Kingdom Come

by Terri E. Laine

  “Okay,” I agreed, stewing on my concern for him. Like Bailey, Matty was my best friend. I couldn’t imagine life without him. “You’re worried about me, but I’m worried about you.”

  He took my hand and gave it a squeeze. Then we were pulling into the garage of his building and I had to bottle all the questions I had.

  As soon as we walked into his apartment, I turned on him. “Gosh, Matt, you live like a slob.”

  “It’s not like I have a lot of time here,” he said.

  Clothes were everywhere, like piles of them. I wasn’t sure when he’d done laundry last. Trash was overflowing with pizza boxes and other take-out food containers. I was about to suggest a maid, but he gave me the stink-eye while waving some sort of instrument over every inch of his apartment.

  “Are you hungry?” I asked, sure that was a safe question.

  He stared at me. “Are you ordering out?”

  I gave him a flick of my middle finger. “I can make breakfast.”

  He didn’t bother to respond, and I laughed, going to the fridge. Ultimately, I made us omelets and toast, and he shoveled in food as if he were eating his last meal. That thought soured my mood some.

  “Good, huh?” I teased.

  “Don’t be weird, Liz.”

  I glared at him. I didn’t like anyone calling me Liz.

  “It’s my job.” Since he’d checked for bugs, apparently, we were free to talk.

  “Do you have a death wish?” The venom in my voice was a bit unexpected, even for me.

  “No.”

  “So, what was that thing with Bailey? You came to New York and professed your feelings when you’re working a dangerous job?”

  He looked surprised I would mention Bailey. “You know I’ve liked her. It was my one chance.”

  He looked away as I focused on his eyes marred by dark circles. He looked as if he hadn’t slept in days.

  “When did you want a girlfriend anyway? That was the reason you stayed away from her because you hadn’t wanted one. What’s changed?”

  I hadn’t had a chance to really talk to him about it until now.

  “I’m fucking lonely, Lizzy.”

  That statement surprised me. My brother had always acted as if he didn’t care about having a partner.

  “Working this job has made me realize I want what Mom and Dad have. Don’t you?”

  Our parents had been married for over twenty-five years.

  “Truth?” When he nodded, I said, “When I see how Kalen is with Bailey, I’m so freaking envious.”

  “What about Hans?” he asked.

  Hans. Beautiful and kind, nearly perfect in every way. “His dick is the size of a mini lipstick.”

  Though Bailey knew all about it, I hadn’t told my brother. But the stunned look on his face did lighten the mood.

  I laughed. “It’s wrong of me, right? Like I should be able to get past that.”

  He held up a hand, chuckling and looking faintly ill at the same time. “Please, no more.”

  “I tried. Honestly, I did. But I like dick.”

  He held up a finger. “Enough with the dick talk. As far as I’m concerned, you’re as pure as the Virgin Mary.”

  I tossed back my head and let all my pent-up emotions escape in a fit of laughter. “I think I deserve this moment considering all the times I had to put up with you screwing a girl in your room, your bed post hitting the wall we shared while whomever it was screamed your name.”

  His smirk was back, and I was happy for it.

  “Good times,” he said.

  “Yeah, and I was always the one left to pretend those girls were friends of mine when Mom and Dad caught them staying over for the night.”

  “Great wingman, you,” he said.

  “There is a guy that intrigues me,” I said, changing the subject. With Bailey gone overseas and not easily reached, I decided to overshare with my brother about the guy from the bar. “He’s an ass.”

  “Your type.” All his humor was gone. I knew he was remembering the past and the one he couldn’t save me from.

  “Exactly. So why the fuck do I always have to like a guy who’s bad for me?”

  “You don’t have to.”

  “I do. I tried. I tried really hard with Hans. But it just didn’t work.” I rolled my head around my shoulders, trying to work out the kinks.

  “Just because that dickhead Roach was a weasel doesn’t mean you have to date every guy with only one foot out of a prison. I bet this new one has tats and wears all black.”

