Page 36 of Cruel King

I try to push him away, but he refuses to let me go. After a few attempts, I give up, sagging against his hold.

“Exactly. It makes no sense, so let’s move on.”

That was never going to work, so I’m not surprised when he shakes his head. “No. Tell me. I didn’t wait this long to finally be with you to have some jealousy problem ruin everything.”

For a second, I try to understand what he means by that, but my brain quickly switches gears and I blurt out, “Fine! I was jealous when I thought about all the women you’ve been with. Okay? I’m stupid. It’s stupid and I’m stupid, so there you go. Can I get dressed now? I feel a little silly standing here with one pant leg on.”

But still he won’t let me just get dressed and run away from my embarrassment.

Cradling my face, he kisses me softly and whispers against my lips, “You aren’t stupid, but don’t think about anyone else I’ve ever been with. They don’t matter. All that matters is you.”

He doesn’t let me think about that or anything else before he pushes me back onto the bed and climbs on top of me. Tugging my jeans down my leg, he tosses them onto the floor and then pulls my panties off, sending them to the same place he sent my jeans.

I don’t know if I should want to keep talking and discussing what he said, but all I can think about is how hard he is and how much I want him inside me again. As if he’s reading my mind, he doesn’t wait before thrusting his hips forward and filling me completely once more.

His mouth covers mine in a kiss that takes my breath away, and I cling to his shoulders as he begins to fuck me. It’s frantic and raw, but it feels perfect at this moment.

“It’s only you, Ava. Only you,” he groans in a husky voice that hits me deep inside.

This time neither of us takes very long, and when my orgasm washes over me, my entire body shudders in ecstasy. He follows me seconds later, thrusting hard one final time before he stills as he comes.

As we lie there, all I can think about is how he said it’s only me and he waited so long to be with me. I know he mentioned that he’d never hated me like he pretended to, but those things made it sound like he actually cared about me all that time.

When he lifts his head to look down at me, I consider asking what he meant. I don’t, though. Maybe another day after we’ve spent more time together.

CHAPTERFIFTEEN

Ava

“So what should we do today?”Matthias asks as I get dressed.

“You mean other than what we just did?” I joke and then my cheeks heat up from a blush.

He shakes his head as he seems to study me for a long moment. “I like the way your face gets all red when you refer to sex sometimes. Not always, which seems odd. Just sometimes.”

I press my palms against the sides of my face to make that stupid blush go away and say, “It’s nothing. Probably just because I’m so pale during the winter months.”

That makes him laugh. “Sure. What I don’t understand is why when you were looking at the magazine you didn’t get embarrassed but when you’re referring to us having sex again you do.”

Feeling more than a touch defensive, I walk over to the TV to turn it on so we can stop this discussion. “I don’t know. Can you just drop it?”

Matthias winces like what I said hurt him in some way and gets up from the bed to come over to stand behind me. Wrapping his arms around my waist, he rests his chin on my shoulder and plants a tiny kiss on my neck.

“I wasn’t making fun of you. I’m just curious.”

When he whispers that in my ear and his warm breath dances across my skin, I can’t help but close my eyes. Yesterday, I swore I’d hate him forever, but today, I can’t imagine ever saying that. This person I could never hate.

I don’t say anything, so he quickly adds, “I’m sorry. Do you forgive me?”

Nodding, I smile and answer, “Yes.”

“I won’t ask about it again. It will just be one of those idiosyncrasies you have.”

As I open my eyes, I turn in his hold to face him. Looking up into his eyes, I see he’s genuinely sorry for upsetting me. He really can be very sweet.

“So what are we going to do today? And if you say what I think you’re going to say, I’m going to go downstairs and tell Eleanor I insist on helping her clean and I won’t see you for the rest of the day.”

My threat works, and he smiles and says, “Since we’re basically trapped here, we could watch movies or TV. Sleep. Or fuck.”