King's Crown (Oil Kings Book 1)

by Marie Johnston

  “Sure. Want me to drive?”

  “I… They’d have to ride in the back seat.” Would he get my meaning?

  His eyes crinkled. “And since we haven’t christened your car yet, you’d feel better having them in there?”

  My face heated. “Yes.” He’d said yet, and now my mind was going over how we’d position ourselves in the back seat.

  Wendell’s voice broke through my thoughts, culling my fantasies. “Did you see that catch? I thought for sure I was going to drop—” My brothers rounded the corner and blinked at Gentry.

  “Gentry, these are the twins.” The boys were easy to tell apart. Wendell was a little taller, and puberty wasn’t as kind to his skin. I probably needed to make him a dermatology appointment. “Wendell. Lendell goes by Lenny.”

  My brothers nodded, their gazes evaluating Gentry from head to toe.

  Gentry shook each of their hands. “I hear I missed a good game.”

  Wendell shrugged, his cheeks going pink. He blushed easily, like me. “I mean, it went all right.”

  Lenny snickered. “The first one sucked.”

  We walked to my car and the boys talked over each other about their plays and who messed up and how many base runs they’d have to do at the next practice. Gentry interjected with questions about who else they were playing and where they traveled and if they did summer league. He’d obviously had a son or two in baseball.

  I was about to jitter out of my skin by the time we reached the restaurant. Lenny’s fingers were fast and furious on his phone. Had he told our parents that Gentry was coming?

  All of my siblings were pressed to the window as we weaved through the parking lot. The diner faced the street, but the main entrance was on the side of the parking lot. More than enough windows to spy on us.

  “Hey, uh, Kendall.” Lenny jogged next to me. “Can you go back to the car with me?”

  “Why?” I wasn’t going to let Gentry enter this place by himself. He got to the door first and opened it for a couple coming out.

  I waited for them to exit, my attention on Gentry, when I heard, “Kendall?”

  Darren? What was he doing here? After we got married, he refused to frequent either of my parents’ businesses. The girl at his side was the same one from the bedroom. I think. The hair color and the age were the same.

  “Hi, Darren.” I couldn’t sound less thrilled. Gentry let the door close and stood on the other side of Lenny. I was glad this little encounter was taking place outside. The rest of my siblings were still avid spectators in the window.

  Darren looked at Lenny. “Hey, Wendell.”

  Wendell was on the other side of Gentry, half hiding behind him. The kid hated awkwardness as much as me.

  My blood pressure notched up. Darren never bothered to learn the difference between the two of them. His disinterest was more insulting than purposely getting it wrong. But I didn’t get a chance to correct him.

  “This one’s Wendell.” Gentry tipped his head toward the correct brother, a disapproving frown on his lips. “Clearly.”

  Darren’s eyes narrowed, but there was a spark of recognition. His brow furrowed as if he was figuring out a puzzle. He puffed his chest out farther, but couldn’t match up to Gentry’s pecs at rest. “You seem to know them so well. Who are you?”

  “We just met, actually. But Kendall’s told me all about them.” Gentry stuck out his hand. “Gentry King.”

  Darren’s face paled. He worked at a refinery owned by King Oil.

  I tried, and failed, not to grin. “I thought you didn’t like eating here?”

  My ex’s cheeks fused with color, and he put an arm around his girlfriend. “She wanted to eat here. It’s close to where she works.”

  The woman smiled, but there was rampant curiosity in her eyes. She had no clue this place was owned by her boyfriend’s ex-wife’s family. I had a feeling that conversation wouldn’t go well. She tried to tug him away, but he moved as if his feet were weighed down by concrete blocks.

  “So, you two are seeing each other?”

  I’d never brought the guy I dated earlier this year around. Darren probably assumed that he was better. “It’s still pretty new, but yes.”

  The girlfriend gave his arm another yank, but Darren didn’t move. “I kick you out and you shack up with the richest guy in the state?” He snorted.

