The Kingdom (Preacher Brothers 1)

I listened, but didn’t hear anything. I could envision her destroying my room, breaking shit, tossing things against the wall. I certainly couldn’t and wouldn’t blame her.

I gripped the handle and turned it slowly. The light was still on, the room immaculate… exactly how I’d left it.

That surprised me.

She had control, self-restraint.

I stepped inside. She was curled up in the center of the bed, her shoes still on, her dark-red hair fanned over the blanket. I could see her chest rising and falling softly. She was asleep. I didn’t know whether to be pleased by that fact, that she was comfortable enough, felt non-threatened enough to rest, or be pissed and possessive, angry she wasn’t more cautious of her surroundings.

All I thought about was how someone as vulnerable and fragile as her was at the mercy of someone stronger and dangerous.

Someone like me.

But I wouldn’t hurt her. I’d never hurt her. In fact, I wanted to do the opposite. I wanted to protect her, but maybe I should’ve protected her from me?

I stepped in farther until I was at the edge of the bed, staring down at her. She looked so small and innocent, her body tiny but her curves feminine, womanly. I found myself reaching out and letting my fingers play across the strands of her hair that lay against the dark comforter. They were soft like silk. I knew they smelled fucking incredible too.

I remembered the scent from when I was in the van, sweet and floral, lemony. My cock thickened, jerking behind the fly of my jeans. I reached out and adjusted myself, my balls aching as they were drawn up, my cock getting harder by the second.

I let go of her hair and looked at her face. Her skin was alabaster, creamy, her lashes a dark-auburn color, like little crescent shapes across her cheek. Her eyes were a vibrant green, and although I couldn’t see them at the moment, I remembered them vividly from when I stared her at the jewelry store, when they’d been wide and fearful.

She had a lock of hair fallen across her forehead, and I reached out and moved it, letting my fingers trail along her temple. God, her skin was soft and smooth. Perfect.

She stirred slightly but otherwise stayed asleep. The truth was, I could’ve stood there and stared at her all night, knowing she was safe even from men like me. Especially from men like me.

But then I thought about Cullen who was just upstairs; in fact, the room he was currently holed up in directly above mine. I could hear the steady beat of bass from the music he listened to. I knew he’d be trouble, that he wouldn’t let this end, not easily. And I didn’t know how to make him see that she was mine, that if he hurt her, things would get drastic. I’d be drastic.

I took a step back and ran my hand over my jaw, the stubble covering my cheeks and chin scratchy.

I forced myself to leave her and went upstairs well before the hour mark when I was supposed to meet everyone to go over the job. Instead, I made a beeline right to where I knew Frankie and Wilder were. Some shots would do me some good, maybe a couple hits off a joint too. Anything would help me at this point, what with my raging arousal and the confusion I felt about what the fuck I was doing with Amelia.

I knocked once before opening the door. A cloud of smoke wafted over my face. It was sweet and potent. The good kind of shit.

I stepped inside and closed the door behind me, needing to numb away some of how I felt. Because if I didn’t, there was no way I could control myself or my desire where Amelia was concerned.

Was she worth it, worth the risk? I knew the answer already.

She was. She so fucking was.

Chapter Nine

Dom

“Thirty fucking grand each,” Frankie said, and Wilder whistled under his breath.

“Not bad, even with the drama,” Wilder said and looked over at me.

I didn’t say anything in response as I stood across from them with my back against the wall and my arms crossed over my chest. I felt Cullen staring at me and glanced at him.

“You just as high and drunk as those two assholes?”

I lifted my hand and ran it over my jaw, not answering. He was right, but I wasn’t going to bother responding.

Cullen smirked. “I’ll have Scarlett work on pushing the jewels to buyers this week. You know the drill.” Cullen grabbed a joint and placed it between his lips. “Once that’s done, Scarlett will contact me and we’ll all get paid.” His words were slightly muffled by the joint in his mouth. Cullen lit the end of it and inhaled deeply. He kept the smoke in his lungs for a moment before slowly blowing it out. A cloud of smoke filled the space around him before dissipating.