“It’ll never happen again. I swear it.”

  I nodded, feeling somewhat better.

  He ran his hand through my hair and wrapped a strand of my curls around one of his fingers. “Are we good?” he asked.

  I didn’t know if that was the word I would use. But there was no other option, except to just walk away. Demand to go back to Maeme’s. Shut him out.

  I wouldn’t do that though. It would be too painful. The idea of not having him at all was becoming something I couldn’t accept. Even if he was unhinged and deranged.

  “Yes,” I replied.

  He leaned down, and his mouth covered mine. One flick of his tongue against my bottom lip, and I opened for him. My body seemed to do its own thing where King was involved. Even if I wanted to put up walls and protect myself, I couldn’t. I craved him in ways that would most likely destroy me.

  The deep hum of pleasure in his chest vibrated against me. There was one thing I was sure of. King Salazar wanted me. He made that very clear. It was another hold he had on me. No one had ever made me feel this wanted, this desirable. He showed me what it was like to lose myself to pleasure. Perhaps I was going to become addicted to him. Or I already was.

  “I want you in the shower, sweets,” he said as his hands bunched up the fabric of my tank top until it was over my breasts. “Get naked.”

  I lifted my arms, and he took it the rest of the way off. Then, he went for his shirt as his eyes locked on my chest.

  “Take off the bra.”

  My hands trembled as I reached behind me to unhook it while he made quick work of his shirt and shrugged out of his jacket. When the lace cups fell free and the bra slid down my arms, he sucked in a breath as an evil smile curled his lips.

  “Fuck, I needed that view. Now, get the bottoms off for me and don’t wear them again. They’re too short.”

  I paused at the button of my shorts. “Are you serious?”

  He tossed the shirt I wanted burned to the ground. “Deadly.”

  I started to argue when he began to unfasten his pants. My stomach fluttered as his abs flexed and the V cut was fully revealed.

  “Naked—now,” he ordered, and I remembered what I was doing.

  With shaky hands, I finished with my zipper and slid the shorts down my legs, along with my panties, until I could step out of them. When I straightened back up, King’s hooded eyes were following my every move. His pants were gone, along with his boxer briefs. My gaze dropped to his rigid erection, and I sucked in a breath at the sight of it.

  “Sweets,” he said, drawing my attention back to his face, “do you trust me?”

  That was a loaded question. There were things I trusted him with, but others I didn’t. Not anymore. But we were standing in his room, naked, and I was pretty sure this question meant if I trusted him with my body. That was a yes. He had never not rocked my world sexually.

  “Yes,” I whispered.

  “Good girl.” The pleasure in his voice curled around me like a warm blanket. He held out his hand to me, and I stepped forward and placed mine in it. “Get on your knees.”

  I tensed and stared down at his erection again. I’d done this once with Hill. He’d slapped me and told me I was pathetic at it. Panic started to build in my chest. As much as I wanted to put my mouth on him, trace his V cut with my tongue, and worship every ounce of his perfect body, I didn’t want to let him down.

  He slid his knuckle under my chin and tilted my head back to look up at him. “On your knees,” he repeated huskily.

  Not wanting to disobey, I slowly eased to my knees in front of him.

  He ran his hand over my head. “Damn, that’s pretty,” he murmured.

  Nervously, I reached to wrap my fingers around it. The swollen head was almost blue, I realized. Sticking out my tongue, I ran it over the tip.

  King’s hand fisted in my hair. “Fuck,” he hissed.

  I took that as encouragement and licked each side before opening my mouth wide enough to slide it between my lips.

  “Fuuuck,” he groaned as his hand tightened its hold on my hair. “Such a hot little mouth.”

  My nipples tingled from his words, and some of my anxiety eased as I took more of him. Wanting to keep making him feel good. Knowing that I was the cause of it. When I had him as deep as I could take him, I lifted my gaze to his, and he let out a deep rumble in his chest.

  Our eyes held as I started to work my mouth over him in a steady rhythm.

  “Ah, fuck, that’s my good girl,” he said, staring down at me as if I were some powerful, magical being. I felt like it at the moment.

  His legs trembled, and it only urged me on. To take more, give more. Hear his pleasure as it grew.

  He jerked hard on my hair, pulling himself free of my mouth. “UP!” he demanded.

  I blinked, confused. I thought he’d been enjoying it. What had I done wrong?

  “Sweets, if you don’t get up and in the shower, I am going to bend you over the bed and fuck the hell out of you.”

  I wasn’t so sure I didn’t like that idea. Slowly, I stood, my legs a little wobbly. I looked back at the bed and considered bending over it.

  “Don’t. Get in the shower,” he said. “It’s one more door to close off any sounds you make. If they hear you when I’m fucking you and say one goddamn word about it, I can’t promise I won’t put a bullet in them.”

  I blinked and sucked in a breath, then decided I had better go get in the shower. I no longer doubted his threat to shoot someone. Not after tonight.

  • Thirteen •

  You’re engaged. Act like it.

