by Danah Logan
My hand involuntarily grips hers tighter, but she doesn't indicate that I'm hurting her. She's miles away, wherever this club was located.
"I…I went to check out what was going on—the sounds coming from the main room…"
"Keep going." I get the picture.
"What I saw there, Wes, God, I—I had to help her. But Vic… He was E's right-hand man and security. E was…and Vic, he held the girl—"
Jesus fuck.
"I killed him."
Those three words were spoken so low that it takes me longer than it should to comprehend them. King has stopped moving but won't look at me.
I wait.
"I surprised E from behind and stabbed him in the side of the neck. Here." She touches the side of her own neck with her free hand. "The blade slid in like a hot knife through butter, which was exactly what went through my mind. This was like slicing butter—until I hit…bone. But it wasn't butter that was spilling over my blade and hand."
Her voice is detached, and I don't dare interrupt her.
"The girl started screaming, and Vic noticed what I had done—he had been facing the other way. Like he didn't give two fucks what his boss was doing to this poor girl. She was supposed to start working at The Pole the following week. Vic…he—"
"Did he hurt you?" I can't stop myself. I scan every inch of visible skin for scars or signs of old injuries.
"No. He… Vic stared at me and then…left."
"He left?" What the—
"I couldn't focus on it at the time. I had to help the girl. She was bleeding from where E had hit her. His body was at our feet, and she was still naked. She went into shock, wouldn't talk or respond. I didn't know what to do. I had killed my boss. There were witnesses, not to mention the entire club was wired with cameras. I would go to jail." Her tears resemble a downpour against a pane of glass. "I wrapped the girl in a blanket and drove her to the emergency room. Once she was taken care of, I—"
Suddenly, King folds into herself. She kneels in the middle of the hiking path and rocks back and forth. She drops her head to her knees, and my lungs compress at the sight. I've seen this before. This was how Rhys reacted to finding Lilly's Jeep flipped upside down on the side of the road. I peer in either direction, but we're the only people up here.
Fuck it.
I sit down next to her and pull her into my lap. She curls into me, and I hold her tight, rocking both of us as one would soothe an upset child.
It takes her forever to regain some control. It could've been just a few minutes, but it sure as shit felt like hours.
"I drove back to the club. It was nearly six, and E was dead in the middle of the bar's main room. I did the only thing I could. I called the one person I knew would help me."
"Who—"
"Please don't ask," she cuts me off, and I swallow the remark on my tongue.
Who would she have been able to call who could make a dead body and a bunch of security videos disappear? I mean, I know who I'd call, but I doubt King has Lilly's or George's numbers. I have so many questions, and it's clear I won't get any answers to them.
"He told me to go home and wait for his call. He'd take care of everything. Then, he ordered me to run. I could not stay in one place for more than a few weeks until no one would be looking for E anymore. I left town before the club reopened that night. From what Kiwi told me, E was reported missing. I also never checked back on the girl. I should've gone back, but I was too scared."
"This is how you ended up in Stonebriar?"
King nods against my chest, and I hug her tighter.
"Why didn't you keep moving?" Deep down, I know the answer, which makes my stomach flip in a good and bad way at the same time.
"You."
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
After that, uh, confession, we walk—both of us in our own thoughts. When I check my phone, I am shocked to see that it is almost two in the afternoon. I've missed my morning classes, and practice starts at four. It'll take us forty-five minutes to get back to town limits, and I don't have my gear with me. I can't afford to miss another practice.
After ditching last Wednesday and barely being present the rest of the week—thanks to my constant state of hangover—Coach will have my balls if I don't show. At the same time, I don't want to leave King.
Her confiding in me brought this—us—to a different playing field. I thought I would be able to walk away, despite what I witnessed last night. Now, there is no chance in hell I can leave her side again. Kingsley Monroe is one of the fiercest women I've ever met, and I know some strong fucking girls.
