Page 7 of Broken King

As a teen, I just knew it smelled like Scarlet.

As an adult, it’s haunted me every time I’ve sipped a glass of my favorite whiskey.

Scarlet leans next to me against the wall, looking over my shoulder. A gorgeous sparkle in her dark-blue eyes. “How old is she now, Saint?”

A man could get lost in those eyes.

I should know.

I spent enough time doing it.

“She’s three going on thirteen.” I offer her a closer look at my phone. Our fingers brush, and a frisson of electricity shoots through them when she takes the phone from my hand and holds it closer to her face.

“She’s adorable, Cade.” A guarded smile pulls at her perfectly painted red lips. “She looks just like you.” Scarlet hands me back my phone, the connection of her hand lingering on mine. “I guess it’s hard to be so far away from her.”

“This is the first time I’ve gone further than a car ride away since Brynlee came to live with me,” I admit and lean my head back against the wall.

Scarlet closes the small distance between us, her arm resting against mine. Even in those fuck-me, red-soled shoes, she only comes up to my shoulder, where her beautiful head leans momentarily. It’s the first time we’ve touched in thirteen years, and my cock jumps to attention, wanting more. “What are you doing here, duchess? Shouldn’t you be in the other room celebrating with your family?”

The nickname falls from my lips before I think better of it.

I made the mistake of calling Scarlet “princess” once.

She was furious with me. Asked me if she looked like a helpless princess.

She didn’t.

Even back then, she seemed older and more serious than the other girls in school.

She steps back, turning herself to face me. Her delicate hands straighten my black shirt, scorching my skin as she plays with my top two buttons.

Muscle memory kicks in, and I rest my hands on her hips, wishing there wasn’t a layer of silky fabric separating us.

“What if I told you I didn’t want to go back into that club with everyone?” She steps into my chest and raises up on her toes. “What if I told you that for one night...” Those midnight-blue eyes study my face, begging me for something I don’t know if I can give. “Just one night, Cade. I want to be upstairs. I want to be celebrating with you. Let’s wind back the clock for one night. Tomorrow, we can turn back into strangers.”

“Are you drunk, Scarlet?” I need to know the answer before I say anything else. For my sake and hers. If this wasn’t her... If it wasn’t Scarlet Kingston standing in front of me, I’d turn her down. I don’t do one-night stands.

But it is her.

The one that got away.

The one I still think about when I jack myself off in the shower.

“No, Cade. I don’t get drunk.” Her chin lifts just a bit higher, and I get a brief glimpse into why she’s called the “ice queen” now.

This woman can put on as cold of an exterior as she wants, but I’ve felt her on the inside. She’s no ice queen.

“We don’t have to turn back into strangers tomorrow, Scarlet.” I pull her against me and run my nose up the side of her neck before she takes a small step back.

“Strangers tomorrow is all I’m offering.” She turns from me and takes a few steps away. “Take it or leave it, Saint.” Scarlet reaches inside her sparkly silver purse and pulls out a hotel key card. Then, holding it down by her side, she slowly sashays away.

And like a moth to the flame, I follow.

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