The Making Of A King: The King Duet, Book 1

by N. M. Catalano

  I step in front of her. “Why, Storm? Do you think I’m bad?” a slow grin tugs at the corners of my mouth. Her eyes drop to my lips, mine already on hers. I already noticed how the corners of hers are tilted up, sweet and perpetually on the verge of a grin. She doesn’t answer. She doesn’t have to. “I swear, nothing I’ll ask you to do will be illegal.” A smirk explodes on my face. “Despite what you might have heard.” Her eyes lock with mine, and son of a bitch, I’ve never seen a girl look as hot in glasses as she does. “You’ve got, what? A few more months here, then you’re off to college? Might as well make as much bank as you can before you go. You won’t get another offer like this.”

  The battle is loud and clear in those sea foam eyes of hers. Each of us waiting for the other to either fire the first shot of war, or raise the white flag for a truce, however temporary that would be. Because, this thing we’ve got going on, the give and take, the push and pull, it’s alive and hungry and ferocious, and it doesn’t want any prisoners. The thing is, I don’t play fair. I go in for the kill, and Storm has no idea what’s coming. We stand like that for I don’t know how long, hours, seconds, it doesn’t matter. The longer we stand facing each other off, the more her fight slips away. When the word, “Okay,” slips past her lips, it’s all I can do not to kiss her.

  Not because I want her, although I do.

  I want to defile her, destroy all traces of her goodness and purity.

  But because now I own her.

  She’s mine.

  CHAPTER 4

  I can’t believe I said yes.

  I CANNOT BELIEVE I agreed to this insanity.

  I’m weak, I’m desperate, I’m out of my damn mind! And I’m about to go work for the most unscrupulous person in a hundred-mile radius. What does that make me? What will it do to my father who is a district attorney? I can see it now, my mug shot will be on the local news, “Area girl arrested for trafficking drugs across state lines. That’s after she robbed a bank, and kidnapped newborns from the hospital.” I’m being melodramatic, I know it, but everything I’ve heard about Lucas King is all bad. He’s made it very clear he doesn’t even like me, I don’t think he likes anyone, not even Preston, and he was having breakfast with him. Why would he want me to help him? It doesn’t make sense. Especially after what happened. I don’t trust him, but his offer was too good to pass up. He’d been right. I am leaving soon, and from the way his offer sounded, it seemed like easy money. However, if something sounds too good to be true, it definitely is. Besides, if whatever Lucas King is involved in were illegal, he’d be in jail. Right?

  My cell phone chimes with a text on the kitchen island next to where I’m standing waiting for Jax to get his butt downstairs so I can get him to school. No one calls me, so the sound makes me jump.

  Unknown number: Meet me at the diner.

  I feel my blood drop to my feet. “Jax, hurry up!” I yell out as I pick up my phone.

  Me: How’d you get my number? And NO.

  The sound of elephants stampeding down the stairs doesn’t stop the next incoming text from sounding like a siren.

  “Who you talking to?” Jax’s feet keep moving toward the door as he snags the toast and the bottle of juice from the counter top. Even he realizes how unusual it is for me to get messages.

  “No one,” I mumble as I read the text while following behind him, phone gripped in my hand and my eyes locked on the screen.

  Unknown number: Better get used to it, Storm. Storm? Clock starts now.

  “Ugh,” I grumble as I shove the phone into my pocket and slam the front door behind us.

  What? Am I supposed to jump when he snaps his fingers? Does the arrogant ass think I’m at his beckon call? Just because my breath catches whenever I look at Lucas King, or think of Lucas King, doesn’t mean I’m going to be his little bitch, no matter how much he pays me.

  Jax shoves his backpack behind his seat as I get in the driver’s side and yank the door shut. “Did you get a boyfriend?” he asks way too enthusiastically.

  My entire body cringes at Jax’s question as Lucas’ lips flash through my mind, and the thought of how he would kiss. A completely unwelcome tremor ripples through me remembering how close they’d been to mine and it only succeeds in getting me angry. Because so many girls in town probably know exactly how he kisses. Amanda knows how he kisses, how he tastes, what it feels like when he…

  “Shut up,” I snap, and I’m not sure if it’s for myself or Jax.

