King's Wrath (Sydney Storm MC 5)

“No buts, Lil. Life is too short for buts,” she said.

“It’s also too short for wasting time on something that will never happen. And King is most definitely in that category.”

It was great sex. Amazing freaking sex. But it was time to go back to being his sister’s physiotherapist and nothing more.

“You’re doing so well,” I said to Skylar at the end of her session that afternoon. “We can probably look at cutting back our sessions to a couple of times a week now.”

She sat in the armchair in her room, feet up on the stool King had gotten for her. “Sure, if you think I’m ready.”

I smiled. “I do. I’m going to write you up a new plan of exercises, and I’ll drop back to visiting you Mondays and Thursdays.” My reasons were based purely on Skylar’s needs, but it wouldn’t hurt for me to visit the clubhouse less often.

As I packed up my stuff, she said, “Thank you for being so amazing, Lily. I don’t think I could have gotten through the last couple of weeks without you.”

She’d come a long way, both physically and mentally. And I had no doubts she could manage her recovery on her own now, with just check-ins from me to make sure all was progressing well.

I slung my bag over my shoulder. “You’ve absolutely got this. And you know I’m just a call or text away if you need me.”

“Hey, are you going to see King on your way out?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

“Can you tell him I’ve decided we should have tacos for dinner.”

“Sure. Is he cooking?” I threw in that last question as a joke. It seemed unlikely to me that King would be making dinner.

She laughed. “You sound surprised. And yes, he is. He spent some time with me this morning and told me he wanted me, Axe, Annika, and the kids to all have dinner together tonight. I have no idea what’s gotten into him, but I like that he wants to hang out. It’s been too long since we’ve had family dinner together.”

I headed for the door. “I’ll let him know, and I’ll email through your new exercises.”

“Thank you,” she said as I left the room.

Anticipation filled me as I walked the short distance to King’s office. I had no idea if he’d be there, but I hoped so. I wanted to pay him back for the locks he’d installed the other day. I also just wanted to see him and talk to him. It was crazy since I’d never have him again, but I couldn’t help myself. I liked spending time with him.

He glanced up from his desk when I entered the office, his eyes spending time on my body before meeting my gaze.

“Hey,” I said, my voice full of hesitation even though I was trying hard not to show the awkwardness I felt over the situation. We’d experienced some highly intimate moments together last night and it confused me to go from that back to the business relationship we’d had before then. I had never had a one-night stand before. All the sex I’d ever had was part of a relationship, so this was new territory for me.

“How’s Skye doing?”

Okay, back to business. I could do that.

I took a deep breath to centre myself. “She’s really good. I’m going to cut back to seeing her twice a week from now.”

His brows drew together. “Why?”

“Well,” I started to say, but my voice cracked with nervousness. Swallowing hard, I continued, “Her progress is good, and she doesn’t really need me to be with her so much now. She can manage her exercises well without me. I’ll just swing by and make sure she’s continuing to improve. And, well, it’ll save you money you don’t need to spend.”

“I want to spend the money, Lily. Don’t cut back the sessions.”

The gravel in his voice hit my core, electrifying my skin. I didn’t know whether to read between the lines with what he said or not.

“Okay,” I agreed softly, wishing I had a lot more experience with men so I was better able to navigate whatever this was between us. “Oh also, she said to tell you she wants tacos for dinner.”

He nodded, but didn’t reply to that, just continued watching me.

Becoming flustered under his intense gaze, I smoothed my skirt when it didn’t need smoothing. And blurted out, “How much do I owe you for the locks? I’ll bring the money by tomorrow or if you need it sooner, I can drop back later with it. Or put it in your bank if you give me your details. However you want—”

“You don’t owe me anything.”