Page 72 of Broken King

Her legs kick, and I have to angle us differently, so she doesn’t manage to bring her heel up into my balls. I lower my voice next to her ear. “Careful, duchess. You may want to use parts of my body later that you’re dangerously close to damaging now.”

Scarlet relaxes once I put her down in a chair next to Rylie.

Brynlee scrambles out of the pool and comes running over.

Water drips down from her wet curls and body, but that doesn’t stop my daughter from reaching her hands out for a hug. And does my duchess even hesitate about getting wet?

Nope.

She opens her arms and lets my daughter climb up onto her lap, soaking what I’m betting is a very expensive dress.

“Hi, Scarlet. I like your dress.” She fingers the laces I’ve been fantasizing about. “Are you gonna sleep over again tonight? Daddy just bought me a new movie we could watch.”

I rub the heel of my palm over my eye and groan.

My sisters’ eyes whip to me.

But it’s Imogen who goes for the jugular. “And where exactly did Scarlet sleep for this sleepover, Brynnie?”

Hudson clears his throat and kicks Gen’s chair. “Hey, kid. What movie did your dad buy you?”

Okay, maybe I’ll lay off his running a little next week.

Brynlee looks between Hudson and Scarlet for a long moment. Then she focuses her attention on me. “Ohhh, Daddy? Can we have a giant sleepover? Can everyone spend the night?” Her big green eyes shimmer with anticipation of what would, no doubt, be the most exciting night ever in my daughter’s little life. She clasps her chubby hands together. Begging. “Please. Please. Please.”

“Not tonight, baby.” I pick her up from Scarlet’s lap. “But maybe we could do that another night, okay?” I walk over to the table with the food and thank Jax and Dave for taking the chicken, burgers, and dogs off the grill, then make Brynlee’s plate. “Food’s ready.”

The rest of the afternoon passes with a ton of laughter, accented by an uncomfortable hard-on I can’t seem to get rid of for more than a few moments at a time.

Every time Scarlet Kingston laughs or rolls those gorgeous blue eyes of hers, I’m reminded of nights in the desert spent staring into the stars, searching for that exact color. Wondering what she was doing back home. If she was happy. If she was thinking about me.

Every time she moves or looks at me from across the yard, I want to find out what her panties look like. I want to lay claim to her in front of everyone in this yard. At one point, she’s talking to Imogen about the upcoming exhibition, and Dave sits down and starts telling her what Crucible has meant to him since he came home from the navy.

She places her hand on his arm.

There’s nothing sexual about it.

I have no doubt it’s a comforting action.

And yet, I swear I’ve never wanted to rip another man to pieces over a woman before. But at that moment, I have the caveman-like urge to throw her over my shoulder and take her to my bedroom for the rest of the night.

I don’t. Mainly because she’d kill me. But also because I know this woman, and I trust her. And I have to admit I trust him too.

These people in my yard are my family.

And they’re some of the best people I’ve ever known.

Even Hudson.

By the time the party winds down that night, my daughter has absolutely exhausted herself. Any thoughts she may have had of watching a movie are forgotten as she rubs her eyes, tucked into Scarlet’s lap as they lay on one of the lounge chairs while Scarlet talks Imogen through a few marketing ideas she hadn’t thought of for the gym. Rylie, Jillian, Jaxon, and Dave are long gone. The food has been cleaned up, and Hudson and I are sitting around the fire pit, talking about strategy for his next fight while he enjoys his only beer of the day.

Everyone likes to think MMA fighters are hard-partying assholes, and we might be some of the time. But to compete at the level Hudson and I have, your body has to be your temple. And to have it running at peak efficiency, you have to watch everything you put in it. Beer included. So he’s savoring the one he’s allowing himself today.

“You love my sister, Saint?”

My brows shoot up. These Kingston men think the exact fucking same way. “You love mine, Hud?”

“I love yours the same way I love Scarlet, Lenny, and Amelia. I’d do anything for Imogen. She’s my best friend. But that’s it.” He sips his beer, his lips twitching. “I bet you can’t say the same thing.”

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