Page 30 of King of Desire (Kings of Las Vegas #2)

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Triston

I watch everyone leave, picking up my phone. I dial Dimitri, listening to the phone ring.

On the third ring, he picks up. “Triston.”

“Dimitri.”

“How was your evening?” he asks, the edge to his voice undeniable. “Satisfactory?”

What happens between me and Honeyeh is none of his fucking business. I’d like to tell him so, but I’ve got a job to do. “I’ve met with my partners this morning and we have an offer for you.”

“An offer?” He rumbles. “What kind of offer?”

“You own two more casinos. There is the establishment I was at last night…”

“Fuck you, Smith. Fuck you all.”

“Don’t you want to hear what we’re offering first?” I pause, giving him time to calm himself. It’s not a bad offer. Granted, the majority of his money comes through his drug trade, and to start over in a new city is…messy.

But then again, he has a young daughter. Perhaps he’s ready for a quieter life.

“I already know what you’re offering. A buy out.”

He’s right, I’ll give him that. “You shot up my brother’s place with his fiancée inside. Bombed a club of Mason’s. Did you think this ended with all of us living harmoniously in Vegas?”

He spits some Russian words into the line. “I expect Mason to honor his original agreement.”

“You think we don’t know the deal you were trying to cut behind our backs with the Italians? The original agreement is off the table. It has been for a while.”

He rumbles more words in his native language, none of them sounding happy. “I cut that deal for the girl so that we could move forward. Not go backward.”

I don’t give a fuck about his intentions. Honeyeh was never his, and honestly, I ought to make him pay for what he almost did. “It’s a good deal, Dimitri. The kind of money that would allow you to build a whole new life somewhere else.”

“You underestimate me as a Russian and as a man if you think I’m going to let you push me into retirement.”

“Build a new business, a legitimate one. Or stay underground. It’s up to you. But Mason and I will buy out your casinos and your clubs that mask your brothels for a fair market value. You won’t get a better deal.”

“You know neither of those are where the real money comes from.” He’s spitting mad now. “I’m not leaving Vegas.”

“Sell that business too. Take your product elsewhere. Your call.”

“I refuse.”

I let out a long breath. “Don’t make me repeat what I did with the last casino, Dimitri. It will be a lot fucking slower for us, and significantly less lucrative for you. Think about your options and call me when you’ve seen reason.” And then I hang up.

Painting Dimitri into a corner is a gamble, and I hope it’s worth the risk. He’s a dangerous man. But this has gone on too long and it’s time to end it.

I push up from my chair, and head to my bedroom. It’s quiet in the house, which is the norm for Sundays, but I find it unsettling. Outside, I see Honeyeh and Darius by the pool.

Darius is laying in a chair, Honeyeh, in a tiny bikini, is adjusting an umbrella over her brother.

She looks gorgeous and the sight of her caring for her family has my insides going soft and my cock growing hard.

Am I ever going to get enough of her?

Everything she does only makes me want her more. Stepping into the closet, I shrug off my clothes and pull out a bathing suit. I can’t remember the last time I used the pool, and I shake my head, laughing a bit.

Honeyeh has brought this house to life. I’m still not sure how, but I know she has.

Tying the suit, I grab some towels and head outside. By the time I reach the pool, she’s lounging in one of the chairs, her body on full display.

I stop, just staring.

Darius is sound asleep, snoring softly in his chair next to her.

Honeyeh looks at me with a smile. “He’s tired. I think he was up late last night with that gaming system.”

I wince. Not because I bought him the games, but because a boy his age should have almost limitless energy for staying up and playing games.

I join Honeyeh, sitting on her chair next to her hip, my hand splaying out on her belly. “We’ll get him right, Honeyeh.”

She looks away, nipping at her lip.

I know that look and I know it means something is wrong. I lean down, kissing along her jaw. “What are you thinking?” I whisper close to her ear.

“You’ve done too much already.”

I slide my hand from her belly to grasp her waist. “I haven’t done nearly enough.”

She turns to me then, her face so close to mine, her breath fans over my cheeks. “Triston.”

There is a warning to her tone I don’t understand. I brush her hair back, sliding my fingers along her neck and into the back of her hair. “Why do I sense a lecture coming?”

She winces, pain stretching her features, and I tense. “Try to understand, if it were just me, I’d let you in as far as you wanted to go.”

What the fuck is she saying? Irritation, and if I’m honest, hurt, slithers through my limbs. I’ve broken up with a hundred women. I know every variation. My hand tightens in her hair. “Are you breaking up with me?”

She shakes her head. “No. Not that. But I think…” She lets out a slow breath. “I think Darius and I should go back to our apartment.”

My jaw clenches as I try to land on the problem. “You think I’m bad for your brother?”

Her lip trembles as she draws in a tremulous breath. “Our dad left. Our mom died.”

“So?”

“If Darius gets too attached to you and then I end up like Veronica…”

Suddenly I get it. I’m the thirty-day guy. For fuck’s sake, I bought her virginity. Though to be fair, I was protecting her. “You are not like the rest of them, Honeyeh.”

Her mouth twitches into a frown. “Maybe. But also, the man I let into my life, give access to Darius, I have to trust to stay. If not for me, then for him.”

Fuck. Me. I’ve always known that Honeyeh was a woman who would do anything to protect the people she loved. Apparently, that also includes breaking it off with me. “So you don’t want to what?”

I pull my hand from her hair, sitting up straighter. She follows, moving with me as usual.

“Darius can’t depend on you, only to have us break up?—”

“We’ve known each other a week. I’m not promising forever.” The truth is, before this conversation I was close. But my pride won’t admit that. Not now.

