The Rebel King (All the King's Men Duet #2) - Kennedy Ryan Page 0,70

over my cheeks, and I don’t know if it’s grief or lust, but I know only he can make this ache go away. The ache of my body and of my soul. “Please, Doc.”

He nods and I reach between us, easing down, watching his big dick disappear inside me, my body swallowing his entire length. Our breath catches on the same sigh, and I rock over him, squeeze him between my thighs and ride.

“God, you’re beautiful,” he says hoarsely. “Take your hair down for me.”

I reach up and undo the topknot, letting the hair fall around my shoulders and down my back. He tunnels one hand into the tresses at my neck and grips my hip with the other, controlling the rhythm of our bodies together.

Our gazes lock, and what I see behind his beautiful green eyes breaks my heart. The bleakness. The grief. The need. All distinct and stemming from the same place.

“Oh, Maxim. I’m so sorry.”

He sits up, repositioning me so I’m spread over his hips, my thighs resting on my calves. I go still, feeling him swollen and hard inside of me, to cup his face between my hands.

“I love you.” I kiss his eyelids, wet with tears I’ve never seen on his hard cheeks. “I love you.” I rub our noses together. “I love you.” I touch his lips with mine, licking into the hot silk of his mouth, tasting his desperation. He thrusts up hard and goes deeper, stealing my breath and burying his head in the curve of my neck and shoulder.

“Don’t leave me, Nix.” His words break, he breaks, and his tears fall on my naked skin. “If I lost you—”

“You won’t.” I slide my fingers into his hair, kissing him until he moans and we lose ourselves to the tempest of grief and grind, passion and weeping, our bodies moving with blazing urgency. Groaning, he comes, shouting my name. He reaches between us, stroking my clit until I come, too.

We remain locked together, sweaty and satisfied, the cinders of our desire cooling between us in silence broken only by the harshness of our breaths.

Moments later, he falls back onto the mattress, taking me with him, pulling the covers over us. Turning me to my side, he presses his chest to my back, snakes his arm possessively around my waist, and falls into exhausted sleep.

31

Maxim

My phone vibrating on the bedside table jerks me awake with a start. I sit up and look around the strange room. The only thing familiar is the woman beside me. Inky strands of Lennix’s hair spill stark against the hotel’s white sheets. Her face carries a peace in sleep none of us have felt for the last week.

I grab my phone and walk into the bathroom, closing the door behind me.

“Grim, what’s up?”

“I’m in the hall,” he says, his tone like a butcher’s freezer. “You didn’t answer your damn phone, King, so I had to come over.”

“Sorry. I had it on silent.”

“I bet you did,” he says, the harshness easing some. “We need to talk. Now.”

“Alright.” I run a hand over my face. “I’ll be out.”

I hang up, splash my face with cold water and walk as quietly as I can back into the bedroom. I put on my briefs and slacks, not bothering with the sweater.

When I glance at the bed, Lennix has shifted, one berry-tipped breast visible over the sheet. My dick goes hard again. I’ve heard of grief sex, but damn. This is ridiculous. I could make love to her again and probably again before the sun rises. The need to be inside her is so elemental, I can’t distinguish it from the need to breathe or blink. She’s come so close to death twice, I need to know she’s alive. That’s the only way I can articulate it.

I close the bedroom door and walk into the sitting area. When I open the door, Grim stands in the hall, chatting with Rick. They both glance from my bare chest to my hair rumpled in all directions by Nix’s fingers, and it doesn’t take much to guess what I’ve been doing the last few hours. Hell, Rick probably heard us fucking. I can’t really care. I need her and I need him standing guard, both now more than ever.

I tip my head toward the suite. “Come on in.”

He looks past me, a brow cocked. “You sure? I don’t want to interrupt.”

I give him a wry look and turn away to walk inside. The door closes behind