Page 54 of King

“Actually,” Brienne drawls, “that sounds like a very worthwhile project to take on. I’ll get my people on it and we’ll come up with something.”

“Oh, Brienne,” I say with apology. “You don’t have to do that.”

“Nonsense,” she says, patting my arm. “We’re family here and if I can help out King’s girl, I’m going to do it.”

King beams proudly and I look around at the other ladies, all nodding their agreement.

Touching my hand to my heart, I say to Brienne, “Thank you so much. That’s really kind and generous. I promise anything we get will be put to such good use.”

“Of that, I have no doubt.” Brienne pushes up off the stool. “And now, I’m going to go hang out a bit with a hot goalie.” She punches King playfully in the arm. “That short-handed goal was amazing. I’m really glad we got you on this team.”

As the evening progresses, conversation isn’t focused on me and I have a wonderful time getting to know the other Titans women. We don’t all stay together, mixing about in the private area as King introduces me to more of his teammates. He steps out at one point and poses for pictures and signs jerseys and napkins and even one man’s bicep who said he was going to get the signature tattooed. Even with the women making brazen pushes for his attention, I’m really impressed by how generous King is with his time and how thoughtful he is to those fans who want to talk hockey. It’s a side of him I’m still getting used to, but I find myself falling for more and more.

And as I look around at this group of people, I realize that I’m not just dating King—I’m being welcomed into a new family of sorts. While that pressures me to face the truth that I’m not sure I can be casual with King, I can’t help but bask in its warmth. It’s a feeling I haven’t had in a long time, and I’m grateful for it.

We leave Mario’s at around one a.m., although I was more than willing to stay a bit later. King insisted we go since I have my first patient appointment at eight a.m. He has a fairly easy day, but they’ll be leaving in the early evening for a road trip to Chicago and Dallas.

And as he said as he whispered in my ear, “I need to get you home and have my way with you since I won’t see you until this weekend.”

The shivers that took my spine hostage spelled out that he’s already become master of my body and that’s fine by me. I’ve never experienced such a deep desire for a man before. It should shame me that I never even felt that for my husband, but I realize… Scott never did anything to earn that. Not even the early blush of love and excitement when we first started out had me feeling such sexual attraction to him and Scott is incredibly handsome in his own right. It goes to show you that desire, passion, lust… there’s more than just what happens on the outside that fuels it.

For me, it has everything to do with who King is on the inside. Whether it’s him gallantly offering to help coach little kids, protecting me from Scott, the pride in which he speaks about me to his friends and even squeezing Brienne for money to help my clinic, he’s proving himself to be everything that Scott—and my father—wasn’t. Hell, he’s even moderate in his drinking, stopping after two beers over the hours we were at Mario’s. When I mentioned it to him, thinking he might be holding back for my benefit and in deference to my experiences with an alcoholic father who lost his shit when he was drunk, King said, “I’ve never been much of a drinker.”

On the way to his place, he holds my hand, confidently navigating the highways and roads with his other hand on the wheel. There’s even something sexy about his ease in managinga car and showing affection to me at the same time and I find myself idly stroking the back of his hand with my thumb.

“Could you go into obstetrics if you wanted?” he asks, and it’s such an off-the-wall, out-of-the-blue question, I’m not sure I hear him right.

“Obstetrics? What do you mean?”

He glances over at me, the glow of the dashboard highlighting his near-to-perfect bone structure. Such a Greek god. “That was your dream career. You gave up your residency. I’m just curious if you’re allowed to go back and do it now.”

That gives me pause while I ponder the answer. I mean, yes… I can go back and attempt any residency for a new practice area as long as I can get accepted. It’s not an infrequent occurrence in the medical field. But it’s never once crossed my mind. “Yes, I could switch to obstetrics, if I could get into a residency program. But I’m not sure it’s right for me to do that now.”

“And why’s that?”

“Well…,” I falter, trying to prioritize all the reasons why. “I’d probably have to move to a different state as options would be limited, there would be a salary reduction and I’d be starting all over again. I’d have to leave my practice and while it’s not my passion, I do enjoy the work and my partners. And… it would be hard. I’ve been out of the learning environment for a few years now and not sure I can get back in the groove of things.”

“Those are all legit. I’m wondering if those weren’t concerns, though, would you do it?”

Wow is he making me think hard tonight. I wonder what it means that the only true hang-up I seem to have about that list is leaving Pittsburgh.

Leaving him.

“I honestly don’t know,” I reply, understanding that sounds evasive, but it’s too complex a question and would require a lot of in-depth thinking. More than anything, I’d have to analyzewhy this man has already tied me to Pittsburgh because of the way he makes me feel, and that feels an awful lot like me giving up a residency in California to stay with Scott.

“I’d hate to see you go, but I’d support it if you did. It’s not forever and we could visit each other. I know a long-distance relationship can work. Hell, I’m gone fifty percent of the season.”

“But yours failed with Emily,” I point out.

“That was on her,” he counters. “She didn’t have the strength to be alone. You don’t have that problem.”

It’s a compliment and I bask in it. It’s something I’ve worked hard on since the divorce… to be my own person and to put me first. To be okay without having a significant other to lean on.

And yet, King offering to cut me free does nothing more than make me want to stay with him.

CHAPTER 14

King

---