Conquering King's Heart

by Maureen Child

  “You don’t want them?” Justice said quietly, as he closed the gate on the back of the truck. “Cut them and move on. End of story.”

  Jesse looked at his brother and sighed. Justice was right, he knew it. And yet, “That’s the problem. For the first time in my life, I don’t know if I want to move on.”

  The surfing exhibition had drawn a great crowd. People from up and down the state had gathered in Morgan Beach to watch the show and so far, it had been worth it.

  Some of the best surfers in the world were riding the waves, making it look effortless as they skimmed the surface of the water, riding in a tunnel of water, then shooting out into the open, their boards kicking up fantail wakes behind them. The sun slipped in and out of banks of heavy clouds, its golden light glancing off the surface of the water in nearly blinding flashes. The scent of hot dogs and beer wafted over the noisy crowd and seagulls shrieked in accompaniment. The exhibition was proving to be a great end-of-summer celebration and the crowds would no doubt spill over into the Main Street shops later. But for now, Bella had her shop closed so she could watch the show. And Jesse.

  She had a great seat in the bleachers set up in the sand for the day. At the end of a row, she looked down to her left at the path the surfers took in and out of the water. And she wasn’t alone, either. Jesse’s cousin, Jackson, his wife, Casey, and their daughters, Mia and Molly, were in town. They’d actually come to southern California to take the girls to Disneyland, but hadn’t been able to resist watching Jesse surf in the competition.

  “He’s really good, isn’t he?” Casey whispered, her gaze locked on the ocean where Jesse was maneuvering his long board in and out of a six-foot wave.

  Cheers erupted from the stands and Bella grinned, caught up in the excitement of watching Jesse do what he did best. He had so much grace and style, he eclipsed every other surfer out there easily. And everyone in the stands seemed to recognize that, too.

  “He really is good,” Bella answered, never taking her eyes off the man who’d become such a huge part of her life. She couldn’t even believe how charmed her life was lately. Every spare moment was spent with Jesse and she grew more in love with him every day. The only worry was that she didn’t know how he felt.

  Did he share her feelings? Or was this all just a fun fling that he’d move on from eventually? And if it was, how would she ever get through it?

  She closed her eyes, sighed and told herself not to worry about that now. Just to enjoy this moment for what it was. She was building so many memories, her heart was full of them.

  “Of course he is,” Jackson said, “he’s a King, isn’t he? Molly, honey, don’t eat the paper.”

  “Paper?” Casey demanded, tearing her gaze from the ocean to look at her younger daughter. “What paper?”

  “Nothing, don’t worry about it,” Jackson told her. “Let’s just consider it fiber.”

  Bella laughed, Casey sighed and reached across her husband to lift her two-year-old daughter onto her lap. “Honestly, Jackson.”

  “I didn’t tell her to eat the paper the cookie came in, did I, Mia?” He tickled his older daughter and as the girl laughed, Bella sighed.

  Jesse’s cousin and his family had arrived in town the night before and since then, they’d all had a wonderful time together. Jesse was like a different person when he was with the two little girls. They clearly adored him and he was crazy about them. Watching him with Jackson’s daughters, Bella hadn’t been able to stop the tiny bubble of something dangerously maternal rising inside her. And she wondered what it would be like to be Jesse’s wife. To have his children. To feel that sort of warmth surrounding her for the rest of her life.

  But the truth was, as much as she loved him, as much as she wanted him, Bella wasn’t sure he felt the same way. Yes, he was a wonderful lover. But did it go any further than that? Was she in love and he in lust? She wished she knew.

  “Where’s Uncle Jesse?” Mia demanded, standing on her father’s lap and staring out at the sea.

  “There he is,” Bella said and pointed to the surfer sitting atop his board, waiting for his next ride. “See? When the next wave comes, he’ll stand up and ride it all the way in to the beach.”

  “Can I?” Mia asked.

  “Sure,” Jackson told her. “When you’re thirty.”

  Casey caught Bella’s eye and winked. “He’s a little overprotective.”

