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  “Be polite,” she hissed. King could see his staring was giving Willa the wrong impression, but he hadn’t worked with women most of his life without knowing how to handle them.

  “I’m sorry I was staring, Willa, but it’s just so refreshing to see a stunning woman with such natural beauty.”

  As Willa turned bright red, King thought she would high-tail it away, but instead, she began asking him questions about Queen City.

  “What did you do there?”

  “I ran several businesses,” he responded gently.

  “That sounds interesting. I get tempted every so often to open a bakery, but I really don’t want to be tied down to working in one every day. I already have enough to keep me busy.”

  “I may have a solution. Now that I’m living here, I’m thinking of opening a restaurant with a bar, and I would certainly be willing to buy your desserts for our menu on a regular basis.”

  “I would like that. I could create a few things just for your menu.”

  They continued to talk until King noticed Willa turned pale when a large man came into the picnic yard with a group of five children. He noticed her hands shake as she tucked her hair behind her ear. Even Evie noticed her behavior, giving King a concerned glance.

  As the group grew closer, King saw the man look over at them. He had a pleasant face, but the look in his eyes told King he was presenting a façade. He was proved correct when he saw Willa and moved toward their group.

  “Hello, Evie, Willa.” He nodded his head genially in King’s direction, yet he didn’t take his eyes off Willa. “I thought you said you weren’t coming to the picnic. You had a big order due; that was why you couldn’t come with me.”

  “I did—I do.” Willa’s voice shook. “I was just delivering one of the orders here. I stopped to say hello to Evie and King before I left to make the other deliveries.”

  “Oh.” The man’s accusing eyes didn’t soften.

  “Lewis is an employee at the factory.” At Evie’s introduction, King extended his hand to him, which Lewis shook before turning his attention immediately back to Willa who was trying to unobtrusively leave.

  “You’re a lucky man to have so many children. You and your wife must be very proud.”

  Lewis’s mouth tightened. “They aren’t all mine; two are my sister’s.”

  Evie looked up at King, explaining, “His sister used to be an employee of ours before she died.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” King offered his condolences.

  Lewis shrugged, turning once again back to Willa, stepping closer to her. ”You going to come back after you make the deliveries?”

  “No, I need to get started on the orders for tomorrow,” Willa said, taking a step backward.

  “Willa, be careful,” King tried to warn her, but the jumpy woman was trying to get away from Lewis and wasn’t paying attention to where she was backing up. She collided with Lucky who was carrying a large plate of the cupcakes, mashing them into his chest. When he tried to catch himself, he took a half step backward, bumping into Rider, who dropped his plate onto the ground.

  “What the fuck, Lucky? Watch what you’re doing!” Rider said. King put out his hand to steady Willa, helping her to regain her balance.

  “I’m so sorry.” Willa took the plate of cupcakes away from Lucky.

  “You always were clumsy,” Lewis said, taking the plate of cupcakes away from Willa and thrusting them toward King, who automatically reached out to take the plate.

  “Here, let me.” Evie took the plate instead, stepping to the side and setting it down on the table before grabbing a handful of napkins.

  One of the children with Lewis bent down to pick up one of the cupcakes Rider had dropped and began eating it.

  “No, Chrissy. That’s dirty.” Willa tried to take the cupcake away, but the little girl shoved her hand, making her hit Rider in the balls. Willa jerked her hand away as if it had been scalded.

  “Chrissy, put that cupcake down right now!” Lewis yelled.

  The little girl started wailing, throwing the cupcake at her father who dodged it, so it hit Willa instead.

  When Willa’s bottom lip began to tremble, King grabbed her, pulling her to his side, laughing. “I told you everyone would be fighting for your desserts.”

  Chapter 26

  Evie closed the door to her house behind them. “I think I have cupcake in my hair,” she said, giggling as she stared at King.

  “You have no reason to complain. I have to get a shower. I feel like I’m covered in chocolate.”

