King's Crown (Oil Kings Book 1)

by Marie Johnston

  “Gentry,” I managed to take control of my own tongue. “I don’t want this to be the end either.”

  “You don’t have to go anywhere,” he growled. “Unless it’s with me.”

  I was about to ask where we should go when his mouth crashed against mine. He backed me up, only one of his arms around me. Being in his embrace again wiped out my good sense. I didn’t care if it was early spring in Montana and that we were in the middle of the parking lot. But I was still grateful when the backdoor of his pickup swung open. I didn’t wait for his invite. I scrambled inside to the wide back seat, uncaring of the fabric bunching under me.

  He crowded inside, slamming the door shut behind him. The dome light faded, leaving us lit only by the parking lot lights. As he pressed me against the seat, I widened my legs, cradling him with my right leg propped against the driver’s seat and my left leg pushing into the back door. His hard erection pressed into the perfect spot. It’d been too long since I’d been left hanging with no relief. I rocked against him, earning another groan.

  We didn’t take our time. He unwrapped me like I was his special gift on Christmas morning. My coat was off and my belt was losing the battle to hold together the top of my dress. Warm lips captured my nipple through the lacy material of my bra. I wanted to touch his skin so I fisted his shirt and pried it free of his waistband. Just shy of spreading my hands across his bare back, I had to give up as he gripped my hips in his big hands and boosted me higher onto the seat.

  My breath hitched. He was lowering himself to the floor and lifting my leg until it stuck between the two front seats, opening me to him. The skirt had ridden up my thighs, but he yanked it up, lifting me enough to get it under my bottom.

  Somewhere, my mind chimed in that it was a good thing King Oil didn’t need security guards for the office building.

  His eyes were boring into mine. “I’ve been dying to know what you taste like, Kendall.”

  A shiver traced through my body, but my brain still managed unwarranted honesty. “A sexually repressed twenty-eight-year-old?”

  “I’ll take care of that.” He lowered his head.

  My underwear was shoved out of the way and held to the side by his thumb. When he descended on me, my chest constricted. Then his tongue was on me, finding my clit as if the dome light came on and shone right on it. My head fell back and a long moan escaped.

  This was nothing like getting myself off. It was nothing like being with my ex. Neither did it compare to any experience I’d ever had. They all paled compared to hot sex in a pickup with an older man who knew what the hell he was doing. The only word coursing through my mind was finally.

  Gentry proved it with every stroke of his tongue.

  His shoulders braced my thighs apart and he licked and sucked until I was panting and afraid I’d lose my mind if I didn’t come. It was intoxicating.

  I clutched the back of the seat with my one hand and held myself in place with my other on the headrest. If it wasn’t so dark, I’d probably see that my knuckles were white. But my hips moved of their own accord and I didn’t want to fall onto the floor.

  My gasp escapes. “Yes. Yes. Y—”

  He thrust a finger inside, and the word dissolved into a moan. My head thrashed. I wanted to hold on longer, but my body had never been mastered like this. He was in control, but not even he could prolong this orgasm.

  A wave of ecstasy slammed into me. I jammed my hips into his mouth and rode the crest as long as I could. My walls clenched around his finger, and blazing heat washed over me as I shook against him.

  He finally released me. “God, that was fucking amazing, Kendall.”

  I liked hearing him say my name. It seemed like he said it as often as he could, like he’d been unable to for too long.

  He reared up and reached behind him. His wallet. A condom. My gaze went to his pants, where his erection pushed against his slacks. He flipped open his belt, then his fly, and there it was. Even that was the most masculine dick I’d ever seen. Long and thick and straining.

  He rolled the condom on and propped a knee on the seat. His body covered mine. My legs were stuck where they were, but I let go of the seats and wrapped my arms around his neck.

  He didn’t fumble. He didn’t hesitate. He was as serious about sex as he was about the rest of life, but he did pause only to ask, “Are you ready?”

  “God, yes.” If he waited any longer, I’d die a quick death.

  Snaking an arm behind me and tugging me close, he coated himself by dragging his cock through my folds, then pushed inside in one steady, controlled move.

