Page 11 of His Kingdom

“Are we swimming here?” she questions me. “Oh, I don’t have my bathing suit! And I’m not wearing a bra,” she whispers. Or at least I thinkshe thinksshe’s whispering.

My eyes drift down to her chest, where her nipples are poking through the fabric of her shirt.Fuck me, I shouldn’t have looked.Shifting my body, I shield hers from the eyes of any other fucker within peeking distance.Fuck them. They don’t get to see her like this.

I want to go back to the bar and tear the eyes out of the heads of those jerks feeding her drinks. It’s an irrational thought. And I don’t know why I fucking care, but I do.

When the doors to the elevator open, I guide Charlotte inside and press the button for the penthouse.

“Is P for pool?” she asks me.

“Penthouse,” I tell her, and her eyes widen to saucers.

“There’s a pool in the penthouse?”

“There is.”But she’s not going in it.

“How do you just go wherever you want? It’s because you’re hot, right? I’ve heard good-looking people get away with doing whatever they want,” she rambles on.

“You know, if we’re categorizing people as good looking, you’d land at the top of that list, Charlotte,” I tell her.

She shakes her head. “Nope, not true. If that were true, my fiancé wouldn’t have cheated on me with my sister,” she says.

“Yourexis a fucking idiot,” I reply, emphasizing theexpart, because I don’t think I’m going to let her leave. At least not until I figure out why I’m so fixated on her, and what that means for me. And us.

ChapterSix

You know when something is really delicious and so tempting that it goes without question that it’s not good for you? Like an ice cream sundae, or a big bar of chocolate. Sure, it tastes good in the moment. But then you wake up and have to force yourself on that treadmill at the gym. And the regret hits you and you wish you didn’t cave into temptation.

That’s what Louie is. Temptation. A fine, tall, sexy, firm piece of temptation. He’s also something I shouldn’t want. That’s the thing about wants, though. You don’tneedthem. You justwantthem. And right now, Ireallywant this man.

“It’s been a very long time since I orgasmed.” As soon as the words are out, I realize my internal thought just became an external one. My hand comes up, covering my mouth’s betrayal, and my eyes widen.

Maybe he didn’t hear me. There’s a chance he didn’t hear me, right?

“That’s… How long exactly?” Louie asks, his eyes searing into mine.

“Forget I said that. I wasn’t supposed to say that,” I blurt out.

“How long?” he presses.

“Long enough that I don’t even remember how good it was. I mean, I know it was good… I think…” I let my thoughts trail off. This is why I usually don’t drink. I have no filter when I do.

“You think? Charlotte, if youthinkit was good, then you’ve never really orgasmed at all. Because if it were me, if I was the one getting you off, you’d remember that I shattered your entire fucking world. I wouldn’t stop until I made sure of it.” Louie’s voice drops an octave. His hand on my waist tightens, and I swear I melt. Like I’m nothing but a puddle at this man’s feet right now.

Then the doors to the elevator open. And without a word, Louie guides me into what has to be the penthouse. I’m doing my best to ignore what he just said, and when I walk farther into the room and spot the pool through a set of glass doors, I head that way. Maybe I can drown myself and never have to relive this embarrassment.

“Where are you going?” Louie asks when I tug my arm free from his grasp.

“Swimming,” I tell him.

“You’re not swimming, Charlotte. You’re drunk,” he says, his heavy footsteps right behind me.

Why does the sound of my name coming out of his mouth send shivers down my spine?

“That’s why we came up here. You promised.” I turn around and give him my best pout.

“I didn’t promise. And you can swim when you’re not drunk,” he tells me.

“Well, it’s a good thing you’re not my dad, or my boyfriend, or my fiancé, or… Well, the point is, you can’t tell me what I can and can’t do. And right now, I’m jumping in that pool.” Sliding the door open, I get one step outside before I feel Louie’s arm wrap around my waist and pull me back up against his chest.

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