man by the name of Nigel will be at the desk and will escort you up to my office.”
I remember that guy. I saw him when Titan took me kicking and screaming to Bones’s office after my shop was destroyed because of the money my brother owed. “Any particular time?”
“I’ll clear my schedule whenever you arrive.”
I smile at that. “See you soon.”
_______________
“Here you are.” Nigel says, opening the glass door for me to enter the Kings office.
“Thank you.”
“Of course, ma’am.” He nods. “His office is the last one on the left.”
I walk down the dark gray hallway and pass the first door on the left; Cross is in gold letters. I take a look in to see he’s not in there. The next door on the left reads Titan. He too isn’t in there. But I didn’t expect him to be. Emilee told us that they were going to be in New York for the weekend. I come up to the end of the hall. The door on the left has Grave on it. I know the one on the right is Bones.
I softly knock on Grave’s door. “Come in,” he calls out.
I enter and come to a stop when I see him sitting at his desk with a phone to his ear. Cross sits in the chair across from it. He turns to look at me over his shoulder, flipping a Zippo in his right hand. “Hey,” I say lamely.
“I have to go …” Grave says into the phone. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll get it done.” Then he hangs up. “Even when he’s in New York, he’s up my ass.” He growls, standing and walking around his desk over to me.
My heart picks up. I’m not sure why I’m so nervous about being here. Maybe because this is his element. This is his domain. I’m used to being in my bed with him naked.
He wraps his arms around me and pulls me in for a hug. When he pulls away, he gives me a gentle kiss on my forehead that causes butterflies in my stomach. “How’s your day?”
“Good.” I walk over and sit down next to Cross and push my hair behind my ear. “Yours?”
He sighs and sits down at his desk. “The usual.”
I’m not sure what that means because we never talk about Kingdom. I don’t push him to share information regarding him and the Kings. What they do here is none of my business. And after what Derek told me, I think I’d rather not know. I don’t expect Grave to be a saint. All I expect from a guy is that he treats me right and respects me. The rest can always be worked on.
A cell phone rings and Grave picks his up from his desk. He lets out a growl and looks at me. “Give me a second.”
“Yes, of course.” I say stupidly like he asked for permission. I sit up straighter in the comfortable black leather chair. My ass sinks into it. It’s exactly what I would expect for a King.
Grave exits the room and a silence falls over it. I don’t know Cross very well. I don’t know any of the Kings actually. I’ve only ever met them once and I was having a bad day. I did see Cross once before in Roses, but there was very minimal interaction between the two of us.
His green eyes meet mine. He flips the Zippo open. The flame burns before he slams it shut. “It’s a reminder.” He says when he catches me staring.
I could lie. Pretend I wasn’t wondering what the fuck he’s doing. But instead I ask, “Of what?”
He flips it open again, tilts his head to the side, and watches the flame dance at the tip of his tatted fingers. Then his eyes slide to mine, the green darkening to black and sending a chill down my spine. “That if I wanted to, I could burn the motherfucking world down.”
He takes a cigarette from behind his ear and places it between his lips, then raises the lighter. But I speak, making him pause, “You know smoking will kill you.” My grandfather died of lung cancer. Smoked his entire life. My mother begged me and Ethan not to ever smoke. That it wasn’t worth it in the end.
He removes the unlit cigarette from his lips and smirks at me. “So will falling in love with a man who has a death wish.” My eyes widen. “And I don’t see you putting an end to