This Game Called Life (Kingdom Book 4) (18 page)

He wanted to
linger, but MacKenzie didn’t allow it. Turning suddenly, their lips made
contact. Their breaths mingled, and their mouths fused. Neither of them
questioned their reaction to each other. It was explosive and it was real. Jake
couldn’t get enough of her, couldn’t get close enough to her. It had been too
long since he had fully felt the imprint of her body against his.

Pulling away, he
broke their contact and willed her to look at him. When he had her full
attention, he slowly lowered his body until she was left in no doubt as to how
much he wanted her, how much she affected him. “Do you feel what you do to me,
MacKenzie?”

“You feel so
good!” MacKenzie gasped.

That she so
readily admitted her thoughts pleased him more than he could say. Instead of
words he again took her lips with stroke after stroke of deep penetrating thrusts.
The sounds of their moans a sensual echo heard only by the birds and small
animals whose habitat they had invaded. The kiss grew darker and more intense
as they devoured each other.

“Do you want me,
MacKenzie?” Jake whispered, against her mouth.

“Yes!”

Jake settled
against her, and her body welcomed him as her legs fell apart. Running his
fingers up her thigh, he slid a hand under her bottom and bore down as he
pulled her flush against him. When she was in the position he wanted, he began
a sensual rotation of his hips, his fully engorged cock rubbing against her
opening. There was no doubt that she wanted him; he could smell her arousal.

“How much do you
want me, MacKenzie?” Jake purred, watching her with eyes that had turned nearly
black with his arousal. When she made no response, Jake didn’t know if it was
due to her stubbornness, shyness or sensual lethargy.

Her eyes remained
closed as they moved from side to side beneath their lids. That was how he
realized MacKenzie was attempting to think up the right answer to his question.

“A lot!”

Her near shout
startled him, and she had given the wrong answer. Jake decided to try again.
“Do you want me, MacKenzie?”

Her eyes snapped open.
“You know I do.”

Better
, Jake thought, but her admission still wasn’t enough for him. “Then
you’re going to have to come and get me,” MacKenzie gasped, but he wasn’t
finished. “For the record, you better bring your A game, because I’m hard to
get!”

Jake held back
laughter as she punched him. When she grimaced in pain and shook her hand, he
laughed out loud. “Come on now, you know I have abs of steel,” he said puffing
out his chest.

“Whatever, get off
me, you e–”

“Egotistical
bastard,” Jake finished for her.

“Oh, you are so
funny, well let’s see if you can laugh this off!”

Jake only just
managed to roll away before; MacKenzie’s knee made contact with his balls.
Still enjoying himself, he swooped her up and marched over to the water’s edge.
“I think you need to cool down,” he said with a mock glare.

Jake had no
intention of dropping her in the water. His intention was to release and catch
her before any damage was done. As he let go of a struggling MacKenzie, he was
momentarily distracted by the loud rustle of a shrub. The next thing he knew
was the feel of arms and legs wrapped around his body. Then there was a mighty
splash as they both hit the water.

Chapter 25

Diana was furious.
All her plans were going up in smoke. That those boys continued to thwart her
was a constant reminder that she had been right. She should have killed them
both at birth. If that had happened, she wouldn’t be in her current situation.

That she refused
to admit culpability in the direction her life had taken was a testament to her
mental state. Her face contorted in fury each and every time she thought about
what she had lost because of her offspring. But for them, she would still be Mrs.
Jackson Kingdom, and he would still love her. Not for the first time, Diana
acknowledged that if she were to reclaim her life, her sons had to go.

In a moment of
weakness, she had fooled herself into believing that Aviva’s dice with death,
and her protracted acts of humiliation would be enough. That by embroiling them
in controversy and tarnishing the Kingdom name, they would feel a modicum of
the degradation they had seen fit to put her through. She was wrong. Diana had
no doubt that by now the Kingdom family knew she was behind their troubles.

