Crown of Ghosts (Lost Kings MC 19)

My gaze drops briefly. Her legs. Those long, toned, sleek legs. I’d kissed every inch of her last night, and it still wasn’t enough.

“Grayson,” she says in a sharper tone clearly meant to grab my attention. “I really can’t keep you as my patient if we’re…if this is…”

“Sweetheart, it’s not like I’m going to complain to anyone.”

“That’s not the point.” Her tone sharpens as her patience with me slips. “If my job found out, I’d probably get fired, if not worse.”

“Serena—” I stop myself. Isn’t me being a pushy bastard what forced Rose to give up on med school?

Here, Serena’s already done all the hard work, and I’m going to ruin it for her because I can’t stay away? After all the reflection I did in prison and promises I made myself, I’m already repeating old patterns and fucking up.

“What should we do, then?” I ask.

“I can refer you to someone else. I know a great guy at—”

“No fucking way am I having some dude put his hands all over me.” Nope. Dealt with a male therapist inside, and he was lazy as shit.

“Well, I don’t want another woman putting her hands on you,” she snaps back.

I might be an asshole for liking that so damn much. “Guess we’re at an impasse.”

She blows out an annoyed breath and glares at me. It’ll probably piss her off if I tell her how beautiful she is when she’s mad, won’t it?

At the strangest times, her beauty sneaks up on me. At first glance, she’s pretty, sure. That’s obvious to any man with eyes and a dick. But up close, her midnight-blue eyes flash with determination. Her skin glows. I haven’t felt this way in so damn long.

She takes my breath away. When she looks at me, it’s like she sees who I should’ve been. Who I can still be if I stay on the right path. I have no business steering her off of her chosen path just because I’m a stubborn old goat.

“All right,” I say quieter than before. “Refer me to your friend.”

As much as I hate it, it’s the best solution. Sometimes the best way to win a battle is not to engage at all. I can’t be the reason she loses everything she’s worked for. And breaking things off with her isn’t an option. Not for me. Not now.

“Thank you.”

“Or,” I say without thinking it through, “you could treat me yourself. Outside of work.”

“You want me to work all day and then come home and work some more?” she asks slowly.

Well, shit, that does sound bad. “Give me the referral.”

“I’ll do it.” She waves her hand in the air. “I don’t trust anyone else to take care of you the way I will.”

Hell, that’s a sweet thing to say. It’s my job to take care of her but damn if I don’t like how that sounds.

Chapter Twenty

Grinder

“All fixed.” I hand Serena the keys to the new door.

She stares at the key ring. “It’s going to take me forever to get in my front door now.”

“It’s one extra lock. That actually works,” I remind her. “Those are extras.”

“Oh!” She holds up the keys and studies them, then slides two off the ring and hands them to me.

“What’s this?”

She does this adorable head-tilt, shoulder-shrug.

“You don’t have to give me a key to your place, Serena.” I’ve been thinking more and more about having her move in with me, except it’s a long drive for her to go to work.

“I want you to have it. Just let me know if you’re stopping by.” She hesitates. “You don’t have to give me—”

“No. I want you to have mine too. I don’t have a spare with me right now.”

She still seems antsy, with her nervous blue eyes skipping all over. And it doesn’t seem to be about the keys. “Everything okay?” I ask.

Frustration twists the corners of her mouth, like she’s debating her words. “I have some stuff I’m supposed to catch up on.” She waves her hands toward the hallway.

“I can go.”

“I don’t want you to go…I need to do some filming for my channel. It’s boring, though. I mean, you’ll be bored. But I’m a little behind and need to catch up.”

I can’t help being curious. Since I’ve been out, I’ve been too overwhelmed to explore a lot of the ways the world’s changed. I’ve also been consumed with getting to know Serena. But asking if I can stick around and watch sounds creepy as fuck. I also don’t want to force Serena to be my life coach, helping me readjust to society. That’s just fucking pathetic.

“You can stay and watch if you want…You don’t have to.” Nervous laughter bubbles out of her. “It’s about makeup, so you’ll be bored to tears.”

“I’ve never heard of…whatever you called it. But I’m curious since it sounds important to you.”