  “Just tell me,” he’s got a stupid grin on his face.

  It’s so far from the truth. The truth being that Lucas and I hate each other. I hate him so much because he loathes me, has made it his personal mission to despise me, and I hate myself because I walked right into being completely under his command whenever he feels the need for entertainment.

  Pulling onto the road that’s congested with Mercedes and BMWs, all filled with teenagers who probably haven’t worked a day in their life, I’m dreading the first day of my new job. My hands tighten around the steering wheel. “Just stop talking.”

  “That’s it, isn’t it,” he laughs.

  “Jax, I’m warning you.”

  “It’s not some dork, is it?”

  “I wish,” I grumble as Lucas’ face flashes in my mind, all condescending sneer, perfectly chiseled cheekbones, and hypnotizing glacial eyes, all of which he doesn’t deserve. Someone that vile shouldn’t be that beautiful.

  For one brief moment, I hate myself. I hate that I’d made a deal, one I really didn’t have to, but my pride would never allow me to back away from it now. It was just like Lucas had said, never say anything you don’t mean, and I wasn’t going to start now. Not because of him. And not because I’m afraid. I’d said I’d work for him, and God only knows why. He was right, my time here is on countdown, so this…arrangement is finite, it has an expiration date. Knowing that I’m not going to have to put up with his arrogance and horrible attitude forever makes this bearable. Almost.

  Knowing that he barely tolerates my existence, and he has the reputation of a whoredog, doesn’t.

  I feel beaten before I even begin this arrangement with him, and for the first time in my life, I’m scared.

  I’m not scared of Lucas. I know I should be. He’s cold and callous and devoid of any emotion. Then there are the rumors. A rumor wouldn’t exist without some semblance of truth to it, so there has to be something valid for all those things said about him, that he’s a criminal, or even talk that he’d killed someone. Honestly, although Lucas is most definitely not a boy scout, however, I do not think he’s as bad as the rumors suggest he is. I don’t believe he’d hurt me, at least not physically. That’s not what I’m worried about.

  Because, although I know working for Lucas is a really bad decision, huge, monumental even, I can’t help feeling elated. I’m not naïve enough not to realize that Lucas King has an agenda for everything. Christ, I’d been warned by Rosie. He’d been hateful toward me. Therefore, he’s got to have an ulterior motive for ‘hiring’ me, one I have yet to figure out. Maybe I’m stupid, but I don’t believe it’s to set me up so that I’ll spend the rest of my life in prison. He can’t be that evil. But something tells me there’s got to be something more.

  Jax must have gotten bored with my pissy attitude because he shoved his earbuds in and blasted his rap music, completely ignoring me all the way to school. Which is fine with me. I’m not in the mood to listen to his nagging. My mind is a mess trying to figure out Lucas’ angle and what he wants with me.

  The girl who occupies the #1 spot of Lucas’ list of most hated people on South Harbor Island.

  Although I know Lucas will most likely make my days, and probably my nights, miserable, I’m looking forward to learning about the man behind the myth. Because truthfully, he offered me a position I believe no one else has ever had. Because despite how awful he’s treated me the few times we’ve spoken, that makes me feel special. I’m going to learn everything I possibly can about Lucas King.
I just hope I won’t live to regret it.

  After getting through the massive line of vehicles dropping off students in front of Jax’s school, I watch him as he gets out of the car and grabs his pack. I notice he looks different, a little less anxious, and a lot more relaxed and confident. He looks good. That makes my heart glow and maybe, just maybe, today isn’t going to be horrible.

  Just as Jax is closing the door, he pulls it back open and ducks down. “Hey Vee, thanks. I know this is a pain in the ass,” I narrow my eyes at him for cursing, but I can’t stop the smile tugging the corners of my lips. “Don’t go pissing off Lucas King again today,” he smirks, the smart ass.

  “Just for that you can walk home, you little shit.”

  I hear him laugh after he pushes the car door closed and walks toward the entrance with a swagger I hadn’t noticed before.