  He filled me so completely that my body needed time to adjust.

  The hard look in his eyes softened. “You feel even better than I imagined.” He kicked his pelvis back and then pumped hard. “And I imagined it a lot.”

  So had I. My eyelids drifted shut. “More.”

  He gave it to me, claiming my mouth as he claimed me. It was just the right pace. Long, hard strokes at my core, and teasing my mouth with his tongue. The sensations were overwhelming. He was over me, in me, and claiming me.

  Was this what we’d been missing for four days together?

  I felt cheated.

  “Kendall,” he groaned. His thrusts came faster, and he held me in place, rocking the large pickup. I loved the flex of his back muscles as he pumped.

  I kissed my way down his chin, along his neck, stopping at the base of his neck. The salt of his flesh mingled with the flavor of me, stoking the brush fire that hadn’t died down after my first orgasm.

  I never came twice this quickly. Before, it was always work. Something that had to be planned because it was possible, but it took a lot of effort.

  My second orgasm tonight was going to hit. And when he let me go to brace his arms against the seats and slam into me, I careened over the edge.

  My hands twisted in his shirt as I came, my head smacking the window and my body shuddering. He went rigid, only his hips swinging. We climaxed together. Another thing that had always been impossible. But not with him.

  He sagged, his eyes closed and his head hanging, but he didn’t collapse on me. “I…fuck, Kendall. That was…” His eyelids flipped open, the heat in them warming me down to my toes. “I don’t care if you come to my place, or I go to yours, but I want to spend the weekend so buried in you that I won’t know when Monday hits. And I want you to keep these fucking boots on.”

  Chapter 16

  Gentry

  My life before these last two weeks hadn’t seemed so dreary and empty until that episode with Kendall in the back of the truck. I’d taken a detour after our quickie to adjust the footage of the security cameras and erase that view of us disappearing into my vehicle, but then I’d brought her home.

  We managed to meet up in the evenings when I wasn’t traveling, and this Friday night, she brought me home. I was sprawled across her discount couch, my dick in her mouth, and she was sucking on me like I’d dipped it in sugar. Yeah, my life before Kendall had been day-old muffins. Now it was fresh baked, full of sweetness—and heart-stopping blowjobs.

  My head lolled back, but only momentarily. Tonight, it didn’t seem to matter how often I’d had this done, or by how many, this was it. The most erotic of them all, and I didn’t want to miss the show.

  Kendall with her bare ass pushed out, her waist tucked in. Her hair draped over my pelvis and stomach, and her eyes closed, occasionally opening to connect with me. My own personal goddess.

  I was certain that every sound we made went straight through her walls to the neighbors. I was used to doing it in hotel rooms, and even the walk of no-shame the next morning, but this seemed infinitely more intimate.

  I had to bite back a loud groan. I don’t know what she just did with her tongue, but my hips rocketed off the couch, momentarily choking her. “Shit, sorry. But do it again.”

  There was a smile in her eyes, before her tongue rimmed the top of my cock and she sucked me back in. I buried my hands in her h
air and tried to recite the alphabet backward to keep from embarrassing myself. I usually outlasted a woman, until I took over out of pity. But not with Kendall.

  “I’m going to come. If you don’t want—”

  She tightened her hold on the base of my shaft and did that thing with her tongue, the swirling lick that would make me her servant forever, and I was lost. Lightning shot down my spine, my balls drawing up, and I climaxed right into her mouth. When she was done, she released me with a pop and gave me a lazy smile.

  I couldn’t move. My glistening dick lay on my stomach, and my legs were limp. Summoning enough energy to draw her up next to me, I held her tight and covered us with the throw blanket from the back of the couch, her plush one with the kitties all over it.

  Her hair was adorably rumpled, but in the sexiest way. Like usual, if she wore makeup I couldn’t tell. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes bright, but her body was snug against mine.

