by A. Zavarelli
Katherine got up a moment later and made the excuse of needing to use the powder room, but I knew better. Red hot jealousy boiled in my veins. If she wanted him so badly to begin with why did she go and sleep with his brother?
I tossed back my drink and gratefully accepted another one. And once that one had finished too, and twenty minutes had passed, I couldn’t take it any longer. I made my excuses and wandered off in search of the bathroom. But really, I was looking for Jameson. I found him in the hall with Katherine, and it looked like they were arguing. But her hand was clutching his tie, her body pressed against his, and he wasn’t pushing her away.
When he saw me, his face paled, and I turned and walked back in the direction I’d come from. He caught up to me before I could make it back to the others.
“Harper, I’m sorry.” He sighed in frustration.
Whether it was with me or Katherine, I couldn’t be sure.
“It’s okay.” I lied through my teeth.
“I just went to take a phone call, and she came onto me again. It’s just…”
“Jameson.” I mustered up a fake smile, and a carefully controlled voice though on the inside I was crumbling. “It’s okay. It’s just a business transaction, you and I. Right?”
He flinched, and I twisted the knife a little deeper. I wanted him to know I could be as cold and calculating as he expected. As he wanted.
“It doesn’t mean anything. So do whatever you like with Katherine. It makes no difference to me.”
Hurt flashed through his eyes, but I ignored it as I gathered up my dress and walked back to the sitting room. Lily knew right away something wasn’t right, but I steeled myself and told her it was.
I accepted another drink and gave myself props for making it through the rest of the evening like everything was just fine and dandy. I listened to the conversation flow around me, but inside I was making a plan.
The drive back to the house was slow. Jameson didn’t try to talk to me again, and I was grateful. It was going to make what I had to do so much easier. Once we were upstairs, I waited for him to perform his nightly ritual.
The moment he stepped into the bathroom and turned on the shower, I put my plan into action. I tossed everything that I’d brought with me into my suitcases haphazardly and wheeled them to the door. Then I made the bed up with the pillows beneath it so it would hopefully buy me some time.
And lastly, I scrawled out a note for him. Simple and to the point.
* * *
Jameson,
I’m sorry. But as it turns out, I’m not as business minded as you.
Please keep the rest of the money and have a great Christmas.
Harper
* * *
As I snuck down the hallways and out the front door into the cool evening air, I felt a stab of guilt for not saying goodbye to Julia and Lily. They’d been so wonderful to me, and they didn’t deserve this. But it wasn’t my place, and there was nothing I could say without giving Jameson away.
When the cab pulled up in front of the gates and I climbed inside, I finally allowed my emotions to break free. And I was officially a mess.
19
The snow was really coming down outside, and I chewed my lip nervously as the cabbie tried to make pleasant conversation. He was driving entirely too fast for how slick the roads were, but I tried to tamp down my fear and respond to his ongoing dialogue.
“So my sister’s coming from Philly, and we’re going to do up a nice Christmas dinner. The whole shebang… you know, the ham and mashed potatoes. My sister’s a damn good cook.”
“It sounds lovely,” I told him sadly. “It’s nice that you get to spend some time with your family during the holidays.”
“Yeah.” He shrugged. “So what about you? You have anything special planned?”
I squeezed the bridge of my nose to try to hold back another flood of silent tears. I would most likely be sitting in my Aunt’s apartment and enjoying it while I still could. Before I was evicted next week when Madame Jackie found out what I’d done.
“Nothing too much,” I answered vaguely.
“You know it’s kind of late,” he said. “I don’t know if the trains will still be running tonight. Are you sure that’s where you want to go?”
“Yes.” I nodded.
I had nowhere else to go, and if I had to, I’d sit in the train station until morning.
“Okay,” he agreed. “Whatever you want.”
I leaned back against the seat and rested my eyes for a few moments, hoping for some silence. To my appreciation, the cabbie indulged me.
I was just nodding off when I felt the tires hit a patch of ice. The cabbie started to swerve and overcorrected, sending us fishtailing out of control. My body jerked violently to the left and slammed against the door when we came to a stop with a spectacular crunch.
I clutched my chest, gasping for air as I glanced out the window and realized we were in a ditch.
“Holy shit,” the cabbie swore. “Are you alright, miss?”
I groaned in answer because I couldn’t articulate any words at the moment. My body was filled with adrenaline, and I didn’t know whether I was hurt or not. I was shaking too badly.
I heard the cabbie talking to someone on the phone, and then the crunch of the car door as he got out.
“It’s okay,” he assured me. “I’ve got an ambulance on the way.”
Three hours later, I was shaken, but officially declared okay.
I had some bumps and bruises, but nothing too serious. Nothing that hurt as badly as the ache still inside of my chest.