  Gentry’s face clouds over. He opens his mouth to defend me, but I beat him to it. “No, actually, I have my own place. Gentry hasn’t even tried to trick me into living with him.” I didn’t care to waste my night with Gentry and my family. “Well, we’re heading in to eat. See you later.”

  I breezed past him, and Gentry jumped to get the door for me. I couldn’t bite back my grin as I entered and he gave me a little wink.

  Lenny rushed up to me. “Kennie, I’m so sorry. When I got the message, I tried to stall you.”

  Aw. My family wanted to spare me. “Thanks, but it worked out just fine.”

  Mom rushed to greet me. “He got up to leave as soon as he saw me and your father.”

  It must’ve killed Darren to eat here. “No worries, Mom.”

  The smell of greasy food permeated the air. The place was mostly empty at this time of night, and our table was right in the middle of the main area. We passed the four-foot-high case holding every type of pie you could think of and went toward my family.

  The floor was the original white tile with black flecks. It cleans so nicely, I hate to replace it was my mom’s way of saying they couldn’t afford a big remodel. This was the type of place high school and college students worked at and moved on. It kept their turnover and training high. The servers that had been here for years couldn’t tolerate the disruption of routines. Things had been done the same way for decades. It was almost a losing battle for my parents, but Dad said the restaurant still paid the mortgage.

  My brothers and sisters were openly eyeing Gentry. Lenny and Wendell went right for the table. Their teenage hunger didn’t care about any drama, anti-climactic or not. Dad had a speculative look on his face, and I didn’t have to look at Mom to know her expression matched. Gentry showing up would be a big check in his favor.

  “Hi everyone. This is Gentry.” I gave a lame flourish. If Gentry was looking for sophistication, I was not it.

  In his typical fashion, he made his rounds, getting everyone’s names and shaking hands. His smile wasn’t forced and his laughter was genuine. My chest loosened. When he was done, he pulled out a chair for me.

  I gave him a grateful smile and sank into it. Dad planted himself next to Gentry, and Brendell took the seat directly across from him. Dad oozed curiosity while Brendell radiated protective brother vibes.

  My heart swelled. This was my family. They took me for granted, but they still cared. I could say no once in a while and they’d continue loving me.

  I’d have to give it a shot. But I’d make sure the twins got to driver’s ed. The sooner they got a license and a car, the less I’d be pressed to say no. Maybe that was cheating, but I didn’t care. I just really loved my family right now.

  “I hope you’re a burger guy.” Dad handed him a menu. I glanced over. Dad’s smile was tense. He was embarrassed to be serving the CEO of King Oil greasy burgers.

  Gentry’s grin was easy and he handed the menu back. “I try to save the caviar for Wednesdays and Friday. Tuesdays are my patty melt and hashbrowns days.”

  Dad chuckled and Brendell’s expression turned from shock to respect.

  “I’ve never had caviar,” Brendell said.

  “Once was all I needed,” Gentry replied. “Fish eggs are a hard sell for a guy who grew up on a beef ranch.” The guys laughed, and Dad peppered Gentry with questions about ranching and King’s Creek.

  Ren elbowed me on my other side. “Hot damn, Kennie,” she whispered. “Talk about leveling up.”

  I grinned, all my anxiety draining away. “I know, right?” We made it through my family’s inspection in minutes. His other two sons sho
uldn’t be that big of an obstacle.

  Chapter 20

  Gentry

  I studied the reports in front of me. Printing them off so I could line them up was often easier than switching screens. My environmental advancement team wrote up a giant report on wind power that was making my head spin. I knew oil like the layout of my land, and wind power was easy enough—until the reams of data started.

  Sighing, I sat back, bumped my reading glasses up, and rubbed the bridge of my nose. Another Saturday in front of my computer.

  But there was one improvement. Kendall hummed to herself in the kitchen. I usually parked myself in my home office for twelve hours each day if I wasn’t helping Dawson, but I’d taken up residence with my papers at the kitchen table I never used.