  My little brother is growing up.

  As I pull out of the student drop-off circle and head toward the diner, each mile I drive I get more and more nervous. My hands grip the steering wheel tighter, and my palms are sweating so much, I have to wipe them on my pant legs. I keep holding them up in front of the AC vent to dry them off. When I finally maneuver my car into a parking space at the diner, which isn’t easy because apparently I turned into a crappy driver within the past half hour because I’m afraid I’m going to sideswipe the cars on each side of me, I’m a total mess. After I cut the engine, I lean back in the seat and take a steadying breath. “Get a grip, Evie. He’s just a guy, and I’m just…,” I blink a few times as I try to find an answer.

  What am I to him? Errand Girl? Assistant? Little Bitch?

  I reach over and grab my purse, my nerves sufficiently quelled. Because I’m no one’s little bitch.

  This time when I walk into Rosie’s Diner, my steps are not frantic because I’m late. They’re measured and assured. I’ve got this, and I’m not going to let Lucas King get to me.

  I spot him in the same booth he’d been sitting at with Preston, but this time he’s alone. His back is to the wall and he’s facing the front of the diner. Toward me. But he isn’t looking at me, oh no. His gaze is focused at something outside the window, and he appears bored. Much like the first time we’d met, as if life had failed to entertain him and somehow everything, and everyone, is insignificant. Even me. Especially me.

  My heart’s thumping so hard in my chest, it gets my attention and nudges me forward. I force myself to walk calmly toward him, my eyes locked on his perfect profile, until I slide into the seat across from him. At least I tried, however it was more of a plop, without grace, and definitely not smooth. I feel like a bag of hot, sweaty rags thrown into the private universe of this perfect male specimen. He doesn’t bother to face me, not yet, and that’s fine because I can’t seem to drag my eyes from outlining the curves of his face. I mindlessly study how the sunshine makes the different tones of his black hair play around him like a halo, glowing and giving him a certain ethereal aura, something more than the rest of us regular humans have. His eyes are so light blue, the sun seems to go right through them. His expression is unbothered as if he is in his own little world, some place nothing or no one can touch him. Beautiful, he is so damn beautiful, it almost hurts to look at him. Then he slowly turns to face me, his gaze piercing and focused. I stop breathing, and I know instantly I am in so much trouble.

  “Are you always going to make me wait?” his tone matches the boredom in his expression.

  “Are you always going to be rude?” because he was, is, and probably always would be.

  “Yes.”

  “That’s unfortunate.”

  “So is you being late.”

  I shrug. “You never said there was a clock I had to punch.”

  He studies me a moment, and I’d be lying if I said his scrutinizing gaze doesn’t make me want to squirm beneath it. Because I do. For reasons I’d rather not admit.

  “You’re right, I didn’t. So let’s make this understood now. When I call, you come.” The corner of his mouth kicks up in a smirk. That right there makes me want to squirm even more. I feel the heat seep up my neck and over my face, I can’t stop it. I certainly don’t know Lucas well enough, but I’d bet anything the sexual innuendo was intentional, and I also know he meant it. I also can’t believe he’d directed it at me.

  “No can do.” I manage to reply with no reaction, other than my face on fire. One of his brows lifts in question. I draw in a deep breath and continue. I might as well finish. “Contrary to what you may believe, the world does not revolve around you or your needs. People, myself included, have lives and responsibilities. One of mine is taking my brother to school, and now to baseball games and practices.” I pause and wait for him to say something, to tell me to take a hike, that this isn’t going to work. To say he hadn’t been serious, that this was all just a joke, and the laugh is on me. He doesn’t, so I keep going. “As this is a job,” I give him those stupid air quotes, “I will be punctual with pre-agreed times and places. However,” it’s my turn to give him a pointed look, “when you call me at the spur of the moment, I would expect you to be an agreeable human being,” I narrow my gaze at him, Preston’s comment from the other day about Lucas trying to be a human hangs in the air, “and understand there will often be times I can’t come running. But I will come,” more heat inches up my face with that stupid word, “as soon as I can.” And that is all I have to say about that.

