Page 35 of King of Sinners

So stepping back from the door, I circle the room instead. The vanity, which usually sits empty, is now decorated with items. And I do mean decorated. The artful arrangement of the items somehow makes the place homier and more beautiful.

Kim’s picture and a few others rest on the two nightstands, and she’s added a colorful throw to the bed that she must have packed from her apartment. It’s nice…

I pass by the bed and into the closet where I can hear the shower running in the bathroom.

The clothes that I bought for her and the ones she brought are arranged in neat rows on the custom shelves, not a thing out of place.

I also happen to know she didn’t used to be this way. She’s always been neat, but she wasn’t so obsessive about the arrangement of items. But after her dad…

I’m a man who does his homework, and at some point, I managed to catch one of her former roommates in a bar. The coed was beyond chatty and within minutes I had a whole history.

Charlotte had withdrawn from all her friends, her inability to tolerate the mess of roommates drove her to live in that shitty apartment where she could be on her own. The other girls were pissed about it. She’d left them without a fourth or some shit.

I’ve seen this side of Charlotte in action. She can’t tolerate anything out of place. Not even my kitchen.

When my dad was killed by Giovani Vendetti, I retreated into my family. Their livelihood and protection became my whole existence.

That and revenge. It doesn’t even matter that Vendetti had cause, the way that man murdered my father will be avenged.

But Charlotte went a different route in her grief, she pulled away from everyone. My girl needs some love.

The implication of the word love isn’t lost on me. But I don’t mean it like I’m in love. Just that she needs someone looking out for her. Care and attention.

I hear the shower turn off and I leave the closet, and go sit on the bed. It takes her ten minutes in the bathroom and I apply myself to not fidgeting because that’s not my style.

I’m a man of patience and determination. I don’t get uppity like a fucking schoolboy. But between fighting with Leo and the tension that’s been building with Charlotte, I can barely sit still.

She comes out wrapped in a towel, starting when she sees me.

I swear the towel shows less than most of the dresses I bought her but the knowledge that with a small tug she’d be naked in front of me has my cock stiffening in my slacks.

Her hair is wet, her face free of makeup and she looks like she’s been crying. That has me standing.

“What’s wrong, baby?” The words are out of my mouth before I’ve even gathered her in my arms, but she’s stiff in my embrace.

“I should go. I shouldn’t be here.”

I stiffen, my hands tightening on her towel. I know she’s saying this because of Leo. Did she hear what he said? Is she about to bolt? That’s Charlotte’s M.O. too. Leave when things get tough. Let her try and go. She’ll find I’m a very hard man to shake.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Charlotte

Tension is rolling off Mason in waves. I feel it, his arms like iron bands about me. “Go where?”

“I don’t know,” I whisper, already knowing I’m saying ridiculous things. “I’ve been saving to leave Las Vegas once I got my degree. I could just disappear. Go back to Nebraska. Head to my aunt in Canada.”

“You’ve been planning to leave Vegas?”

I nip at my lip. “I am graduating. It’s natural to…” But my voice tapers off at the ferocity of his stare.

“What are you running from that scares you in Vegas?”

I swallow down a lump. “I thought I was best out of sight, out of mind.”

He’s got me tight against his front, and even through the towel, I can feel the hard press of his cock against my belly. “You were going to run from me.”

“You did threaten me.” My voice is small. Because after two years, it was pretty clear he wasn’t going to hurt me. But it’s just…things felt complicated here and…

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