  “I think it’s nice,” Bella said.

  “Me, too, actually,” Casey admitted. “He and his brothers guard their kids like trained pit bulls. It’s really amazing to watch. And when the kids are all together, it’s hysterical, seeing all the King boys riding herd on them.”

  “It’s not funny,” Jackson told her, “it’s stressful.”

  “I think it sounds wonderful.” Bella smiled, but Casey looked at her with sympathy.

  Leaning in closely, she whispered, “Falling for a King isn’t easy, Bella. They’ll make you nuts if you let them. But I promise, it’s completely worth it.”

  She nodded, but couldn’t help thinking that it would be worth it if the King you loved, loved you back. Otherwise, it was just torture.

  “There he goes!” Mia shouted, jumping up and down on her daddy’s lap and pointing excitedly at Jesse.

  Bella stilled her thoughts and focused on his last ride of the day. It was perfect. Jesse lay across his board and paddled fiercely until the crest of the rising wave caught up to him. Then he stood, shook back his hair and walked up and down the length of the board with an easy grace that was beautiful to watch. His arms were relaxed at his sides and even from a distance, Bella could see his grin while he used his body to direct the board in and out of the wave. The roar of the ocean was lost in the roar of the crowd’s appreciation. His ride ended as his board skimmed the lacy froth of the dying wave. He jumped off as he neared the shore, then picked up the board, tucked it under his arm and trotted up the beach.

  Bella watched as literally hundreds of bikini-clad women raced toward him, all of them eagerly attempting to capture his attention. He ran past them all as if he didn’t even see them. Bella’s breath caught as he headed right toward her. Her heart pounded hard in her chest as he dropped his board to the sand, looked up at her and asked, “How’d I do?”

  “Great!” Jackson shouted then grunted when his wife’s elbow met his midsection. “Hey, what was that for?”

  “He wasn’t talking to you,” Casey muttered.

  Jesse grinned wider. “She’s right. I wasn’t. Bella. How’d I do?”

  “You were wonderful,” she said, aware now that people all around them were watching, listening.

  “That’s what I like to hear. Now I need my prize.”

  Bella laughed. “No trophies today, remember?”

  “Who’s talking about a trophy?” Jesse asked, and reaching up, plucked her from the bleachers and dragged her down to him. “This is the only reward I’m interested in.”

  Then he kissed her. Long and hard and deep, sweeping her backward into a romantic dip that had the audience surrounding them cheering in approval.

  Vaguely, Bella was aware of the crowd’s applause and even of the sound of cameras clicking as pictures were snapped. But she didn’t care. How could she when Jesse’s arms were around her and his mouth was fused to hers? Electricity hummed through her body and sent sparks shooting through her bloodstream.

  He’d sought her out. Come to her. Kissed her in front of the whole world and for the first time in her life, Bella felt like a princess. Like she mattered. Her heart turned over in her chest and she felt even more deeply in love, though she wouldn’t have thought that possible.

  Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, he broke the kiss, lifted his head to stare into her eyes and Bella thought she saw…love shining back at her.

  Then he grinned, the moment was gone and she couldn’t be sure it had even happened. Instantly, the crowd surrounded them, congratulating Jesse on his win and he draped one arm around her shoulder
s, holding her close to his side.

  Did he love her?

  She didn’t know. But the sun was shining and he was holding her tight and just for the moment, that was enough.

  Later that night at Bella’s house, they sat out on the top step of the back porch, sipping wine and watching the clouds sail past the moon. From Mrs. Clayton’s house next door, came the sounds of a game show playing on TV and from down the street came the howl of a dog. On the other side of Bella’s place, Kevin’s house was dark.

  The spicy scent of chrysanthemums planted along the back fence filled the air, and Jesse took a deep breath, drawing it deep, knowing that he would always associate that scent with this night. With this woman.

  He draped one arm around her and smiled when she leaned into him, laying her head on his shoulder. “It was a good day.”

