Текст книги "All or Nothing "

Автор книги: C. C. Wood

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Текущая страница: 9 (всего у книги 13 страниц)

Chapter Twenty

‡

Later that night, I stretched out on the couch while flipping through channels on the television. Though King left me at home so I could get some sleep, I was wide awake.

But I wasn’t thinking about Justin, or even Katie. I wasn’t worried about whether I would make it out of this situation with Larry unscathed. I was obsessing over the fact that I was more than half in love with Alaric Sloan yet I didn’t think I could forgive him.

Somehow that knowledge seemed even more dangerous than the idea that someone might want to kill me.

It was completely fucked up, but all I could think about was how King was going to break my heart. How stupid could I be? The man had a hand in nearly destroying me. It didn’t matter that he developed a conscience, that he was sharing himself with me now, or that he hadn’t wanted to hurt me after he met me.

All that mattered was that he hadn’t hesitated to put me in harm’s way to begin with. At least that’s what I told myself.

He could swear on a Bible that he wouldn’t do it again, but here we were, years later, facing the possible consequences of his and Justin’s actions.

Groaning, I tossed the remote on the coffee table and got up from the couch to pace. I knew all this, yet the shield I’d erected around my heart was already cracking, threatening to crumble into dust.

He made it very clear that he liked the fact that I challenged him. He also seemed to genuinely regret the choices he’d made three years ago. I wasn’t sure if it was hormones or my own weakness that made me want to forgive and forget.

Usually forgiveness wasn’t a problem with me, but this wasn’t a dent in a car or the inability to pay back a fifty dollar loan. This was my life.

I didn’t know if I could offer him absolution for that.

I did know one thing with startling clarity, though. If I let this go and made an effort to move forward, I would be his. He wouldn’t have to work for it. It was just a fact, like knowing the Earth revolved around the sun.

I walked restlessly around King’s living room, trying to escape the thoughts that were ruthlessly assailing me. God, I wished I had someone to talk to. I couldn’t talk to Katie for obvious reasons, even though she would at least understand what was going on. I didn’t want to drag Ashley into this, so she was out.

My feet hesitated when I thought about my cousin, Tia. I could talk to her about anything. She was amazing and even less inclined to deal with bullshit than I was. She would be able to provide some insight on this situation.

However, if I called her, I had a bad feeling that she would show up in an effort to help. That could be disastrous, for both of us. Then again, Tia was the toughest person I knew, male or female. She was a female equivalent of Wick’s personality and she was scary as hell when she was mad. I once saw her break a guy’s hand for grabbing her ass at a concert. While it was awesome to see her take the fuckwit down, it was also frightening.

Lost in thought, I took my cell phone out of my pocket when it rang and answered without checking the caller ID.

I immediately regretted it.

“Jena.”

My body froze, my skin turning to ice and every muscle locking down. “Larry,” I choked out.

“How are you doing?” he asked politely.

“Uh, I’m f-f-fine,” I stuttered. “How are you?”

“I’ve been better.”

“Um, I’m sorry to hear that.”

“I know what’s going on, Jena,” he murmured.

I swallowed hard, the muscles that were so tight moments ago turning to water. Collapsing on the couch, I asked, “You do?”

“I know what happened three years ago and I know what’s happening now. I know that Wick and his boys used you.”

Licking my dry lips, I responded, “You do?”

“Yes, honey, I do. I know you didn’t talk back then, but you need to be careful now.”

Holy shit, was he trying to console me and threaten me at the same time? “Careful?”

“I understand you’re with King. There are things about him you don’t know, and you need to get as far away from him as possible.”

“Larry, I-”

“Jena, I don’t want to see you get hurt. King and Wick are putting you right in the line of fire.”

Suddenly the phone was ripped out of my hand. I screamed and whirled around. Wick stood behind me, a muscle ticking in his jaw as he listened to whatever Larry was saying.

“I know what you’re doing, Peretti, and it’s going to stop,” he snarled. “You do not call Jena again. As far as you’re concerned, she doesn’t exist. You got me?” He paused and I could hear Larry’s voice rising on the other end of the line, but couldn’t make out what he was saying. Wick shook his head, his arctic blue eyes locked on me. “She has no part in this except whatever plans you have for her.”

He smiled coldly as Larry responded. “I’m not stupid, and I don’t believe a goddamn word outta your mouth.”

I watched with wide eyes as Wick disconnected the call. He threw my phone on the couch and stared at me, his expression icy and unreadable.

Finally, he asked, “What in the fuck were you thinking, talking to Peretti like that?”

My throat felt tight with fear as I looked at him. Talking to Larry freaked me out, but Wick was scaring the shit out of me.

“I forgot to check the caller ID,” I mumbled, taking a step back.

Wick stalked after me. “You forgot to check the caller ID?” he asked incredulously.

I tried not to cower as he loomed over me, but Wick was terrifying in this mood. My usual feistiness had deserted me.

He shook his head as he stared down at me. “You know what, I’m going to let King handle this,” he muttered. “You’re not my responsibility, which means you’re not my problem.”

That didn’t sound good. I watched as Wick pulled his phone out of his pocket and started scrolling through the screens. My stomach dropped when he put it to his ear.

After a few seconds, he started talking. “King, Wick. Your girl just got a call from Peretti. I was outside talking to your man when the call came through the bug and Johns shot me a message.” He paused. “Yeah, she was talking to him when I came inside, white as a fuckin’ sheet and shakin’ like a leaf.”

I made a noise of protest, feeling those shakes he mentioned return.

Wick’s eyes cut to me, devoid of amusement. “You wanna talk to her?”

I shook my head vehemently and could swear I saw a whisper of a smile curve Wick’s lips. Seeing that, a little of my spunk came back and I straightened my spine, throwing back my shoulders and glaring at him.

The suggestion of the smile became a full-fledged grin.

Crap.

“Yeah, I figured that’s what you’d do,” he muttered. “I’ll stick around til you get here.” Wick hung up and shoved his phone back into his pocket. “King’s on his way.”

“Shit,” I whispered.

“I’m waiting outside until he gets here. I suggest you start thinking about what you wanna say to convince him he doesn’t need to spank your ass red for this stunt.”

I scowled fiercely at him. “Excuse me?” I asked, putting a hand on my hip, my earlier fear vanishing beneath outrage at his words.

Wick laughed. He actually laughed. “Shit, I don’t envy him getting you under control.”

“You did not just say that,” I snapped, forgetting that Wick scared the shit out of me.

He shook his head, still chuckling. “Never understood why King had a thing for the bitchy ones.”

“Hey!”

Wick abruptly stopped laughing. “Now I do.” His pale blue eyes were no longer icy but intense.

Holy shit, I realized he was basically saying he thought I was hot. Speechless, I watched as he turned on a heel and walked out of the house.

Knowing I only had twenty minutes before King would get back from the bar, I picked up my phone and, without taking a beat to think about it, called Tia.

“Hey, bitch!” she yelled in my ear. “God, it’s been for-fuckin’-ever since I’ve heard from you.”

“Girl, your phone works, you just proved that. You could have called me.”

She laughed. “True. What’s up?”

“I have man troubles.”

“You? Man troubles? What, he wants his balls back?”

Even though I was in the middle of a major freak out, I giggled. “Nope. He won’t let me have’em at all.”

“Shit,” she murmured, “you got it bad, don’t ya?”

“It’s more than just man trouble,” I told her. “I have other kinds of trouble.”

“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.”

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.