The Kingdom (Preacher Brothers 1)

I don’t know what had me sitting up and looking at the bedroom door, but as I did, the glow from the light filling the room in a soft hue, my heart started beating faster.

And then I heard him coming closer. Dom.

God, I feared him… but I was also excited he was close.

What was wrong with me?

And then the door opened. I don’t know why a surprised cry left me when I saw Dom standing there, the shadows covering the front half of him, his massive body impressive but also terrifying, because it told me exactly how much smaller I was than him. I moved back on the bed as if on instinct, as if my mind and body were at war with each other. I wanted to be closer to him… but I wanted to be farther away, because I knew how dangerous Dom really was.

He was dressed as if he were heading to bed or maybe sitting at the table getting wasted.

A pair of jeans that were unbuttoned at the waist, the denim loose and relaxed, faded and worn in. The white T-shirt he had on was a little on the wrinkled side, but it fit his massive body to perfection.

God, this man was intense in all the best ways.

He had a hand braced on the doorframe, his muscles so pronounced I actually felt a tingle move up my spine. I was aroused and he hadn’t said anything, hadn’t even moved.

I was off the bed, but at first I didn’t know if I was going to retreat or move closer to him. I should have screamed, fought him off. He’d taken me.

No, he saved me. He saved me from his brother, who would have put a bullet right in my head for just seeing his face.

I didn’t have to be close to him to know he was drunk. I smelled it on him, saw the bottle of whiskey hanging from his grasp.

I wondered if I could get drunk just from the smell alone.

“I can’t stop thinking of you,” he said in a gravelly voice. It was deep and hoarse… masculine. It also sounded slightly slurred.

Hearing his words, his voice, made me even hotter, made me want to just give myself over right now.

What was wrong with me? Why did he have this effect on me? Why wasn’t I fighting him tooth and nail to let me go?

Because you like this. You like the control, because your life so far has felt so out of control.

He didn’t move, just stood there with his arm propped up on the doorframe, his bicep flexing. He was breathing hard and fast, as if he couldn’t stop himself, couldn’t control himself.

“What do you want?” I found myself whispering.

Did I really want to know though?

Dom stood there staring at me with half-lidded eyes, the desire on his face clear as day.

I felt it.

“What do I want?” he asked and took a step closer, coming into the room.

I didn’t respond, didn’t know how to. Because although he had said it like a question, the truth was I knew I already had the answer.

“You, Amelia. Isn’t that clear?” He slowly closed the door, the light from the hallway extinguishing as he closed us in together.

My throat felt so tight. He was feet from me, blocking the exit, caging me in.

And I loved it. God help me, I wanted more.

I stared into his eyes, the whites bloodshot, glossy.

Was he high?

I smelled the alcohol on his breath and it turned me on more.

I was frozen in place, his words surrounding me, running through my head. He made everything else fade away, and it was like this drug, making me feel high, dizzy.

“I could have let you die back in that shop, could have let my brother snuff out your life.”

“Then why didn’t you?” I was poking a caged beast. I knew that, but I couldn’t help myself.

He took another step forward… toward me.

“You. Because I wanted you.” He took one more step closer, and I moved one back. I kept going until the wall stopped me from retreating, from running away. “And you want me.”

I shook my head, but we both knew I was lying. I did want him. “I don’t want you.” Those words were whispered from me, a verbal admission that I was full of shit.

“Now you’re gonna be a liar, Amelia?”

I didn’t respond. I didn’t know what to say to that. It was true. I was a liar in that moment.

He lifted a dark eyebrow and smirked, as if he found the whole thing funny. “Yeah, that’s what I thought, baby.”

The way he said that endearment had my heart dropping into my belly.

“I find it sexy as hell you got this twisted side to you, just like me.”

“W-what do you mean?” God, why was my throat so dry?