“Do something, Nick.” I feel Ro tense at my side as Kayla is overwhelmed by men. They try to hold her down and tie her up, but she breaks away from them long enough to scream my name, causing an instant reaction in me. I begin to fear for her, fear what they will do, fear that they may hurt her, or actually kill her.

  “Nick! Nick, please,” she whimpers as they force her back to them. One climbs on top of her, telling her what all they plan to do to her. A rage begins to escalate out of control within me, taking over every part of me, and with a single deep breath, I step towards them and roar my anger. They turn towards me and looked shocked at my reaction. I go at them with not an ounce of give or reasoning within me. I take hold of one neck, breaking it in two. I take hold of another, and then two more jump me from behind, but they are doomed before they even start. When one raises a knife to me, I meet his eyes and crush his heart with a flick of my finger. The one left, Powell, shivers in place while holding a knife to Kayla’s throat, threatening me with her life.

  “And what will you do after you kill her?” I argue simply. He looks around, searching for an escape when Kayla forces the knife out of his hands. I quickly grab him. “You should have run,” I say to him before killing him. Turning towards her, she holds out her hand to me, I take it and lift her off the ground. She is a mess, cut and bruised. Her dress is torn and barely holding on to her body. She falls against my chest and wraps her arms around me, calming my raging emotions instantly. I hold her close to me, not caring about the mess I just made. I look up at Ro who nods, but Delin looks on with wide-eyes. Shit! “Are you okay?” I whisper to her. She nods with a smile. “I have just killed the man we were making a huge deal with. Fuck. I don’t know how I am going to explain this.” I enjoy my moment with Kayla a little longer while I figure out a way out of this. I make a decision, let go of her, and walk over to the bindings they had for Kayla. They seem like they will do. “Delin, come here.”

  He does as I ask but not without plenty of questions. “You should not have done that. Your grandfather is going to be very angry with you, and he will want her brought to him immediately.” He continues on, and I nod in agreement with every word.

  “Sit down,” I say as he keeps telling me everything I should do. I bind him with every possible restraint and then step away and look him over. “I think that will work.”

  “Good idea, Nick,” Ro says.

  “Thanks,” I say proudly.

  “Can someone fill me in please?” Kayla asks.

  “Delin here has volunteered to be your prisoner. The one you captured when you busted into our meeting and came after me with everything you had. You killed Powell and his men in the process, but thankfully, Ro and I were able to escape.”

  “Can I be her prisoner too?” Ro asks.

  “No, you were the one that snuck out and stole the car we were able to get away in,” I say, satisfied with my plan.

  “Good idea, Nick, except how are you going to get past my guards? Amery is with me today, and he is not going to let you get away easily.”

  Oh wonderful, Amery. I am well aware of his disgust for me every time I sit in front of him at the Meeting of the Lords. “Alright you make a mad dash to the door you came in and call desperately for your guards while Ro and I sneak out the other door. The only ones back there are Powell’s guards, and they won’t bother us.”

  “Won’t Delin tell my people what really happened? I can’t allow him to do that because then they will know that I am meeting with you.” Kayla says.

  “No, Delin is trained to never talk to our enemies and knows damn well you are our enemy. Your people will have nothing but frustration trying to get him to talk. Tell Amery and the rest of your men that we snuck in out of nowhere and killed Powell’s men while you handled Delin. Ro and I ran when we realized you got free and went for help,” I say, pulling her back to me and stealing a kiss before I have to leave her. “Now, stop bewitching me like you do and go.” I smile, smacking her on her ass and run out the side door with Ro.

  When Ro and I make it to a car, he looks at it and then looks at me with his hands out. “There are no keys in it?”

  “Don’t you know how to hotwire a car?” I ask him.

  “I’m not that kind of criminal, Nick!” I roll my eyes. I stare at the car and then think of something. I work my way into the car, and sure enough, I am able to get the car going. Ro jumps into the passenger seat and we drive off. “Uh-huh, apparently you are this kind of criminal,” he says, shaking his head at me.