Since her last
encounter with them, she had made it her mission to know their every move.
Jason’s marriage had come as something of a shock as well as a blessing. From
all reports, his wife was his world; so it had been extremely amusing to set up
her little accident. She had wanted to send a message that none of them were
safe. That on one stretch of road in the middle of an unremarkable day, one
could lose everything one held dear.

It had been a
little more difficult to find Jacob’s Achilles heel. MacKenzie hadn’t come onto
her radar until Christmas. When Jake had been the only member of the family to
remain with her after the birth of her child, she had begun to pay attention.

They hadn’t spent
enough time together for her to be sure, but never one to leave anything to
chance, she had started digging into everyone that had anything to do with
MacKenzie. That was how she had found the Ernestos’. Diana had been pleased
beyond belief when their most closely guarded secret had been uncovered.

A knock on the
door pulled Diana from her musing. Taking a few moments to wipe the imprint of
fury from her face, she reclined in her chair and gave permission for entry.

“Your guest has
arrived, Mrs. Kingdom.”

The man who stood
just inside the room could be described as nothing short of divine. A Greek
Adonis, from his jet black hair to the tip of his perfectly formed feet and
everything in between; and that’s what she called him, Adonis. Diana knew he
was perfect because she had seen him in all his natural beauty, on more than
one occasion. She only surrounded herself with things of beauty, and her
henchmen were no exception. However, this man was in her employ more for his
looks than his ability to carry out tasks she couldn’t do herself.

That he and all
her staff called her, Mrs. Kingdom was just another aspect of her life that she
insisted on. It didn’t matter that she and Jackson were divorced, or that she
had remarried more than once, she still remained the only Mrs. Jackson Kingdom,
so she felt no compunction in using the title.

“Show her in,”
Diana ordered.

“Hello, Diana.”

Diana kept her
head lowered as she pretended to flick through a magazine. Finally tossing it
aside, she raised her eyes and pierced her visitor with a cold gaze.

“You lost the
right to call me by my given name when you failed your task. From now on, you
will call me, Madam!” Diana ordered.

Farrah uttered a
laugh coupled with a look of disbelief. “You have got to be kidding me!”

Diana’s rage
towards the woman standing before her intensified, but it didn’t show on her
beautiful face. People always underestimated her due to her small stature and
refined air. This Vegas showgirl was about to find out what it meant to fail
her.

“If you knew me
better, you would know beyond any doubt that I never,
kid
. Nor would I
ever use such an inarticulate word.”

Farrah blinked
twice in quick succession, which told Diana that her words and their
seriousness had hit home. “I see that I finally have your attention. Please do
take a seat. Then you can tell me what you have decided to do by way of
rectifying your failure.” Diana flicked a perfectly manicured hand in the
direction of a Louis sixteenth gilded chair. All her furniture was white; that
Farrah wore blue jeans was another mark against her.

“I already told
you, they know my saying Jason and I were still married was a lie.”

“How do they know
that, Farrah?” Diana questioned with the lift of a brow.

“Jason and his
wife were gone for a while. When they came back, they didn’t look worried. Then
they told me to get out. If they hadn’t found out that I was lying, they
wouldn’t have acted that way.”

Diana was
staggered by the woman’s stupidity. To her mind, what she had asked of Farrah
had been simple. Now she regretted two things: trusting that this foolish woman
could carry out the task she had been set; and that she had paid her any money
before the job was completed.

“You will go to
the press as we discussed. Failure to do so will result in the sorriest day of
your life.” Diana never lost her temper. She had learned a long time ago that
the art of intimidation wasn’t realized through the show of emotion. Rather it
was confirmed by the coldness Farrah no doubt saw in her eyes. Diana didn’t
expect the standoff to last for too long, and she was correct in her
assumption.

“What do you want
me to say?”

Taking a deep
breath, Diana stretched over and leisurely withdrew a cigarette from a jade
box. Attaching it to a gold holder, she flicked open a lighter, lit it and drew
deeply. “Although I don’t anticipate having much more to do with you, there is
one thing you must remember, I do not suffer fools gladly. You, young woman I
find to be a fool.”

“You don’t get to
speak to me that way!” Farrah stormed.

