Page 33 of Rise of the King (Checkmate 5)

Because I’m not scared of rejection, I bring my hand up and start unzipping my coat.

“I could be in you thirty seconds from now. It would be that easy.” One-handed, I shuck my coat away and tug her shirt out of her jeans. “I’d fill you up, feed the hunger that thumps in your panties. You’re wet for me, aren’t you? Did you stay up here, think of me, and touch yourself?”

“No.”

I glide my nipping lips along her cheekbone and thrill in the slam of her heart against my chest. “Liar. I’m standing right here, Soph. Get naked with me; I promise I won’t leave you hanging.”

“No!” She tries to shove me back. “It’s not that easy!”

I toss my coat to the floor and start on my shirt. “Itisthat easy. We’re standing right here. I’m saying yes!” Opening my shirt, I leave it loose and smile when her eyes drop to my stomach. I have scars, so many fucking scars, and each one tells a story I’m not unproud of. “I promise I won’t tease you tomorrow. You know you want me.” I slide my hand under her top and stroke her firm stomach. She has a six pack and legitimate ridges where her abs contrast against her skin. Sliding my hand over her silky smooth flesh, I bring my lips back and go for broke. My tongue slides over her lip and forces her eyes closed.

I have to be gentle. Despite my insistence, I have to take it slow.

“Just say yes and put us both out of our misery.”

“No!” Pushing back, she grunts when I keep her top in my hand and she has to yank herself free. “Wanting you and having you are two different things, Jay.” Her cheeks are flushed, her breath fast and choppy. “You’re like dessert; just because I want it doesn’t mean I should have it.”

“But dessert is a treat.” Prowling forward, I force her back until she slams against the front door and her hands touch my bare stomach. I don’t stop until my thigh is nestled between her jeans, her heat permeating the denim and her breath on my tongue. “We’re allowed to treat ourselves sometimes. Otherwise, what’s the point? Why are we here if all we do is work and sleep?”

“I’m too busy for you!” She throws a hand toward the stack of boxes. “I have people depending on me. I havesomuch work to do, I barely have time to sleep. I’m exhausted, because, unlike you, the rest of us need more than two hours a night. I have things to do, and I’m doing it. I’m working, but the whole time, you’re in the back of my mind trying to make me laugh. You think you’re not charming? You are! You want me to admit I think you’re sexy? I do! But you’re a dangerous distraction, and I’m at a point in my career that Ineedto focus.”

I lean against her until she’s forced to wear me all over. My bare chest presses against her hands. My lips skim her cheekbone and forehead. She can’t escape me, just like she can’t escape her attraction. “Just before I moved here, something kinda big happened in my life. People I loved died; my world changed; my entire reality was pushed through a wood chipper, and out the other side came this guy you see now. I know better than anyone that life is short. I know what it’s like to think your mission is the most important thing in the world. Whatever you’re so twisted about right now, and I doubt it’s customer service complaints, it’ll still be there tomorrow. You’re so tired, you have bags under your eyes. You’re so wrung out, you’re finally screwing up and letting me in.”

“I’m not letting you in,” she growls. “I’m asking you to leave.”

“And yet, your pussy throbs against my thigh. Ifeelyou, Soph. I know what you need that’ll help you sleep deeply tonight, so tomorrow, you can tackle your work with a fresh head.”

“You wanna fuck me tonight for your own selfish reasons,” she snaps. “Don’t sugarcoat your bullshit now that you’re this close.” She tries to shove me back, grunts when I don’t move an inch, then meets my eyes with an inferno raging in hers. “Don’t come at me with lies about how I’ll sleep better.”

“I’m not lying. And I’m not saying I don’t wanna fuck you. It’s mutual, babe. You want me; I want you. You need a night off, and I need a night with you. Why the fuck can’t that be enough for now?”

“Because…” Floundering, she searches for something,anything. “You don’t sell fridges!”

Laughing, I nip at her jaw. “Not tonight I don’t. Tonight, I’m all yours.” Fast as a whip, I pull her shirt up and chuckle when my move surprises her. Tugging it over her head, I toss it to the floor and grin at her purple bra and smooth skin. “I don’t doanythingtonight, and you don’t doanything. Tonight, we’re just Jay and Sophia, and we’re having dessert.”

“People need me to do my job! My work is more than you think.”

“Well, I have time off. So how about we do our thing tonight, then I help you with your thing tomorrow. It’ll be like you didn’t step down for a single second.”

“You’re so fucking casual about responsibility,” she huffs. “That’s why I don’t want you.” Fast and skilled, she ducks out from between me and the door and rushes away.

Turning, I lick my lips and study her bare belly, the neat hair falling in wispy strands from her bun, her tight jeans. She’s long and lean. Barely a handful of breast, but I’m not a greedy man. I’ll take whatever she’s willing to give.

“I don’t want you,” she continues, “because you don’t even know what my job is; you don’t know who’s relying on me, but you brush it off anyway.”

“Well, how about this? You don’t lie to me about your work, and then I might take it more seriously.”

“You lie about your work!” She throws her hands up when I stalk closer. “You lied straight to my face about selling fridges.”

I roll my eyes and keep moving forward. “I’d hardly call it a lie if everyone knows it’s not true.” Striking out, I throw my arm around her hips and pull her in until we slam together. Lifting her, because she weighs so little, I bring her up until I have to lookupinto her eyes and her tits are almost in line with my mouth. “Just admit you’re allowed to rest for an hour. Let me make your world a little less shitty, then we’ll eat and I’ll help you with your problems.”

“No.”

“Okay, how about you admit you’re allowed to rest for an hour, let me make your world a little less shitty, then I’ll leave and you can work on your own problems without spilling the beans to me.”

Her eyes flash, and despite herself, her lips pull up into a small grin. “I don’t wanna.”

Triumphantly, I chuckle and walk us across the room toward her massive bed. “It’s hardly a lie if everyone knows you’re bullshitting, Sophia Solomon.” Stopping at the edge of the bed, I use one arm to hold her up, and the other hand to drag her face toward mine until our lips clash and her startled cry fills my lungs. Instead of fighting me, she relaxes, bends her spine and tucks her legs around my hips so she’s secure. She knocks my beanie to the floor, drags her tongue over my lips, then slides it inside my mouth until I can’t breathe.

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