Lone King, page 25
A tiny smile lifts the corners of his mouth. “You do know her husband is an insurance agent, right?”
“Of course, I do. I wouldn’t have mentioned that job if he wasn’t.”
Now his smile grows bigger. “I do love when you’re sassy, Duck.”
“Maia always had a bit of the snob in her. You know I don’t look down on any job, but if our places were reversed, she would have made sure I knew she thought she was better than me.”
Marius smiles. “She was never better than you at anything.”
“Well, I didn’t stop with that little slam on her. As we were leaving, I told her to eat her heart out because she had two of you Kings and still didn’t get the brass ring.”
His eyes fill with love, and he hugs me tightly against him. “I love you for saying that. Thank you, Eden.”
I stroke the back of his neck thinking he needs a haircut. “I wasn’t going to let her get away with saying anything about you, baby. It’s been over a decade, but it was time for her to know she messed up when it came to you.”
He leans back and sighs, smiling at me. “You’re one of a kind, Duck. I love you. Don’t ever doubt that.”
“And I love you, Marius. I’m very protective of the people I love. There was no way I was going to let her say anything about you, especially in front of our daughter. Let her go back to her husband and be miserable because she knows she could have had you.”
Marius shakes his head as his expression turns serious. “I thought I loved her when all that happened with her and Theo. From the moment you and I got together, I realized whatever I felt for her wasn’t love. Not love like I feel for you. You and I were meant for one another.”
“I made sure to mention that Ava married Matthias, so we’re one big happy family. Trust me. She’s eating her heart out right now.”
He cradles my face in his strong hands and softly kisses me. “Duck, how did I get so lucky?”
Pretending to think about that question, I look up at the ceiling and answer, “Hmmm. Well, I was with a jackass who thought it would be good to pull my hair and punch me in the eye. The rest, as they say, is history.”
“I’m just glad I was there that day. I hate the idea of another man being the person to help you.”
He sounds genuinely concerned, like I would have just gone with any old guy who showed up in that hotel lobby. “Marius, I don’t know if it was meant to be or a happy circumstance, but I’d wanted you for years. Why do you think Ava tried to set us up all that time?”
“Really?”
I nod, smiling as I think back to the first time I told Ava I was interested in him. “Oh, yeah. In fact, you could say we have Maia to thank for us getting together.”
“How’s that?” he asks, clearly not believing she could have any part in our happiness, other than today, of course.
I look around to see if anyone is nearby and then slide my hand down the front of his shorts. Palming his already hard cock, I answer, “I didn’t lie when I told you Maia always said she walked funny after she was with you. That was too tempting for me not to find out if she was telling the truth.”
His eyelids slowly flutter shut as I slowly stroke him up and down. “Well, thank you to my ex-girlfriend.”
When I stop, his eyes open and he looks disappointed. “You know, I have to go out to the pool like this now.”
“You better go somewhere and handle this situation because that’s nothing short of creepy with little kids around.”
Suddenly, he gets a twinkle in his eye. “I’ve got an idea. We can go to the powder room off the living room. I’m game if you are.”
I roll my eyes at his suggestion. “The kids use that bathroom when they come in from swimming. Do you really want to risk any of them, including our daughter, walking in on us?”
His shoulders sag, and he sighs heavily. “Well, when you put it like that, I guess not. Too bad Ava and Matthias gave my old room to Matty.”
“Yeah, too bad.” I hesitate for a moment before confessing something that’s been on my mind for a while. “Marius, I was thinking that I’d like to have another baby.”
I watch his eyes grow big in utter shock. “Really? I thought having Lily put that thought right out of your head. You said it was pretty bad.”
“It wasn’t bad. That was just me talking in the moment.”
“Morning sickness for the first three months, back pain, high blood pressure brought on by pregnancy. Am I forgetting anything?” he asks.
I know what he’s trying to do. I haven’t forgotten how being pregnant made me feel. I just think I can handle it again.
“Yes, you forgot my ankles swelling up so I had to walk around with cankles for the last trimester.”
He levels his gaze on me and nods. “Yeah. That too. Are you sure you want to go through all of that again?”
“Honey, I know how hard it was with Lily, but maybe it won’t be with a second baby. Or if it’s worse, then I guess we’ll stop at two. I’m just thinking I’d like to have another child. What do you think?”
Marius smiles and kisses me. “I am always the man for that job, Duck. We can start right now. I’ll run out and tell Matthias and Ava they’re watching Lily for the day. They’ll be fine with it. We can be back at the house in less than five minutes, assuming I drive fast, ten if I get stuck behind some slowpoke.”
“We can wait for tonight. I think that would be okay, right?”
He pouts and lets out a heavy sigh. “I guess that would work too. Are you sure you don’t want to get freaky in the powder room?”
