by M. Malone
The anger had numbed her at first. She’d been so awash in hurt and pain thinking about the things King had said that she hadn’t had a chance to reflect on the hole he’d left in her life. But now that the shock and anger had faded with a little time, it was evident in the little things.
Whenever she saw something weird she wanted to call and tell him about it. When she had a great idea for the Club, he was the one she wanted to share it with. When she was sad or missed her mother, his arms were the ones she wanted to hold her.
Over the past month she’d gotten used to him being there as her sounding board, confidante and comfort.
She missed him. How stupid was that? He was the only man who’d ever torn her heart out and she missed him.
The doorbell rang and Olivia stood. She’d been in the house for four days straight and was starting to forget what fresh air felt like. This wasn’t healthy. She’d asked for space from King and he’d respected that but now she was starting to wish he hadn’t suddenly decided to listen.
When she opened the door, she jumped back at the explosion of flowers before her. A kaleidoscope of colors, the bouquet was so huge that she couldn’t even see the guy holding them. That was probably a good thing since she was only wearing a long t-shirt and her hair was up in a ratty bun.
“Delivery for Miss Olivia Reyes?”
“Yes, that’s me. Here I’ll just take these.” She managed to wrap her hands around the vase and then deposited it carefully on the entryway table.
The delivery man held out his clipboard so she could sign. After he left, she searched through the huge bouquet looking for a card, strangely let down when she didn’t find one. Not that there was any doubt who they were from. She shook her head. Only King would send her such a ridiculous bouquet. He never did anything in half-measures.
Even hurting her. He’d hit right at the heart of her deepest insecurities and it had torn her up.
The doorbell rang again. When she opened it, King looked up. He was wearing his usual suit but for some reason, he held a pair of boxing gloves.
“May I come in?”
She stepped back so he could come inside. He smiled when he saw the huge bouquet. Then he turned to her and held out the gloves.
“These are for you.”
Confused, Olivia accepted them. “Boxing gloves?”
“Yeah. I hit below the belt and now you can, too. Go ahead. Take your best shot. Georgie told me that both James and I deserve a nut punch for how we’ve behaved.”
It was so ridiculous, so King, that Olivia was startled into laughing.
“Well, at least you’re laughing this time. I’d rather see that than tears. I never want to see that again.” He ran his hands over his hair.
For the first time Olivia took a close look at him. The bags under his eyes were darker and more pronounced and he sported what looked like three days worth of stubble on his face. She’d never seen him like this.
“You look like shit,” she whispered.
“That’s better than how I feel. I hurt the only woman I’ve ever cared about.”
“You did. Hurt me, I mean.” She put the boxing gloves down on the table next to the flowers. “But I realized something this past week.”
“What did you realize, baby?”
Her heart fluttered a little at the endearment.
“For a long time, I never cared what anyone thought of me. I did what I needed to do and I didn’t look back. After years of trying to gain my father’s approval, I realized his love came with conditions. He believes in sin but not forgiveness. So I stopped trying and relied only on myself. I built everything I have on my own.”
“And you should be proud of that. I had no right to talk about you or the club that way. I was such an idiot.”
“Yeah, you were. But I realized that the only reason it hurt so much is because I care about what you think of me. I care about you.”
He pulled her into his arms and she finally stopped resisting. He held her face between his hands gently and kissed all over her face.
“I’m so sorry, Olivia. Forgive me. I’m not so good at this love thing. It’s never happened before.”
She bit her lip. “You love me? When you said it before I didn’t want to believe it.”
“I. Love. You.” Each word was punctuated by a kiss and every single kiss punched straight through to her heart.
“I love you too, King. Even when I don’t like you very much.”
He cut off her words with a kiss on her mouth and suddenly their hands were everywhere, frantically caressing and yanking at their clothes. Yes, Olivia thought. She wanted him all over her. Wanted to be as close to him as she could physically get. They walked backward, their mouths still connected until they landed on the couch.
“Hurry,” she whispered and he moaned against her lips.
