Page 28 of King of Hearts

“Need me to drive?”

Breathing through my nose and not in the mood to deal with him any longer, I cranked my wheel and began the drive back up to the house.

“So, you’re not going to talk to me for the rest of the night?” Juan asked as I parked and slammed the car door shut.

“Why would you want me to?” I opened the door and tried to slam it shut, but he was right on my heels.

“You don’t know anything about what I want,” he muttered, following me up the stairs.

“Well, I guess not.” I veered toward my room, and right as I was about to shut my door, he braced his hands on either side of the frame.

“I was two seconds away from fucking you today,” he said with a sharp bite.

“What?” I whirled, my hair flying like a sheet in the wind.

He stepped inside my room, forcing me to back up a step.

“The way you looked in that bathing suit…the way your tits strained against the material, the way it rode up, right here.” He carefully leaned forward until his finger traced over the outside of my mound, flaring to my hip.

I breathed through my nose at how close he’d gotten.

“That with your hair…” He tugged on a piece. “You can’t wear shit like that around me, Taylor. You might think I don’t care or I’m not attracted to you…but I promise you, it’s quite the opposite.” He watched me with those whiskey eyes. I wanted him to step closer, press his lips to mine, claim something that he already seemed to possess. “Eres peligrosa para mi corazón,” he whispered in a cadence that washed over me in a way that tugged at the strings of my heart.

I closed my eyes, committing the beautiful words to my heart, even if they meant I was a fat cow again. Something told me they were sweet words, ones he wouldn’t be ready to say in English, which only made me crave the translation.

“Get into your pajamas and then come downstairs. Let’s watch a movie.”

He turned before I could say a single word or ask him why. I did as he said, hesitating only briefly over a pair of small sleep shorts and a tank that would show off my stomach and cleavage. He’d pushed me today when I made him feel out of control. While that wasn’t my issue, I didn’t have the energy to push him any further today.

Tugging on a pair of baggy sweats and an oversized shirt, I left my phone behind as I headed downstairs.

Chapter Twelve

“Where have you been?”yelled my best friend Mallory as she lifted two iced coffees into the air. Her bright smile widened, and I knew her green eyes were animated as she looked over the house at my back.

“Me? I’m not the one who moved to New York, got married, and took over a company all within the last six months,” I joked, pulling her into a hug as she made her way up the last few steps.

“I have called, texted, and even tried to FaceTime you the last time I was in Rake Forge. I come pretty often, actually,” she argued, following me into the house.

I laughed, feeling my chest loosen at being in her presence again. Mallory Shaw and I met our sophomore year of college in a class neither of us took seriously or wanted to be in. We ended up playing tic-tac-toe, table football, and even hangman during each class, until I convinced her to let me have coffee with her every Saturday. It wasn’t that she wasn’t stunning, because she was. She was in a league of her own with her snarky comebacks, russet curls, and those curves that should have driven me crazy, along with every other guy, but it was never anything but platonic between us. She felt like a sister to me, a long-lost, adopted sister who was always meant to be in my life.

“How’s Decker?” I asked, opening the patio doors and smiling at her gaping mouth. I’d missed her reaction to the house because I was in front of her, but seeing her freak out over this place was as fun as seeing our friend Hillary freak out over it. Our trio was split up for now, but I had high hopes of getting our little band back together.

“He’s good. He’s actually spending time with my dad today…fixing cars or something like that.” She set the coffees down and settled her hands on her hips as she glanced across the kidney-shaped pool. Green grass stretched past the moon white patio until it dipped down a large hill where an orchard of citrus trees swallowed it.

“Juan, explain this to me…” She jutted her hands out.

I shrugged, chafing at the fact that I hadn’t ever shared this part of my past with her.

“Signing bonus from the Hornets.”

“Taylor said you weren’t on the team anymore.” She flicked her dark shades up until they rested on her head.

I shrugged again, grabbing for the coffee she’d brought for me. I pushed down the urge to reflect on the fact that Taylor had talked about me. I knew she would since she lived here, but I wanted to know what she’d said. Was there anything else she’d asked? How frequently did she bring me up?

“What happened?”

“Just a misunderstanding. Nothing I can’t fix. I got to keep the bonus though…” This was true, but it wasn’t nearly as big as I was making it sound—not big enough to secure or keep a place like this.

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