Ready for King's Seduction

by Maureen Child

  Just being in the room was tearing at him. How the hell could he ever relax in here when Rose was stamped all over the place? Her scent, her laughter and, God help him, since that last night he’d been with her, even her passion was etched indelibly onto this room.

  In fact, everywhere he went in his house, he heard her, saw her, tasted her. He wasn’t even sleeping in his own bed anymore because he would wake up in the middle of the night stretching out his arms to her and finding only emptiness. How could his life have come so undone in a matter of weeks? How had the home he loved become foreign to him?

  His sanctuary had become a prison of his own making.

  “You’re not eating much,” Rafe mused.

  “Not hungry, I guess,” Lucas said with a shrug. In fact, he hadn’t been hungry for two weeks. The knot in his guts made the thought of food impossible. Understandable, he told himself frequently. Of course, he’d have an adjustment period after cutting Rose out of his life. But he was sure it would right itself. Eventually.

  “Right.” Rafe took a sip of beer and said, “So, Warren stopped by my office this morning.”

  Lucas shot him a look. “And you’re just mentioning this now? Why the hell didn’t you tell me he was there today?”

  “Take it easy.” Rafe ignored the heat in Lucas’s voice and continued, “The man’s feeling like a fool and only came to see me to apologize in person.”

  “Notice he didn’t apologize to you,” Sean said with a grin. “Probably afraid you’d drop him again.”

  “I should have had him arrested,” Lucas countered, remembering again the bruises on Rose’s arm, her slight shivers as he raced up to find her alone, facing a drunk in the dark. “He scared the crap out of Rose that night.”

  “I know,” Rafe said quietly. “He knows it, too, and he’s ashamed. Actually, I almost fell out of my chair when I heard that man say out loud for the first time ever, it’s my fault.”

  “About time,” Lucas muttered.

  Rafe nodded. “He also asked that I apologize for him to both you and Rose, Lucas. And to tell you that you won’t have any more trouble from him. He’s moving back to Phoenix to start over.”

  Lucas was glad to hear that Warren was leaving town. He didn’t want that guy anywhere near Rose. Not that she would ever know Warren had left. How would she? Lucas wouldn’t be seeing her again so he could tell her. Ever.

  Absently, he rubbed the middle of his chest at a mystery ache that seemed to have lodged itself there.

  “Another miracle chalked up to Rose,” Sean said. “Because of her, Warren stepped up to the plate and took responsibility for the first time in his life. She really is an amazing woman.”

  “Yeah,” Lucas agreed somberly. “She is.”

  “So what’re you going to do about it?” Rafe asked.

  “What?” Lucas looked back and forth between his brothers and noted they both wore the same expression. Exhausted patience.

  “Come on,” Sean said, taking another bite of his third quesadilla. “We’re not stupid. We can actually see the difference in you since you stopped seeing Rose.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Sure you don’t,” Rafe said with a smirk. “Hell, even your secretary’s complaining about your tiger-with-a-toothache personality lately.”

  “Yeah,” Sean added. “Evelyn says she’s going to start force feeding you Katie’s cookies to try to sweeten you up.”

  Lucas scowled at both of them, and if his secretary were there, he’d have one for her, too. He didn’t appreciate being talked about or wondered over. His personal life was no one’s business but his own. They could all damn well butt out.

  “But cookies won’t do it, will they?” Rafe asked quietly, gaze locked on Lucas. “It’s Rose. It’s been Rose all along.”

  Yes, it was Rose.

  It was always Rose.

  She never left his mind. The gaping hole in his heart reminded him with every beat that she was gone. That he’d let her go. Hell, that he’d actually walked away from her. And why? Because of his stupid plan.

  You can’t plan your life that way, and he knew it. What was that quote of John Lennon’s? Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans. That about summed it up. Lucas had planned to live his life alone. To never get entangled in the silky webs of love and marriage. To avoid any relationship that even looked remotely long-term.

  And that had worked out well for him.

  Until Rose.

