Lush (The King Cousins Book 1) (The King Brothers 4)

by K. D. Elizabeth

  “I’ve never come so hard in my life,” I say in astonishment.

  She smiles lazily. “Mmm. Feel free to do it again. The poker table awaits.”

  I laugh, leaning an elbow next to her head so I can stare down at her. “I don’t think I could even if I tried.”

  Her hands stroke up and down my back. “Give it a couple minutes. I think you’ll manage.”

  I drop a kiss to her mouth. “You think so?”

  She keeps stroking my back, her hands moving in leisurely circles. To my shock, my cock twitches inside her.

  Jude winks. “Something tells me it might be possible.”

  “You’re going to be the death of me.”

  She laughs, the sound incandescently joyful. “Yeah, but what a way to go.”

  I kiss her again, the first of an infinite many to come. What a way to go, indeed.

  Epilogue

  Jude

  Twelve months later

  I slowly lift the trunk of Nate’s car, then reach in to pull out some of the bourbon we brought for the party.

  “Don’t lift that!”

  “Jesus, Nate. I’m pregnant, not an invalid.”

  “I don’t care if you’re a powerlifter; you’re not carrying heavy objects while you’re carrying my child.”

  Should I insist I’m capable of performing simple tasks? Probably. But Nate is still so freaked out about the surprise pregnancy I simply don’t have the heart to further stress him.

  To be honest, I’m freaking too. I should’ve taken him more seriously when Nathan begged me not to tempt fate. All it took was one skipped pill the first weekend Nate and I went away together and bam! Surprise baby.

  Apparently, Nathan and I don’t have the best of luck when it comes to birth control.

  Now, I’m forever linked to the man. And while the sequence of events isn’t exactly the order I always imagined my life would take, I’m finally okay with it. I have all that I need, even if none of it’s been planned.

  I follow Nathan up the stairs, carrying the fruit platter I insisted on bringing in addition to the bourbon Nate’s already carrying. He in turn insisted that it wasn’t necessary but come on. We’re not going to be the King couple who only ever brings alcohol. As if they don’t already have enough to gossip about.

  I’ve seen Rory’s shrewd glances, Cassie’s excited looks whenever I decline a glass of wine or some other drink at family get-togethers. They suspect, if they don’t already know. They even tried to corner me the other week at Jackson’s, no doubt to finally get a confession, but thankfully, Nate called me over before they could get anything out of me.

  It’s not that I don’t want to tell them. I do. More than anything. But it’s Nate’s family; he deserves to tell them exactly how he wishes. I wouldn’t take that away from him. And he’s so sickeningly proud of himself I know he’s waiting to do something big. We could have told them weeks ago, but he’s been insisting on waiting for this party, for the anniversary of the fire a year ago. Those weeks when everything changed for all of us.

  Nathan holds me back when we reach the front door. I pause, staring at him in confusion. His face turns utterly serious, and I instantly know what he’s going to ask. Before I can stop him, he says, “Will you marry me?”

  I roll my eyes, resisting the urge to chuck the fruit platter at his arrogant head. “Seriously? Not this again.”

  “Oh, yes. Definitely this again.”

  “We’ve gone over this! You don’t get hitched just because you knock up a woman!”

  Nathan snorts, just as annoyed by my response whenever he asks this same question as I am when he asks it. “Of course you do. What, you think I’m just going to leave you to it? I have no intention of being some deadbeat asshole of a father.”

  “Nate, I never meant that. I’m just saying—”

  “Yeah, yeah. A baby isn’t anything to base a relationship on. Yada yada. Utter horseshit.”

  “It’s not!”

  Nathan glares at me mulishly, so annoyed it’s cute. He looks like a little boy who’s been told he can’t play with his favorite toy anymore. I frown. Would that make me the toy or the person taking the toy away in this scenario? Hmm. Might have to rethink that metaphor.

  “Nate,” I say, clutching his arm with my free hand. His bicep flexes under my touch in a delightfully attractive way that I would be all over if we weren’t literally standing on his brother’s doorstep. “We’ve only known each other for a year. A year! That’s way too soon to be making any kind of life-altering choices.”

