Page 139 of Exposed

I push my plate away and let my forehead fall to the table with a thud. “I officially give up on my life.”

I feel King’s hand slide from my neck down my spine where it lands on my bottom. Then his lips hit my ear where he murmurs, “I can’t wait to massage your tummy.”

I swat his hand away, stand, and move to my childhood bedroom without giving him a second glance. I hear him follow. It’s not hard. He takes up more than his fair share of space in our small house.

The entire upstairs has been my space since I was a tween. Mom and I had the best time redecorating it when she gave it to me. She said I needed a bigger space to find myself as I matured.

She gave me everything growing up and what do I do in return?

Lie to her about falling in love and getting married.

King clomps up the stairs behind me as I pad silently on bare feet. He even sounds like a man in the house, and I don’t ever remember there being a man in this house. Certainly not with me and absolutely not with an invitation direct from my mother to sleep with me.

The door shuts with a soft click, but that’s it. There’s no lock. I’ve never had a need for one.

I walk far enough into the room to put space between me and the man who just won’t quit. When I turn, I find him in the middle of my small space, still painted the color of celery, which Mom said was calming all those years ago.

Celery isn’t doing its job at the moment. My heart is racing. King and I haven’t spoken alone since he left me in his house and told me to stay.

And now we’re in my childhood bedroom in Virginia.

King states the obvious, and doesn’t do it quietly. “We need to talk.”

“You think?” I hiss in a whispered tone. “The kitchen is below us and this farmhouse is over a hundred years old. The walls and floors are thin, King. Remember that when you chastise me for not obeying your order to sit and stay.”

“Whoa.” He widens his eyes and holds his hands out low, like I just threw down Trippy jokes to ridicule his mother or something. At least he has the decency to lower his voice. “Let’s get something straight. I never told you to sit. I told you to go to bed and make yourself comfortable. You act like I treated you like a dog.”

I bring my hands to my messy hair. “For the love.”

“Yeah, let’s talk about that.”

“What?” I exclaim. “The love? You want to talk about love? Are you out of your mind?”

He crosses his arms. “Calm down?—”

“Don’t tell me to calm down.” I advance and cut the space between us so I can get my point across with a whip but in a whisper. “I don’t lie to my mother—ever! You barge in here uninvited and expect me to play along at this game of yours. And for some reason, which as deeply as I dig, I cannot figure out why I did it, I played along. Dang you for catching me off guard. Did you see how happy she is? I’m going to have to ruin that by telling her it was all made up. It will break her heart, and I’ll be the one who has to do it.”

He shakes his head and drops his arms to his sides. “Baby, I followed you here because there was no way I was going to let you be on your own right now. Rand will be released tomorrow. Run away to another hemisphere, Goldie. I dare you to. See what I do. I will be on your heels faster than you can blink. Maybe I’ll even get there first, just like I did today. You’re the one who led me here. I had two choices of stories to tell your mom—the Carter Cartel or us. I feel like I was doing her a favor by telling her about us.”

I take a step back and cross my arms.

“But I damn well was not going to leave you by yourself. I protect Trippy from the truth of my job all the time. It’s for her own good. I figured you would want the same for your mother.”

He’s right. And more than anything, I hate that he’s right.

“I’m exhausted. The last two days have been too much.” I rub my temples and tell him the truth. “You exhaust me. I didn’t come here to run away from you. I came here because I need a break.”

He shakes his head and studies me. Then, slowly, like he’s afraid I’ll run away from him, he moves to me.

He wraps me in his thick, strong arms, and I don’t fight to leave them. Another reason I’m frustrated … but this time with myself. I fist his shirt that looks too good on him and melt into his chest.

King continues to wear me down when he presses his lips to the top of my head. “I’m sorry you need a break from me. That’smy fault. But baby, I’m here, and you need to get used to it. I’m not going anywhere.”

I lean farther into his chest, and he takes my weight. As much as I hate him for barging his way into my life, I can’t fight the other feelings that are overtaking my heart.

And that’s what overwhelms me the most.

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