  I bit my lower lip, trying hard to contain a smile, and he groaned out of frustration.

  “Take it from me, he’s probably bad news,” Matty said. “He’ll use you like he’s conquering some princess, then toss you aside.”

  “He did call me a princess,” I said.

  “Do us both a favor and find a guy with a job.”

  That didn’t at all sound appealing. “Could you imagine me as a corporate wife, attending brunches with stuck-up former prom queens thinking they’re better than me?”

  “You’d put them in their place.”

  “I’d be bored.” I sighed.

  “You’d be safe.”

  I could have easily tossed it back in his face. But then I wondered why my brother and I were attracted to danger. Our parents had raised us to be safe and happy. But life wasn’t always predictable. My mind returned to the red-hot guy dressed in black, dangerous and sexy. I wanted him.

  Maybe I wanted him because he’d acted as though he didn’t want me. I was confident if I got one night, he’d be on his knees, begging for me. Then maybe I could walk away with my head held high.

  Everything changed before I left Chicago when I got a call from Kalen. My apartment had been vandalized and between him and Mike, they had a plan for my safety.

  Two

  Connor

  A few weeks later

  The club used to soothe my soul, and lately it hadn’t. I felt restless as ever and needed to do something with the energy thrumming through my veins, especially because I’d given up the occasional smoke that brought calm.

  There was one place I could channel that energy. It wasn’t my place in Manhattan. Instead I headed for my apartment in Soho. Though I’d talked to my brother, Kalen, about selling it, it was the place where I kept all my painting supplies. On nights like these, I put all my unsettling thoughts on canvas for my eyes only. I’d thought I’d gotten past the need to work out my demons, but I was wrong. I would have to tell Kalen I’d changed my mind and get the extra keys I’d given him.

  Upon arrival, I had to make a stop on the second floor before I could cleanse my soul.

  I knocked and waited, unconcerned about the late hour. Carrie would answer. She’d know it was me. The door opened and a stunning brunette with shy, rounded eyes answered.

  “Sir,” she said automatically and stepped back.

  I entered, though I should have reminded her our agreement had ended some time ago. A quick look over her gave me cause for concern. “Have you eaten today?”

  She looked as though she’d lost weight, not that she’d ever weighed more than her full breasts and exceptional ass.

  “I—” she began.

  I tsked and gave her a hard-eyed stare. “We talked about this. You have to take care of yourself.”

  “Why?” she asked with a bluster I hadn’t seen before.

  Good girl, I thought, and managed only a lip twitch when a full-blown smile wanted to play across my lips. Instead, I arched a brow, which had the immediate effect I was looking for.

  She backed down, her eyes finding the floor.

  “Eat something,” I ordered.

  She marched into the kitchen and pulled out a granola bar. She unwrapped it with contempt, yet I watched her eat it in three bites. Then she came over to stand before me, head down.

  “There’s someone new living in the building,” she said.

  “Yeah?”

  She bobbed her head.

>   “Which apartment?”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t been able to speak with her. I’ve just seen her a few times. She lives somewhere upstairs.”

  Her nervous chatter meant she knew what I had come to talk about, and she was hoping to avoid it. I tipped up her chin. “Have you thought about what we talked about?”

  “I don’t want to go home,” she said, that defiance back in her tone.

  The beautiful girl had left her small town and come to New York to find herself, including her sexuality. Her parents had thought they were sending their daughter to attend Columbia University. Somehow, she’d found herself at my club on a guest night. A beauty like hers, coupled with innocence, left her prey for wolves.

  My penchant for beautiful things, including women, and a protective side I couldn’t contain made her a perfect fit as my next sub. I’d taken her under my wing to help her explore all the naughty thoughts she’d been harboring for years. What I’d learned was that she was a sweet girl who liked sex a little rough, including hair pulling and slaps on the ass. She also had a fondness for following rules and took orders well. But in my opinion, she wasn’t a true sub, especially with her stubborn nature.

