Page 248 of By His Rule

“Fucking?” he asks, coming to stand next to me.

Rubbing the back of my neck, I tip my face toward the ceiling and close my eyes, praying for strength.

“Yes. No. I don’t know.”

“Well, I’m glad you cleared that up,” King mocks.

“You’re an asshole. Do you know that?”

“That’s what big brothers are for, right?”

“I’ll ask Kieran.”

“You know you’re going to lose the best assistant you’ve ever had, don’t you?”

“Not necessarily,” I mutter.

“Bro, come on. You can’t be fucking around with your assistant and expect it to work out. You’ll be a dick to her, and she’ll get pissed and leave. Or…she’ll meet someone else and move on because you can’t offer her what she wants.”

Jealousy bubbles up inside me like a volcano about to blow at just the mention of her being with someone else.

“How do you know what she wants?” I snap, unable to keep a lid on my emotions.

“Interesting,” King muses, continuing to study me closely.

My fists curl with the need to punch that smug fucking look off his face. He always thinks he knows better. I know he’s older and has a couple more years’ worth of life experience, but that doesn’t mean he knows everything.

“I don’t want to be stereotypical here, but she’s a woman, K. She might say she’s only looking for a bit of fun, but I guarantee that she has one eye on the future.”

I think about some of the things she’s confessed to me, and my stomach knots.

He’s right, I know he is, and I fucking hate it.

“We’re just…enjoying working together,” I muse, hoping it’s enough to get him off my back. Unlikely, but it won’t stop me from trying.

Thankfully, King lets the subject drop when I switch lanes and begin talking about work while we wait for the girls to return.

I want to say I’m fully focused as he discusses the British hotel chain he’s still pining after, but honestly, I’ve got one eye on the door, waiting for Lorelei.

How the fuck can I miss her when she’s been with me almost twenty-four-seven for the past few days? It’s weird. I have never, ever craved another person’s presence like I do hers.

The second the door opens, I turn away from Kingston, confirming—if he wasn’t already aware—that I’m not listening.

“Hey,” Lorelei says the second she finds me watching her.

“Everything okay?” I ask, studying her closely.

She smiles, but it’s tight. “Of course. What have we missed?”

“Oh, nothing much,” King says, wrapping his arm around Tate the second she’s in reaching distance.

Seeing them together, getting to experience my big brother going all sappy for a woman, is pretty awesome, but this time as I watch his lips press against her temple gently, I feel different.

My chest does this weird lurch and I get the sudden urge to pull Lorelei into my arms and do exactly the same thing.

Only, I can’t.

She’s not actually mine.

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