“Is there someone we can call for you?” the nurse asked.
I stared up at her and shook my head. I could have called Katia, but there was no way I’d make her come all the way to New Jersey just because I was an emotional train wreck. I needed to be by myself. The way I’d been since my aunt died.
“Harper?”
The nurse turned back towards the door, and I stared in disbelief when I saw Jameson standing there with a frantic expression on his face. He looked scared out of his mind as he walked towards me, and I was shocked into silence when he pulled me against his chest.
“Thank God, you’re okay.”
“How did you know I was here?” I asked.
“The cab driver called us and told us you were in an accident,” he said. “Our number was the only thing that he had on record for you.”
“Oh.”
“Are you hurt badly?” he asked, his eyes roaming over me.
The concern in those dark depths nearly undid me. I didn’t expect it, and it was only making things harder.
“I’m fine,” I answered. “You should go. Spend Christmas with your family.”
His lips flattened, and he shook his head in disbelief.
“I’m not going anywhere without you, Harper. You’re coming home with me.”
“Jameson, if it’s about the money, I’m going to fix this with the agency. I’ll explain everything. I’ll tell them it was my fault.”
He pressed his lips against mine to shut me up. It worked. He kissed me long and deep, and I was glad the nurse had disappeared so she didn’t witness me melting in his arms. I couldn’t help it.
“This has nothing to do with money.” He pulled away and threaded his hand through mine. “And everything to do with the fact that I want you with me on Christmas. And it isn’t up for debate.”
I looked up at him and chewed on my lip. I knew I should tell him I couldn’t go through with it. With the charade. For my self-preservation, I should walk out that door and never see him again. But I couldn’t. So instead, I just nodded, letting Jameson have his way.
20
When we got to the house, the entire family was waiting up for us. I felt guilty for the worry all over their faces and the genuine tears in Lily and Julia’s eyes. Even Jameson’s father showed concern as he watched them engulf me in hugs and fuss over me unnecessarily.
“I’m okay,” I assured
them. “It was just a small accident.”
“Oh God, Harper.” Julia shook her head. “I was so worried about you.”
Tears sprang to my eyes at the emotion in her voice. The motherly concern I hadn’t felt in so long. I crushed her in a hug and apologized for leaving the way I did.
“Alright mom,” Jameson spoke gruffly as he tugged me against his side. “I’m taking Harper to bed now, it’s been a very long day and I’m sure she’s exhausted.”
“Right, of course.” She wiped the mascara from beneath her eyes. “Get some sleep, sweetie. Let me know if you need anything. Anything at all.”
Lily hugged me one last time and then Jameson was helping me up the stairs, his hand around my waist as though I might tumble over at any moment. The moment we were inside the room, I opened my mouth to tell him we should talk. But he was on me before I even could.
“Christ, Harper.” He pulled me against his body and wrapped his arms around me in a protective cocoon. “You scared me. I thought that you were really…” He cleared his throat and his eyes were glassy when he continued. “Please don’t ever leave like that again.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. “We only have two more days together.”
He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head in frustration. “Is that what you want?”
I looked away. Because I didn’t want him to see the vulnerability in my eyes. The truth.
Jameson grasped my chin and brought my gaze back to his.
“It’s not what I want, Harper,” he said in a rough voice. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. I know I’ve been a dickhead, and I’ve handled everything wrong, but…”
I cut him off by wrapping my arms around his neck and crashing my lips against his. Jameson groaned against me and started to clutch at my dress frantically, searching out the zipper. I did the same to his clothes, desperately trying to free us from our fabric cages. I needed to feel his body against me. To feel him inside of me again.
“Are you sure about this?” he panted as he kicked off his jeans. “If you’re too sore, I understand.”
I glanced down at the erection straining against his briefs and grinned. There was no way in hell I was turning that down.
“I’m sure,” I said.
Jameson grunted and carried me to the bed, laying me down before him and lowering his body over mine. He tore off his briefs and didn’t even bother with a condom, stroking his cock in his hand before he positioned himself at my entrance.
“I can try to be gentle if you want,” he said in a strained voice. “But right now I just want to bury myself in you and forget…”
“That’s what I want too,” I assured him. “We have all night to be gentle.”
Jameson entered me with an agonized sound in his throat and brought his lips to mine, kissing me in a frenzy of passion and slamming his hips against me. I wrapped my legs around his waist and met him thrust for thrust, my hands digging into the flesh of his back as he fucked me hard and fast.
His palm reached down between us and toyed with my clit while he worked us both closer to the edge.
“I’m not going to last,” he grated. “Fuck, you feel too good, Harper. I need you to come with me, baby.”
“Yes!” I cried out, arching my back against his chest. “Oh God, Jameson.”