  Lucas doesn’t reply, he only glares at me. With his eyes fixed on mine and his expression a stone mask, he makes me feel like he’s reading my mind, that all of my most private thoughts and emotions are on display for him, that everything inside me is visible only to him, and there’s nowhere I can hide. That there’s no way I can hide from him.

  “You know, you’re either stupid, or you’ve got a huge set of balls,” he states mildly.

  What? My body temperature explodes. He’s evil and hateful and a bully. It’s actually painful the way I have to forcefully hold myself back to keep from lunging at him across the table and choking him. “Excuse me?” It hurts to push the words out, my throat tight from my neck muscles tensing.

  My father has told me so many times that I’m a reactor. That I tend to let things blurt out of my mouth before thinking about them. He’s right, and Lucas has already witnessed how things come flying out unchecked, that was one of his ‘rules’ yesterday. He’d delivered his pearls of wisdom with his permanent cocky glare and horrible attitude. It’s killing me, but I’m not going to let him bait me into losing my temper and making a scene in the place I’d been fired from yesterday. I don’t usually care about what people think of me, but I can see Amanda out of the corner of my eye staring at us from behind the counter and, knowing her, she’s thinking of some way to humiliate me again in front of Lucas. I refuse to allow him to give her the opportunity.

  Because I’m not sure I wouldn’t end up in jail if she did.

  Lucas’ emotionless expression softens, his eyes get a glimmer of amusement and his lips curve into lopsided grin. He leans forward closer to me, allowing me to get another whiff of him, the way he smells is already burned into my senses. It’s like a summer day with a cloudless sky, fresh and limitless. His piercing eyes are fixed on mine, and the look sends tingles through me. I bet that’s how he’d look if he was leaning in to kiss me, and the thought makes my heart stutter. Because I want him to kiss me. I want him to look at me the way he is now, and mean it.

  I want to bolt, just get up and leave, but I can’t. I’m transfixed, locked in place, silently imagining that’s what’s going to happen.

  But I know this isn’t going to be good.

  “That’s your third mistake,” he says, his voice smooth.

  I swallow. Blink. Swallow. “Third?”

  The corner of his mouth kicks up a little more. “Yes. Thinking I give two shits about what you think.”

  Hot fury seeps through me at his cold and condescending behavior toward me, followed by shame and humiliation. These f
eelings smash into each other inside of me, but outside I remain unaffected. He’s brutal and vicious and the cruelest person I’ve ever met, and for the life of me, I can’t understand why.

  I clench my jaw and stare him down just as hard as his eyes burn into mine. With a slow shake of my head, I state quietly, “I don’t know what your problem is with me, and frankly I don’t care. I’m here for one thing only, to make money. So, if you have nothing for me to do right now, I’m leaving.”

  A grin slowly spreads across that deviously angelic face, and it’s like a burst of sunshine exploding through a raging storm. I want to smash the feeling that one small look gives me and hold onto the anger. I need it to steal myself against the war that has obviously started with Lucas and me, the one I have no idea of the why’s and how’s. But it’s in full swing, and I am apparently losing. One thing is certain, though: I’m not going to go down without a fight.

  I snatch my bag and start to move out of the booth when he grabs my wrist, and the heat from his touch sends a spark of electricity through me. I jerk my head to face him. His eyes are on fire throwing bombs at me, daring me to fight him, to battle him, to push him so he could push me back.

  That’s the moment Amanda decides to make her appearance.

  “Well, won’t you look at what the cat dragged in.” I can hear the venom in her voice.

  She’s nothing but a jealous tramp.

  My body tenses and my fingers curl into my palms, my nails digging crescents into my flesh. Lucas’ eyes haven’t let mine go, and when he feels my reaction beneath his touch, his eyes narrow at me. I don’t flinch or say a word. If it’s the two of them I’ve got to fight, so be it.

  She’s the reason I’m here now.

  “Leave.” His icy command catches me by surprise.

  “Huh?” I hear her grunt.

  He drags his gaze from mine to Amanda. “I said leave.”

  What?