  Lucas had spent the past two weeks fighting every instinct he had that demanded he go to her. Hold her. Kiss her. No other woman had ever made him want her so much—even out of bed. Rose challenged him, laughed with him, argued with him and stood up to him, willing to go toe-to-toe with him, even when he was right, damn it.

  And he missed her more than he would have thought possible.

  Suddenly irritated with not just himself, but also his interfering brothers, Lucas pushed up from his chair. “I don’t need an intervention or whatever the hell this is.”

  “Oh, hell yes, you do,” Sean said with a grin. “You’re a pain in the ass to be around, Lucas. More so even than usual.”

  He gave him a snide smile. “Thanks.”

  “You’re in love with her.”

  Lucas gaped at Rafe. “I am not.”

  Sean laughed, and Lucas shifted his glare to him.

  “Yes, you are,” Rafe said amiably. “Think I don’t recognize the signs? Wasn’t so long ago that I was doing with Katie exactly what you’re doing now with Rose. And I’m here to tell you that hiding from it or ignoring it won’t make those feelings disappear.”

  “It’s worth a shot,” Lucas mumbled.

  “That’s where you’re wrong,” Rafe told him. “You think you’re miserable now? Wait another month or two. Or a year. You’ll still be torn up in knots over Rose and torturing yourself uselessly. Face it,” he added with a smile, “when a King falls for a woman, he stays fallen. There’s no escape.”

  “Damn, that sounds terrifying,” Sean said, to no one in particular.

  Rafe ignored him and focused his gaze directly on Lucas. “A smart man wouldn’t want to escape.”

  Was he smart? Lucas wondered. Or was Rafe reading too much into this? Seeing love where only need existed? What the hell did Lucas know about love? He had never felt it before. How could he be sure that was what he was feeling now? Need and desire were so twisted up inside him, he wasn’t sure of anything anymore.

  Which was damned lowering to admit, even to himself.

  Meeting his brother’s stoic stare took every ounce of willpower Lucas had in him. Rafe saw too much. Knew too much. And Lucas couldn’t hide the truth any longer. Not from Rafe. Not from himself.

  This aching, gaping hole inside him was what was left after he carved Rose out of his life. And if he didn’t get her back, the emptiness would eventually swallow him. He’d be forced to live a half life, always wondering what might have been.

  “If you want my advice,” Rafe said a second later, “and even if you don’t…go see Rose. Do some groveling. Get her back while you still have the chance.”

  Sean snorted. “Lucas? Apologize?”

  “If he’s got half a brain,” Rafe said, still staring into Lucas’s eyes, “then yeah.”

  Thankfully, he was spared having to reply when the doorbell rang. He left his brothers arguing over whether or not Lucas had half a brain and stomped through the house to the front door. He didn’t bother to look outside first to see who it was. He was too damned grateful for the timely interruption.

  If he had looked, he might have had time to duck.

  As it was, Dave Clancy’s punch caught him squarely on the jaw and staggered Lucas back several steps.

  Seeing stars, Lucas cupped his jaw and shouted, “What the hell?”

  “You son of a bitch.” Dave stalked toward him, ready to deliver another blow when Rafe and Sean came running down the hall.

  “What’s goi
ng on?” Rafe demanded.

  Sean was already moving to Lucas’s side, presenting a united King front.

  Dave’s furious gaze never shifted from Lucas. “He knows what’s going on. Ask him.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Lucas glared at him. “I opened the door, you hit me. End of story.”

  “You didn’t see that coming?” Sean muttered.

  Lucas shot him a murderous look before turning back to Dave. “What are you doing here? And why the hell did you slug me?”

  “Rose is pregnant.”

  Three little words, dropped into the room, and it was as if a bomb had gone off.

  Sean gave a low whistle.

  Rafe grumbled something under his breath.

  Dave looked like he wanted to go another round.

  And Lucas had never been so happy about anything in his life. Dave’s news had hit Lucas harder than the man’s fist had. His mind raced. Rose. Pregnant. He was going to be a father. And something else. He was going to be a husband.

