Page 48 of Tormented Kings

His face falls at my words. “Yeah,” he sighs. “Him.”

I look away, down at my hands, as I pick at the pillow I’m leaning against. “How have you been?” I ask.

“Surviving.” His tone has me looking back to him. It’s now that I see he looks a little different. He looks... tired.

“What does that mean?”

“Exactly what I said,” he mutters, leaning back in his chair. He closes his eyes, and for a moment, I think he’s fallen asleep before he speaks again. “Been staying at the club.”

“Why?”

He laughs, but there’s no humor in it. “Because I’m afraid of what I might do if I’m around my dad.” He moves his head forward to look at me. “He threatened you, Sadie. It’s not something I can just let go.”

“Why?” This time I whisper so low, I’m not sure he can hear me. My heart thunders in my chest as we share a moment.

“Despite how I treated you at the club, I don’t actually want you to be harmed, Sadie.”

The urge to say‘Could have fooled me’is on the tip of my tongue. But he’s never shown any indication he wanted bad things to happen to me. He’s said some mean things, been a giant asshole, but I never felt unsafe around him. I mean, like, truly fearful for my life.

So, I say nothing and look away, his words making me more happy than they should.

“You have nothing to worry about,” he breaks the silence again.

“Huh?” I turn back to him.

“With Gray and Dec. They won’t do anything with their clients. They like you too much for that. They’ve made it clear they only have eyes for you.” He huffs out the last part as if that bothers him. Why would it? Is he jealous of Declan? Why does part of me want that? I’m not stupid, I've seen the way they look at each other when they think no one is watching. “We’ve brought some new members in this year. Once they’re trained, the guys will be taking a step back, only doing admin stuff for the club.”

What? Is he for real? I can’t help the smile on my face as I look away. God, I really am stupid, aren't I? I had nothing to worry about.

“What about you?” I ask before I can stop myself. He cocks a brow. “How come you’re not with a client right now? Are you taking a step back?”

He’s quiet for far too long, his eyes boring into mine. I feel like I’m trapped in his web, unable to look away even though my heart is racing and my head feels dizzy.

“You could say that,” he says, breaking the spell as he looks away.

I take a breath, trying to steady my breathing.

“Why?”

He sighs. “You're full of questions today, aren't you, Kitten?” he mutters. “Ever heard that curiosity killed the cat?” he asks, dragging his gaze back to mine.

“Preston,” I whisper.

He swallows hard. “Yeah?”

“You don’t need the chapel, you know.”

I let my words hang heavily in the air. I hope he knows what I mean by them. That the chapel doesn’t have to be his only escape. I’m here no matter what.

He breaks eye contact, licking his lips as he stands. “Stay as long as you want. They will be done soon,” is all he says before he leaves me sitting there in the back corner all by myself.

I’m not crazy, am I? The Preston that was with me just now, that's the nicest he’s been since... well, ever.

Is he dying or something? Because there has to be a reason he’s being nicer than normal.

His words from the party filter back to me. He hates that he wants me. But the key part in that is he does, in fact, want me. And this little change in him, it’s something.

Will it ever become more? I don’t have high hopes at the moment, and honestly, I have other things I need to worry about. Like building a relationship with the men I have.

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