by Hughes, Maya
“I know what you’re doing,” he whispered into my ear. We glided across the dance floor with other couples as the band played a classical cover of Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida.”
“What am I doing?”
“You’re holding out on saying you love me too to keep me distracted and to make me crazy so I won’t pay attention to the cameras, the photographers, and being in a room of a couple hundred people.” His words caressed the shell of my ear, and now I was wondering why we were there instead of at home.
“If you know what I’m up to, why let it make you crazy?” My breath caught at the hungry look in his eyes.
“You do that anyway. No matter what, you always make me think I’ll go out of my mind if I can’t talk to you, touch you, taste you.”
I bit my bottom lip.
He pulled back and stared into my eyes, still dancing across the floor. “But two can play at these games, so let’s see how you fare.” His words brushed across my glossy lips, and I wanted to devour his minty ones.
The song ended, and he led me back to the table with his hand never leaving its spot on my back. His thumb dragged across my skin in insistent circles, the same kind he used on my clit that left me sweaty, shaking, and unable to remember my name.
My clit throbbed, and I bit my lower lip. He pulled out the chair for me, and I remained standing, unable to move.
“You okay?” he whispered against my ear. A shiver shot through my body.
I nodded, sweeping the back of my dress aside and finally sitting on the navy-covered chair.
“Your napkin fell.” He crouched down and picked up the folded navy fabric on the floor. Dropping his hand, he stared into my eyes, and a shiver raced down my spine. He picked up the napkin and used that as an excuse to brush the backs of his fingers along my ankle, which was wrapped in the thin straps of my heels.
His eyes lit with a fire that could have burned down half the city. I sucked in a sharp breath. It was the same look he gave me when he looped my legs over his shoulders and feasted on me like I was his last meal.
My thong was seconds away from disintegrating off my body. I swallowed against the boulder that had taken up residence in my throat.
His smile transformed. Resting one hand on the table and one on the back of my chair, he caged me in. “See? I can play too.” He sat in the seat beside me and lifted a bottle of wine, pouring a glass for me. My brain fogged over, and there was only one thought running through my head. It all centered on him. I wanted to jump up on the table and scream out my love for him in the middle of the crowded room, but where was the fun in that?
The corner of my mouth lifted. We’d be lucky if we made it back into the limo before he ripped this dress off my body. I squeezed my thighs together. I must have made a noise, because Mak leaned over and rested her hand on my arm.
“You okay?”
Ford peered over his shoulder with a wide grin. Oh, it’s on.
“I’m fine, Mak. Just got a slight chill.” Scooting my chair in closer to the table, I ran my hand over Ford’s knee under the tablecloth. His muscles bunched under my hold, and he peered over at me, his breath catching as my fingers trailed higher.
Taking a sip of wine from my glass, I laughed at the joke Heath told across the table. Ford’s gaze bored into my cheek, my hand shifted along his thigh, and he choked on his drink. The electric smile set my stomach off in flutters that threatened to carry me away.
His smile was enough to wash away those tinges of sadness that crept in when my mind drifted to Colm.
We’d fix it together.
We’d been through so much over the past—how long had it been? That didn’t matter now. He was the only one for me. The universe had finally given us our break and I wasn’t letting that go. With Ford, it was always and forever. And ever.
* * *
Thank you so much for reading Ford and Liv’s story! These two had so much chemistry, I thought my keyboard was going to combust. I had such an awesome time being back with the Kings. For an extra special day with Ford and Liv, you can check out their bonus epilogue HERE!
Author’s Note
It feels good to be back with the Kings! Thank you so much for reading Ford and Liv’s story. Theirs was one that popped into my head back when I started writing the free prequel novella, The Kings of Rittenhouse. I loved the idea of having that person you’ve been crushing on finally realizing what they’re missing and what it would be like with all the complications only growing older and dealing with family can bring along with it!
Ford and Liv were so much fun to write and I swear, I wanted to throw my laptop just as many times as you wanted to throw your screen with roadblock after roadblock stopping these two from finally getting their hands on each other! It probably has something to do with me and Mr. Hughes attempting to find some quiet time alone, but that’s in short order with 3 kiddos. Oh trust me, we’ve been blocked WAY more times than Ford and Liv! :-D
I’ve got an exciting slate for the rest of 2019. I’ll have the next FULTON U book out in the late summer/early fall. It’ll be an enemies to lovers book featuring our favorite quarterback, Nix, in The Second We Met. Then not too long after that release, I’ll have the next and final [I’m totally not teary, I swear :-(] Kings of Rittenhouse book.
This is Colm’s book. We’ve been building to this since he spotted those little glances at Ford from Liv back when the Kings were in high school. And now Colm’s hurt. He’s alone. And he’s angry. He’s going to need someone who knows what it feels like to lose everything and have their life turned upside down to snap him out of this. But he’s going to be a serious grump about it!
He’s going to need some serious TLC and I know precisely who he’ll get it from!
