Street King Read online

  “You’re spending your eighteenth birthday alone?” he asked.

  “Yeah. It’s not so bad. I get to, like, look like a loser to all of the other diners. That’s a plus.”

  He couldn’t help but laugh.

  “There you go. See. It’s really easy to laugh.”

  “Yeah, it is.” He tried to ignore the pain, but he was going to bleed to death any minute. “So, eighteen. That’s a pretty big deal.”

  “Yeah and no. It’s just another number. Sure, I’m legal now to do a couple of things, but in some states I have to wait.” She shrugged. “They’re really upset. This was supposed to be a nice surprise. I don’t think they grasp that teenagers don’t eat at burger joints with clowns.”

  “You don’t like clowns?”

  “Hate them. They’re scary. They tried, and that’s all that counts.”

  Hannah didn’t seem pissed off, or annoyed. She accepted that her parents had fucked up but didn’t say anything.

  “Why are you alone?” she asked.

  “I had a really long night.”

  He saw Rome pull up outside the diner.

  A few minutes ago, he’d have been so happy to see that fucker. Right now, he didn’t want to leave this young woman alone.

  “My ride is here,” he said.

  “Have a nice day.” She ran her hands down her pants and stared out across the diner.

  “It will all get better for you one day,” he said.

  She chuckled. “Yeah, one day I’ll be queen and I can make people come to my party.”

  “You never know, Hannah. You know what they say.”

  “What do they say?”

  “Stranger things have happened at sea.”

  ****

  Present

  That one chance meeting had stayed with West for a long time after. He’d gone on the dates with women that threw themselves at him. Work had taken over, and he’d lived his life until their next encounter.

  Hannah didn’t remember either one, and that was okay.

  “Oh, my,” she said as he pulled up outside of the restaurant where her parents had first met. He remembered the story he’d listened to, and Emily had told him about it.

  “What is it?” he asked. “Would you like to go someplace else?”

  “No, no. This is…” She covered her mouth with her hand. “I can’t even believe it. This is the place where my parents first met.”

  “It is?”

  “Yeah. I mean, wow. They were, erm, they weren’t even looking for each other, and friends had put them together on a date.” She chuckled. “Both Mom and Dad said they were going to tell the other that they weren’t looking for anything long-term. One day led into two, then three, and within the year they were married.”

  “I had no idea.” The lie spilled easily off his tongue.

  “This is amazing. I had no idea it was still open.”

  “I saw it online. It had amazing reviews. Would you like me to go someplace else?”

  “No. I’d love to go inside.”

  He parked the car. There was no valet parking so customers could come and go as they pleased. The reviews online were amazing. There were even some with couples claiming to have still been together after a date.

  With his hand on the base of her back, they entered the restaurant. There was light music, murmurs all around them.

  Such a romantic setting.

  The maître d’ asked for his name, and once he gave it, led the way to their table. It was the first time he’d entered an establishment and hadn’t been noticed.

  He grabbed the man’s hand when he pulled out Hannah’s chair. That was what he wanted to do, no one else. Helping her into her seat, he thanked the maître d’ and took his own seat.

  “Before we do this I need you to promise me something,” she said.

  “What?”

  “Don’t go to the bathroom until the end?”

  He laughed. “Are you being serious?”

  “Yes. I have this horrible feeling that all bathroom breaks on dates for me are cursed.”

  They were not cursed. He simply had a man who scared the shit out of all the men who dared to date her.

  “I promise. If it will make you feel any better.”

  “Yes. Yes. It would.”

  Her eyes held a sparkle that he found utterly enchanting. She kept looking around her, and he saw the glow from deep within her.

  Taking her hand, he ran his thumb across her knuckles. “Tonight is about you having a good time.”

  “You’ve been amazing, West. My job and helping with the scholarship. I was so worried they’d tell you no.”

  “The key is knowing what you want and not waiting around for someone to tell you that you can’t have it. Take it.”

  The waiter came to their table, handing them each a menu.

  “I’m Daniel. I’ll be your waiter for the evening.”

  “Thank you, Daniel,” she said.

  “Order whatever you like,” West said. He didn’t like the sudden need to smash that fucker’s face in. He was only a waiter, but he didn’t want anyone near his woman.

  Again, another element of his obsession with Hannah.

  He’d never in all of his years felt this possessive toward anyone. Hannah was the first, the only.

  He was used to being the one with all the power. Of having women throwing themselves at him and him being the one to pick and choose which one he wanted. Hannah wasn’t throwing herself at his feet.

  She wasn’t doing anything other than being her sweet self.

  Daniel had left them alone.

  “I’m not much of a drinker. That one I had at your club last week really did a number on me. I’ll have a sparkling water.”

  The pill he’d slipped into her drink without her seeing was what caused her to feel the way she did. It loosened her up, but the effects only lasted so long before it exhausted the taker and put them into a deep sleep.

  Glancing down the menu, he heard her gasp and knew she’d found the same meal that her parents had shared.

  “Can we share the steak meal with all the trimmings? It serves two with the garlic herbed butter?” she asked.

