King: Darker Than Romance Read online

  Copyright © 2019 by Shantel Davis All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission. This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental

  Playlist

  “Ring the Alarm” – Beyoncé

  “Sex is on Fire” – Kings of Leon

  “Mount Everest” – Labrinth

  “Old Yeller” – Joji

  “Heaven Help Me” – Lizzo

  “Kill the King” – Rainbow

  “I Hate You” – Kelis

  “Perception Into 3” – NF

  “Hangover” – Rayana Jay

  “Work” – Carlotte Day Wilson

  “Imported” – Jessie Reyez, 6LACK

  “Bad Guy” – Billie Ellish

  “No Time to Die” – Billie Eilish

  “Give Me One Reason” – Tracy Chapman

  “Love Gun” – Cee-lo Green

  “Needed Me” – Rihanna

  “I’m Not in Love” – Kelsey Lu

  Introducing

  Eden

  There was something bad in King, hiding behind the façade. He was dangerous. I knew it, but I was drawn to his flame like a moth. And no matter how many times I got burned, I kept going back. I even poked and prodded at his monster because something in me was broken.

  King

  Everything I did to Eden, she begged for.

  King: Poison

  Present

  Eden invaded my space, pressing her soft, full curves into me. Her scent, like warm vanilla and honeysuckle, made my mouth water. She tilted her head back to stare up at me with her big brown eyes, causing my stomach to tighten. She was so tempting. She had just turned eighteen, and she was so fucking naïve and innocent, a virgin. As fucked up as it sounds, that alone made me want to taint her. I could feel the dark part of me, the part I hid from her mother and her, pulling at its leash to do just that.

  I should have left the room when she asked me to tell her what actual sex felt like. I knew what it could lead to. What it would lead to. We had already gone too far, too many times before that night. I knew going further would be our ruin. But Eden had a way of making me go against what I knew was right. I justified staying by telling myself that we’d already been doing wrong for months. As long as I didn’t put my dick inside of her, we wouldn’t cross the line of no return.

  I gave in. I described sex to her in vivid detailed. I couldn’t resist touching her while I talked. I showed her how a man touches a woman. Gentle caresses here and there. Then I got rougher. I used my mouth, a nip here. I used my fingers, a pinch there. She liked it all.

  I should have never touched her. That was my mistake. During all our encounters before, she had always touched me or herself. I had never touched her. She had been so turned on, so responsive and soft. Then out of nowhere she grabbed me and kissed me. I kissed her back, I couldn’t resist. She tasted so good, like ambrosia.

  I made myself pull away. She reached for me. I frowned, knocking her hands away. She pouted prettily, batting her eyes up at me.

  “We haven’t done anything that bad, King. We don’t even have to have sex, just touch me a little bit longer,” she coaxed in a voice that made my dick harden even more. I ached. In that moment she was more tempting than ever, with her light brown skin all flushed and her red lips swollen from my kisses, begging me.

  My hands shook. She was a contradiction, a rarity. She was so fucking sexual and downright filthy at times, and yet, still pure and unjaded. I knew fucking her would be an experience I’d never forget.

  I gnashed my teeth in frustration because saying no to her was turning out to be the hardest obstacle I’d ever faced. But I knew I had to. If she gave herself to me, that would be it. She would be mine, forever and always. I was possessive and jealous. I would want to be her one and only. I would want to own her. Already, just the thought of another man touching her made me see red.

  She would resist my control. I could see the rebellion in her. She would fight me. I would fight back. I’d fight dirty, I’d fight to win. Even if it took breaking her spirit, I would win.

  I closed my eyes. I tried to hold on to my slipping composure as my dick throbbed painfully. I ran all the reasons I should have left that room through my head. I had done a lot of bad in life but fucking up a little girl’s world couldn’t be added to my list of sins. Still, was it really a sin if she begged me to do it?

  Any excuse will do. The bit of a conscience I had lashed out at me.

  “Eden.” I called her name sternly, in warning. She was playing with fire. I never wanted anyone or anything as badly as I wanted her. That scared me. If she knew the real me, she’d be scared too.

  I balled my fist. I dug my nails into my palm, the baser part of me clawed just beneath the surface wanting me to mark her. I fought it, fought against the need to give into her. I had been fighting that need for three years, since the day I first saw her at our parents wedding. She was so beautiful, but so young. She was still so young. I shook my head. “No. This is wrong. I should have never touched you.” I should have never participated in any of the things we’d done.

  She chewed at her plump bottom lip. I know she didn’t mean for it to be sexy, but fuck, it was.

  “What’s wrong with making each other feel good?” She gave me a coy look that turned the blood in my veins to acid, then she grabbed my hand. She guided it between her legs. “You make me so hot and wet.” She pressed my hand against her center. My eyes rolled to the back of my head. I groaned deep in my throat and dropped my head. The fabric of the shorts she wore were soaked and I could tell she didn’t have on any panties. I snatched my hand back like she’d singed me.

  It was my turn to beg. “Don’t make me do this, Eden.” It pained me to deny myself. I sounded weak. She made me weak. “If we do this— from this moment forth, you’ll be mine and you will be doomed. Being with me will drain you bit by bit, and I will be the only one who can replenish you.” I wasn’t lying to her.

