Malum: Part 2 (The Elite Kings' Club Book 5) Read online

  He stands, cracking his neck. When his eyes come to mine, I see in his dark depths how the flecks are burning with rage, but there’s something else.

  He’s fucking tired.

  “If and when she wants to come back to me, I’ll be here. Until then, she’s not my problem.” Then he shoves me away, taking a seat back on his chair like none of this happened.

  He picks up his glass. “We will find out who that fuckwit was and who he was tied to. I’ll deal with them accordingly for fucking with someone who was mine, but from then onward, this, her, she ends here. Until further notice.”

  Tillie’s eyes find mine, wide as saucers. I let out a soft growl and take my place back at the table, with Tillie right back on my dick.

  Tillie is loading the dishwasher when I enter the kitchen, leaning against the doorway. She turns to face me.

  “Hi.”

  I’m tired, my damp clothes are stuck to me like a stage five clinger, and I need to sleep for a fucking lifetime, but I push off the door frame and make my way to her, my arm snaking around her waist until her back is crashing into my front.

  “Come home with me.”

  She stills, putting another plate into the dishwasher. “Nate.” She turns in my grip, her eyes coming to mine. I bring my other hand to rest behind the back of her throat, my fingers itching to pull her hair and fuck her until she’s blue. “We can’t do this,” she whispers, shaking her head.

  “Do what?” I brush her off. “I asked you to come home, I didn’t drop to one knee. But if you need”—I run my fingers up her inner thigh, my index finger coming to the slit, over her damp panties—“me to drop to my knees and suck on your pussy, then done, because I’m fucking starving.”

  I shuffle back and look down on her when she doesn’t answer me. Her lips are tucked between her teeth, her eyes closed.

  “I can’t forgive you.”

  I run my lips over hers. “You don’t have to forgive me to fuck my face, baby. We’ve had this discussion.” I grip the backs of her thighs and lift her up onto the black marble counter. Her legs spread as I step between them, pulling her flush up against me. I grind into her, grabbing what I can of her curvy ass.

  “It’ll be years before I forget what you’ve done…” She closes her eyes as I run my tongue over her collarbone, licking up her neck and to her mouth. I bite down on her bottom lip and watch as they part, a soft moan escaping. I want to eat her noises and swallow them.

  My fingers tighten around the back of her neck as I brush my lips across hers. “Then just forget for tonight.”

  She wraps her arms around the back of my neck. “Just for tonight, and then you’re dropping me back here in the morning.”

  I nod. “Deal.”

  Fuck no.

  “Okay,” she sighs, and I step away so she can jump off the counter. “Just one night.”

  Tillie

  Nate is driving us back to his house when we pass the Chinese restaurant we visited a couple of months ago. He pulls in without me saying anything as I continue to wipe the rest of the face paint off my face with a wet wipe.

  He continues through the drive-through, ordering all of my favorite dishes. The smell distracts me from the song playing on the radio, and I turn to watch the passing trees. I can’t believe all that has happened tonight, but now that I’ve had time to sit back and evaluate everything, I always found it strange how Daemon was here only sometimes, and those times were usually when I was fuzzy with some kind of trauma. His bed was always made neatly, and although he was Daemon, I always felt like he wasn’t Daemon. It’s why I hesitated to kiss him, why he looked different, and maybe even why my nightmare showed him killing me.

  I sigh, reaching into the bag and popping open the fried coconut shrimp. My absolute favorite.

  “What’s going on in that head of yours?” Nate asks from over his shoulder, eyeing me skeptically.

  “Just that I feel batshit crazy.” I bite into my shrimp, chewing slowly.

  Nate chuckles. “We’re all fucking crazy, Tillie, but it’s who we stay sane for that matters. You need to for you. Love is just an anchor. It can either be the reason you drown or the reason you float. You can’t ride on that to keep you sane.”

  I take another bite and then toss the tail end back into the bag. “I see your point. So, I should stay sane for love? Or the possibility of love?” I ask, genuinely interested in his answer.