  Not wanting to stifle her voice, I replied, “It’s your choice. But the lease here is ending and you’ll have to find a place of your own.”

  She didn’t know I owned this apartment or the one upstairs. Or that I wouldn’t let her be homeless. She may no longer be mine—at my choice—but that didn’t mean I didn’t feel responsible for her. If she couldn’t find a place, I’d have the management company that handled all my real estate offer her a sweet deal so she could afford to stay here.

  “I found a job,” she said.

  I nodded. “Is it what you want?”

  She shrugged. “It’s grunt work, but I’ll be in the newsroom. Maybe I can write a story about you.”

  I gave her another stare she’d understand. “Just because you and I aren’t together doesn’t mean our non-disclosure agreement isn’t still in effect.”

  She pouted. “I know. I would never say anything about that, but you are news as King’s son.”

  “I trust you,” I said, because I did. “I still think you should go home to that boy. What was his name, Linus?”

  She giggled. “Liam.”

  “Yeah, him.”

  “I told you he went to the Air Force a few months before I left for college. Who knows what he’s doing, or who, now? Besides, he’ll never understand,” she said, sounding a little sad.

  Bingo. The feelings for this guy were still there.

  “He will if you explain it to him.”

  Most would find it odd, given how many times I’d seen her naked, that I would push her into the arms of another man. Yet I cared enough about her to do that very thing. She was still sweet, not yet jaded. I feared if she sought another man to take control of her, he might take advantage and not make her needs his highest priority.

  “What will I do back home? I have an opportunity to become a real reporter here,” she said.

  I couldn’t argue that. “You can start something of your own there. You told me before they didn’t have a paper in your town.”

  “Yeah, but half the people there probably wouldn’t read it.”

  She might have a point. Only I feared she would be eaten alive in New York if left on her own.

  “Think about it. I can help,” I offered.

  “I know you would,” she said. “But it’s time I stand on my own feet.”

  I couldn’t fault her. “Think about it and let me know. I should go.”

  When I stood, so did she—only to remove her sleep shirt and kneel at my feet in a submissive pose. There was a time I would have taken what was being offered. Though her heavy breasts hung full with tight nipples, my cock didn’t stir.

  “Good night, Carrie. Eat and sleep.”

  I left the apartment with a sigh and took the elevator to the penthouse floor. Though it was the only apartment up there, the elevator didn’t open into the space as two units had been converted into one.

  I walked to the door, opened it with my key, and headed directly for my bedroom—where I immediately stopped short. There in my bed, barely covered by silk sheets, was a blonde who looked vaguely familiar. I swept my eyes over a long torso to a small but shapely ass. From a side view, I spied equally small, but seemingly firm, tits. She was lying on her stomach.

  A sort of miracle occurred, if you considered how long my sexual drive had been on hiatus. My cock hardened, which it hadn’t done in weeks, maybe months. I’d thought with my line of work, it had become apathetic to the sights and sounds of sex. I’d wrongly believed that maybe I’d seen and done so much, nothing would excite me again.

  I looked at her then down at my dick hidden behind a zipper. The traitorous beast was going against everything we appreciated on a woman. She appeared tall, lean, and athletically built. My cock and I were into women with shapely asses and tits the size of melons—as long as they were natural. I had a personal dislike for fake tits unless they were really well made.

  This woman was everything but. I stepped out of the room and went to the other side of the place to make a hushed call.

  “Bro,” I said to Kalen, my only sibling and a half-brother at that. We shared a father but not mothers. His was our dad’s first wife, and Kalen had grown up in Scotland after they divorced when he was very young. My mother was Dad’s current wife.

  “What’s up, Connor? It’s late.”

  “What’s up? Tell me about the blonde in my bed,” I said.

  Kalen was quiet for a moment. “Don’t touch her,” he said, sounding like a papa bear. But I wasn’t his son.

