King's Reign (Sydney Storm MC #6)(51)

“Lily, I really hate to barge in on you two, because, well, we all know that King is doing wonders for your dry spell, and I never want to do anything to stop that, but we really need to think about dinner. Brynn suggested we could order pizza. I think she’s desperate for some junk after all that hospital food, but I’m not sure I can stomach it. I was thinking more along the lines of Thai if we’re going to order, but that requires someone to go out and pick it up, and I wasn’t sure if you would want to do that, and I certainly can’t drive at the moment.” She eyed me with expectation, wanting me to say yes.

“Mum, you really need to let my dry spell go. I mean, I didn’t see the need to talk about it in the first place, because women are allowed to take time off sex, you know? But—”

“Oh, Lily, why do you always say that? And what woman in her right mind would want time off sex? I mean, really.”

King positioned me in front of him with his arm around my chest, and I didn’t miss the way his body shook gently with laughter.

“Maybe a woman who’s taking some time to be with herself for a while,” I threw out, exasperated with her.

Her forehead wrinkled as she thought about that for a moment. The idea seemed foreign to her, and in the end, she simply ignored it and carried on. “So about dinner. What do you want to do?”

“You order it. I’ll go out and pick it up,” King said.

Mum met his gaze and smiled. “Thank you.” She then glanced at me again, still seemingly trying to wrap her mind around what I’d said. With a quick shake of her head, she turned and left us alone again.

King let me go, and I faced him, smacking him lightly on the chest. At the questioning arch of his brow, I said, “That was for laughing at me and my dry spell.”

His mouth spread out in a smile. “I was laughing at your mother, not at you. She comes out with some fucking funny shit.” He shrugged. “And if it’s about you, I like it even more.”

My mouth almost dropped open. I had never seen him like this. And I really freaking liked it. “You just like the fact I was almost a virgin again by the time you got to me.”

And just like that, his sense of humour vanished and his heat returned. Yanking me to him, his mouth brushed my ear as he growled, “As far as I’m fucking concerned, you were a virgin when I got to you because you had never been fucked properly.”

I put my hands on his chest as his possessiveness rolled through me. It hit me in all the right places and had me desperate for him. God, but now was definitely not the time for that. Pushing against him, I stepped out of his hold. “You need to stop talking, and I need to go inside and get Brynn’s room set up for her.”

“You need a hand with that?”

I held my hand up at him and shook my head. “God no. I need you as far away from me as possible right now, otherwise, I might start climbing you.”

“Fuck,” he muttered.

“Yes, exactly,” I agreed. “You get to go sort dinner out with my mother.”

With that, I quickly headed inside to Zara’s bedroom where I was setting my sister up. I’d brought her home from the hospital this afternoon, telling her she would be staying with me until she’d recovered fully. She’d told me that King had rubbed off on me, because I was far too bossy for my own good now. I’d told her to shut up and just do what I said, to which she’d just looked at me and said, “Case in point.”

The doorbell sounded, so I made a detour to answer it.

“Hi,” I said to the dark-haired guy standing on the other side holding a bunch of flowers. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t take a little peek at his body. Dude was built. And had the face of a god.

He smiled, and I knew by the way it was almost a smirk that he’d seen me checking him out. But full points to him for not getting all cocky about it. “I’m looking for Brynn.”

“And you are?” As the words came out, though, it hit me. “Oh God, you’re the fishing dude, aren’t you?”

His smile turned into a grin. “I like the reference to me being the fishing dude rather than the other kind of dude. Classy. You must be Lily.”

I reached for his arm and pulled him inside. Turning my face towards the lounge room where Brynn was, I called out, “Brynn! Fishing dude is here!”

He leant in close and said, “Fishing dude’s name is Jamie.”

I returned his grin. “Oh, I like you! You should stay for dinner. We’re having Thai.”

“I love Thai.”

I dragged him into the lounge room and didn’t miss the way Brynn’s eyes lit up when she laid eyes on him. My sister liked more than just fishing with this guy.

Taking the flowers from him, I said, “I’ll find a vase for these while you two catch up.”

Jamie’s eyes didn’t leave Brynn. “We’ve been catching up for days over the phone.”

The way he said that, and the way he watched her told me that he also liked more than just fishing.

“Okay kids, it’s time to leave Auntie Brynn in peace.” When they grumbled about that, I said, “Anyone still in here in one minute will be on dishes duty all weekend.” With that, they all scrambled out of the room faster than I’d seen them move in weeks.

Brynn met my gaze with a smile and mouthed, “I love you.”