  “Don’t judge me. You steal watches from people,” I say, although I don’t know where I learned how to steal a car, but apparently I learned it somehow. I drive out and go by Kayla and her men as they are getting into their cars. She is safe and well-guarded. In fact, Amery looks up at me and watches closely as I drive off.

  Grandfather is furious with the outcome; I have never felt this kind of rage from him before. Ro stands back against the wall, trembling. “I don’t understand how this could happen!” he yells at me.

  “Someone obviously alerted them to our meeting. I believe it to be Powell because just before they arrived, he asked for more money. He felt he deserved it for taking such a risk for us,” I say to him, leaning back away from his rage.

  “He actually demanded it. But Nick and I both said, oh hell naw … and … yeah, I am just going to stand over here out of the way and be quiet.” Ro sinks back against the wall when Grandfather stares at him hard.

  “That moronic fuck! I should have known. I should have never asked him to help me with that woman; it gave him leverage. He was such a fool that he invited people in to kill him.” Grandfather walks away from me and towards his study. “Go somewhere, Nicholas. I need to be alone to think.”

  I look back at Ro, and we both leave the house quickly. Without Delin around, Ro takes the opportunity to go enjoy a night out, and I go check on Kayla.

  I stand at the base of her tree and wait for her to open her bedroom window. As soon as she does, I climb up and she pulls me inside. Wearing next to nothing and instantly kissing my neck, she begins feeling over my body with warm hands. I don’t understand why I can’t get enough of her. Or why I can’t kill her like I am supposed to? The dirty-sexy lingerie she is wearing is easily pushed aside, and I hold her off me and look her over. “Lie down and don’t move,” I tell her. I stare at her, waiting for her to question me, waiting for her to fight me, but instead, she crawls into the bed and lies on her back, stretching out beautifully still just like I asked her to do. Satisfied with her position, I slide my shirt off and unbutton my pants, slowly matching her nude body with my own. I lick my lips just before I taste her skin, feeling up her legs and pushing them out wide so I can see her vulnerable pussy right in front of me. She briefly stops breathing as I breathe out against her soft pink, and my tongue tingles the moment I meet her flushed skin. I grip her legs, holding them out even wider so I can enjoy the taste deep inside of her. I crave her come. I beg for it while she writhes backwards and forwards, trying to find control. Kayla tenses and becomes so wet and so swollen with pleasure that she screams out, causing a wonderful sensation through my tongue as I enjoy the sweet taste of her. I stand in front of her with my cock standing straight up and bubbling over with want. Kayla is so weak that I can kiss her however I want, wherever I want. My cock grows even harder the moment it touches her wetness. It feels so good as I slide inside it, hugging my cock and pulsating all around it. Her eyes look up at me, and I have to kiss her. I have to feel her lips against mine, her body in my arms. I hum my pleasure to her, “I could stay here forever with you.” She wraps her arms around my neck and cries for some reason. “Don’t cry. I’m not going to hurt you, I promise.” She laughs, and I smile. “I will never let anyone hurt you.” I kiss her again and again until everything within me trembles to an overwhelming orgasm.

  I whisper her name against her ear, holding her close to me and feeling something strangely familiar about it all, wonderfully familia
r. Our time together doesn’t end there and doesn’t end with that one time. We fuck and do things that I should never even consider doing with her. We explore each other’s bodies until we are exhausted. Hours later, I wake up with her lying sound asleep on my chest. I could easily kill her right now, but deep down, I know there is no way I will ever be able to do that. All I want to do is enjoy her closeness to me. I want to have her next to me always. Running my fingers through her hair, I begin to feel wonderfully swept away by her. She said it again tonight. “I love you, Nick.” I am not sure I know what that means, but I enjoy the feeling I get when she says it.

