Total pages in book: 171
Estimated words: 159050 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 795(@200wpm)___ 636(@250wpm)___ 530(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 159050 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 795(@200wpm)___ 636(@250wpm)___ 530(@300wpm)
Knight hummed, and when his gaze slid over Elliot’s hand on his leg, Elliot barely contained the urge to cowardly revoke the gesture. Men were unpredictable. Some were only available to him at particular times, others couldn’t stand any initiative coming from someone else, and then there were others who didn’t want to be fondled anywhere other than between their legs. But Knight didn’t slap his hand away or made any other move that could be considered threatening, so Elliot took a deep breath, relieved that no violence was coming his way.
“What do you see in him?” Knight asked eventually.
Elliot was surprised by the question. Knight had voiced his disapproval before, and Elliot had praised the things that attracted him to William Fane, but this time it felt as if Knight really wanted to listen.
“He is this… force to be reckoned with. He took from life all that he wanted, and let no one stand in his way. Well, that is until he met his end. I wouldn’t call his actions ‘brave’, but they were fearless.”
Knight’s face twisted into a mocking smile. “It’s not hard to be ‘fearless’ when you’re at the top of the food chain. People like Fane had no understanding or pity for people like us. Maybe that was why it was so easy for him to murder those boys. Because he didn’t even see them as people.”
Elliot absentmindedly caressed Knight’s thigh. “Maybe I’m just jealous? Wouldn’t we all like to be at the top of the food chain? Look at all this amazing stuff you’ve got here. And don’t you think his father disappeared at a very convenient time for him? I’d want to know if William really did kill him. That would mean he didn’t only choose those born less privileged than him.”
“Everyone thought the old Mr. Fane was a decent man. I think William murdered him to get his hands on the money and power sooner,” Knight said, frowning. “Killing your own dad at a time when detecting poisons was close to impossible, is not very brave in my book.”
Elliot pulled his hand away. He slipped off his shoes to not wreck the undoubtedly expensive sofa as he pulled up his feet. What could Knight know about the hate one could feel for one’s father? Elliot was certain William would have understood. Even if Elliot never found the courage to use his own fists against the tyrant who used to make his life so miserable.
“You can’t know what their relationship was like. Maybe he was a brute at home. Maybe he used his money like force. Maybe he was cruel in words.”
Knight laughed and took a swig from his bottle. “Fane had all the options in life. He didn’t have to stay here, and his father still wouldn’t have been able to disinherit his first-born. That’s what the law used to be back then. There are always choices. My father is a useless drunk who’d rather buy himself more whiskey than get me new shoes when I was a kid, but I never wished him dead.”
Elliot blinked. He didn’t expect Knight sharing this way, but maybe it just wasn’t something Knight cared about. “I hated my dad. I’m happy he’s dead.” The venom in his own voice surprised Elliot with its intensity, but it was true. “And I admire that William took matters into his own hands. He just went for it, you know? He didn’t sit around like some wimp. He gave as good as he got.”
“Of course. Because he wouldn’t treat you any different than he had all those other guys,” hissed Knight. “You’re blind.”
Elliot spread his arms as rage burned hotter inside him. “So what? I’d have tried to show him that I can understand him, but if not, so be it. For once, I would have been in the eye of the storm. Of interest to this perfect predator, and for a moment, he would have been mine only.”
Knight’s nostrils flared, and he slowly turned his body toward Elliot. “Yeah? That’s what you want? Just earlier today you didn’t want to die. That scumbag was no different than Fane.”
Elliot pursed his lips. “Martin has none of William’s class or intelligence. He’s just a shadow, something I was trying to grasp at the time. I’m over him now.”
Knight’s hand dashed for Elliot’s head and abruptly pulled on his hair, forcing him to support himself with his arms so that he wouldn’t drop face-first into one of the cushions. His long hair bristled, as if there was electricity running up and down Knight’s body and causing it to rise. “So you just want to be used? And then come what may?”
Elliot was too stunned by Knight’s actions to think clearly, and the adrenaline that had settled before, now flooded his veins again. What he wanted was to be The One. As long as he got that, he could deal with a lot of bullshit. “I didn’t say that. I’m just saying that maybe a man like William deserved to get whatever he wanted.” He groaned, watching the pronounced veins running up Knight’s arm.