Page 65 of Kings Don't Break

“I don’t know for sure,” she murmurs. “I could be paranoid.”

“Kori.”

“I think he was… I’m pretty sure he’s been following me. Him and his partner, Coates. I’ve spotted them different times around town. In the area… but at a distance. Earlier today when Mama and I were out grocery shopping…”

“How about I go make him stop?”

I’m headed out the door just like that. Keys clenched inside my fist and boots clacking on the wood flooring, I cross the space with my mind made up. Korine calls after me, rushing out from behind the kitchen counter. I stop only when she catches up and cuts me off.

“Blake, please,” she whispers. Her hands reach for my chest, gentle against the hardness of it. She peers up at me, her expression imploring, her beauty enough to put me under her spell.

My skin warms and my pulse climbs. None of it reflects on my face—on the outside, I’m as composed as I usually am—but damn if Korine doesn’t still have a hold on me. The second she’s pinning me with that soft, sultry, pleading look in her eye, she’s pulled me into her orbit. She’s the sun that’s the nexus of my universe.

I’m powerless to do anything but bask in her light.

Because that’s what Korine has always been for me. A light of hope in the bleakest darkness.

“Alright,” I say, forcing down my rage. Forcing down the equally strong desire I’ve got for her. “If you don’t want me confronting him, I won’t.”

…that you’ll know about.

Her face eases into a relieved smile. “Why do I feel like I just talked a wild beast down from an attack?”

“’Cuz that’s basically what you did.”

“Now what?”

I think, trying to circle back to the playful air we’d had looking at the photographs. “So,” I say slowly. “About you being jealous.”

She smacks a hand to my chest. “Blake, how many times do I have to tell you? I’m not jealous of you wanting to stick your dick in every vagina you come across!”

The corner of my mouth cants slightly. “You sure about that? Because you’re sounding real irritated right now. Almost like it brings out feelings of envy in you?—”

“You are so bigheaded!”

“Just admit you’re jealous, Kori, and I’ll never bring it up again.”

“I’d rather eat glass! I’ve never been jealous of you and your parade of conquests a day in my life,” she laughs, shoving more at my chest.

I take it in stride ’til I’m gripping her by the wrists to hold her off. We’re locked into a back-and-forth tussling dance as she tries to push at me and I hold onto her. Then I pull her closer, the laughter between us falling freely. The playful air infectious and unstoppable. We push and pull like this for a while.

Korine’s brown eyes bright. Her face beautiful with glee. Mine bowed down toward her. Gaze fixated on every inch ’til it drops down and focuses solely on one thing and one thing only—those damn lips of hers.

It’s a volcanic eruption. Temptation gone too far, exploding all at once. We reach the realization at the same time. We go for it, swooping in to meet in the middle in a kiss that’s wild and uninhibited.

My arm cinches around Korine’s slim waist and her hands reach up to touch the roughness of my beard. Our lips explore each other’s for the first time in years; for the first time since we were teenagers discovering what it was like to feel such immediate intense pleasure.

And it’s no different a decade later. If anything, it’s more intense, more explosive. Hot and breathless. Passionate as I kiss the fuck out of Korine and she gasps and slides fingers into my golden mane.

I squeeze her hips and walk her back several steps ’til we’re banging into the end table pressed up against the wall. Then I’m hoisting her up and plopping her down on top of it, angling her head so I can taste more of that delicious, addictive mouth of hers. The sweetness of it, the sheer heat, the little notes she products… all of it drives me up the wall.

I growl, kissing her harder. Enough to consume her. Overwhelm her. Make it clear she’s fucking mine and always will be.

My girl that’s in my heart. That’s in my head. That belongs by my side and damn sure belongs in my bed.

Ten years, and not once have I ever stopped thinking about her. It’s always been her.

It takes all the restraint I have not to rip her clothes off here and now. As our mouths devour each other’s and we produce throaty moans at the feel of each other’s lips, it takes everything to keep me from carrying her off.