  Nathan stares significantly at my stomach. “I’m afraid the horse is already well out of the barn on that one, sweetheart. No reason to close the door now.

  “Besides, I already know everything about you. Your favorite foods, your allergies, the sexy little sounds you moan when I make you come. I put flowers on your brother’s grave with you, went with you when you confronted your parents about your childhood.

  “I’m raising a human being with you. You’re it for me. There’s no one else. There’s never going to be anyone else. The sooner you accept that, the sooner we can get on with our lives. My mind’s not going to change.”

  Well, hell. How many times has he made this proposal? How many more times do I need him to make it before I start believing it myself? Why do I keep throwing up these barriers between us, knowing full well that by keeping this baby, I’m all-in with him, all-in with this town?

  Nathan smiles softly, reading the sudden uncertainty on my face. He leans closer, his breath caressing my ear as he bends down to say, “One day very, very soon, sweetheart, I’m going to make you a proposal you can’t refuse. And when—and it’ll be when, not if—you accept, I’m going to spend the entire night making you come so hard you’ll be boneless.”

  “Well, you better get on that before the end of the second trimester,” I say without thinking, “these ankles aren’t getting any slimmer.”

  Wait, what? My eyes flash to his. Nathan grins down at me in delight, the smile spreading slowly across his face. Oh, God, what did I just say? “No, I didn’t mean—”

  “Oh, I think we both know exactly what you meant, sweetheart. But I’ll allow you to keep pretending for just a little longer. Let’s go inside.”

  Nathan and I head into the kitchen, where Rory and Cassie are arranging their desserts next to the food that Andrea has already prepared. The three of them are drinking wine. I glance at Nate, panic momentarily flashing through me. I feel the instant they notice me, the way their gazes trail down my body.

  “And how are you lovely ladies doing? Not that you’re as lovely as my Jude here, of course. We couldn’t have you lovelier than my business partner, could we?”

  Andrea laughs, coming over to take my fruit platter while Nathan places the case of bourbon on the counter. Rory eyes the container, counting the bottles.

  “Are you planning for the coming apocalypse or something? How many bottles of Old Abe’s do we need for one evening?” she says.

  Nathan throws a hand over his heart. “Rory, darling, are you actually implying you can have too much bourbon? Are you even a member of the King family?”

  Rory flushes. “All y’all’re a bunch of lushes.”

  I grin; now there’s a rare sight. Rory’s about as shameless as Nathan, and definitely as degenerate as Jackson. Nothing embarrasses her.

  Out of all the other King women, I’ve grown the closest to Rory. There’s a toughness to both of us that meshes well together.

  Andrea snags a bottle from the case. “Hey, you redid the label!”

  “We did,” I say. “The old one was too busy. I had a guy in Savannah redesign it. He did a great job, didn’t he?”

  Cassie claps a hand over her forehead. “Before I forget, do you guys want to sell some at my bakery?”

  Nathan roars with laughter. “Cass, you know we love you, but bourbon in a bakery? Really?”

  Cassie’s face flushes. “Well, I just thought … you know how many of
the men stop by to get something for their wives? Cakes, cupcakes, a slice of pie to tempt her when he comes home? Cookies for the kids? Well, if there just happened to be a bottle of Ovid’s very own bourbon just lying around …”

  Nathan straightens, his eyes widening. He looks at her speculatively. “Well, well, well, Miss Taylor. Aren’t you developing some great business skills? That’s quite an interesting offer.”

  “Nate, I love you, but if you look at Cassie like that again, I’m going to have to kill you, brotherhood be damned.”

  Griffin, Jackson and Axel enter from the living room. They must have started early on one of the bottles of Old Abe’s Axel had lying around, because they all hold empty glasses and even Axel is looking for a new bottle. Nate’s brothers are our best unofficial brand ambassadors; they’ve pushed the stuff on virtually the whole town.

  Thanks to them and the other people of Ovid, Old Abe’s is one of the fastest growing labels in Georgia. Our growth is definitely slower than it would have been with NBI’s partnership, but who cares? And after what happened to NBI, well … we’re glad we’re not involved.

