Rebel North by J.B. Salsbury

Twenty-Three

Gabriella

“Don’t leave.”Overnight Kingston has mastered the art of the pout.

When we got back to his place last night, he revealed his big surprise. He’d cleaned out a section of his closet for me, a drawer and entire cabinet in his bathroom, and a section of his fridge, and he bought a gaming system. He admitted he might never beat me in fishing, but he was sure he could take me down in Fashion Designer and Runway Fashion Week. He was right.

We kissed on his couch until after midnight, and he carried me to his bed, where we spent the rest of our night tangled together beneath the sheets.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end, and I’ve been trying to get out the door for work since eight o’clock this morning. He persuaded me to stay by bribing me with dirty sex and orgasms. He blackmailed me with coffee. Now out of options, he’s resorted to pouting.

“I would stay if I could, but I have to work.” I slip on my shoes and grab my bag.

“Leave your stuff here. I’ll wash it and put it in your drawers.” He looks so pathetic and sexy as he sits shirtless at the edge of his bed, his lower lip out and making puppy dog eyes.

“Stop it. You’re making it impossible to leave.” I lean down and kiss that lower lip. “And I already told you a million times, I’m not moving in with you.”

“Ugh…” he drops his head back. “Fine.”

Such a baby. “I’ll call you later.”

He holds my neck in place and kisses me, this time slipping his tongue between my lips.

“Nope.” I pull away. “I know what you’re doing.”

“Dammit!”

“I’m leaving.” I turn on my heel and head for the hallway.

“Wait, Bee. Hold up.” He scampers from the bed and stands in front of me.

“This better be important. I’m already late.”

“It is.” He studies my face, shifts from one foot to the other, and licks his lips nervously. “I want to try something.”

“You’re impossible!”

“Please, just one thing, and I swear I’ll leave you alone, okay?”

The seriousness in his eyes makes my stomach tumble. Whatever he wants to try, I’m bound to enjoy it. I just can’t enjoy it too much if I’m going to make it to work on time.

He takes a step closer. His hands slide around the back of my neck and into the hair at my nape. He brings his forehead to mine, but his eyes remain open and on mine. “Bee…” He swallows. The hazel in his eyes looks almost yellow this close up. “I love you.”

The air in my lungs leaves on a burst.

He sucks in a breath at the same time, then grins. “Yeah,” he says, almost as if he’s talking to himself. “I love you.” He presses his lips to my forehead and then pulls back enough to see my face, all while keeping his hold at my nape. “Fuck, that feels good to get out,” he says, chuckling. “I fucking love you, Bee. I am in love with you.” His smile grows even wider. “I didn’t know what it would feel like to say it—hey, are you okay? You’re turning a funny color.” He frowns, and his eyes turn panicked. “Breathe, Gabriella!”

I suck in a gasping breath.

He pulls me against his chest. “Are you trying to kill me?” His heartbeat kicks triple-time against my cheek. “What the hell?”

“Sorry, I think I left my body for a minute there.”

He sighs and collapses not only against me but also over me. “I anticipated some kind of response, but you leaving your body was not one of them.”

I hold on to his waistband to help steady myself. “I wasn’t expecting you to say… that.”

“No?” He kisses the top of my head. “You’re not too observant, huh?”

“I’m very observant.” I nuzzle in a little closer.

“And you couldn’t tell that I’m in love with you? I thought after that fourth orgasm—”

“Okay, no need to get graphic.” My face heats against his skin. “Sexual chemistry doesn’t always equate with love. You of all people should know that.”

“Me of all people does know that.” He pulls away and grips my chin to get me to look up at him. “I know what I’m feeling. Don’t doubt that for a second.”

“I—”

“Don’t say it back until you mean it.”

“I was going to say that I might need some time.”

“Take all the time in the world.” He presses a soft kiss against the corners of my mouth. “I’m not going anywhere,” he whispers against my lips.

We kiss, standing in his hallway, until we’re both breathing hard and are unsteady on our feet.

“My Uber is waiting.”

His expression twists in disapproval. “I really wish you’d let me drive you home. It doesn’t feel right sending the woman I love home in a cab.”

I grin, really liking the way his words make me feel.

“Doesn’t feel right sending you away at all.”

“I’ll text you from the car, and I’ll call you later.”

“Come back over tonight.”

“I have to work.”

“I’ll come to you, then.”

“Kingston.” I press my palm to his chest, and his pulse is quickened. “We’ll figure it out, okay? I’m not going to disappear on you.”

He nods and pulls my hand from his chest to his lips, placing a kiss on the inside of my wrist. “Okay. We’ll talk later.”

“Later.” I turn around to head for the door, and he follows me out to the elevator.

“What?” he says when he hears me giggle. “I can walk you to the street, can’t I?”

“You’re not wearing a shirt.”

“I don’t give a fuck.” He intertwines our fingers together and tugs me onto the elevator. His thumb never stops making passes over my knuckles as if he’s savoring every chance he gets to touch me. “I work today, but you can call me whenever.”

“It’s ten o’clock. Don’t you corporate suits start early?”

He shrugs. “If you weren’t rushing off, I’d spend the whole day in bed with you, corporate suits be damned.”