  She gave me a sneaky grin. “I’m okay with that, Ashford.” She instinctively knew her saying my name in that sultry dulcet tone would do something to me. I gave up. I took a step forward. A man could only take so much. I’d been resisting for so long. I told myself I deserved her.

  I was reached out, tangled my hand in her hair and snatched her head back….

  “Ashford King.” The guard’s voice brought me out of my daydream. I blinked rapidly. My memory of Eden and me had felt so real. I could almost taste her on my tongue. I didn’t dwell on it though. I jumped up and grabbed my belongings.

  “You ready to go?” Officer Nina Sanchez asked me through my cell bars. She was a gorgeous tiny woman with an olive complexion, black hair and black eyes. I liked to twist her into all kinds of different positions when I fucked her.

  Her eyes traveled from my face, down my torso, and landed on my dick. She bit into her thin pink bottom lip.

  “That for me, inmate?” She smirked.

  It wasn’t, but I remained quiet.

  “Open cell twenty,” she yelled out. My cell buzzed seconds later. She stepped back allowing me to step out, then jerked her head in the direction of the laundry room instead of the exit. I followed her. She unlocked the room with her keys and allowed me to enter first. It was pitch black, but I knew the layout by heart. I made my way to the
first corner to our left. She followed. I could hear her keys jingle with every step she took.

  “I sure am going to miss you,” she said before she dropped to her knees. I rested my head back against the brick wall, closed my eyes and let my mind drift back to Eden and the night I’d made her mine as Maria swallowed my whole dick.

  Eden: It Is Fear That Brings Rage

  Present

  Ellis lay less than three feet away from me. Lifeless. His body lay slumped over, half-sitting, half-lying on the cold linoleum floor. Surrounding him was an almost dried pool of crimson that left behind a sickly-sweet smell that reminded me of pennies and burnt caramel. A strange mashup of Rainbow’s “Kill the King” and Lizzo's “Heaven Help Me” played on a loop in my head. The lyrics blended, weaving into a chant. It felt weird to have an earworm at a time like that, as scarlet blood oozed down the butcher’s blade in my hand. Thick droplets spattered from it onto the floor, ruining my pristine white kitchen tile. I’d spent an hour on my hands and knees scrubbing it until my back ached and then I’d scrubbed until my hands throbbed. Now, it was ruined. Once again, the monster had ruined something. He ruined everything, I thought, then screamed the words directly at it. “You ruin everything.” And for once the monster didn’t respond back. No growling, no spittle flying, no snarling, no claws coming at my face. his lifeless blue eyes just stared back at me. My hands shook from the urge to want to poke him with the knife a few more times. But that would only make a bigger mess. I hated messes.

  With a heavy sigh, I pivoted on my bare feet, walked over to the sink and dropped the knife into basin, then I made my way to the pantry to pull out garbage bags, gloves, tape, bleach, the mop, scrub brush, and bucket. First things first: Get rid of the dead husband then clean up the blood.

  After gathering everything I would need to put my house back in order, I made my way over to Ellis, leaned down. I reached for his still body. My heart thumped a mile a minute in my chest. I hesitated to touch it, but I had to. I immediately regretted it. As soon as my fingertips contacted his filthy skin, the memories of abuse flooded me.

  Broken nails.

  Bashed in eyes.

  A battered face.

  Bloody tears.

  Bruises on almost every inch of my torso.

  The sound of the loud crack as his hand connected with my face caused me to jump. The insults being yelled sounded so real and present I flinched away from each one. “You’re so fat. You’re so ugly. Black bitch.” “Fat bitch.” “Bitch.” “Pathetic bitch.” Kick, scream, punch, repeat. “I don’t know why I married you, Eden. Will you ever fucking learn to please me? I bet you fucked King like he wanted.” My breathing became rapid and shallow. “Fucking tainted womb, can’t even give me a baby.”

  King, King, King. Never Ashford. Ellis behavior made it clear that he felt inferior to King and tortured me by mentioning his name every chance it got.

  I was overtaken by the primal need to flee. Snatching my hand away too quickly, the momentum caused me to fall back onto my butt. I scooted away from his as fast as I could until my back collided with the kitchen wall, and I couldn’t go any further. I cupped my mouth and screamed my agony into my hand. Blackness crept up my spine, adrenaline pierced my heart causing it to beat so fast I couldn’t catch my breath. I was drowning. My head swam, then just like that, everything went black.

  When I woke up my husband’s body had disappeared, and I did what anyone in that situation would do, I ran.

  Eden: The King Is Back

  Present

  I jolted awake. Someone was in the room with me. I could feel them. The air crackled with negative energy. My heavy lids fluttered open. Darkness hid them, but I knew they were there. Just as I was going to sit up, their weight pressed down on top of me, trapping me against the bed. A large cold hand covered my mouth, silencing me. I immediately began to panic. My heart banged against my ribcage. I swung my free arm up, but whoever was on top of me caught it and pinned it to my side.

  “Don’t scream. Don’t fight me.”