I squeeze her hand lightly. Her eyes are haunted, and I'm worried about what recalling the events after having the nightmare mere hours prior has done to her. I stop and spin her toward me. "We should probably head back."
The corners of her mouth draw down, and I realize how this came out. I close my eyes briefly. "Shit, no. That's not how I meant it."
I let go of her hands and pull her into me. She returns the embrace without hesitation, burying her nose in my shirt. The strain that I didn't realize had my muscles coiled melts away. I place a kiss on the crown of her head.
"I have to get back for practice, but I want to see you later," I murmur against her hair, inhaling the fragrance of her shampoo. I halt mid-sniff. When did I start smelling a girl's hair?
King draws back slightly and peers up at me. "You do?" A laugh bursts out at the astonishment in her voice.
"What? You thought stabbing this motherfucker would change my mind? Make me want you less? Did you forget who my friends are?" Were.
Their actions never were the issue. It was the betrayal that ruined everything.
Something I can't decipher flashes across her face, and her eyes become watery. It's gone as quickly as it appeared, and I chalk it up to this day being an emotional mindfuck.
When a lone tear spills over, I untangle my arms from her and brush it away with my thumb. Her sadness chokes me, and I want to take her pain from her.
I open my mouth to start explaining why I had disappeared for almost a week when she shifts and hooks her arms around my neck. Her grip tightens, and I automatically engage my neck muscles against the sudden force. I don't fight as she yanks me to her, and our lips connect.
My brain short-circuits as her tongue strokes mine and—holy shit! It's not our first kiss, or second, but this is…any coherent thought leaves me. At the bar, I was marking my territory when I didn't have a right to—yet. But I had to make sure everyone knew that she was mine before I admitted to myself that she was. This time, she is claiming me.
My pulse speeds up, and my cock is rock hard within seconds. I thrust my hips against her as her tongue tangles with mine. I drop my hands and glide them down her sides until I find her ass—her very firm ass. How many times have I watched her in her skintight jeans stalk around the bar, endured with clenched fists as every guy's eyes also followed the sway of her hips as she moved past?
Mine, a voice inside my head growls, even though I am the only one here.
Yes, she's mine.
I lift her up, and King wraps her legs around my body as soon as her feet leave the ground. Grinding her hips against me, I groan at the friction she causes. Despite the cool air up here in the mountains, a sheen of sweat covers me from head to toe. Too hot. The limited space inside my pants becomes smaller, and I want nothing more than to press her against the nearest tree and fuck her senseless.
She moans against my mouth, and my fingers dig into her butt. She tastes like heaven, and I wonder if she tastes this good in other places.
Fuck, I need to stop, or I really won't make it to practice.
I slow the kiss, and she whimpers in protest, applying more pressure against the back of my neck, wanting to hold me in place.
"Princess…" I try to get the words out when she nips at my bottom lip, and my control is about to snap. A metallic taste fills my mouth. She's drawn blood—this little devil. Instead of being bothered by it, I swipe
the tip of my tongue against the spot and close my eyes at the sting. What the hell has gotten into me?
I let go of her ass, and she slides down my torso. As soon as she hits the ground, I take a step away, lifting my hands as if to hold off an assailant. King looks at me through her lashes, her chest rising and falling rapidly, mimicking my own breathing.
God, she is so fucking beautiful.
"Why did you stop?" Her question is breathy, and I huff out a laugh.
"Because I was this close"—I hold my thumb and forefinger about half an inch apart—"to fucking you in the middle of the woods."
Her bottom lip sticks out, and her pouting evokes a fierce need to jerk her to me and continue what we (almost) started. How can I deny her?
"I have practice, and you're scheduled to work," I reason with her as much as I do with my protesting cock. I swear, the profanities he's hurling at me inside my head would make Kai proud.
Yeah, I'm not happy either, but I have enough common sense left not to want our first time to be in the middle of the forest with me pounding King against tree bark and making her backside bleed.
