Page 53 of Merciless King

* * *

The next day I took London for a hike in the woods. Nothing too strenuous, but we both needed to leave the cabin’s four walls for a while.

“Is this where you came with your brother?” London asked as we stood by a small lake.

“Yeah. We’d fish down here all day, and Raul would teach us how to clean and gut whatever we caught—cook it, too.” I glanced at London. She was standing with her head tilted back, the sun on her face.

“It’s so beautiful out here.”

It was okay, but it didn’t compare to a sleep-rumpled London in the morning. Lips puffy, hair everywhere, not to mention the sexy little moans she made as she was waking. My mouth felt dry all of a sudden. Another reason I needed to get her out of the cabin—I couldn’t leave her alone. I wanted inside her constantly. God knew what she thought of me.

She lifted a hand to her face. “Do I have dirt on my chin?”

I’d been staring at her. Honestly, I couldn’t keep my eyes off her. I didn’t bother lying—what was the point? She knew I wanted her. I hadn’t hidden the fact. And besides, I liked the way she blushed when I told her exactly how much. I loved that even after all the dirty shit I’d said and done to her, she still seemed surprised by the stuff that came out of my mouth.

“Not looking at your chin, sweetheart.”

She walked closer and tipped her head back. “Where is it?”

“There’s no dirt.”

“Oh.” She frowned, looking adorably confused.

See? She had no clue what I was thinking when I was sure it was written all over my face. And I took far too much pleasure in telling her. “I was looking at your mouth.”

“My mouth?”

I let my gaze drop down to those plump lips again. “You have sexy fucking lips, London. The kind of lips a man can’t stop thinking about, the kind he…”

She stepped closer, lifting her hands to my chest, causing me to lose my train of thought. “The kind he what?” she said, eyes getting bright, tongue sliding over her lower lip and making me imagine it lapping at the head of my cock.

“The kind of lips that would look hot as fuck wrapped around my cock,” I said in a voice that was pure gravel.

As I expected, color infused her cheeks. Her lips parted, and her breathing grew choppy, but she didn’t say anything. Several seconds ticked by and then her hands slowly slid down my chest to my stomach, to the button of my jeans.

I raised a brow and dropped my hand, covering hers, my heart banging around harder in my chest.

“I’ve thought about it,” she said. “A lot, actually.”

I swallowed the boulder that had formed in my throat. “Yeah?”

She nodded. “I used to imagine what would happen when I saw you again, what I’d do if I wasn’t so shy and awkward and…” She shook her head. “I had a lot of different scenarios I used to fantasize about.”

I slid my hand down the smooth skin of her cheek. “You fantasized about me?”

“Yes,” she said, voice breathless.

I cursed under my breath. “Tell me,” I rasped. “Tell me what you used to fantasize about.” She licked her lips and I had to bite back a groan.

“One of them was me coming to your apartment,” she said, voice shaky.

She was nervous, but she was turned on, determined. It was incredibly sexy, that stark determination in her eyes, that burgeoning confidence. And something I wanted to encourage.

“Keep talking,” I said.

“When you open the door, I don’t say anything. I just put my hand on your chest, like this.” She placed one of her small hands on my chest. “And I push until your back hits the wall behind you.”

She pushed and I stepped back until my spine met the trunk of a tree.