I take his hand and start to lead him toward the kitchen door. “I think we shouldn’t, but since you’re already raring to go, maybe we should take the long way out to the pool. That’ll give you time to get yourself in order.”
“You have this effect on me, Duck. I can’t help it. This is what happens when a man is crazy in love with his wife.”
I look back at him and smile. I know how lucky I am to have a man like Marius King.
Look for Forever King (King Brothers #5 coming soon!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
K.M. Scott writes contemporary romance stories of sexy, intense, and unforgettable love and edge-of-your-seat thrillers. A New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, she's been in love with romance since reading her first romance novel in junior high (she was a very curious girl!). Under her Gabrielle Bisset name, she writes paranormal and historical romance, and under the Anina Collins name, she writes cozy mysteries. She lives in Pennsylvania with a herd of animals and when she's not writing can be found reading or feeding her TV addiction.
Be sure to visit K.M.'s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/kmscottauthor for all the latest on her books, along with giveaways and other goodies! And to hear all the news on K.M. Scott books first, sign up for her newsletter today and be sure to visit her website at https://www.kmscottbooks.com
ALSO BY K.M. SCOTT
HEART OF STONE SERIES
Crash Into Me (Heart of Stone #1)
Fall Into Me (Heart of Stone #2)
Give In To Me (Heart of Stone #3)
Heart of Stone Volume One
Ever After (Heart of Stone #4)
A Heart of Stone Christmas (Heart of Stone #5)
Return To Me (Heart of Stone #6)
Forever With Me (Heart of Stone #7)
Heart of Stone Volume Two
Hard As Stone (Heart of Stone #8)
Set In Stone (Heart of Stone #9)
Silent As A Stone (Heart of Stone #10)
Heart of Stone Volume Three
All of Me (Heart of Stone #11)
CLUB X SERIES
Temptation (Club X #1)
Surrender (Club X #2)
Possession (Club X #3)
Satisfaction (Club X #4)
Acceptance (Club X #5)
Complete Club X Series Box Set
NeXt SERIES
Notorious (NeXt #1)
Infamous (NeXt #2)
Ravenous (NeXt #3)
Ambitious (NeXt #4)
Flirtatious (NeXt #5)
Mysterious (NeXt #6)
Sensuous (NeXt #7)
Desirous (NeXt #8)
KING BROTHERS SERIES
Cruel King
Wild King
Broken King
Wild King
CORRUPTED LOVE TRILOGY
If I Dream (Corrupted Love #1)
If You Fight (Corrupted Love #2)
If We Fall (Corrupted Love #3)
Corrupted Love Trilogy Box Set
ADDICTED TO YOU SERIES
Crave (Addicted To You #1)
Adore (Addicted To You #2)
Shatter (Addicted To You #3)
Claim (Addicted To You #4)
Addicted To You Series Box Set
PROJECT ARTEMIS SERIES
In The Darkness (Project Artemis #1)
After The Storm (Project Artemis #2)
Behind The Scenes (Project Artemis #3)
Project Artemis Box Set
FINDING THE ONE SERIES
Hard Work (Finding The One #1)
Big Love (Finding The One #2)
DIRTY BOSS SERIES
Sweet Things (Dirty Boss #1)
Private Secretary (Dirty Boss #2)
Play Date (Dirty Boss #3)
Dirty Boss Volume One
THRILLERS
Now You Know How It Feels
The Neighbor
The Cult
K.M.'S BOOKS ARE IN AUDIOBOOK TOO!
BOOKS BY K.M. SCOTT WRITING AS GABRIELLE BISSET
SONS OF NAVARUS SERIES
Vampire Dreams Revamped (A Sons of Navarus Prequel)
Blood Avenged (Sons of Navarus #1)
Blood Betrayed (Sons of Navarus #2)
Longing (A Sons of Navarus Short Story)
Blood Spirit (Sons of Navarus #3)
The Deepest Cut (A Sons of Navarus Short Story)
Blood Prophecy (Sons of Navarus #4)
Blood Craving (Sons of Navarus #5)
Blood Eclipse (Sons of Navarus #6)
Blood Ascendant (Sons of Navarus #7)
The Sons of Navarus Box Set #1
The Sons of Navarus Box Set #2
DESTINED ONES DUET
Stolen Destiny (Destined Ones Duet #1)
Destiny Redeemed (Destined Ones Duet #2)
VICTORIAN EROTIC ROMANCES
Love’s Master
Masquerade
The Victorian Erotic Romance Trilogy
BOOKS BY K.M. SCOTT WRITING AS ANINA COLLINS
POPPY MCGUIRE COZY MYSTERY SERIES
The Eleventh Hour
After Hours
Top of the Hour
The Darkest Hour
Happy Hour
The Witching Hour
The Finest Hour
Poppy McGuire Mysteries Box Set #1
Poppy McGuire Mysteries Box Set #2
K.M. Scott, Lone King