Diana ran a hand
down her perfectly styled black hair as a delicate frown creased her brow.
“What a thoroughly ridiculous thing to say. I just did speak to you in
that
way
, and I will continue to do so until I choose for our association to
come to an end.”

“How about this,
rich bitch, I choose for our association to end, starting now. Go find someone
else to do your dirty work!” Farrah shouted, already on her way out the room.

Diana allowed her
to leave. When she finished her cigarette, she rose and pressed a button on the
wall beside the huge mirror that had pride of place above the fireplace. When
Adonis entered, she didn’t immediately turn to face him. Her attention was fixed
on her reflection, certain she had just spotted a wrinkle. Preoccupied with her
appearance, Diana spoke only two words. “Kill her.”

Chapter 26

Jake hadn’t seen
MacKenzie since they returned from their impromptu dip. The look they shared
when he had finally fished her out of the water had been one of amusement. They
had also somehow managed to return to the house and disappear into their
respective rooms without being seen.

Now it was nearing
dinner time, and Jake felt a need to bypass going directly downstairs for a
visit with the baby.

Unsure of how he
would be greeted, he knocked and waited. When he was bid entry, Jake found
MacKenzie sitting in a chair giving her daughter her last bottle.

“I hope you don’t
mind, but I thought I’d visit with Noelle before she went down for the night.”
Jake could see the surprise on MacKenzie’s face but chose to ignore it.

“Sure, come on
over, she’s a little sleepy though.”

“Don’t worry I
won’t disturb her. Why don’t you show me what to do and I can continue with her
feed while you go and change for dinner.” Jake knew he wasn't too subtle, but
he didn’t care. Seeing her still in her dressing gown alerted him to the fact
that she might be of a mind to skip dinner. That was not an option.

“I’m not really
that hungry.” That she refused to make eye contact with him spoke volumes.

“MacKenzie, there
is one thing you should know when dealing with the Kingdom men. “You have to
face us down. Not that we would ever take advantage of you, but if you let us,
we could unintentionally intimidate the hell out of you.”

“Your family don’t
intimidate me,” MacKenzie shot back. “Well, maybe I’m the tiniest bit
intimidated by your father, but not by you and your oversized brothers.”

“Then what’s going
on?”

MacKenzie
hesitated and looked down at Noelle nestled in her arms. “I don’t know if I’m
ready to face your family,” she admitted with obvious embarrassment.

The honesty of her
response weighed heavily on him. Jake knew his reaction towards the revelation at
the interview had a lot to do with how she was feeling, but he wasn’t about to
apologize. The way he felt and the way he had reacted still stood. She was just
going to have to deal with it. “Is there any truth in what that reporter said?”

“You know there
isn’t.”

“Then what do you
have to be embarrassed about?” Jake pushed.

“You said it best,
your family stood by me, and I em–”

Jake cut her off.
He had heard enough. “Give me the baby, show me what to do, and go and change.
This subject is now closed.”

“Jake!”
MacKenzie’s utterance of the single word encompassed her exasperation with him.

With a sigh, he
took the baby from her. His movement was so seamless, Noelle was in his arms,
bottle and all before MacKenzie even realized what had happened.

“You need to get
going before we end up getting to dinner half way through the meal.” With a
toss of his head, he indicated that she should move so he could sit down.

With a huff
followed by a roll of her eyes, MacKenzie rose from the chair. Jake took her
place and nodded to the bottle that looked awkward in his large hand. “Am I
doing it right?” At her nod, he transferred his attention back to the sleepy
child. “Good, now go and change.”

“You really need
to stop bossing me around, Jacob Kingdom,” MacKenzie whispered.

Jake knew she
would have rather shouted at him, but was mindful of the baby. His only
response to her reprimand was a show of dimples. He had gotten his way, and
that was all that concerned him.

