Page 1 of Devoted Sinner

Chapter One

Tenmonths.Thatwashow long Bryson had King living under his roof. Two years. That was how long Bryson had craved him. He supposed that seemed downright pathetic. Maybe it was, but King was new territory for Bryson. As someone on the list of the richest men in the world, he was accustomed to having whatever he wanted. There was no one who didn’t have a price. If someone thought they couldn’t be bought, they simply hadn’t been handed the right amount of zeros yet. In fact, he had purchased King from his previous owner. After over a year of watching King from afar, he had bought out King’s contract and doubled his salary. Bryson truly needed the guard’s services. There was someone out there trying to kill him. But there was always someone out there ready to kill him and Bryson never really sweated that. He had wanted King under his roof where Bryson could watch him, dream, and brood.

Truth be told, while Bryson had taken part in countless sexual escapades where several people had been involved at one time—men and women—he had never been one on one with another man. There was just something about King. For the past ten months, since he had brought King to live with him, Bryson had fruitlessly hoped King would return his interest. Instead, King simply did his job. It was maddening.

Bryson stroked his bottom lip and watched King. He adored the way the man’s dark hair framed his face. Occasionally, his whiskey-colored eyes would focus on Bryson. Each and every time, even after two years of knowing him, butterflies stirred in Bryson’s stomach.

“What would you like me to do with this, boss? Should I alert the authorities?”

Bryson shook himself from his nonstop daydreaming. He forced his gaze to the note King held. It was just two words:You’re dead. “No. There’s no point. They’ll just tell me they’re looking into it and that I should hire more security. Just add it to the stack of threatening letters I’ve received in the past year. If nothing else, if this person ever shows themselves, we’ll have a case built for the useless police.”

King nodded and crossed the room to the filing cabinet. Bryson watched the sexy way King’s huge body moved. He had a light, graceful walk for such a big guy. King filed the note away with the rest.

“Would you like to go out for dinner tonight?”

King glanced his way. “As always, it’s up to you. It’s my job to follow.”

Bryson ground his back teeth. There it was, the thing that drove him insane. King never let him forget Bryson owned him. He never shared an opinion or lost his professionalism for a second. King was completely unmoved by Bryson in every way. Bryson had never had to work this hard. Sometimes, he thought—maybe—that was the appeal, but no. Bryson knew better. He was obsessed with the man.

Bryson stood. “Very well. If it’s up to me, then I think I’m in the mood to spoil someone.”

King showed no reaction. “Should I tell your son to get ready?”

A smile spread across Bryson’s lips. He enjoyed keeping King on his toes. “There’s no need. He left an hour ago to go out with friends. You know how it is. He’s young and trying to squeeze in as much time with his friends as he can before he leaves for college.”

“No. I don’t actually know how it is.”

Bryson shook his head at King’s deadpan response. “Come on. Let’s go buy things.”

King nodded and followed on Bryson’s heels to the back door. “Where would you like to go first?” King reached past Bryson and opened the door to the garage for him.

Bryson headed for his Lykan HyperSport. He knew how much King enjoyed driving it. “You choose. Get behind the wheel and take me where you like to shop.”

King opened the passenger side door for Bryson. He didn’t respond until after he was behind the wheel and the car purred to life. “I’m your employee. It’s best if you decide.”

A loud sigh escaped Bryson before he could stop it. He leaned his head back against the seat and stared at King’s profile. There had to be a way to crack King’s shell. Bryson would figure it out one day.

“I have to be honest with you. Sometimes, I get downright sick of making decisions. Can you take it this one time? You choose where we shop and where we eat. I insist.”

King’s lips parted, as if he meant to argue. Then he looked resigned and backed from the garage.

Bryson hid a smile. He didn’t look away from King. “Tell me something about yourself,” he said the moment King was on the road.

“There’s nothing to tell.”

Bryson rolled his eyes. “You’re what? Thirty-five? You’ve only been with me ten months. There’s a lot of life before that to talk about.”

King shrugged. “Not really.”

It was like pulling teeth. “Tell me about your childhood.”

King snorted. “Absolutely not.”

Okay. Partly, that was fair. Bryson knew King had been raised in an assassin program and trained to be sold to people like Bryson. But surely the man had a life before that. As far as Bryson knew, this society of assassins hadn’t taken kids from birth. He had to have been at least twelve or so before his life changed. “Who were you before the society? How old were you when you joined the program? How did you end up there?”

A slight smile touched King’s lips. Bryson’s breath caught. He really liked King. “Joined the program,” King said, repeating Bryson’s words and sounding thoughtful. “That’s a nice way of saying they bought me from an orphanage.”

“You were an orphan?” Bryson knew he sounded dumb, but he wanted King to keep talking.

---