by Malone, M.
He squelched the unusual feelings of guilt and focused on the road. If tonight went as planned, he'd horrify his parents so badly they’d abandon this ridiculous idea of marrying him off and let him get back to what he was so good at.
Making money.
Chapter Six
For the rest of the drive, they rode in silence. Olivia tried to keep from fidgeting but all the excess energy in her body had to go somewhere.
She’d thought that working out earlier in the day would make her calm, in control. However, all it had done was amp her up even more. She’d been on edge all evening, almost poking her eye out with the wand while putting on her mascara.
For a woman who was used to performing, she was in uneasy territory. She wasn’t used to trying to blend in. Her living revolved around being the center of attention, making sure that when she was in a room, all eyes were on her.
But that wasn’t why she was here. Tonight, she wasn’t the star of the show but a supporting player. The whole goal this evening was to help King smooth things over with his parents.
She still wasn’t sure she understood their dynamic. He seemed completely unconcerned with whether they even liked her and seemed convinced that they’d be happy with just the appearance of him being coupled up. But men could be a little dense about these things so she suspected the truth was a little more nuanced than that.
What parents didn’t want their child to be happy?
He might think they didn’t care about the girl he brought home but she was willing to bet they would want to see some kind of affection between them.
She glanced over at him. Even in profile he looked harsh, like a monarch surveying the peasants he ruled over. Although from where he was sitting that probably wasn’t too far from the truth.
The car glided to a stop and King stepped out. She’d been so deep in thought that she hadn’t paid the slightest attention to where they were. King had told her his parents lived in Arlington, a wealthy suburb in the neighboring state of Virginia.
Olivia sat up, looking around with interest. They were parked on a circular drive in front of a massive house.
House was probably not even the right term. It was a red brick structure with two long wings on the sides that wrapped around enclosing them in a courtyard. The front door was flanked by twin white columns that made her think of Gone with The Wind. All the windows on both stories were lit up.
She whistled softly right before King opened her door. “Are we at a hotel?” she joked.
His lips twitched. “This is my parents’ estate. Kingsley Manor.”
She accepted his hand and didn’t resist when he pulled her arm through his. It was a little late for second thoughts but she had to admit it was easier to go forward with him so close.
Even though he drove her slightly crazy and his arrogance annoyed her, she’d always felt safe with him. Something she would have to examine at a later date.
The front doors opened and King greeted the uniformed man with a warm smile.
“Hello, Jenner. How are things this evening?”
The older man took their coats and waved them in with a flourish of his hand. “Busy, sir. You know your mother. She’s never idle.”
King grunted and Olivia realized he was staring at her dress, revealed when she’d removed her coat. It wasn’t anything extraordinary just your standard little black dress but it had a sweetheart neckline that framed her bust perfectly.
Self-conscious, she tugged at the fabric as discreetly as she could. The dress fit technically, even though she was way taller than Elle.
She bit her lip.
Okay, Elle was not only shorter but a lot bigger in the bust too. The loose fit showed a little more cleavage than she liked but she hadn’t thought it was that noticeable.
“What? Is the dress too short?” she finally asked, when she couldn’t take his staring anymore.
He shook his head, the angry look on his face dissolving into his usual placid expression. “Nothing. You are stunning.”
“I… thank you.”
It was such a strange compliment. The words were kind but he looked almost pissed off about it. Like he was annoyed to be attracted to her.
She wasn’t sure what to think of that. There shouldn’t be any surprises. Maybe the dress was a tad too short but he'd seen what she looked like before at the club in way more detail. He was lucky she hadn’t worn something with a split up her leg and half of her cleavage coming out.
Before she could think on it too long, a woman with platinum blond hair approached.
“King? There you are darling. I was wondering if you weren't coming.”
King kissed her on both cheeks just as a distinguished older man appeared at his elbow. He looked a lot like King so she assumed this was his father.
"Olivia, this is my mother, Fiona Kingsley. Mother, this is Olivia-" King stopped abruptly and then laughed. "I'm sorry, I actually don't know your last name."
An awkward silence fell over the group and Liv could feel a blush creeping over her cheeks. Geez, maybe instead of stressing out on the way there they should have been exchanging the basic information.
"It's Reyes. Olivia Reyes." She extended her hand and a beat before she would have withdrawn it, his mother took it.
"Lovely to meet you, Olivia. This is King’s father, Thane the Third."
"Oh, you're named for your father. That's nice."
King rolled his eyes but she guessed his father must have agreed because he accepted her hand looking slightly more pleasant.
"Yes it is, isn't it? It's an honor to carry a name that goes back for generations."
Fiona patted her husband's chest distractedly. "Of course it is, dear. Now Olivia, how did you and King meet?"
The blush that had started to recede marginally came back full force.
"Oh, we met yesterday."
She glanced over at King who was watching everything with a strange little smile. He didn't seem inclined to jump in and make this less awkward so she grabbed his arm and squeezed.