  The post-coital glow probably wasn’t the time to make sweeping declarations, but I couldn’t go without saying something. This thing with Kendall? It wasn’t superficial. I was a businessman. I was also a rancher. Both required me to read the conditions before I acted, and I’d learned to listen to my intuition. “I haven’t felt this way about anyone, Kendall. Not in a long time.” Not ever.

  She blinked at me, her gaze growing guarded. “What do you mean?”

  “I want to take it to the next level. You deserve better than sneaking around.”

  She’d told me that the Monday after she was ditched at the bar, she ignored all her coworkers and took her break and lunch in her office, arriving early and leaving late to avoid them. It killed me not to act on her behalf, but she insisted it’d make it worse.

  Turning toward me, her bare breasts rubbing against my chest. Nope, I didn’t want to walk away from those. “I want to be with you. I like you, Gentry. I feel like I’ve found…” Her teeth worried her lower puffy lip. “I feel like I’ve found you. But it seems like the odds are stacked against us with work and your kids.”

  “I know.” This is what I’d missed my whole life. Sarah and I had built a great life together, but after our first round of teenage hormone-driven sex, it was nothing but a lot of responsible decisions interwoven to create a foundation for our family. We’d been compatible, right down to our chemistry, but we’d been weighed down by everyone else’s expectations. Kendall already had that; I didn’t want to add to it.

  “So, now what?” she asked.

  A faint buzzing interrupted my suggestion of a real date. In public. In Billings. I hated to pull away, but my phone was in my pants at my feet.

  “Go ahead.” She reached over me and I took the opportunity to caress her ass, enjoying the slope and the slide of her soft skin. She brandished my phone and snuggled back in. “You don’t have to apologize to me for working all the time.”

  Now that was something I never heard.

  I looked the screen. Dawson. It was almost midnight. My fatherly instincts reared up. “What’s going on?”

  Wind rushed over the line. “Do you have big plans this weekend? Kiernan helped pull a calf in the dark and broke his damn ankle.”

  Kiernan was one of the hired hands. “Is he all right?”

  Dawson let out a frustrated snort. “It was all I could do to get him to go to the hospital. He kept insisting it was only a sprain even while his foot was hanging funny. He’s out for weeks, and I’ve got calves dropping like midnight rain.”

  I looked down at Kendall. Her luminous eyes were serious. She’d heard it all. Her expression softened. She nodded and mouthed go.

  We were just talking about going to the next level. It was an important conversation, and I didn’t want to up and leave.

  “Yeah, but I might have company.”

  What possessed me to ask Kendall to go back to my hometown and stay with my son?

  All I knew was that after expecting a weekend enjoying her company and her body, bringing her along had seemed like a good idea. But each mile closer to King’s Creek, where I would be recognized in gas stations and at red lights, I wasn’t sure. She’d get a lot of attention, and I couldn’t promise it’d be good.

  I wasn’t even sure she’d agree to come with, but she was tucked into the passenger seat. The glow of King’s Creek was up ahead, but I turned off the highway onto the dirt roads that led to my family’s ranch.

  Dawson hadn’t asked who I’d bring. He probably thought I’d coerce Aiden into coming out. I should’ve. The kid could use a break, even if it was slogging through the muck to check on calves and their mamas.

  It was barely past ten in the morning. We’d gotten an early start, eating breakfast on the road. Kendall had packed a bag, and I swung by my house, wondering what she’d think about my old home in King’s Creek.

  “You sure he won’t mind I’m tagging along?” she asked.

  “Out of all my sons, Dawson’s the most easygoing. About me anyway.” If we were heading to Denver to face Beckett, I would’ve spared her. Aiden, I wasn’t sure. I don’t think he suspected I was seeing someone, and he probably wouldn’t believe it was an unofficially committed relationship. Xander didn’t talk to me enough for me to know whether he’d be upset that I was bringing a woman into their childhood home, one who was their age, not mine.

  “He’s easygoing about you and women, you mean?”

  “I’ve never brought anyone home since I saw how badly it affected Beckett. I’d bring dates to work functions where a plus one was expected. To restaurant or gallery openings, but never to my house in Billings, or to King’s Creek once I moved.”

