Reading Online Novel

Shattered King(66)



I rolled to my back, stared up into his ruggedly handsome face. “How long?” I whispered.

Relief transformed his expression so blatantly it couldn’t be mistaken for anything else.

“Three days.”

Three days I’d shut the world out around me. “I’m sorry,” I said.

He cupped my face and ran his thumb across my cheek. “What for?”

“Checking out.”

He leaned in, buried his face against my throat, and stayed there for several long seconds. When he lifted his head, his gaze was heavy, pained. “You scared the shit out of me.” Those bright blue eyes moved over my features. “I felt like I was losing you all over again.”

Tears stung my eyes and I swallowed them back.

“Don’t,” he rasped. “Don’t fucking hold it back. Fuck, baby, you gotta let it out.” He moved his fingers through my hair. “You lost your mom, sweetheart. You gotta let that pain out.”

“I can’t . . .”

He shook his head, silencing me. “You got regrets when it comes to her, but in the end, that shit is useless. It will do nothing but eat you up inside. She loved you, you loved her, and you both knew it. The way she looked at you . . .” He kissed my temple. “Nothing else matters but that, babe. Nothing. You need to let it out.”

I stared up into his eyes, forcing down the boulder in my throat so I could speak. “I’ll break,” I whispered.

“Lulu . . .”

“I’ll break if I let it out.”

His stared into my eyes, heat, warmth, determination, all aimed at me. “You break.” He smoothed his thumb over my lower lip and kissed me just below my eye. “I’ll put you back together. I promise you that.”

Oh God.

That was when the first tear slid down my cheek.

I buried my face against his chest, fists clutching his T-shirt, and let the tears flow. Hunter wrapped me tight in his arms and held me while I fell apart.

* * *

A week had passed since my break down in Hunter’s arms. Though I was still emotional, I was starting to feel human again. It was thanks to not only Hunter, but his friends, and the woman sitting beside me.

“Um . . . Ruby?” I sat on the couch, eyes glued to the TV as background music started to play—all bow-chic-a-wow-wow. I turned to the King Agency’s receptionist sitting beside me, her glass of rum and coke tilted dangerously as she stared at the television, mouth hanging open.

“Yeah.”

“I don’t think this is Dirty Dancing. That sure as hell isn’t Patrick Swayze.”

Ruby had come over to keep me company. Hunter was still being cautious. I knew he was still worried about my state of mind. But even more so today, the day after my mom’s funeral. He had something he had to do and didn’t want to leave me with just one of the guys. He’d wanted someone here with me who would actually speak to me . . . and not freak out if I randomly started crying again. Ruby volunteered.

Some dude in a tool belt and nothing else came onto the shot, boner bobbing enthusiastically in front of him.

“Dang,” Ruby whispered.

She’d certainly managed to take my mind off things. And dang was right, the guy was hung like an elephant. It made my eyes water just thinking about something that size coming anywhere near me. “Where did you get this from?”

She tore her eyes from the TV. “It’s mine—well, the cover is. The movie must belong to my roommate.”

The music changed and we both turned back to the screen. The guy was lubing up, the woman bent over the washing machine. “Oh, dear God,” I said.

“No . . . he’s not gonna put that giant thing in there, is he . . . ?” Ruby’s voice trailed off as he moved in behind her.

We both squealed. Loud.

The sound of the bathroom door crashing open came a second later. Ruby kicked into action, diving for the TV, knocking the bowl of chips off the coffee table and landing on her belly with an oomph. Neco, who was watching us tonight, came flying into the living room, gun drawn. He’d asked to use the shower when he’d arrived straight from his run, and now wore nothing but a towel, which sat dangerously low on his hips. The guy looked fierce. Like a hero from one of the action films I’d watched with Hunter.

He scanned the room, then his gaze slid to Ruby, who was still scrambling commando style toward the DVD player on her belly.

His eyes went to the TV before they dropped back to Ruby. “What the fuck?”

She slid the last couple of inches and hit the stop button. “Um . . .”

“What in the fuck, Ruby?” Neco growled.

The dude was seriously scary when he wanted to be. I watched Ruby’s eyes go big as she took him in, only now noticing he was butt naked apart from the wet, thin towel clinging to him—everywhere.