JAMES: A Night Of The Kings Novel

by Shayne Ford

  I roll my gaze over her back before I spin around.

  “James?”

  I freeze.

  “Yes?”

  “Come to me,” she says softly, and I turn around.

  Propped up on her elbow, she beckons me to her. Teasingly she peels the sheet off her, giving me a full view of her naked body.

  My eyes drift slowly, taking her in from her delicate collarbones to her pert breasts, narrow waist, and sculpted thighs.

  I dip my gaze to her smooth folds, her pink swollen clit peeking through, and the more I stall and ponder, the harder I get.

  She leans forward, tapping the mattress next to her.

  “Come,” she says, her lips curved into a luring smile.

  I clasp my hands on my hips, and raise an eyebrow, stifling my grin. I don’t think I’ve ever had a woman waiting for me in my bed, in my own home.

  Come to think of it, all the fucking took place at Red’s, the Dark House, or my dad’s fuck pad in town.

  “You don’t want me in bed with you.”

  “Please,” she says, slowly arching her lips.

  Leaning forward, she stretches her hand out, her fingers brushing the bumps of my abs before trailing the edge of the towel. She yanks it off my body.

  Her gaze dips, a blush coloring her face. She flicks her eyes up while softly brushing my erection and then she lowers her eyelids, tips her head back and gives me a sultry smile. My whole body vibrates from her touch, and I realize how irresistible her power is.

  She moves back to make room for me, and I slide next to her. She presses her warm body against mine, her skin soft as silk, her hair slithering over my arm like a live snake.

  “We can’t go back if we do this.”

  “Are you nervous, James?” she asks, smiling teasingly.

  I breathe out a chuckle.

  “I’m not nervous,” I say, tense like fuck.

  “Yes, you are.”

  Her voice vibrates with a crystalline laughter.

  “Okay. I am,” I admit, grinning.

  “Pretend I’m nobody. Nothing will change for you.”

  “Don’t be so sure. And everything will change for you.”

  “Don’t flatter yourself,” she says.

  “Okay. Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” I murmur.

  She rolls to her side, and I do the same, facing her. The bluish light of the pool casts a glow over her face. Her eyes look surreal, mysterious like the Northern lights.

  “I’ve never been in bed with a man,” she says, bringing her fingers to my face.

  “Me neither,” I say, serious, and she breaks into laughter.

  “You are so funny,” she says, and I give her a smile.

  “I’ve never been in bed with a virgin. Hot virgins are like pandas. You never get to take one home.”

  “Shut up,” she says, her nose creasing with a cute smile, and as we share a stare, silence fills the room.

  “I’m gonna miss this girl,” I say.

  She looks at me intrigued, her smile fading away, her fingers touching me softly, sparking an electrical storm beneath my skin.

  “What are you talking about? What girl?” she whispers.

  “The one who’s gonna die tonight.”

  Tears spray over her eyes.

  “She’s not gonna die.”

  “Yes, she will,” I say, softly stroking her hair. “It’s the end of the road for her.”

  She smiles through her tears.

  “Why would you say that?”

  “Because it’s the truth. This is life, baby. Nothing remains the same. Everything is in perpetual motion, and it changes all the time. You and me, included.”

  More tears come to her eyes.

  “I don’t want to make you cry, Rain.”

  “You’re not,” she says, rolling her fingers under her eyes and then her fingertips over my lips. “It’s just that I don’t want her to die.”

  I smile.

  “It’s her time. That’s why I said I'd miss her.”

  “You liked her?” she asks, her voice broken with tears.

  “Yeah... I did. I liked her a lot. From the moment I saw her that night on the stairs of Red’s...”

  Tenderly, I wind my arm around her waist, and I pull her flush against me.

  “And who’s going to take her place then?” she murmurs, her lips wet with tears.

  “A beautiful woman...” I mutter and start to kiss her.

