Page 14 of Kings & Corruption

I was relieved when he set down his beer and moved to unpack the groceries. “Don’t mind Neo,” he said, thankfully changing the subject.

I lifted my eyebrows. “Don’t mind that he’s an asshole?”

For a split second I wondered if I’d gone too far. Neo, Rock, and Drago had been inseparable for as long as I could remember, way back when we were all snot-nosed kids running around at various birthdays and graduations and everything else our families celebrated together.

But Rock just grinned. “Yeah, that.”

“Why shouldn’t I? Mind that he’s an asshole, I mean.” I didn’t ask for any of the shit my dad had done, and I sure as hell hadn’t asked for my sister to go missing right before I graduated high school. “Is this where you tell me he’s all bark and no bite?”

Rock shook his head. “No, Neo is definitely all bite.”

The shiver that ran up my spine wasn’t just fear. Thank god Rock was too busy unpacking groceries to see that my nipples had hardened at the wordsNeoandbitein the same sentence.

“Then I don’t see why he should get a pass for being a dick,” I said.

Finished with the first bag, Rock set it aside and removed the baguettes and celery from the other one. “Because he doesn’t mean it. Not with you.”

I doubt I did a good job hiding my surprise. “Not with me? In my experience, it’sespeciallywith me.”

“Yeah well, looks can be deceiving,” Rock said. “Trust me.”

Damn. I wanted to. He wasn’t at all what I’d expected when I’d watched him, Drago, and Neo swinging their dicks like primates at every family event.

Plus, he was beautiful, his cheekbones sharp enough to cut glass, his blue eyes the exact color of the water off the coast of Bali. His jeans were worn, hanging on his athletic muscle like he’d just stepped off the runway. He had the same tattoo as Neo on his forearm and I searched for signs of more ink under his snug white T-shirt, didn’t find any, then wondered what he looked like naked.

Fuck my mind and its stupid imagination.

“How’s grilled cheese and salad?” Rock asked, pulling me from my lustful reverie.

“Sounds great,” I said. “Can I help?”

He shook his head. “This is my domain.”

I looked around as he pulled a skillet from a deep pullout drawer next to the range. “The kitchen?”

He nodded and set the skillet on top of the stove, then grabbed a wicked-looking serrated knife from the gourmet knife block on the counter.

I was still processing that little revelation when Matt came into the room. “Grilled cheese?” he asked hopefully, eyeing the bread and three kinds of cheese sitting on the island.

“You know it,” Rock said, slicing through the baguette.

“Is this a tradition?” I asked as Matt went to the fridge.

“Rock makes the best grilled cheese in the state,” Matt said. “Mind if I have a beer?” he asked Rock.

“Help yourself and get the rest out of my car,” Rock said.

Matt grabbed a beer, opened it, and took a swig. “Be right back.”

He left through a door that I assumed led to a garage, and I watched as Rock grabbed an onion and started slicing.

“Onions?”

Rock held up his hands like he was offended. “Just… trust me on this, will you?”

I smiled. “If you say so.”

“I do.” He smirked. “And if you’re worried about bad breath, don’t. I don’t mind kissing a girl with onions on her breath after I’ve cooked her an amazing meal.”

---