I reach for her and intertwine our fingers. She squeezes my hand in return and steps closer. I don't stop her now that the hormonal crisis has been averted.
Leaning down, I place a gentle kiss against her still-scowling mouth. Before straightening, I whisper, "Don't worry. You will get thoroughly fucked—very soon."
Her eyes widen, and her lips part. Her tongue darts out ever so slightly, and I can't stop the groan escaping me. I turn and stalk in the direction we came from, dragging her behind me by our clasped hands.
"We need to go." My gruff tone is met with a chuckle, and for the first time in my life, I have the urge to spank a female.
This girl will be the death of me.
I made it to practice on time. My performance was still shit, though. I was fully sober, but my mind kept wandering to King every few minutes, and every fucking time, my cock would stand at half-mast. At one point, Zeke took a double take at my pants, and I pulled a total girl move. "Eyes up here!"
My outburst, of course, brought everyone's attention to me, and I followed my emasculating display with face-palming my forehead. Zeke doubled over, howling like a hyena, and the rest stared like I had lost my mind. I probably did. I left it in the woods by the reservoir when I raced to the Jeep with the last bit of self-control I could muster.
I am the first out of the locker room, and Kai whistles after me. "Finally came to your senses, huh?"
I flip him the bird, not bothering to turn around, and pull my phone out with my other hand. King has a couple more hours of work. I contemplate showing up at the bar but then decide to send her a text instead.
Me: Can I pick you up after your shift?
I don't expect her to respond, but when the little bubble pops up a second later, I hold my breath.
King: I drove, and I need the Jeep in the morning to make it to class on time.
Is she making an excuse not to meet me?
I decide to pull one from Kai's playbook.
Me: So, that's a yes?
King: Ha ha. Meet me at my place at 11:15?
I send her a thumbs-up emoji in return.
King: Oh, come on now. Like you are not grinning from ear to ear. Don't start acting cool all of a sudden.
I realize she is right when my cheeks pinch, and I glance over my shoulder, making sure she is not anywhere in the vicinity.
Me: I. Am. Cool! Are you stalking me again, MOAB Girl?
King: You wish, Sheats.
Me: Maybe I am. I'm getting used to it. Something is missing when I don't have one of your knives near me.
What the fuck am I even saying? When she doesn't respond, my first thought is that I pushed it too far. She has a reason to always be armed. I should've asked her if she's scared someone will come after her for killing her boss. The mere thought of the raping son of a bitch… What he did, what King witnessed, makes my throat go dry and my breath increase. If she hadn't already killed him, my first call would be to George. Not that I would ask him to do the deed, but I would need his help in covering it up.
I stare off toward the other end of the parking lot as my phone vibrates in my palm, and King's name lights up the display.
King: Sorry, Grizz came out front. Need to get back to work. See you later?
Me: Yes. See you soon.
Glancing at my watch, I have time to head home for a bit.
As I pull into the garage, an incoming call is announced through my ear pods. I smile to myself and answer. "Took you long enough to call me."
"Well, according to Kai, you've been in a drunken stupor for the past week."
"Talking to my roommate now, are you, D?" My smile is gone. I do not need to be reminded of last week or why I ended up drowning myself in Kai's liquor stash, which could keep our entire campus intoxicated for a week.
"Well, you didn't answer. I was worried." The second part is spoken softly, and I know what she is referring to.
"I needed to think." About a lot.
"Come to any results?" My best friend sounds hopeful.
"Not yet." I try not to be an asshole, but I can't just decide that the last two-plus years didn't happen. "How was the flight?" If she pushes the topic I don't want to talk about, I can do the same.
There is silence on the other end, and I check if the call is still connected. "D?"
"It was fine."
Which means it wasn't. "What did he do now?"
If I didn't like Lilly's shadow so much, or if he wasn't always armed to the teeth like his boss, I would beat his pretty mug in one of these days.
