Chapter 12

A s stoppage time wound down, King dribbled the ball around the defender and shifted the ball from his right foot to his left. He sent a lateral pass to Will, who then quickly tapped it back to King, who kicked the ball hard. It bent perfectly, hitting the top left corner of the goal. The keeper had gone the other direction and hit the goalpost in frustration. They'd finally broken the 0-0 stalemate with their biggest rival, and King's teammates crowded him excitedly. The ref's whistle signaling the end of the game came a few seconds later, and the crowd cheered loudly.

"Hell of a game, Spencer." Coach Klopp nodded sharply as King headed to the locker room. Even though it was still damn cold in February, it was the first game of the second half of the season, and Bradley U was currently at the top of their conference standings with no losses and only one tie.

"And no penalties, praise the Lord," Jason chimed in, smacking him on the ass.

King grunted. The last few fall games had ended with a couple of yellow cards and some other stupid fouls. All the games after Halloween , his brain mocked him.

He didn't think about that night if he could help it. And he definitely didn't fantasize about the way Lila had looked in her costume. Shit, he'd had a more-than-half-naked woman grinding on his leg, and it had done absolutely nothing for him. As soon as he saw Lila, though? He got so hard it made him angry.

The whole month following that stupid night, King had made a point to avoid the Brad at times when he thought he'd run into Lila. He focused on soccer, where he could work out his pent-up aggression on the field, and school, where he studied for his finals with an energy he'd never had before. Though he'd always been a pretty good student, he had the feeling that perfect grades just might be in his grasp this time around.

He'd honestly thought he was doing okay until the day Lila had gone out of her way to sprawl all over Knight's lap. Despite himself, his stomach had turned to acid and his vision blinked red. So he'd followed her out the door without even thinking about it first, and she'd knocked him on his ass once again. With her proximity, her coldness, her indifference. The weight that was lifted off of his chest when she'd said there was nothing between her and Knight also made him angry. He couldn't afford to want anyone, to need anyone. He shouldn't give a shit if Lila and Knight were together. But he did.

Dammit, he did.

After he knew that Lila and Knight weren't fucking around, he couldn't help but drive by her place a few times. Or maybe more than just a few. It was like his car just drove there automatically, kind of like the day he'd taken Lila up to the overlook. He chose not to analyze why it happened or why his chest seemed extra tight any time he caught sight of a brunette with long hair who resembled her.

Then he'd had to endure the holiday break with his dysfunctional family. His dad acted like the cheating, entitled asshole that he was, and his mom desperately tried to keep up appearances and pretend that everything was okay as they hosted their annual lavish holiday farce. Being an only child didn't help things. There were no siblings to commiserate with, nowhere to escape. The fact that his father called him "Junior," like he hadn't cut off and ignored his only child, and his mother insisted on referring to him as "Solomon" like it was a designation of distinction, only deepened his sense of entrapment. Solomon Spencer Sr. was a liar, a philanderer, and a shitty parent, and King wanted to excise the burden of carrying around that name every damn day.

And now, even though he hadn't seen either of his parents for the better part of two months, he still dreaded the text he'd receive from his sperm donor. Either praise for scoring or beratement for assisting. In Solomon Spencer's world, selfishness reigned supreme. There was nothing else.

King showered and dressed quickly, not in the mood to socialize. Of course, Jason, Will, James, and Nate had other ideas. They intercepted him in the parking lot.

"Get in, loser." Jason snickered at his own movie quote. "You're coming with us to The Pub."

King gritted his teeth. "The fuck I am."

Nate rolled his eyes and opened the back door. "Seriously, dude, get your ass in the car. My lady's waiting on us." Yup, Nate was dating Julia, one of Lila's former roommates and one of her closest friends. King loved the evil eye she shot him every time she came over. It was a super-fun time for him. But he got into the car, trying to convince himself that he wasn't secretly hoping that Lila was working.

He'd catch glimpses of her on campus, and he hated the way she still twisted him into knots. Hated how he still pictured the way she looked when she'd been with him. How he knew there was a secret side to her that he knew no one else had seen.

King remembered the night they'd gone the furthest with each other, their clothes discarded on the floor, with just the thin barrier of their underwear between them. That was the night Lila had taken him into her mouth and given him the best blow job of his life. She'd done some research, she'd said. Because of course she had. He could still picture her on her knees, looking up at him with trust and a helluva lot of lust, as he placed his hand on the back of her head. Her attention was powerful and heady and terrifying.

