Page 82 of A Kingpin's Weakness
“That’s how you show love?” I smirked.
“You know that was an accident.”
“Sure,” I teased. “Did you miss me enough to admit it?”
“I did,” she said, that vulnerability slipping into her voice.
I let my hands rest on her hips under the water. “I missed you too. I kept your juices on my face so I could smell you every day.”
“Seth!” she gasped, slapping my arm.
“What? I’m just being honest.”
She rolled her eyes, wrapping her legs around my waist, hands resting on the back of my neck.
“What if I want you to do more than taste me?” she asked, staring into my eyes like she was giving me permission to cross the line we’d been dancing.
I didn’t flinch. “Then tell me what you want, Stormi.” My voice dropped to that place between hunger and reverence.
“Tell me,” I said again, holding her just tight enough to let her know I wasn’t going anywhere, but soft enough to let her choose.
And I meant it. Whatever happened next, it would be on her time, her terms. But the way she was looking at me, I already knew the answer.
CHAPTER 18
Stormi
Greece was breathtaking.No, Greece was a whole damn dream. One of those places you pin on your vision board and never really expect to see in real life. Well, not until you're fifty, divorced, and trying to "find yourself." But here I was, wrapped in sunlight and ocean breeze, walking side by side with a man who had the kind of energy that pulled you in without permission.
When Seth first offered the trip, I tried to play it cool. Tried to say I needed to “get back to work,” like I had a stack of meetings or something to do. But truth be told, the second he saidGreece, I was already mentally packing my bonnet, bathing suits, and a toothbrush. I didn’t ask what to pack. I didn’t ask what part. I didn’t even ask why, When Seth said, “Come with me,” I didn’t hesitate my whole body knew I was already gone.
My soul already had its passport stamped. Seth had this aura about him powerful, unbothered, and dangerous. Not dangerous in the run-for-your-life way dangerous. But in the “I’ll say some dumb shit like I love you after a good dick session” type of way. And I wasn’t there yet, but damn it. I couldseeit. I could feel it sneaking up on me like a thief in the night.
And what messed me up the most? Those three days he went silent, I missed him. Like, stomach knots missed him. Like refreshing my phone while talking myself out of texting him missed him. I hated it. Hated the way he invaded my thoughts without permission. Hated the way my body remembered the feel of his tongue before my brain could catch up. I hated all of it but not enough to run. Instead of running from him, I rantoanother damn continent with him. Make that make sense.
The resort was something out of a fairytale. The suite had a wraparound infinity pool, a view that looked like God handpicked it, and every single detail screamed luxury. The windows were wide open, the curtains dancing with the wind, and it felt like the whole world had slowed down just for us.
Seth didn’t just do vacation, he did experience. He spoiled me like he was trying to prove a point to the version of myself that settled for less in the past.
He made it easy to imagine staying. Easy to forget everything I said I wouldn’t tolerate. Easy to picture a life that might break me but at least it would be passionate.
I stood in the pool, my body rested on him, sipping chilled wine and staring at the Aegean Sea like it could give me answers.
He hadn’t touched me again since that first night. Not like that, but every kiss, every graze of his fingertips, every look he gave me… It built up. It pressed against my walls emotionally and physically and begged to be let in.
I knew what I wanted. I wanted him. Not just the protector. Not just the provider. Not just the sex. I wanted the man behind the grief. The man who held his son like he was his whole world. The man who fought for me before I even knew I needed fighting for.
The words slipped out like a confession: raw, reckless, and unfiltered. I didn’t plan to say it. Hell, I didn’t even know I had the courage to say it. Butit camefrom somewhere deep, from aplace that had been aching for him long before he touched me. A place that wasn’t just about sex. It was about wanting to feel something real. Something only he could give me.
Seth's eyes narrowed, not with anger, but intensity. He moved in closer, his voice low, rough, like gravel soaked in honey.
“Tell me what you want, Stormi.”
He wasn’t playing games. He needed to hear it. For me to name it. Own it. And I wanted him to. I wanted him to see through the layers I used to protect myself.
“You. I want you.”
His expression didn’t change but his eyes they burned. My chest tightened.