  “It sounds wonderful.”

  He nodded toward the waiter and placed their order.

  ****

  Everything was so perfect. Even better than Hannah could have imagined. With West it was like they had their own little world. They finished their meal, and throughout dinner he asked her constant questions about herself, her family, where she saw her life in five years. She did the same, asking about his life and she noticed he didn’t like talking about his family and would often change the subject or at least talk about Martha.

  She could understand.

  She got the sense he didn’t have as good a childhood as she did.

  Her parents had been old, but they’d wanted her. They’d gone against doctor’s order about the possible stress and illness her mother could have from having a child at an older age. Her mother had told the doctor it was all poppycock. Forty-two wasn’t old.

  She loved her parents, and being in the restaurant where they met, she felt a connection to them. Like in some weird strange way they approved of West.

  It was pure crazy, and she was lost in the magic and fairy tale of dreaming. She knew they were gone and there was no way of knowing what they’d think of him.

  “Let’s go for a walk,” he said, taking her hand.

  There was a small nature park a few feet away. It was probably why the restaurant had survived all this time, the nature park bringing in tourists and families.

  There was a small walkway that entered the main park that was lit up, looking like a magical starry night.

  She held onto West’s arm as they walked. Neither of them spoke, and she didn’t believe words were necessary.

  This felt incredible.

  “I could stay here forever,” she said.

  They came to a stop beneath a lamppost.


  It was night out, but she didn’t feel in a rush to bring their night to a close.

  “We can. I’m sure I can arrange a hotel. We could do this every single day.”

  She shook her head. “It’s so tempting, but we need to go back to work. People count on us. Well, they count on you.”

  He took her hand, pulling her close, and she gripped his shoulders, feeling their strength. “Nothing wrong in dreaming.”

  “This has been a wonderful date.”

  “Wonderful. I can live with that.”

  She chuckled. “I never know what to say to you, and I seem to just spill out whatever comes into my head without thinking.”

  “You don’t have to think or have a filter. I like hearing what’s going on in that head of yours.”

  He stroked down her back going to the base, grazing the top of her butt. That first night, the one that was fuzzy, he’d grabbed her ass as she kissed him.

  Thinking about his lips, she couldn’t help but glance down, and they looked so tempting. Were they as good as she remembered? Was the kiss a dream? Did it really happen?

  “You want to kiss me right now,” he said.

  Heat flooded her cheeks.

  “I want to ask you a question.”

  “Then ask. I’ll answer.”

  “Have we ever kissed?” she asked.

  “Why don’t you kiss me and find out?”

  That wasn’t an answer.

  She wanted his kiss.

  Stepping closer, she lifted up onto the tips of her toes, keeping hold of his shoulders to help her with balance, and pressed her lips against his.

  That first tender touch ignited a fire deep inside her. She ran her hands up to his hair, sinking her fingers into the short length. His hold tightened around her, and those hands gripped her ass exactly how she imagined they would.

  His tongue pressed against her lips, wanting inside, and she didn’t want to stop him. As she opened up on a moan, he plunged inside, and she touched his tongue with hers. Within seconds he had her pressed up against the lamppost, his body surrounding her. He released her ass and took her hands, holding them behind her body, keeping her locked in place.

  There was nowhere else she wanted to go, and when his cock pressed against her stomach, she couldn’t help but whimper. She’d not seen him, but from the feel of him against her, she knew he wasn’t small. This man was big in all departments, and she craved him.

  He nudged her leg open and pressed his thigh between hers. He lifted his leg up until he was touching her pussy. She let out a gasp, shocked by the sudden need that flooded her body. This wasn’t what she expected, and yet it was perfect. It was everything. She didn’t want him to stop but to keep on going. To touch her, to take her, to rid her of that pesky virginity that she wanted gone.

  “Are you wet for me, Hannah?”

  She whimpered as his lips grazed her neck. Closing her eyes, she forgot where they were as his hands moved over her body, touching her breasts, moving down to her ass then back up.

  “Get a room,” someone said as they walked by, and the spell she’d been under was gone.

  They were in a nature reserve where anyone could see them, and she’d been ready for West to have sex with her.

  “You make me lose my mind. Come on before I do something we both regret.”

  Chapter Six

  West took her home, and she didn’t hear from him Saturday or Sunday. Hannah kept her cell phone on her, much to Emily’s annoyance, but she didn’t care. Attempting to go to sleep after their perfect date had been hard. She’d eventually fallen asleep in the early hours of the morning only to wake up hot, needy, desperate, and in need of a cold shower. The books she loved so much still in her possession didn’t even help. Nor did the internet and porn.

  She wanted West.

  He’d become like an addiction. After only two dates she wanted to give him her body, everything, just to feel what she did pressed up against that lamppost.

  She expected to see him in work the following week, but much to her surprise, he was absent.

  Everyone else at the office didn’t find it odd. West kept odd hours, and Sin wasn’t the only place of work. His business was all over the city, and he had to make random visits to make sure everything was running smoothly.

