The Dangerous Curves Series

Chapter 105

King took one look at her, and quickly shut the door behind him. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, of course.” She tried to smile. “What’s up?”

Not buying it for even a nanosecond, he came closer. “What happened, Naomi? Tell me.”

No sense in lying, she saw. She sighed. “I – I just got an upsetting phone call.”

“Upsetting how?”

“My mother. She’s not well.”

He stood right next to her now, his massive frame making her feel even smaller in her chair. She stood up, then wished that she hadn’t. That broad chest was smack in front of her, and all she saw was his strength and warmth – the two things that she craved the most right now.

“Not well?” That rough voice was concerned, caring. “She’s in the hospital?”

“No.” Naomi bit her lip. “She’s not well mentally and emotionally. She’s – she’s a troubled person. She has – problems.”

“Ah.” King studied her. “Is she OK? Do you want me to take you to her?”

“Oh, no. No, thank you. That would actually be the worst thing for me to do right now. She needs to take some responsibility for her own care, and having me rush over there and save her from her most recent tailspin would only result in her not doing exactly that.”

She paused, wondering how honest to be with him, then decided what the hell. “I spent years riding to the rescue, and it accomplished exactly nothing, believe me. In fact, it probably made her worse because I enabled her. I have to let her ask for help when she’s ready. I have to wait.”

King thought about Janine, and how hard it was for him to just stand there and watch her self-destruct. Every single time he saw her, he felt helpless and angry at her for not taking care of herself the way she knew she should. He knew she was ill, and his frustration was tempered with compassion, but still, he was upset by her. And if he felt this way about a woman he’d casually dated for all of six weeks, how must Naomi feel about her mother?

“I’m sorry, honey. That’s tough.”

Tears sprang to her eyes again at the endearment, and she wondered why she didn’t mind it this time. She quite liked it, if truth be told.

“Yeah.” She cleared her throat. “It is.”

King stared down at her, saw her trembling and her tears. Every inch of his body longed to soothe and comfort Naomi, but he still had no clue where the boundaries and borders were with her.

For the past few weeks, he’d been bringing Callie and Noah to the Heart Center three or four times a week, and he had made a point of talking to Naomi every chance he got. If she wasn’t out in the open area, he’d come to her office on some pretext. He’d been relaxed and warm, desperate to get her to see him as non-threatening. King knew that he was a scary son-of-a-b***h, and he knew that because he’d worked damn hard to be one.

In his business – both of them – his size and demeanor were basic job requirements. But when dealing with a woman like Naomi, these things were very unhelpful in getting her to trust him, to see him as safe. And what King had come to want, more than just about anything, was for Naomi to see him as a man she could be with. A man who wanted to make her happy, because she made him happy.

She made him laugh like nobody ever had, not in the whole of his life. He was a surly, scowling bastard most of the time, but around her, he just lightened up. He liked her gentle teasing, her smart humor. And God knows, he loved her generous heart: the way she worked for her artists was nothing short of astonishing. Naomi gave and gave and then gave some more, and the thought of anyone hurting her or taking advantage of her made him insane. She deserved better.

Their eyes met now, and in the face of her wordless pain, King gave up the struggle to not touch her. Gently, he wrapped her in his arms, not holding her anywhere as tight as he fantasized about in the shower every morning and every night. The last thing he wanted to do was intimidate her, or make her feel like she had no say in the situation. He wanted her to want to be exactly where she was; maybe even welcome it.

She was so small, so soft. He cradled her, mindful of his immense strength, knowing that he could break her without a second of thought. Not that he ever would – he’d never hurt this woman. Hell, no… he wanted to keep her safe and close, away from ugly and dark things. He hoped very much that over the past few weeks, she’d come to see him as not one of those kinds of things, despite how he earned a living.

Naomi was stunned to find herself pressed up on Matt’s chest. Weeks and weeks of staring at it, of imagining what it would be like to touch it, and she’d gotten it totally wrong. In reality, it felt better than she’d thought it would: he was stronger, larger, harder.

He smelled of something earthy and spicy and her whole body absorbed it. Matt was all man; all dangerous, tender man. A man that she’d do anything to have on her, in her, just once. A man that was exactly what she had to stay away from at this point in her life – but she couldn’t. Not in this moment. In this moment, she needed him.

Just one minute here. It doesn’t mean anything much to a man like him, I know, and it can’t mean anything much to you. But you need it right now. So take it.