  He’s pulling down the gated driveway to his home, and what was once my home. He snorts, jerking up the brake. “Fuck no. You stay sane for yourself, because you can’t give people that kind of power. You have to make it—for you.”

  “What about you?” I ask. Things between Nate and I will never be awkward. We know each other’s darkest, dirtiest secrets, and power comes with trust when that person knows the dark corners of your dusty soul.

  “Least of all me,” he whispers, and then shoves his door open and slams it closed.

  Nate is the biggest mindfuck. Dating someone like him doesn’t just happen. There are many different layers that you need to peel off before you get to his core, and you can finally say, this is it. We’re dating and together. I’d like to think that I’m the only one who has gotten close to that core, but I’m not sure that’s something to be proud of, considering my sanity these days.

  I swing my door open and step out to the cool night, chills snapping over my skin. It’s freezing and my clothes are still damp. Nate beeps his car alarm and we make our way up the stairs to the front door. He kicks it closed and I instantly remove his hoodie, wanting to get rid of the heavy, wet garment that’s itching against my skin.

  “Oh,” Elena sighs, her shoulders sagging. Her face falls as she swipes the unshed tears from her cheeks. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude. It’s so nice to see you, Tillie, sweetheart, it’s just I thought you were Madison.”

  Nate slowly places his keys into his pocket, his eyes fixated on his mother.

  “It’s okay. I’m sorry, Elena. I will help as much as I can.” I try to comfort her, but she looks distraught.

  Her eyes find mine. It’s the first time that I take in her appearance. She’s usually glowing, (probably from all those nasty green shakes she drinks), and her body so trim and fit. But I look at her right now and it looks like she hasn’t had a meal in weeks and her eyes have wrinkles around the edges that suggests she’s been straining to keep them open, fighting sleep. When I notice the dark circles under her eyes, it only further solidifies my suspicion.

  She tightens her cardigan around her body. “I’ll go back to sleep.” She has lost so much too over the last few months. It wasn’t just Nate and me who lost Micaela, it was all those around her too, especially Elena, and now Madison has disappeared.

  “Wait!” I say, stepping forward.

  Elena turns to face me. “Yes?”

  I lift the bag of hot Chinese food. “Please eat with us?”

  Her face softens, a small smile on her mouth. “I wouldn’t want to impose…”

  “Mom,” Nate growls, and I cut him a glare to soften his damn voice.

  He rolls his eyes. “I mean, Mom,” he rectifies sweetly. “Come eat with us.”

  She rubs her cheeks with the edge of her cardigan and nods. “Okay.”

  I wait for her as Nate heads into the kitchen, flicking the lights on.

  “I’m sorry, Tillie, I’m such a mess right now.”

  “Don’t be sorry,” I answer, pulling out a bar stool for her. “Trust me, I am not one to judge…”

  Nate snorts.

  I cut him another glare.

  I don’t think I’m ever going to be able to live the whole seeing someone who isn’t really there thing down. Once it dies out into the background, I have no doubt these assholes are going to make jokes about it until the day I either die or kill them all. The latter sounds more fun.

  Nate pours his mother a sparkling water, and me a still, because he knows I hate sparkling water because it actually tastes like stomac
h acid, then he opens up the cartons and places three plates onto the counter, swinging a stool around the other side of the island so he can sit opposite us. I thought being here would be hard, but it’s not. If anything, it makes me feel a little closer to her. Like I can still feel Micaela’s presence in the kitchen.

  We dig into our food, Elena only having a small amount, but I’m not going to push it. Any food is still food.

  “How have you been, sweetheart?” Elena asks, spooning a small amount of fried rice into her mouth.

  “Surviving.” I smile at her a little.

  Nate clears his throat. “Mom?”

  Her eyes go to his.

  “Where’s Joseph?”

  She places her fork down onto her plate. “Thank you for dinner. I’m feeling tired, I might just turn in.”

  Nate goes to open his mouth and I cut him another glare. His mouth snaps shut. Elena kisses us both on the head and disappears into the foyer.

