Page 72 of Forbidden King (Magnolia Falls)

eighteen

Kingston

The driveto Oak Grove Hills took a little over two hours. Saylor Woodson was my kind of road tripper. She appointed herself the DJ, and we had similar taste in music. A lot of country and a few good old-school 90s rap songs.

She was a fabulous navigator, even if she repeated everything the Google Maps woman had already said.

Her choices in snacks were pretty lame, but my stomach was gurgling from all the shit I’d eaten, so she was clearly a hell of a lot brighter than me.

We’d talked about the book signing yesterday, Romeo and Demi’s upcoming wedding, and she’d asked endless questions about the new renovation I was currently working on out at the Halseys’ ranch.

I pulled into a fancy-ass gated subdivision and got in line to check in with the guard. I leaned forward to take in the giant mansions that stood beyond the gates.

“Wow. I know you said he married a woman with money, but these are outrageous, right?”

She chewed on her thumbnail. She’d gotten quieter in the last few minutes since we’d exited the freeway. “Yeah. I’ve never been here, so I don’t know.”

I glanced over at her. “Hey, relax. You’ve got this. If it sucks, we’ll bail.”

“Okay. I like that idea.” She looked out the window when a car moved through the gates, and we pulled up closer to check in. “Maybe we should have a code word.”

“Like a safe word?” I waggled my brows, and she chuckled.

“Sure. If it’s not going well, we can say the word to let the other one know we need to leave.”

“Hmmm… what’s a good safe word? Titties? Pussy? Orgasm?” I said, and she shook her head as her cheeks flamed pink.

“It’s our turn, Casanova.” She pointed for me to move forward.

“Hello, sir. May I ask who you’re here to see today?” the guard, who was dressed in a military-looking outfit, asked.

“Yes, you may. We’re here to see the Woodsons. I’m King, and this is Saylor,” I said as he stepped back from the car and made his way toward the small guard shack. He picked up the phone and spoke to someone before returning with a card for me to put on my windshield.

“They’re expecting you,” he said, completely void of expression.

“I would hope so. They’re in for a real treat with this one.” I thrust my thumb at Saylor and winked at her. “So, what are they like? Are they any fun? Can you give us a little insight?”

“King, stop,” Saylor said over a fit of laughter as she squeezed my arm and waved at the guard.

The dude surprised me when he lifted his sunglasses and leaned down. “They are aninteresting bunch. Have a nice time.”

I saluted him as I drove through the gate and followed the GPS through the swanky-ass neighborhood. It pissed me off that their father had this kind of money, and he hadn’t stepped up when they’d been removed from their home. He hadn’t helped pay for Saylor’s college education or done anything to support Saylor or Hayes since the day he’d left, outside of paying the minimum child support. I knew she was thinking it, too. Hearing that someone had a lot of money and seeing it with your own eyes were two completely different things.

I needed to lighten the mood because I could feel the tension radiating from her hot little body. “Okay. What’s our safe word?”

“How about Beefcake? You can say it when you cough like,Beefcake,” she said over a muffled cough, which made me laugh.

“He’d be honored to be our safe word.” I turned left per the directions.

I pulled in front of the palatial palace that Donald Woodson called home. The bastard lived like a fucking king.

“Wow. This place is huge. That’s a six-car garage, and the front porch looks like something out of a gardening magazine,” she said as we both got out of the car, and I reached for her hand on instinct. I knew she was nervous, even if she wouldn’t admit it.

“I don’t know. It’s a little too neat. Too perfect. If I sayBeefcake,you need to trust me, and we both agree to get the fuck out of this place, okay?”

She chuckled again, and I loved that I always knew how to help her relax.

“Thanks for coming with me, King.” Her voice was just above a whisper. When we walked up the three brick steps leading to the grand entrance, we both turned as a cloud of smoke was coming from a few feet away, and a strong smell of marijuana wafted around us.

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