  “It was,” she agreed, taking a sip of wine. “You were amazing out on the water.”

  “Not bad for a corporate raider, huh?” he asked, his tone light and teasing.

  She huffed out a breath. “Not going to let me forget that anytime soon, are you?”

  “No, I figure that’s good for at least six months’ worth of teasing.”

  “Six months?”

  “At least,” he said, looking down into those chocolate eyes of hers.

  “So you think we’ll still be together,” she said, “like this, I mean, in six months?”

  He frowned and felt her tense up alongside him. “Well, yeah. Why wouldn’t we be?”

  She tipped her head back and stared up at the moon as clouds drifted across its face. “I just didn’t know how you felt. What you expected.”

  “I don’t expect anything, Bella,” he said, turning on the step to face her more fully. “We’re good together, aren’t we?”

  “Yes.”

  “The sex is great.”

  “Yes,” she said, smiling.

  “Well, then.” That was settled. It was like he’d told Justice, he didn’t want to move on. He liked being with Bella. He liked who he was with Bella. But he felt hesitation in her and he knew that she was thinking again. Trying to lay out a plan. Or see into the future. “Why should we try to put a time stamp on this? Or define it somehow? Look, nobody knows what’s going to happen to them a day from now, let alone six months from now. But here, tonight, I can’t imagine being anywhere else.”

  It was the closest he’d ever come to telling a woman that he didn’t want to lose her.

  She looked at him for a long moment, then smiled and laid one hand on his forearm. “Me, either.”

  Jesse smiled. Problem averted. For now, anyway.

  She changed the subject abruptly though and he had to wonder if she did it on purpose, trying to keep him off balance. If so, she was damn good at it.

  “I liked your cousin and his family.”

  His smile broadened. “Yeah. Always good to see them and the kids.”

  “I envy you that,” she whispered.

  “What?” He kissed the top of her head, silently encouraging her to continue.

  “Your family. You’re all so connected. And you were so good with those little girls…”

  He dismissed that easily. “They’re great kids. Not hard to have fun with them.”

  “Yes,” she said, tipping her head back to look up at him, “but a lot of men wouldn’t bother to get down on the floor and give ‘pony rides’ for an hour.”

  He laughed, but she only looked at him, so his laughter faded away quickly. “What is it?”

  “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately.”

  “Okay…” Her expression was serious. Damn near solemn, and Jesse braced himself for whatever might be coming.

  “And I’ve come to the conclusion that you aren’t quite the man I thought you were in the beginning.”

  He smiled at her. “Good to know.”

  She straightened up and looked him square in the eye. “There’s more. Jesse, you know I never wanted to expand my business.”

  “Yeah,” he said wryly, relaxing just a bit. “I think you’ve made that pretty clear.”

  “Well, I’ve changed my mind.”

  “What?” That surprised him and he wondered idly if he’d ever be able to read Bella. He watched her, trying to determine her emotions, but her eyes were clear and direct and whatever she was feeling, she kept hidden too well for him to decipher.

  Finally, she smiled, lifted her hand and cupped his cheek in her palm. He felt the warmth of her slide deep inside him.

  “I’ve decided to join King Beach,” she said. “You’ve convinced me that I can trust you, Jesse. And I think, together, we can do some amazing things.”

  He caught her hand in his and squeezed it. Strange, but over the last couple of weeks, he’d forgotten about trying to merge her company into King Beach. He’d been too focused on getting her into bed. And then keeping her there once he had her. Her making this announcement out of the blue really threw him.

  He was utterly touched. For weeks, he’d been trying to make her see reason. To join King Beach. Now that she had, he felt a little…uneasy. But why? He’d bought up companies before. Hell, he’d gotten his start that way. But for Bella to join him was a real statement on her part. She was trusting him not to ruin what she loved. “You won’t be sorry, Bella.”

  “I know,” she said, leaning into him for a kiss. “I believe in you, Jesse.”