The thought of someone who wasn't him experiencing her in her most intimate moments made his frozen heart drop to his feet.

Because their group was too big to fit into a single booth, they were seated in the back room of the restaurant. Julia and a couple of friends King hadn't met were already seated, and her smile lit up her whole face as she got up to jump into her boyfriend's arms.

"Great saves tonight, babe! You looked so good out there."

Nate chuckled and leaned in to whisper something in her ear that made her eyes widen before she ducked her head into his neck. Once everyone was seated, Wren approached the table.

"Hey everybody. I hear congratulations are in order?" she said with a smile, much to the delight of his teammates, then made quick work of getting everyone's drink order. "I'll be back with those and a couple of appetizers, compliments of Bryan the Bradley fan."

Bryan Blaine was the owner/general manager of the restaurant and obsessed with Bradley U sports, so they could always count on some sort of discount or perk when they came in to eat. Which was probably why they all ate there so often.

Soon, Wren was back, with Lila in tow. She notably dropped drinks and an appetizer off at the other end of the table, her eyes refusing to drift over to King's side, and as Wren placed his drink down, she whispered, "Don't even think about messing with my girl today, or I'll spit in your food and not feel even remotely bad about it," and then moved on as if she hadn't just threatened him with her saliva.

Lila's smile was genuine as she said hi to Julia and her friends, as well as his teammates on that side of the table, her gaze sweeping over him briefly, a small, perfunctory smile on her face, before she made a quick exit as Wren circled around to grab food orders.

"I feel so bad she's working on her birthday," King overheard Julia whisper to Nate.

"Wren?"

Julia shook her head. "Lila. Wren told me she actually asked for the shift. Probably to have an excuse to not come to the game tonight. You know she likes to go and support most everybody, but it's hard too, for obvious reasons."

Nate made a sympathetic noise, but then his eyes drifted to King, so King abruptly nudged Jason and drew him into a conversation about next week's opponent. Halfway through the meal, he got up to use the restroom. He walked through the front part of the restaurant and out a side door that led to a hallway that housed the facilities.

After stepping out of the men's room, King leaned against the opposite wall, needing a quiet moment to himself. Seeing Lila again threw him for a loop. Instead of his interest waning, it constantly seemed to grow each time she darted in and out of his life. Damn if it wasn't the most confusing feeling in the world.

If King was being honest with himself, there was a part of him that wanted to track her down, to apologize, to try to start something real with her. The problem was, he wasn't sure he was capable of it. He couldn't subject her to all of his damage and then have it all crash and burn anyway.

It was easier to hurt her now and have her hate him than to attempt the impossible and have her think she could fix what was irreparably broken. The last thing he wanted was for her to pity him, and if she knew everything about him, she would. She'd pity the fact that he'd never seen a functional relationship in his life. She'd pity the fact that he couldn't even utter his first given name without feeling like throwing up.

The door to the women's bathroom opened, and a startled Lila put a hand to her chest. "King! Hi. Um, fancy running into you here. Of all the hallways, am I right?" She forced out a sound King assumed was meant to be a laugh. Her eyes drifted down to the floor then tentatively back up. The awkward silence between them hung in the air.

"So…not to be rude or anything, but is there a specific reason you're creeping right outside of the women's bathroom?"

"That was unintentional." King smiled, just a little bit, because he'd missed flustered Lila. Flustered Lila said and did awkward things, and it was one of the things he loved—liked—about her. Past tense. Definitely not now, still. The tension that he'd been carrying through his jaw? That hadn't lessened because she just half-smiled at him. Not a chance in hell.

"Well, sorry to interrupt your deep bathroom-hallway thoughts, I'm just going to go…" She trailed off, a thumb pointing over her shoulder at the door leading back to the restaurant. King stayed silent as she turned and began to walk towards her destination.

Before King could process what he was doing, he jogged to catch up, gently catching her by the wrist.

Lila stiffened as she turned back to face him, and King immediately dropped his hand. "Sorry, uh, I just wanted to say happy birthday."

Her brow furrowed in confusion as she mulled over his words and then uttered a soft, "Thank you," before turning again.

"Wait." King's voice sounded frenzied, desperate, to his own ears.

