Page 46 of Lost Kingdom

I turn and look down into her eyes. “You need to stop.”

“She deserves happiness! And if that happiness is with you, then I’m totally, unquestionably on board. But if you think you can beinwhen it’s fun, or when your willpower is low, butoutwhen you remember whose name you carry and life gets a little tricky, then I’ve got news for you.”

Frustrated, I lean forward and wait for Archer’s eyes. “Make her stop.”

“Can’t.” He lays his arm over the back of her chair and strokes the ball ofher shoulder with the tips of his fingers. “Aubree’s the baby sister I never had. If you’re in for good, then I’ll have your back. If you’re in only until you decide you’re out, then I’m destined to see that poor girl’s heart break. And I’d rather not.”

“Archer—”

“Tell me it’s done,” he commands. Like the flip of a switch, he turns deadly serious. “No matter what else, no matter who else, no matter if Timothy the Second rises up out of Hades and calls us all home, tell me you’re not gonna break her heart.”

“I won’t. I’ve made promises. To her. And to others.” I lower my voice and stand when the doors at the back finally open. The music changes and the wedding party slowly files in. “I’ve made arrangements,” I add quietly. “The kind that ensure her safety, no matter what the Second does.”

His eyes narrow, while everyone else’s focus is on the doors. “What kind of arrangements?” Then it hits him. Like a bolt of fucking lightning. “Cordoza?”

I swallow and watch the beautiful Emeri sisters as they enter. They’re all pretty. All elegant. They all have a certain allure that would hold any man’s attention. But none of them are Aubree, and fuck, she’s got me, heart and soul.

“Tim?”

“I said it’s been dealt with.” I smile when she steps through at the end of the line. Her eyes scouring the room and locking onto mine in a mere instant. Her face lights up, though we’ve been apart for less than five minutes. Then I wink and chuckle when a blush fills her cheeks.

Yeah. I’m stuck.

Good, bad, or otherwise, she’s my life and death now.

I may as well enjoy the ride and make her smile while we’re going.

Slow songs play from the speakers, since Eli and Curtis opted for a DJ over a live band. Couples dance in the middle of the packed room, swaying and whispering and telling their secrets like no one else is around. Love tickles the air and highlights a family whose entire existence is wrapped around that four-letter word.

And lucky me, I get to hold their crowned jewel.

“I never took you for a dancer.” Happily sighing, Aubreeplaces her cheek on my chest and simply leans while I lead us. “Figured you for more of astand in the corner and scowl at everyonetype.”

I rest my chin on top of her head and draw gentle patterns against the bare skin of her back. “I can be both, depending on the room and company. But I’m sure as shit not gonna stand in the corner of this room and force you to dance alone.”

“I wouldn’t dance alone.” She pulls back and grins. “Chester’s here, so?—”

I yank her back in and crush her close until she giggles. “Chester is safer if he stays on the other side of the room. It’s not smart for you to summon him over here, Emeri. I won’t be nice.”

“You?” she taunts. “Not nice? Well, I never.”

“Did you have a good time today?”

“Yeah.” She pulls away again, but then she wraps her arms over my shoulders and twines her fingers in the hair at the back of my neck. With just that touch alone, goosebumps sprint along my spine and down into my shoes until the unhinged hatred I feel for a man I don’t even know washes away to something softer. Kinder. “Eli and Curtis are so in love. As long as they’re happy, I’m happy.”

“And you weren’t murdered for being the prettiest in the wedding party.”

Her cheeks fill with a delicious pink that always has my cock stirring in my pants.

“You think you’re charming, Malone. What happened to the always-cranky Tim I used to have a crush on?”

“He’s still me. I’m just a better person now.” I slide my fingers around to stroke her ribs, groaning when her body trembles and her hips come closer until she’s riding my thigh. “I’m sorry about?—”

“Can we not do the sorrys right now?” She nibbles on the bottom corner of her lips and searches my eyes. “We’ve said it all already. We’ve fought, and we’ve made up. You’ve been an ass, and I’ve thrown tantrums. You’ve apologized, and I’ve glued the remote to your television.”

I choke out a soft, bouncing laugh. “Which isthemost annoying fucking thing you’ve ever done to me. The point of a remote is to be able to sit on your ass and scroll your channels. But you’ve made it so I have to drag myself up off the couch every fucking time I want to watch anything. Makes me swear your name every single time I’m trying to relax.”

“Which makes you think of me.” She purrs when I stroke her back, and shivers when I lean in and press a kiss to the side of her neck. “That move was genius. Keeps me front and center of your mind every single day, and it means you can’t bring a woman back to your apartment without hernoticing and asking. Then you’d have to explain the love of your life is an unhinged psycho who plays with scalpels for a living, at which point, the hoe would leave and you’d be lonely again.” She flashes a wicked grin. “My plan was flawless.”

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