Queen of Men: King Maker series

by Laine, Terri E.

“For your wedding,” I said. Mary had a way of stretching the truth to suit her purposes. “I didn’t make Turner do anything.”

  “No, you didn’t,” she said with a sneer. “You just have a way of making the boys lose their heads over you like you’re the queen of men or something.”

  “What is this really about?” I asked because the hate in her tone was off the charts. This was beyond petty jealousies.

  “What’s going on in here?”

  Mary and I turned to find Turner standing in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest. My sister morphed into something sweet and her quick change bordered on nothing short of psychotic. “Nothing. I brought my sister some tea.”

  She gestured at the cup before adjusting the sling that was across her body. “Can you hold him while I go outside and check on the kids? He’s a heavy sleeper. He shouldn’t be a problem. I know you never wanted kids,” she said to me.

  I ignored her jab and focused on the quiet baby I hadn’t noticed before because I’d been focused on my sister’s sour face. She placed the bundle in my arms and the baby slept quietly. I cradled the tiny bundle in my arms, feeling a love that only comes from family. It was instant but sure. He was perfect and a little darling.

  Turner got on his knees to kneel close to me. With gentle fingers, he brushed the wisp of hair from the baby’s forehead.

  “What’s this about you not wanting kids?”

  I’d hoped that he’d overlooked the dig my sister got in. I’d said that once when we were younger.

  “It was just something I said in anger one of those times when we had to babysit instead of hanging out with everyone else.” I didn’t say that everyone else really just meant him.

  “Oh,” he said, looking up at me. “Do you want to have kids?”

  Mary’s hope had been for Turner to see we weren’t compatible. And now I wondered if she was right. I hadn’t thought much about making a family. It was something that had been so expected of me, once I was free of this place, I hadn’t given that much thought.

  Would I want to bring up my kids the same way I’d been? Did I even want the responsibility of it?

  I raised my arms to lift my nephew so I could place a gentle kiss on his forehead. It was probably the last time I’d get to hold him the way Mary was acting. I didn’t want to be around her. As I lowered him, he cooed. It wasn’t that loud, but a mother’s instinct was apparently powerful.

  Mary came back in a rush. With the door to the office open, I saw her return. “He’s probably hungry.”

  Then she proceeded to unbutton her shirt. Turner looked away. Likely not comfortable with seeing my sister’s naked breast. As a kid, it was just a way of life. As an adult, she was my sister baring her breast to the world, too weird for me.

  “We should go and give you privacy,” I stated, getting to my feet.

  Turner did the same with his gaze anywhere but at her. My guess was that Mary wouldn’t have minded one bit if Turner saw her. I headed out the door and drew in a heavy breath once outside.

  The kids were sitting picnic style on the small front lawn eating lunch and talking. Turner took my hand. “Want to go for a walk?”

  The need for air and distance from Mary filled me. I nodded.

  Eighteen

  Kalen

  The news wasn’t good.

  “What are you going to do?” Griffin asked.

  I’d never left my son for more than a day since he was born. But what we’d learned in the last few hours chilled my bones. Someone was after Bailey.

  Griffin had gotten a lead on her after placing a call to the car rental company she’d used. He flirted with the woman and talked her into giving up some information. She’d even laughed and admitted that someone else had called asking similar questions.

  “I have to go,” I said.

  I thought about the meetings I would miss, but none of that mattered. I was certain she was in danger because of me. The community she’d grown up in wasn’t equipped to handle the possible threat headed their way, according to Griffin.

  “Do you want me to go with you?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “I need you to stay here and protect my son.”

  Because someone wanted to destroy me, and I wasn’t sure to what lengths they were willing to go.

  “Or you could stay here with yer wee bairn, and I could go? You’ve already said the lass is cross with yer.”

  “No,” I said definitively.

  For that point I was firm. The need to protect her was primal, something I didn’t quite understand. What I did know was that I wouldn’t be able to think clearly until I knew she was safe with my own eyes.

  “I should be back in a day,” I said.

  Once I found her, she would see reason and come back with me where I could make sure she was protected.

  “How are you getting there?”

  With single-minded focus, I began to plan. How my father would feel about me rearranging my schedule was the least of my worries.

  Nineteen

  Walking down the center aisle of the road wasn’t a problem, considering cars weren’t allowed in the community unless there was an emergency. Something that never happened in the years I’d lived here.

  We hadn’t gone far before he ducked us into the tree line.

  “I heard you and Vi this morning,” I said.

  Turner stopped in his tracks and faced me. “What happened between her and me was a mistake.”

  “And what happened exactly?” Although I may not have been privy to most of the details of his life after me, somehow, I felt like I deserved this bit of truth, seeing that she was my sister.

  “You have to understand, losing you was like losing my life. She was there. And in a moment of weakness, I gave in. She’d been so close. I can’t even remember how it happened. But I got lost in her eyes, and it was as if you were there. And I kissed her. But as soon as it happened, I knew it wasn’t you.”

  “Does she know that?”

  He shook his head. “She knows that I couldn’t do it. But I never told her it was you I was seeing. I didn’t think that was the right thing to say. Kissing her had been shitty enough.”

