Page 20 of King of Hearts

“No guys. Here’s the key code to get into the house—you don’t have to have a key with the way the lock is set up, just a code, and a thumbprint if you want to get that set up.” I tipped my cup back, keeping my eyes trained on hers. Her thin eyebrows rose, but she didn’t fight me.

“Okay, thank you.” She cradled the paper in her hand before looking up at me again. She wore a pair of jean shorts paired with a tight tank top again, showing her little baby bump.

I hated that she somehow looked even hotter with that bump. That saying about glowing wasn’t a lie…she was radiant, and all I could think about was how she had looked standing in front of me cupping herself.

“And you don’t have to worry about guys—I don’t plan on dating while I’m pregnant.”

I scoffed. “Just last night you had your fingers in your cunt, and then you offered to put them inmymouth…so forgive me if I don’t exactly believe you. Besides, what if Holden comes around and suddenly wants to play daddy?” Fuck, why did I sound so petulant?

“First of all, what happened to you being nice?” She quirked a brow, her hands going to her hips, making her look cute as fuck.

I suddenly had the urge to walk up, cup her face, and taste her lips again. I hadn’t allowed myself to really think about the kiss I had stolen from her the other day. How it felt to taste her, have her pressed against me…it was something I’d done just to shock her, piss her off, anger her, like she’d done to me. If I really wanted to be an asshole, all I had to do was tell her I was rebounding from Angela or something…but once I’d had her there, words hadn’t come, save for the warning I’d given and would keep if she kept trying to keep me out of her life.

“Fine.” I blinked, running my hand through my hair. “But I should still be allowed to be honest with you.”

“You can…and you’re right. The purpose of last night was to see how far I could push you. I didn’t expect…” She trailed off, her face and neck turning red.

“You didn’t expect what?” I moved around the kitchen so I wouldn’t think of the night before or how close we’d gotten to crossing a line. Part of me wondered if she’d only pushed me like that so she could turn around and turn me down.

“Well…uhh, this pregnancy has done some really weird things to my body. Anyway, once I started toying with you, it felt so good, and the hormones kind of kicked in then suddenly I wanted to do a lot of dirty things with you, regardless of how angry I was.” Well fuck, maybe she wouldn’t have stopped us. Maybe she would have gone all the way, or at least far enough, so I wouldn’t have had to deal with blue balls all night.

She shouldn’t have told me that. It was going to stick in my head like a guidebook on all things Taylor now. Every single thing would lead back to her being pregnant and horny and wanting dirty things done to her.

“Okay…” I tried to clear the need and lust out of my throat.

“So, no guys, and no more seeing each other naked.” She laughed, spinning on her heel.

I watched her head toward the front door, an objection on my tongue that I’d never once said we shouldn’t see each other naked…but she was right. We couldn’t and shouldn’t do anything more like that, because next time I wouldn’t be able to stop.

Taylor gave me a cute half-wave before turning, walking out the door, and starting her car. I realized she had never addressed my question regarding Holden coming around and playing daddy.

Chapter Nine

Dr. Phoss was so long-winded.How long did it take to explain the basic behaviors of humans in the first few centuries of time? I was going to pee my pants if he didn’t wrap this little discussion up soon. My legs jiggled under the desk as I watched the clock count down to two. It was my last class of the day, and I was so ready to be done. I was beyond exhausted. After my little routine the previous night, I had been so embarrassed and aroused that I didn’t end up getting to sleep until well after three in the morning. I had tried to fix the issue myself, but it was like nothing could take the edge off after seeing Juan Hernandez respond to seeing me naked and offering him a taste of myself.

God, how embarrassing. Regardless of what he’d said, there had been no hiding the bulge in his jeans, or the way his eyes turned to fire when they trailed down my body. I knew he wanted me. I could feel it, like a crackle of electricity in the air, or like the way the sky darkened before a storm.

Even still, the image of him watching me had been on replay in my head for hours, and nothing could relieve me. I had eyed the pool outside my window at least three times, curious if a lap or two would help…but I had chickened out because everything had happened so fast with moving in that I didn’t feel comfortable wandering.

It didn’t help that Juan was so insanely hot and cold with me. One second he was devouring me with his eyes, smoldering and clenching his molars to the point where that muscle in his jaw ticked, and the next he was saying such horrible things to me. I honestly had no delusions that this living situation would last long. I wasn’t kidding when I said I would rather be homeless than deal with his rude remarks.

“Okay, that’s it for today. Be sure to follow up with the notes I posted online and the assignment posted for next week.” Dr. Phoss finally ended the class, and since my books and laptop were already packed, I dashed up the steps and out the hall, heading straight for the bathroom.

“Excuse me,” I muttered, pushing past a few students. I was doing the pee-pee dance at this point, and if people didn’t move, I was going to make a scene.

“Tay…” Someone grabbed my elbow. I could see the bathroom sign; I was so close. Groaning, I turned toward the person who’d snagged me and sagged in place.

“I am literally going to pee my pants,” I practically cried, wishing I could take it back. Some things didn’t need to be said out loud.

“Sorry…” Holden let me go, wincing while he hefted his backpack higher on his shoulder. His dark hair was covered by a dark snapback, making him look broody and hot.

Looking around, I grabbed his hand and pulled him after me into the bathroom. There were a few girls milling around, but all of them exited quickly enough for us to lock the door and for me to snag an empty stall.

“What’s up, Holden?” My voice echoed, and maybe in a different life I would have cared that this was awkward, but not today.

He cleared his throat on the other side of the closed stall door. “Uh…you never called or came over yesterday.”

No, I hadn’t, and that was still on replay in my head too.

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