Chapter 16: Chapter 15

I GLANCED in the mirror one last time and smiled. My teeth were clean. My face was washed. My cute purple stretchy headband with a bow at the top held my hair back as I applied moisturizer to my skin.

I looked down at my thin tank top and tiny shorts and shrugged. He’d seen me in a swimsuit more times than I could count. This had more coverage than that did.

I was definitely sobering up, but I still had the slightest buzz running through my body.

I pulled the door open and stopped when I found Kingston sitting on the edge of my bed, holding my favorite blanket in his hands.

Well, it was his favorite blanket first.

“You aren’t going to try to steal that back from me, are you?”

He looked up, his dark gaze locking with mine, before he raked his eyes down my body, slowly devouring every inch of me.

“No. Just surprised you still have it.”

I walked toward him, and he held up the two pain relievers, and I popped them into my mouth before taking the glass from his hand.

“Thank you. And of course, I still have it. It’s what I fall asleep with every night.”

“You still have nightmares?” His voice was low and full of emotion.

I set the glass down and dropped to sit next to him. “No. Not very often. But I tuck my hand into yours every night, just like we did all those years ago. It’s how I like to fall asleep.”

He reached for my hand and intertwined our fingers, smiling. My stomach fluttered, and I tried to act unaffected.

But his nearness overwhelmed me.

The feel of his hand wrapped around mine, the slight buzz still coursing through my veins.

The memory of how he made me cry out his name in the tub the other night.

All of it.

It was a challenge not to be affected by King.

My forbidden King.

“It always kept the nightmares away when you’d fall asleep with your hand in mine,” he said.

“It did. You scared all the bad guys away.” I chuckled, even though he wasn’t laughing.

“I remember those days like it was yesterday.”

“Me, too,” I whispered.

He shook his head and pulled his hand from mine. “All right. Let’s get you into bed, and I’ll head home.”

Once he was standing, I crawled up toward the headboard and slipped beneath the covers. “How about you lie here with me for old time’s sake?”

“I can do that,” he said, kicking off his shoes and flipping off the lights before he moved to the other side of the bed. The mattress dipped low when he stretched out, staying above the covers while I was beneath them. We both rolled onto our sides so we were facing one another. I reached for his hand, just like I used to do every night all those years ago.

Kingston Pierce had always been my serenity.

My safe place.

And now he was all grown up, and he still felt like my safe place.

“Your hands are still just as small as they always were,” he said, his voice deep and gruff.

“Or you just have really giant hands.” I chuckled. I loved his hands. They were strong, and it was obvious he worked hard by the callouses on his palms.

“Did you have fun tonight?” he asked.

“I did. I probably drank a little too much,” I admitted. “My dad called on my way out to Whiskey Falls. He wants me to come out and see him and Constance and the kids on Sunday.”

“Really? I didn’t know you still talked to him.” His voice was quiet, void of emotion. He knew my brother despised my father, and rightfully so.

“Not very often. He reached out after I graduated from college, and then again after I completed my MBA.”

“I didn’t see him there either time,” Kingston said, not hiding his irritation. Hayes and all the guys had come to my graduation for both undergrad and grad school.

My mother hadn’t been there because Barry had fallen off a ladder at the house the first time around. And then when I’d walked at the commencement for my MBA, my mother had not been able to take the time off work.

None of that mattered to me.

Hayes had always been there.

Kingston had always been there.

They’d all always been there.

“You’re correct. But I don’t think he particularly felt welcome knowing how much his son despises him.” I closed my eyes at the feel of his thumb stroking my wrist. “But Hayes and I don’t have to feel the same way about him. I’m not saying I forgive him for leaving us, but I still want to know him.”

“You’re so fucking good to your core, Dandelion.” Kingston leaned forward and kissed my forehead. “So, are you going to go?”

I hesitated and let out a long sigh. “I want to. I really want to. And with Hayes being gone, I wouldn’t have to even mention it and get him all pissed off. I could tell him after, and if it goes well, maybe I could convince him to come with me the next time.”

“Why do I feel like there’s a but in there?”

How did he know me so well?

“I’m just nervous about going by myself, you know? I feel like he and Constance and the kids have each other. And I’m the one walking into their world, and that makes me hesitant.”

He was quiet for a long minute. “Why don’t I come with you? Hayes wouldn’t want you going alone, and you wouldn’t feel like it was you against them if I were there. I’ll just be there for support.”

“You would do that?”

“I don’t think you have a fucking clue just how much I’d do for you,” he whispered, his hand still wrapped around mine. “But there is one stipulation.”

“What is it?”

“You tell Hayes you’re going, or I will.”

I groaned. “This loyalty thing is out of control.”

“That’s the deal, Dandelion.”

“Fine. I’ll tell him. We can go on Sunday if that works for you.”

“You got it. It’ll be a little road trip. I’m assuming he still lives in Clarita Hills?”

“Yep. Thanks, King.” I raised our joined hands and kissed the back of his.

He mimicked me and pulled our hands to his mouth and did the same. His warm lips set my body ablaze. I tipped my head back and kissed his jaw. “That means a lot.”