**********

Dinner that night
was a somewhat subdued event. Everyone chatted and acted as they normally did,
but it was obvious to Jake that MacKenzie was still extremely uncomfortable. No
matter how often attempts were made to integrate her into the conversation, she
remained on the peripheral. Her lack of response didn’t faze the family. They
all joked and MacKenzie was not exempted from their teasing. Watching her, Jake
was sure he had seen her smile more than once.

They were all
gathered in the family room after dinner when the joviality came to an end.

“We need to talk,”
Jackson broke into the chatter that surrounded them. “We need to come to a
consensus of what we’re going to do about Diana.”

The mention of
their mother’s name was all it took to dampen the spirits of the younger men.
Jake observed the veil of barely suppressed anger overtake his brother’s
expressions, and he knew his was no different.

Still in charge of
the conversation, Jackson continued speaking. “We got distracted by what
happened to Aviva all those months ago, then came the wedding and finally
Noelle's arrival. All these incidents, as well as our business commitments, have
led us to this point. For my part, I wouldn’t change any of the additions to
this family, they are most welcomed.” The smile Jackson offered the two women
was acknowledged with smiles of their own.

There was no
getting away from it, his father was a charmer. With a look and a few
well-chosen words, he had Aviva and MacKenzie eating out of his hands.

“I’m going to pay
Diana a visit and get this matter resolved once and for all.”

“Oh yeah, and how
are you going to do that?” Jason wanted to know.

“I’m not sure yet,
but I’ll work it out.”

“As far as I’m
concerned the only way to get her out of our lives,
once and for all
, as
you put it, is to cut out her heart. Oh sorry, I forgot, she doesn’t have a
heart!” Jason retorted his tone loaded with sarcasm.

“Jason,” Jackson
rebuked, “those types of comment do not help anyone!”

“Speak for
yourself, it helps me!”

Aviva jabbed her
husband in the side with her elbow to gain his attention, and gave him a stern
look.

“What?” Jason
asked.

“You shouldn’t say
things like that. We know you don’t mean them, but MacKenzie will think she’s
involved with a family of barbarians.”

Jake couldn’t wait
to hear Jason’s response.

“MacKenzie is
Jake’s concern, not mine, so she can take me or leave me. As long as you know
who I am, I don’t care about what anyone else thinks.”

Aviva’s look of
exasperation amused Jake. On the other hand, MacKenzie’s expression of shock at
Jason’s comments was worrying, but he said nothing. Jason had no filter and the
sooner she understood and got used to his twin the better.

“That’s enough!”
Jackson commanded, putting a stop to the way the conversation was developing.
“Josh, have you managed to find out where she is staying?”

Josh gave the
address together with the assurance that Diana was still in residence. “If she
packs up to leave, I’ll know about it.”

“Give me her
number,” Jackson told his youngest son.

Without comment,
Josh reeled off the number, and they all waited as Jackson placed the call, and
switched the phone to loudspeaker.

“This is Jackson
Kingdom.”

“Jackson, why so
formal? I would know your voice anywhere. I have to say I expected your call
long before this,” Diana purred.

“What do you
want?” Jackson asked with a no-nonsense tone.

“What do you think
I want, Jackson?”

“Don’t play games
with me, Diana. I don’t have the time or the inclination for it!”

“You will not take
that tone with me. I hold all the cards, I may not be able to ruin you, but I
will pull you and your precious sons through so much dirt, some of it will
stick. So you had better rethink how you proceed.”

The sound of his
mother’s modulated voice made Jake cringe. He had only seen Diana lose her cool
once. That had been the day she was thrown out of their home. Now by the sound
of her threats, she obviously thought she was in complete control.

“I repeat, what do
you want, Diana?”

“I want you to
come to my house tomorrow at 1:00 pm sharp. Don’t bother to bring the boys, you
know I can’t stand them, darling,” Diana said with a laugh. “I know they’re all
listening, hello boys,” she said with false amusement.

“What is the
matter with you, Diana?” Jackson asked, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Tomorrow, 1:00 pm.”

Then the phone
went dead.

**********

When Diana hung up
the phone on Jackson, she felt flushed. Why she felt the way, she did about him
was something she was unable to fathom. For her, it had always been that way.
Even before the first time she had deliberately instigated the meeting between
them; she had seen him, and she had known they were meant to be together.