  King

  The mornings were getting warmer sooner. With a cup of coffee in my hand, I watched as the trainers prepped the thoroughbreds that were leaving today for Louisville. It was a reminder that I would have to pack up and leave in three days myself. With Scotlin. Leaving Rumor here.

  I fucking hated it. And I hadn’t prepared her for it yet either. The news would cover more than just the horse races. Our engagement would be mentioned, and photos or videos would be posted of the two of us there. I needed to go talk to Maeme about keeping Rumor away from the television while I was gone.

  “You cooled down?” Storm asked.

  I didn’t turn around to look at him. “He knew better.”

  “Yeah, I know. I should have said something. I thought she’d be in bed when you got back though.”

  He came to stand beside me, and I glanced over at him to see he had a sausage biscuit in his hand. It smelled good, and I was suddenly hungry. He took a bite and nodded toward the trailers the horses were being put in for travel.

  “Sebastian is leaving with them today. That should make you feel better.”

  I wasn’t worried about Rumor wanting Sebastian. She wanted me. She’d made that very clear several times. My concern was hurting her. The hurt that she’d faced already in this life was more than any woman should endure. I didn’t want to be another person who broke her or let her down. I just couldn’t figure out a way to fix it. Be who she needed.

  A darkness settled over me as I thought about it.

  “I want the bastard who is stalking Scotlin to make his move. Weed him out and end this bullshit,” I said.

  “We’d all like that,” Storm replied.

  My phone started ringing, causing my mood to sour more. No one called me this early unless it was business. I’d left Rumor in the bed to sleep, and I intended to go back up there to her. I didn’t need someone calling me away.

  Seeing Scotlin’s name on my phone didn’t help my mood.

  “Yeah,” I said in greeting, not wanting to deal with whatever this was.

  “Good morning,” she replied cheerfully. “I need to go shopping today, and you need to go with me.”

  My grip on the phone in my hand tightened. “I don’t fucking shop. You have bodyguards for that shit.”

  “Don’t be a sourpuss this morning. It’s a beautiful spring day, and the sun is shining. And I need you because I need your opinion. You are my fiancé after all.”

  I swear to God, she was fucking mental.

  “Fake. I’m your fake fiancé.”

  She laughed as if I had told her a joke. “That is merely a technicality. We are leaving for the Derby this week. We should be seen out shopping together. I’ll be ready at eleven.”

  “No. I have things to do,” I replied sharply, then ended the call.

  “Scotlin, I take it?” Storm said.

  I nodded and took a drink of my coffee.

  “I’d offer to entertain Rumor, but after the shit you pulled last night, I’ll pass.”

  No one was entertaining Rumor but me.

  My phone rang again. I wanted to throw the damn thing against the nearest brick wall. Glancing down at it, I saw my father’s name. Fucking hell.

  “Yeah,” I said into the phone.

  “You’re going shopping.”

  My head pounded as I glared straight ahead. She’d called my father? Was she fucking serious?

  “No, I’m not.” My teeth were clenched so tightly that I could hear them grind.

  “It’s not a request. It’s an order.”

  “Whose fucking order?” I snapped.

  I was a grown man, and my father no longer held any power over me. We were equals, and he knew it. Although he often forgot.

  “Blaise said you were to be seen with her. That includes shopping. If you make this an issue because of Rumor, then he will move her to Ocala. I wouldn’t test him. You want the woman, then fine. Do what you are told. Or else he will remove her from the equation.”

  “Why? Scotlin has motherfucking bodyguards!” I ground out.

  “Because it’s what you’ve been told to do.”

  “What about the Insantos, who are after Rumor? I thought that was being handled?” I shot back at him.

  I was ready for Rumor to be free. So she could live her life. The way she should have always been able to.

  “Blaise is dealing with that. He said he would, and once we have the info we need, then we will move. Right now, however, the daughter of the future governor of Georgia is in danger, and you are the one she’s supposed to be engaged to. Worry about that.”

  I inhaled sharply, trying not to lose it. “Rumor has been locked away long enough. I want the Insantos dealt with, or I’ll do it myself.”

  A hard laugh came through the line. “Remember who you are. What we are. Rumor is under our protection because Blaise agreed to help her. We never had to save her. We never had to bring her here. It was her husband we were after. Not her. But we did. She’s safe and alive and not being tried for murder because we made sure of it. She’s not our priority. We are powerful because of our connections. Who we have in our back pocket. You know this, King. Getting Jefferson in the governor’s seat benefits the family. The family always comes first.” My father sighed. “Now, Scotlin May is our priority. You’re engaged. Act like it.”

  “Rumor is my priority,” I snarled, hating the words coming out of his mouth.

  “No. She’s not. The family’s priority is your priority. Jefferson May is a fucking Republican. When shit starts being dug up about him and the fact that his nineteen-year-old daughter had an abortion comes out, we will need the man who’d knocked her up to be by her side. Showing the voters of Georgia that you are a united front.”

  “This shit ends once Scotlin’s stalker is found. That was what I was told,” I reminded him, my chest growing tighter by the moment.

  “It ends when Blaise says it does. Not a moment before. Do your job, King.”

  He ended the call before I could respond.

