Queen of Men (King Maker 2)

Clearly, she was jealous of the lass. I wasn’t sure how much of what she’d said I could believe.

When I said nothing, she finally added, “I think you’ll like it around here. We’re a friendly bunch. If you ever need anything, I live not too far from here. As I’m unmarried, I still live with my parents. But I can come and go as I please. They trust me to do the right thing.”

Her gaze left no confusion as to her interest.

“Thanks,” I said.

“I can show you around if you don’t want to hang around to see if he’ll come back. I have the time.”

I’d dealt with enough women like her to know what she was about.

“I promised I’d wait for him.”

“All right, it was nice to meet you, Jeremy. Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow after chores.”

I nodded and watched her walk away and tried to decide how long I would wait, if at all. I took my hands out of my pockets and gripped the railing in front of me.

The night was absolute, but so was my resolve. Bailey was mine. There was no way I would give her up without a fight.

I had a lot of questions for this Turner when he returned. The first rule of war was to know your enemy.

Twenty-Five

Turner hadn’t said it, but I was certain that Kalen would also be bunking at Turner’s house. My father had left without incident. So there was that.

Yet, questions still tumbled around in my head. Did Father know who Kalen was to me? Or was that why Kalen told him his name was Jeremy? Or was that the name he gave everyone but me? I stood zombie-like on the fringe of the dance. Jake or John could have left and I wouldn’t have noticed.

It wasn’t until the band stopped playing that I came back to myself. To keep out of my head, I went to work helping to put things back along with everyone else. Once that was done, I finished my chaperone duties and walked my brothers home even though they were old enough to go themselves.

That was what Father would expect of me as guardian of my brothers for the night. I didn’t go inside and instead stood several yards away as they entered the house. When they opened the door, I saw my father sitting at the table and I turned and walked away, not ready to talk to him about the community’s latest visitor.

The hour was late, and besides Vi, my other option for lodging was Mary. There was no way I wanted to deal with her admonishment if I woke her baby. I trucked on to Violet’s. With every step, I hoped they’d retired to their room by the time I got there.

Darkness filled the windows, not a flame in the hearth to cut through it. I stepped inside, cutting the silence with my soft footfalls. I had no idea if they were home, but it felt like they weren’t.

For a second, I thought about starting a fire to banish the chill. It would only get colder as the night wore on. I opted not to and headed up the ladder to the loft for reasons I couldn’t explain instead of the tiny bedroom I’d used.

I found a blanket and a pillow and made a pallet toward the back. Because the loft was open to below, I would be able to hear when my sister came home. I closed my eyes and thought over the night’s events.

I’d promised Turner a chance, yet Kalen showed up. Why was he here, and what was I going to do?

I should have told the jerk to take a hike and go back to the woman he’d held in his arms. But the arrogant ass would have gotten a kick out of thinking me jealous and I was so not.

Liar. I blew out a breath of stagnant air. I was jealous and I hated myself for it. What had I learned if nothing more than men like Kalen weren’t meant to be caged? Scott included himself in that category. If any man was right for me, it was Turner. I held on to that thought as I drifted off to sleep.

A hand squeezed my breast as a mouth sucked in a nipple, forcing me to wriggle. I wrapped my legs around his waist, unable to decide if I wanted his mouth or his dick to fill me. Both were equally orgasmic.

“I missed you,” I whispered between pants.

He didn’t speak, only worked to unlock my legs. He flipped me over and pulled my ass up high to meet his throbbing cock. Just when I thought he’d enter me, his mouth covered my mound. Long, languid strokes of his tongue across my slit teased my clit. I bit my tongue for fear of waking the entire community with an explosive release that was nearing far too soon. I couldn’t complain, because history had proven it would only be the first orgasm of the night. Then he moved. His hard length replaced his tongue as he teased me with pressure against my nub.