Sutton let out a breathy laugh then draped his arm over my shoulder and pulled me to his chest. “I always win.”
There were certain things in life that I never wanted to forget. My very first sleepover where I stayed up all night laughing and eating ice cream. The feel of the sea against my skin. My dad’s smile. This.
Sutton ran his fingertips over my shoulder and across my collarbone. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
I wish you weren’t a king. I wish I’d never gone to that house with Keaton. I wish our fathers were still alive. I wish this moment would never end.
“Sometimes I stare at the ceiling and listen to the sea,” I said instead.
“What does it say?” I couldn’t see his face, but I heard the smile in his tone.
“Can’t tell you. It’s a secret.”
He toyed with the cross on my necklace. “Secrets never did anyone any good.” His words were hushed, distant, broken.
All I wanted to do was heal him—heal us.
His hand fell, letting his fingertips trace lazy circles around my nipples. It was mindless for him, but it lit me on fire. “One night, as soon as I know it’s safe, I’m going to take you to that beach and fuck you on the sand,” he said.
When it’s safe.
Sutton left yesterday before I could tell him everything I knew. Keaton’s betrayal still burned in my chest.
I thought of all the things that must have been running through Sutton’s mind, all the weight he suddenly carried on his shoulders. Losing my dad was hard enough. Sutton would hardly have time to grieve before he was forced to fight for his crown. My heart sank. “They have an army.”
He paused his finger for a breath then started tracing again. “I know.” His tone was confident and leveled.
I jerked forward and turned to face him. Aside from a swift tick of his jaw, he looked completely content. “How can you be so calm knowing there are people who want your throne?”
“Every morning… somewhere… a gazelle wakes up and thinks, If I don’t outrun the lion, I’ll die. And every morning a lion wakes up and thinks, If I don’t outrun the gazelle, I’ll starve.” His eyes fell to my heaving chest then lifted back up to meet my gaze. He ran his tongue across his bottom lip then continued. “You should never fuck with a starving lion.”
“Things have changed, though. Now that the king—” I cut myself off.
“Is dead,” he finished. I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I know how this works. They think they’ll swoop in and take the throne while it’s empty. But that’s their first mistake—thinking when they should be running. They think they have time.” He paused and an icy cold covered his expression. “They don’t.” His face softened. “Don’t worry about me, little sheep. In case you haven’t noticed, I have a hard time letting go of what’s mine.”
I noticed. Belonging to Sutton Thorne felt a lot like falling. I knew at some point I would hit the bottom, but I was too caught up in the weightless feeling to care.
“Why do you call me that? Little sheep.”
A flicker of a smile quirked his lips. “As much as I could kick myself in the balls for saying this… Get dressed. There’s something I want to show you.”
We walked into the Children’s Center for the Blind and were immediately greeted by a gorgeous redhead with hypnotizing green eyes. A pink heat flushed her fair skin as her gaze locked in on Sutton. If a stranger passed him on the street, there was no way they would mistake him for a king.
He wore the same white T-shirt and jeans from the night before. The T-shirt clung to his firm chest and strong arms while the jeans hung low on his lean hips but hugged his muscular thighs. He pulled a gray beanie over his messy hair and my God did I want to lick every single inch of his perfect body. By the looks of it, the redhead did too.
She cleared her throat then smiled. “Sutton. This is a surprise.” Her tone made it hard to know if she meant him being here in general or him being here with me.
Sutton wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me against his side. I smiled at the silent victory. He’s mine.
“I wanted Katie to meet the kids.” He didn’t ask for permission or give any explanation as to why. He simply commanded in that confident way that only he could pull off.
The woman’s eyes shifted from him to me then back to him. “Of course.” Then she started down a long hallway to her left.
Everything was so… colorful. White walls with bright, oversized shapes painted on them. Blue circles overlapping red triangles on top of yellow squares. The carpet was a cheerful blend of yellow, orange, and green swirls. The front area, where we stood now, was entirely open with a glass window all the way across the front. I suddenly wished these children could see it. I wanted it to make them as happy as it made me.
“She’s pretty.” I hated how small my voice sounded. Why was my heart pounding?
“No.” He said the word without hesitation, without emotion. Just… no.
“No?”
Sutton’s grip around my waist tightened as he leaned down and brought his mouth to my neck just below my ear. “No. I’m not fucking her. I haven’t fucked her. I don’t want to fuck her.” His words were so rough and raw that they slid inside me and made me drunk. He pressed his body against my hip. Oh. God. He was hard. “The only pussy I want is yours, and if you need me to, I’ll shove you on that counter, lift this pretty little dress and tongue-fuck you until you scream so that the whole world knows you’re mine.”
My body ached for him, but I swallowed hard and forced away the need. “I’d rather just take your word for it.”
That was a lie. I wanted him to do everything he said and more—just not while the whole world was watching.
He laughed against my neck then lifted his head to look me in the eyes. “You’re a horrible liar.” He took my hand then led me down the hall.
The redhead was already in the room when we walked in. Dozens of tiny humans sat in a circle on a colorful rug filled with letters of the alphabet. From the back of the room, a happy song rang out from a speaker.
Sutton’s eyes lit up the second he stepped through the door. “Hey guys. I brought someone to meet you.”
The kids jumped up from their spots and ran toward him, wrapping their little arms around his legs and waist, nearly knocking him over. He tousled their hair and patted their backs, and the smile never left his beautiful face.
“I know we just read this story last week, but Katie hasn’t heard it, so do you think we could read it again?”
The children answered in a collective, “Yesssss.”
Then they took their spots around the carpet with Sutton sitting in the middle. I sat in a chair on the other side of the room, watching and listening—and falling in love—as the most amazing man I’d ever known read me a story about a boy, a lion… and a little sheep.
“Do you get it now?” he asked when we finally left the center.
I hooked my arm around his and leaned my head against his shoulder. “I get it now.”
We walked the sidewalk all the way into the city square. Once in a while, someone would stop and stare. More often than that, people acknowledged us with a slight bow of their head. Only a few people ever spoke, though.