  The wind kicked up, carrying the scent of the sea, and a trickle of worry sprang up out of nowhere inside him. Promptly, Jesse shut it down. This was what he’d wanted. And hell, he’d done even better than he’d thought. Not only did he have her business, but he had Bella.

  What could possibly go wrong?

  Three days after the exhibition, life was back to normal in Morgan Beach. Except for one thing.

  Jesse was nervous.

  This was not normal. Not for him anyway.

  He was worried about his relationship with Bella now that they would be going into business together. What if she found out that he’d planned to seduce her into handing over the reins? She’d be hurt, pissed. He hadn’t expected to care, but he did.

  And he couldn’t bear the thought of losing her.

  But he didn’t like hiding the truth from her, either. He’d learned long ago that hidden secrets had a way of showing up when you least expected them to bite you in the ass.

  So what did that say? What the hell was he feeling and why now of all times? Bella had sneaked up on him and he’d never seen it coming. She’d gotten beneath his finely tuned radar and had carved out a spot for herself in his heart. Hell, he hadn’t even known he could feel everything he was feeling for her. Hadn’t guessed he was capable of it.

  For years, he’d steered clear of anything that looked like it might lead to something permanent. Carefully, deliberately, he’d only dated women who were interested in having a good time. The future-in-their-eyes type he left strictly alone.

  So how the hell had this happened to him?

  Which wasn’t really important now anyway. The real question was, what was he going to do about it?

  For three days now, he’d kept his distance from Bella, trying to work out in his own mind just what he was feeling and what he wanted to do about it. This was a whole new ball game for him. He’d never before even contemplated a future with a woman. He’d never before wanted to. Now, he couldn’t imagine the rest of his life without Bella beside him.

  God knew, he hadn’t meant to get so involved. He’d wanted Bella mostly to prove something to Nick Acona. Now it had gone way beyond that. And damn if he knew how to handle it.

  He stood up from his desk, turned around and stared out the bank of windows at Main Street and the ocean beyond. Black clouds hovered on the horizon, pushing toward shore and he knew that by evening, there’d be a storm blowing in. Which suited how he was feeling just fine. His insides were raging, in a tumult. He’d never thought of himself as the marrying kind of guy. But Bella was definitely the marriage kind
of woman. Which left them exactly where?

  His parents’ marriage hadn’t gone well, what with his father always buried in work. And Justice’s marriage had split apart, though no one knew why. So how the hell was he supposed to make it work?

  “Mr. King?”

  “Yeah?” He glanced over his shoulder, irritated at the interruption as he watched Dave Michaels step into the office. “What is it, Dave?”

  Dave blinked at Jesse’s tone, but said, “I’ve got the paperwork drawn up for Bella to look over and sign.”

  “Right. Fine. Just…leave it on my desk, will you?” He turned back to stare outside again, his thoughts racing in circles. He’d convinced Bella to take a chance. To sign with King Beach. To trust him not to screw up the business she loved.

  And he couldn’t help feeling guilty about it all. He’d won. This was what he’d set out to do. To seduce her and persuade her to join his company. Everything had gone according to his original plan. He’d submarined her. Coaxed her into sharing the most important thing in her life.

  The only trouble was, while he was seducing her, he was the one who’d been falling.

  He’d stumbled into a snare that only tightened when he tried to escape. But then, he told himself, maybe that was because he didn’t really want to get free.

  He groaned and shoved one hand through his hair. His life had been a lot less complicated before he’d come to Morgan Beach.

  There were two customers in her store, a new order just arriving from the seamstresses and a tidy profit sitting in the bank, thanks to the sales made on the day of the surfing exhibition.

  So why wasn’t Bella happier?

  She frowned as she fitted the new swimwear onto hangers and sorted them by size and style. She knew the answer to that question. Because she hadn’t seen Jesse since she’d agreed to join King Beach.

  Oh, she’d talked to him on the phone several times. He was busy. Had meetings. Decisions had to be made. Papers drawn up. He said all the right things, and when she was talking to him it all made perfect sense. It was later, when she was alone, that the niggling doubts crept into her mind to torture her.