Page 48 of Lost Kingdom

I catch Duane’s eyes and paste on a feral smile only he would understand. “You should be more careful. Stumbling at the wrong place, wrong time, could be so much worse than a grazed jaw. You have a family back home who deserve peace of mind.”

“How are things with you two, anyway?” Just like Aubree, Joanette is fucking clueless, so she pats the knot of my tie and stares up into my eyes like I hung the moon and the stars. “Having sex often is healthy. Andnothaving sex often is also okay. Communication is what matters most?—”

“Mom!” Aubree pushes her hand off my chest and replaces it with her banging forehead. I’m her brick wall and she’s ready to smash her head open. “Seriously.”

“I assure you, Mrs. Emeri, I’m all things healthy. You don’t have to worry.”

Stunned, Aubree pulls back again and glares. “How healthy, Timothy?”

“We’ll let you lovebirds dance.” Joanette turns to sashay away with Duane, having taken a nice moment and tossed it on its ass. “I’ll come find you later, sweetheart. I want to knoweverything, especially since we have another wedding to plan.”

“How healthy is your sex life, Tim?” Aubree grabs my beard and tugs me around until our eyes meet. “Because if it’s healthy, then it’s happening. And though I doubted my memory a moment ago, I assure you, I’d remember if I was involved in said healthy sex. I wasn’t.”

“There’s something wrong with you.” I drag her fingers down and twine them with mine instead. “I was giving her assurances and changing the subject. You, once again, choose to be crazy.”

“Women are not born crazy. They’re led there by men who choose half-truths and a lack of commitment. If you’d been a normal, dependable human being from the start, I’d be less inclined to cut a bitch.” Then she grins. “Or a Malone. Who are you having sex with lately?”

“No one. Jesus.” I send her spinning away when the music allows it. A moment of reprieve. A second to catch my breath before she’s back again. Then I crush her to my chest and hum when her legs saddle my thigh. “I haven’t had sex in… a really long fucking time. Because there’s this woman who owns my heart, and trying to get over her by dating someone else, evidently, doesn’t fucking work.”

“You poor, poor man. Life must be so hard having to choose between screwing every woman who bats her lashes at you, or remaining faithful to the one you love. You have my deepest sympathies.”

“You enjoy being a smartass.” I lean in and nip at her neck, if only to shut her up for a second and revel in the mix of pleasure and pain in her gasp. “Besides, now that we’re getting married, I expect I’ll eventually get my healthy sex life back.”

“Bold of you to assume.” She grins when we part, and twirls because the music grows a little faster. “Is this like thewe’ll sleep nakedthing again?”

“It’s natural.”

“Says you. What if I say no?”

“Then I’ll sleep with shorts on, and I’ll touch my cock in the shower like I already do every single fucking day.” I drop a kiss to the tip of her nose and thrill in the way she stops. Her feet. Her lips. Her heart and soul. “Everymorning, Aubree. I think of you and I make myself come. It’s been that way foryears.”

“Tim…”

“Aw. Did I embarrass you?” I drop my hand just a little lower, until the tips of my fingers brush the swell of her ass and the boney edges of her hips jut against my pelvis. “Sorry. I didn’t realize you needed softer words.”

“You’re an ass.” Then she glances to the left. “And Chester is currently all alone. I should probably go say hello.”

“No chance.” I wrap her up tight and swallow her laughter when she bursts out with the seductive sound. I slam my lips over hers, plastering our bodies so close, no one—not even Chester the fucking great—will get between us. “I said I was in.” I bite her bottom lip and drag my tongue across to soothe the ache left behind. “And that means we’re anusnow. It means loyalty and commitment and eventually, making good on those save the dates your mother is planning to send out.”

“Oh God.” She groans. But the sound is sweet, playful, as she presses her forehead to my chest again and cements what I suppose is a habit we couldn’t have known about before today. She likes to bounce her head against brick walls when she’s frustrated. “I’m still not over the fact you announced our engagement like that.”

“It’ll be true eventually.” I slide my hand along her ribs and up until my thumb rests beneath her jaw. Then I tip her head back and search her eyes. “I don’t know if you noticed, but Malones are allergic to commitment… until they’re not. Then they’re marrying up and locking things down. So…”

“So you’re presumptuous and rude, and considering we’ve only justtodayacknowledged something may happen for us, I’m still riding in thetry before you buylane, and I’m certainly not ready for marriage yet. My options must remain open, of course. But I’ll let you know how I feel in three to six business months.”

Anger pumps through my veins without my consent, like a wildfire tearing through a forest and destroying everything in its path. This is theMalonein me. The DNA passed down over generations. The ancestry I have to fight against, day after day, to ensure I don’t become the man who created me. But I pull back now and stare into her eyes. “I’m sorry. Your options?”

“Of course. Considering my age, and the rights women fought for over the last hundred years. The least one could ask for is a chance to sow her seeds and discover who, exactly, is in her field.”

“Me,” I snap out. “I’min your field. I am the fucking field. What the hell are you talking about, Emeri? Options?”

“Doesn’t feel nice, does it?” Humor sparkles in her eyes, daring me to explode. “So now I want you to think about how I didn’t maim you when you paraded that other bitch around the bar right under my nose.” She brings a hand up and pinches my lips closed before I can speak. “It was for my protection. It was to create space between us. Blah blah blah. Don’t talk. Hearing you justify her makes me want to hurt you.”

“You have anger issues.” I drag her hand away, only to bring it in again and press a kiss to her palm. “And you’re a little wild beneath the sophistication and sweet charm.” I set the pad of her pointer finger against my tongue and suckle on the end until her cheeks flame red. “Hold on to that crazy, Emeri. You’re gonna need it to survive my world. And you’ll especially need it when we meet in bed.”

“Jesus.” Her bursts explodes against my face so I see, in my mind, another chance to make her break. Another place. Another time. But we’ll be together. Always. “Tim!”

“What?” I wrap my lips around her finger, all the way to her knuckle, and nibble. “I was raised in the slums of insanity and scandal and my teacher was the fucking demon himself. If you think I won’t out-crazy you every fucking time you try, then you’re gonna learn fast.”

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