Lessons in Corruption (The Fallen Men 1)

“Gosh, that was sweet,” I whispered before I could stop myself.

His grin nearly blinded me but it was the hand that worked its way under my hair to cup the back of my neck that made my knees shake.

“I got a lotta sweet to give if you promise to look at me like that every time I give it.”

“Look at you like what?”

“Like I’m worth somethin’ special. Don’t get that much and babe, I gotta tell you, it makes me feel like I’m King of my own fuckin’ castle.”

I closed my eyes and dropped my head against the car with a groan. “I never stood a chance against you, did I?”

“Not really,” he laughed.

I peeked at him through one squinted eye. “My life is a mess and I’m not jumping up and down at the thought of dating a criminal.”

“Like I tried to tell you yesterday, I’m not a criminal. My family is involved with the club but I’m not.” He sighed and dragged a hand through his curls. “I’m not yet, at least. Gotta be honest here babe, if you’re gonna give me a chance, it’s a very real possibility that I might be a brother one day. Some might even say it’s a forgone conclusion.”

“But it isn’t?” I asked, clinging to the slight possibility.

“Nah, but turning my back on family isn’t really in me. Even if I didn’t patch in, this place, the brothers and the lifestyle… I couldn’t ever turn my back on ‘em.”

I chewed on my bottom lip for a long moment. Too long apparently, because King gently pulled it with his fingers and smoothed his thumb across it.

“Never told anyone I wasn’t sure if I was gonna patch in,” he muttered.

A little thrill went through me at the intimacy of him sharing such a big secret. “I won’t tell.”

“Know that, babe,” he said as if we’d known each other forever and he’d been sharing his secrets all our lives.

We stared at each other and I felt suddenly like crying.

“You’re too much for me,” I breathed through my tightening throat. “I swear, you’ll be bored in a week. I’m no fun.”

His thumb brushed back and forth over the corner of his jaw, his eyes soft as over-washed denim. “The bones are already there, Cress. You’re the same girl who climbed on the back of a stranger’s bike and beat my ass at pool using some pretty dirty tricks. I just gotta corrupt you a little and, just to say, I’m lookin’ forward to that part.”

I blushed which made the hand on the back of my neck tighten, so I knew before he did it that he was going to kiss me. It was a long, languid kiss that started out with closed lips then open mouths and finally tongues, molasses smooth and sweet swipes and tangles that made my belly quiver.

“Nice piece,” someone shouted.

“When you’re done with her, I wouldn’t mind a round with the bitch,” another man yelled from across the lot.

Shame burned through me, William’s voice suddenly in my head telling me not to be a slut. I tried to push King away but he was immovable. He frowned but I knew the expression wasn’t for me when he looked over his shoulder and spotted the second guy who had called out.

“Shut the fuck up, Skell. My woman wouldn’t give you a second fuckin’ look if you were the last man in Entrance.”

His woman?

“Your woman, eh?” The man named Skell barked out a laugh. He was a terrifying looking guy, with tattoos all up his neck, a few on his face and silver bits stuck in his brows and ears. “Bit young for a ball and chain, King.”

“You see her?” King called back.

There was a pause. “Yeah, man. Saw her clear across the lot, wanted her. I get closer, might have to find a way to convince her to give another brother a chance.”

“Then you know, you find something this sweet, you get it on lock down. So, if you’re done being an asshole, leave me to doing that, yeah?”

Skell jerked up his chin in the universal sign for male respect and walked back into one of the garage bays.

When King turned back to me, I was the one frowning.

“What?” he asked.

“I can’t resist you if you keep going all sweet in a cool, badass biker kind of way that’s also sexy,” I informed him.

His lips twitched, then he did my favorite thing by throwing his head back to laugh. I stared at his beautiful throat, unaware until him that a throat could be beautiful, and absorbed the awesome sound of his humor.

“Babe,” he squeezed me tighter, “you don’t want to resist me. The sooner you realize it, the happier we’ll both be.”

He was so right. It didn’t say much about me, except that I had a very narrow mind, but I was constantly surprised by King’s sweetness and smarts. They seemed totally incongruent with the image of a biker I had in my head.