Page 20 of Forbidden King (Magnolia Falls)

“Keep the light right there. I can see the stinger,” I said, as my fingers grazed over the little patch of dark hair leading down to his… bee sting.

He sucked in a breath as I moved closer. My heart raced, and it sure as hell wasn’t because I was worried about getting the stinger out. I placed a hand on his muscular thigh before realizing I was dangerously close to his penis, which was now straining against his swim shorts. My eyes shot up to his.

“Fuck, Saylor. I can’t help it. Just get the damn stinger out.”

I nodded as I positioned the hard plastic just above the base of the stinger. I didn’t want to drag it out because I knew he was freaking out. I pressed the credit card beneath the point of the stinger and lifted. The stinger came out on the first try. “Got it.”

“Oh my God. It’s swelling. And it fucking hurts. What if the venom goes to my dick, and I have to get it amputated?” His voice was part tease, but I heard the fear that he was trying to cover.

“I wouldn’t worry about that. It seems to be working just fine.” I glanced over at him as I dropped the stinger onto a piece of tissue. I reached for my phone and stood beside him. “Let me google it and see what we need to do.”

“How bad is it?” he asked, his head falling back and eyes squeezing shut.

“It’s definitely swelling,” I said, as I looked in the cabinets and found a washcloth and some hand soap and turned on the water. “The first most important step is removing the stinger, which we did. You were correct. The venom pumps into you until you remove the stinger. Did you know that only female bees can sting you?”

“Well, that makes sense. Typical woman. She had her eye on my dick,” he said, his voice quiet as he sat completely still, waiting for me to tell him what we should do next. “I think River keeps Benadryl here for me. Can you look in the medicine cabinet?”

I searched through the cabinet until I found the bottle of Benadryl.

“Okay, found it.” I handed him two pills and filled the little cup beside the sink with water, and he popped them into his mouth and took a sip.

“Thank you,” he said.

“I need to clean the area with some soap and water.” I grabbed a washcloth and turned on the water before moving back between his thighs. I gently dabbed at the swollen area as his head fell back, and he closed his eyes again. I blew lightly across his skin to try to soothe him, and his head shot forward, eyes open now.

“Jesus, Saylor. You can’t do that.”

“Oh.” I startled, noticing something else swelling beneath his trunks once again. My God. This thing had a mind of its own. “I’m so sorry.”

He leaned back again, staying completely still as I set the washcloth on the counter and dropped to sit on my butt. I leaned my back against the wall, putting some distance between us.

“Sorry about that,” he said with a chuckle. “He clearly likes you. Don’t tell Hayes about this because he’d probably cut it off before the doctors amputate it.”

It was my turn to laugh now as I continued reading on my phone. “That’s a little dramatic. Nothing is getting amputated. We just need to watch for a bit to see if you have any other symptoms.”

“Such as?”

“Shortness of breath is the big one. You’ve got some swelling, and I should probably go get some ice for that.”

“No. Please don’t go. And I don’t want everyone coming in here and giving me shit right now. I know I’m ridiculous about bees, but I’m not in the mood to be razzed at the moment.”

I nodded, even though he wasn’t looking at me. “How about we just sit in here for a while and wait to see if anything happens? I’ll text Ruby and ask her to bring a little bag of ice, and I’ll tell her not to let anyone come in here right now. Would that work?”

“Yeah. Thanks.” He was quiet, which worried me because Kingston was rarely quiet or at a loss for words. But his breathing was fine, and the swelling wasn’t getting any worse, so I figured that was a good sign.

I sent the text to Ruby, and she said she’d be right over.

There was a light knock on the door. I opened it, and she peeked inside. “You okay, King?”

“Yeah. I’ll be fine. Just don’t bring that dickhead brother of mine in here right now. I need a minute, okay?”

“Absolutely. Can I tell everyone that you’re okay? Cutler is pretty freaked out.”

“Yeah, tell my little dude I’m fine. I’ll be out in a little while.”

She nodded and handed me the bag of ice and she mouthed the wordsthank you.I gave her River’s credit card before she turned to leave.

She pulled the door closed, and I moved back over to kneel between his legs. I traced my fingers lightly over the skin around the raised area, wanting to soothe him any way that I could. I set the bag of ice on the swelling and continued tracing around the area with my free hand.

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