“Shit,” she repeated. “You need me to drive up from Austin?”

“You’re in Austin?” I asked, momentarily distracted.

“Yeah, been here a few months. I like it, but it’s a little too…mellow for me, you know?”

Damn, it had been a while since we talked.

Still, I could totally see that. Tia needed action and thrived on challenges. Austin was a fun place, funky and laid back, everything Tia was not. She had razor sharp edges and a mind that needed constant stimulation, but not the chemical kind.

However, she shouldn’t be here, not with all this shit going down.

“Nah, babe, just need to talk it out,” I insisted.

There was a long pause. Finally, she responded, “Well, tell me about it.”

So I did. I left out a lot, like the fact that Larry probably wanted to kill me. I knew she wouldn’t shy away from the fact that King wasn’t precisely on the straight and narrow. Tia didn’t exactly follow the rules either.

“Damn, girl, when you say you have man trouble, you have fuckin’ man trouble.”

I laughed breathlessly. “Yeah.”

She was silent for a long while, so long I thought we’d been disconnected.

“Tee?”

“I’m here, babe. Just trying to figure out how to tell you to take a risk.”

The clutch in my chest, which had been there since King kissed me earlier that evening, eased. “So you don’t think I’m stupid for giving him a second chance?”

“Yes and no,” she replied.

“Well, that’s freakin’ helpful,” I snapped.

“What I mean, Jena, is I know men like King. They very rarely apologize for the things they do, especially if they feel they’re justified. The fact that he called Justin off and he told you the truth before he apologized twice…”

“What?”

“Don’t you get it, Jena? It would have been easier for him to pursue you if you didn’t know the truth. He never had to tell you. It would have made his life simpler.”

I hadn’t thought of it like that. “So?”

“He’ll never lie to you, babe. Even when it would be less trouble for him.”

Dear God, she was right. King told me the truth when he didn’t have to. If he’d put forth a strong effort with me, even after the way we split, I would have caved. I wouldn’t have been able to withstand him.

Instead, he chose to tell me the truth, even though it meant I might never forgive him.

The front door slammed so violently the whole house shook.

“Shit, Tia, he’s home. I gotta go.”

She chuckled. “I bet you do. See you tomorrow.”

Before I could ask her what in the hell that meant, she hung up.

Then I forgot all about her because I was staring at King. His long hair was wild around his shoulders and his black eyes shimmered with rage. The muscles in his shoulders and arms were taut and flexing as he clenched his hands into fists.

Obviously I was in deep shit.

Chapter Twenty-One

‡

Without thinking, I shot to my feet, dropping my phone on the rug with a thump.

King stopped, his arms hanging at his sides, his focus on me intense. “You talked to Larry?” he asked softly.

My mouth felt as dry as dust, so I licked my lips. “I forgot to check the caller ID,” I answered. “It won’t happen again.”

His eyes drifted over me from head to toe, but it felt like a threat. “Who were you talking to when I came in?”

“My cousin, Tia,” I whispered.

He nodded, still looking me up and down.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked quietly.

“I’m trying to figure out what your punishment is going to be,” he answered shortly.

That put my back up. “Punishment?” I asked with narrowed eyes. “What am I, five?”

His black eyes snapped back up to mine, glittering like onyx. “Now is not the time to throw sass at me, darlin’. I’m hangin’ on to my temper by a thread.”

“Oh, really, Alaric. Well, I have news for you, you don’t get to fucking punish me for making an honest mistake. Especially if I said I was sorry and that it won’t happen again.”

I cried out as he lunged toward me and sprinted around the couch, heading for the front door. Holy shit, he was pissed. Even as I ran from him, I didn’t think he was really going to hurt me. Though this was the angriest I’d ever seen him, King had never been violent toward me.

He might be rough in the bedroom or get loud when he was angry, but somehow I believed his promise that he would never truly hurt me.

I made it three steps from the door before his arm hooked around my waist, lifting me off my feet. I pulled my knees up and kicked forward and he nearly dropped me.

“Fuck!”

King put me roughly on my feet, twisting me to face him. Before I could fight, his shoulder hit my gut and he stood, my body draped over his back.

“King, put me down!” I yelled, pounding on his back with my fists.

“Shut up!” he snapped, his hand coming down hard on my right ass cheek.

It stung badly enough to get my attention. I went rigid over his shoulder as he carried me out of the living room and down the hall to his bedroom.

“I mean it, King,” I growled, “there will be no fucking punishment or you’re going to wake up tomorrow without a dick.”

He smacked me again and I shut up. I wasn’t scared. I wasn’t even really angry.

What I felt was righteously turned on.

When he entered his bedroom, King went straight to the bed and literally threw me across it. I bounced twice and rolled off the other side, coming to my feet and crouching slightly, ready to run. I was panting and hot, in more ways than one.

King tore his shirt over his head then his hands went to his belt buckle.

“What in the hell do you think you’re doing?” I asked.

“I figure I’ll spank your ass so hard you can’t sit for a couple days, then I’ll fuck some sense into you,” he snarled.

The muscles of my inner thighs contracted at his threat, and not from fear. God, even while I was freaking out and angry, King could turn me on.

“I don’t think so,” I muttered, dashing toward the bedroom door.

I didn’t know why I was running, except that part of me thrilled in the chase.

As before, King caught me after a couple steps and threw me back down on the bed, this time face down. He grabbed my ankles and dragged me to the edge so that I was bent over the mattress.

I struggled but he was strong, much stronger than me. He held me down with one hand in the center of my back as his other hand hooked the waistband of my yoga pants and stripped them down my legs.

I was still wearing my baggy t-shirt, but he shoved it up to reveal my naked ass.

“King-” I said his name hesitantly. I wasn’t sure anymore if we were playing a game or not.

“Shh. It’s okay,” he murmured.

The fight went out of me then. Even though he was pissed, he wasn’t going to harm me. My instincts were right. He would never hurt me, not really.

Suddenly, his weight was off me and he flipped me over, lifting me to the middle of the bed. His expression concerned as he looked down at me. “Are you okay?” he asked.

I nodded.

“Did I scare you?”

“Maybe for a second. I wasn’t sure if…” I trailed off.

King moved forward so that he was levered over me on the mattress. “What is it gonna take for you to believe me when I tell you I will never hurt you again?”

“I believe you, King, I do. I just had a weird moment.”

His eyes took in my face and then he nodded. “Okay.”

Lifting a hand, I cupped his cheek, my thumb caressing the stubble growing there. “You’re really not a bad guy, King.”

He smirked when I said it. “I think you’re crazier than I thought if you really believe that.”

I reached down and pinched his ass lightly. “I’m not crazy,” I argued.

He grabbed my hand and pinned it above my head. “You think I’m a good guy, darlin’, so you must be crazy.”