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That had to be it. Letting myself dwell on him in any way was pointless—not to mention unhealthy. King was friendly. Nothing more. I didn’t need to develop any fixation where he was concerned. I knew I was damaged, and I’d read about how someone who had been in my position could get confused when faced with kindness.
“What have you been doing out here all day?” he asked me, breaking the silence.
“Reading, cleaning, enjoying the peacefulness.”
He glanced at me. “Reading? Maeme has a library in the house. Do you want me to take you to it so you can pick out some books?”
I had brought two books with me, and I had found one book in the cottage. Having something new sounded wonderful. I stared over at him, and he was smiling. My heart did a little flutter thing in my chest, and I fisted my hands in my lap. I had to stop that.
“Yes, please. If she wouldn’t mind, that is. I would bring them back and take very good care of them.”
He chuckled, and why that sound was so appealing I didn’t want to think about too deeply.
“Maeme will be fucking thrilled you want to use her library. You can come and go as much as you like. I’m not big on reading, but she sure as hell wanted me to be.”
Not big on reading. That right there should be a flaw. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make myself like the man any less because of it.
• twelve •
She didn’t know the need I had for owning someone.
King
Maeme’s dining room table could fit twenty people. The only time it was full was on Sunday mornings. Not everyone made it for breakfast. If they did, twenty places would not be enough. However, it was rare that all twenty spots weren’t filled. Sometimes, the stools at the kitchen island bar were also full. The youngest were always sent to the kitchen.
Seeing all the vehicles outside, I already knew who would be inside before we walked through the door. Voices carried through the house, and when Rumor stepped inside, she immediately moved closer to me, her body strung so tightly that it was hard to miss.
I placed a hand on her shoulder. “I know they’re loud, but everyone is family. It’ll be fine. I promise,” I assured her.
My words did little good. She didn’t move away from me. In fact, she seemed to move in even more so. I couldn’t say I disliked it either. Knowing she trusted me enough to touch me was sure as hell different than when she had been skittish around me.
With my hand now on her back I leaned down close to her ear. “I swear you’re gonna be okay, sweets.”
She nodded and continued to stare straight ahead while she stayed pressed close to my side. A deep laugh I recognized as Barrett’s caused her to flinch. As much as I was enjoying her borderline clinging to me, it made me fucking furious that she’d been abused. The sick bastard who had done this to her was going home from the hospital tomorrow. He wouldn’t be there long though. We were waiting on him.
“There are a lot of people,” she whispered, looking toward the direction of the dining room.
“Yeah. Always is on Sundays. It won’t be the entire family, but at least half. Maybe more.”
A slight tremor went through her body. I wouldn’t have even noticed it if my hand hadn’t been resting on her back. This was becoming more difficult than I would have imagined. And not just for her. I was struggling with it myself. The idea of forcing her to go face everyone while she was this fucking terrified about it wasn’t appealing me to me either. Part of me wanted to take her back to the damn cottage and leave her there, where she was happy. She clearly felt safe there.
The front door opened behind us, and Rumor jumped, startled, then plastered herself to my side, grabbing my shirt in her small fist in the process. As if I might leave her here. I glanced from her trembling body to see Storm walking inside. His eyes went from her to me. Amusement curled his lip, and I glared at him. This was not the time for his fucking jokes.
“You remember Storm,” I told her in a gentle tone.
She nodded but just barely.
“Everything okay?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at me.
“Yeah. We will be in there shortly,” I informed him. Hoping he took the clue and left us.
He glanced back at Rumor. “Okay,” he replied, then walked away from us.
Once he was out of sight, Rumor’s body slightly eased, and she let out a small gasp, then released my shirt, dropping her hand quickly. Even though she wasn’t looking at me, I could see the blush on her cheeks. She hadn’t even realized she had a death grip on me. Not that I was complaining. She didn’t know the need I had for owning someone. My master kink when it came to fucking. She was playing to it, and my body was reacting. I had to stop that shit.
I studied Rumor while I thought it over. Sure, I liked it. Her needing me. Typically, I didn’t like my females clingy, but this wasn’t the same. I was finding I enjoyed this. Knowing that she trusted me and I was the one she was pressed up against. Fuck. This was probably going to mess me up. But what the hell was I supposed to do about it? I sure as shit wasn’t going to push her away. She was hurt far deeper than the physical injuries to her body. This had to be dealt with gently. She was fragile.
And, yes, while she could trust me to protect her, that was all she needed to be trusting me to do. Because at the end of the day, I would never touch her. I needed things that she couldn’t handle. Dark things that someone with her emotional damage would never be able to understand. I’d also manipulated and lied to her to get her here.