He felt it too, this urgency to seal their emotional connection with a physical one. She loved him and he loved her. All the hurt, the pain and the apologies seemed not to matter now that they were together again. He’d hurt her but forgiveness was something she was intimately acquainted with since she’d worked so hard to gain it herself.
He pushed his pants down and her t-shirt up. When he thrust into her, her head fell back and she closed her eyes, savoring having him back where he belonged. He rested his forehead against hers, not moving, just breathing with her.
“Don’t leave me again, angel. Scream at me, hurt me, hell, give me a nut punch if you need to. But don’t leave. I need you too much for that.”
“I need you, too.”
He started to move then and she wrapped her legs around his back. Everything faded away and all that was left was the two of them. She arched under him, the physical sensations suddenly too sharp. After living without him, she was overwhelmed by how much he was. He was it for her and all the emotions that she’d tried to hold back for the past week rushed her full force. She clung to his shoulders as all of the emotions, the pain and the love coalesced into a storm of pleasure that dragged her into a shattering release. King clenched her so tightly, like he was scared she’d escape if he didn’t hold on tightly enough.
He leaned up slightly and kept his eyes on hers so she got to see it when he lost himself. On his face she saw nothing but naked desire and all-consuming love.
Afterward, he lifted her and sat on the couch with her in his lap. She cuddled up against him, enjoying being in his arms again. He shifted slightly and tipped up her chin so he could see her face.
“I meant what I said. I love you. And I’m going to make sure you never have a reason to doubt that. I’m not a good person, Liv, but you make me want to be better. Every day. I’m the one who isn’t worthy of you.”
Her heart swelled and she buried her face in his shoulder. Although she’d believed him when he’d apologized, it meant even more that he wanted to make sure not to ever hurt her like that again.
“You’re not a bad person. You’re just a bad boy type. My bad King.”
“Maybe one day you’ll be my bad Queen and keep me in line.”
She jerked back so fast she almost fell off his lap. “Don’t even joke about that.”
“Who’s joking?”
Olivia punched him in the shoulder gently. “Ow. Where are my boxing gloves!”
King kissed her again. “It’s okay, I’ll convince you eventually. I always get what I want remember? Besides I have a lot of time right?”
“Yeah. We’ve got a lot of time.” Olivia was looking forward to finding out what a future with her bad boy would look like.
He lifted her in his arms. “Convincing you could take years. Maybe even decades. Luckily I’m up for the challenge.”
I hope you enjoyed BAD KING! The companion book Just One Thing (Bennett’s story) will release in just a few weeks! Keep reading for an excerpt after this.
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Just One Thing
- PREORDER HERE -
Bennett Alexander is a bonafide genius. Not only does he run his family’s farming cooperative but he speaks four languages and is about to apply for his tenth patent. But the one thing he hasn’t been able to learn is how not to be awkward. His childhood friend Olivia is the only one who could see past the exterior to the heart beneath.
Katie Mason juggles her home daycare business, her own two kids and her aging mother’s affairs back in Barbados. She gets stuff DONE. So when her ex-husband leaves her with a mountain of bills, she doesn’t cry. She finds a solution. Get another job.
When Bennett hires her, the task is simple: teach him to act normal so he can win the heart of his first love. But as the lessons continue, the student becomes the teacher and the only thing Katie wants to do is teach Bennett how to love her.
EXCERPT of Just One Thing
© March 2016 M. Malone
Pale streams of sunshine slanted through the windows and angled over the metal worktables. Outside several birds chirped, trilling a merry duet. It was as perfect a late summer day as could be had in southern Virginia but Bennett Alexander didn’t notice any of it. All of his attention was directed to the microscope in front of him.
“Perfect. Absolutely perfect,” he mumbled and scribbled his observations on the pad of paper next to his hand.
There could have been an earthquake going on outside and he wouldn’t have noticed. Not when he was in his favorite spot doing his favorite thing.
Learning.
A high-pitched shriek outside finally pulled his attention from his research. Stretching his arms overhead, he rolled his shoulders to release several hours worth of accumulated tension as he moved closer to the window.