“You sound whipped, Kingston North.”

He chuckles. The sound is deep, dark, and oh so inviting. “More than you know.”

Through the lobby of his building, he gets the attention of both men and women alike. It’s not often a man who looks like he just stepped off the runway walks by topless. Even my Uber driver, Marcos, seems taken aback when he sees Kingston in all his cut-muscled glory greet him at the curb.

“Take care of my woman, Marcos,” Kingston says, then looks down at me. “Get her home safely.”

I meant for the kiss to be quick and chaste, but the moment our lips touch, we fall into each other, and once again, the world around us dissolves.

“Go, or we’ll get arrested for fucking against an Uber,” he growls into my ear.

My body feels alive with electricity, a live wire that he manages to trip with the simplest touch. “I’ll see you later.”

He smirks. “Yeah, you will.” He opens the door for me and leans inside to kiss me one more time before closing it. I watch out the window as we pull away, and he stands there looking like a statue of Spartacus until the car drives out of view.

I’m barely a block away when I get a text from him.

I meant them. All three words.

Kingston

One step off the elevator, and my dad’s assistant, Ms. Vogul, calls my name. She stands quickly from her seat where, judging by her empty coffee mug and banana peel, she’s been sitting for a while.

“What is it?”

“Mr. North needs to see you immediately.” Her eyes are wide as if she’d been worried that she might not be able to carry out her boss’s direct orders. “He told me to grab you as soon as you got here, which Ms. Coleman said should be around eight o’clock.”

“Yeah, well, something came up.” That something being my sexy-as-fuck girlfriend asleep at my side. No way I was leaving the bed before she did. “He’s in his office?”

“Conference room.” She smiles with all teeth as a way of apologizing for having to deliver the bad news.

I knew it was only a matter of time before Coleman ratted me out. She’d threatened me enough, and she doesn’t strike me as the kind of woman who doesn’t follow through.

“Got it,” I mumble and head to what is sure to be a humiliating firing.

As I approach the conference room, North employees gather and whisper around corners. My guess is they heard whatever blow up went down when I didn’t show up on time this morning.

I forgo knocking and push open the door. After all, what do I have to lose? I’m fired anyway.

“Yo, Pops!” I greet August, who looks horrified by my greeting. “You summoned me?”

Alexander, Hudson, Hayes, Medusa, and August sit gathered around the end of the long table. Everyone’s eyes swing to me, except Alexander, who has his nose buried in his laptop.

August stands up, his eyes on me, jaw clenched hard. “Sit down. Now.” He braces his arms at the head of the table, waiting for me to comply.

I pull out a chair and drop into it. Slouched, I drum my fingers on the tabletop and look around the room. “Someone die?”

“Ms. Coleman came to me this morning with a very interesting piece of information,” August says, his voice simmering in rage.

“I’m sure she did.” I wink at her.

She scowls.

“Jesus, Kingston, how fucking could you!” Hayes roars.

“How could I… what?”

“You know what, you pampered little fu—”

“Chill out, Hayes. Jesus,” Hudson says. “Give him a chance to explain.” My brother’s eyes come to me, and I see both disappointment and sincerity there.

“Someone want to fill me on what the fuck you guys are talking about?”

“I told them, Kingston,” she sneers. “I told them everything.”

“So you told them how you were blackmailing me for the dirt on August so you could expose him and take over North Industries?”

She looks at August. “What did I tell you.”

August continues to glare.

“Just tell the truth,” Hudson says. “You’re the one who asked Ms. Coleman to help you take down August. Catch him in a scandal that would ruin his reputation and bring down the company. “

“Ahhh… I see what you did,” I say to the snake in the grass. “You were right. They will believe you over me. Guess I shouldn’t be surprised—”

“It’s over.” August’s voice shakes with rage, and his face turns purple. “Leave. Now.”

I slap my hands on the armrest of my chair and push to stand. “Happy to.”

“Start looking for somewhere to live. Consider this your eviction notice.”

I freeze mid-step.

“You’ll not receive another dime from me. Is that clear?!”

I turn toward the man responsible for my life and wonder why he can’t find even a sliver of trust in me, his own flesh and blood. “Loud and clear.”

“Kingston,” Alex says. His glare is tight and equally enraged, but it’s aimed at August, not me. “You can live with me.”

His words cause something deep in my chest to squeeze tight.

“Thanks, bro.”

I move to the door and grip the handle, but I can’t leave like this. Can’t walk away with so many things unsaid. I suck in a fortifying breath, and with my back to my family, I confess.

“I have a learning disability. Dyslexia, I think. I’m not sure. I’m sorry that I’ve disappointed all of you, but I just want you to know it’s not because I didn’t try.” My hand flexes on the handle, and there’s nothing but silence at my back. “I know you’re going to believe her over me. She wants to take over North Industries, and she threatened to expose my disability if I didn’t deliver information to her.” I push open the door. “I can’t put files in alphabetic order, but you believe I can mastermind the takedown of a multibillion-dollar company?”

As I walk away, I don’t hear my name called. No one chases after me or tells me to wait up.

My phone is in my hand when I hit the elevator.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Bee. You up for a little celebrating tomorrow night?”

“Depends. What are we celebrating?”

“Freedom.”