Kingsley Read online

  “The King has come!” I yelled as we walked in the door, hand in hand. I heart scoffs and grunts from the dining room and we make our way there.

  Kayson, Conner, Jody, Jinx and Layla are all here.

  “We have news!” Layla screams the moment we step in the door. “We’re pregnant!” She yells, not waiting for anyone else. Everyone screams and hugs and congratulates them. “Sorry, we’ve been waiting to have everyone together forever to tell ya’ll. Jinx shakes his head in mock exasperation at his fiancé, before pulling her into his side and kissing her temple.

  “You must be, Morgan” She says, pulling his small body into hers for a hug.

  “Pregnancy has broken her.” Jody whispers loudly to everyone. Layla is not a hugger.

  “Shut up, I’m emotional!” She gives him a death glare, probably scaring the shit out of Morgan. We all laugh anyway.

  “Hey, man. I’m Kayson and this is my favorite person in all the world; Conner.” He smiles as I snort at his cheesiness.

  “It’s really nice to meet you, Kingsley talks about you all, all the time.” He tells them.

  “Hey Jody.” Morgan says and I notice Jody give a short nod.

  “Can I talk to you a minute in the kitchen?” He’s looking at Morgan. The look I give him is one of dire warning and he better know it. They both go into the other room while I keep vigilant watch on the doorway.

  “He’s fine, he’s just going to apologize.” Kayson says, shoving me gently.

  “How’s Conner?” I ask him.

  “Conner’s great!” Conner says, smiling as he walks up to my side. “Your boyfriend is adorable.” He says, cheekily. I roll my eyes and shove him into Kayson, playfully. Of course, Kayson is there to catch him, I barely touched him. Kayson shoots me a glare anyway. I laugh at his overdramatic ass.

  Everyone got along great and after a brief conversation in the kitchen; even Jody came out and was more sociable than ever. We toasted with wine, to the pregnancy news, (Layla with apple juice) and then she and Jinx went home to have a celebration of their own. Honestly, Layla hopped up on pregnancy hormones was a thing to behold. She was like a different person, hugging and laughing with everyone, it was like a different side to the snarky, chip-on-her-shoulder Layla that we all knew and loved. I was happy for them. And Jinx also looked happier than I’d ever seen him.

  “You look happy.” Kayson tells me as we’re standing outside watching Kady ride her bike around the yard. Conner and Morgan are lightly swinging on the porch swing together, gently swinging back and forth. They look to be in a serious discussion but I can’t tell what they’re saying from where we are.

  “I am.” I tell him honestly, winking at Morgan as he looks up and notices my gawking. He blushes and turns back to Conner who seems to be telling him a story now. I watch him chuckle at Conner and his animated tale of whatever. Stephen was a fool for letting him go, I look at him and can’t for the life of me wonder why he was ever alone. He wouldn’t be again, not if I could help it.

  The next couple days went back to normal while Morgan was feeling better. I went back to work and Morgan was showing a couple new pieces in an exhibit, a couple towns away. He’s been a nervous wreck since the woman came to the house yesterday and collected the original piece she’d inquired about but also another one he’d been working on since getting sick. It was dark, mostly shadowed people standing around with their heads bent to their chests. You couldn’t make out who they were or even what they wore, they were all shadowed; mourning, I told him it looked like. Then, in the middle of the crowd of shadows was one man, with the clouds giving way to one sun beam, bathing him in the sunlight. He was looking up into the sky with a smile on his face, he looked peaceful. I didn’t know what it supposed to represent because I was scared to ask; but Sarah saw it and fell in love with it. I’d loved absolutely everything the man done so I wasn’t surprised.

  Because I vowed that Morgan would never be alone, not ever again, no matter how much I probably drove him crazy; I had been staying at his place. His surgery date was quickly approaching and I was enjoying as much time with him as I could. I was dreading the surgery and looking forward to it, in equal measure. I wanted to get it over with because I wanted him to start getting healthy again but I was scared out of my mind that something would go wrong.