  Lunch breaks she ate by herself, staring at his office door. Night was the worst or being driven home by Rome or Cage. Neither said anything about him, and she was too embarrassed to ask.

  Each night she’d go asleep alone only to wake up partway through the night, slick with sweat and horny. Touching herself didn’t help. The orgasms she created were lackluster and only left her feeling bored and sad.

  By Friday night, she was more than happy to have a girls’ night with Emily.

  A chick flick was playing, but she’d not been following the story line. It held no appeal to her, but Emily loved these kinds of films. Hannah was more of an action person. Big car explosions, lots of gunfire, and fighting was her deal.

  “What’s it like to have sex?” she asked, blurting the question out.

  “It’s sex. You know. Cock goes into the pussy, lots of jumping around, and job done.”

  She frowned. “No, I mean, is it nice?”

  Emily glanced over at her. “You’ve never asked me about sex before.”

  “It’s stupid.”

  “You do know what happens? That you need to have condoms and practice safe sex. That you have to actually have physical contact?”

  “Yes, yes. I know. My parents were very much aware of sex.” They’d made sure she was aware of everything to do with sex, from condoms to safe sex to saying no if she didn’t want it.

  “Okay, what would you like to know?”

  “How does it feel? I mean, does it really hurt?”

  “My first time did. It was painful, but after a few seconds it felt okay.”

  “Do you think it’ll hurt with any man or someone with a smaller … penis?”

  Emily chuckled. “You can call it ‘dick’ or ‘cock.’ I won’t be offended. It doesn’t matter who it’s with. I guess if we’re going with romance then you should be doing something for love, but it’s not always like that. Sometimes you just need to get your rocks off, you know?”

  Hannah shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “Is this because of West?”

  She tucked some hair behind her ears. “You know I’ve never had sex before.”

  “Yep, you’re still the mighty virgin.”

  “I’m not proud of it. I’ve just not found that someone I want to be with.”

  “Do you think you’ve even tried?” Emily asked.

  “It’s beside the point. I can’t stop thinking about West. How he makes me feel. I want to be with him. Intimately. I think about him all the time. The way his hands are and I want them all over me.”

  “Then you’ve got to tell him.”

  “What if he laughs?”

  “West won’t laugh.”

  “Why?”

  “He’s crazy about you.”

  “He is?”

  “Anyone can see it. He’s totally smitten. I’m sure if you asked him to walk over broken glass and lava he’d do it for you.”

  Emily sat back, her gaze on the television.

  Hannah had noticed this lack of interest in talking. They didn’t really speak unless they had to.

  “Em, I don’t know what’s going on between us right now. I think I’ve done something wrong, but I don’t know what. I will understand if you don’t want us living together anymore or if you just want to live separate lives. Just tell me. Don’t make me try and guess that you wish we’d not moved in together.”

  Rather than sticking around, she left the living room, closing her bedroom door.

  She lay down on her bed and grabbed her pillow, hugging it tight. She was so confused. Sleep wouldn’t help. All she did was think about West and the fact she’d not seen him all week.

  Why did her life have to get so com
plicated?

  Her bedroom door opened and closed. She heard Emily climb onto the bed and her friend was behind her, hugging her.

  “I’m sorry I’ve been a bitch lately. It’s not you at all. I promise you that.”

  Tears filled her eyes, and she hated how sad she felt. Emily was the only real family she had left. Without her, she had nothing.

  “I don’t want to push you away. I miss you, Emily. What did I do wrong?”

  “You’ve done nothing wrong. You’re a fantastic friend. I’m the one with the problem. I’m here for you, and I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”

  They lay together for several minutes, and it reminded Hannah of all the times she’d been sad in college, especially when it came to her parents.

  “Sex is something that can be amazing and addictive. I’ve seen the books you try to hide, Hannah. You’ve got to be careful. Men out there will hurt you for what they want. They’re not good. Like that loser Lawrence. He was a fucking weirdo, and you need to be careful. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

  She hugged her friend close.

  “Thank you, Emily.”

  “Anytime.”

  ****

  The following Monday, West sat in his office watching the elevator doors for when Hannah would arrive. The past week his other work and details of Lawrence’s hideout had kept him away from her.

  He had to be careful about where he took her and who saw them. Enemies were always around, and he wouldn’t put her in danger again. Keeping his distance, he had to be content with watching her. He had cameras in his office so that wasn’t hard, but at night, he got to sit at home and listen to her.

  The space he was giving her helped his cause. She wanted him. He’d felt it on their last date. The way she rode his leg. How she gave herself over to his touch.

  There was a passion and fire burning within Hannah, unused and ready to be taken, to be nurtured.

  All he had to do was be careful how he nurtured her. The wrong kind of handling and he’d destroy what was building between them. Her security detail kept him updated on her whereabouts at all times. Rome and Cage continued to drive her to and from work.

  No one had figured out that the woman he was obsessed with, his one true weakness, was so close to him. When he finally took her and the world knew who she belonged to, he’d have no choice but to take this life away from her.