  “FUCK!” I shouted, throwing my phone across the yard and slamming my coffee cup against the fence beside me, causing it to break in two.

  “Guess you’re going shopping,” Storm said beside me.

  I turned and stalked back to the stables without responding. Right now, I needed Rumor. She was the only thing that could ease the violence pumping through my veins.

  • Fourteen •

  This puts a spin on things.

  Rumor

  It was strange how the light of a new day seemed to make everything seem brighter. The darkness faded away so easily. You could accept the things you’d never imagined you would. Like the fact that the man you loved had held a gun on his friend over a hoodie.

  Standing in front of the mirror, I worked a comb through my unruly curls and looked at the woman staring back at me. She was different and not just because there was no bruise she was hiding or fear curling in her chest at what the day would bring. The woman was happy. As messed up as it all was, when I really thought about it, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

  King filled every void that had haunted me my entire life. He made me feel wanted, special, as if I belonged. I felt … needed. Cherished even. Violence had shattered me once. I’d even believed it had taken my soul. Which made the fact that the man to save me, heal me, was more violent than Hill had ever been.

  “I was hoping you’d still be in bed.”

  King’s voice startled me, and I spun around to see him leaning against the doorway of the bathroom. I wondered if the sight of him would always affect me like this. The way his smile captivated me. It took all other thoughts away and replaced them with him. He was my happy place.

  “You weren’t there,” I replied, returning his smile.

  “My mistake,” he said, shoving off from his relaxed stance and walking over to me. “I left so that you could rest. If I had stayed, I’d have woken you up with my head between your legs.” He slid a hand around my waist and pressed his palm against my back, gently nudging me closer. “I’ve had my coffee, but I was coming back for my meal.”

  A laugh fell from my lips as I tilted my head back to look up at him. “I don’t see any food.”

  He brushed the pad of his thumb over my mouth. “I’d be happy to show you where it is.”

  A sigh of pleasure escaped me, and he smirked as he continued to caress different areas. My cheekbones, jawline, the side of my neck. He seemed lost in deep thought as he silently went about touching me with reverence. I trembled slightly as I stood there, watching him.

  “Are you cold?” he asked in a low voice just above a whisper.

  I shook my head. This had absolutely nothing to do with being cold and everything to do with him.

  “You’re not scared of me, are you, sweets?”

  “No,” I whispered.

  He cupped my face as his gaze seemed to sink into me. As if he were trying to see all my thoughts. Find my darkest secrets. “Not even a little?”

  I shook my head, but remained silent.

  “I’d kill anyone who hurt you.”

  I knew this already, and as horrifying as it sounded, my body seemed to like it. A little too much.

  “Anyone who touched you,” he added.

  I considered asking for clarification on that one and decided against it. I might not want to hear the answer to it. Accepting who King was and loving him anyway was something I had already worked through. Seemed I couldn’t stop loving him. Even if he did things like pulling a gun on someone for letting me wear their hoodie.

  “I have to leave you this weekend. I don’t want to.”

  Even as he said it, I already knew where he was going. It was impossible to live here and not know that the Kentucky Derby was coming up.

  “I want you to stay with Maeme.”

  I nodded, not wanting to speak. I didn’t want him to hear the disappointment in my voice. He was going to be with Scotlin. Thinking about it and her red lipstick put a damper on the joy I’d been feeling.

  “When will you leave?” I asked.

  He looked as unhappy about it as I felt. That helped a little. He didn’t want Scotlin. I might not trust him completely because there would always be things he couldn’t tell me. But it was hard not to believe him when he said he didn’t want her. She’d hurt him in the past. That was something that would always stand between them.

  “Thursday,” he replied.

  “And you’ll be back Sunday?” I asked, needing to prepare myself for his absence.

  “Monday.”

  I hadn’t realized it would be that long. My heart sank even more. It wasn’t fair to make him feel bad about it. This was his world. His job. It wasn’t his fault that a gang was looking for me and I had to stay hidden. He hadn’t been the one to put me in danger. Hill had.

  “I’ll read a lot of books,” I told him, trying my best to smile. “I won’t even notice you’re gone.”

  A grin tugged at his lips. “Don’t go that far. I can’t shoot a library for taking my place. And if I burned it down, Maeme would never let me have her banana pudding again.”

  The laugh that came from me eased some of the ache. The corners of his eyes crinkled as his smile spread across his handsome face. The blue of his irises seemed brighter.

  “I’ll miss you, I promise,” I assured him.

  His grip on me tightened. “I wouldn’t go if I didn’t have to. They aren’t giving me a choice.”

  “I know.”

  “It’ll be over soon, I swear.”

  I nodded. I hoped so. I was ready to be rid of Scotlin May.

  King had eaten breakfast at Maeme’s with me, then left to go handle business—whatever that was today. He never shared the details, and that was part of his life I realized I had no choice but to accept. Once he was gone, I visited with Maeme for a while, then escaped to her library to find books for this weekend and get my mind off the details I didn’t know that were starting to torture me. Like where King was going to sleep. Would he be sharing a room with Scotlin? I knew he wouldn’t share a bed, but how far would he go to sell this engagement?