Page 55 of Hunted

When Kingsley kicks his pants off, Bower points to the empty spot beside me. “Get in. Hug our woman, and tell her you love her.”

“Bower!” We both hiss at once.

Kingsley slowly climbs in as I narrow my eyes at Bower. “You can’t force someone to say that.”

“He’s being a fucking idiot right now. He was making you cry. That’s not okay.”

“Is that true?” Kingsley asks, settling beside me.

“No,” I lie, looking down at my fidgeting fingers. I can feel him staring at me and I only move when Bower speaks.

“Lie down, both of you,” Bower orders, and we both do as he says, lying back on the pillows as we stare at the ceiling.

After a minute of silence, Bower huffs out a breath. “What is wrong with you, King? Why won’t you even touch her right now?Haveyou changed your mind?”

My gut clenches at the question, but Kingsley is quick to respond this time.

“No!”

“Then what is it?” Bower growls out. Weston’s arm tightens around me, helping to hold me together.

“I just… I don’t know if she…”

“Dummy, talk toher, not me.”

Kingsley turns his head, and I look at him, hoping that he’s not about to break my heart.

“I’m bad at this,” he admits.

“You sure are,” I agree, getting a small twitch of a smile from him.

I press my lips together tightly, trying to stop myself from talking. I really want him to explain what’s going on.

His eyes trail down my body and he raises a hand, holding it over the side of my face as he asks, “May I?” I nod, not quite sure what he’s asking for permission to do.

He gently lowers a finger to my forehead, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear before settling his palm on my cheek.

“God, Darla. You’re so beautiful,” he says quietly, his eyes roaming my face.

“Uh… thank you,” I whisper awkwardly as my cheeks heat.

“I don’t think you understand how special you are. How rare. You could choose to be with just about any man you wanted, and I’m afraid one day you’re gonna wake up and realize you don’t need me.”

“Kingsl—”

“No, let me finish.” I bite my lip, wanting to reassure him but realizing he needs to get this off his chest first.

“I’m not funny like Bower, I can’t protect you like West, and I don’t have the history with you like Reece has. Where does that leave me? If I fully give you my heart, if I tell you how madly in love with you I am, and you grow tired of me, I don’t think I would recover from that.”

His eyes turn pained and even though my heart is jumping with joy at his confession that he loves me, I reach my hand out, placing it on his naked chest in an attempt to soothe him. “Kingsley, I wish you could see yourself like I do.”

My hand moves up to his cheek, mirroring his position. “Bower brings me light, Weston gives me strength, and Reece stands as my shield. But you…” I say, my thumb stroking his cheek as I stare into his deep blue eyes. “You, Kingsley Voss, you’re my rock.”

I watch his throat move as he swallows heavily. “I thought Steve was your rock?”

I shake my head. “Not anymore. Not now that I have you. You’re the one I go to when I need someone who’s not going to overreact or get upset when I do something wrong.”

Weston grunts behind me, and Kingsley and I smirk at each other. “You’re the steady one, the man I can lean on when things get tough. But not just for me, for all of us. You’re not just my rock, you’re the rock of our group.”