King tore his shirt over his head then his hands went to his belt buckle.
“What in the hell do you think you’re doing?” I asked.
“I figure I’ll spank your ass so hard you can’t sit for a couple days, then I’ll fuck some sense into you,” he snarled.
The muscles of my inner thighs contracted at his threat, and not from fear. God, even while I was freaking out and angry, King could turn me on.
“I don’t think so,” I muttered, dashing toward the bedroom door.
I didn’t know why I was running, except that part of me thrilled in the chase.
As before, King caught me after a couple steps and threw me back down on the bed, this time face down. He grabbed my ankles and dragged me to the edge so that I was bent over the mattress.
I struggled but he was strong, much stronger than me. He held me down with one hand in the center of my back as his other hand hooked the waistband of my yoga pants and stripped them down my legs.
I was still wearing my baggy t-shirt, but he shoved it up to reveal my naked ass.
“King-” I said his name hesitantly. I wasn’t sure anymore if we were playing a game or not.
“Shh. It’s okay,” he murmured.
The fight went out of me then. Even though he was pissed, he wasn’t going to harm me. My instincts were right. He would never hurt me, not really.
Suddenly, his weight was off me and he flipped me over, lifting me to the middle of the bed. His expression concerned as he looked down at me. “Are you okay?” he asked.
I nodded.
“Did I scare you?”
“Maybe for a second. I wasn’t sure if…” I trailed off.
King moved forward so that he was levered over me on the mattress. “What is it gonna take for you to believe me when I tell you I will never hurt you again?”
“I believe you, King, I do. I just had a weird moment.”
His eyes took in my face and then he nodded. “Okay.”
Lifting a hand, I cupped his cheek, my thumb caressing the stubble growing there. “You’re really not a bad guy, King.”
He smirked when I said it. “I think you’re crazier than I thought if you really believe that.”
I reached down and pinched his ass lightly. “I’m not crazy,” I argued.
He grabbed my hand and pinned it above my head. “You think I’m a good guy, darlin’, so you must be crazy.”
I rolled my eyes. “Even good guys can do bad things, King. Just like bad guys can do good things. People are never one-dimensional. We carry both good and evil within us. They’re part of what makes us human.”
He stared down at me, his eyes gleaming. “Are we discussing human nature while we’re both half-naked in my bed?”
“Yeah,” I answered belligerently. “Got a problem with that?”
He grinned and shook his head. “No.”
“Then why are you complaining?”
He lowered his head and his nose rubbed against mine. “I’m not.”
The last of my resistance shattered and I fell headlong into love with King. It didn’t hurt, not even a little.
Much later, I cuddled up to King, tucking my head beneath his chin. His hand ran slowly up and down my back. The first time I met him, I never would have imagined that King liked to snuggle, but he did.
“So am I forgiven yet?” he asked sleepily.
Tension returned to my muscles and I tilted my head to look at him. “Not quite.”
He seemed unperturbed by my honest answer. In fact, King smiled. “That’s okay, darlin’. I’m gettin’ there, that’s all that matters.”
I turned my head and rested my cheek on his pectoral. “What happens if you never get there?”
His hand never paused as he caressed my back. “I told you. I’m not a quitter. I won’t give up until the job’s done.”
Despite my worries, I smiled.
* * *
The next morning, I woke up when King rolled out of bed.
Naked, he left the bedroom without a word. That’s when I heard my phone ringing in the living room. Groaning, I sat up and rubbed by eyes. I squinted at the clock on the bedside table and winced when I saw it was seven-thirty.
Jesus, who could be calling so early?
“Yeah, she’s here. Just a sec.”
King came back into the room and handed me my phone. “Some chick named Tia.”
I took the phone and cautiously put it to my ear. “Hello?”
“Damn, girl, he has a sexy voice. Is the rest of him as hot?” she asked.
I closed my eyes and shook my head. “You’re callin’ me at seven-thirty in the morning to ask me that?”
“No, I’m calling you at seven-thirty in the morning to tell you I’ve been sitting on the steps in front of your apartment for almost twenty minutes. When are you gonna be home?”
“I’m not,” I answered on a sigh.
“What?”
“There are some things I didn’t tell you.”
“Such as?”
“Such as Larry knows about what Justin and King were up to and he’s not very happy with me right now.”
“Goddammit, Jen!” she yelled.
I yanked the phone away from my ear and King promptly took it out of my hand.
“Hey, I’m sick of you alpha assholes doing that!” I snapped.
He pointed a finger at me, which enraged me even more. Considering he was standing there naked, he should be more concerned about having a pissed off woman so close to his bare man parts.
Apparently, my thoughts were clear on my face because he took two large steps back and headed toward his closet, talking as he went.
“Tia, King here. I take it you’re at Jena’s?”
I climbed out of bed and followed him into the closet in time to see him pulling clothes out of a drawer, the phone jammed between his shoulder and his ear.
“I’m sending someone to meet you. They’ll bring you here and take care of getting your car here.”
I couldn’t hear what Tia said but King chuckled. “Oh, okay, I get it. I wouldn’t let just anyone ride my bike either. Tell ya what, Jena and I will meet you at the IHOP a few blocks from her apartment. You know where it’s at?” Obviously she answered the affirmative because he continued, “We’ll be there in half an hour.”
He hung up the phone and held it out to me. “Think you can be ready to go in twenty minutes, babe?”
I stared at him, wondering if it was possible for a woman’s head to explode from fury. Since it didn’t happen immediately after that thought, I decided it wasn’t and snatched the phone away from him.
Marching past him into the bathroom, I yelled, “First of all, Alaric, don’t ever take my phone away from me like that again!” I started stripping out of my t-shirt and underwear and turned on the shower. “Secondly, ask me before you make plans on my behalf with my cousin!”
I grabbed a hair elastic off the counter and pulled my hair back in a messy knot on the top of my head. I wouldn’t have time to wash it since, according to King, I only had twenty minutes to get ready.
As I turned back toward the shower, my naked body collided with his and I felt the impact all over in a very pleasurable way. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me.
“We’ll shower together and I can wash your back, help you get ready faster.”
I shoved at his shoulders. “No way, you’ll make us late.”
“No, I won’t,” he disagreed.
“King!” I yelped as he shoved me into the shower. “Do not get my hair wet.”
He didn’t get my hair wet, but we were definitely late.
Chapter Twenty-Two
‡
As we walked toward Tia’s table at IHOP, I could tell by the knowing smile on her face that she understood exactly why King and I were almost twenty minutes late. She didn’t seem to mind.