High Stakes (The Kingdom Book 2) (14 page)

“I know. But I like carrying you. Just humor me, okay?”

“Okay.” She giggles.

She wraps her hands around my neck, and with a little jump, her legs are wrapped around my waist. I get to hold on to her butt, which I’m not displeased about, at all.

“I feel like a chimp,” she remarks, as I walk through the apartment with her.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I’m all for unleashing the animal in you, Stunner. But I’m not thinking primates …”

“Oh?”

“No,” I say, placing her gently on her back, on the bed. “I think there’s a tigress in you, and I plan to find it …”

“Carry on talking like that, Mr. King, and I might just show you.”

I’m not sure if it’s the sultry tone in her voice, or the fact that she called me Mr. King, or that she’s coming out of her shell and discovering the sexy as sin woman that’s inside, which makes my dick twitch every time. But, fuck, the thought that Amy is in my office, is interrupting my thoughts. And I refuse to think of her while I’m with my girl. I’ve gotta get it sorted, then I’m taking the rest of the day off.

“Hold that thought, Stunner. Wait here, sketch, eat, whatever you like. I have to get this sorted.”

She sighs. “Okay, go, get it sorted. I’ll be right here when you’re done.” She stretches up, sliding her hands above her head, and into the mass of waves that fan around her. It pulls the shirt she’s wearing, a little higher up her body, which exposes her creamy skin and scant white lace underwear that I just want to pull off with my teeth.

“Right there. Stay right there, like that.” I tear myself away with a groan because I know that if I don’t, this thing with Amy won’t get sorted today and my mind will be partly occupied knowing that I have to deal with it all another time. “You’re not making it easy for me, Stunner,” I say, adjusting myself through my jeans.

“I’m sorry, but I’ll make it better when you come back.”

“Is that a promise?”

“Yeah.” She laughs. “It’s a promise.”

I descend in the elevator, and walk with purpose across the foyer, but when I reach the hallway that leads to my office, my legs seem to slow as I get closer. I stop outside the heavy wood door, and take a deep breath before pushing it open.

There are two members of my security team standing on either side of the door, and they nod their acknowledgment of my presence as I enter. Then my attention turns to Amy. The smug bitch is sitting in my chair, with her long legs propped up on my desk. I can taste my dislike for her, and momentarily I wonder when we crossed the line. Has it been a long time coming or am I only just starting to realize what I’ve been putting up with? The thought makes me equally sad and frustrated.

“Let’s get this over and done with, shall we?” I ask, crossing the room and pushing her legs so they drop from the desk. She doesn’t seem to take any notice of me, she just sits up straighter and laughs.

“Denham King,” she drawls “What is this display for? There’s no other women to impress with your display of dominance. Just me, and I already know how dominant you like to be.”

She stands to her full height, right in front of me. Her body doesn’t touch mine, but she’s so damn close. There was a time, when her body, her smell, would drive me crazy. Now I’m repulsed. She found me at my weakest point, and used it to her full advantage. She doesn’t actually know the real me.

“You know very little about me, Amy. I’m not going to spend any more time with you than I have to. This isn’t about reminiscing. What’s it going to take to buy you out?”

“You can’t.”

“I can. And I will. It was a short term investment, and it’s no longer needed.”

“Well, I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do about that, King. You can’t buy me out.”

I rub my temples through sheer frustration. This is not a fun game she’s playing.

“Oh, King. You really have taken your eye off the ball, haven’t you?” She laughs and rakes one of her talons down my chest, stopping when she gets to my abs. It’s a move that would have once had me bending her over my desk, and taking her hard and fast. But now, it disgusts me. She disgusts me. What kind of a state must I have been in over the last three years, to have thought she was any good for me?

Grief. That’s what’s had me deluded. I’ve done anything and everything to avoid thinking about my father. I’ve pushed forward so hard, so blinded to stop the grief from swallowing me whole. I’ve tried every distraction to avoid acknowledging the pain that comes with losing someone so close to you. That someone was my hero. And I needed to be the strong one. I had to step up and look after my family, because who else was going to do it? Who else would have kept this place running? So now I’ve done that, and will continue to do that. But Arianna has shown me that I need to let someone take care of me too. That it’s okay to feel, because if you don’t, it’s an empty existence.

When Amy’s hand wanders from my stomach down to my crotch, I’m snapped out of my thoughts, and my patience with her finally gives way. I grab her wrist hard and turn her fast, pushing her so she’s bent at the waist, and face down over my desk with her arm restrained behind her back.

“You know I love it when you’re rough,” she manages to say through strained breaths.