  That word settled into him and to his surprise didn’t rattle him much at all. Finally, he had a reason to marry Rose. To make sure she married him. He would accept nothing less.

  Despite the pain in his jaw, he grinned.

  Dave saw it and frowned. “You think this is funny?”

  “Hell, no,” Lucas told him, rubbing the ache in his jaw again. “Nothing funny at all about this. But it’s the best news I’ve ever had.”

  “I think he’s got a concussion,” Sean murmured.

  “No,” Rafe said, smiling, “I think he just figured out what he really wants.”

  “Damn straight,” Lucas told him, then looked at Dave again. Rose’s brother. They would all be family soon, he told himself, and made a point to ease the protective streak Dave was displaying. “Look. You and I, we straightened a few things out between us, right?”

  “Yeah…”

  “And I told you then that I started the affair with Rose as a way of getting some payback on you.”

  Dave nodded and didn’t look real happy with that reminder.

  “Things changed,” Lucas said simply. “Rose is…everything to me.” God, it felt good to admit it. To say out loud what his heart and soul had been trying to tell him for weeks. “I’m going to get her to marry me, Dave. As fast as I can.”

  The other man studied him for a long moment before finally nodding his head in acceptance. “She won’t be easy to convince. She doesn’t take orders from anyone anymore.”

  Lucas laughed. “Believe me, I know.”

  “But if it means anything to you,” Dave added, holding out his right hand, “you’ve got my blessing.”

  Stunned to realize that it did indeed mean a lot, Lucas shook his old friend’s hand, then turned to his brothers. “I’ve gotta go. Lock up when you leave.”

  As he ran out to his car, he heard Sean ask, “So, now that we’re almost related, you want a beer?”

  Lucas drove straight to Rose’s house. He probably should have stopped at a jewelry store so he could hold a big, shiny diamond out to her when he announced that they’d be getting married…but he couldn’t wait that long.

  He felt better than he had in two weeks. The ache in his chest was gone. His eyes were clear and his heart, mind and body were finally in agreement on something.

  Rose was the woman for him.

  No one else would ever do.

  Spotting the ridiculous skillet car in her driveway, Lucas grinned, parked out front and ran to the front door. The streetlights shone down on the narrow street filled with tiny houses and even tinier yards. People were so close together here, he thought they could probably shout “Bless you” when their neighbor sneezed.

  He pounded on the door a few times, then hit the doorbell just for good measure.

  Rocking on his heels, he looked around while he waited. Next door, an older woman was holding one end of a leash while an ancient-looking beagle wandered aimlessly around the yard looking for a place to go.

  The woman frowned at him when he rang the bell again, and Lucas grinned. Her expression didn’t change, and he shrugged, turning back to face the door, still closed and locked to him. What was taking her so long? The house was so small she wouldn’t need more than a minute to get to the front door from anywhere in the place.

  “Rose!”

  Silence, but for the hiss from the older woman next door. Lucas ignored her.

  “Rose, I know you’re there, talk to me!”

  “No!” The answering shout came from the other side of the door, and he smiled at the sound of her irritable, contrary voice.

  His world suddenly straightened itself out. And he had to wonder how he had managed to be so clueless for so long. All he really needed was Rose. It was all so simple. So perfect.

  Or, it would be, if he could get her to open the damn door.

  Leaning his hands on either side of the door, he said, “Let me in, Rose. We have to talk.”

  “There’s nothing to talk about,” she told him.

  “Not according to Dave,” he called back. “That traitor.”

  “Rose, let me in.”

  “Go away.”

  “Not gonna happen. Not again,” he swore vehemently, his gaze raking over the door as if trying to see past it to the woman on the other side. “Not ever.”

  “Lucas, this changes nothing,” she said after a long, tense moment of silence.

  “Everything’s changed and damn it,” he said, “if you won’t let me in, then I’ll just shout it to you through this bloody door!”

  “You watch your language, young man!”