I exploded around him, and my contractions set him off in spectacular fashion. He let out an almighty roar before spilling himself inside me, collapsing against my throat and kissing me tenderly.
I glided my hands through his hair and kissed his jaw, smiling when he sought my lips out with his. He was still inside me, and he made no move to leave this time.
“Say you’ll be mine, Harper,” he whispered against me. “I want to do this for real. With you.”
“You do?” I blinked up at him.
“Yes,” he said resolutely. “I’ve been thinking about it over the last couple of days. I haven’t been in a relationship since…”
He looked uncomfortable talking about it, so I put him out of his misery. “I know. You don’t have to explain.”
“I didn’t think I’d ever want it again,” he said honestly. “But you’ve changed that, Harper. I want you in my life. I want you in my bed. And I want to share everything with you.”
“Yes,” I answered without hesitation. “I want that too.”
“I’m going to take care of you.” He nuzzled against me. “That I can promise you.”
Epilogue
“You’re being awfully secretive about your Christmas cookie this year, Harper,” Julia noted.
“I know.” I laughed, peeking under the lid of the bakery box that was hiding my special confection. “But you’ll understand when you see it.”
As if on cue, Jameson strolled right into the kitchen as though he hadn’t already been told several times over not to. Julia crossed her arms and gave him a pointed glare while I laughed.
“See?” I said. “Now you know why I have to be so secretive.”
“Can you blame me?” Jameson pulled me into his arms and cradled my belly in his hands while he kissed my neck. “I only get a Christmas cookie once a year.”
“Yes,” I admonished, “but you get pumpkin spice cookies every time you ask for them. And don’t act like you don’t.”
He flashed me a boyish grin and shrugged. “So can I see it yet?”
I looked at Julia and she nodded. Even though I didn’t need her permission, she’d embraced her role of mother in law with open arms. But I didn’t need a certificate to tell me what I knew in my heart. The King family was now my own. And I’d never been happier.
Every year for the last three years we’d come home for Christmas. On the second year, Jameson proposed, and I said yes with an elated smile on my face. He was everything I could have ever wanted and more. And now, his family were my family.
His relationship with his brother had been repaired after some long and painful talks between the two. And after Lleyton told his family the real reason Jameson had stayed away, they stopped inviting Katherine for the yearly traditions.
It didn’t bother me either way because I knew without a shadow of a doubt that Jameson only had eyes for me. But Julia insisted that Jameson was more important than an old friendship and she wanted him to be comfortable in his own home.
So every year we’d come back, and next year, we’d be bringing a new addition to the King family. Jameson was so happy to be a father I couldn’t wait to tell him my other piece of news. Which I’d carefully written on my Christmas cookie this year.
I spun in his arms and stared up into his beautiful eyes, smiling from ear to ear. He was going to go nuts.
“Okay,” I said. “You can open it now.”
He released me from his arms and opened the box with a mischievous grin. But all the humor faded when he saw the dark icing and the words on top.
* * *
Congratulations Daddy.
* * *
He spun around and clasped my face in his hands while Julia and his sisters all crowded around to see what had made him go so serious.
“We’re having a boy?”
I nodded.
He squeezed me tighter and then lifted me up in his arms and spun me around, shouting out his happiness.
“I knew it!” he said. “I knew it would be a boy.”
Julia and Lily both shoved him out of the way so they could hug me, and we all started blubbering like a bunch of babies.
But I didn’t care one bit.
This was my home. This was my family. And I’d finally gotten my happily ever after.
Afterword
Thank you so much for reading Unwrapping Mr. King. If you enjoyed it, please consider leaving an honest review on Amazon or Goodreads.
BOOKS by A. ZAVARELLI
Boston Underworld Series
CROW: Boston Underworld #1
REAPER: Boston Underworld #2
GHOST: Boston Underworld #3
SAINT
: Boston Underworld #4
THIEF: Boston Underworld #5
Bleeding Hearts Series
Echo: A Bleeding Hearts Novel Volume One
Stutter: A Bleeding Hearts Novel Volume Two
Twisted Ever After Series
BEAST: Twisted Ever After #1
Standalones
Tap Left
Falling Series
Novellas
Unwrapping Mr. King
Defying the Boss
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For a complete list of books and audios, visit http://www.azavarelli.com/books
About the Author
A. Zavarelli is a USA Today and Amazon bestselling author.
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She likes all things chocolate, books that come with warnings, and putting her characters through hell. Her tales have been known to flirt with darkness and sometimes court it unabashedly altogether. Revenge themes and tortured souls are her favorites to write and this gives her an excuse to watch bizarre and twisted documentaries in her spare time.
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She currently lives in the Northwest with her lumberjack and an entire brood of fur babies.
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