"Actually would you excuse us for a moment?" She walked back toward the hallway, dragging him behind her.
* * *
King allowed Olivia to drag him along until they reached the living room. All of the furniture had been moved out to make room for a dance floor. After a split second of thought, he tugged on Olivia’s hand until she turned and tumbled into his arms.
He guided her until they were moving smoothly with the other couples. The band for the event consisted of a harpist, a violinist and a flute player. King sighed. If his blood wasn’t rushing from being plastered against Olivia’s shapely body, he’d be on the verge of falling asleep already.
She glared up at him. “What the hell was that back there?”
He looked around. Her sharp words hadn’t gone unnoticed. The couple dancing right next to them looked at them in shock and then moved a little further away.
Good.
Maybe she’d cuss him out right here and now and they could get this over with.
“What do you mean? My parents seemed to like you.”
She pulled back putting some space between them. Her eyes narrowed but she didn’t say anything else.
“King! I can’t believe you’re actually here!”
Olivia jumped back as he was tackled from the side. He managed to keep from falling on his ass as his sister, Georgina, threw her arms around his neck.
Olivia watched with amusement. Ex-girlfriend, she mouthed.
He could see why she might think that. His sister was gorgeous and he didn’t just think that because she looked a little like him with her long dark hair and sky blue eyes. He’d had to come to terms with it after fending off quite a few of his friends who’d shown interest.
“Georgie, this is Olivia. The girl you just shoved out of the way just now. Olivia, this is my little sister, Georgina.”
Georgie turned and clapped her hands over her mouth. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry!”
/> Olivia glanced between them and then her eyes bugged out as Georgie enveloped her in an enthusiastic hug.
“I get a little excited sometimes. My brother always says I’m like a terrier when I get worked up.”
Olivia glanced at him. “That’s okay. Not everyone can be a robot like King.”
Georgie giggled. “Exactly! That’s what I always say too. You should come meet my friends!”
This evening was quickly getting out of control. King needed Olivia with him so they could do something inappropriate and get his father to back off his maddening plan to force him to settle down. They couldn’t do that if she was off talking about nail polish or whatever inane nonsense his little sister and her friends talked about.
“Wait a minute, you’re stealing my date?”
Georgie rolled her eyes. “It’s not like we’re going that far. You can survive without her for a few minutes.”
Before he could say anything else, Georgie had Olivia by the arm. He stood there awkwardly, watching as they were stopped by his father. Olivia said something he couldn’t hear and his father’s laughter rang out through the room.
He hadn’t heard his father laugh like that in a long time.
“Damn it.” King stalked over to the bar. He’d just ordered a scotch when his father appeared at his elbow.
“Glad to see you’re taking this seriously, son. She’s a beautiful girl. Not what I expected but somehow she seems to have your number.”
He glanced over his shoulder to where Olivia held court in the middle of Georgie’s friends. She was telling some story, her hands moving around her face animatedly and the entire group erupted in laughter. The women seemed to have accepted her as one of their own already and he’d noticed more than a few men eyeing her.
He gritted his teeth. This evening was definitely not going according to plan so far.
The only way his father would back off was if he saw for himself what a liability the wrong wife could be. But Olivia wasn’t doing any of the things he’d expected. He’d expected her to come inappropriately dressed and scandalize them.
Instead she was charming the women and inspiring lust and envy in the men.
“So, I’ve been doing some more research on AliCorp and they’re prime for a merger. Our meeting next week should be nothing more than a formality at this point.”
His father nodded. “I’m not worried about it. You’ve never let me down.”
Instead of making him feel better, the words enraged him, mainly because of how true they were. He’d dedicated his entire life to making his father proud and working to ensure that the Kingsley name represented excellence.
“I’ve never let you down and yet you’ve threatened to turn it all over to Colin if I don’t do what you want?”
His father clapped him on the back. “Your brother isn’t as daft as you think he is. He just needs someone to believe in him. You, on the other hand, need to learn an entirely different lesson.”
“Please. Enlighten me, Dad. Because I don’t get it at all.”
His father regarded him for a long moment. Then suddenly his brown eyes looked weary. “I know you don’t. All I can hope is that you’ll figure it out before it’s too late.”
Chapter Seven
King groaned and swallowed the last of his scotch. Another round of laughter came from the corner of the room. That was it. He put his glass down on the bar and pushed his way through the crowd. The laughter petered off as he shouldered his way through. Olivia peered up at him with innocent eyes.
“Hi, King. Is everything okay?”
She didn’t say anything else but he got the definite impression that she was laughing at him.
“No, everything is not okay. I haven’t gotten to see you all night.”
In hindsight, that wasn’t at all what he’d meant to say. He’d wanted to remind her that she was supposed to be helping him and not socializing but somehow it came out sounding more like the complaint of a jealous lover.
Like he… missed her. Which was ridiculous, of course.
