The Barbarous Us-KTH FF (Book I)

TWENTY FOUR

"What is with you people and not knocking?" I glared at his chest before pouring myself more wine. I would have to make sure it was close by if I was going to make it through the rest of the day.

"What did my mother want?"

"The better question is what do you want?" I asked him, stepping forward. He towered over me, and the fact that I was in my underwear beneath the robe was not lost on either of us.

"Ari, leave us." She froze, looking to me.

Rolling my eyes, I nodded, and she stepped outside, the moment she did he kissed me, opening up my robe so he could cup my ass. Pushing him away, I slapped him across the face.

"Just because we fucked already doesn't mean we need to jump each other every time we make eye contact," I snapped at him. Despite the fact that he did look rather sexy, I didn't want him getting used to the idea that my body was his to do anything he wished with when he was horny.

"Maybe if we did, you would be kinder." I just snorted and turned away from him to the items on the bed.

"Kim, seriously what is it you want? We have the wedding of the decade to go to soon," I replied, stepping into my shoes.

"Those shoes make it hard not to have you right now," he said, staring at my legs. "However, I will take pleasure in that later tonight. I just wanted to let you know Jihun and his son, Jaemin, will be attending."

What the fuck?

"You do know this would be a perfect moment for him to strike back at you for what you did to the plane." I crossed my arms over my chest, and his eyes went to my breasts. Jeez, you would think we hadn't had sex all night. If it weren't for Minho's call, we'd both still be on that boat.

Stepping forward, he let his hands trace up and down my sides. "Well love, as our new personal contract states, we now work together. My plans were to either beef up security and enjoy the evening, or take a moment out of our night and poison the bastard right then and there."

I frowned at the thought. "First, do not call me love. Second, when Jihun falls, I want him to watch his empire burn around him and know that he was outsmarted, outgunned, and fucked over. Drowning in the soup seems . . ."

"Too easy." He agreed. "Then the first option it is. I'm shocked, Mrs. Kim, did we just agree on something? Can it really be this easy?"

He cupped my breasts, and I gripped his dick tight enough to cause him pain. "If that's all, sweetheart, I would like to spend my last few moments as a Min by myself."

"Bitch."

"You, too."

"I should have—" He stopped himself before stepping up behind me. "You look beautiful. See you at the altar, and try not to flinch at the holy water."

"I won't, if you won't," I replied as he kissed me where my shoulder met my neck.

He said nothing else before leaving, allowing Ari to come back in. I sat down again, and she finished making the waves in my hair as I stared into my own reflection. His kiss brought back all his touches of the night before. He was amazing and had stamina that was unheard of. My body cried out for his, and my mind both hated and loved that. I loved being dominated in such a beastly sexual way, how his hands, lips, and tongue all grabbed on to me. He was the best partner I had ever had, but I didn't want him to know that. I didn't want his head to become any bigger than it already was.

I also didn't want him to think that just because he was a great fuck, that he held the key to making me bend. He said he understood, but the Boss in me told me that everyone lies. People lied about how much they drank, how much they were in debt, how many people they had killed—people were liars. I always thought I was good at reading liars. I could see it in their eyes, and if I did, I would kill them. However, with Taehyung, I was lost. It was like I was blind. He seemed honest, but he was just like me—a master liar.

"Ari, what do you think of Kim Taehyung?"

She froze, not sure what to say.

"Ari, you can speak freely. I'm sure you've dug up more dirt since we've been here."

She nodded. "Kim Taehyung is cocky, arrogant, controlling, manipulative, hotheaded, and attractive. What makes it worse is that he knows it. He has bloodlust. He stares at people with such rage, it is as though he wishes for them to mess up so he can put a bullet in them. However, the moment he looks at you, it's gone. He is content, which is far from the man I saw three days ago. He seemed a rather isolated and lonely person. From what I've gathered, he was a very ill child, to the point he was crippled. Add that to his high intelligence, and it made him a prime candidate for bullies throughout his early life. He keeps it private and is embarrassed about it, seeing as he is a Kim. He was admitted to a hospital for almost year, and from there, gradually became better. He trusts very few people, which includes his family. He's searching for something."

I stared at her through the mirror, eyebrow raised, before grinning. This was Ari's talent. She was a profiler. A very good profiler. Everyone overlooked her, thinking she was just my personal maid. However, I kept Ari close because she was my second pair of eyes. She saw people as if they were an open book and could collect information because no one noticed her. She wasn't a fan of the blood, or the violence, and I wouldn't force her to be. She proved her worth often in times like this.

"So you think I should trust him."

"Only you know, ma'am. You are a better judge of character than I. I think he wants you to care about him as much as his mother cares for his father. I don't think he is out to hurt you—yet. But he is still a Kim, and the Kims are tricky. He is going to be your husband, and you are not cringing at the thought of it, ma'am."

She was right, and I didn't know how to process that.

"It has been a long three days." I sighed, standing up and allowing my robe to fall. She nodded, grabbing my dress and holding it for me to step into.

"You look beautiful," Eunha said, beaming when she, Jisoo, and Evelyn stepped in. Jisoo looked sour, and I wouldn't have been surprised that she figured out I was the one who put a hole in her husband's arm.

"It's very simple," Jisoo said fingering the tattoo on her wrist, looking my dress up and down. If I weren't in all white and about to enter the house of God, I would have bashed her head in.

"Some people have to try harder than others. Others can make simple look elegant."

"Agreed," Evelyn said. Apparently, she and I had come to a new agreement.

"Did you give her the bracelet?" Eunha asked even though Evelyn was already walking toward the desk to pick up the small box.

She opened it, and my eyes widened ever so slightly. The vintage bracelet, made of all pearls and pendant with the letter K embedded in it. It had to be from the early 1900s, at least.

"Something old. All the Kim woman wear it during their wedding. It was the gift given to the wife of the first Boss." She smiled and placed it on my wrist.

"Thank you," I replied, and for the first time it hit me. I was getting married today.

"We should get going. Minho is waiting," Jisoo said, frowning and clearly pissed that the moment was happening between everyone but her. The bitch.