  “You are. Come on; let’s go take a shower.”

  King hesitated. “You sure?”

  Evie stopped on the bottom step. “It was really sweet what you did for Willa. I didn’t know you could be sweet.”

  “Did it give me brownie points with you?”

  “Absolutely.” Evie grinned, holding out her hand to him.

  They continued up the steps to her bedroom. She had decorated Beth’s old room in peaches and greens, going for a calming oasis and succeeding in making herself one. They took their clothes off, careful to bundle them up so the cupcake crumbs wouldn’t fall onto her new carpet.

  “I’ll throw them in the washer in the morning,” she told King as he started the shower, pulling Evie in with him. “Ugh. This is an old house; it takes time for the water to warm up.” She hated cold showers.

  Once the water had finally warmed and they were able to wash off the sticky chocolate, King’s shoulders started shaking with laughter.

  “What?” Evie asked.

  “Did you see Rider’s face when she hit his dick?”

  “Willa’s was worse.” Evie started laughing. “Lucky looked like he was going to cry over those cupcakes, too.” She laid her head on the shower wall. “It’s not funny; I thought Willa was going to cry. And Lewis was so jealous, he was about to have a stroke. I don’t think she likes him, though.”

  “You think? When she tried to go to her car, he and all five kids followed.” King put his hand on the shower wall as their merriment filled the room.

  “Did you see how mad Lucky was? When he tried to get Lewis to back off, one of those kids actually kicked him.” Evie was laughing so hard she was hiccupping.

  A serious expression crossed King’s face. “I think he’s been harassing her from the way she acted.”

  Evie nodded her head in agreement. “I’ll stop by her house my next day off and see what’s going on.”

  “Good idea. Something tells me it’s not a good situation.”

  “Me, either.” The gravity of Willa’s situation enabled Evie to regain control.

  “I missed you, King. Somehow, when I’m around you, I feel like laughing again.” She rinsed out her hair then, reaching out, pulled him under the showerhead with her. “I don’t want to be lonely anymore,” she admitted.

  “God, Evie. You think you’ve been lonely?” He tugged her out of the shower, drying her off carefully before rubbing the towel roughly over his own body. He then picked her up and carried her into the bedroom. Sitting down on the bed, he placed her on his lap. “For the last thirty years, I’ve spent my life not becoming close to anyone. I even gave my daughter up, thinking I was protecting her. It was myself I was trying to protect, though; I didn’t want to lose someone again after losing my sister. Instead of straightening my life out, I hid in a life that wasn’t worth living. I have a lot of sins to atone for.”

  His tortured eyes made Evie want to cry. She reached out, cupping his cheek. “No one could hurt us worse than what we’ve done to ourselves.”

  “When you left, a part of me left with you. I thought that drive back to Queen City, leaving Lily behind, was painful; but when you left, you took my soul with you. I’m never going to let you leave me again.”

  “I don’t think you’re going to have to worry about that because I’m not going anywhere.” When she leaned upward to kiss his mouth, her tongue licked his bottom lip then tugged it until he opened to her
. Her hands went to his shoulders, pressing him backwards onto the bed. She placed her legs on each side of his hips, sitting on his stomach, bending down to explore his mouth.

  Evie raised her head to catch her breath, and King said, “Did anyone ever tell you you’re an exceptional kisser?”

  “A time or two.” Evie rose up on one hand, reaching back with the other to place his cock at her opening. Wiggling her hips, she let the tip of his dick barely enter her. Her hand then went down between her thighs, rubbing her clit.

  “Would you like me to do that?” King brought his knees up and Evie leaned backwards, placing her weight on them.

  “That’s okay. I’ve got this,” she moaned, letting another inch of him slide inside her.

  King arched under her, driving himself fully inside her.

  “That wasn’t fair. I wanted to go slow.”

