Californian Kings: Conquering King's Heart

He took a breath, inhaling the fresh, clean scent of her, then reached out and skimmed his fingers through her thick, soft hair. His gaze moved over her, settled on her mouth briefly and then lifted to meet her troubled eyes. “And now you’re admitting it?”

She deliberately released her hold on the quilt and it swished to the floor at her feet. Moving into him, she slid her hands up over his chest and then hooked her arms behind his neck. “I’m admitting it. I’ll even write a retraction to the paper, if you want.”

He gave her a lazy smile, dismissing the irritation of seeing her letter in the paper in favor of enjoying having her in his arms. “I think I prefer a more private apology.”

“Oh, I’m not apologizing,” she corrected, going up on her toes to kiss him once, twice. “I’m just saying that I’m revising my opinion.”

“Enough to consider making Bella’s Beachwear a part of King Beach?” he asked.

She huffed out a breath. “Enough to think about considering it.”

He laughed a little. “I can live with that.”

Then he picked her up, carried her to the bed and lost himself once again in the wonder of her.

Chapter Nine (#ulink_2e9b007c-3111-51ac-98ec-d329f42ff177)

Everything was different, Bella thought.

Since that incredible night with Jesse a few days ago, they’d been together nearly every day. She was at King Beach or he was at her shop and they were talking business. He’d asked her advice on how to make his swimwear “greener” and had actually listened to her opinions. He was meeting her weavers and seamstresses and still trying to talk her into joining King Beach.

And for the first time, Bella was tempted. She still wasn’t interested in success just for the sake of making money. But he’d dangled the hope of reaching women nationwide with her specialty suits and that was something she couldn’t easily dismiss. With King Beach, she could find ways to make her cottage industry viable in a bigger setting and still maintain the kind of quality she insisted on.

But more than all that, being with Jesse was becoming the best part of her days. And nights. They were together every night now. At his house. At her house. On the beach, recapturing their very first time together. Her heart was full. She felt…amazing.

And she was terrified.

Bella was in love and just knew it wasn’t going to end well. Despite how attentive he was now, Jesse King was simply not the forever kind of guy. Sooner or later, he’d get tired of what they had and he’d move on. And Bella knew the pain that was headed her way was something she might never recover from.