Page 58 of Echoes of Temptation
“Maybe it has something to do with not feeling safe to be Little,” I glare. “Maybe he doesn’t even want to try anymore because the two dumb fucks who were supposed to make him feel safe decided it was best to seclude him from Littles like him.”
“Easy wildcat,” King whispers in my ear.
“We didn’t seclude him from anything,” Steel growls. “Keep your damn opinions to yourself. You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Watch it, brother,” King growls. “I will die for you, but I will fucking kill you for hurting her.”
“King,” I gasp. “Don’t threaten to kill your brother.”
“No, he’s right,” Steel says. “I’m sorry, Maddy. I’m just pissed because I know you’re right.”
“He’ll be fine,” Ghost says. “He just needs time to process what’s happened. When the time is right, he’ll be able to move forward. Knox is strong. He’s had to be. He won’t have to fight through this alone.”
We spend the next hour at the clubhouse before everyone decides to head home.
“There’s nothing you can do to help him tonight, baby,” King says. “Let’s go home and we’ll go back over in the morning.”
King hasn’t spent a night away from me since everything went down. We’ve been sleeping at my apartment, but I don’t know how to tell him that I just don’t feel comfortable there anymore and want to go stay at his house. I’m not even sure if he has a home or if he sleeps at the clubhouse.
Maybe we could just stay with my parents for a few days. I just need to get a good night’s sleep. I’m exhausted which is probably why I blew up at Steel. That’s not normally how I handle my anger.
“What are you thinking about, baby?” King asks as we walk out to his bike.
“You’ll either think I’m clingy or weird if I tell you,” I admit shyly.
“I wouldn’t mind if you were clingy,” he smiles down at me. “And you can’t possibly be any weirder than I am.”
“Is that because you like the sound of your enemies in pain?” I smirk. “Or that bathing in their blood is your normal skincare routine?”
King’s eyes widen before he shakes his head.
“My brothers need to keep their stories to themselves,” he grumbles straddling his bike.
“Yeah, they are a chatty bunch,” I smile, sliding on behind him. “You do know that getting back here with my big butt and belly and these short legs is a workout, right?”
“Let’s get you home so I can give you the workout we both need,” he says. Before I can process, let alone respond to what he’s just said, he starts his bike and takes off. The sudden movement causes my brain to start working and I wrap my arms around King’s waist. When I feel him laughing, I do the only thing that makes sense. I lean up and bite his shoulder.
That causes him to stop laughing but I can feel the low growl in his chest.
Animal.
***King***
I keep reminding myself that Madaline is a virgin. However, what I want to do with her is far from what her innocence can take.
“Uhm, where are we?” she asks when I turn off my bike.
Hiding my smile doesn’t come easy with her.
“Home,” I answer. “Hand me your helmet and I’ll hang it up.”
We’re inside of my parking garage but I know she got a nice view of her new home. My poor woman hasn’t been sleeping well at night and I’ve noticed that she never fully relaxes inside of her apartment.
“The garage we just entered belonged to a very large house,” she tells me, handing me her helmet. “Not the home of a bachelor.”
“It’s not nearly as large as your parent’s home, baby,” I remind her. “And I’m not, nor have I ever lived, as a bachelor. I have a family home. One that is used most of the time when the club has cookouts. One that I hope to fill with children of my own, one day.”
“With me?” she squeaks.