Page 14 of King of Wands

What the hell was happening?

He continued while I had an internal meltdown of lust and embarrassment as if none of this affected him at all. “Luis didn’t have a powerful family or a trust fund. He built his entire career. He mentored and tutored in his spare time. That goodness was always apart of him and he never ignored it, but he put his effort into his career first. Now he can put a large amount of money and power into helping others.”

King spoke of Luis with reverence. “And what does King Reynolds want to do withhislife?”

His thumb paused and I immediately missed the soothing sensation. “To keep my job. I’ll figure the rest out later.”

He sounded so...sad. “Here’s what I don’t understand. If you have Luis—one of the team owners—in your corner, why is your job in question? Why do you need my help?”

I wasn’t so naïve that I didn’t understand there were internal politics at play. Of course there were power struggles and long-term plans I knew nothing about. But seriously. With as talented as King was and it being Luis’s freaking team, he should have more job security.

“Luis is the minority owner and the Braun side of the team is completely dedicated to Yedlin. You saw how the older members of the company view a newcomer like me. They don’t want me here. Luis is the only reason I’m being given a chance. And it’s a one-shot opportunity. I either prove they can’t do this without me, or they’ll replace me with someone more to their liking. Someone with a famous last name.”

“And there’s really nothing Luis can do about it?”

He shook his head. “Other than sell his part of the team and leave? No.”

“Would he do that?” I turned, pulling his hand into my lap, not thinking about the fact I was putting this incredibly sexy man’s hand in my crotch or the fact that I was now holding his much larger hand between both of mine. It was so natural. It felt like this was exactly how we should always talk.

King blinked, stared at our hands as if the new arrangement fascinated him. “No. I don’t think so. He likes to threaten it, but I doubt he’d pull away. He’s wanted into racing for years and the team needs his capital to stay solvent. Leaving would hurt everyone.”

So King needed me. Well, he needed help fromsomeone. Did I really want to be that someone? Could I really help him secure his place on the team? This weird welling of excitement began to bubble up inside me. It was like when I played softball and we were behind. I had a bit of a competitive side when it came to sports, even if I was only mildly talented. I got off on the thrill of it though, and right now, King’s future was a lot like a sport.

I could help him.

And that was exhilarating.

I gave him a smile. “Then I guess my plan better work, huh?”

He searched my eyes. It waswhoaintense. Like having a spotlight suddenly turned on in front of an audience while naked. “Yeah, I guess so.” Then he grimaced. “I wish you weren’t so nice.”

I felt my eyebrows jump on my forehead. “You wish I weren’t nice? Why?”

He flipped his hand over and captured mine again. My heart mimicked the same flipping motion as he spoke in hushed, frustrated, reverent tones. “Because it would make it a lot easier to be near you without wanting to kiss you.”

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