Page 82 of The Heir

At his tone I snap my head over to look at him, and see his face is a bit drawn and tight, like maybe he didn't get any rest. "What's going on with you? Up all night tossing and turning because you feel guilty perhaps?" I arch an eyebrow and bite my lip, holding back a teasing smile. "Serves you right."

"If you must know, I went to bed with a very painful erection. If I hadn't fucked you 'till you safe worded, I would have had you on your back every night as punishment for that curtsy you treated me to two weeks ago."

My eyes widen and flick between the back of Dennis' head and back to King's eyes. I don't know if I could ever get used to staff having a front row seat to such intimate discussions between King and I. It's quite embarrassing, and a lot to get used to. There's no etiquette class that teaches you how to go from having no money to suddenly being rich. At least, not oneI'maware of anyways.

I keep my voice low. "That's why you haven't come to my bed? Because you feel bad because I safe worded?"

"Not just safe worded," King leans in and lowers his voice even more. "You screamed that shit out like I was killing you after I spanked you too hard. I needed time to get a grip over myself. I don't want to hurt you on purpose, and if I do, I'll tell you beforehand. I'm not proud of the way I handled you that day. I didn't give you my best self, and I'm sorry."

I relent a little, turning my head to look at him. We stare at each other silently. His eyes roam my face almost greedily, taking in my lips, my hair, and my neck like he always does. But he goes quickly back to my eyes, masked by my sunglasses. Wariness reflects in his gaze, but I hold my ground refusing to be moved despite him being such a suave fucker. Saying all the right things, doing all the right things…

Well, except keeping me against my will.

Why'd he have to abduct me? I would have went out with him in a heartbeat when things ended between Christopher and I had he waited and asked me regularly.

"How long?" I ask. "How long have you known you were going to do this to me? Was I sitting across from you in your office month after month and you already knew? Or did you just decide this a month or two ago? Because I feel like an idiot."

"You're not an idiot," King retorts, snapping his eyes at me and narrowing them.

"Well, Ifeellike one," I stress, narrowing my eyes back. "So, answer the question."

King exhales a deep breath and tightens his hand on me. "I knew the moment you walked in my office and saw your eyes for the first time. The very first day I met you."

My brows raise in shock. His eyes are vulnerable as they implore me to understand. Suddenly I realize, he never looks soft like this with anyone else. The wheels in my mind turn. He's always stern with others, exceedingly polite almost to a fault. He's got a no-nonsense attitude, but I've never seen him look at anyone else quite the same way he looks at me.

"What was I wearing?" I test, just knowing he won't remember. I only remember because I was scared out of my mind to meet him for the first time.

King smiles, exhaling a slow breath. "You were wearing this beautiful white pantsuit with a silk shirt, and your cheeks were flushed from the cold, making your eyes look greener than normal. I remember you were so irritated because you slipped outside the building… and I made you a hot cocoa to try and make you feel better. You asked for marshmallows… and it wasn't until after I made it that you rejected it. Remember?" His eyes fall to my lips.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that," I say softly, feeling slightly ashamed. "I'd been shaken up that day, and I'd forgotten my rule about not accepting drinks from men." I'd felt bad about it at the time, but… I rejected it anyways. "I just desperately wanted theinfamousHendrix King to take me seriously."

"Infamous?"His smile turns almost predatorial. I pinch my lips shut, refusing to give him anything else. He keeps on though, unbothered. "You wanted to impress me with your tough work ethic? Well," he clears his throat softly. "It worked. I noticed. But you actually noticed something aboutmethat day, too. I'd been working hard on a design, and my hands were hurting because I think I'd put something like an extra ten hours of drawing in that week than what was normal for me. I guess I kept rubbing my hands, and you took out this cream. You remember that?"

I swallow hard and nod, tightening my fingers around his as we suddenly lean into a steep curve. "Yeah… your hands were a bit dry because said you'd spent the weekend scrubbing ink off your fingers. And I asked you why you didn't use a software, and you told me it was because you like to -"

"Use my hands first."His voice merges with mine as we finish the sentence together and I feel myself flush as vulnerability wraps around me even tighter, tethering me to him.

"Because you felt more intimately connected with the design," I say quietly.

"Hm-hm. And then you pulled out this cream and didn't trust me to squeeze it out the tube."

I laugh. "I mean, a little bitdoesgo a long way." I arch my eyebrow at him as he smirks at me.

"Well, sometimes one doesn'twant just a little bit."The double entendre makes me shiver, ramping up my desire for him. My fingers tremble, becoming even worse at the feeling of his thumb stroking my hand. Embarrassed, I peek over at Dennis, who seems to be studiously ignoring us while we talk. The memory of him entering me the first time makes my blood pressure sky rocket, and I struggle to breathe for a second. But he's still talking, so I look back over at him, gifting my full attention like he does me. "But you put some cream in your hand and then reached out for mine, rubbing it in. I remember feeling taken aback because there wasn't anything remotely sexual in your touch, but… it stuck with me. The way your fingers caressed mine, squeezing a little like your were trying to soothe my aching muscles. As if youcared.I haven't had anyone care about me in so long…" He trails off, looking out the window with a melancholy expression.

As I study his profile, my heart softens as I realize he just shared something extremely vulnerable with me. But I quickly snap out of itand harden my stance, because at the end of the day I'm being held against my will. I snatch my hand away at the thought.

"Well,"I scoff. "Remind me to not go around rubbing lotion onannnyyyyone else.Who would have known that would sentence me to being abducted," I grumble, my sour mood back.

"You better not be rubbing anything on anyone other than me," he says in a warning tone under his breath.

I reach for my purse and rummage around in it, looking for my cell by habit. Then I sit back with a frustrated sound, realizing I'm pissed because he won't let me have my phone and I'm going through tech withdrawals.

"Can I at least have my phone?" I snap, seeing him place an elbow against the door and rub his lips thoughtfully.

"No," he replies. I throw my purse down to the floor between us and tuck my elbows in, not even bothering to fight about it. "Please be on your best behavior.Please,"he implores. "Teresa is pregnant and we don't want to stress her out. Mason is enough of an ass as it is and…well…brunch has been teeming with tension because of it. So let's not add to it. Mother's been upset lately, and she actually perked up at the thought of meeting her new daughter-in-law."

Annoyed, I face him and roll my eyes."SureHendrix. I promise I'll do my very best," I say sweetly.

---