Rejection (The Mate Games 2)

ChapterTwelve

SUNDAY

“How are you feeling?” Kingston ducked his head and kissed my shoulder as he settled on the bed with a tray of food in his hands.

“Good. Calm. I think it’s nearly over.” My stomach rumbled, the sound loud in the room, and I laughed. “Also hungry.”

He set the tray down beside me with a grin. “Good thing I come bearing snacks then.”

My gaze swept the slab of wood the food was laid out upon. A fleeting thought for who had prepared this ran through my mind. Caleb. He knew I was down here, being... serviced. The tray was laden with slices of meat, hunks of fresh bread, cheeses, grapes, olives, and even some fresh figs. Where the hell had he gotten those? The scent of the food had my mouth watering.

I reached for a cube of cheese, but Kingston knocked my hand away. “What the hell?”

“It’s my job to feed you.”

“You brought me the food. That counts.”

He picked up the cube I’d reached for and lifted it to my lips. “Not even close, Sunshine.”

I accepted the offering with an amused shake of my head, certain this was more weird Alpha posturing. Hard to complain about it when it revolved around pampering me, though.

“Is there anything else to drink besides water?” I glanced at the small table near the door that housed the large pitcher of water we’d been making good use of since this started.

“There’s a decanter of wine, but I didn’t think you’d want any.”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Your inhibitions are already pretty fucking nonexistent because of the heat.” He shrugged and had the grace to look a little abashed. “Wouldn’t want you to have any other reason to brush this off as you not being yourself.”

A slight frown tugged at my lips. I thought we’d already been over this, but I guess it would take more than my assurances to repair the damage I’d caused. I reached out and cupped his cheek with a tenderness he needed from me. He had to know this was about more than sex. “I’m not brushing anything off. I love you, Kingston.”

He jerked back and stared at me, eyes flickering with hope and disbelief. “What?”

“I love you.”

His eyes fluttered closed, and a ragged breath escaped him. “I never thought I’d hear you say that.”

A painful crack shot through my heart. I hated that I’d caused this. That I’d ever made him doubt he was worthy of being loved. That he’d ever be loved. I vowed then and there to make it up to him. To never give him another reason to feel rejected.

“I’m so glad this happened because if it hadn’t, I’d still be wasting time being angry. It all makes sense now.”

“Doesn’t excuse the fact that I treated you like shit.”

“No, it doesn’t. But we both made mistakes. All we can do now is make it up to each other.”

He held a grape up to me, and as I took it into my mouth, I made a point to overshoot and lightly scrape my teeth over the tip of his finger. The shudder that rippled through him, mixed with his soft moan, had me flushing warm and my nipples pebbling and pulling tight.

Fuck, I thought this was over.

Kingston inhaled sharply, his nostrils flaring and his eyes glowing a brilliant amber. He stood without a word and took the food away, striding confidently toward the table. The door was ajar, but he didn’t stop to close it after depositing the tray. Instead he turned toward me, his erect cock jutting forward, glistening at the tip. “Present, Mate.”

I did, ass in the air, body burning for his touch. The bed dipped as he joined me, his large palm running up my thigh and over my backside.

He leaned in and pressed a kiss between my shoulder blades. “We have company. If you don’t want him to watch, tell him to leave. You have need of me, and no one is going to get in the way of me giving you my knot one more time.”

I looked over my shoulder, my eyes finding Caleb standing in the door, staring at me with undeniable hunger. Behind me, Kingston had already lined himself up with my entrance.

“Come in, Caleb.”