Part 16 (1/2)

”Ooooh... the king.” She feigned excitement.

Coal sighed. ”He is my brother and yes, he happens to be the king. I want you to meet him.”

She tensed. ”Why? I'm not staying. You know that right?”

”I have two more weeks to convince you. You've seen my chamber and know what I can do with my c.o.c.k.” He kissed her neck, nipping on the spot that he knew drove her wild. ”You also know that I can cook, but...” he paused looking into her beautiful eyes. ”I want you to meet my friends and family... to see the rest of my kingdom. I want us to actually talk and to do things together.”

”It's not going to make a difference, Coal. I can't stay.” She looked sad. Her eyes clouded and she frowned.

”Maybe you can.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

She shook her head. ”There's a whole world waiting for me out there. I promised myself that I would explore it. That I would see it all. I can't be tied down and I don't want to be a mom.”

He wanted to push for answers but he sensed that she still wasn't ready to talk about why she felt the way she did. Especially about motherhood.

Julie licked her lips. ”It's important that whomever you end up mating continues your bloodline?”

He nodded. ”Yes. It is of the utmost importance.”

”There ya go.” Again with the extra upbeat att.i.tude. He wasn't buying it. ”It so wouldn't work just on that note alone.”

Yes it could. Julie would be a wonderful mother. She was amazing. Not just for her beauty or how compatible they were but for who she was as well. He may not know much about her yet but he knew the essence of who she was.

The scent of her arousal filled his nostrils. ”Now, do you want my mouth or my c.o.c.k?”

She laughed. It came out in a short burst. ”So dirty.”

”Really now? Dirty?” He grinned at her. ”The shower it is then.” Coal picked her up and threw her over his shoulder being careful not to hurt her.

He marched into the bathroom. Turned the faucets on and waited the few seconds for the water to heat, then he put her down under the spray. Coal spread her legs and positioned himself between them. Water cascaded down her body. She was a vision. He tongued her until she came...hard. Then he f.u.c.ked her against the wall from behind until they both came... hard.

Even as he pulled out, he wanted her again. Coal doubted he would ever stop wanting her.

s.h.i.+t!

The king was formidable. She felt the need to hold Coal's hand even though she wasn't the handholding type.

The green eyed, stern looking guy eyed her like she had food on her face or her top. Maybe her hair was mussed. Then he sniffed at her. Sniffed. No freaking way. It was okay-for whatever reason-that Coal sniffed her. She even found it a turn-on, but not this guy.

On top of all of that, he looked p.i.s.sed. She didn't know why. Had she done something wrong?

He sniffed her again. His frown deepened. His mouth was a thin, white line of distaste.

”Hey.” She felt herself tense up. ”Stop that. What are you doing?”

The guy straightened up. He completely ignored her. ”You have rutted extensively although I can tell that you haven't mated her yet.” His shoulders were tense. His neck muscles corded. The guy was s.h.i.+rtless so she could see all his muscles pop. Although he was built, she didn't find him s.e.xy like Coal. He was pretty but too mean looking.

Then she realized what he had said and how he was ignoring her.

”h.e.l.lo, buddy. I'm right here. Maybe you shouldn't talk about me like I'm not. It's d.a.m.ned rude. I don't like it. Stop!”

The king-big deal-raised his brows. ”Is she always like this?”

Coal chuckled. ”She's a b.i.t.c.h. That means that she's direct and honest in her approach.”

Julie had to suppress a laugh. Coal said it like he was paying her a compliment. Such a cutie pie.

”I know what it means.” The king sounded irritated.

Coal cleared his throat. ”Julie does have a point though. You shouldn't speak of her as if she isn't here. It is not polite.”

The guy looked at her for the first time. s.h.i.+t, his eyes were a stunning green. His gaze was intense. ”h.e.l.lo, human. Why has my brother not mated you yet? I want you pregnant at your next heat.” He sniffed.

”Stop that!” She yelled. ”I don't like it. Coal and I are not going to mate.”

”We are discussing it.” Coal quickly intervened.

The king sighed. He played with his ring. ”I can scent that her heat is coming. Another four days tops.”

”What?” Julie felt all the blood drain from her body. She turned to Coal. ”Why the h.e.l.l didn't you tell me?”

Coal's eyes were blazing. His jaw was set. His whole stance softened as his gaze landed on her. ”I was going to tell you. We are still safe. We will start to use rubber coverings tomorrow.”

She folded her arms. ”No way. We'll start today. I trusted you. I'm an idiot.” Why had she trusted him with something so huge? He was planning on trapping her. Whenever she trusted someone in the past, they let her down. Every. Single. Time.

Coal touched her arm softly. ”You can trust me, I...”

”No rubber coverings!” The king boomed.

”Blaze, we are not ready to mate. We will use coverings this time.”

”This time...” What the h.e.l.l was he talking about? She'd explained about not wanting kids. There was no way she was messing up some poor kid's life. No way! ”I don't want children. How many times do I have to tell you that?”

”What?” The king roared. Smoke came out of every orifice. Okay, maybe it only came out his nose and mouth but he was so mad that she could swear it almost came out of every hole in his body. Idiot! She didn't give two s.h.i.+ts if he was angry. ”Take her back to the human town she came from,” he said. ”Why are you wasting your time with this female?”

Her blood seemed to slow and cool, even though her heart sped up. The funny thing was, she didn't want to go back just yet. The thought scared her. Why would it scare her? It didn't scare her, it made her upset. She was having too much fun. She'd counted on having two more weeks with Coal... two more weeks of relaxation. Two more weeks of no-strings fun.

”No, I'm not taking her back,” Coal growled. He put an arm around her shoulder. Even though she wasn't one for public displays of affection, she leaned into him.

”You have to.” The king was looking at her. ”This female doesn't want young. She is useless to us.”

What a p.r.i.c.k!

Coal squeezed her tighter. He gave a tiny shake of the head. It was meant for her. Julie realized that she had sucked in a breath and was about to tell this bozo exactly what she thought of him.

”She means something to me,” Coal said simply. The statement warmed her. It shouldn't warm her. Maybe it was because she could count on one hand how many people had stood up for her in her life. She didn't even need all her fingers on that hand at that.

She felt like blowing a raspberry at the fuddy duddy king. Take that.