“What’s the second thing you learned?” I asked sarcastically, not wanting to like what he was saying, but doing it anyway.
His eyes grew warm. “That I can usually get you to agree to anything if my dick’s in you, so it’s fine by me if you keep arguing, because I’ll just fuck the sass right out of you.”
My mouth fell open then I shut it so quickly my teeth clicked together. Then I opened it again to say something, anything, but couldn’t think of a single retort.
King grinned down at me. “If you’re done arguing, I’ll drive you home.”
I nodded and let him guide me out of the office, ignoring his quiet chuckle as we went. The drive back to my place was silent, me staring out the window and wondering what I was doing but thinking I wanted to do it again, while King was brooding about….something. He was hard to read.
When he pulled up in front of my apartment, the awkward feelings returned full force. I had no idea what to say to him. Maybe “Thanks for the orgasms”?
“Thanks for the ride home,” I mumbled, relieved I hadn’t blurted out what was actually running through my head.
“No problem,” King said with a shrug.
“Well, um, okay. Night.”
I unbuckled my seat belt and opened my door. By the time I hopped down out of the truck, he was standing in front of me. I realized then that he intended to walk me to my door.
“I’ll be fine walking to my door alone,” I insisted.
King didn’t bother arguing with me, he just curved his arm around my waist and escorted me down the sidewalk and up the stairs that led to my apartment. Fumbling, I dug my keys out of my purse as we walked.
He took them from me and unlocked the deadbolt and knob before handing them back to me.
“Great night, darlin’,” he muttered.
While I wasn’t sure I agreed with that assessment, I wanted to be alone so I could get my head on straight. In order to do that, I needed him to leave so I nodded.
King lifted a hand, cupping my jaw. His thumb dragged across my bottom lip. “Night, Jena.”
“Good night, King,” I responded, pulling out of his embrace and walking into my apartment.
I didn’t meet his eyes as I turned and closed the door, locking both the doorknob and deadbolt. As I secured the chain, I heard him take off down the stairs.
Not for the first time that evening, I wondered what in the hell I had done.
Though my skin was still sticky from sweat, I decided not to shower. Sleep was more important at the moment.
I dropped my purse on the table by the door and staggered to my bedroom, stripping off my sweater as I went. Once I was down to my underwear, I tossed my clothes in the hamper and left my boots lying on the floor. Tugging a baggy t-shirt over my head, I forced myself to go into the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth.
It was closing in on two in the morning when I finally fell face first onto my mattress, groaning as my muscles protested the movement. King had been vigorous, and I knew I was going to feel him for the next couple of days.
I rolled over, holding my pillow to my face. I couldn’t think about this shit right now. My alarm would go off in a little over four hours and I wasn’t lying when I told King that I had a meeting this morning. I needed to be firing on all cylinders.
Making a sound of disgust in the back of my throat, I crammed the pillow behind my head and twisted around until I was lying sprawled on my belly.
Needless to say, when you added the five orgasms King gave me to the late hour, it was no surprise I was already half asleep. As I drifted off, I realized that I could still smell his scent on my skin.
Chapter Seven
‡
The night that King fucked me in his office was the beginning. What it began, I didn’t understand. All I knew was that King was waiting on the steps in front of my apartment when I came home from work the next day.
After I parked my car, I sat inside it and stared at him. His elbows were planted on his knees, palms pressed together, and I knew he was looking right back at me.
“Seriously?” I asked my windshield.
Apparently King’s eyesight was really good because he grinned at me as though he knew exactly what I said.
“Shit.” I was too tired to deal with him tonight. I hadn’t even begun to analyze my own thoughts about last night. Mostly because I didn’t know what to think.
Grabbing my laptop bag and purse, I climbed out of my car. It was hotter than hell and my car was already stifling.
Eager to be out of the heat and to get rid of King, I hurried up to my apartment, wrapping my arms around my waist.
As I approached him, I realized that King seemed oblivious to the temperatures. He wore his usual black uniform of jeans, boots, and a black t-shirt.
“King,” I murmured, nodding to him before I unlocked my front door.
The corners of his mouth twitched as he lifted his chin in a non-verbal greeting.
I wrestled the door open and King followed me inside. I completed my usual routine of dropping my purse and keys on the table, and placing my laptop bag on the floor in front of it.
I decided to be blunt. “What are you doing here?” I asked King, doing nothing to hide the irritation in my voice while keeping my back to him.
Once again his response didn’t involve words. He grabbed my arm, whirling me around, and shoved me back against the wall behind the door. I stiffened as his eyes wandered down my body, heating in a way I recognized. The same way they had last night.
When he finally spoke, he said, “Damn, darlin’. You dress like this for work everyday?”
My mouth went dry as his hand slid down my arm, his thumb brushing the side of my breast before he reached my waist and hips, squeezing gently.
I shifted against the wall as his hand slid lower until he reached the hem of my purple dress. His fingers were burning against my skin as they skimmed up the outside of my thigh, lifting the light cotton.
I gasped when his other hand did the same on the opposite side of my body, tugging up my dress until he could see the dark purple satin and lace panties I wore beneath.
“Fuck,” he muttered, his jaw clenching. “Thigh highs again.”
A cell phone rang, jerking me right out of the fog of lust. I lurched backwards, my head thumping against the wall. I realized that it wasn’t my phone when King’s hands disappeared and my dress slid back down to the tops of my thighs.
“Goddammit,” he snapped, reaching back to pull his cell out of his pocket.
Shaky and uncertain, I brushed by him and headed straight into the kitchen. I decided to brew a half pot of coffee. It was clear that I needed to get a couple of things straight with King, and with myself.
I shouldn’t have let him touch me, I realized that now. Not last night, and definitely not today. It was a maelstrom in the making. I couldn’t do anything about my behavior before, but I had to put a stop to this before it got out of hand.
I could hear the quiet murmur of King’s voice from my living room as I brewed the coffee and poured us each a cup. When I carried them out, he was ending his call and tucking his phone in his pocket.
The tightness in his jaw relaxed when I held out the mug and he took it. “Thanks, darlin’.”
I shrugged, settling on the end of my couch, my back against the corner. “I wasn’t sure how you took it, so I made it black.”
He sat down next to me, too close for my peace of mind. “That’s how I like it,” he answered before taking a sip.
I wrapped both hands around my cup and studied him in silence for a few moments. “What are you doing here, King?” My voice was soft, non-confrontational. I wanted an honest answer.
He set his coffee on the table in front of the couch and twisted toward me, his arm stretching along the back of the couch. “I told you last night that I wasn’t done with you.”