He scowled when the girls all sighed and cooed about how romantic it was. His own damn sister was no help. She put her arm around Olivia and squeezed.
“I’ve never seen my brother like this, Livvy. He’s always a grump but he usually doesn’t care about anything except business.”
King gritted his teeth so hard it felt like his jaw would lock in that position. Olivia must have sensed he was nearing the end of his patience because she carefully extricated herself from the group and took his hand.
“Well, ladies, it’s been fun. But I think I’d better dance with my man before some other girl throws herself in his arms.” She winked at his sister. “See you later, Georgie.”
He didn’t wait around to see what his sister would reply. With the way the night was going she’d come up with some other reason to keep Olivia away from him. Bypassing the dance floor, he made his way through the kitchen to the back stairs. Olivia rushed to keep up with him, the sound of her high heels on the polished wood floors like gunshots.
“Where are we going in such a hurry? And why are we leaving the party? I thought the whole idea was to mingle.”
She huffed out an exasperated breath as he led her up the stairs and down a hallway. Then he pulled her through the second door on the left. As soon as she cleared the threshold, he closed the door and pushed her against it.
“King, what–”
Whatever she’d been about to say was swallowed as he attacked her mouth. His hands were all over the place, under her dress and in her hair, trying to take in every inch of her at once.
She melted against him and wrapped her hands around him, shoving his suit jacket to the side so she could get closer. Their tongues tangled as he tried to get more of her taste. Her lavender and lilac scent was all over him and he abandoned her mouth to kiss his way down her throat, trying to find the source of the drugging scent.
He lifted her under the thighs, hefting her higher so he could settle between her thighs. When his cock, rigid in the confines of his suit pants, nestled against what he knew had to be itty bitty panties, she let out a throaty moan.
Any remaining blood in his brain quickly abandoned ship and flowed south.
He’d never been this hard, this needy, this desperate before. He could give a shit about his parents downstairs or what they thought of him right now. His entire world condensed to right here, right now, and whether or not Liv was going to let him inside her soft, wet heat.
“King, what the hell are we doing?” she gasped. Her lips attached to his neck and placed suctioning kisses all the way up to his ear. She took the lobe between her teeth and bit down gently, causing him to cry out.
“Fuck, bite me again.”
She moaned and bit him again, this time right below his ear. His last bit of restraint snapped and he fumbled with the front of his pants, almost ripping the zipper off in his haste. Olivia chuckled as he struggled to push his pants down. Her laughter cut off abruptly when he nudged into position, easing through her wet folds until she took him to the root.
“King. Oh my god.”
She shuddered and satisfaction stormed through his veins. He’d put that look on her face. He’d drawn every one of those helpless, erotic sounds from her throat. Him.
She was all his.
He grabbed her hands in one of his and held them over her head, forcing her to hold still as he established a hard rhythm, angling so she’d get tons of friction right where it counted.
It wasn’t long before her moans turned into soft whimpers. King struggled to hold it together as she exploded beneath him, her legs tightening around his back as she rode out her release.
He pressed his face against her neck, panting with the effort it took to hold back, trying to prolong her pleasure. Then she clamped down on him and his mind went blank. He lost it as his own orgasm swamped him and his legs went so weak he almost dropped her.
He managed to hold it together and keep
them upright. By the time he came back to himself, she was breathing deeply and he felt like every one of his muscles had been wrung out.
A small bit of his reason returned and he acknowledged that taking her in his childhood bedroom while his parents and their friends were right downstairs wasn’t the best course of action. But even more than that, was the fact that after such a small taste of her, he only wanted more. The enormity of how much he wanted her frightened him.
He was supposed to be getting her out of his system, not sinking in deeper and deeper.
“We should get back.”
He pulled out gently and set her on her feet. She stood up straight and then she paled slightly.
“Oh no. We didn’t use anything.”
King reared back in shock. He closed his eyes. How could he have been so careless?
He’d never forgotten a condom before, not even when he was drunk. It wasn’t the kind of thing a man in his position could afford to be careless about.
She held up a hand before he could speak. “It’s okay, I’m on the pill.”
“Even so, you have every right to be angry. I can’t believe I forgot. I’m so sorry, Olivia.”
She straightened her dress and pulled the bra back into place. “It was an accident. How can I be angry when I didn’t remember either? You make me forget everything.”
They both arranged their clothes and tried not to look at each other.
God, this was awkward.
Olivia touched his arm. “King, about what happened. Just… don’t pay me. This was… just don’t pay me anything, okay?” She blushed deeply and then tugged at the top of her dress. “Maybe we should go back now.”
Her words brought a whole new element to his discomfort. He’d forgotten all about their deal. Everything that had happened tonight was completely off-script. The only thing he’d been thinking about tonight was Olivia and how she affected him.
“Yeah. We should go.” King reached behind her and opened the door.
She walked out without looking back.