  Once she’s out of view, Nate brings his full attention back to me. “Give me those eyes again and I’ll shove my cock so far down your throat they’ll pop out of your skull.”

  “Don’t threaten me.” I pick up another piece of shrimp, biting into it. “Do you think she will be okay?”

  Nate shakes his head. “No, but she’ll survive. We all do.”

  We sit and eat the rest of our food, and then we both move around the kitchen fluidly as we clean up. We’re climbing the stairs slowly, my eyes drifting closed when he pulls me under his arm.

  “You need a bath.”

  “Mmmm,” I answer, my eyes feeling heavy from all of the theatrics of the evening.

  “I’ll run it.” He sits me on his bed, and I watch as he moves into the bathroom. A few minutes later, he nudges his head and takes my hand. “Strip.”

  I roll my eyes. “Here I was thinking you had turned all cute on me.”

  “Never.”

  I wriggle out of the dress and kick my panties to the side, following him right into the bathroom.

  There’s no bubble bath or romantic candles, because of course there isn’t, but I appreciate it so much when I sink my foot into the warm—borderline too hot—water.

  I sigh, slipping my whole body under and embrace the tingles that bite over my flesh. They slowly evaporate as I adapt to the temperature. Nate tucks in behind me. I ignore how the water spills over the edge. He pulls me against his chest, his dick stabbing into my lower back.

  He kisses the back of my throat.

  “One night,” I whisper.

  His tongue traces circles around the nape. “One night,” he answers.

  “Promise?” I tilt my head, giving him more access.

  His finger glides over my slit, small circles around my swollen clit. “I promise.”

  His pace slows and I slowly grind myself into him in circles, biting down on my lower lip.

  “Stand up and put your pussy on my mouth.” He bites on my ear lobe.

  I stand, spreading my legs wide and watching as water slips over my toned thighs. Nate peers up at me, slipping between my legs with his hands grasped around my upper thighs. He keeps his eyes on mine as he edges closer, dragging his tongue up to lick the droplets of water that are surfing down my skin. He yanks me down roughly and I fall, my knees crashing violently against the bottom of the bathtub. He brings his mouth to my pussy, all while his eyes continue to remain on mine and he circles my clit gently. My head rolls back, my hands coming to his hair.

  “Open your eyes and don’t touch me.”

  I do as I’m told.

  “Put them behind your back.”

  I do, holding my wrists together. He leans over the bathtub and picks up something, bringing it to my wrists and binding them together.

  “Look at me, Tillie.”

  My eyes come down to his, my head tilting. My heart thrashes around in my chest. “Tell me what you want. Do you want me to suck on your pussy?”

  I nod, clamping my lips closed. Why are you acting shy? I tilt my head and smirk. “Yes. I want you to lick my pussy.”

  A dark smirk dances on his mouth to the same tune you’d lower a casket into the ground. He leans forward and his mouth connects with my folds, his tongue flicking across. He shuffles further down and licks inside of me. I clench around his invasion, my thighs shaking. My orgasm rips through me like a category five cyclone, threatening to leave casualties in its wake, then he stands, and suddenly his slick cock is right in front of my face. The word KING inked above his pelvis, taunting me.

  “You like that, baby?” he asks, his fingers tightening around my chin and yanking my face up to his. “On your knees, bound by your cum-drenched panties, and gazing up at the words that own you, because I do, Tillie. This King fucking owns you.”

  I lean forward, drawing my tongue out to flick against the shaft of his cock. If he owns me, then why does he groan when I use something as simple as my tongue? The smallest muscle in my body holds the most power. I gently wrap my lips around the trunk of his cock and suck, taking him in until the tip hits my tonsils. I pull back, my eyes still on his and watch as his eyebrows cross and his perfect teeth nibble on his lower lip. He piles my hair to the top of my head and yanks me back before slamming my face into his cock in jerky motions. I take it, my saliva mixing with his cum and dripping down my chin. When he pulls out again, I drag my tongue out and lick the residue off my lip, moaning.

  “More.”

  “You’re my dirty little bitch, Tillie. Nothing has changed there.”

