Page 39 of Royal Salvation

Lucía had at least password protected the drive, knowing she wouldn’t want just anyone seeing the images which were so disturbing. “Fuck it.”

Reaper looked at her, his face a mask and not showing his emotions, but the ticking in his jaw gave him away. “Not really a helpful attitude right now, Princess.”

“No, the password is Fuckit. One word, capital F.”

He smirked. “Nice.”

“I can never remember my passwords, so I always end up saying Fuckit.”

Reaper shook his head, but he was smiling as he typed it in, and the file opened. Lucía pointed to the folder, and he clicked on it. The image hit her screen, and like it had at the time, and every time since that night, her breath left her body in a deluge of grief and pain.

The air stilled around her, and it took her a second to realise that Justice had gone stone still beside her, his body like marble, not a single muscle moving as if even the breath in his body had turned to stone.

“Justice?” He turned to her then and she dragged her eyes away from the painful image on the screen. “Do you know him, Justice?”

Her hands moved to his shoulders, and he stood, moving away from her as if her touch burned. She tried to push away the feeling of hurt and give him the space he needed as he faced the window, the bright Australian sun not reflecting the sudden dark mood in the room.

“I told you about the man in my team I caught committing a crime.”

Her lungs seized as if the air didn’t know whether to leave or suffocate her and she reached out to grab the bed for support. An intense feeling of dread worked its way up her spine. “Yes.”

“That’s the image I saw. I walked around the corner after patrolling the other side of the village and saw him raping that girl and lost my mind. I beat him half to death until my other team members pulled me off him. I would’ve killed him, wanted to kill him for what he’d done.”

He turned to face her then and she could see the torment in his eyes. The devastation and guilt were like a shroud pulling at him. Tears filled her eyes as the pain and fury she saw in him hit her like a bullet. The realisation that they’d shared the same horrific experience was hard to swallow. In some way, it made sense to her. More and more she was starting to think Justice was meant to be in her life, and this was like a confirmation of that.

Reaching for him seemed natural and his arms came around her, holding her close, her body touching his from chest to toe. He cradled her head in his hand and she felt a kiss on her head as she snuggled closer to his body and the security and comfort he offered.

She felt a shiver go through him. “I can’t stand the thought of you witnessing that. Of being so close to that evil, of seeing what I did.”

Lucía pulled her head back so she could look at him, but his arms stayed closed around her waist, keeping her near him. “I didn’t see you attack him. In fact, I didn’t see you at all.” Shame at what she’d done flooded her once more, and the guilt she carried tightened around her chest. Dropping her head, she sucked in a breath as tears hit her eyes.

“Hey, talk to me.”

Reaper led her to the bed and sat her down, before crawling on the bed beside her and tucking her into his body.

“I ran, Justice. I saw what he was doing, and panic seized me like a vice. I could hardly breathe at the horror I was seeing. To this day I don’t know why I took that photo. It was like instinct and then I heard a noise. Instead of stepping in to stop what was happening, I ran. Oh, God, I left her to her fate. She was a child and I was such a coward.”

“No, you did the right thing. Playboy and Chess could have hurt you. You had no idea if help was close, or if they would’ve done the same thing to you.”

“But she was only sixteen years old.”

“I know.” He kissed her nose and her eyelids, and she leaned into his touch. Tilting her head up she caught his lips with her own. The kiss started as comfort but quickly turned heated as she sat up, straddling his thighs.

Justice looked up at her, his hand sweeping out to cup her neck so he could pull her into his kiss. She might be the one instigating this but there was no doubt who was in control as he swept her away with a kiss so dominant and demanding she could do nothing but give herself over to him.

Feelings of guilt and shame were pushed away with the power of the desire they shared. He never made her feel like she was untouchable like a China doll. He made her feel precious and desirable in a way nobody ever had before.

Lucía’s hands feathered over the material of his tee, feeling the warm skin as she pushed the fabric up and away. Justice broke the kiss for a moment to haul the shirt away before his lips were back on her skin. Kissing her bare shoulder, his fingers flicked the straps of the swimsuit down to reveal her breasts, aching and heavy with the need to be touched.

Lifting his head, the flame of passion was evident in his dark eyes as all her defences, even the ones she hadn’t realised she was holding on to, came crashing down.

“Fucking perfection.”

His growl before his thumb rubbed over a pert nipple made her whimper with want. Goosebumps broke out on her skin as he plucked at her nipple, his mouth finding hers again as their tongues duelled, seeking more.

Need chased her as Justice kissed his way down her neck, the stubble on his face abrading her skin and making the need coil tighter inside her. Her breath came in short pants, her hands ran over his chest, the hair springy under her fingertips.

Justice latched onto her nipple, his hungry mouth pulling and sucking, his teeth toying with her sensitive bud as his hands gripped her hips, rocking her core against the hard ridge of his cock.