I sent him a message over an hour ago and he never responded. He may not even be expecting me to be here.

Grabbing my candy bar from my mouth, I wrap it back up the best I can and watch as he exits his truck, slamming the door behind him.

He stands on the other side of the truck for a few minutes, before his feet start moving.

The first thing that I notice as he steps around his truck is that he’s wearing a black hoodie and his hands are stained in what looks like dried blood. The second thing I notice as the blue lighting hits his face is that the area underneath both of his eyes is bruised and slightly swollen.

I toss my Snickers aside and rush down the porch in a panic, my whole body screaming to take care of him and pull him into my arms in comfort.

Instead, I stop in front of him and gently run my fingers over his beautiful face as he stands there breathing heavily.

“Holy shit, Royal. What happened to you? Are you okay?”

He looks at me, his eyes tearing into my soul, paralyzing me. All I feel in this moment is his pain and suffering, and it feels like my heart is being ripped from my chest. Only Royal has the power to make me feel so damn much from one single look.

“My hell is what happened. Nothing that you should be concerned with.”

Swallowing, I pull my hands away from his face and drop them to my sides. I’m afraid to know this next part, but ask it anyways. “Did you hurt someone?”

My heart beats wildly against my ribcage, waiting for an answer. “Not as much as he deserved.”

Seeing the pain in his eyes is enough for me to understand, and I find my words coming out without me thinking. “You shouldn’t have stopped then.”

His eyes widen a bit as if he wasn’t expecting my response, and he slowly starts walking at me. Unable to pull my eyes away from his, I walk backwards, stepping back every time he steps forward, until I’m pressed against the door.

He brings his bloodied hands up to press against the door, pinning me in. Then he leans in until his lips are hovering above mine, only a small breath away. His voice is thick with emotion as he stares into my eyes and speaks. “You think I should have kept going?”

I nod my head and grab both of his arms, squeezing them through the thick fabric. “If he hurt you, then yes.”

He breathes against my lips, causing me to tilt my head and brush my lips against his, wanting to taste him.

“What did you need me for? Did someone hurt you?” He questions in a tensed voice.

I shake my head. “I just had dinner with Colton and broke it off for good. The only thing I could think of as I was rushing out of there was coming here.”

He moves his body closer to mine, bringing his arms against the side of my head. His smell is so damn hypnotic, bringing me to close my eyes. “Yeah . . . and how did he take it?”

Doesn’t he realize how hard it is to talk with him this close? He looks and smells too good to be true.

“He wasn’t happy,” I admit. “He wanted me to stay with him, but when I refused he grabbed my wrists and kept trying to force me against him.”

Royal’s jaw tenses and his gray eyes darken as he scans my face. “So he did fucking hurt you?”

I smile small to show him that I’m okay. “When he wouldn’t let go I kneed him in the balls. The fucker got my message loud and clear. He was holding his junk and whining when I left.”

Royal’s lips turn up into a half smile, making my insides melt from the beauty. “Good.”

He finally backs away from me and digs in his pocket, pulling out a set of keys. After he unlocks the door, he turns to me. “You ready for that other tattoo?” He motions for me to walk inside first. “I could use the distraction.”

“Me too. I’m more than ready.” I walk inside first, stopping and waiting for him to shut the door behind him and lead the way.

“Go downstairs. Wait for me in my room.” He yanks his hoodie over his head, pulling it off, and looks down at his dirty hands. “I need to shower first and wash this shit away.”

I look at his firm chest, pressing against his black tee, and swallow. It fits him so damn well, and looks extremely sexy, showing off his sculpted, inked arms. “Take your time,” I breathe softly.

Pulling his eyes away, he turns and walks away, pulling his shirt over his head, before jogging up the stairs to the top floor.

I wait until he disappears before walking down the hall and into the kitchen in search of some water or something to drink. My mouth suddenly feels extremely dry.

“Whoa!” I cover my face with my hand and back into the wall when I see Jax’s firm ass, flexing as he fucks some leggy chick on the kitchen table. “Shit! I’m sorry.”

Jax laughs and keeps going about his business as if he could care less. “What you looking for, babe?”

I peek around my hand to see Jax roll his hips and then thrust forward hard as shit, making the redhead scream out and grip the table. “I was just thirsty. I’ll go.”

“There’s shit in the fridge. You’re not bothering us,” he says with a slight growl as he pounds into her again and turns away from me.

“I’m good.” I back out of the kitchen and rush down the hall, feeling embarrassed that I just witnessed Jax fucking.

“Oh. My. Goodness.”

It was hot; extremely hot, I admit, and definitely not something that I’ve ever walked in on before. Well I did walk in on Madison once, but they were both under the covers . . . Thank God, but Jax . . . hot damn.

Catching my breath, I walk down the stairs to the cool basement and let myself into Royal’s bedroom. I look around in curiosity as I take in his oversized bed that I slept in not too long ago.

The memory of that night causes my heart to beat wildly in my chest. My body is still aching for him to touch me since he refused to that night, but I quickly shake off the thought and plop down in the middle of his bed to wait for him.

Everything in his room is either black or gray. There’s a black chair that sits next to his bed, and across from his bed is a black, leather couch with gray pillows.

Grabbing the remote off the nightstand, I turn on the huge TV that’s hanging on the wall above the couch and turn it on to keep me distracted.

When I go to place the remote back, I notice a black knife. Letting my hands wander, I pick it up and look at it, trying to imagine what Royal uses it for. Oddly, it sends a surge of excitement through me.

About twenty minutes later, Royal walks into his room, shirtless with a pair of sweats hanging low on his narrow hips. I can’t turn my eyes away as he stands there just looking at me.

His body and hair is still wet, as if he just jumped out of the shower and got dressed without even bothering to dry off first. It’s a glorious sight to take in, and all I want to do is run my tongue over his slick body and lick the water off. Screw the bottle of water I was searching for when I walked in on Jax. This looks much more fulfilling.

“You comfortable in my bed, Darlin’?” He asks while walking closer to me. His eyes land on the knife in my hand, but he doesn’t say another word as he watches me play with it.

I swallow and nod my head. “Yeah. It’s really soft. I like it. Oh and by the way, I would probably wash the kitchen table before you decide to eat a meal from it.”

“Yeah, Jax will take care of it.” He looks me over as if he was expecting me to be gone by the time he got out of the shower. “You’re not scared to be in here alone with me?”

I sit up straight and meet his eyes. “I’m not afraid of you, Royal. I could care less about anything your brother has said. You’re not twisted . . . you’re just hurting.”

With purposeful steps he walks over to the bed and grabs my legs, pulling me to him, and positioning himself between my legs. “Yeah . . .” He brushes his lips over mine and tangles his hand in my hair, causing me to moan. “What if I told you that I stabbed a knife through a man’s hand tonight and didn’t feel one bit of remorse as he screamed out in pain? Would you still say I’m not twisted? I’m a slave to darkness, Avalon, and all I feel is pain. Nothing more.”