  He yanks me up by my hair until I feel the follicles rip from their roots. I’m directly in front of his inked chest now, those beautiful angel wings. I lean my tongue toward his chest to trace them. My clit continues to throb with need and the taste of his cum clings to the tip of my tongue like a bittersweet reminder of, as he puts it, exactly who owns me.

  “Angel wings…” I whisper, tracing my tongue over the sharp angles.

  He grips my tongue between his fingers. “Because even Lucifer was once an Angel.” Then his hand flies to the front of my throat. “Get out of the bath and bend over, facing the mirror.”

  I do as I’m told, stepping out and turning to face the large floor to ceiling mirror wall that is directly opposite us. Slowly, I lean over, wishing I could reach down and curl my hands around my slender ankles. I turn my head over my shoulder instead, until my long pink hair cascades to the other side.

  I smirk. “Punish me.”

  He licks his lip, following suit. I watch as his eyes darken, and his shoulders pull back. He brings his finger to the middle curve of my pussy and presses it inside of me, circling. “You needed someone that wasn’t me…” he starts, and then I feel a hard slap sting over my ass.

  I wince, my eyes shutting. It was bearable, I know how much more he’s capable of.

  Slap! Another bite ripples over my ass, my fat jiggling under the abuse. “That was your third sin…” he mutters, his fingers cupping my pussy from behind. He rubs my clit viciously until my juices are sloshing with his movements. He lets go and I wait.

  Slap! This one comes harder, a lot harder. I cry out in pain as it feels like my flesh has split open. It stings so bad.

  “I touched Brantley,” I whisper, wanting more. Needing to be punished more for everything I had put him through. Because after this day, he and I are done. I don’t owe him anything and I don’t have to feel bad with the way I went about things.

  Nate chuckles sinisterly. “Another man putting his hands on you didn’t bother me as much as Daemon gripping onto your fucking heart, baby.”

  I hear him pick something up from the ground. I gulp at the metallic sound of clinking.

  Slap! The belt bites across my skin and I can’t help the scream that rips out of me. The pain that zaps over my skin is in a whole new frequency that I don’t think I can handle. He tosses the belt to the side and bends down behind me. I feel his tongue dive inside of my entry and flick inside my walls.

  “So wet for me. So wet for t
he pain, and this is why you will always be mine to gain…”

  Then I feel his tongue lick across my ass cheek. He stands, grabbing onto my throat and spinning me around to face him. His fingers flex around my neck and I slowly open my eyes. Shock seizes my bones when I see blood glistening over his lips.

  My heart slams in my chest. My stomach hurling in pleasure.

  His eyes stay on mine, hooded, dark and filled with greed. “Kiss me, baby. Kiss away your sins.”

  I lean forward and suck his tongue into my mouth. The taste of metal surfs over my tongue, slithering its way down my throat.

  “Get on the bed and wait for me.”

  I lean back, my cheeks flushed red. I nod, padding my way to the bedroom. My heart is pounding from adrenaline, probably the same kind that gets girls killed. I trust Nate, though. We both need this as much as the other, it’s what the unspoken pleading tonight was about. The closure we both need to end what happened tonight. What happened with Micaela.

  I kneel at the foot of the bed and wait for him, a half-smile delicately touching my lips. I can’t help it. I’m not submissive by any sense of the word, but I like playing games, probably as much as he does, which is why our bed tricks have always been toxic. Before we were parents. When you first become a parent, there are certain things that pound into your head. You shouldn’t say that, eat that, fuck like that… you get the picture. Suddenly you’re making every decision for how you are as a parent too…

  Well, we don’t have that anymore, and I can feel the toxicity seep through my pores and plant its seeds deep in my bones. The only question is, will I water them, or let them die?

  Nate saunters into the bedroom, naked and broody. He tilts his head and then makes his way to the top drawer. He pulls out a silver switchblade, and I freeze. Oh shit. That’s what you get, Tillie. Playing with The Kings will get you killed.

  A cruel smirk sneaks onto his mouth. “Get up and get on the bed.”