  “What’s got you thinking so hard over there?” Morgan asked me as we were lying in bed the night before the big day.

  “You,” I say honestly. “I’m always thinking about you.” I wiggle my eyebrows and turn to face him. He’s stopped the radiation, thankfully, after his last treatment. His scans all look good but he’ll have one more tomorrow to make sure everything is good to go. Hopefully it’ll all be over soon.

  “You nervous about tomorrow?” He asks, knowingly.

  “Little bit.” I don’t lie. “You?” I ask.

  “A little.” He shrugs, trying to seem nonchalant.

  “I just want it to be done and for you to be okay.” I say, softly. He scoots closer to me, hands on my chest and legs entwined with mine.

  “You know what I’m most afraid of?” He asks. I shake my head, running my free hand over the soft, longer fuzz on the top of his head. He pretends he doesn’t like when I touch it, but I feel his body relax more into mine when I do.

  “I’m afraid that I won’t be same.” He confesses.

  “What do you mean?” I ask.

  “Well…what if I wake up and don’t remember you? Or, me, what if I wake up and don’t know who I am or where I’m from or anything about my life? What if I can’t paint anymore?” He whispers.

  “None of those things are important, as long as you wake up. If you don’t remember me, I’ll remind you every day. If you don’t remember you, I’ll tell you stories of the person I’ve gotten to know. I’ll tell you how amazing and sweet you are and that you have an incredible boyfriend, you got really lucky.” I smile, earning a smack on the arm making and me laugh. “And if you can’t paint, then I’ll buy you finger paints and you’ll re-learn. Start from scratch.” I kiss his nose. “I don’t care how you come as long as you come back to me.”

  “I think I might be in love with you.” He whispers, hesitantly. My heart swells in my chest and my breath catches in my throat. I roll him over to his back, framing his face with my arms, resting my body between his legs.

  “It’s about time.” I whisper against his lips.

  “It’s been hardly no time.” He laughs quietly, wrapping his arms around my neck.

  “I love you, too.” I whisper back, watching his eyes close and his smile grow.

  “You do?” He asks me.

  “Yeah, more than anything.” Is my immediate response. No doubt about it.

  “Show me.” He breathes. So, I do.

  Turning him over onto his stomach, I watch him get comfortable so I can rub my hands all over his sexy back and arms. I kiss every freckle that I spot back here, loving the way his body jerks when I lick and suck on his skin. I pull off the sleep pants he had on when we laid down together and kicked mine to the floor to join them. There is nothing more beautiful than a naked Morgan Blackwell.

  I drag my tongue down his spine and bite the soft flesh of his smooth cheeks, earning the softest little whimper. I drag my tongue down his cleft, opening him with my hands and swiping my tongue up and down his crease; then slowly over his hole. He writhes and wriggles underneath me until I use my hands on his hips to hold him still.

  “Kingsley.” He gasps. This is new, every time we’ve been together I’ve loved his body with mine. I’ve showed him every time since the first time how much I love him. This time? This time I’m going to make sure he doesn’t forget it.

  “Don’t move.” I say firmly, squeezing his hips enough to keep his attention on me. He nods and takes a deep breath. I wait until I hear him exhale before diving back in. I prod him open with my tongue; lick, suck and bite until I hear a constant litany of cries coming from his beautiful mouth.

  With
one last swipe of my tongue, I crawl up and cover his body with mine. My hardness fits perfectly in between his cheeks and I relish the feel of him quivering each time the head of my dick passes his tight little ring.

  “I want you remembering this all day tomorrow.” I growl into his ear, teeth nipping at his neck as he pushes back into me. “I want you to feel where I’ve been.” I suck as his skin until I’m satisfied with the mark I’ve left him with. “I want you to take me with you.” I groan, loving the feel of him losing control beneath me. “I’m gonna come so deep inside you, baby.” I warn him.

