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All whispers... any doubt... disappeared that day. I silenced them, and in doing so showed the world that I wouldn’t just live up to my father’s name. I would blow the glass ceiling out of the place. Now, there isn’t a single thread of uncertainty in those who follow me.
It’s been years since I’ve had to question their loyalty. Years since anyone has dared to speak ill of my name or step on my toes.
Until Nolan.
I almost miss her when she leaves again. She looks completely transformed from the girl I saw an hour ago. This woman walks with confidence, her gaze straight forward. People step around her and out of her way. To be as good as she is at donning masks, she is abysmal at spotting a tail.
Two blocks turn into five. Five into ten. I’m starting to wonder if maybe she did notice me and is just toying with me when she stops and strolls up the steps of an unassuming grey building. I stop as well and peer around, then up. A church?
Surely, the woman isn’t seeking God on a Friday morning. I find a quiet shop with a good view of the front door and sit to wait.
Twenty minutes in, I’m beginning to wonder why I didn’t have Cole do this. What in creation made me want to follow her? There are ten other places I need to be right now. I’m taking a chance letting Cole and Jeffrey handle the contracts today, which in itself is probably one of the dumbest things I’ve done to date, but I couldn’t risk sending Jeffrey to watch Nolan.
When he called me last week and asked if I knew Nolan Pierce, I responded with a firm, “Well, fucking obviously.” It wasn’t until this past weekend that I realized he wasn’t speaking of William Nolan Pierce but rather the daughter. We were in the middle of a heated discussion over how to handle a certain arms dealer when he blurted, “Let me handle him. God knows, you owe it to me since that bitch Pierce is off the table.”
I demanded that he explain what Pierce had ever done to him and then sat back stunned when he spun the story of how they had met. How she had swindled a quarter-million dollars from his then girlfriend and tricked him. At the end, I smirked and told him he fucking deserved what he got if he made it that easy and then denied his request to handle the arms dealer.
No, if someone tried to use or claim what was rightfully mine, I’d handle them myself. And I did. He forfeited his life and the lives of each of his family members too. After all, I’m a prime example of why you leave no one living. That kind of mistake always comes back to bite you in the ass.
It’s that thought that has me standing and storming up the steps. Church or not, Nolan Pierce has amends to make, and I don’t mean to God. She needs to beg her king for forgiveness. At the very least, she should grovel on her knees.
I just so happen to be the man to make it happen. The thought of her nearly naked last night flashes through my mind. My cock twitches.
Yes, I’d very much like her on her knees before me.
Chapter Five
NOLAN
The team is all here. I greet each of them personally before addressing them as a whole. The first part of our meeting is always the same. We go over future potential projects and discuss this week’s business. I manage to pretend to be attuned enough that no one notices, but my thoughts keep circling back to last night.
Over and over.
I’ve never had a man affect me this way before. It’s uncharted territory, and I don’t like it one bit. I’m the one in control. Always. Of course, I’ve been turned on by a man before. I’ve even enjoyed some of the encounters with my marks. But again, I was always in control during those situations. I put on a show... an act. It isn’t me.
I was so sure my life was over last night that I didn’t bother with pretending. King may have believed I was trying to trick him with sex, but the truth is far scarier. I was out of control, drunk off my ass. In those moments, I decided if I was going to die... I would go out as myself.
Waking this morning with a pounding headache and all my limbs in place left me wary. Like the old wives’ tale of waiting for the other shoe to drop. I was positive King was still coming for me, but I hadn’t anticipated this drawn-out torture. I hadn’t thought... hadn’t planned for this. I needed to switch gears. Throw him off his game. Take back control. But I don’t know what game we’re playing yet, so how am I supposed to win?
We’ve just moved on to the second part of the meeting when the air in the room changes. The skin on my neck tingles like someone is staring daggers at the smooth flesh below my hair line. I know without looking who it is. From the looks on the girls’ faces, at least half of them recognize him.
Enough.
It’s one thing to toy with me, but a whole other to mess with them.
I twist in my seat, meeting his gaze briefly before turning back to the team and grinning. “Don’t mind him, it’s just my new bodyguard.” I turn back to King and narrow my eyes at him before shrugging. “Although, I thought we’d discussed being a tad more discreet.”
He stops in his tracks. His chest rises and then lowers with the breath he expunges. I wait to see how he’ll play this hand and am surprised when he walks over and stands directly behind me. Just like a dutiful bodyguard.
Motioning for the girls to continue, I sit back and pretend he doesn’t exist. One after another, they do too. I can see the unease in the ones who recognize King, but I think it’s because I know them so well. To an outsider’s eyes, they look composed and in control.
I wish the same could be said for myself. His presence behind me is distracting. There is barely a foot between us. I can hear each of his breaths and smell the intoxicating scent of man drifting off him in waves. I cross my legs and then uncross them again. It’s infuriating. Every single thing this man does puts me on edge. His feet shuffle behind me, and then his hand is resting on my shoulder. His fingers squeeze gently before relaxing again. The touch brings a flush to my skin, my body remembering those fingers trailing across the swell of my breast. I want to lean into his touch and shove his hand away simultaneously.
Fighting the urge to glance up at him, the struggle to pretend he isn’t here becomes almost overwhelming. He pulls his hand away, trailing his fingers across my neck as he does. I look to him then and the room fades away. Every single person ceases to exist. I don’t know what I see in his eyes. I don’t know if there’s even a name for the look. Whatever it is, I’m pretty sure he sees the same thing reflected back at him.
Chapter Six
KING