There’s an excerpt from The Perfect First after my note, so you can see what all the fuss is about :P
Until next time!
Maya xx
P.S. Grab the Fearless King extended epilogue!
P.P.S. Add Colm’s story, Heartless King, to your Goodreads
P.P.P.S. Add the enemies to lovers romance, The Second We Met, to your Goodreads
Excerpt from The Perfect First
“How long do you last in bed?” Those were her first words to me, swiftly followed up with, “And how big would you say you are?”
* * *
“Let’s get started.” Just rip the Band-Aid off. Clearing my throat, I tapped the cards on the table. A few heads turned in our direction at the sharp, rapping sound. “When were you last tested for sexually transmitted diseases?”
Setting the bottle down on the table, he stared at me like I was an equation he was suddenly interested in figuring out. And then it was gone. “At the beginning of the season. Clean bill of health.” He looked over his shoulder, the boredom back, leaking from every pore. Wow. I’d thought guys were all over this whole sex thing, but he looked like he was sitting in the waiting room of a dentist’s office.
“When did you last have sexual intercourse?”
His head snapped back to me, eyes bugged out. “What?” I had his full attention now.
“Sex? When did you last have sex?” I tapped my pen against the notecard.
He sputtered and stared back at me. His eyes narrowed and he rested his elbows on the table.
I scooted my neatly lain out cards back toward me, away from him.
“No comment.”
“Given the circumstances, it’s an appropriate question.”
The muscles in his neck tightened and his lips crumpled together. “Fine, at the beginning of the season.”
“What season?” I looked up from my pen. That was an odd way to put it. “Like, the beginning of fall?”
“Like football season.”
The pieces fit together—the body, the looks from other people around the coffee house. “You play football.” That made sense, and he seemed like the perfect all-American person for the job.
“Yes, I play football.”
“When did th
e season start?”
He shook his head like he was trying to clear away a fog and stared back at me like I’d started speaking a different language. “September.”
“And…” I ran my hand along the back of my neck. “How long would you say it lasted?”
His eyebrows dipped. “It didn’t last. It was a one-night thing. I don’t do relationships.”
Of course not. He was playing the field. Sowing his oats. Banging his way through as many co-eds as possible. Experienced. Excellent.
I cleared my throat. “No, I didn’t mean how long did you date the woman. I meant, how long was the sex?”
The steady drumming on the table stopped. “Are you serious?”
I licked my Sahara-dry lips. “It’s a reasonable question. How long did it last?”
“I didn’t exactly set a timer, but let’s just say we both got our reward.”
“Interesting.” I made another note on the card.
“These are the types of questions I’m going to be asked for the draft?” He took the lid off the bottled water.
The draft? Pushing ahead, I went to the next line one my card and cringed a bit. “Okay, this might seem a little invasive.” I cleared my throat again. “But how big is your penis? Length is fine. I don’t need to know the circumference, you know—the girth.”
A fine spray of water from his mouth washed over me. “What the hell kind of question is that?
Reece and Seph have only just begun! Grab your copy of The Perfect First or read it for FREE in KU!
Acknowledgments
It’s always so hard to me to write the acknowledgements because I try to tell the people who’ve helped me along the way thank you every chance I get.
My words don’t come out gleaming and shiny in my first drafts. It’s always a very messy affairs. There are tears, threats of throwing my computer out the nearest window and staring at my screen through my fingers when I get my manuscripts back from my editors. I thank them so so much for all their help throughout the process. Tamara Mayara, Lea Schaffer and C.Marie.
Every message, email comment and recommendation to a friend helps spread the word in so many ways, so I wanted to say thank you to everyone who’s taken their time to live with these character and introduce them others.
I’m still blown away with how much the Kings have touched so many people and I love hearing about it. You keep reading and I’ll keep writing!
M
Also by Maya Hughes
Kings of Rittenhouse
Kings of Rittenhouse - FREE
Shameless King - Enemies to Lovers
Reckless King - Off Limits Lover
Ruthless King - Second Chance Romance
Manhattan Misters
All His Secrets - Single Dad Romance
All His Lies - Revenge Romance
All His Regrets - Second Chance Romance
Under His Series
Under His Ink - Second Chance Romance
Breaking Free Series
Blinded - Second Chance Secret Baby Romance
Mixed - Enemies to Lovers Romance
Served - Enemies to Lovers Romance
Rocked - Rockstar Romance
Standalone
Passion on the Pitch - Sports Romance
Connect with Maya
Sign up for my newsletter to get exclusive bonus content, ARC opportunities, sneak peeks, new release alerts and to find out just what I’m books are coming up next.
Join my reader group for teasers, giveaways and more!
Follow my Amazon author page for new release alerts!
Follow me on Instagram, where I try and fail to take pretty pictures!
Follow me on Twitter, just because :)
I’d love to hear from you! Drop me a line anytime :)
https://www.mayahughes.com/
[email protected]