4. King

4

KING

Fuck, she's beautiful. I mean, I knew she was, but this close, where I can just reach out and touch her, she's an enigma. I've stared at her since I opened the door, and I should stop. I'm supposed to be a professional cuddler, and instead I'm looking at her like I want to make her mine. I try to look away, but I can't force myself to. "Don't be embarrassed."

She shrugs. "Gah, how could I not? I'm so sorry." She puts her hand on the arm of her chair. "I should go."

"No. Stay. Talk to me."

She doesn't move because there's a knock at the door.

"Come in," I call out.

I stand up as my driver walks into the room. He has a drink carrier with four different drinks in one hand, and he's holding a bag in the other.

I block his view of Haven and take everything from him. "Thank you, Callan. That will be all."

He gives me a little smirk and then turns to walk out the door. I set the items on the table. "You want water, juice, soda, or a shot of whiskey?"

For the first time, a smile plays on her lips. "You had him bring whiskey?"

I return her smile. "Yeah, it calms the nerves."

"Yeah, but I need to drive home. I'll take the water, please."

I pull the water out of the cup holder, put a straw in it, and hand it to her. Very briefly, our hands touch, and my whole body reacts to it. I keep my eyes focused on her, and there's no hiding the fact that she felt it too.

I turn away to hide my smile and pull the rest of the items out of the bag and then hold the candy out to her. "Here you go."

Her mouth drops open. "You got me orange slices?"

Fuck, if she's going to react like this, I'd buy her the candied slices every day just to see her face light up like it is right now. "Yeah, do you like them?" I ask her, when in fact, I know they're her favorite. I did my research on her since I saw her the other day, and after stalking her social media, it was easy to figure out some of her favorites.

She takes the bag from me. "I love these." As she rips open the bag, she continues talking. "When I was growing up, my mom always had these around the house. She didn't buy food or anything else we needed, but she always made sure to have these."

I try to keep my face free of judgment even though what she said makes me want to take her in my arms and hold her until she forgets all about her past. It doesn't help that it is one that I can relate to in a way. I was a foster kid, and I know what neglect feels like, but I try not to think about it. I like to think I put it all behind me. All the neglect, abuse, sad times, all of it. That's why I worked so hard to make something of myself. I had to prove I was worthy.

She puts a candy in her mouth and chews it as she watches me. It almost feels like she can hear my thoughts by the way she tilts her head and looks at me.

I sit back down in the chair and rest my elbows on my knees. "Can you tell me what happened?"

She keeps chewing, and I continue. "Did I do something to cause it?" I know I should feel guilty for doing this. I have no business posing as a cuddler. I researched it and got the basics, but in no way am I prepared for this. But even knowing that, I had to do it. I knew I couldn't get close to her any other way. All I can do is hope she forgives me when the time comes.

She tries to reassure me. "It wasn't anything you did."

"I don't believe you. It started when I closed the door. Do you have trouble with closed spaces?"

She shakes her head and grabs another candy. "No, never," she answers before taking a bite.

"Is it because I'm so much bigger than you?"

She smirks. "You're really not that much bigger than me."

I almost argue with her, but I decide against it. If my size doesn't bother her, then there's no point in drawing her attention to it. But something set her off, and I need to know what it is so I don't do it again.

She's about to get another candy but changes her mind, folds up the bag, and hands it to me. "Take this from me. They're addicting."

"You can have the whole bag. "

She shakes the bag at me. "Take them. I don't need the whole thing."

I take them from her and set it on the table before turning back to her. "So… panic attack… are you feeling better now?" I hate to even say it, but I force the words out. "Do you feel like continuing?"

She seems to think about it, and I'm holding my breath waiting for her answer. "Yeah. I was a little shaky, but the candy helped."

"What do you want to get out of cuddle therapy?"

I caught her off guard with the question. She shrugs and looks down at her hands. "It's all on the intake sheet I filled out."

I nod. "Yeah, but I want to hear it from you. Can you tell me?"

She laughs. "You know, this would be easier if you were ugly."

I sit up a little taller. "You think—"

She interrupts me. "Forget it, I shouldn't say things out loud. I do that a lot without thinking about it. Forgive me."

"Forgiven," I say instantly, even though there's nothing to forgive her for. I appreciate the fact that she finds me handsome, though. It's on the tip of my tongue to tell her she's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, but I hold back because I feel she's one wrong word from walking out of here.

She leans her head back and groans. "What do I want to get out of cuddle therapy?"

I wait patiently for her to continue, and when she looks at me again, she points to the middle of the room. "Do you care if I pace?"

I sweep my hand out and gesture for her to have at it. "You can do whatever you want, Haven."

She gets up and starts pacing back and forth. Her head is down, and it's obvious she's deep in thought. I'm fine with her taking her time and let my eyes travel down the length of her body. I shift in my seat, making room for my expanding dick. My body has never reacted this way to a woman, not just by looking at her, and I know that the longer I sit here and talk to her, the more my attraction will grow. Maybe a part of me had hoped that once I met her, I would be able to move on and forget about her, but that's not going to be possible. She brings out a protectiveness in me and a need to get to know her better.

"Take your time, Haven. There's no rush," I tell her .

She stops. "I thought the appointment was scheduled for an hour."

"I have nothing to do after this. Seriously, take your time."

It's not quite the truth. I have meetings I was supposed to handle today, but I pushed them back. And I bought every appointment slot for the day to make sure there would not be any interruptions.

She has her hands held together in front of her. "Okay, I want to talk."

I lean forward, resisting the urge to pull her into my lap. "Go ahead. I'm listening."