Forbidden King: A Small Town, Brother’s Best Friend Romance (Magnolia Falls Series Book 3)

“SAYLOR? You here? It smells damn good.” Kingston’s voice called from the entryway of his house.

I chuckled. “Yep. I told you I was cooking you dinner.”

He walked into the kitchen as I finished slicing the bread.

Damn.

He was wearing a white tee and a pair of jeans, and he looked so damn sexy that sometimes just being around him took my breath away.

“I like seeing you in my kitchen, Dandelion.”

I like being in your kitchen.

In his home.

In his life.

“What are you making?” He wrapped his arms around me and tipped my head back to kiss me.

Nothing about this was a fling anymore.

This was not only a full-fledged relationship, but it was the best one I’d ever had.

Tonight, I wanted to talk about it.

“You know I love themes, right?” My words were all breathy when I pulled back from his kiss.

“Yes. I still don’t fully know what it means, but I’m getting there.”

“Well, tonight’s theme is fondue. We’re having dairy-free cheese fondue with all sorts of things to dip, from bread to steak to vegetables. And then we have chocolate fondue, where we can dip pound cake and bananas and marshmallows into the chocolaty goodness.”

“Damn, baby. You had me at dairy-free cheese.” He laughed before moving to the sink to wash his hands.

I finished carrying the last tray of bread to the table, where the fondue pot held the cheese in the middle. The chocolate fondue was on the kitchen island, and I’d move that one over when we were ready.

“How was work?” I asked as he came over to sit beside me. I handed him his little fork, and I dipped a piece of bread into the cheese and let it cool before popping it into my mouth. Kingston looked completely enamored with the whole thing. “Have you never done this?”

“No, and you make it look so sexy the way you keep smirking and blowing on the bread. Fuck. I love fondue.” He dipped a piece of steak into the cheese and did not wait before biting down with his teeth and groaning at how good it was. “Work was fine. Busy. How about you?”

“It was good. I got to sneak off and pick up Cutler from school, and he came to the store to do his homework and hang out with me. It was really nice. We got some lemon bars from Demi, and he told me all about his day until Nash got there to pick him up.”

“Why do you look so sly, like you know something I don’t?” He popped a piece of bread into his mouth and leaned forward and tickled me, before tugging me onto his lap.

“Let’s just say that Beefcake has a lady. You better not tell anyone because it’s a secret.”

“Beefcake has another girl? My God, how many ladies can that little dude have?” He held up his fork with the filet mignon on it, covered in the delicious cheese. “Try this.”

I placed my mouth over it and bit down. “Wow. That is really good.”

I pulled my chair closer and sat back down so our legs were literally touching as we took turns feeding one another. Laughing about our day. Talking about the upcoming bachelor and bachelorette parties for Demi and Romeo. About Cutler’s playoff game and the elephant in the room… my brother, who was coming home in a few days.

I was relieved that he was finally done, and the fire was almost completely contained.

But I was worried that this little bubble we’d created would be coming to an end. We were always together. When we weren’t, we were on the phone with one another.

“Hayes called before you got here, and the fire is finally under control,” I said, noticing the way his shoulders stiffened, and he nodded.

“Yeah. I talked to him earlier, and he said he’ll be home in a few days. I’m so glad this is almost over for him.”

“Me, too. So that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” I cleared my throat, suddenly feeling nervous.

“I wanted to talk to you, too.”

Oh, God. Did he want this to be over?

“How about you go first, then?” I said, because if he wanted this done, I wasn’t going to pour my heart out to him and embarrass myself.

“Okay, well, I want to show you something first.” He pushed to his feet and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Can you come out to my workshop with me?”

“Of course. Let me turn off the chocolate.” I unplugged both fondue pots and took his hand. We walked out the back door to the barn-looking structure that Kingston had turned into his woodworking shop. It’s where he did most of his creating and building. He’d been spending a lot of time out there, working on a few projects that they had going on right now.

“Did you finish the desk for Cutler?”

“Yep. He’s coming over this weekend to paint it after his game. But that’s not what I wanted to show you.” He led me to the back of the shop, and I came to a stop in front of a tall bookcase standing in front of me. I’d never seen anything more beautiful. It was painted in a very light sage green color and with a hand-painted dandelion with a darker green stem and white fluffball on one side, and some words scrolled around it in beautiful script. I moved closer and ran my fingers over the words as I read them. “Some see a weed. Others see a wish.”