  Her eyes reflected her worry, but I could still see the pleasure shining through them. She liked my confession.

  She was special, and I wanted her to know.

  We were quiet the rest of the way. As my house—Dawson’s house—came into view, I divided my attention between the road and her. In the daylight, the magnitude of our land was clear. Pastures sweeping left and right over the rolling hills as far as the eye could see. Cows dotted the land and snow was only visible where it had piled the highest over the winter, the rest had melted. Three long barns were pinwheeled out, surrounded by fencing and more cows. Tractors were parked in front of the large shop doors or next to the buildings.

  “Whoa,” Kendall breathed, staring at the log structure that was as big as a skiing lodge. Large picture windows reflected the sun and the field. The house was the closest thing to a legacy that I had.

  “Sarah and I built it when the boys were little.” Again, I marveled over how easy it was to talk to her about my late wife. “It’s still our hub. The place might be Dawson’s, but if my boys are going to get together, it’s here.”

  “It’s beautiful.” The terrain wasn’t much different than Billings, but with the lack of industry and a clearer view of the Yellowstone River valley, it painted a prettier picture. She turned to me, her eyes wide. “These are the framed photographs in your office.”

  “Sarah loved photography. Not as much as ranching, but she could do both.”

  “The pictures in your office and Aiden’s are hers?”

  I nodded. “All over. You’ll see them in the house too.”

  “Wow, that’s solid branding.”

  I chuckled.

  “Seriously, I could use some of her photos in our brochures.”

  Memories welled up, tugging at my heart. We’d had a good life. “She had that idea once. Her mom didn’t go for it, wanted it to be all about industry and growth.”

  “Take it back to the beginning. If she has some of North Dakota, I could start there. I’m the new marketing professional for that region, you know?”

  The corner of my mouth lifted. “I think I heard about that.”

  Dawson sauntered out of the front door, a mug in his hand and his brown hair mussed like he had just rolled out of bed. He’d have his hat on if he was heading out. Taking a sip, my son narrowed his eyes on the pickup as I swung by the front to park o
n the side with the garage. He froze when he saw my passenger, only his mouth dropped open.

  “You’re not kidding you don’t bring anyone home,” Kendall murmured.

  “He looked a little surprised, didn’t he?”

  I parked and jogged around to her side to help her out. Drifts of snow crowded the house and the sides of the driveway where it had been pushed off the main areas. It was a spring morning and the ground alternated between thin ice from melt-off and patches of mud.

  Once her feet hit the pavement, her gaze tracked me from head to toe. “I can’t get over…you.”

  I was wearing worn jeans and a plaid flannel with my tan Carhartt coat over it. My Oxford loafers had been traded for my favorite pair of cowboy boots. They were ragged, most of their color faded to a light brown, but they were comfortable and I’d been wearing them for years. “Suits don’t hold up well to amniotic fluid and manure.”

  She grinned and accepted my elbow. I led her around the house instead of going through the garage. Dawson was at the edge of the porch, leaning over it, with his cup held loosely in his hands.

  “Morning,” he said, his eyes drifting from me to Kendall.

  “Dawson.” I was about to say you look like hell, but this was already awkward. “Late night?”

  His gaze shifted to the pasture closest to the calving barn. “Late night and early morning. I just made it back to the house for some breakfast.”

  “How’s Kiernan?”

  “Planted on his ass, I hope.” Dawson’s trademark lazy grin reminded me so much of his mother. “But still trying to convince me to put him back to work.” He took a long sip. “Who’s your friend?”

  “Kendall Brinkley, my, uh…we’re seeing each other.”

  Dawson’s brows knit together. “Like, you’re seeing her more than once?” He gave her a sheepish grin. “No offense, ma’am.”

  She smiled. “None taken. I understand I’m an oddity.”

  Dawson straightened, his gaze full of approval. “And you’re okay with that? Huh.”

  It was best to get it all out there. “Your Grams is going to be pissed. Beckett’s going to think she’s a gold digger, but she’s the real deal. I couldn’t stay away.”