  This from the neighbor. Lucas turned a glance her way, then focused on Rose again. He didn’t have time to worry about who else was listening. All that mattered was making sure that Rose heard every word.

  Remembering Rafe’s advice, Lucas figured she was owed some groveling. Strangely enough, it wasn’t as hard as he might have imagined it would be. It was too important. Too necessary to be difficult.

  “I know I hurt you, and I’m sorry.” His voice dropped from a shout, but was still loud enough for her to hear him, he hoped. “I was stupid. Shortsighted. I thought I needed revenge when all I really needed was you.”

  “Lucas…”

  She sounded tired. Defeated. A word he never would have associated with Rose Clancy before this. And it cut him deep that he had brought such a strong, wonderful woman such grief.

  “Rose, give me the chance to show you what you mean to me. I won’t blow it again,” he shouted. “Damn it, Rose, I love you. Did you hear that, Rose? I love you.”

  He glared at the door that stood between him and the woman he needed to see. To hold.

  “The least you could do is open the blasted door so I can tell you to your face what you mean to me!”

  “That’s it for you,” the woman next door called out. “I’m calling the police!”

  “Go ahead!” Lucas shouted. “Maybe they can make her open the door!”

  Instantly, he heard locks turn and then the door was thrown open and Rose stepped out onto the porch. She was wearing the faded jeans he loved to see on her and a V-necked shirt that dipped low enough to display the tops of her breasts. Her hair was back in a ponytail again, and her beautiful blue eyes were red-rimmed from crying.

  A stab of something sharp jabbed him in the chest and he swore silently that he would do whatever he could to see that she never cried again.

  “It’s okay, Mrs. Klein,” Rose called to the neighbor, who was dragging her old dog to the house. “We don’t need the police, but thank you!”

  The older woman glared at Lucas again and sniffed loudly, but allowed her dog to go back about his business.

  Rose gave Lucas a long look before stepping into the house and saying, “Come in.”

  She was still reeling from his confession. She had never hoped to hear him say “I love you.” Oh, all right, she had hoped. But hadn’t thought it would ever really happen. Not Luc
as King. Not the man who claimed not to believe in love or marriage or any of the things that were so inherently important to Rose.

  Closing the door behind them, Rose looked up at him and saw something new in his eyes. Something that gave her chills. Something that told her maybe hope wasn’t an impossible word after all.

  “God, I’ve missed you,” Lucas said, his voice deep and raw with emotion.

  Rose wanted more than anything to go to him. To feel his arms come around her. To nestle her head on his chest and listen to the steady beat of his heart. But she couldn’t. Not until she was sure he had meant what he said. She simply didn’t think she could take another heartbreak.

  “Dave shouldn’t have told you about the baby,” she finally said.

  “You’re right,” Lucas agreed, reaching out to gently skim his fingertips along her jawline. “You should have.”

  “I was going to,” she said. “I just wanted a few days to let the news settle in for me first.”

  He frowned suddenly. “Are you upset? About the baby, I mean?”

  “No.” She said it quickly. Firmly. Placing both hands on her flat abdomen, she shook her head and said again, “No, I’m not.”

  “I’m glad.”

  “But Lucas, this doesn’t mean you have to marry me.” God, those words cost her. All she really wanted was to be his wife. To raise their child together. To be loved by the man she loved with all of her heart.

  “You’re right.” He closed the distance between them, laid both hands on her shoulders and said softly, “I don’t have to marry you Rose. I need to marry you.”

  “Lucas—”

  “Not because of the baby,” he told her with a half smile that tugged at her heart. “But because without you, there’s nothing. These past two weeks without you were the longest of my life. I fought every day to keep from coming here,” he admitted. “I told myself I didn’t need anyone. That what you and I had was just a temporary blip on the radar. I was wrong. I was an idiot to ever walk away from you.”

  “I want to believe you, Lucas. So much, I want to believe.” Her heart felt as though it was being squeezed by a tight, cold fist. Her stomach was spinning and her mind raced with possibilities she couldn’t quite bring herself to count on. Not yet.