  “I didn’t.” As his hands gripped her hips, sliding her up and down his cock, Evie was surprised he was able to lift her weight. Correctly reading her surprise, he said, “I work out.”

  “Yes, you do,” she moaned, rubbing her clit harder and thrusting herself down on him.

  King arched, groaning, and then stopped moving. “Evie, is that a stripper pole by your closet?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why is there a stripper pole in your bedroom?”

  “Because I use it to exercise,” she said, becoming frustrated. “King, when I said you didn’t need to do anything, I was just joking!”

  “Are you going to give me a show later on?”

  Evie stopped moving, looking down at him. “That depends on whether you keep me hanging much longer,” she snapped.

  King tossed her to her back, surging inside her in a hard thrust that tore a scream from her throat. “Baby, I’m going to make you so happy, when you dance on that pole you’ll feel like you’re flying.”

  I feel pretty damn good now, Evie thought. Her thighs gripped his hips as he fucked her. Evie was used to a variety of men and sexual positions; none of them felt as intimate as King making love to her.

  Evie felt her body building toward a climax, gripping him tighter.

  “Come with me, Evie.” As his command sent her over, she felt his cock come deep within her.

  As soon as he rolled off her, she ran into the bathroom, slamming the bathroom door.

  “Evie, what’s wrong?” She heard him but didn’t answer. Grabbing a wash cloth, knowing it would be useless, she still had to try.

  She frantically began washing herself, rubbing between her legs so hard she was becoming red and raw.

  “What in the hell are you doing?” He jerked the wet cloth from her, tossing it into the sink.

  Evie burst into tears, burying her face into her hands. “Don’t hate me. I was supposed to go on another form of birth control. I made my appointment with my OB-GYN, but with Beth on bed rest, I didn’t have time.”

  “Evie, baby, calm down. It’s all right.”

  “You hated Brenda for getting pregnant.”

  King closed the toilet lid, sitting down. His hands pulled her between his legs then his mouth kissed her bare belly. “Evie, there is no comparison between you and Brenda. I was high and don’t even remember fucking her; I wouldn’t have touched her with a ten-foot pole otherwise. The bitch never even told me she was pregnant. She kept Lily hidden from me because the woman knew I would be furious.”

  The day he had seen Lily sitting outside that apartment building, dirty and underfed, was the worst day of his life. That he hadn’t known of her existence hadn’t eased his conscience; it had made him ache at the time he had lost with Lily. Her being born, her first step, her first word. To see the little girl run to him yelling Daddy when he came home from work. The bonding of a father to a daughter. That time couldn’t be recaptured. He hated Brenda. There was no comparison between her and Evie.

  “To be honest, I wouldn’t mind if you became pregnant. I missed raising Lily and would really like a do-over at it. So, if you do get pregnant, I promise I won’t suck as bad at it the second time around.” The thought of holding a child they had created filled an empty hole he hadn’t even been aware existed. This would be a love he could make himself worthy of earning this time.

  “Really?” Evie raised her face from her hands.

  “Really.” His violet eyes were filled with agony. “Do you know Lily’s only called me Dad when she thought she or I was going to die?”

  “King, you haven’t been the perfect father, but it’s not too late. I’ve known Lily a long time; it won’t be the last time she calls you Dad. Knowing her, she wants to make sure it’s okay with you. Talk to her.”

  “I don’t know how I ever created something as beautiful as her.”

  “Baby, you didn’t do it alone.”

  “Brenda doesn’t deserve any credit for giving birth to Lily.”

  “I wasn’t talking about Lily.” Evie looked down into the face that looked so much like his daughter. “Lily told Shade that, if things hadn’t turned out the way they had, she wouldn’t have ended up in Kentucky. I don’t believe that, but I do believe she ended up exactly where she belongs. Just like you, King. Maybe you weren’t a good father to her when she was a child, but you have the rest of your life to make it up to her. Talk to her and clear the air. Lily’s not the only one who needs to heal.”