  “Yes, I want that.” He gasps, “Please”

  “My world changed when I met you, did you know that?” I ask as I line myself up, ready, ready to just shove my way inside him. I don’t, I slowly inch my way in, loving the feeling of him squeezing me. His wraps his hands around my wrists at the side of him and holds on, his mouth open in a silent scream against my arm. Inch by inch I claim his body, I don’t stop until I bottom out in him and want to cry. How will I live without him? I want to stay right here, forever. I wrap my arms around his body and pull us up together until he’s sitting on my lap, impaled on my cock. He’s holding onto my arms so tight across his heaving chest. I can feel his heart pounding throughout his whole body.

  “When we get home, when you’re all better; I’m not leaving.” I tell him, flexing my hips and grinding into him.

  “I won’t want you to.” He whispers, pulling off of me and sliding back down.

  “This is it, then. You and me.” I bite his ear and he falls back on me again.

  “Yes.” He agrees.

  “Forever.” I declare.

  “Forever.” He promises.

  Chapter 16: Morgan

  Having Kingsley inside me, promising me forever was a dream come true.

  “Don’t stop!” I gasp as he lays me back down and flips me over. His body is covering mine, lips to mine before I can protest anymore. He slides back inside without warning and I can’t stop the curse that escapes me.

  “Fuck” I say, grasping handfuls of his hair. I wrap my legs around his waist, pulling him into me harder and harder. He’s been so careful with me since I’ve been so sick but right now he’s like a man possessed.

  “We’re gonna have a long life together baby and this,” he extenuates with a brutal thrust, “this is just the beginning of it.” He promises.

  “I love you.” I tell him; looking into his shiny eyes. I can’t promise him a long life but I’m here right now, loving him with everything in me.

  “I can’t live without you.” He drops his body onto his forearms and cages my face with his hands. “I can’t live without you, Morgan.” His forehead drops to mine and I can feel his hot tears drip onto my face. I wrap my arms and legs around his big, powerful body and hold him as tight as I can.

  “I love you.” I whisper to him, again, what else can I say? I can’t promise anything, right now. I feel his body shaking, even as he continues to pump in and out of me. “I love you.” I say again and again, feeling myself get close as his stomach rubs against me just right and his hardness inside me grinds against my prostate each time he slides in.

  “I love you.” I gasp once more as I spill all over my stomach, between us. Kingsley’s grip on my face tightens as he leans back and slams his lips on mine; grunting his release inside me. I love the feel of him shooting inside me; it makes me feel marked, claimed by him.

  “Oh, God.” Kingsley’s body falls on me and turns us to our sides. He slowly slides out of me as I’m still clutching his body to me; his face in my neck as he sobs. He’s held it together for me until now and I can’t blame him. I’m scared too. I guess I’ve come to terms with it better because well… there’s just nothing I can do about it. I’ll survive or I won’t. It won’t be me, here, left all alone, it’ll be him having to live without me. If the roles were reversed, I couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t, so I understand how he feels.

  “I’m sorry.” He groans, trying to get himself together.

  “It’s okay.” I promise him.

  “No, it’s not; you’ve got enough to shit to worry about, I’m making it worse.” He sniffs and snuggles in closer. I can’t help but smile at him.

  “Worse than cancer?” I try to tease him but he isn’t having it.

  “Nothing’s worse than cancer.” He grumbles, squeezing me tighter.

  “Not even pineapples on your pizza?” I try again, earning a small laugh.

  “I’ll eat pineapple pizza every day for the next 50 years if you want me to.” He says, breaking my heart.

  “I’m holding you to that.” I smile sadly, hoping I get the chance. I wouldn’t make him do it every day, but maybe at least once.

  We lay together, just holding each other and whispering promises and dreams back and forth until the early hours of the morning. I find myself staring at his sleeping face for hours. I trace his nose and his eyebrows with my fingers, wondering if this is the last night I’ll ever spend with him.