“This is stunning.” I moved around to the other side, and there was a pair of dandelion fluffballs on that side, as well. There were white petals in the shape of hearts fluttering around the stem, as if they’d already been blown. I read the script on this side aloud, as well. “Love is in the air.”

The detail and molding on this bookshelf were absolutely stunning, and I couldn’t stop staring at it.

“I knew you wanted to have shelves of your own to keep the books that you’ve collected at home.” He turned his baseball cap around backward before shoving his hands into his pockets again.

Was he nervous?

“This is for me?” I shook my head, blinking to try to keep the tears away. “This is what you’ve been working on?”

“Yeah. I wanted to surprise you.”

“You always surprise me, King,” I whispered, because he did. He had. He continued to surprise me every day with how thoughtful he was. How sexy he was. How vulnerable and protective and sweet he was. All at the same time, most days.

He took me around to the back of the bookshelf, and there was a handwritten note with a sharpie.

Dandelion, I finally know what I want to wish for…

Love, King

The date was written below, and he smiled at me before speaking. “When I close my eyes, I see you. Every fucking time. Whether there is a dandelion in my hand or I’m sitting in my car or I’m on a jobsite. I. See. You. It’s always been you. When I tattooed this flower on my body beside Ride or Die, it was because I knew then what I was too afraid to say aloud.”

“What?” My voice shook as tears streamed down my face.

“That I love you. I’ve always loved you. These last few months—this is what I’ve been wishing for. She’s standing right in front of me.”

“King,” I said, shaking my head because I was overwhelmed by how much I loved this man. “I love you. That’s what I wanted to tell you tonight. I’ve been in love with you for a while now, and I’ve just been so afraid to say it. To feel it.”

He pulled me close and wrapped his arms around me, and we stood there hugging out in the woodshed for the longest time before I tipped my head back. “Does this mean you’ll finally have sex with me?”

He laughed hard and reached his hands behind my backside, grabbing my ass and lifting me up. “Hell yeah, it does. But we’re talking to Hayes right away. This is not a fucking fling. It never was.”

“Agreed. And he comes home in a few days, and we’ll tell him in person. So how about you stop holding back? I love you. You love me. Carry me inside and have your way with me.”

I saw how conflicted he was in his gaze. “I wish we could tell him right now. I’m ready to tell everyone. I’m done with all the secrets.”

“Me, too.”

“I want everyone to know that you’re mine.” He nipped at my ear.

“I think I’ve always been yours, Kingston Pierce.”

That was all it took. He was practically running toward the house as my head fell back in laughter, and he kept one hand on my bottom and one tangled in my hair as I tucked my head into the crook of his neck.

When we got inside, he carried me straight to his bedroom and dropped me onto the bed. “Do you know how many nights I’ve thought about this?”

“Probably as many as I have.”

“I’ve had you in my bed dozens of times, and I’ve explored every inch of your beautiful body, and I’ve never been inside you. And I’ve fucking thought about it so many times, Saylor.”

“Me, too.”

He crawled onto the bed and kissed me. “Do you have any idea how badly I want you? Want this?”

“I do.” I smiled up at him, my hands trembling as I pushed his shirt up and over his head. He unbuttoned the navy spaghetti strap blouse I was wearing and smiled when he opened it to find there was no bra beneath. His fingers traced over my breasts; my nipples were already hard and wanting.

“So fucking beautiful,” he whispered, before he moved to his feet and pulled my cowboy booties off, dropping them to the floor. I sat forward and unbuckled his jeans, kissing his chiseled abdomen as I shoved his pants and boxers down in one swift movement. His dick sprung to life—hard and long and thick.

He kicked off his shoes and his clothes and then reached for the waist of my skirt. He tugged it down my legs as his tongue swiped out to wet his bottom lip, his gaze traveling over the length of me.

“I know I owe you some new panties, but I have no patience,” he said, tearing the lace with ease as I chuckled. I didn’t mind it.

I had no patience when it came to King either.

He leaned down to grab his jeans and pulled his wallet out before the foil packet appeared in his hand.

