The sentiment broke her heart all over again. He was worried the dog would reject him. Fucking hell, everyone else had…even her. If she hadn’t been in intensive therapy with a top-notch shrink over the last month, she’d hate herself right now. But that wouldn’t do either of them any good.
“She slept on my pillow last night.” He struggled. “I guess that means we’re solid.”
“I’ve always wanted a dog, but when I got older, I didn’t want the responsibility.”
“It’s a pain in the ass, walking at all hours.” His gaze hit his shoes, and then slowly bounced back to hers. “You don’t need to apologize, Khani. You were right. I should have told you and let the chips fall, but…” His throat bobbed on a swallow. “Betrayal is what I do. History proves as much. You need to be with someone who you can place your trust in one hundred percent.”
“That person is you, King.”
An uncharacteristic frown curved his lips. “It’s not.”
“What history?” she begged in a whisper.
“Father Tommy.” He stuffed his hands into his pockets.
“The man who took you in? The priest?”
His head bobbed. “Yep. He took me in and I betrayed him.” The bob turned into a shake. King’s gaze bore into hers. “He killed himself because of my treason.”
“Not because of you,” she matched his shaking head.
“You have no idea.” He gave a caustic laugh.
“King, you do what’s right, no matter the cost.”
“Sometimes the cost should come into play.” He extricated his hands from his pockets and clasped them together. “I’m sorry you came all this way for an apology you didn’t need to give.” The front of his wingtips lifted as though he were about to turn away and leave.
“I’m not just visiting and I didn’t just come for the apology.”
His tips hit the ground. “You moved back to London?” His gaze rounded the room. “Are you taking my job or what?”
“I’m not taking your job,” she explained. “Actually, you’re my boss.”
That got a little slack jaw, at least a second of one. “Why would you take a demotion?”
“It’s my surrender.”
“Why would you surrender? It’s not your way.”
“I want to be under you in some way. I can’t be under you in the bedroom, but I can give you this.”
“You don’t need to give me anything.” Again he held up his hands. He took a step toward the door.
Khani used the point of her stiletto to hook the leg of the chair Baine had sat in and turned it to face King. “Get in the chair.”
His hands fell and his shoulders drew straight. “I thought I was your boss?”
“Tomorrow. Now move,” she barked.
His gaze shifted from her to the chair and back several times. “Khani, I—”
She slipped her hand inside her tote and yanked out the black leather strap with a matching black silicone ball at its center. “Has anyone ever told you that you talk too much?”
His lids widened. “This one bird told me something like that.”
“The next thing I pull from my bag won’t be so innocuous.”
“You call that mundane?” He pointed at the ball-gag.
“King Street, put your ass in the chair.”
“What about Baine?”
“The only thing you need to worry about is me.”
He regarded her with each step toward the metal-framed chair. When he reached it he turned and sat. The leather creaked under his weight.
The last of Khani’s apprehension fled. Desire and love enveloped her chest. “Open wide.” King’s lips parted slowly. She placed the small ball between his teeth. “Close. This is a training ball. It shouldn’t strain your jaw…too much,” she added with a smirk.
She fastened the buckle at the back of his head and moved to her bag. His wide eyes and protracted lips followed her every move. Next she pulled out four thick leather cuffs. “I can’t have you running out on me.”
Khani knelt in front of him and secured his ankles and then wrists to the chair. King’s nostrils flared. His breaths increased. She placed her hand over his knees.
King’s gaze fused with hers.
“From the first time I laid eyes on you, I knew you were the worst kind of trouble.” She skimmed her palms up his thighs. “You made me embrace a danger I’d never allowed into my personal life. You made me feel, period. Joy. Unparalleled sexual euphoria. Peace. Anger. Frustration. Elation. Heartbreak.”
His eyes mirrored the emotions she listed.
Her hands coasted up his chest. She settled them over his heart.
“But most of all… You made me love you.” He blinked. She continued. “I love you, King Street. I have for so long, but I was scared. I was scared of losing you, of my own vulnerability.” She stood and kissed his forehead, his cheeks, his chin. “I pushed you away because it was easier than looking inside of myself, than letting go of my demons. I’m a work in progress, but I want to work on it with you.”
She leaned back. “What do you say?”
His head canted and his gaze dropped to the gag.
Khani smiled, and then released the buckle.
He studied her tote. “What else do you have in that bag?”
She lightly pinched his nipple, but laughed along with his wine rich chuckle.
King’s mouth brushed her cheek. She turned to face him and their mouths tangled in an intimate embrace. “I love you, Khani. I’ll always want you. I’ll always love you.”