  With Kendall, I was back to looking forward to the weekends. Instead of just a change of where I worked, they meant more time with her than a quick supper and grope session.

  “I start at my parents’ thrift shop tomorrow.” She looked over her shoulder as she stirred the pasta sauce. She’d offered to come by and cook a late lunch. I had planned to cook for her, but I had to make sense of these reports and give my investors something to go on. “One of their part-time employees moved away, so I’ll be an official employee for a while.”

  I took my reading glasses off and set them on the table. “How do you feel about that?”

  She lifted a shoulder, staring into the pot. “It’ll keep me busy. There’s only so many jobs in town to apply for. I have an interview next week and I think it’ll look better if I say I’m working somewhere even if it’s as simple as helping my parents out.”

  I wanted her to be working with me. But she deserved better than Emilia charging her like a bull protecting its territory. “Good. They’d be schmucks not to hire you.”

  She glanced at me and smiled, then turned back to the stove. I couldn’t quit staring. She wore a baggy pink sweater and black capri leggings that showed her curves better than those boots. Her hair was up in a messy bun and as she stirred the sauce and checked the consistency of the noodles, I had one thought.

  I wanted this. I wanted more of this. She’d talk to me about work and I could tell her about mine. We’d eat together and I could touch her instead of daydreaming about it when I had spreadsheets open in front of me.

  With my wife, falling in love had been a gradual process. Our future had been planned before we said the big three words to each other. When we said them, we’d meant them but they weren’t a big declaration. More like a statement of fact.

  This time, I was slammed in the chest with knowing, with yearning, with the realization that I wanted to spend my entire life with this woman. She should know how I felt, but it was too soon. I could just say the words now, but…

  We were at different places in our life. She was trying to find a job, and I was keeping a company afloat so hundreds of people weren’t jobless. She was pushing thirty, and fifty was around the corner for me.

  Twenty years difference. And I still had one son for sure who’d have an insulting opinion about us, and I couldn’t expose her to that vitriol. I’d take care of Beckett first. I also had no choice but to accept Xander’s silence on the topic as his lack of giving a shit.

  But I continued to watch her as she mixed the food together and spread it out in a baking pan that she found God knows where. It’d been so long since I had needed to use it, I would’ve never remembered where it was. After she slid it into the oven, she set the timer, then faced me. Her cheeks were flushed from the flash of heat from putting the food in to bake. She caught me looking and smiled.

  “We have twenty minutes.” She slinked over and I was captivated. “Is that enough time for you to get to a stopping point?”

  She was about to sit in the chair next to me, but I snagged her hand and drew her onto my lap. Her legs widened to straddle me and I clutched her hips. I’d been hard as a rock since I first saw her ass in those pants.

  She rocked over me. “Oh, Mr. King. You’ve been keeping a secret.”

  “I have no secrets from you, Ms. Brinkley.” And I meant it. I’d tell her everything I was feeling after I called Beckett and told him that this woman was important to me and she’d better get nothing but respect from him.

  I slipped her sweater over her head. She wore a lacy bra, a few shades deeper pink than her top. Tight nipples poked against the fabric.

  “You look delicious.” I caught one in my mouth. She arched against me, the move crushing her against my erection.

  She fisted my white T-shirt in her hands. “Gent. You still have work to finish. We can do this after lunch.”

  “Fuck my work.” I stood, lifting her with me and stretched her out over the table on top of the papers. I wasn’t ready to tell her how strongly I felt about her, but I could show her.

  I peeled her leggings off. Dear God. Her underwear matched her bra.

  I lifted my gaze to hers. “Did you wear these for me?”

  “I almost didn’t wear any.”

  With a growl, I rolled them off and tossed them on her pants. Then I parted her thighs and sat back on my chair. Hooking her hips, I jerked her toward me. That earned a sharp inhale, then a sigh as she relaxed her legs open, giving me the best view in the world.

  We only had twenty minutes. I had learned everything that made this woman wild. Parting her lips, I flicked my tongue on her clit twice before I devoured her.

