My jaw dropped. I might not have had my father in my life, but he wasn’t exactly a ghost either.
“You haven’t seen her at all.”
“Not a word, a birthday card, Christmas present, nothing until recently.”
It was my turn to give him a questioning gaze.
“Recently? What happened?”
“She lives in New Jersey. After we drove to New York, I decided I’d go see her.”
I moved forward as if on the edge of my seat. To be a fly on the wall for that meeting would have been something. “How’d it go?”
“As you can expect, she was shocked to see me.”
“And?” I probed.
“And she wasn’t exactly happy about it. She has a new family and I wasn’t exactly a welcomed visitor.”
“Wow,” I said, sitting back. “That sucks.”
“It turned out all right. I met my brothers and I wasn’t exactly a stranger to them. Apparently, their father had told them about me, though very little. At least they weren’t shocked and were actually pretty excited.”
“How old are they?”
I guessed Grant to be in his mid to upper twenties, so when he responded, “Seventeen and twins,” I was the one with an open jaw.
“Funny enough, they were most curious that I was a pilot and wanted me to teach them.”
“How did your mom react?”
“She didn’t know, at least then. They caught me before I left and asked me to stay the night in their pool house. I have no idea if they told her or their dad about our overnight visit after I left. Still, I don’t regret it. I have little family outside of Dad. I have two brothers I can acknowledge.”
So different yet almost the same with my siblings. But there was a question that struck me.
“Your last name is King. Are you related to the Kings of King Enterprises?”
His head bobbed up and down, but his expression darkened. “Dad’s brother is the King of New York. He’s the reason my parents aren’t together. My uncle didn’t exactly keep in touch with Dad after he signed away his rights to the family fortune.”
There were so many questions I wanted to ask, but sensed he was closing up.
“Positive note, you have brothers now and you can teach them to fly.” I didn’t know what to say after that, so I said, “I guess I should get some sleep.”
My hair was almost dry, and I carefully got to my feet, trying my best not to flash him. He followed me into the room and stopped in front of the empty TV stand.
“This,” he said, pointing at it, “is an infrared heater.”
He bent to plug it in, and I found myself admiring his towel-covered ass. When he stood, I had to quickly look up to meet his gaze. His lips curled in a knowing smile.
“Since the power cells are fully charged, you can use this to keep the room warm.”
His gaze dropped to my mouth. “Or we could conserve energy and share body heat.”
Butterflies took flight in my belly and I had to swallow before speaking.
“I’m sure this will be fine.”
He saluted me with two fingers at his temple. “Your choice.” Then he turned and walked away with my eyes glued to him.
I had to reach out and close the door when he turned at his.
It was going to be a very long night indeed. The question was, if I had enough willpower to stay away from his tempting offer.Twenty-SixGrantJolene had walls up stronger than mine, but some of them had come down, making me smile. Even though she’d shut the door between us, I saw opportunity. I had fourteen days to win her over, and that’s just what I’d do.
Sometime in the middle of the night, I woke up as Jolene crawled into bed with me.
My first thought wasn’t an invitation but worry. “What’s wrong?” I asked as she curled herself around me. I was on my side and gathered her closer. She rested her head on my chest before answering.
“Nightmare.”
I stroked her hair before placing a chaste kiss on the crown of her head.
“Sleep,” I said, deciding it was for the best.
At some point, I’d earned her trust and I wouldn’t break it no matter how hard I got.
She smelled like sweet wildflowers, reminding me of being inside her, which only made it harder to tame my cock.
Soon though, her soft breathing and the warmth of her body pressed to mine lulled me into sleep. I woke up at dawn with Jolene still tucked against me. I wanted to stay, but something she’d said had me carefully getting out of bed.
Forming a plan, I left the room with her sleeping.
The sun was high when I returned. Before I made it to the door, a truck came rumbling up the drive. Before Liam walked over, I lifted a hand for him to stop. I walked over to the other side of the truck and leaned on the truck bed. He followed suit on the other side.