Diana hadn’t liked
Jackson’s tone. She accepted it only because he had so readily agreed to meet
with her. That she had given him little choice was of no concern to her. She
also knew he had her on speaker and that he no doubt had his sons listening to
their conversation.

That he had
refused to take her back even after she had laid her heart open before him was
a problem. A problem yes, but as far as she was concerned her dilemma wasn’t
insurmountable. The smoke screen she had instigated in regards to Aviva and
MacKenzie were just that, a means to her end. Her end game, Mrs. Jackson
Kingdom... forever.

All her
machinations had produced the result she wanted. Jackson was coming to her.
Never for one moment had she doubted that he would come to her. Lost in a
fantasy world where she and Jackson were the hero and heroine; it didn’t matter
to Diana that she had hurt and used others. All that concerned her was that she
got what she wanted. If there were casualties along the way, so be it.

Spinning around in
her seat, she again turned her attention to the people seated before her. She
had nothing but disdain for them. They had outlived their usefulness, and their
presence was nothing more than an annoyance. Their petty little family secret
meant nothing to her. Carlos Ernesto being a superstar meant even less. His
mother however interested her.

Lorna Ernesto had
been willing to destroy the mother of her only grandchild to protect her son.
Some would say that her actions represented a mother’s love; she said, Lorna
had an unhealthy obsession with her offspring.

True, Carlos was a
handsome man, but as far as Diana was concerned, the brother who held her
attention was the big one. Now he was truly a beautiful specimen, but the look
he directed at her led her to believe she would never be able to experience all
that delicious black manliness. Too bad, she thought, but it didn’t matter, she
was about to be reunited with her one true love.

Lorna Ernesto’s
penchant for young men was the first real piece of information that had turned
up. That in itself was of no consequence to Diana. Lorna’s protection of her
famous son at all costs was something entirely different. A bribe offered to
the right people had produced all she needed to blackmail the Ernestos’ into
seeing things her way. Now their usefulness was at an end.

“As you no doubt
heard, my husband will be coming for a visit tomorrow. By that time, I will
expect you to have issued a statement retracting each and every lie you told
about that poor young woman.”

Lorna was
outraged. “How do you expect us to do that without my son looking as though
he’s a fool?!

“That is not my
concern. What is my concern is that you do it.” Diana felt her irritation rise.
She wanted them out of her house and to never have to deal with them again.
“It’s quite simple, you do what I want, or I will ruin you.”

“If we put out the
statement you suggest, we’ll be a media laughing stock,” Lorna raged, still the
most vocal member of her family. “I don’t want that woman anywhere around my
son, but I’m prepared to take the child. My son has worked too hard for you to
swoop in and ruin everything we’ve worked for!”

“You, your son and
his career mean nothing to me. I will call you tomorrow at noon. At that time,
you will have a statement prepared to announce to the media. You will have one
hour to carry this out, or I will send an anonymous statement detailing
everything I know about one, Carlos Ernesto.” Diana’s patience was at an end.
If these provincial nobodies thought to test her, she would have no recourse
other than to carry out her threat.

“Why are you doing
this to me?” Carlos spoke for the first time.

“Because I can,”
Diana replied. “Nothing personal, but you, Carlos are a means to an end. Elaborate
I know, but I needed to get and hold the Kingdom’s attention,” Out of sight of
the Ernestos’, she pressed the call button under her desk.

“I won’t allow you
to do this to me!” Carlos shouted.

At the same time,
Adonis entered the room.

“Please escort
these people off my property.” For a moment, Diana thought the silent Curtis
was about to protest. A moment passed as he rose from his seat and regarded her
with a level of disdain identical to the look she remembered receiving from her
sons.

“Whatever storm is
coming for my family, we’ll deal with it and we will get through it. I’ve
spoken to one of your sons, and I wonder if you can say the same. I guess only
time will tell.” Those were the first and last words Curtis Ernesto ever spoke
to Diana.