  RAIN

  * * *

  He hovers over me, kissing me slowly, and my hands go into his hair, my legs spreading beneath him as his thick full shaft presses, hard, against my stomach. He breaks the kiss for a moment and stretches his arm out, fishing a condom from a drawer.

  “No,” I say. “I don’t want this. There must be a different way.”

  “Are you on something?”

  I sway my head side to side.

  “Can I use the morning after pill?” I ask, and he tosses the foil on the nightstand.

  “I’ll call my doctor in the morning,” he says. His eyes stay on me.“Are you sure you want it this way?”

  I nod.

  “Are you clean?”I ask.

  He lowers his head, pushing back an amused grin.

  “Yes. I never fuck without protection. Besides, the women I fuck come tested.”

  My brows pop up.

  “Really?”

  “Mm-hmm.”

  “By request?”

  “That too,” he says, crushing a smile. “Let’s say they are a certain kind of women.”

  “Hmm... Different than me, I figure. So, what kind am I, James?”

  His smile withers away, his eyes darkening as if a door closes on them.

  “I don’t know...” His lips press together as he raises an eyebrow. “I guess we’ll find out.”

  I splay my fingers over his neck.

  “Together?”

  He tilts his head to the side, and shrugs, grinning, keen to drive me crazy.

  “I don’t know... Maybe...”

  “Fucking James Sexton... “ I say, laughing. “It’s not as if I’m asking for your life.

  He bursts into laughter, and I twine my arms around his neck and lock his lips, pulling him on top of me. He pins me under him, and deepens our kiss, feeding my hunger for him.

  “So if it’s not my life, what is it that you’re asking for?” he says, breathing on my lips.

  My hand slides to his back.

  “Other than to fuck me?” I say, innocently and tauntingly at the same time, jubilating as his cock twitches against me.

  “Yeah... Other than to fuck you...” he says softly, taking his time to say each word as if he draws a special pleasure out of it.

  “I want to get to know you...” I say, smiling slyly.

  Surprise spills over his face.

  “That’s not gonna happen, babe,” he purrs, against my lips.

  “You thought this was gonna happen?” I ask as our bodies tangle together.

  He laughs softly.

  “Yeah... I did. At one point or another...” he says.

  “Even when I was gone?”

  “Mm-hmm.”

  “You’re a cocky....”

  “...asshole,” he says, chuckling softly. “What do you think it’s gonna happen if you learn more about me?”

  “Perhaps, I’d understand why you don’t believe in love...” I say no longer smiling.

  He looks at me, serious this time.

  “Why would that matter to you?”

  “It won’t, but maybe it would help me to change your perception,” I say, and push up to capture his lips in a kiss.

  His tongue loves mine, our lips crushing, making me feel feel the reverberations of our kiss in my core. I bend my knee and hitch my leg up on his hip, craving that slow motion of his cock between my nether lips.

  He slips his hand below his shaft and slowly runs his thumb over my clit, sliding a finger right inside me. A gasp lifts off my lips.

>   “It’s gonna hurt,” he says, and my body doesn’t seem to give a shit, grinding against him, rolling wetness on his hand.

  “I don’t care right now,” I say, my sex tingling.

  He positions the tip of his cock between my legs, and slowly pushes in, his shaft hard as steel.

  I tense.

  “Relax, baby. You’re really tight,” he breathes in me and then he stops moving, and starts romancing my tongue, drowning me in a pool of heat.

  My hands go to his back and then his hard butt as I smoothly scale up.

  “You’re gonna get there, baby,” he says against my lips and delves his tongue inside my mouth.

  My body revs up, moans rolling off my lips.

  He pushes in a bit more, and as I get close to the peak of pleasure, I grind my hips against his cock.

  In one swift motion, he enters me.

  “Ahh....” I yelp, trembling and shuddering, my nails biting his skin. “You’re big.”

  “Compared to what?” he asks, grinning, and I laugh, my focus shifting away from the pins and needles making me ache between my thighs.

  “I can tell,” I say cleverly.

