving around her only added to the burning flames. The rumors of what she’d been through were a dream. She’d been beaten. Raped. Degraded.

One could only wish to find someone as broken as her. I thought I had when I first met her. I knew of her father’s abuse. It gave me hope. But then her scandal…

Old wounds turned raw, flooding back in like they always did.

Had we not had a good time earlier that day?

Had she wanted to be fucked, I would have put her through the floor. But she chose a stranger from a university party to almost have sex with.

I had been bitter. Angry. I hadn’t cared that she was drunk out of her mind.

Of course, when there was no one who compared to her beauty, the temptation had come back. Rejection wasn’t something I dealt with, and I hadn’t gotten over it. I meant to make her pay before I forgave her. But then she’d gone missing. Nostalgia and what little empathy I held sparked. Guilt hit, and forgiveness came for the most part. And then she resurfaced. Relief. Hope. …Anger. More countless rejections that she now confirmed came from her—obsession overload, and it grew by the day.

The fantasies were what I lived for. The cane. The marks.

Someone out there got to hurt her. Someone… got what I wanted from her.

They had. She’d confirmed it.

And now my lust burned hotter than ever.

She was it for me.

Penelope would be mine.

She spoke of queens like she was one. Like she knew what it would take to stand in that position.

She didn’t know me.

She thought I couldn’t mold a queen.

Penelope was about to find out just how wrong she was.

CHAPTER 16

Vaughn

If I was anything, I was thorough. I was clever. What I wasn’t was a fool.

As I watched King Lawrence go back and forth to Penelope, I could barely contain the fury. From the camera angle on The Reeve’s shirt, I couldn’t see my Intended’s face, but I caught moments of his.

There were flickers of amusement. Lust. They spoke too softly for me to hear, and I was sick not knowing what they were talking about. But then Penelope had straightened and stared him down. The queen in her came roaring out. Whatever she had said wiped his face clean of all emotion. It sure had with mine, and I didn’t have a clue what he’d done to trigger her.

He didn’t like it.

He’d left shortly after that.

For the first time, the smallest tinge of relief registered. But with it came unease.

I sat back in my chair, staring at the screen.

They’d already landed and left the plane. Their ride was finished, and The Reeve had done exactly what I’d asked. He’d placed the second, nearly microscopic camera next to her bed before he took his place outside her door. I would not feel guilty about that. Mark’s camera was on, but he was in their bedroom down the hall, about to sleep so they could take shifts.

I had thought of everything I could to make sure she was safe. And I’d have evidence if she wasn’t.