Page 92 of Forbidden King (Magnolia Falls)

“This fucking guy. How many chances does he think he should get?”

“I know. He clearly hasn’t changed. I made plans to have dinner with Mom this week, and I think he’s just mad that he isn’t invited. It’ll be fine.”

“Can you do me a favor?” Hayes asked, and the man rarely asked for anything, so it was hard to deny him when he did.

“Yes.”

“Can you sleep at King’s and stay in his guest room for the next few days? Just to be safe. Barry is a loose cannon. You mix that with booze, and who knows what that fucker will do.”

“Hayes, I’m fine. You’re the one in the middle of a gigantic forest fire. Stop worrying about me.”

“Tell me you’ll do this. Just for a couple of nights. I’ll be home soon. I just need to know you’re all right.”

I looked up to see Kingston watching me. “Yeah. I’ll do it.”

“Thank you. You can stay in his spare room. Hopefully, he can go a couple of nights without bringing anyone home. I’d hate for you to have to hear that shit.” He chuckled, and it was the first time he’d seemed relaxed since he’d called.

“I’ll ignore any noisy sex sounds coming from King’s room, okay?”

The guys all barked out a laugh, but Kingston shot them a warning look.

“All right. I’ll talk to you later. Love you, Say.”

“Love you.”

I ended the call and didn’t miss the glimmer in Kingston’s eyes.

I was going to be staying with him for the next few nights, and we didn’t even need to hide it.

twenty-four

Kingston

River

You still with us, Hayes? Haven’t gotten an update since yesterday morning. You getting that fire under control?

Hayes

Good timing. Just heading back out. We’re finally making progress. I should be home in a week or so.

Romeo

I just watched the live footage on the news, and that is one bitch of a fire.

Hayes

Tell me about it. We had a close call last night with the wind shifting. But I’m here today, so clearly, I survived.

Dude. Do not joke about death.

Hayes

Don’t be so sensitive, you dicksausage. I’m fine. How’s my sister? Has Barry stayed away?

Yeah. She’s staying here, but I barely see her because she works long hours. Barry has stayed away. He obviously knows you’ve got people keeping an eye on her.

It wasn’t a complete lie.She was working a lot. But I saw her every minute that she wasn’t working. And we most definitely hadn’t grown sick of one another the way we’d both expected we would. If anything, I couldn’t get enough.

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