Page 23 of Scorched King

I grabbed her arm as she whirled around to go and pulled her back. She lost her balance and stumbled, but I was there to pull her into my arms. To my amazement, she didn’t fight my hold and instead her cheek landed on my chest and my chin rested on the top of her head. We stood like that for a long time. Her shoulders shook once in a while, but she made no other noise or movements.

“I’m sorry I said that. It came out a lot harsher than it was meant.” I brushed my fingers along the ice-cold skin of her arm and pulled her in a little closer to warm her up. “I just need to help.”

“I know,” she sighed.

“How about we forget I said it. Can we do that?” She shrugged, and I decided to take that—for now. “And since you seem ice cold, but can’t use the hot tub just yet. What about the dry sauna. It’s plenty warm in there.”

She lifted her head and tilted it so she was looking up at me and I immediately wanted to get lost in the blue depths of her dark eyes. “You have one of those here too?”

“I do. The guys seem to prefer the steam room we had installed in the clubhouse gym, but I like the dry heat. It’s a nice change from our weather here. So what do you say? Want to give it a shot?”

She smiled. “I do.”

I took a deep breath and let it out nice and slow. That smile was worth all the shit in the world, and I made the decision right thenand there that I was going to do anything and everything I could to see it more often. If that meant I found her another job within the club, I’d fucking create something if I had to.

“C’mon. Let’s get you in the sauna and warm you up.” She started to turn out of my hold and I swooped down and swept her up into my arms so I could carry her.

She squealed in response. “JD. What are you doing?”

“Carrying you.” I laughed. “What’s wrong with that?”

Her smile got so wide she practically beamed and that puffed up feeling in my chest returned. She made me feel like a goddamned king with that look of almost worship on her face. It was a dangerous look, but for once I didn’t care. Her happiness was more important than my mental health.

“Nothing I guess. You just caught me by surprise.”

I shook my head, and reached out to open the sauna door. The humid heat hit us as soon as we entered as the cedar-scented air filled our lungs. I walked over to the wall where the controls were and flipped everything but the overhead lights on. I chose the soft amber glow of the low lights instead. This was my sanctuary and I wanted her to see just how relaxing it could be.

“Where would you like to sit?” I asked. “The bench? The built-in recliner?”

“Where do you usually sit?”

“Depends on my goals. Sometimes when my body is particularly sore, I just sit my ass on the floor until they get warm. Then I work through a series of stretches to make everything feel better. This old body has a lot of kinks and shit to work out.”

“Pffft.” She blew out a hard breath. “Old schmold. Old is nothing but a state of mind.”

“Okaaaay. Tell me that again when you start pushing fifty.”

“I like that you’re a lot older than most of the men around here. Maturity is not overrated.”

I nearly choked on my own laughter as I settled us together on the recliner. If I was going to hold her like this, we might as well get as comfortable as possible.

“You have a fetish for older men, Sasha?” I’d meant it as a joke, but the way her body went still and her laughter died, I guessed I’d hit the nail on the fucking head.

“You ask a lot of questions,” she observed.

“I like knowledge and the only way to have it is to ask questions. You have a problem with that, sweetheart?”

She shook her head. “Not typically. Although if you ask me something I don’t want to answer, I won’t. You should know that.”

“Everyone is like that. But it’s the questions you won’t answer that are the most telling. You should know that too. Anyone worth their salt will read between the lines and draw their own conclusions whether you like it or not.”

Her hand stirred on my chest, causing me to hold my breath. This whole thing might have been a huge mistake. But damn if she didn’t feel really good in my arms. And the way her fingers caressed the hair on my chest…

“I don’t have daddy issues if that’s what you’re thinking. I think you have to have a daddy to have issues about him.”

I winced. This was definitely not the direction or conversation I’d planned on at all. It was time to shut down this train before it got completely derailed.

“But you like older men?” I blurted out before I could stop myself, and nearly groaned. What the fuck was wrong with me?

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