  When the sun is barely shining, I slide out of bed and grab my phone. I lay a kiss on his pink, swollen from crying lips and creep out the door to the living room. I dial my lawyer and leave him a message; wondering if we could rearrange some paperwork. He calls me back within minutes and I explain everything that I want. My house, car and paintings are all to be eft to Kingsley; any money I have left, I want given to Kingsley for Kady. All kids need a college fund or something and every little bit would help, I’m sure. I ask for a simple funeral service which I finally got around to paying for, just setting it all up online with our local funeral home. I picked out a plot, just a random number, I didn’t care where it was but the lady assured me that it was in a lovely place. What did I care? I wasn’t going to see it; I wanted it for Kingsley and his family that would no doubt come to support him. In this very short amount of time I’ve known all of them, they’ve all kind of adopted me into their fold. I appreciated that more than I could tell them.

  I done everything I could as quick and painlessly as possible and now, I wanted to know, I needed to make sure everything was set.

  “I can get Gloria to run these papers over, watch you sign them and bring them all back to me, no problem. I don’t want you to worry about anything at all, except getting better.” He says. I appreciate him saying that and told him so.

  True to his words, Gloria came by within the hour. I was sitting on the front porch drinking a cup of the tea that I so adamantly hated but knew it was good for me. I tried to enjoy it, just in case this was the last time for that too. I wasn’t allowed to eat so close to the surgery but after signing the papers and thanking Gloria for coming out of her way to make sure everything was taken care of for me, I went to start breakfast for Kingsley.

  Egg white omelets were just not filling so I cut up some fruit, made toast and jelly with a side of bacon. I brewed him some coffee and fixed a glass of orange juice and took it into where he was still sleeping.

  “I smell coffee.” He murmured into the pillow and his growly voice, faltered my steps.

  “I made you breakfast.” I tell him, watching his naked body turn in bed and sit up. He was truly beautiful.

  “You didn’t have to do that.” He says, pulling me down beside him as I sit his tray over his lap. “Thank you, this looks really good. You didn’t eat any of it, did you?” He asks, knowing I can’t eat before surgery.

  “No. It smells good though.” I tell him.

  “Maybe you should just have a bite and we can postpone this for another day.” He says jokingly, but I see the little bit of hope that flares behind his eyes. I would give anything for another day with him, but I’m hoping after today, I’ll have many more days with him.

  “I love you.” I smile. He flinches for a split second and I can see the pain and the fear on his face; it’s gone before I can say anything and he leans over his tray to kiss me.

  “I love you too.” He says quietly and then eats his breakfast.

&nbs
p; After breakfast, we both get into the shower. We stay under the warm water for longer than necessary but I enjoy the closeness with him as we take turns washing each other, slowly. I can see the worry on his face that’s likely not going to go away until I see him after surgery. I try to distract him but he only hugs me and doesn’t let me go until the water turns cold.

  We stop by the Kennedy house to see everyone before going to the hospital. What I thought was going to be a short visit, turned into everyone piling into their trucks and following us there. I was grateful they let Kingsley and I have the ride there alone but I appreciated them coming with us. Even Jody came along.

  After waiting to see what my latest scans showed, the nurses got me set up in a bed in my own private room. Until they got everything ready for me, the Kennedy family and me just hung around telling jokes and tried to ignore the inevitable.

  “What about you, Kayson? You and Conner going to have little tattooed babies anytime soon?” Layla asked, making Kayson squirm and Conner’s eyes pop out.

  “What?” Kayson asked. “We’ve been together for five minutes; I love him but I’m not knocking him up any time soon.” He teased, earning a light smack from Conner.

  “What about ya’ll?” She asked Kingsley. He must’ve known it was coming because he turned to me and winked before answering.

  “Nah, not for a while. He’s gotta marry me first.” He answered. I wondered if anyone else noticed all the air sucked out of the room because I was finding it impossible to breathe.

  “Aww, did you just propose?” Kayson nudged his little brother and laughed. Kingsley wasn’t laughing, he was still looking at me.

  “If I did, do you think he’d say yes?” Kingsley asked, still looking directly at me. My chest was hurting and the heart monitor was beeping erratically. Someone was surely going to come in here in a minute to see who was running a marathon.