"I don't want to talk about it. He…he was his usual self." She sighs.
It's a complete mystery to me why Marcus treats Den the way he does. Yes, they didn't have the best of starts, given the fact that he manhandled her onto the jet in LA and basically had to hold her down the entire flight to Virginia, but still. He's a cool dude but a major dick to Den. I wonder if Lilly and Rhys know.
"Tell me about blondie. You never elaborated on what I walked in on last week." She doesn't sound smug or condescending, just curious. Den knows about pretty much all the girls I've hooked up with over the years. She's taken Rhys's place when it comes to guy talk, which is another reason I love her to death. Despite what almost happened between us, she is my best friend and only my best friend. She is hot as hell, and I'm sure the sex would've been phenomenal, but in the end, we wouldn't have worked out as a couple. We are too much alike and probably would've killed each other in the first six months—figuratively speaking.
"I don't want to talk about it." I throw her statement back at her and hear an intake of breath on the other end. "What?"
"You're serious about her?" Her shock is audible.
Am I?
"I have no clue, D." I pause before adding, "There is a lot I still have to figure out."
On so many levels.
"Wes?"
"Yes?"
"If she hurts you, I will hunt her down and shave her pretty blonde hair. And I will bring G with me," Den deadpans.
I puff out my chest, not that my friend sees it. "You would need half of G's team to take King down."
"What does that mean?" Alarm rings in her voice. Shit.
"Nothing. Just…" I need to get off this call before I say something I shouldn't or may regret. "Listen, D, I'll call you this weekend, okay? I gotta go."
"Practice is over for the day, where are you—? Oh." She halts herself. "Okay, call me Saturday. I'm flying back to New York on Sunday."
"K. Love you, BK."
"Fuck you, Sheats." After a beat of silence, she continues, "Love you, too."
I get to King's at 11:16 p.m.
It's getting too cold for my bike, and with the possibility of snow any day, I decide to take the 4Runner. I never took my spiked tires off in the spring. I simply switched to riding my bike everywhere.
If we need a car, I drive wi
th Kai or take his Rover. He couldn't care less.
She sits on the front porch and immediately gets up when I stop in front of her driveway, dusting her jeans off. She's still wearing the same pair as earlier but changed out of her work shirt. Instead, she's covered in a fitted black hoodie and a leather jacket.
Wes Junior enjoys the outfit as well and instantly stands at attention. Though, King could wear a white bedsheet with cutout holes for the eyes, and I would have a raging hard-on in zero point three seconds. After all, there could be a chance of her being naked underneath.
When she pulls the passenger door open and slides in, I slant my head. "Are we going somewhere?"
She gives me an apologetic smile. "Yes. Mags got into it with Grizz. You don't want to be in there."
"What's their deal?" I've noticed their…dynamic, and it's more fucked up than Den and Marcus's.
"I wish I knew. She won't talk about it." King purses her lips. "Can we hang out at your place?" She quickly adds, "I can drive myself so you don't have to bring me back later."
"Do you really think you will sleep alone tonight?" I let the question hang because it's clear what I'm insinuating.
A faint blush spreads over her cheeks, and I prop my elbow on the middle console, leaning over to her. Her eyes fly to my mouth, and I smirk.
King angles her body so her leg rests on the seat. Impatience taking over, I reach for her. She opens up without hesitation, and when her warm tongue connects with mine, my single-minded brain fast-forwards to what else she could do with her mouth tonight.
Jesus, I don't remember ever wanting someone this bad.
I let my hand glide from the nape of her neck to her cheek and break the kiss, leaning my forehead against hers. "Let's go."
"Hurry." King has her eyes closed and swipes her lips against mine as she says the word. Her tone is like a purr, and I shift in my seat. I should've worn sweatpants.
We both move back to our own seats, but she weaves our fingers together in the middle. Her head is slanted toward me, and a soft smile turns the corner of her mouth upward.