Page 11 of Tantalizing Kings

Holy shit, this man is intense in a surprisingly arousing way.

“Now, let me ask again. Can I help you?”

Swallowing thickly, I try to form words. “I-I ahh... Never mind,” I mumble, spinning around to leave, but as I turn, Grayson darts around me, blocking my path.

“Not so fast, Pretty Girl. You came here for a reason, and I’d like to know why.” He leans forward, his lips brushing against my ear, and I shiver, holding in a whimper. “Stay and play for a while. I’ve missed you.”

He steps back, a smirk curling his lips, which tells me he knows exactly what he’s doing to my body as he extends an arm in the direction behind me. “This way.”

Grayson, Preston, and Declan, as far as I knew, were not friends growing up. If I remember correctly, they actually hated each other. Well, at least Grayson and Preston did. They always got in trouble because Grayson loved to get Preston all riled up. While Grayson was the class clown and the school flirt, Preston was the broody asshole who most people feared to piss off. He never used his fists, but I’ve heard that him using his words as a weapon was just as bad.

My past with Grayson is different from the others. While we’ve never talked much, it seemed to be Grayson’s goal, for as long as I could remember, to make me blush. He would give me flirty compliments, call me pretty girl, and tell me how good looking I was as we passed one another in the hall.

We were in different grades, so I never had any classes with him, but he always found a way to compliment me every day. I never realized how much I missed it until right now.

“I always did love it when you wore your hair down,” Grayson’s voice is low and husky in my ear as he steps around me to lead the way.

My cheeks heat, as does my belly. This man. My my, how he has grown. It doesn’t surprise me he would be a part of the Kingston Academy Host Club.

Taking deep breaths to try to calm my racing nerves, I follow Grayson.

“Boys, we have a guest,” Grayson announces as we step into a little sitting room toward the back.

Everyone stops what they’re doing and looks over at me. I fidget with the hem of my sleeve, hating all the attention on me.

Looking around, I see a few guys and girls I don’t know. They look at Grayson, and there must be a look on his face, which I can’t see, that makes them nod their heads and leave, taking their clients with them.

My eyes find Declan, and I can’t help but smile a little as a giddy feeling fills my chest at remembering the piece of cake he left me. But it falls fast when I see the conflicting emotions on his face as he leans in to whisper something to the girl he’s talking to. She looks over at me, shooting me a glare before huffing and walking past me. I have to step to the side to avoid her walking directly into me, then quickly jump back to avoid the girl who was talking to Preston.

I’m quickly reminded of how much I don’t belong here. “You know what? I’m going to leave. I’m sorry to bother you.” I turn to run, but Preston’s one worded demand has me stopping.

“Stay,” he commands, his voice hard and filled with authority. Slowly, I turn around to find him standing in the corner, leaning against the fireplace. His blazer is off, revealing his pristine white dress shirt. The first few buttons are undone, and I’m surprised to see a bit of ink poking out. Not many people in Kingston Academy have tattoos. It’s pretty frowned upon in their society.

“Sit,” he commands again, nodding his head to the couch.

That pisses me off.“I’m not a dog, you know. You can’t just give me one word commands, expecting me to listen,” I argue, lifting my chin with a raised brow as I cross my arms.

“Oh, ho, ho.” Grayson chuckles. “Sassy, I like it.”

I want to shoot him a glare, but I’m caught in a standoff with Preston. His jaw ticks, nostrils flaring. He didn’t like my little outburst, and I’m regretting it because I came here to ask them for help with something. This isn’t how I should be going about the situation.

He’s still the same man with a dark cloud over his head. The man I used to spend time with almost every day.

There's a little church on the school’s property that holds sentimental value to me. When I’m feeling sad, or just wanting some time alone, I’d go there, climb to the top of the tower and sit, looking out the window, looking over the property as far as I could see.

The church is old and run down—I didn’t expect to find anyone there. Until one day I did. Preston was sitting in my spot at the top of the tower. He looked up at me and I could tell he wasn’t in a good place. I kept my mouth shut, just taking a seat on the other side of the window. We sat there in silence for hours until he had to get up and leave. He never said a word to me.

That became a regular thing until he started University. He stopped showing up, and it was just me, alone once again.

Knowing this isn’t going to get me anywhere, I let out a little sigh and take a seat on the couch.

“Good girl,” he praises, and fuck, I want to melt into a puddle at his feet. But at the same time, I want to tell him to get fucked.What is wrong with me?Never have those two words affected me so much.

“Now, wanna tell us why you're here?” Grayson asks as Preston and Declan join him, standing at his sides.

“Ah...” Awesome time for my mind to go blank. “I heard you sleep with girls for money.”

Grayson lets out a sharp laugh as I close my eyes, groaning as I die of embarrassment.

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