  Curious, I asked, “And Margaret?” Although we’d talked about it before, I thought there may have been more to that story.

  He stepped closer; his eyes darkened with desire. “Margaret made her idea of us together known. She was persistent. I’d broken up with my girlfriend at school and was back at home. I wasn’t in the mood for any girl. Then you showed up. She was convenient. And I used her. I felt like a total douche after. But I wanted you to hurt as much as I did.”

  I closed my eyes and leaned back on a nearby tree. Now his guilt was mine, as inadvertently I’d caused Margaret’s pain as well.

  Since we were getting everything out in the open, I asked, “You had a girlfriend?”

  “Carrie,” he said frankly. “She was from a small town and we had a lot in common.”

  “Pretty?” That was a dumb question. Turner was as hot as they came.

  He lifted his shoulders quickly in a dismissive gesture. “Sure.”

  “Why’d you break up?” Now I was crossing the line into none of my business territory. If he didn’t answer, I wouldn’t press him. It wasn’t like I wanted to talk about Kalen or Scott.

  “She wasn’t you.”

  Looking up into his lovely eyes, I saw the pain again. “I should hope not,” I teased. “If I had a twin that my parents didn’t tell me about, I’d be pretty pissed.”

  He laughed, and my joke to ease the tension worked. Turner, however, wasn’t done with his confession. “In the end we wanted different things. She wanted the house and all the trappings. Small-town life had made her dream of grander things.”

  “Nothing wrong with that,” I said, playing devil’s advocate.

  “It wasn’t that. She was into the things.” He punctuated that last word.

  I lifted my head in acknowledgment. “She was materiali
stic.”

  “Exactly. She just didn’t want a bigger house. She wanted the biggest house on the block so she could flaunt her success to everyone she left behind.”

  That was one way of losing him, I thought to myself. “She didn’t know you very well.”

  “I didn’t know her either until it was too late.”

  It was on the tip of my tongue to ask what he was doing with her that kept him from asking the important questions, but I decided it wasn’t an answer I wanted to know.

  “That’s the thing I love most about you, Bailey. You get me like no one else.”

  Trying to stop this from where it was headed as he moved closer to me, I blurted, “What if I wanted the biggest house and car?”

  “I’d give you those things and fill it with our kids.”

  My lips felt dry. I licked them as he slowly stalked the small distance between us. “You’re not worried about my wanting things?”

  He chuckled. “You care less about things than I do. Give the girl plumbing and electricity here, and you might stay.”

  “Maybe.” And that was the last word before the heat between us ignited like a bomb.

  His eyes explored my body like he had X-ray vision. His desire became tangible and sparked my own. When his hand tangled in my hair, he stared at my mouth like I could quench his thirst. My lips tingled as anticipation lit a charge inside me.

  “This dress should be labeled cockblocker,” he hissed.

  I looked at the fabric that covered me completely. His hands disengaged and reached my hips, fisting the fabric. Slowly, he pulled it higher to reveal my calves and then my knees.

  He descended to kneel before me so fast I had no time to stop him. Then reverently he looked up at me with the hem of my dress held at thigh level. There in his eyes, I saw the answer he sought.

  There was nothing to stop me but my conscience because I belonged to no one but myself.

  We were adults, and it wasn’t as if this was our first time. We’d seen each other’s skin.

  Yet, Kalen’s face replaced Turner’s for a second and a guilt I shouldn’t feel filled me.

  As if a higher power sensed my indecision, the school bell tolled as a reminder not only to the students but to the entire community that break was over.

  Turner stood and adjusted himself. With a quick raise of the eyebrows, he said, “They’ll be looking for me.”

  My mouth felt dry and as swollen as my guilt. He’d been passionate when we were young. But this Turner acted like a man very much in control of how to pleasure a woman. The thought of how many women had helped him learn his tricks of the trade made me queasy.

  “I’ll head back,” he said.

  Now I did frown. “You don’t want me to walk with you?”

  He shook his head. “I want you to walk with me, ride me, marry me, and bear my children. But if you come with me now, I’m afraid everyone will know just how much I want my child growing inside you.”

  His sexy grin made my heart flutter. I watched him walk away until I couldn’t see him anymore. Then I sat and rested my head against the cold tree. What the hell had I almost done? How had things spun out of control so fast? This was going to complicate things. I loved him. I did.

  I just couldn’t stop thinking of Kalen. I hated him and wanted him all the same.

  Lizzy made me question my decision. If only I could get a sign. Something that would give me the answers to the questions in my heart.

  Twenty

  Kalen

  Jolted awake, I stared into moonlit eyes. They sparkled with wicked intention.

  “Lass, you’re back.”

  She nodded and crawled between my legs, pulling the fabric of the sheets down from my body. She had an agenda and my dick jumped on board. Her tongue flicked from her mouth and slowly wet her parted lips.

  All the blood left my extremities, heading to where all my goals would be met. My mind wavered, wondering how she’d gotten in. When the sheet cleared my cock for takeoff, I didn’t care how she got in. I was just glad she was here.

