Page 20 of Merciless King

He was in the corner of the couch, one arm along the back, long legs out in front of him, bare feet crossed. I took him in. I’d never been this up close and personal with a man’s bare chest.

And I’d been draped over him. On him.

I couldn’t get over the heat radiating from his big body. His skin had been as smooth as I’d imagined and so hot. My hand ached to touch him again. I took a closer look at his tattoo. It was beautiful, intricate, wrapping around his biceps and shoulder almost lovingly. Then down to his pec, covering one whole side and circling that one little brown nipple.

I swallowed and dropped my gaze, then sucked in a breath. His sweats were thin and I was pretty sure he didn’t have anything on underneath because he had a very noticeable bulge. In fact, it seemed to be growing before my eyes. You could clearly see the outline of his—I swallowed, mouth suddenly dry—cock, and the head was fat and close to bursting out from behind the waistband of his pants. I squirmed when between my thighs heated and started throbbing.

I glanced back up to his face and jolted.

Black-as-night eyes were watching me. His nostrils flared.

I jumped to my feet. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to…wake you…fall asleep on you…I’m just going to have a shower and dress.” I ran from the room and shut the bedroom door behind me. Leaning against it, I squeezed my eyes closed. Oh God. He’d caught me looking at his penis. Not just looking, drooling over it like a slavering sex starved nymphomaniac.

Staying in here and never coming out sounded like an excellent idea.

I took my time showering and dressing.

When I came back out later that morning, I hoped like hell that he’d left for work or something. No such luck. Van was already dressed, hair damp. He’d showered as well. He had a mug in his hand—coffee, going by the smell that had filled the apartment—and he was sitting at the dinner table near the window, his laptop open in front of him.

“Help yourself to anything in the kitchen,” he said without looking up.

I made myself a coffee as well and didn’t bother with food. My stomach wasn’t up to it, not with the anxiety riding me this morning.

I walked back into the living room, fighting my humiliation at being caught ogling him, and forced myself to talk. “I’d like to go back to the shop today and clean up. I need to get back to work.”

Van put down his mug and leaned back in his chair, folding his arms over his chest. “I don’t think opening up is a good idea, not until we’ve found this guy.”

I’d called Erin the day before and told her what had happened, that she could start back in a couple days, so if I didn’t open today it wouldn’t be the end of the world, but I didn’t want her coming to work tomorrow and finding the mess I knew was there. And I didn’t either. I wanted it cleared up. I wanted to forget about it. “I have staff who rely on me. I can’t just close up for days. I’ll make sure I’m not alone in the store.”

His jaw tightened and he shook his head, just once.

I stared at him in shock. “No?”

“No.”

My mouth opened, closed. Again, I forced myself to speak. “You can’t just say no.”

“Yeah, I can,” he said.

Heat suffused my cheeks with the anger I felt rising, and I knew my eyes were round as saucers.

His gaze moved over my face and a small smile played at the corners of his firm lips when he took in my reaction. “You pissed at me, London?”

Was I? I guessed I was. Which wasn’t cool, considering all he’d done for me. Still, I wasn’t really a fan of being told what to do. I was used to doing whatever I liked, whenever I liked. That was what happened when you were an only child being raised by a single parent who was never home. You learned to be self-sufficient. You made the tough decisions on your own.

“You can go in and do online and phone-in orders, but the shop needs to stay shut. No walk-in customers. It’s too risky. That okay with you?” he said, saving me from having to answer.

That was actually a good idea. Yes, I’d lose some money, but the online orders would be enough to keep us afloat until it was safe to reopen. “Yes, actually.”

He stood and shut his laptop. “Good. I’ll drive you in.”

* * *

Someone named Cage was there when we arrived. He was tall and muscled with dark hair and a beard, and McBride Security was written in white block letters across his wide chest. Van was vague when I queried him about it, and honestly, I didn’t care. I was just happy not to have to deal with it myself. I’d been doing everything for myself for as long as I could remember.

I started to clean up while they talked.

Cage left a short time later, and Van righted the shelves and threw out the destroyed flowers on the shop floor as I mopped up the water. I bit back my fear when I walked into the back room and turned on my computer. I refused to think about those horrific hours locked in the small space while I placed a rush order for the flowers I needed. As soon as I was done, I shut the computer down again and went back to cleaning up.