Always? There was one more point she had to make and it hurt her heart even though right now it was the truth and he needed to know it before they moved forward. “I can’t give you babies.” She lifted her chin, stealing her touch, but giving the full force of her gaze. “I raised Zeke. I’m done. I can’t handle that kind of vulnerability again. You deserve babies, beautiful, hazel eyed babies.”
“I want you. Not babies. Who knows what kind of blood runs in my veins? I don’t. Besides, I wouldn’t know what to do with a baby.” He smirked.
“You would make a great papa.” She swallowed.
“Callie might object. I haven’t gotten her outside in time to pee all week. She’s made a mess of my rug.” He scowled. “I hope my dog’s not a deal breaker.”
“I can handle a dog. As long as she’s yours.”
“I can handle no kids. As long as you’re mine.”
Khani laughed so hard it rolled through her belly in gigantic waves. She braced her hands on either side of his face, let her gaze rove over the cuffs at his ankles and wrists, and then centered on his gaze. “You’re mine, King, and I’m about to show you just how much fun it can be.”
Books by Megan Mitcham
BASE BRANCH NOVELS
ENEMY MINE
JUSTICE MINE
STRANGER MINE
WARRIOR MINE
DANGER MINE
PRISONER MINE - JANUARY 2016
SURVIVOR MINE - 2016
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BUREAU NOVELS
FOR ALL TO SEE
PAINTED WALLS - OCTOBER 2015
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BLACKLIST SERIES
VERSIONS
VIRTUES - 2016
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ANTHOLOGIES
ANTICIPATION - A HEART & HANDCUFFS ANTHOLOGY
VIKING CONQUESTS
ROGUE HEARTS - 2015
CLEIS PRESS: SEX OBJECTS (2016), COWBOY HEAT, HIGH OCTANE HEROES
WILD AT HEART VOLUME II
FOR ALL TO SEE
A BUREAU NOVEL
Pristine waters and purified evil.
Two by two, dark-haired beauties vanish only to reappear as hanging, plundered corpses. The Virgin Islands boast diamond-white beaches, lush green mountains, a rich cultural heritage—and a brutal killer.
Three years on the “Field-Dresser” case and Special Agent Nathan Brewer is days away from catching the bastard—if he can convince a certain brunette to trust
him. Only the woman is more likely to take a casual stroll on the surface of the sun.
After fleeing her troubles in the United States for the quiet life of a school teacher on the island of Tortola, Madelyn Garrett never imagined she’d be fixated upon by pure evil.
In a fight for her life—with a dwindling number of friends—she must rely on her cunning and Nathan’s skills for survival.
PRISONER MINE
A BASE BRANCH NOVEL
Can the bad boy protect the good girl…
Zeke Slaughter played two sides against the middle and found himself in a world of hurt. Luckily, there was one person in the world who cared enough about his rogue ass to save it. But neither his sister nor the Base Branch, the UN special forces division she works for, can help him sort through the lies, money, violence, and corruption he’s gotten himself into. Himself…and others. Yep, he’d dragged his team into the mix. Pin another Medal of Honor to his chest for that rookie move. Oh wait, mercenaries don’t get badges of honor.
Greer Britton joined the US Elite’s brand of private military to please her father, a third-generation Marine and Senate-seat legacy that failed to attain the brass of his blood before him. She doesn’t want to think he sabotaged her promising career in the Marines, but… When she ends up a high-priced sex slave for the Russian mob she’d been commissioned to infiltrate with her closed-off leader, Zeke Slaughter, she questions her dad's motive for having her placed on the team.
It’s up to Zeke to save his team and complete his missions without getting killed--and without crossing the line with a pristine beauty who has no business in any military, much less surrounded by a horde of violent, horny bastards...himself included.
About the Author
Megan Mitcham was born and raised among the live oaks and shrimp boats of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, where her enormous family still calls home. She attended college at the University of Southern Mississippi where she received a bachelor's degree in curriculum, instruction, and special education. For several years Megan worked as a teacher in Mississippi. She married and moved to South Carolina and began working for an international non-profit organization as an instructor and co-director.
In 2009 Megan fell in love with books. Until then, books had been a source for research or the topic of tests. But one day she read Mercy by Julie Garwood. And oh, Mercy, she was hooked!
Megan lives in Southern Arkansas where she pens heart pounding romantic thriller novels and window-steaming erotic romance. For information on releases and giveaways subscribe at meganmitcham.com!
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Website: www.meganmitcham.com
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