I rolled my eyes. “Even good guys can do bad things, King. Just like bad guys can do good things. People are never one-dimensional. We carry both good and evil within us. They’re part of what makes us human.”

He stared down at me, his eyes gleaming. “Are we discussing human nature while we’re both half-naked in my bed?”

“Yeah,” I answered belligerently. “Got a problem with that?”

He grinned and shook his head. “No.”

“Then why are you complaining?”

He lowered his head and his nose rubbed against mine. “I’m not.”

The last of my resistance shattered and I fell headlong into love with King. It didn’t hurt, not even a little.

Much later, I cuddled up to King, tucking my head beneath his chin. His hand ran slowly up and down my back. The first time I met him, I never would have imagined that King liked to snuggle, but he did.

“So am I forgiven yet?” he asked sleepily.

Tension returned to my muscles and I tilted my head to look at him. “Not quite.”

He seemed unperturbed by my honest answer. In fact, King smiled. “That’s okay, darlin’. I’m gettin’ there, that’s all that matters.”

I turned my head and rested my cheek on his pectoral. “What happens if you never get there?”

His hand never paused as he caressed my back. “I told you. I’m not a quitter. I won’t give up until the job’s done.”

Despite my worries, I smiled.

*     *     *

The next morning, I woke up when King rolled out of bed.

Naked, he left the bedroom without a word. That’s when I heard my phone ringing in the living room. Groaning, I sat up and rubbed by eyes. I squinted at the clock on the bedside table and winced when I saw it was seven-thirty.

Jesus, who could be calling so early?

“Yeah, she’s here. Just a sec.”

King came back into the room and handed me my phone. “Some chick named Tia.”

I took the phone and cautiously put it to my ear. “Hello?”

“Damn, girl, he has a sexy voice. Is the rest of him as hot?” she asked.

I closed my eyes and shook my head. “You’re callin’ me at seven-thirty in the morning to ask me that?”

“No, I’m calling you at seven-thirty in the morning to tell you I’ve been sitting on the steps in front of your apartment for almost twenty minutes. When are you gonna be home?”

“I’m not,” I answered on a sigh.

“What?”

“There are some things I didn’t tell you.”

“Such as?”

“Such as Larry knows about what Justin and King were up to and he’s not very happy with me right now.”

“Goddammit, Jen!” she yelled.

I yanked the phone away from my ear and King promptly took it out of my hand.

“Hey, I’m sick of you alpha assholes doing that!” I snapped.

He pointed a finger at me, which enraged me even more. Considering he was standing there naked, he should be more concerned about having a pissed off woman so close to his bare man parts.

Apparently, my thoughts were clear on my face because he took two large steps back and headed toward his closet, talking as he went.

“Tia, King here. I take it you’re at Jena’s?”

I climbed out of bed and followed him into the closet in time to see him pulling clothes out of a drawer, the phone jammed between his shoulder and his ear.

“I’m sending someone to meet you. They’ll bring you here and take care of getting your car here.”

I couldn’t hear what Tia said but King chuckled. “Oh, okay, I get it. I wouldn’t let just anyone ride my bike either. Tell ya what, Jena and I will meet you at the IHOP a few blocks from her apartment. You know where it’s at?” Obviously she answered the affirmative because he continued, “We’ll be there in half an hour.”

He hung up the phone and held it out to me. “Think you can be ready to go in twenty minutes, babe?”

I stared at him, wondering if it was possible for a woman’s head to explode from fury. Since it didn’t happen immediately after that thought, I decided it wasn’t and snatched the phone away from him.

Marching past him into the bathroom, I yelled, “First of all, Alaric, don’t ever take my phone away from me like that again!” I started stripping out of my t-shirt and underwear and turned on the shower. “Secondly, ask me before you make plans on my behalf with my cousin!”

I grabbed a hair elastic off the counter and pulled my hair back in a messy knot on the top of my head. I wouldn’t have time to wash it since, according to King, I only had twenty minutes to get ready.

As I turned back toward the shower, my naked body collided with his and I felt the impact all over in a very pleasurable way. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me.

“We’ll shower together and I can wash your back, help you get ready faster.”

I shoved at his shoulders. “No way, you’ll make us late.”

“No, I won’t,” he disagreed.

“King!” I yelped as he shoved me into the shower. “Do not get my hair wet.”

He didn’t get my hair wet, but we were definitely late.

Chapter Twenty-Two

‡

As we walked toward Tia’s table at IHOP, I could tell by the knowing smile on her face that she understood exactly why King and I were almost twenty minutes late. She didn’t seem to mind.

Getting to her feet, she grabbed me in a hug. I wrapped my arms around her, holding her just as tightly as she held me. Now that I could see her, I realized how much I missed my cousin. Since I didn’t have any siblings, she’d sort of taken that role in my life.

A year older than me, Tia was the sister I never had. We spent a ton of time together growing up, always having sleepovers and studying together. It wasn’t until her parents divorced that I lost touch with Tia.

Her mom started dating again almost immediately and each guy was worse than the last. It finally got so bad that Tia ran away because her mom couldn’t be bothered to stop her boyfriends from putting their hands all over her seventeen year old daughter.

When she left, she stayed in touch. It took a year and some convincing but my mom talked her into moving in with us until she graduated high school. She insisted on working part time, pitching in to help pay bills. Mom tried to tell her it wasn’t necessary, but she insisted.

That was the kind of woman Tia was. She took care of herself. She had for a long, long time.

After she released me from her hug, Tia held out a hand to King. “Tia Preston. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Alaric Sloan. Everyone calls me King.”

Her eyebrows went up. “Can’t blame them.”

I snorted and they both looked at me. I shrugged. “What?”

We sat and the server came by to take our orders. After she left, Tia, as usual, cut right to the chase.

“So what exactly did Jena leave out last night?”

I frowned at her. “Tia, is that why you’re here?”

She stared me down. “I’ve known you all my life, Jen. I know when you’re lying to me.”

“For your own good,” I stated. “I knew you’d be up here in a flash if you knew what was going on and this is not the time for you to visit.”

“Hell yes I would. You and your mom are my only real family. If I think you need me, I’m here.”

“It’s not a good time, Tee.”

“Shut up, I wasn’t talking to you anyway,” she snapped, turning back to King. “Tell me what’s going on.”

“I-”

She glowered at me. “I said. Shut. Up.”

When I pointed my finger at her, King wrapped his around it. “Calm down, Jena.”

“King, she shouldn’t be here, she’ll get hurt or-”

“I can take care of myself,” Tia insisted.

“Jena, Tia, would you like to talk louder so everyone around us can hear our conversation?” King asked dryly.

We both fell silent, glaring at each other.

Finally, Tia’s eyes moved to King. There was a look in them I’d never seen before. Normally, they were a pretty hazel color, both green and brown. Right now they were burning and bright, the color of amber.