  Hands twisted in my hair. “Gent—Gentry…” She moaned, her hips bucking into my mouth. She was so responsive, so ready, I added a finger.

  “You’re going to come fast for me, Kendall. Fast and hard.” I went back to work, but it was all pleasure. The way I could elicit moans and make her squirm was powerful.

  She did just as I said. Fast. And hard. Her walls clamped around my finger, and I got painfully harder. She’d do that around my cock.

  I rose, wiping my face on my shirt as I drew it over my head. I was prepared to enter her as soon as I was close enough, but I looked down at the last moment.

  “Shit. I have to get—”

  “Sit.” She rolled up and pushed me back. “Take your pants off first, then sit.”

  I did as she asked, but only because the last of my blood left my head as she unhooked her bra and rolled it down her arms. She held it out and dropped it to the floor.

  “You’re clean, right?” She straddled me, heat radiating off her.

  I nodded. “Always used protection and get my checkups.”

  “And you’ve had a vasectomy?”

  I nodded again, barely able to look past the tits in front of my face. “Did all the follow-ups to make sure there were no swimmers.”

  “Then do we need a condom?” She didn’t lower herself. She was waiting on me.

  This was something I would’ve never pressured her for, but since she asked, I grabbed her hips. “I want to be as close to you as possible. I want to feel all of you.”

  I guided her over me, and she sank onto my dick. Her tight heat surrounded me, taking me inch by inch. I had to shut my eyes and lay my forehead on her chest.

  “So fucking good.” She was wet and hot and velvety. I was going to shame myself by how fast I was going to come, but fuck it. This was amazing.

  She started rocking, holding my shoulders. I ran my hands up her bare back and closed my lips around a pebbled nipple.

  Licking across it, I blew across the tip. She shuddered and I switched to the other one. As she set a rhythm, I slid a hand between us and teased her clit.

  She jerked, her fingers digging in my shoulders. “It’s so sensitive.”

  “Just ride me.” I left my hand on her, only her motion causing it to stimulate her.

  She tipped her head back, her eyes shut. Then she opened them, her gaze going to the table. She reached for something, but I wasn’t coherent enough to notice.

  My reading glasses slid onto my face.

  “I remember how you didn’t want to wear these in the hotel room.”
She leaned in and nipped at my ear. “So I’m going to come all over you with them on.”

  I fucking hated my reading glasses, but after this? Maybe they weren’t so bad. I nuzzled her neck, nibbling down to her breasts. She rode me faster and I barely held on, finally feeling the ripples go through her as her body clenched.

  She cried out. I gritted my teeth and let my climax slam home.

  Ecstasy poured through me. We were skin to skin. The glasses felt like a clear signal that I wasn’t close to her age, but she still wanted me.

  This woman was it for me. She was my forever.

  Getting ready the next morning had a welcome sense of familiarity. I was going to go for a run, but Kendall was heading out to get some fresh air on the walking paths near my place. So I walked with her.

  Then we showered together. The higher water bill was worth it.

  Today, I made her a quick lunch, determined to be the one to feed her before she left for work.

  My papers from yesterday were stacked on the table. I’d read through some other market analyses reports.

  She came out, fresh from her shower—her real shower—and sat at the table. She wore the same pink sweater, but it was paired with jeans that hugged her in all the right places. “Wind power. Mind if I take a peek?”

  “Go for it. It’s enough to put me to sleep.”

  I hadn’t realized how sad my grocery situation was in the house. Reheated pasta coming right up. I added more cheese and tossed it in the oven.

  While she read, I leaned against the counter. Her forehead was puckered, but her eyes rapidly scanned the page.

  “Wow. I didn’t realize the cost that went into wind power.”

  “Not many do. Not even our investors. But they want companies like mine to make sure our capital investment goes toward processes with lower carbon emissions. And people are just as willing to have a giant windmill on their land as they are an oil well.” Which was to say, not that thrilled. “Sometimes the backlash from neighbors makes it feel like it’s not worth it.”