Page 84 of King

Lana chuckled weakly but let him hold her, resting her head against his shoulder. “Sorry, just part of the...job...I guess.”

Joey, still leaning heavily on his crutches, swallowed hard. His gaze locked onto Lana, searching—needing confirmation. “Is he…?”

“He’s gone,” Caroline answered for Lana, offering Joey a small, understanding smile.

Joey nodded, his throat working as he tried to hold back the emotion rising inside him. “Good,” he whispered, voice thick. “He deserves that.”

Amara’s chest ached as she reached for Joey’s hand, squeezing it tightly. She then looked at Lana. “Did he hurt you?” Amara knew Lee would never hurt a woman purposely. He was many things, but never would he hurt a woman.

“No,” Lana said, then frowned, making a fist as she looked at her hand. “Well, maybe my hand, but that wasn’t on purpose. I’m fine, really. It just took me by surprise. While he was talking, I did some prying, which is why I think it affected me the way it did. I was ready for the release.”

“And?” King frowned as he steadied Joey, who struggled with his crutches.

“Give me a little bit of time.” Lana frowned, touching her forehead. “Things are a little jumbled, and my head is hurting.”

“Come on,” Sid started to lead her out of the kitchen. He turned to look at King. “I’ll call you later if it’s anything important.”

Amara pulled away from King, rushing toward Lana. Touching her arm, Lana stopped and looked at her. “Thank you,” Amara whispered.

Lana pulled her into a hug. “It’s what I do, Amara. Me and my sister. No thanks needed.”

Amara nodded, watching until they disappeared. She turned to see King staring at her. She walked directly into his arms, wishing to hell this was over, but it only felt like it was the beginning.

CHAPTER 35

The kitchen was filled with the scent of sizzling burgers as King stood at the stove, flipping them with an easy rhythm. A rare, satisfied smile tugged at his lips. The house was quiet and peaceful.

Joey had stayed the night at the compound, watching endless Rambo movies with Adam and Steve. Slade had wanted to run some x-rays today to check how Joey’s leg was healing before bringing him home later.

Which meant King had Amara all to himself. His grip on the spatula tightened as he thought about just how much he had enjoyed that. After everything she’d been through the day before, he had expected her to need space, to shut him out while she processed it all. Instead, she turned to him, and he opened his arms to her.

He had only planned to feed her and to keep her mind off the whirlwind of emotions still clawing at her. But one moment led to another, and before he knew it, they were tangled together right here in the kitchen. Then in the living room, the damn staircase, and finally his bed.

A deep, satisfied rumble vibrated in his chest at the memories from last night. A part of him was tempted to wake her, pull her back into his arms, and lose himself in her all over again. But he knew she needed the rest. His cock stirred, surprising him a little. As many times as he fucked the beauty last night, he still wanted more and more of her. It wasn’t enough.

She was still sleeping upstairs, wrapped up in his sheets. She belonged here with him. His Mate. Soon, he would make that official. The thought struck him hard, a slow, powerful realization that settled deep in his chest. She was it for him. No other woman would ever be enough, only Amara...his forever.

The memories of her laying in his bed, spread open for him, made him moan as grease popped around him. The visions of her wet pussy while he took the tip of his cock, rubbing it over every inch of her pussy and exploring her as he watched made him shake with need. The hamburger he was ready to flip fell off the spatula, sending grease spray onto his stomach. Cursing, he glanced down, noticing his cock was bulging to break free of his underwear.

“Fuck!” King cursed, forcing himself to think of other shit because having a hard-on around popping grease was not a good thing for one’s cock.

Finally, to get himself under control, he took the hamburgers out of the pan and placed them on paper towels to drain. He hated to wake Amara up, but she needed to eat, and if she wanted to go back to bed afterward, she could. His cock stirred again, making him glare down at it.

“To sleep and nothing else.” He hissed at his own cock. Okay, she was making him talk to his cock now.

“Who are you talking to?” Amara’s voice had his eyes flying from his dick to her.

Yeah, he was going to pass that question right on by. “You hungry?” His eyes soaked her in. Her hair was wet and slicked back, the white waves tumbling down her back. She wore an oversized hoodie, jeans with holes in the knees and was barefoot. She looked absolutely...fuckable. Cursing himself again to chill the fuck out, he leaned against the counter.

“Starved.” She said, then sniffed the air. “Did you make hamburgers?”

“I did,” He nodded and grinned when she did a little fist pump, which was adorable.

“I’ve been craving hamburgers.” Amara clapped her hands as she walked to him, wrapping her arms around his bare waist. “How did you know?”

“My goal in life is to always please you.” King teased, then realized that wasn’t far from the truth.

Kissing his chest, she smiled up at him and then walked over to where the hamburgers were cooling. “They look and smell delish. You could give Sid a run for his money on the cooking gig.”

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