Shattered King Read Online B.B. Hamel

Categories Genre: Alpha Male, Dark, Mafia Tags Authors:
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Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 96170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
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She’s not the type of woman to sit around at home.

But it’s quiet. The living room’s clean, and it looks like someone even straightened the kitchen. There are fresh dishes in the drying rack. I frown, scowling around , but I don’t know where she’s hiding.

I head upstairs and into my room. I stop dead the second I turn to the bed.

The mattress is stripped and tipped off to the side. The empty frame looks like a wooden skeleton. The sheets are thrown in the corner, rumpled dark blue balls.

My first reaction is anger.

Then I start laughing.

God damn, the cheek of that girl. It makes my heart race as I get changed. She’s going to keep pushing my buttons just because she can.

I find her in the guest room. The bed is back together like I never took it apart. She’s sitting with pillows behind her, reading on a Kindle.

“I see you’ve been busy.”

She looks up and smiles sweetly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Here’s the thing. You flipping my mattress and throwing a tantrum⁠—”

“It’s not a tantrum,” she says, expression darkening.

“—That’s just some prank. But I’m not playing around when I say you could end up with a hole in your head if you don’t start listening.”

“How does sleeping in your bed change anything? What difference does it make if I’m twenty feet away?”

My stomach twists at the thought of men storming into my house, guns drawn, intent on violence, and being unable to reach her in time.

“It matters.” I step toward her. “You heard your father. You felt those fingers around your throat. You know this isn’t a game.”

She touches the bruising on her neck. “I’m aware of the situation.”

“Then why are you making my life so hard?”

“Because this is how it’s always going to be!” She says it so suddenly and with such passion that it surprises me. I pause, completely off guard for a moment. “All my life it’s been this way. Do this, do that, and you know what? It never helps. It’s all just an illusion. There’s no safety. There never was. The sooner you get it, the sooner we can start getting along.”

I try to process what she’s saying, but I have trouble making it fit. “I don’t know what happened to you, princess, but you’re my wife now. I’m capable of making sure nobody ever touches you again, you just have to help me do it.”

She seems bitter as she shakes her head. “You don’t get it. I’ve been here before, okay? Even when we made it through—” Her gaze goes distant like she’s remembering something. She swallows hard a couple of times, her face paling. “Look, I don’t want to talk about it anymore, okay? I’ll follow reasonable rules. I’m not an idiot. I want to avoid getting myself killed. But sleeping in your bed isn’t happening.”

I study her closely. Something bad definitely happened to her at some point in the past. I can tell she wants to bring it up but doesn’t know how. I could ask; only I don’t want to risk pushing her away by pressing too hard right now.

Instead, I decide ordering her around isn’t going to work.

Not with a woman like Fiorella.

Which is why I try something I’ve never considered before.

I get vulnerable.

“What if I said it wasn’t only about keeping you safe?” I lower my voice and move closer to the bed. She’s watching me warily now. “What if I said I want you in my bed, not just because you’d be easier to watch, but because I’m a selfish fucking bastard?”

Her lips part slightly. Her eyes widen a touch. Her fingers twitch as she brushes them across her thighs. Is she thinking about getting fucked on my desk right now? Because that’s all I have in my head anymore.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She’s breathing fast and staring.

“You know damn well that’s not true.” I stand closer. I want to touch her. Fuck, I want to brush my fingers along her skin, over the bruises on her throat, and bury my mouth with hers. I want to crush her lips, bite them, and make them bleed. Listen to her moan under my weight. Make her fucking shatter as she whispers my name. “Tell me you haven’t thought about it since it happened.”

She grips her Kindle tighter. The screen flexes, and her knuckles turn white. “Not a single time.”

“You’re lying.”

“It’s like you never touched me.”

“We both know that isn’t true. You’re marked by me. You can’t get it out of your head.” I lean in closer. “Just like I can’t.”

That’s right; she likes that, but it also scares her. Her breath’s coming faster now. Her mouth is fully open, and her eyes are wide with surprise, but she’s not pulling away. She’s not telling me to fuck off. If I reach out, I don’t think she’ll stop me. I don’t think she’ll tell me not to.


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