Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 79940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
“Here you go,” Sebastian said as he came up beside me. “Let’s go sit down.”
I took the glass from him and took a sip as I followed him to the sectional sofa. He motioned for me to take a seat, then sat opposite of me, giving me plenty of space. I appreciated it. The things I’d heard were still making me jittery. I didn’t like that a woman was being whipped across the way from us. Even if she wanted to be.
Realizing I hadn’t thanked Sebastian for my water, I started to when the door to the game room opened, and I was left speechless. A shirtless King walked inside with a pair of jeans hanging on his hips enough to show off a very impressive set of abs. He was barefoot as well and appeared to be sweating, as if he’d just worked out. As I sat, stunned by the view, unable to stop looking at him, he headed toward the bar before glancing in our direction. When his eyes met mine, he stopped and studied me for a moment.
“Lost some of your clothing, have you?” Sebastian asked him.
King swung his gaze to Sebastian. “What is Rumor doing here?” The way he said it sounded as if he was angry about my coming here.
Was I not supposed to leave the house?
“I broke her free. Maeme knows,” he replied, then smirked before taking a drink from his glass.
King looked back at me, and his jaw clenched before he continued toward the bar. “I see,” he finally bit out.
He wasn’t happy about me being here. I didn’t like that feeling. King was always so nice. I hadn’t meant to do something to upset him.
“I-I can leave,” I stammered, standing up.
“Sit down,” Sebastian told me. “Ignore him. I do.”
That might be the case, but I didn’t sit back down. If King didn’t want me here, then I didn’t want to be here. I could find my way back to the gate behind the cottage. I didn’t need anyone to walk me there. King grabbed something under the counter and then stood back up. His eyes cut back to me. The look in his eyes made me nervous. I should have stayed at the cottage.
“Sit,” he barked, and I started to do just that but stopped myself.
What was wrong with me being here? This was Sebastian’s stables. Not King’s. He didn’t decide who came here, and Maeme had said it was okay.
I narrowed my eyes as I looked at him and straightened my shoulders. “If I sit, then I will do so because I want to. Not because you ordered me to so rudely.”
I heard a smothered laugh from Sebastian, but I didn’t take my eyes off King.
He walked back from behind the bar with a longneck bottle of beer in his hand. His eyes stayed locked on me as he studied me. I felt my heart begin to race, and I questioned if it was smart to talk to a man his size that way. Sebastian wasn’t wimpy by any means, but King was taller, broader, and his arms were…well, his arms were thick and corded with defined muscle. I couldn’t tell what the tattoo on his left biceps was, but it wasn’t unappealing.
“And do you want to sit?” he asked me before taking a long pull from the bottle while keeping his eyes on mine.
I swallowed hard, unsure of what I should say next. Should I apologize? No. Absolutely not. Just because I was currently feeling a little lightheaded from the sight of King and his perfectly sculpted body didn’t mean I had to allow him to boss me around.
“I came here with Sebastian to see his stables. So, yes, I believe I do,” I replied and sat back down. I could feel Sebastian watching me, but I was unable to stop looking at King.
A slight twitch of his lips was the only softening on his face. He didn’t actually smile, but it seemed like he wanted to. “Then, by all means, sit.”
“That’s enough, King,” Sebastian said from where he still sat, leaned back with his right ankle propped on his left knee and one of his arms stretched out over the back of the sofa.
King shifted his attention to Sebastian. “I thought you were leaving today.”
“Change of plans,” he replied.
King’s entire body seemed tense as he stared hard at Sebastian, but he said nothing. I felt as if they were having a silent conversation. Were they cousins? This family that Maeme had was confusing, and no one had actually cleared up who was who for me.
The door opened behind King, and I watched as an attractive blonde woman with long, straight hair draped over one shoulder walked inside. She had on a pair of minuscule cutoff jeans and a black crop top that showed her flat, tanned stomach and pierced navel. Her eyes went directly to King, and she smiled before sauntering in his direction.