  I stopped fucking breathing. My entire body shuddered then went completely still. The fact that I recognized the voice of the person who held me captive did nothing to slow my hammering heart; as a matter of fact, it sped up and did a complete 180 in my chest. I suddenly wished I was back at home, hundreds of miles away. Which spoke volumes because I’d run from “home” just days before. But there was also a conflicting emotion. I felt safe, safer than I had felt for the first time in a long time.

  “Ashford.” His name slipped from between my lips, barely above a whisper. It was him. He smelled different though, like sweet cigars instead of Newport cigarettes. His usually musky cologne had been replaced with something cool and crisp and underneath that was the smell of him. It was a heady mixture that caused my head to swim and my skin to grow damp. I knew he would come for me; I just didn’t think it would be so soon. Momma had just left a few hours earlier to pick him up. King was supposed to do five years in prison, but then Covid 19 happened and they released him a year early.

  It was too dark to see anything more than his eyes; they bore into me. Anger swirled in them. There had always been something dark lurking behind King’s eyes, but it was darker now. Chills ran up my arms. I had only feared King once before. He hadn’t hurt me then, but after all that had happened between us, I was genuinely scared he would hurt me now.

  I closed my eyes to block out his anger and the emotions I was feeling.

  “Look at me, Eden.” The deadly calm tone he used forced my eyes open. They connected with his.

  “When I move my hand, Eden, I need for you not to scream. Nod if you understand.” I could smell fireball on his breath, and his words were slurred. Inwardly I groaned. King was volatile when sober; he was menacing, drunk.

  My insides tingled despite my fear.

  I nodded my head, though as soon as he removed his hand, I planned to scream loud enough to wake the dead and he knew it. He knew me too well.

  He gave an exaggerated sigh then gripped my jaw, digging his fingers into my face, stilling my head. He chuckled, but his tone was flat when he said, “Your mother’s downstairs with all our relatives. You scream they come running and everybody finds your big brother with his dick buried balls deep inside of you. Is that what you want?” He kneed my legs apart.

  Suddenly, I could hear voices and music playing downstairs. Momma had gathered everybody to welcome her King home, as if he were a real King and we weren’t in the middle of a pandemic.

  I shouldn’t have cared if they found out. He wasn’t my real brother. We didn’t share blood, we didn’t even share race, but still I frantically shook my head, “no.” I already had enough to deal with, adding the stigma of fucking my stepbrother to the list wasn’t something I wanted to do.

  “Now that we’ve come to an understanding...”

  He ghosted his lips almost lovingly against my jaw, cheek, then my mouth. My body betrayed me. I went limp. On their own volition my legs spread wider to accommodate him. He settled comfortably in between them as if it were his rightful place.

  Since I slept naked, the only thing separating us was the thin sheet I’d pulled over myself. I tried to ignore the feeling of his rock-hard cock pressing into my center but couldn’t. It took everything in me not to grind into him. Sweat broke out on my forehead.

  “Now we can talk.” His voice was low and dangerous.

  As soon as he went to remove his hand, I opened my mouth to scream. I regretted it immediately. He wrapped his hand around my throat, restricting my ability to swallow, to breath. No sound escaped. I panicked and started to struggle in earnest but couldn’t do much with one of my hands tucked under me and the other in his vice grip.

  “Tsk, tsk, tsk, still fucking stubborn.”

  His grip around my neck got tighter, and I knew it wouldn’t loosen until he got what he wanted.

  “I’m sorry,” I managed to croak out.

  He took his time letting go. When his han
d fell away, I sucked in a deep breath.

  “You’re not sorry now, but you will be, you treacherous fucking bitch!” He spat his words so venomously, I felt them physically.

  “You’re going to pay for what you’ve done to me, and you’re going to take your punishment like a good girl, aren’t you?” I heard the restrained anger in his voice and knew he would spend however long we had together trying to break me. I wished I were back with Ellis. We fought, and I gave as good as I got. But with King, it was different. He was too strong, too vindictive.

  If I hit King, he didn’t punch me back. He was calculated. He would take things from me that I cared about. The one time I’d hurt him emotionally, he’d taken the little bit I had of my mother from me.

  Four years later and she still could barely stand to look at me because of his lies. He’d made her think I was the reason her husband had left her and not because she had married another piece of shit. I still don’t know the exact lie King told to make his father’s actions my fault. But whatever he’d told her had gotten me slapped and kicked out of her house. I’m sure that had been his plan all along.

  King wanted me to only depend on him, to only have him. And somewhere deep inside I wanted the same. Neither one of us realized how fucked up that was.

  We were toxic to each other and everyone around us. We caused each other pain as well as caused pain to the people who got in between us. All for nothing. In the end we had imploded. He’d gone to jail, and I had ended up living in a gilded cage with the man he hated.

  “I bet you thought you would live happily ever after with that prick you ran away with; never thought you’d see me again?” His voice kept rising. “Thought I’d rot in prison because of you.” The steel in his tone caused me to shiver, but I still tried to defend myself.

  “I wouldn--” I wanted to tell him that I never would have run away with Ellis if he hadn’t forced my hand. Where else was I supposed to go with no money, after he’d turned my momma against me?