Lila turned to him once again, her face unreadable in the dim hall light. "What is it, King?"

Instead of replying, he slowly backed her into the wall. When their bodies were flush, he cupped the back of her neck, his thumb running a path along her jawline. His other hand found the slight curve of her hip, and his fingers squeezed involuntarily. King felt her body tremble, saw her throat bob, her pupils already blown. The electric charge between them was still just as palpable, just as overwhelming as it had always been. He could see the hunger within her, knew that he probably reflected back the same damn thing. And suddenly, all of the reasons he'd been telling himself to stay away from her vacated his mind, replaced by an aching, desperate need that utterly overtook him.

"What are you doing?" Lila whispered. "Because this back and forth, I can't…" She trailed off as King leaned in closer, lowering his head so their mouths were almost touching.

"I've tried my hardest, but I don't want to stay away from you anymore, La," he murmured against her lips. "I'm sorry about Halloween. I was a dick to you. And I know I don't deserve it, but I want another chance to kiss you and fuck you and just be with you. So damn much it's hard to breathe." He moved his thumb down from her jaw to touch the delicate crown charm dangling from her neck.

Lila stared at him for a minute then tentatively traced her hands up his chest, and he closed his eyes at the sheer pleasure of it. He knew she could feel his hardness against her stomach.

"You've driven by my place, haven't you?" she whispered, eyes searching his, brows furrowed together in such a way that made King want to smooth them out as he nodded in reply.

"Why?"

"Couldn't stay away," he confessed softly, his thumb moving to ease those lines of tension. "I can't fight this thing between us anymore. Can you?"

She groaned in frustration, the battle clear on her face. Finally, she spoke. "I can't fight it anymore either. I should, but I can't. Because this"—she moved her hips against him slowly—"feels so good." She sighed and tilted her head back until it softly tapped the wall. Then she leveled her doe eyes on him. "Why do you always feel so good?"

At the sensual tone of her words, his control snapped. His lips were on hers before his brain could tell him to stop, consuming every inch they had access to.

He moved his mouth to her neck, kissing her the way he knew she loved.

"Shit, King, the way this feels…" she murmured.

It feels like coming home. The thought rose, unbidden, and he pushed it away. Because there was no way in hell he was ever going there. He broke away, his voice rumbling in the back of his throat. "No labels."

She arched a brow then nodded. "Nobody else as long as this lasts."

"Agreed." He leaned back in to kiss her again, knowing that they needed to get back to reality but needing more of Lila's luscious mouth. "You coming over tonight?"

Her eyes darkened, her face running a gamut of emotions, all warring for dominance. "Yes."

* * *

King was already opening his front door before Lila was done knocking. After she'd gotten off her shift, she'd gone home to quickly shower and change and was looking delectable, dressed down in a pair of light-pink sweats. She seemed to hesitate, unsure of how exactly to greet him. So he pulled her against him and left her breathless with a kiss that started off sweet and got dirty real quick.

"Hi." He smiled.

"Hi yourself," she stammered, trying to catch her breath. "That was quite the greeting."

"Nothing but the best for the birthday girl."

"Actually, I think we're past midnight, so technically it's not my birthday anymore."

"It's over when I say it's over," King growled playfully. "Plus, you haven't gotten your gift from me yet." At her suspicious look, he clarified. "It's more of a ‘show,' rather than ‘tell' kind of a present."

Her face lit with understanding…and arousal. "My favorite kind of gift."

Hand in hand, they quietly padded up the stairs to King's room. Once he'd clicked the lock into place, he stalked over to her cautiously and took her in his arms, hugging her tightly. He inhaled her unique scent and let his hands roam over her body as she made soft sounds of contentment. "I've missed this," he murmured into the juncture between her shoulder and her neck.

"Same." Her hands found his, and she guided them to the hem of her top. He lifted it over her head and about passed out when he saw the delicately sheer black lace bra she was wearing underneath. He'd been with her before, but he'd never really seen her, not like this. His eyes devoured her, his fingers tracing along the lines of her lingerie as his mouth slanted over hers. King loved the way she opened for him, how she matched the strokes of his tongue with hers. He thrust his knee between her legs so she could grind on him while he teased her with his fingers.

