Chapter 99 Naked Truth
Kira’s POV
Steam rolled behind him, water droplets sliding down his absurdly sculpted body…broad chest, ridged abs, that stupid V-line pointing straight to…
I slapped both hands over my eyes, screeching. “Oh my God! Put clothes on! No woman wants to see that tiny thing flopping around!”
I shouldn't have said that. Why did I say that?!
He growled, low and playful, the sound rumbling through the room. “Tiny? Is that a challenge, little mate? Want me to show you exactly how much I can fill you up? Stretch that pretty core and still go deeper?”
Heat exploded through me, toes literally curling as the words hit. I swallowed hard, thighs pressing together involuntarily.
“W-what are you even doing here?!” I yelped, still covering my eyes. “Shouldn’t you be in your own room or something?”
“This is my private suite,” he said, voice closer now…way too close.
I peeked through my fingers, scoffing. “Yeah, right. Like you own the hotel.”
He just smiled, all smug and naked and infuriatingly hot.
My jaw dropped. “Wait. You own this hotel?! How rich are you?!”
“Rich enough to buy whatever I want in this entire country,” he said, smirking as he toweled off his hair…slowly, like he wanted me to enjoy the show. “I can buy as many companies and properties that catch my eye,” he replied lazily.
Cocky bastard.
But then a darker thought slithered in.
Any company?
Like… any at all?
I stood there, frozen in the middle of this ridiculous luxury suite, staring at Adrian like he’d grown a second head.
He was still naked…gloriously, unapologetically naked…water droplets clinging to his skin, that humongous thing just… dangling there like it had no shame. My brain short-circuited between panic, heat, and this wild, desperate idea that had just slithered into my mind.
“So…I'm your bride, right?” I asked carefully, putting on the cutest expression possible.
“Yes!” He replied enthusiastically.
“Would you do anything for me?” I asked, voice smaller than I wanted, but steady enough.
He stepped closer…no hesitation, no grabbing a towel like a decent man…his eyes locking onto mine with that intense gold flicker.
The air thickened as his scent wrapped around me like a claim. “Anything,” he growled low, possessive, stopping just inches away. Close enough that I could feel the heat radiating off him.
“I’d kill for you, princess. I'd gladly burn kingdoms and rip apart anyone who hurts you. Whatever it takes to make you happy. To keep you smiling. To keep you mine… I'm willing to do it.”
His words hit like a drug. That feeling I've gotten familiar with began pulsing hard in my chest, making my knees weak. I swallowed, forcing my eyes up to his face.
Focus, girl. Use this. Use him.
“Could you… buy a company? Put it in my name?”
His eyes lit up…actual excitement sparking there, like I’d just handed him a new toy. A slow, wicked grin spread across his face.
“Yes. Hell yes. How many do you want? Name them. Any one in particular?”
I cleared my throat, heart hammering. Should I do this? Accept help from the enemy? The guy who’s basically holding me captive in his werewolf world?
But then the anger surged hot when the memory replayed in my head.
Screw this. They killed me. Took everything. If I can use this overbearing bastard to settle scores with my ungrateful past… yeah. I’ll use him. He’s a tool. A very hot, very dangerous tool.
“Yes,” I said, voice firmer. “I want the Summers Group.”
He paused. Just… stopped like he remembered something important. Then he tilted his head, staring at me like he was piecing together a puzzle. “Summers?”
“Yes.”
“Kira Summers?”
My blood turned to ice. I stared at him, shocked, mouth dry. “How…how do you know that name?”
He didn’t answer right away. His eyes searched mine, sharp and knowing. “Hold on… the funeral. The friend you told me about…the one we’re here for. It’s Kira Summers?”
I nodded slowly, confusion swirling with outright panic. “Yes… what do you know about Kira Summers?”
Could it be that he's also a seer or a wizard?
He stepped even closer, gentle now, one hand coming up to cup my cheek. “Tell me something, Princess. Anything. Not everything…just whatever you feel comfortable sharing.”
I hesitated, brain racing. “What do you know about Kira Summers first?”
“Nothing,” he said softly. “Just that it’s the name you gave when you woke up after… that almost-death. You kept insisting that it was your name. It was also the name that called you back to me when I almost lost you again.”
I exhaled hard, relief flooding me. He doesn’t know. He thinks it’s just some random name from the near-death experience or whatever. He doesn’t know I am Kira Summers.
I nodded, letting my voice crack a little…real emotion leaking through because it wasn’t all fake.
“The friend I told you about… the one I lost touch with years ago, the one I shared my love for poetry with, late-night messages about dreams and heart desires… Her name was Kira Summers. Some people she considered family killed her on her birthday. And they’d already killed her mother years before…just to get their hands on the fortune her mom left her. The company, estate, buildings. Everything.”
Tears burned my eyes now, real ones. “I want it back. In her memory of course. I want to make them pay for what they did to her."
He frowned, gentle but confused. “How do you know all this? You said you just found out she died yesterday. You hadn’t been in touch with her all these years. So how come…”
“Yes,” I said quickly, weaving the lie smoothly. “But we had this secret account that we treated as a dairy. I recovered it yesterday and saw everything. Her entries from when I first came to your kingdom… when you took my phone. She was reaching out, hurting, and I couldn’t help her. Couldn’t even comfort her because I didn’t have the means.”
I was playing him…tugging straight at his guilt over isolating Abby…and damn, it worked. His face softened, regret flashing deep.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, thumb brushing my cheek. “Is that all you want? The company?”
“Not a chance.” My voice hardened, venom real now. “I want them to pay in every way. Stripped of everything. Exposed for what they did. Humiliated. Thrown out into the streets…the slums where monsters like them belong.”
He pulled me into his arms then, one finger gently wiping away tears I hadn’t even realized were falling. “Leave it to me,” he murmured, voice steel wrapped in velvet. “I’ll handle the rest. All of it. I'll be your weapon and get the revenge your friend deserves."
That easy? Phew.
I nodded as I blinked, touching my wet cheeks. When did I even start crying?
“Go rest. You've had a long day,” he said, pressing a soft kiss to my forehead. “I’ll take it from here.”
I nodded numbly again. “I… I need to shower.”
He let me go after his hand lingered a little bit longer on my arm.
I slipped into the bathroom, cranking the water hot and letting it pound over me until my skin was red.
The tears came again under the spray…silent, furious ones for Mom, for me, for everything that was stolen.
Eventually, I came out, but he was gone already. I crawled into bed, exhaustion pulling me under.
But it wasn't just exhaustion that pulled me under.
Something worse got me.