  “I don’t want to bring up the past and upset her.”

  “Then don’t. Talk about the future, and let her know you’re always going to be there for her. She’s come so far over the last six months, and once she knows you’re not against her marriage anymore, she won’t feel torn between the two of you.”

  King stood, taking her in his arms. “Let’s get some sleep.”

  “No stripper pole tonight?”

  “Tonight, I’m going to be the one to please you. I have a lot to live up to. It’s hard for one man to live up to so much competition.”

  King packed her back to the bedroom, laying her down on the bed.

  Evie searched his eyes, looking for censure or jealously, and found none. “King…”

  “Evie, I have never been afraid of a little competition.” His fingers twisted her nipple. “I’m certainly willing to prove I can keep you satisfied.”

  Evie grinned back. “King, you can prove yourself to me all night long.”

  * * *

  Evie set her orange juice down on the table, staring at King in shock. “You’re going to do what?”

  “Don’t look so shocked,” King grumbled. “Shade invited me to go on the fishing trip with all the men the night you have Beth’s shower, and I accepted.”

  “You’ve never went fishing or camped out a night in your life.”

  King shrugged. “How hard could it be?”

  Evie spread some jam on her toast. “The only reason they are going to get out of attending the baby shower is Lily scarred them for life with Sex Piston’s.”

  “All of The Last Riders are going, so I take it as a good sign they invited me.”

  “Bullshit. You just don’t want to be stuck with all the women by yourself.”

  “That’s not true,” King denied, pouring himself a cup of coffee. He had come to the conclusion that building a relationship with Lily was more important than breaking her marriage to Shade. He still didn’t trust the man, but he was certain he would never hurt Lily. He figured going on the camping trip with Shade would show Lily he was willing to try. Shade had looked surprised he had accepted the invitation King was certain had been given after Lily’s prompting.

  “You do know you’ll have to shit in the woods?”

  “Are Sex Piston and her crew coming to the shower?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then camping will be a new experience I will thoroughly enjoy.”

  “Sure it will,” Evie said doubtfully.

  “I’m beginning to feel insulted.” King looked at her over the real-estate section of the newspaper.

  Evie eyed King’s immaculate clothes. �
��When I look at you, ‘outdoorsman’ doesn’t come to mind.”

  King sighed and changed the subject. “I have a meeting this morning with the owner of the property I told you about that I want to buy for the restaurant.”

  “I can fucking guarantee he won’t be wearing a two-thousand-dollar suit.”

  “It’s all about intimidation to get the best price for the property,” King informed her.

  Evie took a bite of her toast, chewing it thoughtfully. “Have you met Drake Hall yet?”

  “No, the realtor set the appointment up for me.”

  “He’s not going to be intimidated by you. You want a better price on the property, take Bliss with you; he’ll be too busy staring at her tits to concentrate on you chewing his price down.”

  “I think I can handle him. I’ve bought over a hundred properties in Queen City.”

  Evie finished her toast, placing her plate in the sink. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” She went back to the table, bending down to give him a kiss. “I have to go. I need to see a couple of Beth’s patients before I go to the grocery store to buy the groceries for tonight’s party.”

  “You need me to do anything before I leave? Shade and Rider aren’t picking me up until this afternoon.”

  “You could blow the balloons up for me. They’re on the table in the living room.” Evie could tell from his face he was less than thrilled by the challenge of blowing the balloons up.

  “I meant errands you needed done.” He clarified.

  “Nope, just the balloons. I think if Shade could make another masterpiece out of diapers, then you can blow up a few balloons.”

  Chapter 27

  “So, what’s it like going from a whole clubhouse of men fucking you to just one man?”

  Evie stared at Killyama as she refilled her tea glass, tempted to dump the whole pitcher on her head.

  “Killyama!” Beth reproved her friend, saving Evie from having to answer her question in front of a whole roomful of women, one being the daughter of the man she was in love with.