3. Kingston
KINGSTON
Who is this fiery maven, and what has she done with my best friend?
“Come here, Wildfire.” Wrapping an arm around her waist, I settle her across my thighs. “You’ve been far too patient. Waiting for me to get my shit together and travel the world. I’m sure you’ve been patient with him, too.”
I point my chin at Gabe, who nods in confirmation. He’s closer now, having scooted to the middle cushion. If my nervous system was on overload before, it’s going haywire now. Katherine is in my lap. Gabe is sliding an arm across the back of the sofa, inches from my shoulders.
My calm and collected bestie never spirals out like this. It’s sort of, I don’t know, gratifying to see her frazzled. To feel the wild energy flowing off her. Like a goddess come to Earth to be with the mortals.
Her breasts rise and fall beneath the thin sweater as she sucks in breath after breath. Boy-oh-boy, do I know that feeling. Like you’re alternately excited and terrified, your body is overwhelmed and you don’t feel like there’s enough oxygen in the world, let alone the room.
But hearing the word beg on her lips brings to mind all sorts of naughty scenarios. Things I shouldn’t think, let alone give voice to.
Do I want her to beg me to take her? Abso-freaking-lutely.
Do I want her to crawl across the floor and beg for my cock? Hell yes.
Does Gabe’s bossiness heat my blood to a low boil, the perfect temperature for cooking Nonna’s pasta? Hell fucking yes.
My gaze locks with Gabe’s, and his lips curve up into a smirk. You thinking what I’m thinking ?
If he’s thinking I should scoop her into my lap and kiss her breathless, then yes. Yes, I am.
“We’ll just keep carving out our place in the world. We’ll tell your mom to fuck all the way off, I’ll keep designing your dresses, and you can come work for my family?—”
“Or with me,” Gabe inserts.
“Or hell, maybe Alex needs your special touch.”
Gabe chokes. “I’m sure he needs her special touch.”
I shoot an Oh, shut up look his way.
“Or you could start your own company. Hell, you don’t have to work at all. And as much as I get off on the idea of you begging us, it’s us who should be begging you. Be with us. Build something amazing with us.”
Gabe brushes her hair over her shoulder, revealing the slouchy neckline of her sweater and all the creamy, exposed skin. She shivers beneath his fingertips, vibrating against my needy cock. Hands on her hips, I press her down, grinding her against my erection.
The sounds bubbling up from her throat are the soundtrack to my wildest fantasies.
“I want you. I want us. I want him. And I want Alex with us too, completing this impromptu little family. Whether we’re here, across the pond, or at his beach house...” Another nod to Gabe. “It doesn’t matter as long as we’re together, living and loving and driving each other wild with orgasms.”
Now that I’m on a roll, I can’t seem to stop. And hell, if her eyes don’t get wider with every sentence coming out of my mouth. She braces her hands against my shoulders, running her thumbs up and down my throat in a mesmerizing pattern.
Her thumbs stall over my pulse points, and her mouth falls open, just begging for a kiss.
“Wait, go back. What about designing my dresses?”
Oh hell.
I guess that raccoon is out of the bag. No take-backs.
Katherine cocks her head and lifts a brow. Gabe stares at me with equal interest.
I swallow and then tell her the truth. “I may have designed some of the gowns I sent you over the last few years.”
She stares at me for a long moment, then shakes her head, snapping her lips closed. “Some of the gowns? From your mother’s collection?”
“Okay, most of them.”
“King!”
“Wait, the green gown she wore to the auction?” Gabe asks.
Does he have to look so impressed? Now I want to kiss him . Dammit, I’ve only got one mouth, people.
“Did you design that one?” she asks.
I pull my focus back to the topic at hand.
“Yeah.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Katherine all but screeches. She’s perched on my thighs like a cute little owl, her mouth opening and closing as she looks from me to Gabe and back. It’s almost like she expects this to be an elaborate joke, but it’s not.
“I didn’t want you to feel weird about it. And I didn’t want you to feel pressured into wearing something you didn’t like.”
This way, she could get out of it, no hard feelings. It’s not like my mom was going to notice.
Then again, she did love Katherine in the emerald green number from the auction.
But I’d designed that one after a particularly rough goodbye when I left Katherine in New York, again, and went to Thailand for a spell. It’s been progressively harder and harder to leave her. And my sketching has always soothed me.
Fingers snap in front of my face. “Don’t stop talking now, King?—”
“I used to color in my mom’s office when I was little. She had sketches everywhere, and I sort of picked it up.” I shrug.
“But she sells the dresses. They’re a part of her collection,” she says, emphasizing that last word.
“Yeah.” I smile at the memory. “She loved one of my scribbles and had it turned into a dress. Then she wore it to an event. I was too young to pay attention to which one, but people loved it, and it became our thing. I’d secretly design a dress for each collection.”
“And then send them to Katherine,” Gabe says, filling in the blanks.
I never really planned on telling her, so it’s not like I’d worked out how this conversation would go. Oddly enough, the support coming from Gabe means... everything. There’s still a chance that Wildfire will feel weird about me designing her clothes.
On the other hand, she seemed pretty pleased with me taking Gabe shopping.
He slides a hand into her hair, turning her attention to him. “For the record, that green dress was incredible. I still see you in it when I close my eyes.”
I feel her melt at that. Some of the rigidity leaves her spine, and she sags his way, falling under his spell. She’s not the only one falling.
“Thank you,” she whispers, reaching for him with one hand.
He crowds closer, and we make an odd sort of triangle. Kat on my lap, and all of us angled toward each other. The sun is on the far side of the building now, giving the room a cozy feel.
“You should model it for King. He never got to see you in it.”
To be fair, I haven’t gotten to see her in most of the gowns I designed with her in mind.
“I’d love that.”
She glances my way again. “All of them?”
I huff a laugh at her disbelief. “Starting with the ball gown you wore at The Deb.”
She sucks in a breath, head jerking back.
I know that’s a sore topic for her. And I hate to bring it up, but she wanted the truth.
No.
She needs the truth.
I slide a hand up her back and cup her cheek. I need her to look me dead in the eye when I say this. “I wanted to escort you, but I—I was glad if it couldn’t be me, it was Ford.”
She gives me a wobbly smile, but I see the pleasure beneath.
“My mom lost her mind when King offered,” Katherine tells Gabe.
“Control freak,” Gabe says through a fake coughing fit.
Katherine smiles and presses a kiss to the corner of his mouth. “You’re not wrong.”
“It was my way of being with you. Of making you feel your best. As beautiful as I’ve always thought you are.” If I couldn’t have her on my arm, protecting her from those high society monsters, at least she’d be in my dress, sort of like fancy battle armor. It even had pockets.
“King—” She sags against me, her lips finding mine. Her fingers slide into my hair, and she moans, taking us zero to sixty in a heartbeat.
“Fuck man. How are Alex and I supposed to compete with that?” Gabe grumbles.