  My mood today is excellent, and no political fuck can diminish it any. A party my grandfather is forcing me to go to with him is boring and full of money-hungry pricks and their horny wives. I move away from the party to stroll down a hallway full of artwork and find myself suddenly joined by a woman who is doing everything she can to work her way into my view. The moment I look her way, she smiles and is touching my chest with a purr.

  “I have to say that this suit you are wearing is absolutely …” she breathes in deep, looking me over, “amazing. Where did you get it?” she asks.

  “You want to know where I got my suit or is it my dick that you’re looking for?” I say, bluntly. She looks shocked for a second, but as insulted as she might be, she continues to her goal.

  Her hand begins to move down to my cock when Galena walks up behind her, huffing. “Nicholas, remove the whore from your body and come with me, please. Father wants you to meet someone.” I look down at the woman and smile as I walk away from her disappointed expression. Galena shakes her head at me with a smile. “You are just like your father. It is absolutely amazing.”

  “Wow, that is exactly what the whore said to me, too,” I laugh, and Galena tries not to but can’t help herself.

  “That’s funny. You men and your penises, you are all so proud of them. Sorry to interrupt your possible encounter there,” Galena laughs.

  “Actually, I am glad you did. It saved me the trouble of having to tell her to get away from me.”

  “You didn’t like her?” Galena asks, taking hold of my arm and stopping me suddenly.

  “No, she doesn’t interest me at all,” I say, and Galena looks at me oddly. “Is that strange?”

  “A little. I didn’t know any Savage man was able to say no to sex. Not to mention, you have had a constant hard on every morning for weeks, and suddenly it’s not a problem saying no to a woman that clearly has no boundary issues? What is going on with you?” Galena questions, but I have no answer for her, at least not one I care to share. I shake my head and shrug.

  Grandfather introduces me to countless people that I don’t care about before finally allowing us to leave. When we arrive, he has some ladies from the party waiting for him, one being the whore that came on to me. Only now, she is happily undressing for him as she competes with the others for his attention. He looks back at me with a wink. “Excuse me Nicholas, but I have some business to take care of tonight,” he says, leading the ladies to his bedroom. Galena is mysteriously missing, although I assume she is with Marius somewhere. He has been going out of his way to gain her attention lately. Rabbie is waiting for orders to be given to him while Ro is enjoying the large media room and watching the game. No reason to stick around here when I could be somewhere else, someplace much better. I head for the door with a large smile when Grandfather steps out onto the balcony from his bedroom.

  “Where are you going?” he asks me.

  “Out. Everyone else is busy, and I get bored sitting around here all night.”

  “Okay, I will call Ward and have him go with you.”

  “I don’t need a babysitter!”

  “No, a guard, protection, I insist,” he says.

  “I hate that guy. He is …”

  “He is ruthless and the most capable assassin we have, and you could learn a lot from him,” Grandfather snaps back. I fist my hands and my eyes begin to swirl with anger. “Don’t force your frustrations on me Nicholas; you will do as I say, and in fact, from now on, Ward will be at your side wherever you go.”

  “No!” I scream my anger at him, forcing him into a wall and onto his backside. “I’m tired of you telling me what I will and will not do.” He looks at me in shock, but instead of risking him have Ward hunt me down and find me with Kayla, I go to my room and workout my frustrations by myself.

  The more I consider his ridiculous attempts to keep me completely under his control, the angrier I get. How dare him! How fucking dare him! This is my life, and I am tired of him trying to control every second of it! I slam my fists into my dresser and punch a hole clear through, causing an avalanche of pictures and letters to fall out. I stare down at the floor, gazing over each of them with a sudden curiosity about a life I can’t remember.

