Chapter 20
“Hurry up,we’re going to miss the kickoff,” Laura adjusted the pillow behind her on their new leather sectional and propped her feet on the large ottoman in front of her. She sat the freshly made popcorn beside her and checked to make sure she had plenty of soda in her glass. King, wearing a dark purple LSU Tigers shirt, reached across her lap, snagging a handful of popcorn and she playfully slapped his hand. “My food. Get yourown.”
He put his arm around her shoulders and yanked her up against his side, burying his face in the crook of her neck. “Whatever is yours is mine.” And then he nipped gently, sending an automatic wave of chills skittering across herskin.
She giggled, snuggling even closer. “I think you have that backward. It’s whatever is mine, isyours.”
King tipped her chin toward him. “You already know that, chère... You have everything of mine. My house.” A feather kiss to her lips. “My heart.” He kissed her again. “Mysoul.”
She melted in his arms, forgetting the popcorn completely. Unable to help herself, she leaned in and took his lips. The kiss was brief, but thorough, and when she finally pulled back, she had to catch her breath. King glanced down at her, a rakish, faint desire in hisgaze.
“Get a room!” Juarez strolled in the side doors; a plate stacked high with nachos in his hands. Instead of setting the huge platter on a sidebar, he walked right in front of them and settled on the couch next to Laura. “I could get used tothis.”
King leaned all the way across Laura, purposefully pushing her back into the couch and snagged a chip covered in cheese and hamburger crumbles. He popped it into his mouth whole and chewed it up before leaning back in his place. “You know, it actually turned out to be a good thing that your brother decided to blow up half of thecompound.”
Laura stared at him as if he’d lost his mind. “Howso?”
“We would never have gotten around to getting this new TV or couch,” King saidnonchalantly.
Juarez snorted and rolled his eyes. “Brother, that’s not a TV, that’s a moviescreen.”
King shrugged. “I had to make sure my girl could see it clearly. Didn’t want her straining her eyes or anything. We’ve only got room for one person with vision problems in this family.” King squeezed her. Laura burst out laughing. Juarez stared at both of them like they were going crazy. “Did he just crack ajoke?”
Laura laid her hand against King’s jaw, marveling at how he’d changed. In a few short months, he’d completely opened up to her, sharing everything. He was still rough, and mostly quiet, but the hardness about him wasgone.
“Have you got room for a few more?” Diggs strolled into the room balancing a plate of chicken wings in one hand and a plate of hamburgers in the other. “Hey, Laura, Audra said she needs your help with Faith’s hairbow.”
Laura rose from the couch. King wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back down into his lap. “Don’t be gone long.” He reached around and squeezed her leg, his hand sliding awfully close to herrear.
Laura jumped up, beating a hasty exit from the room before he did something like kiss her senselessagain.
She jogged up the stairs and straight to Audra and Diggs’s room. “Audra?”
“In the bathroom,” she calledout.
Laura crossed the room and then clapped her hands in delight. “Faith, you lookamazing.”
Faith grabbed her bright blue and orange jersey and turned this way and that, admiring herself in Audra’s floor-length mirror. A matching set of blue and orange leggings covered her legs and a huge matching bow sporting tiny alligator heads sat on top of a highponytail.
“We’re almost done, I just wanted you to see before everyone else,” Audrey said with amusement and then dropped to her knees in front of Faith. “Ready for the facepaint?”
“Yes! Yes!” Faith bounced on herheels.
“Okay, be still, honey, so Miss Audra can make itperfect.”
Audra uncapped two make-up sticks, one blue, one orange, and drew a couple of thick lines under each of Faith’s eyes. “Laura, hand me that sticker up there on the counter and that wet washcloth besideit.”
Laura did as instructed. Faith tilted her head and Audrey placed the temporary tattoo on the side of Faith’s face, applying it with a wet washcloth. A few seconds later, she pulled it off, made a show of testing it with her hands, and stood up. “Well, Aunt Laura, what do youthink?”
“I think she’s perfect.” Laura held out her hand to Faith. “Are you ready to go show Mr. King your newoutfit?”
“Wait, Kitty.” Faith dove for the stuffed animal on the counter. “I made her match for Uncle King.” She held up Kitty, who now sported a very obviously homemade orange eyepatch.
Laura clapped her hand over her smile. “I think he’ll loveit.”
* * *
“If the girlsdon’t hurry up, they’re not gonna have any food left to eat,” Diggs said a second before he shoved his second hamburger into hismouth.