  “Why not?” I quickly drew a conclusion. Currently, he was chasing a woman around the world, but that didn’t mean she was the only one. “Do you have more than one woman you care about?”

  “She’s Bailey’s best friend. I’m keeping her safe.”

  Bailey was the woman who had slayed my brother’s heart. He was doing his best to keep her safe from whoever had targeted her. From the guilt I’d heard in his voice when he told me he was taking her to Scotland to keep her safe, I figured it was his mess had put her in danger. Now she’d done the unthinkable and left him where he’d stashed her in Scotland. Apparently, the danger had spilled over to her best friend who slept in my bed.

  “Safe from what? And why in my apartment without telling me?” I asked.

  “If I knew who I was keeping her safe from, I wouldn’t be in this mess.”

  I shook my head. “You’ve never really explained what’s going on or why you’re chasing your redhead all over the world.”

  “If I had something to explain, I would. There are plenty of people working on this.”

  “Who, Griffin and his security team?” I asked, annoyed my brother had a better relationship with his best friend than me.

  “Griffin is good at what he does.”

  “So again, I ask why you’ve stashed your girlfriend’s best friend in my apartment.”

  “As I recall, you were getting rid of the place and gave me the keys. I needed a place not tied to me in case all this shit Bailey is going through has something to do with me. I figured since you were selling, it would be empty.”

  “You assumed wrong, brother. No contract was signed. No money changed hands. Which means legally, this place is still mine. You should have told me. But since you didn’t, I’ll consider her a gift,” I teased to rile him up. “Good night.”

  Before I ended the call, my brother’s curses rang loud and clear through the phone. I silenced the device because Kalen was sure to call back. Then on quiet feet, I made my way back to my bedroom. I had never had a woman in my bed—not here at least. I’d kept this apartment as a sacred space free of anything but my creativity when I needed to unleash it. Yet as I watched the sleeping woman, trying to conjure why she seemed so familiar, I didn’t get annoyed over her presence.

  A knock shat
tered the silence and my butterfly turned in her sleep. When her face came into view, I got my answer as to why she seemed familiar. I disappeared down the hall as the knock continued. I had a feeling Kalen, if he was in town, had hightailed it over her to save the princess.

  I stepped into the pantry and partially closed the door, where I watched as the blonde bombshell, sexily sleep rumpled, made her way to the door. So confident in herself, the robe she’d chosen to don—which was mine—hung open, giving me a view of everything I’d missed when she’d lain prone on the bed.

  My dick, harder than granite, could have punched through stone to get to her and that was a problem. The slim blonde minx wasn’t my type physically, but the problem was I knew exactly who she was. We’d met before.

  Three

  Lizzy

  “Hold your horses,” I said groggily. I peered through the peephole and muttered, “Son of a bitch,” when I recognized the man on the other side. After belting my robe closed and opening the door, I glanced at my arm where my watch should be but wasn’t. “Why are you here at what the fuck hour?”

  Griffin, my bestie’s man’s best friend and head of security, barreled through the door and chose not to acknowledge my question. “Where is he?” he demanded, his Scottish accent in full force.

  Annoyed, I narrowed my eyes at him. “He?”

  The bastard ignored me and glanced around as if he was looking for someone. The fact that I knew I was alone left me confused as to why he was suggesting I wasn’t. I stood my ground as he darted into the bedroom and, after a few seconds, exited only to charge into the spare bedroom as if to defend my honor.

  When he finally came back, I crossed my arms and glared at him.

  “Sorry,” he muttered. “I thought—”

  “Thought what?” I snapped.

  “Never mind. I got an alert that someone was here.”

  “Alert?” I asked, my question filled with deadly menace.

  He may own a security company that handled such things for rich people around the world, but I hadn’t hired him. Though I’d agreed to stay in this apartment at Kalen’s request, I was here under protest. The only reason I’d given in was because my apartment had been vandalized by people yet unknown. But I drew the line at my privacy. An alert for a break in was one thing. An alert if I had a visitor was another.