“I’ve never been with anyone without a condom, and I’m on the pill.”

He paused, studying me for several seconds. “I’ve never been with a woman without wearing protection either. Are you sure about this?”

“I want to feel you. All of you.”

It was the truth. I didn’t want anything between us.

“What the fuck did I ever do to deserve you?”

He crawled over me, hovering just above me.

“All you have to do is exist, and you’ll have me,” I whispered.

He claimed my mouth and kissed me. It was different this time. It wasn’t rushed or frantic. It was slow. Controlled.

Like we both knew this next chapter we were starting wasn’t temporary. His hand gripped the side of my neck, tilting my head so he could take the kiss deeper.

We kissed for the longest time before he pulled back, and his lips moved down my neck and chest. He flicked my nipples with his tongue, and I gasped, so eager and ready.

“King, I want you right now.” My breaths were coming hard and fast. “I need you right now.”

“I know, baby. I need you, too.” He moved back up, and before I even realized what was happening, he flipped us over, with him lying on his back. He settled me on top of him, one leg on each side, so I was straddling him. “I want you to set the pace. Take things as slow as you want or as fast as you want.”

I nodded, still finding it hard to believe that we were here. Together. No more worries. No more rules. But then I glanced down and saw his giant erection standing there waiting for me. Though it wasn’t the first time I’d seen it, it was the first time we were going to have sex. And there was no freaking way it was going to fit.

“Baby, I’m going to come right here if you keep staring at it like that.” His hand wrapped around his dick and stroked a couple of times.

“It’s not going to fit,” I whispered.

He chuckled. “It’ll fit. We were made for each other. That’s why I wanted to do it with you on top, so you can take me in inch by inch and set the pace. We’ll take it slow.”

I pushed up, positioning myself just above him; the tip of his dick teased my entrance. I started to slide down and gasped as my body tried to adjust to his size. “Okay, that’s enough for right now,” I said, my head falling back at the sensation coursing through my body, and he was barely even in.

“Look at you, taking me in like a fucking rock star. You’re so fucking beautiful, Saylor. Seeing you like this.” His hands were all over me, touching and exploring. He shifted forward and pulled my body toward him at the same time so his lips could cover my breast. His tongue flicked at my nipple, making me gasp as I moved down, taking in another inch of him. I was panting now, because I wanted this so badly. Wanted all of him. The feel of his lips and his tongue and his hands.

And the way he was filling me slowly.

It was a mix of both pleasure and pain as I moved down lower. His lips moved to my other breast, and my eyes fell closed at the sensation. I moved down further, feeling myself stretch around him.

He pulled back to look up at me with complete amazement. “You can take it, baby. Give me that sweet mouth.”

I leaned down and kissed him, his tongue sliding in and out, as I pushed down further, moaning into his mouth. His fingers tangled in my hair as he brought his chest up to meet mine. I slid the rest of the way down and stopped moving completely, pulling back from our kiss as I adjusted to the intrusion. To the feel of him inside me.

“Fuck, baby. Nothing has ever felt better. I love you so fucking much,” he whispered against my ear, his lips kissing along my neck.

My body was on fire, and my head fell back as I started to rock against him.

“Oh my God, King. It feels so good.”

“It’s all you, baby. Take your time. Show me what you want.”

I pushed him back down to lie on his back, and I let my body take over. I rode him slowly at first before we found our rhythm. I looked between us, where we were joined, and watched as he slid in and out of me. It was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen.

His hands were on my hips, and he moved right along with me. His muscles flexed every time our bodies slammed together. We were both lost in the moment now.

Faster. Needier.

We were covered in a layer of sweat, our breaths and moans and gasps the only audible sounds in the room.

“King,” I whispered. He knew exactly what I needed, and his hand moved between us, pressing little circles into my clit.

I couldn’t hold on any longer.

My body started to shake, and I leaned back, my hands landing on the back of his thighs, as I rocked into him again and again.

“Good girl. That’s it,” his deep voice said in the darkened room. “Come for me, baby.”

And I went right over the edge.

I cried out his name and fell forward as he captured my mouth with his.

He thrust into me again.

And again.

Before he followed me right over the edge.

With my name on his lips.