Page 138 of Kings & Corruption

And I was liking it.

I pushed the thought away and settled into a night of TV and food, cocooned on the sofa between two gorgeous hulking guys who were more than capable of protecting me.

It was only when I looked over at Neo, watching me from the chair across the room, his eyes dark with something fierce and unnamable, that my fear returned. But this time, it wasn’t fear for my safety that was front and center, but fear of myself.

Of what I might do if I stayed in the Kings’ house much longer.

Of what I wanted.

* * *

I woke with a start as I was lifted into the air. Struggling was instinctual. “What…?!”

“Shhh… it’s me,” Oscar said, kissing the top of my head. “I’ve got you.”

I calmed down, sinking against his strong chest. “Did I fall asleep?”

He chuckled and I felt the vibration of it against my body. “About an hour ago.”

The living room was dark, and I could see Neo and Rock moving around, checking the alarm system and getting ready for bed as Oscar carried me toward the front staircase.

“I can walk,” I said.

“Why would I let you do that when I can carry you?”

I gave in with a sigh. It felt good to let go, to be taken care of.

He carried me past the Kings’ rooms to my own and lay me down on the bed, then tucked my feet into the blankets and pulled them up around my neck.

He bent to leave a lingering kiss on my lips. “Night, tiger.”

I reached for him. “Can you stay until I fall asleep?”

“I can stay as long as you want,” he said, lowering himself to the chair next to the bed.

Forever.

I closed my mouth against the word that had jumped into my mind. I was tired, that was all, and I drifted quickly into sleep.

The next time I opened my eyes, the room was dark. I lay under the warmth of my blankets and let my eyes adjust to the darkness.

At first I thought Oscar was still in the chair next to my bed, that he’d stayed long after I’d fallen asleep, but as my vision cleared, I realized it wasn’t Oscar.

It was Neo.

He was awake and looking right at me, eyes blazing, mouth turned down in an expression of anguish.

“Neo?”

He took so long to answer I thought maybe I’d imagined him sitting there, that he’d started haunting my dreams the way he haunted me when I was awake.

Then he spoke, his voice strangely tender. “Go to sleep, Jezebel.”

Chapter63

Willa

Iwatched the people milling around on the sidewalk in town as Rock pulled the Audi next to the curb, but all I saw were Neo’s glittering eyes, staring at me through the darkness in my room last night.

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