  Nathan claps his hands on Griffin’s shoulders and gives him a good natured shake. Griffin, despite being older, suffers this with his usual quiet dignity, knowing Nate’s antics will only grow more outrageous if Griffin doesn’t just let him get it out of his system.

  “Griffin, bro, you know I love you. And Cassie dearest is utterly lovely, but I assure you there is no temptation there whatsoever. Especially now.”

  “Nate,” I hiss. Surely he’s not going to just announce our news now, in a kitchen when not everyone has even arrived, is he?

  Nate winks at me. The women’s eyes drill into my back. Nathan’s brothers might be too distracted by the case he’s just brought in to notice that slip, but their girlfriends sure did.

  Jackson paws through the case, nodding appreciatively at the new label. Nate sighs in exasperation. “Can’t you wait? The others—”

  “Oh, yeah, sure. Like Noah is going to make it on time. If he does, I’ll go an entire month without eating Rory, here,” Jackson scoffs.

  “Jackson!” Rory snaps, scandalized. Jackson winks at her, a decidedly wicked gleam in his eyes.

  “Quit that flirty shit. Not in my house,” Axel growls, shoving Jackson aside so he can pull out two bottles from the case with a single massive hand. “I’m taking these.”

  Nathan waves an exasperated hand. “By all means.”

  “Oh, good. I’ll just take these, then.” Griffin snags two bottles for himself, placing them next to Cassie’s purse, who stares at him in a don’t-be-rude, scandalized sort of way. He shrugs. “What? He’s my brother and owner of the best bourbon this side of the Atlantic. You better believe I’m stealing bottles whenever I can.”

  “Uh, Griffin,” I say, “I hate to say this, but this side of the Atlantic encompasses pretty much all bourbon.”

  Griffin grins at me. “Exactly.”

  I flush. “Right.”

  Nathan pulls me into his side. “Don’t you go flirting with my woman, Grif, or we’ll have to take this outside.”

  But Griffin isn’t paying him any attention; he’s too busy whispering something in Cassie’s ear, who turns beet red and shakes her head profusely. Griffin shrugs again, seemingly nonchalant but even I don’t miss the fact that he’s got sexy plans for her.

  “How much you want to bet he just offered to do a body shot off her with some of our bourbon?” Nathan whispers in my ear.

  “Oh, my God, don’t put that image in my mind. I feel violated,” I moan.

  “I can do a little violating later. If you want. Someone told me earlier I’d need to get a move on before the second trimester ends,” Nate says softly.

  “Nate!” I say, glancing quickly at the women. Yep, they’re watching our every move.

  “Jude, I am so sorry. I forgot to get you a drink. Would you like some wine?” says Andrea, her face irritatingly innocent.

  “Et tu, Andrea,” I hiss at her. She smiles, along with Rory and Cassie, who pull me toward them for a huge hug.

  “What’s this?” Axel grumbles, pointing at us.

  “Yeah, I’m getting the distinct feeling I’m missing something.” Jackson glances from one of us to the next, eyes narrowed.

  Griffin smiles and makes a big show of taking a swig of bourbon. He being the only doctor for miles, he’s already well aware of my pregnancy. At least someone in this family is capable of keeping a secret.

  “By the way, Jude and I have wonderful news.”

  “Oh, did you finally get that contract signed with John? That’s great, bro,” Jackson says.

  Nathan blinks. I roll my eyes. Of course he forgot to tell them that John finally convinced Nate to take over his business. Not only will Nathan be using the facilities to make his own label, but over the next few years he’ll phase in taking over John’s operations as well, so that the poor guy can finally retire in peace.

  Of course, what Nathan doesn’t know is that John plans to write Nathan into his will. All of his family’s scotch will pass to Nathan once John dies. John swore me to secrecy, because he knows Nate would never accept such an inheritance. But he’s more of a family member to John than anyone else. I’ve seen the way John looks at Nathan, and it’s with as much love as any father looks at his own son.