  He pulls back and drives back in, burying his cock deep inside me.

  The pain is there but not as sharp as the pleasure begins to numb it. He’s strong, and hard, and tender at the same time. Sliding smoothly, he fills my core.

  Something wet and warm trickles between us, and pleasure rolls over his eyes.

  His grip stiffens as his body hardens, his pace picking up. I arch against him, opening my legs wide for him, my hands clutching on his ass, and it doesn’t take long before a shudder goes through us, hot cum dripping from my core.

  I jerk beneath him, and lock my legs around him, my chest still heaving.

  “Easy, baby,” he says, his lips curling into a soft grin as I roll my fingers on his neck and demand his kiss again.

  14

  RAIN

  * * *

  It takes me fifteen minutes to navigate through a myriad of rooms and corridors until I find the stairs and the dining room, and Veronica shows me to the terrace where I spot the breakfast table set for two.

  Standing next to it, James leans against the balustrade, one hand tucked in his pocket, the other one holding the phone to his ear.

  He fashions a slim fit, white shirt and tailored black pants.

  The sun casts a bright light over his shoulders, adding more depth to his narrowed eyes. A smile creases his lips as I erase the space between us.

  Holding his gaze, I walk around the table and stop in front of him. He leans to me, and I curl my arms around his neck and kiss him.

  A soft grin lifts the corners of his lips, and something sinfully pleasurable flutters inside me.

  I tear away from him and take a seat.

  “Okay. I’ll see you there,” he says and ends the phone conversation.

  Locking eyes with me briefly, he claims the second seat.

  Spellbound, I drink him in.

  “Are you going to eat or just stare at me.”

  “I’ll eat, don’t worry...” I say, surreptitiously stealing glances at him.

  “I’ll be in New York, tonight... I”ll see you when I get back,” he says without much introduction, a reminder he’s so much more than the man I shared the bed with last night.

  “Okay,” I mutter, chewing small bits of food and looking at my plate.

  “Are you okay?” he asks.

  “Mm-hmm,” I say, without raising my eyes.

  “Look at me, Rain.”

  I tilt my head up.

  “What’s the problem?”

  “I... I can’t say it.”

  His smile drops from his lips, a stern look sliding on his face. He clasps his fingers beneath his chin.

  “I’m waiting.”

  I set my napkin to the side.

  “I want to get on some contraceptive method, and I can’t see my family doctor or use my credit card without my family knowing about it.”

  By the time I finish talking, I run out of my breath. My eyes stay trained on my plate, my face hot as a stove.

  I’ve never been so embarrassed in my life. The harsh realization that I’m completely in my parents’ control makes me feel like shit.

  He doesn’t say anything for a few moments, and the silence feels like a curse.

  “Look at me, baby,” he finally says with a soft voice.

  I lift my chin up, the moment I meet his eyes, my heart skips a few beats.

  I soak him in as he looks at me, tender and warm, and with a new expression on his face, one I’ve ever seen before.

  “You’ll get your doctor, and money and everything that you need... All right?”

  “Okay.”

  “Is there anything else?” he asks, serious.

  “No.”

  I lower my eyes, my face scarlet, a smile draping over my lips.

  “What, now?”

  “I’m sore as hell... I can barely walk.” I say, unable to hide my grin or push my blush away.

  I raise my eyes again. This time a wolfish smile stretches across his lips.

  “You’ll get used to it,” he says, only half joking.

  “No...” Eve says, her eyes widening with surprise.

  “Yes.”

  “James Sexton, Alexander Harrington, and Edward Preston. The fucking Kings,” Eve says in a breath.

  “Shh... Keep it down, please,” I say under my breath, scanning the nearby tables, making sure no one is within earshot.

  “Are you ready?” the waitress asks.

  “Yes. Molten chocolate cake for me,” I say.

  “Key lime pie,” Eve’s says, and the woman collects the menus, gives us a small smile and spins away.

  “You look good,” I say.