His brothers were engaged in a spirited game of football along with their women. Although after watching for just a few seconds it was clear the game was less about competition and more about giving his brothers ample opportunity to tackle the girls.
A strange sensation rose in his chest as he watched his younger brother Eli grab his fiancée around the waist and lift her off her feet. Kay squealed but laughed heartily as they both fell to the ground. The football tumbled to the side, forgotten, as she threw her arms around his brother’s shoulders and kissed him. A second later, his brother Nick appeared and grabbed the football off the ground and ran to the other side of the yard, holding his arms above his head in victory. His wife Raina jumped in his arms while his youngest brother Jackson and his wife, Ridley, watched them indulgently.
Bennett turned from the window, swallowing down the tickle of longing he felt. For years he’d accepted the fact that while he was extraordinarily gifted in many areas, there was one subject where he would never excel.
Social interaction.
The strange rituals of courtship between men and women were the one subject that he had never been able to master. He was awkward and always had been. He’d long accepted that he was one of the people that functioned better solo and it was illogical to focus on an area he had no aptitude for. It was better to spend his time on the things that he understood, like his research.
He walked back over to his worktable. The gloriously perfect soil sample on the slide was the culmination of months of experimentation and testing. His family’s farming co-op was constantly looking for way to increase yield without sacrificing the quality of their crops. His parents had given him complete leeway to develop soil, fertilizer and innovative farming techniques to make it happen.
Some people hated the tedium of testing but he found it soothing. Everything about science was calm. Logical. Why couldn’t life be like a hypothesis? If you do this, then you will get a certain result. Observe and note the results and adjust how you proceed accordingly. No one expected to have perfect results in the lab. Things would be so much easier.
His gaze fell to the square piece of paper on the center island. It was heavy cardstock with that curly, metallic lettering that was really hard to read. But even his terrible eyesight couldn’t miss it. He’d been nominated for an award. Which meant he would have to attend the awards ceremony.
He sighed.
Since he’d been ignoring his mail for the past month, his mother must have put it there so he’d see it. Ignoring it would have been his preferred method of dealing. Ignoring things that he found uncomfortable was his usual way of navigating a world that was often baffling and many times humiliating. But his mother had already seen the invitation and if he knew anything about Julia Alexander it was that she wanted her children to be happy. She couldn’t understand that he was happy here, just as he was. Alone with his work. Alone with his thoughts.
Alone.
It was how he’d always been, even in the midst of a large extended family. But she wouldn’t understand that. His eyes strayed over to the window again where he could still hear the faint sounds of shrieking and laughter.
He was starting to understand it less and less himself.
Frustrated, his hand shot out and knocked the invitation to the floor. It made him feel ridiculous to have this sense of dissatisfaction with his life when he had achieved so much. He had a Ph.D in Molecular Biology, spoke several languages fluently and was in the process of filing for his tenth patent.
He didn’t need anything else.
Just One Thing
- PREORDER HERE -
Other Titles available by M. Malone
THE ALEXANDERS
One More Day / The Things I Do for You
He's the Man /Christmas w/The Alexanders
All I Need is You / Say You Will
Just One Thing / BAD KING
Join the pre-order notification list: HERE
BLUE-COLLAR BILLIONAIRES
TANK / FINN / GABE / ZACK / LUKE
* * Paranormal Romance * *
BROTHERHOOD OF BANDITS
Nathan's Heart / Ian's Fall / Gavin's Curse
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
New York Times & USA TODAY Bestselling author M. Malone lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with her three favorite guys: her husband and their two sons. She likes dramatic opera music, staid old men wearing suspenders, claw-foot bathtubs, and unexpected surprises.
The thing she likes best is getting to make up stuff for a living.
www.MMaloneBooks.com
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BAD KING
Copyright © May 2016 M. Malone
Proofreader: Leah Guinan
CrushStar Romance
An Imprint of CrushStar Multimedia LLC
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address CrushStar Romance, 2885 Sanford Ave SW #16301, Grandville, MI 49418 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
ISBN-10: 1-938789-39-3
ISBN-13: 978-1-938789-39-7
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