  Chapter 26

  Kayla

  I tossed and turned all night last night while options to get my husband back to me ran through my head. He is so close. There has to be something that pushes him back without hurting him any more than he already is. I don’t understand the pain he is feeling or the poison that Savage has inflicted on him. I am afraid to push him too much, afraid it may kill him, but I am also afraid if I don’t push him soon, he may never come back to us. There has to be a way, but with no one I can trust to tell that I have been seeing Nick, I have no one that can help me. I spend most of my day doing research on the computer, but there is just no information available on anything of this sort. No dragon poison, devil poison, or anything on how to bring someone’s memories back without therapy. I can only imagine how that session would go. “So, your husband thinks he’s not your husband and that he is the descendant of Asmodeus, the Lord of the …what?” Nick would be committed for sure, and I would be right behind him for only wanting his memories to come back and not have his odd beliefs about himself cured. We need something more than marriage counseling that is certain.

  The moment I get a message from Ro, I get excited. I want to run through the house, but in order to avoid alarming anyone, I try to continue to look distant and worried. I step outside the house, head for the trees, and have trouble hiding my smile when I see his shadow beneath them. Once I see his beautiful grey eyes look up at me with a peaceful existence, I don’t bother trying to hide my smile any longer. He stops me before I can wrap my arms around him, holding out his hands to me. “Why are you here? It’s dangerous for you. Ro said Ward is looking for you. It doesn’t sound like someone you want finding you.”

  Nick shakes head, looks away from me, and says, “Fuck him. Besides, I disguised my trail well enough. Right now he is sitting in the parking lot of a motel while the girl I paid for the night sits inside watching movies. She will be there all night and all day if I want her to be, and her pimp agreed to call me as soon as Ward steps out of his car. I always have a plan.”

  I laugh. “I believe I have heard that before.”

  “I have to ask you a question, Kayla. What are these?” he says, pulling out my letters, pictures of us and the boys, and the shell ring I bought him to get married with years ago. I finger through it all, smiling. “I found this hidden in my dresser. Someone had taped it to the back of a drawer. Why?”

  “You know why, Nick.”

  “I don’t remember you … I don’t think,” he says with a fearful tone. “Lately, I have been having these dreams, or what I thought were dreams from out of nowhere, but they are so real that now I am wondering if they weren’t real? Everything I am told makes sense until I am with you, and

  then, things become confusing and so hard …” Nick cringes, and I wrap my arms around him.

  “It’s okay. We will figure it out, and I will tell you whatever you want to know.” He takes my hand, looking at me with fear. “Stay, and let me help you.” I lead Nick inside through a back entrance and upstairs before anyone can discover he is here. I bring him into our bedroom where no one would think to come in without knocking. “Stay here, and I?
??ll be right back.”

  “Where are you going?” Nick asks, seeming on edge. “Trust me,” I say before going to get our sons so they can visit with their father. They both smile wildly and instantly run towards Nick. Their excitement excites Nick beyond what I could have hoped for. Brayden crawls into his lap and won’t let go, no matter what Nick does. Nicky is so excited he is vibrating. He rambles on and on to Nick about everything that he has been doing in school. I try to calm him so as not to overwhelm Nick, who is still somewhat stiff around the boys and is already looking tired from all his new discoveries today. I sit across from them and smile.

  Nicky grabs a book and pushes it into Nick’s hands. “Read it,” he says to his father. Nick looks it over with a snarl. “It’s about Eeyore. It’s our favorite.”

  “Who’s favorite?” Nick asks him.

  “Yours and mine. Don’t you remember?” Nicky says, motioning for him to lean back so he can climb in next to him and get comfortable while Nick reads the story. Surprisingly, Nick does as requested, although not as well as he used to but well enough to put them to sleep.

  Nick looks my way with the boys sound asleep against him. “They are exhausting for small people.” I laugh and nod, causing him to smile.

  “You used to read them stories every night before they went to sleep. You used to tell Nicky everything about your day when he was a baby because you were too afraid to tell me.”

  “I kind of remember that. I think I remember hearing him say ‘Daddy’ for the first time,” Nick says, staring off into nowhere. “Did I die? I dreamed about my funeral.”

  I laugh and nod. “You pretended to, but Nicky didn’t fall for it for one second.”

  “He’s a smart kid. This one though …” He lifts Brayden up and lays him down on the sofa and covers him and his brother up.