King of Me (The King Trilogy #3)(11)
Author: Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

“I did not make you kill him,” he pointed out. “That was all you.”

I sighed bitterly. As usual, King liked to focus on partial truths. “The weird part was Vaughn wanted me to kill him. He kept egging me on about Justin being a villain, and about wanting to hurt my parents. Any idea why?”

“Perhaps he feared I might torture him for a bit.”

“Were you going to?” I asked.

“I hadn’t decided.”

“I wish you had—maybe you could’ve gotten him to tell me what happened with Justin.” Not that I believed a word he’d said.

“The truth often lies somewhere in the middle,” he said, commenting on my thoughts. “However, Miss Turner, I’m shocked.”

“What?”

“You would have liked me to torture him? My, how you’ve changed.”

“Don’t look so pleased, King.”

He chuckled quietly. “Well, I believe a little darkness is healthy in a person. Good for the soul.”

I wasn’t going to touch that one. “Whatever.”

Looking out across the waves, we sat in silence for several moments.

“I think I will miss this after I move on,” he said.

“Miss what? Torturing me?”

“The banter.”

I half laughed, half huffed. “You would.”

He grinned a bit. “And…perhaps throwing you in with Vaughn was not the best of ideas. However, the knife was merely a precaution for your defense as the man was dangerous—with or without chains—which is why I stayed close.”

“Did you just apologize?” I could hardly believe it. The man never apologized for anything.

He shot a look meant to warn me.

“Just wanted to be sure,” I said flippantly. Not like you’re one to make mistakes, let alone admit to it. Lying, on the other hand…

“Very well, you were right; I had another motive for the gift. I acquired Vaughn because I planned to kill him after you had your words with the man.”

“I thought you couldn’t touch other 10 Club members?” Of course, it was a rule they followed superficially.

“I obtained clearance as part of the deal. I needed to know you would be safe after I am gone. Needless to say, I now know that I have nothing to fear; you are capable of doing whatever is necessary to survive. Even kill your foe. So, I suppose you might argue the gift was for me.”

His “gift” had turned me into a cold-hearted killer that I didn’t recognize. Bottom line, however, I didn’t want to think about it anymore. I needed to focus on something else, or I might crack the rest of the way. Letting that happen when I was so close to the end would be a tragedy.

Next time you want to give me a gift, try some clothes.

“I am glad you mentioned that; I would like to take you somewhere special tonight. The dress is waiting in your room.”

“I meant that you should wear clothes, not buy me some.” Sitting next to his na**d body made it hard to remember why I hated the man or why I couldn’t trust him. “We’re not going to an empty restaurant in San Francisco, are we?”

He flashed a wolfish smile. “I can arrange that, if you prefer.”

“No.”

“As I thought. Which is why I will take you somewhere special to me. From my childhood.”

“We’ll be alone?” I asked to confirm my suspicions.

“Someone must cook and serve the food. However, we will have the opportunity to talk privately so that you may ask me anything you like. I assumed this would be an adequate compromise to my earlier proposal.”

My eyes wandered over to his lean muscular legs, up to his groin, where he’d left his legs open.

Crap. Don’t look. Luckily my mind was quickly back in control, smothering those tingles concentrating in my core and between my legs. Seriously, there was no rational reason for the effect this man had on me.

“Then it is settled.” King slowly rose from the sand and dusted off his hard bronzed ass. I tried not to look, but it was impossible.

“I’m going to take a soak in my tub. Care to join me?” he asked.

I blinked. It wasn’t a tub, but a round, large sunken pool with tiles made of the same deep blues as the Aegean Sea and smack in the center of his room like some ancient Grecian spa. I’d literally dreamed about bathing with him in it a million times—our bodies wet and steaming as I rode his muscled frame and devoured his sensual lips with my mouth.

King lifted one dark, silky brow. “My, my, Miss Turner. You do have quite the dirty mind. I hope to sample the fruits of its labor before my time is up. Perhaps tonight?”

I shook my head, feeling ashamed. My imagination was out of control. “No.”

“Such a shame, as I think we both might enjoy it.” King shrugged and began walking toward the house, dissolving into thin air right before my eyes. “I hope you like the dress, Mia.”

“I didn’t agree to go with you.”

“Do not be late,” his disembodied voice called out. “It displeases me.”

Pompous jerk. I hung my head and covered my face before blowing out a slow breath. I tried not to be excited about tonight, but I was. I tried not to hate myself for it, but I did.

But what about the thing Mack said?

Focus on something else. I needed to keep that to myself. If something really was wrong with King, it changed nothing. Not the fundamentals, anyway. Eyes on the prize, Mia. And his believing my ignorance over the matter would be my only defense should anything go wrong. Think of something else, think of something else, I chanted inside my head.

It wasn’t hard to move my thoughts back to images of King’s naked, rock-hard body, and to the unsettling mystery of what he planned for tonight.

CHAPTER FIVE

When I returned to the house after a few hours of deep contemplation interrupted by quiet fits of panic, I finally had my game plan figured out for the evening. The old Mia would have hummed and hawed, but King was right. Today I’d learned that this Mia wasn’t simply colder and perhaps crazier, but she was stronger, too. This Mia could face her fears and do what had to be done. Which was exactly why I wouldn’t allow my worries to get in the way of my goal: saving Justin, and, therefore, saving my parents’ hearts. Everything else was noise.

So, if bringing Justin back required me to share an intimate dinner with King and force myself to feel something for the man, then that’s what I would do. I would push myself to see him, really truly see him for who he was, without judgment or fear. Besides, I’d already met his bad side. Maybe if I did this, I’d get to see more of his soft underbelly.