Tempting a King (King Family Romance Book 1) by Isla Drake (small books to read .txt) 📗

I know I’m not alone. She doesn’t want me to leave either. It’s so tempting to shed my clothes and crawl back into her warm bed. I know I should be tired after the night we’ve had, and I am. But when I look at the curve of Hannah’s neck and the messy tumble of her hair, I think I could have another round in me if she made the slightest move. Then I remember my promise that I’d leave before Liam wakes. I pull the blanket up over her shoulder and brush her hair off her face. She turns toward my hand and brushes my palm with her lips in a soft kiss. I spend another moment gazing at her before forcing myself to leave. I’m careful to move as silently as possible through the house to the front door. The last thing I need is for Liam to wake up and ask me what I’m doing there in the middle of the night. That’s not a conversation anyone is ready to have.

I make sure to lock the front door behind me as I leave. Once I make it home, I crawl into my own bed and pass out immediately. When I wake up a few hours later, the exhaustion I should have felt earlier has found me. I think I could sleep until it’s time to go to work tomorrow if it weren’t for Sunday family dinner. Every Sunday night for the past several years, I’ve had dinner with my siblings. No matter what’s going on in our lives, we all make it a point to show up for Sunday dinner. It had originally been my idea, but I don’t think I imagined all of us sticking with it for so long. It’s become a weekly tradition that I think we all enjoy more than we let on.

I spend the hours before it’s time to head over to Mack’s washing laundry and making a trip to the grocery store. I definitely do not spend it obsessively checking my phone to see if Hannah has texted. She hasn’t. I tell myself that I’m going to see her at work tomorrow. I don’t need to call her. Besides, she’s probably enjoying her Sunday with Liam. It would be rude to interrupt that just so I can hear her voice. When I walk into Mack’s at 5, I’m on edge and still tired from my lack of sleep. I wave a greeting at Wyatt and Van as I enter before heading straight to the kitchen for a glass of tea. Claire is standing near one of the counters, pouring herself a glass. When she sees me, she pours one for me too and hands it over.

“You look tired,” Claire says with a knowing look over the rim of her glass. “Late night?”

I narrow my eyes at her slightly. “Nope. Must just be getting old.”

She smiles. “Well, that’s true enough, old man.” She nudges me with her elbow. “You get a senior citizens discount yet?”

I laugh. “Not quite.”

I look around and notice that Ronan isn’t here yet and the twins are out of earshot behind the bar. I lean a little closer to Claire.

“Listen,” I say. “About Hannah.”

She raises a hand and gives a little shake of her head. “Say no more,” she says. “Not my secret to tell.”

I bump her shoulder with mine. “Thanks.”

We lapse into silence for a few seconds before Claire speaks again. “It won’t stay a secret for long, you know. Not with the way you two look at each other. A blind person can see that chemistry.”

I can’t argue Claire’s point. Hannah does something to me. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love to see the hot desire in her eyes when she looks at me. I look down at my glass in an attempt to hide my grin.

“I know,” I say. “But she’s not ready to go public yet.”

Claire shrugs. “Suit yourselves,” she says. “But just know that I’m happy for you. Both of you. It’s nice to see my serious big brother smile more.”

“Hey. I smile.” My response is automatic and defensive, but it’s only partly true. I’m not unhappy, but I know my sister thinks I’m uptight and need to loosen up. I think about Hannah’s words at dinner last night. How she’d said she wanted to make me laugh more. Am I too serious? Maybe. But it’s only because I’ve had to be. I’ve been taking care of this family for so long that maybe I’ve forgotten how to be carefree. Letting myself be with Hannah is the first truly selfish thing I’ve done in years and it feels amazing.

“I’m just saying,” Claire says, breaking me out of my thoughts. “I like that she makes you happy. You deserve it.”

Her voice is more serious than usual, and I bring my eyes up to study her expression. Her smile looks hopeful with just a touch of sadness around the edges and I wonder what it means. Has she been worried about me? I put an arm around her shoulders and pull her to me in a sideways hug.

“I’m happy. You don’t have to worry about me, Claire-bear.” She doesn’t pull away or protest my use of the nickname she hates. Instead she squeezes me back, just for a second.

“Someone needs to.”

It’s an odd feeling. Having someone worry about me instead of the other way around. I’m not surprised it’s Claire instead of one of our brothers. She was still young when Mom and Dad died, and Ronan left for the Marines. Van and Wyatt had moved out not long after that, headed off to college. That had left the two of us alone in that big house and we’d grown closer by necessity. I’d had to be her big brother and both parents. I’d like to think I did a good job raising her, but there are times when I doubt whether I was enough for her. Right now, I think maybe