“Don’t fucking touch what’s not yours. Got it?” I growl in warning. “How much to get you out of my life, and off my books?” I push her hand up her back just a little so she feels the strain. I’m not taking any pleasure in this whatsoever, and I’m holding so damn tight on the reigns of my temper.

“I told you. You can’t buy me out,” she says through gritted teeth, realizing that I’m not playing some sick kind of sexual game. I tighten my grip on her wrist, and push it harder into her back, but she yelps, which makes me release her instantly. It wasn’t my intention to hurt her, fuck, she gets off on being hurt, but I would never want to be the one to cause her actual pain that wasn’t pleasurable. I turn and slam my hand flat against the filing cabinet behind me, which makes her jump.

Fucking woman. I can’t believe she pushed me that far. I feel like an asshole. If Arianna had seen what I just did, she would run away and not look back. I’ve never felt like this toward a woman. It’s Amy. She brings out the worst in me, pushes all the buttons that make me want to smash the fucking place up around her. Not once has she made me feel warm, or happy. Not once has she listened when I thought I needed to talk. Then I think of Arianna. My grounding. The girl whose smile melts my heart and it makes me realize what I’ve been missing out on all these years. So it’s time to move on. For everyone’s sake. Before we destroy each other.

“Right,” I say, blowing out a deep breath, and taking a seat in my desk chair hoping that having the hard wood between us will help us negotiate. “It can’t go on like this, Amy. You and I know, that whatever you and I had, is over … it’s not healthy and it’s not fun anymore …” I watch for her reaction as she straightens out her skirt and smoothes her hands through her hair, but there isn’t one. She’s her usual cold self, unaffected by my reaction to her, and the sneer she wears so well, is placed back on her face. “So, I’m going to make you an offer, and you are going to take it, understood?” I say, my voice determined so she knows there’s no negotiations here.

“King. I think it’s
you
that has misunderstood
me
. You can’t buy me out.” She walks forward with controlled movements and leans over, placing both palms flat on my desk in front of me. “I already sold my share.”

What the actual fuck did she just say?

“Did you just say … you
sold
your share?” My low voice sounds dangerous even to my own ears, and I’m seriously starting to boil from the inside.

“You heard correctly, Mr. King. You fucked with me. I fucked with you,” she says nonchalantly with a shrug of her shoulders. “I hope you and your new partner will be very happy.”

She throws her head back and laughs, and I grip the arms of my chair so hard, I think my fingers are going to go through it.

“Who?” I grate out through clenched teeth.

She turns on her impossibly high heels, and struts to the door.

She stops and turns to me when she gets to the doorway, placing her hand on her cocked hip “Call me when you get bored of the little whore, you’re a fuck worth coming back for.”

“Amy, WHO?” I yell. She closes the door behind her, shutting out my question and I’m torn between calming myself down and going after her, which right now, is a very bad idea.

“Get out!” I yell at the two security guards still standing on either side of the door. “Get the fuck out, and make sure she leaves the fucking building,” I order harshly. They scurry after Amy, and once they’re gone the rage rips through me.

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck,” I bellow, the sound bouncing off the walls. I swipe at the desk and everything flies off in all directions. Glasses smash, and paperwork is strewn around the room in a whirl of anger. I’ve worked myself into the ground over the last three years to keep this place afloat. I couldn’t have done it without Amy’s investment, and she knew she had me over a barrel. But to fucking sell her share on to someone else. Fuck. I don’t even know who now owns a share in The Kingdom. My pride and joy. She knows how much this place means to me. She knows what it means to my family and now, now that I’m not sleeping with her, she’s turned into the woman scorned and tried to hurt me in the way she knows will go straight to my heart.

IT WAS A COUPLE OF
hours before Denham came back to the apartment. He seemed distracted, and was far quieter than usual. I put this down to having the talk with Amy, and even though I don’t know her well, from what I’ve seen, she’s enough to make anyone feel tired and deflated.

The rest of the weekend flew by fast. Too fast. Denham took time off work, again. He made lots of excuses to stay with me, but spent a lot of time making and receiving calls to try and keep things running as smooth as he could, without actually being in the office.

We lazed, we ate and we made out. We listened to music and cooked together, and it wasn’t long before he was back to his usual charming self, making me laugh and making me feel like I’m the only girl in the world.

It was great, but it also prolonged the fact that I’m going to have to be left alone at some point, and it wasn’t me delaying it. I needed to get back to normal, whatever that was going to be. I needed to get out of the apartment. And, I needed to breathe the fresh air, and start to make a life for myself. I had to show Denham that something terrible wasn’t going to happen to me every time he wasn’t around. But this was proving difficult, as so far the universe had other plans every time he tried to go to work and get on with things.

The only way I was going to convince him was to get assertive.