  A bead of pre-cum dotted my dick, letting her know just what spot needed her immediate attention. Bailey was always good at following directions, even unsaid ones. Her pink tongue snaked out of her mouth and licked after the trail until she captured the drop.

  As shadowy as my room was, her eyes were bright and wide on me. The combination of her stare and her mouth on me caused a few more drops to form at the summit of my erection.

  She gave me a grin, reminding me how good she was at blowjobs and keeping the grazing of teeth to a minimum. Only ever enough to cause pleasure and not pain. With hollowed cheeks, she used suction on the crown of my arousal like a champ. She deserved a fucking prize. Whatever she wanted, she just had to ask.

  “Fuck, lass. I need to be inside you.”

  Her head nodded slightly, sending the dark blaze of her hair cascading around her shoulders. I reached out with a hand to tug her to me, needing to taste her mouth. Having her here meant nights without her would forever be at an end. I wouldn’t let her go this time. Screw the lawyers; they’d have to figure out a way around it.

  When she maneuvered to a kneeling position, I finally got a view of her beautiful breasts. They swayed with nipples pebbled, awaiting my hungry mouth. There was no way I wasn’t getting a handful. When I reached out, she leaned back again, shaking her head silently.

  “Why, lass? Why won’t you let me touch you?”

  No answer, only another shake of her head. When she raised up to position my cock at her entrance, I forgot it all. Need consumed all thoughts. It was more important than anything else. If she wanted to control this encounter, I’d let her.

  The glide down my length was a tight-fisted pressure. I wanted to grip her hips and control the pace. But again, she wouldn’t let me touch her, which was its own sweet torture. The idea of being tied up started to give new meaning in my mind. Next time, she would be the one forced to feel and not touch.

  Her hips rose and fell in a rhythm that meant I wouldn’t last. “Lass, you’re going to have to slow down if you don’t want me to come.” It had been too long with me not inside her for me to hold on much longer.

  She leaned forward, causing her breasts to tempt me, right in front of my face yet just out of reach. Her hips continued to twist and ride me with precision. “Are you ready, lass?”

  Her head dropped, and her hair fanned in front of her, causing a curtain to hide her face. After swiveling her hips a few more times, she threw back her head and stared me in the face. My hands fisted the sheet, trying hard to respect her desire for me not to touch her.

  When her sheath fisted around me and her head nodded, I was past the point of no return. “Come with me,” I pleaded with readiness as my balls tightened in the final stages of release.

  I jerked awake when hot streams jetted onto my chest. My breathing labored while my hand continued to pump my release as the dream of Bailey faded far too quickly for my liking.

  My emotions roiled. I wasn’t sure if I was satisfied or pissed off. I hadn’t had a wet dream since my early teens. I hopped out of bed and strode to my bathroom, needing a shower. I’d never allowed a woman to hold me prisoner by the balls the way Bailey did. This would end tonight, one way or another.

  Twenty-One

  After walking back to the schoolhouse, reconciling the community’s books turned out to be a great distraction. Everything was in order as expected. By nightfall, I headed to Violet’s.

  When I entered, Turner and Steven were sitting at the table as Vi worked on dinner. My eyes locked with Turner’s and my stomach did funny things.

  It wasn’t as though I’d forgotten Kalen. I just remembered Turner and all his sugar and spice that made everything nice for me growing up.

  He stood, stepping over the bench to stand before me.

  “I want to finish what we started before,” he whispered into my ear, causing me to blush.

  The redness that filled my cheeks wasn’
t the only part of my body that betrayed me. My body tightened at the promise of what could be.

  He took my hand, leading me back to the table as my heart, brain, and core warred over two men. One wanted me with the desperation that I read in his eyes when we parted ways. The other loved me like no other man had before.

  In a fantasy world, I could have them both. But the truth was, I’d given one up. I’d vowed to set him free with no turning back. Yet, part of me still hadn’t let go, not completely.

  Turner continued being a presence I couldn’t deny as he placed his hand on the middle of my back after we sat and rubbed soothing circles as if he knew the comfort I sought.

  “How was everyone’s day?” I asked.

  Turner quickly responded, “Busy.”

  Before Violet’s husband, whom I still couldn’t read, could speak, my sister walked over.

  “Dinner’s served,” Violet cut in, setting a spit roasted bird on the table. She turned to grab a plate of corn on the cob and place settings for us before I could get up to offer to help.

  “Thanks, sis,” I said.

  Her grin filled the room with such warmth, I felt more at ease with her choice of husband. Still, there was something about him I couldn’t quite put my finger on. It felt as though there were secrets in this house not yet exposed.

  “What I would do for a beer,” Steven said.

  I looked toward the floor cubby that held beer the night before.

  Violet answered her husband before I could think of a response. “You could make a beer run,” she said and glanced my way.

  Steven followed her gaze, his chin steepled on the top of his fingertips with his elbows perched on top of the table. Then he sat up straight and the gleam in his eyes said trouble as he turned to me. “How did you get here?”

  My mouth opened, but I knew what my answer meant.

  He pointed at me. “You have a car.”

  There was no point in lying. “It’s parked all the way at the front of the compound.” It was an attempt to make it sound like an avenue not worth pursuing.