  “Oh, uh, yeah,” says Nate. “We did sign it. I’ll be running all of John’s shit within three years.”

  “Hey! That’s great, bud.” Jackson claps Nathan on the shoulder. Griffin’s smile grows wider. Even Axel looks happy—a rarity.

  “How about we all move outside? It’s too nice out to stay indoors,” says Andrea.

  “Great idea,” says Axel, who tugs her toward him and then leads the way out to the backyard.

  “That’s not what I wanted to tell you!” Nathan whines, but his brothers are already heading for the backyard, taking their girlfriends with them.

  “Tell us later, when the other two get here,” Axel orders over his shoulder.

  A moment later, we’re alone in the kitchen. I laugh at Nathan’s disappointed expression. “We’ll tell them later.”

  “But I wanted to tell them now. I can’t take it anymore. I beat them all to it and want to rub their noses in the fact that my swimmers are the strongest.”

  I wrinkle my nose. “That’s the most disgusting thing I’ve ever heard.”

  Nathan smiles smugly. “I know.”

  “Yeah, yeah. You’re a sex god. Can we go outside now, caveman?”

  I head for the back door, wondering when my walk will turn into a waddle, when an arm snags around my waist. Nathan pulls me into him, then turns me in his arms. When I glance up, he’s staring down at me with such tenderness, my breath catches in my throat.

  “I’m just going to throw this out there again. Being a selfish man, and all.”

  “Why do I have the feeling I know where this is going?” I say dryly.

  “Because you know me,” Nathan replies, pressing a soft kiss to my lips.

  I smile at him. “Yeah. That’s true.”

  “Then you know what I’m going to say.”

  “Yeah, but I suppose I can bear hearing it from you one more time.”

  Nathan’s lips twitch like he’s holding back a smile. “This is rather serious, you know.”

  “Nathan King, you’ve never been serious a day in your life.”

  He smiles, his eyes twinkling down at me. His mouth opens, and I know what he’s going to say, but for once I beat him to it.

  “I love you.”

  Nathan’s smile widens, pulling me closer as one hand moves to rest on my softly rounded belly. “I love you, too. Both of you.”

  And in that instant, I know. Baby or no baby, ring or no ring, one year or fifty, I’ll always want him to say that. Exactly that, for the rest of our lives.

  The End!

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  Her hand slides up to cup the back of my head, pulling me closer into her shoulder while her other hand continues to stroke my cheek.

  “Such strength. God, what strength you possess, Noah,” she croons into my ear, her voice a benediction, a release. “It must weigh so terribly, to hold such responsibility in your heart. It must hurt so awfully, that drive to protect so fiercely. How do you possibly live with that heavy burden?”

  The chasm rips wide beneath me. With sudden clarity I realize I’m not standing on the precipice—I’m already falling. I’ve always been falling. Maybe I started that irrevocable slide the moment I first walked into her office.

  And she knows. That instinctive part of her that never lets me slip anything past her observation knows. The knowledge of it strips me bare, strips me raw and vulnerable. She holds everything I am in the cup of her hands, and the slightest effort on her part would send me hurling into darkness.

  I have never been so vulnerable in my life.

  A sound tears from my throat, a raw, hoarse sound unlike anything I’ve ever heard from my lips. Her grip tightens.

  “I know. I know, Noah. Let me take that weight for you, if only for a little while. Let me take it and then take me.”

  “Oh, God,” I cry, and then my lips are on hers, sucking her tongue into my mouth, pulling her against me with desperation. I want to draw her into me, absorb her into my soul, so that I might never leave her, never leave this feeling she ignites inside me.

  She melts against me, taking everything I give her, kissing me back with abandon and lightness and … and … something deeper, stronger, something I don’t dare examine. My hands trail reverently over her body, memorizing the unique planes of her until I might draw the precise lines of her had I any talent to do so.

  I peel the zipper down her back, feel her braless skin beneath my fingers, groan as my cock twitches in approval. I drag the dress down her arms, over the flatness of her stomach, the flare of her hips, until the garment is pooled on the floor.