He leaned down and kissed the tip of my nose. And then my cheek. His lips moved down my neck. Our joined hands broke free, and suddenly, his hands were on my hips, and he was tugging me forward. My fingers tangled in his hair, as his mouth found mine.

The room was dark, only the light from the moon aglow as we lay with my comforter between us, and I urged my body closer to his. His tongue slipped inside, and our breaths strained as he tugged on the knot at the nape of my neck, tilting my head back so he could take the kiss further.

Deeper.

Needier.

Hungrier.

My legs were frantically trying to kick away the fabric from the bedding that remained between us. In one swift move, Kingston lifted me over the comforter, bringing our hips together so I could rock against him. He rolled onto his back, and my legs settled on each side as I straddled him. His hands moved along my inner thighs, his thumbs finding the edge of my pajama shorts. He slipped his fingers beneath, dipping into my heat.

“So fucking wet, Saylor.” A gruff whisper left his mouth as I bucked against his swollen erection between my legs. I rocked up and down shamelessly, desperate for release, as we kissed for what felt like hours. I was so worked up, and an overwhelming sensation took over. Kingston’s thumb continued to stroke me, and as if he knew exactly what I needed, his thumb moved to my clit. He pressed with just the right amount of pressure, forming little circles, as every inch of my body started to shake. Our breaths were the only audible sound in the room, and he groaned into my mouth… and that was all it took.

“King,” I cried out as bright lights exploded behind my eyelids.

I was dry-humping him like an animal in heat, and I didn’t even care. Nothing had ever felt this good, and we weren’t even having sex.

His hands found my hips as he guided me back and forth along his hard length.

I fell all the way forward, panting like I’d just run a race, and he just stroked the back of my neck while I continued gasping.

When my breathing quieted and my body stopped shaking against him, he nipped at the lobe of my ear. “Are you all right?”

I lifted my head, making out his dark gaze in the little bit of light coming through the window. “Never better.”

He chuckled. “That was hot.”

“My body clearly reacts to yours. I’ve never done… that. You know, while making out with a guy.”

“Can you not say the word come?” He laughed as his hands slipped beneath the waistband of my shorts and squeezed my butt. “Damn. This ass is what fantasies are made of.”

I felt his length beneath me, and I rolled off of him and went to reach for the button on his jeans. He wrapped his large hand around my wrist and stopped me.

“Nope. Tonight was about making you feel good. I’ve broken enough rules for one evening. I need to get home.” He kissed my forehead and pushed off the bed. He came around to my side and searched for the blanket before glancing down at the large handprint inside that he’d drawn all those years ago, and he laughed.

He was so tall, with broad shoulders and his hair a disheveled mess—I’d never seen anyone sexier. He tucked the blanket beneath my chin, leaned down, and kissed my forehead.

“You can’t stay?” I asked, regretting the words as they came out of my mouth. I already knew the answer.

“I’ve already crossed the line, Dandelion. I need to go while I can still look at myself in the mirror.”

I rolled my eyes and pushed forward before moving to my feet. “I’ll walk you out. You guys and your stupid pact. It’s ridiculous really.”

He wrapped his fingers around my wrist when I huffed past him. “Hey, don’t do that. You know that I lost my parents before I was old enough to remember them. So that pact, those guys, you… that’s my family. My reason for waking up every day.”

My eyes closed as guilt took over. I was being selfish. I wanted this piece of Kingston I’d probably always wanted since the first time he held my hand as I fell asleep.

I want his heart. All of it.

But it was something he couldn’t give to me.

I nodded as I turned to look at him, my teeth sinking into my bottom lip. “I’m sorry. I’m being a horny asshole, aren’t I?”

“It’s all right. Horny Saylor might be my favorite.” He tugged me closer, his hand finding my ass cheek and lifting me just enough to feel his erection. “Don’t mistake my leaving with me not wanting you. But you can’t always have what you want.”

“Did you just quote the Rolling Stones?”

“Possibly.” He gave me a chaste kiss, pulled his hand away, and made his way to the door. “I’ll stop by the bookstore tomorrow with that little library mailbox thing you asked me to build you. It just needs one more coat of paint, and it’ll be ready.”

“Thanks, King.”

He pulled the door open and turned around. This sexy grin spread across his handsome face, eyes heated as his tongue came out to wet his lips. “For what?”

I gave him a puzzled look. “The library mailbox you built for me?”

“Oh, I thought you were thanking me for letting that greedy pussy of yours rub against my dick.”

My mouth fell open. “You have a filthy mouth.”

“And you fucking love it, don’t you?”

“Please. I barely noticed,” I said over my laughter as I shook my head.

He leaned forward and kissed my cheek. “If you touch yourself thinking about me again tonight, I want you to text me and tell me.”

“Not happening. You have an awfully big ego.”

“Maybe. But it’s not nearly as big as my dick.” He winked and walked right out into the night.

I groaned and closed the door, locking it behind him before padding back down the hall.

I climbed into bed just as my phone vibrated on my nightstand. I looked down and read the text.

But as I squeezed my eyes shut, I felt his lips on mine. I felt his hands on me. I could smell his minty scent on my sheets.

My hand moved beneath the waistband of my shorts.

Damn you, Kingston Pierce.

My forbidden King.