I see her wince as she draws her knees up. Christ, she’s so fragile even now, my irritation deflates, and I want to wrap her in my arms.

And that’s when it hits me. Just like always, she needs protection. But the person she’s afraid of most…is me. How I might break her or her brother.

Making my decision, I reach my arms around her, plucking her into my lap. She comes easily, wrapping her arms around my neck and sinking into my body.

She needs me so much, she’s just afraid to trust in that feeling.

I get it. She was hurt by the one man who was supposed to keep her safe, her father. It’s something I deeply understand, and I know, I can’t play with her feelings. Not with her. It’s all or nothing and I already know which way I’m going with this. With us.

“Honeyeh,” I kiss her then, slow and soft. “You can trust me, sweetheart.”

“I want to,” she breathes into my mouth. “So much.”

Those words make me relax. “You’ve turned this house into a home for me. I need you to understand that.”

“Really?” she cries, her arms tightening around my neck.

It hasn’t been long enough to make the big promises like forever and marriage, and she has every right to pump the brakes until I prove that I’m for real despite my dating history.

But I can remind her that there are promises I’ve already made. “What did I tell you? No matter what happens between us, I will leave you better. Remember?”

“I know. And I’m so grateful for that. But our hearts, me and Darius’s, they’re fragile. It’s why I haven’t dated, even though I’m not that strong on my own. I have to put his needs first. Not mine.”

I get it. With deep clarity I also know that I want to be on the list of people she loves like this. “Can you trust me to help with that? His needs?”

She leans back, her gray eyes searching mine a moment before she nods her affirmation. I kiss her then, slow but deep, my tongue brushing against hers over and over as my fingertips trail up her spine.

“Gross,” Darius gags from the chair next to us.

I can’t help it, I laugh against Honeyeh’s lips. “You’ll understand very soon, young man,” I say as Honeyeh giggles too.

“I’m going inside to take a nap,” he grouses as he pushes up from his chair and starts for the house.

“He liked me just fine before he saw us kissing,” I say as I watch him enter the house.

Honeyeh’s fingers thread into my hair. “He likes you. He’s just not used to seeing me with anyone. I’m not even sure how much he remembers about my parents. This might be a first for him.”

That’s a topic that we’re definitely discussing at some point. But right now, I kiss her again, holding her tightly against my chest.

The Vegas sun beats down on us, so wrapping my arms around her, I stand, walking into the pool with her in my arms.

The water is cooler than the air, but not much and we sink in, her legs coming around my waist.

The gentle lapping of the water makes me want to fuck her slow. Which is good because my girl has got be sore.

But her body is pressed to mine, my hand sliding down to her ass to pull us even tighter together.

We both groan as I tug at the ties of her bikini to release the bottoms.

“What if someone sees,” she whispers between kisses.

I don’t give a shit, but I ease back. “No one else is here but sleeping beauty.” She laughs a little even as I work the fabric off her body.

Then I’m tugging down my shorts.

I slip into her, even as she gives a little hiss. “Does it hurt, baby?”

“A little,” she murmurs against my lips. “But I like being this connected to you.”

“Me too, sweetheart.” God, she feels so good. I want to take her top off, but I leave it on just in case, as I walk into deeper water, pressing her against the wall where our bottom halves are hidden from view from the house.

Then I lift her by the hips, her body bobbing on my cock.

It feels so fucking good, I grind my teeth, my eyes closing. “You’re going to let me take care of you, aren’t you, baby?”

“Yes,” she answers, kissing down my neck.

I don’t just mean right now. And even though I didn’t tell her, didn’t want to over promise, I know this is a forever offer.

I slide into her, my balls on fire. How can I want her this much? I keep the pace slow, though, relaxing into it as I lean back, looking down to watch my cock sinking into her. It’s exactly where I belong.

“Don’t worry, Honeyeh. I won’t let anyone hurt you or Darius.” I’m mindless now, words just falling from my lips without forethought or pretense. “Not even my family can stand between us.”

She stills, tightening her legs around my waist so I can’t pump into her. “Triston.”

I squeeze her ass cheeks together, increasing the friction and I’m rewarded when her head falls back. But she draws in an uneven breath. “Don’t hurt your family for me. They’re too important.”

“You don’t know what they ask of me. What they always fucking ask.” I didn’t mean to say the words, but they’re out now.

She stops, looking at me then. “I know. But what would you do if one of them was hurt or sick? Would it matter then? What they ask of you?”

I get what she’s saying. I do. She’s given almost all of herself for Darius. “They have to make room for the things that make me happy too.”

“Do I make you happy?” she asks as she leans toward me again, her lips pressing to mine.

“You do.” I’m holding her ass with both hands, pressing us so close together that she moans at the same time I groan.

Her back arches, taking me even deeper inside her. “You make me happy too,” she cries.

I pick up speed, forgetting to be gentle as I pump into her. She’s tightening around me, her mouth open in a cry as her eyes squeeze shut. I love seeing her like this and I hold off my own orgasm, just wanting to watch her.

Two more thrusts and she breaks apart, crying out my name. She looks so gorgeous, feels so good, I break too, roaring as I fill her with my cum.

Her head falls back on the stone surround, her neck totally exposed as her arms float out to the side. “Triston?”

“Yeah, luv?”

“I want to help you however I can. Your business, your family. I want to help you.”

I gather her close. This is what I’ve always needed. Someone who wants to love me, and give to me, when the other parts of my life are trying to break me down. “You already do, Honeyeh.” I kiss her shoulder. “I love you, sweetheart.”

“I love you, too,” she chokes out, the emotion of the words making her voice tight.

“I think maybe we’re due for a nap too,” I whisper into her skin. I just want to hold her close.