  She wears a white sleeveless summer dress with red piping, her curly hair framing her face now beaming with a smile.

  “You, too,” she says, flashing a playful grin. “And now I know why.”

  “Shh...”

  “Oh, my God. You’re blushing like a virgin. Oops, did I say virgin.” She rolls her eyes, her expression so funny I can’t suppress my laughter.

  “How’s your love life?” I ask.

  “Good,” she says her lips curving into a naughty smile. “School is not what I thought it’d be, but going to college was the best thing that could’ve happened to me. Besides, having a boyfriend is the greatest thing ever. Oh, by the way…Where’s the evil one?” she asks, and then purses her lips, crushing a smile as the server comes back and slides the plates in front of us.

  “Mmm... This looks good,” Eve says.

  “Thank you.”

  The waitress strolls away as I sink my spoon in a mound of soft, warm chocolate.

  “She’s home now.”

  “Why?”

  “Their house is not finished, and she doesn’t want to live with Nat’s family. He lives with us too. He travels a lot, and stays with us when he comes back.”

  Sadness lurks in my voice, and concern sparks in her eyes.

  “What is it, Rain?”

  I place the spoon on the plate and glance outside.

  “I don’t know...”

  I swing my eyes back to her.

  “What’s the problem?”

  “This whole thing... It doesn’t feel right.”

  “James?”

  “No... no. It’s not about him... I mean it is, but not in the way you think. A lot of things hadn't bothered me before I met him. I was happy at home. I wanted to have a career as an author. I never thought about my future–– not seriously anyway, let alone about money or having control over my life, having freedom.”

  “What are you talking about? You wrote a freaking book that’s going to be on the shelves this fall. You’re a published author at not even twenty years old. You’re going to drink latte and sign autographs in a bookstore while I’m going to sweat over some stupid test or waste time ingurgitating information that doesn’t he
lp me get a job when I’m done learning. You think that’s freedom?”

  “I don’t know what freedom is. At least you and Daria are away from home and try to make a life of your own. I still live on my parents’ dime. The only reason they agreed to let me stay home and not go to college was because I wanted to become an author. That’s fine, but the problem is, my chances of making a living with it are slim. I’m not writing commercial books. Even if I would, it would still be a crapshoot. And the thing is, they probably know all this, so they thought I'd stay with them until I build this sham of career and then I’ll just get married and go live on someone else’s dime. I don’t have money of my own and to be honest I never gave it a thought, and it didn’t bother me until I wanted to do something without their knowledge or asking for their approval, and then I realized.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Everything is theirs. Their rules didn’t mean much to me all these years because I didn’t want anything other than being with them, but now that I want a life of my own I don’t know what to do about it. A job will not provide enough money for me to live independently, not far away from them anyway, and I’ll always need their help. I wouldn’t be able to afford the car I have right now let alone a place of my own.”

  “Why it’s so important for you all of a sudden?”

  I let out a long exhale.

  “They don’t know about James,” I say.

  Her eyebrows pop up, her eyes wide with astonishment.

  “What? Why? Women would fucking kill to be with him. ”

  “Yeah, they would, but in my case, they’d say I’m too young, and he only wants to fuck me, and even if he’s not, he’s certainly not marriage material, and with him, I’d live right on edge. That sort of thing... Besides, it’s all true. The man doesn’t believe in love, and sure enough, he’s not interested in marriage, not now or later, not with me or another woman. And to be honest, I’m not either.”

  Her mouth drops open, her face perplexed.

  “So for my parents or Daria, I’d be nothing but a young, stupid slut. Maybe my parents wouldn’t put it that way, but that’s what they’d think. You get the point...”

  “What about your dear sister? She was whoring quite a bit, and they never had a problem with her.”

  “Yeah, but she had the decency to marry a man of their liking. Someone who is marriage material. Plus, she’s going to college. When all of this is said and done, she’d be back home, get a good job in the finance industry, have a couple of kids and all will be perfect in paradise.”