When his hands rounded her back to brush against the clasp of her bra, he paused, waiting for her permission to proceed. At her nod, he removed it from her body, first tracing the roundness of her breasts with his hands then replacing them with his mouth. Her tits were the perfect mouthful, and King loved the way Lila's body writhed as he lavished her beautiful body with his lips, tongue, and teeth.

He laid her down on the bed and then sat back on his heels to remove his shirt. He lowered himself on top of her, supporting most of his weight with his forearms, and hissed when he felt the brush of her nipples against his bare chest.

"Are you ready for your present, La?"

"This isn't it?" she teased then moaned as King ground their sexes together.

"I want to taste you." He reached down to cup her between her legs. "Here." She tensed, just the slightest bit, and King removed his hand. "We don't have to if you don't want to, La."

"I want to, believe me." She shifted, her eyes avoiding contact. "I'm just a little nervous that you won't like what you see or whatever."

He lightly gripped her chin, lifting her face to meet his. "Trust me, I'm going to love what I see. I'm going to love what I taste. I'm going to love it because it's you, Lila Alexander."

"You say the nicest things," Lila said with a knowing smirk, bringing King back to that hot night in his car. But there was also a tenderness in her eyes that made King feel utterly exposed. Instead of dwelling on it, he slid down her body, removing her sweatpants first so he could take in the miniscule black lace thong she was wearing. He ran his tongue over the lacy material, eliciting a surprised-sounding moan from her. He pushed the fabric aside and swirled his tongue around her clit then dragged it lower.

"Fuck, La, you're perfect." His restraint abandoned him the moment he tasted her. He ripped off her underwear and dove back in, his tongue alternating from teasing her clit to penetrating her center. And when she came? He didn't want to come up for air. He wanted to live between her legs.

Reluctantly, he moved back up her body and kissed her hungrily.

"I liked that present," Lila whispered, her cheeks beautifully flushed, her body languid and relaxed.

King laughed as he ran his fingers through her hair. "I'm glad. Nothing but the best for you, La."

"King…" She hesitated, and he stiffened with worry.

"What is it? Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"

"No, nothing like that. You were amazing. I just…" Lila's amber eyes held his. "I don't want you to stop."

King stilled. "Are you sure? Because once we do this, there's no going back."

"I know. I'm ready, King. I want to have sex with you. If you want to, that is."

He grinded his erection over her core in response. "I want to, La. Fuck." He leaned down to kiss her deeply. "I'll be right back." King went into his ensuite bathroom to grab a clean towel and retrieve a strip of condoms from the vanity drawer.

When he returned, he paused a minute, taking in the beautiful naked form stretched out before him. The crown charm of Lila's necklace caught the dim lighting from the lamp in the room, and her raven hair was spread out in beautiful waves. All of a sudden, he was nervous. He wanted her first time to be perfect. He'd been careless with her before, and she was giving him another chance. He wanted to show her he was sorry, that he understood that this meant something. What, he wasn't sure. But this wasn't a meaningless fuck, not to him.

King dropped the condoms on the bed then leaned over to lift up her hips. He put the towel underneath her. "For when you bleed," he said, stopping to kiss the inside of one of her thighs.

Then he stood up and shucked off his pants and briefs in one swift motion. King ripped a condom off of the strip and opened the package with his teeth. He could feel his erection swelling to the point of pain as Lila hungrily took in the image of him rolling the condom on.

"Keep looking at me like that, and this will all be over before it's even begun," King said, only half joking, as he climbed back over her body. He started sliding his length over her, getting her ready for him.

"Can't have that, can we?" She smirked, moving her hips to meet his. Her tongue swiped at his lower lip, so he took her mouth again as he picked up speed. Then finally, finally, he positioned himself at her entrance, making slow, purposeful movements as he sank into her inch by inch, stretching her as he went.

Her moans were a mixture of pleasure and pain as he continued to sink inside. Once he was fully seated, he held still. "Okay, La?"

She breathed shakily. "Better than okay. But I think I need you to move now, King. Make me feel good."

And so he moved, his fingers linking with Lila's as he started with shorter strokes that continued until her pleas of "harder" and "faster" took him to another place, one where he was claiming her all for himself. They fit together, somehow, and as King got closer and closer to his release, he changed the angle so that he could grind against her just where he knew she needed it. Because he wanted her to come again. He needed her to come again.

As soon as he felt her spasm around him, her unintelligible, pleasured sounds signaling that she'd shattered again, King felt himself come undone as he finally let go.