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I searched my mind, and then his face for some indication of what he was on about, before blurting out, “To what?”
He paused, a bit of a mischievous grin taking hold before he cockily responded, “Being my ol’ lady.”
My facial muscles flatlined and so did my tone, “I ain’t never been that drunk a day in my life.”
He bleated with laughter, despite being the victim of my brutal honesty.
“You’re great, you know that.”
“I’ve been told.” I sniffed, staring out at the water.
“You agreed to start over with me, to walk away from that noise and let the Saints smooth out their shit the way they always do.”
Those four words flipped and twisted in my mind, paralyzing my tongue though a question screamed in my mind, demanding vocalization.
The acid in my tone when it finally escaped me likely concealed any notion of just how nice that idea might have been if the timing were different.
“Do they always go around plotting to stab one another in the back, to wipe out their family and force them out of the club in ruin?”
He shifted off the hood but never made any effort to come near me. Instead, he took a few steps toward the bank, shoved his hands in his pockets and exhaled heavily.
“That’s the breath of a man holding too many secrets to ever live a life outside of their world.”
He turned, an odd little clip of laughter coming from him before he demanded, “Do you really think I am so enchanted by a future of shared showers and indictment seasons, that I wouldn’t burn it all to the ground for a chance with you?”
It was my turn to laugh, and I did so. Deeply.
“You Crowe fuckers are all full of shit, you really are.” I shook my head, “I didn’t fall for King’s fake charm, and I’m not here for yours, either.”
“Kiss me,” he offered, stepping into my space.
All the humor was sucked out of me at once. It was the first time in my life one of his kind had suggested such a thing and I hadn’t laughed in his face.
“Why the hell would I do that?” I asked, suddenly unable to raise my voice beyond a conspiring tone.
“You don’t know the difference between kissing someone who means it, and brushing lips with something that should have been a hard swerve? Anyone can lie to your face, but a kiss…”
I started to look away, but his finger pressed against the underside of my chin and led me back. I didn’t really believe he’d do it. I thought for sure he’d stop short, but then his lips were on mine, and I was kissing him back like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“Which one of us kisses like we could kill you in the next breath?” he whispered, and a shiver ran through me as I finally comprehended just what that encounter on the dock had been.
King was toying with me, like some predatory animal would with its prey.
Would he have really fucked me, and then…?
What?
Snuffed the life out of me?
I was speechless, but the emotional toll of his lesson must have played out on my face.
“You’re safe. You’ve always been safe with me.”
I leaned into him, for the warmth, and for relief from the sudden crippling wave of vulnerability that coursed through me. Each wave of it made me shiver harder than the last until I held onto his waist, surrendered my forehead to his chest and tried to make sense of it all.
“Because I’m a woman, or because I’m someone you love?” I asked, without lifting my head.
His hand swam up and down the length of my spine and he crushed a kiss to the top of my head that made me melt inside.
