CHAPTER ONE
Marius
They say savethe best for last, so that must be what this is. I guess it’s my turn to have my story told. Not that it could ever be the whole story. With how close I play my cards to the vest, how could it?
I learned at a very early age to let few people know what I’m actually doing. Most of my life, I’ve been the middle King. Two brothers before me and two brothers after me left me being the exact middle of the pack.
So what did that mean? Well, Matthias was the oldest, so he got all the pressure. And Ronan was the youngest, so he had a much easier time compared to the rest of us. Theo was usually a dick. Surprised to finally hear someone say that? Yeah, it’s not nice to speak ill of the dead, but did you notice how he treated Ava all those years? Dude actually thought he could dip his wick anywhere he chose and she’d always be waiting for him. Serves him right that Matthias took her for himself. And he wasn’t the only brother Theo dicked over. As for Kellen, he’s always been the brother who prided himself on being out of control. I’mpretty sure that was an attention seeking ploy since he wasn’t cool with simply being the second to youngest King.
Now that leaves only me out of the five of us to have his story told. Unlike my younger brother, I never wanted anyone to know what I was doing. Wild or not, it’s best to keep your business on the down low. The less people know, the better.
That means that most people who know my family know next to nothing about me. They can point to my being a photographer or a great pool player. Some mention how they’ve seen my pics in major publications, which is always nice. But truth be told, they really have no idea who I am.
And I love it that way.
Now that it’s time for my story, there are a few things you need to remember or nothing you read after this will make sense. (Like that reference to the beginning of A Christmas Carol? No? Leave the references to the bears? Got it. Let’s move on.)
First, I’ve never hated love. I seem to, especially to my brothers, but no, I do not and never have hated love. Who the hell hates love? Sounds like something a psychopath would say.
What I hated was finding out the first woman I ever loved was a gold digger who only wanted me for my family’s money. Imagine someone dating me only for money when there are so many other great benefits. So fuck Maia. I heard she ended up marrying some insurance guy. Good. I hope for nothing more than for her to get what she deserves.
Second, I prefer to keep my business to myself, and that includes hiding things from my brothers. None of them appreciate the kind of life I want to live, so why keep them in the loop? It’s enough for them to think I spend my time snapping pictures of beautiful women on beaches and then sleeping with them.
Third, and this one is the most important thing to remember, I’ve been hiding something big from everyone in the world but the one person who means the most to me.
So, are you ready? Buckle up because this is going to be a wild ride. Just remember those three things because they’re going to be important. No, there won’t be a quiz after. Don’t be a smartass.
Without further ado, it’s time for this King brother to get his happily ever after. Let’s see how it goes.
CHAPTER TWO
Marius
I swipemy hand across the mirror to clear away the fog left over from the steam of the shower and take a good look at my face. It’s the same face I’ve seen all my life. Just a little older now. The question for me today is do I want to shave?
After seeing Ronan with that scraggly ass beard, I thought I’d never want to stop shaving. Leave it to my baby brother to have a good looking woman shave him and he makes no move to have her. Then again, that King has only loved one woman in his entire life, and that’s Kate, so I guess it’s not surprising he didn’t want to get busy with Sabrina.
Oh, little minx thought she had a golden ticket for the gravy train before I came along to ruin her plans. Like I told him, she would have switched her affections to me if she thought she had a chance, but alas, I wasn’t available either.
Nobody knows that, though, so let’s keep that under our hats for a little while. Everyone can find out in due time about my private life. For now, I want to keep it to myself.
I’d bet a hundred bucks it ran through Sabrina’s mind to try something with Matthias too, just like I told him. He naturally assumed I was crazy and had watched too much porn. Sure, I watch porn, and the nanny and single dad is a popular theme, assuming anyone gives a fuck what people do for a living in those movies. That doesn’t mean I was wrong about Sabrina.
I reach for my razor and slide a new blade in before I look around for the shaving cream. Nothing seems to be where it should be in this bathroom. Then again, I haven’t lived here long, so maybe that’s the problem. I just closed on this penthouse a few months ago.
With a face full of shaving cream and a fresh blade in my razor, I set about cleaning myself up. That’s what you do when the woman you adore is joining you for dinner.
Ten minutes later, my beard is no more, so I head down to the kitchen to find my phone. I check but don’t have any messages, which means she’ll be here soon.
I hear the elevator doors open and turn around to see her kicking off her three inch heels from work. Honestly, how does she wear those things? She claims they don’t hurt and she loves them, especially the red soles. Why women buy shoes because of the color of the soles will always be a mystery to me, but I do have to admit her legs look incredible in them.
“You’re not dressed,” she says when she walks into the kitchen and stops in front of me, that beautiful mouth of hers turned down in a pout. “I thought we were having dinner.”
“We are,” I say with a smile, happier now that she’s here with me. I take a step toward her and stare into those gorgeous green eyes looking up at me since she’s almost a foot shorter than I am when she’s not wearing her shoes. “How was your day, dear? Tough time at work?”
As she slides her arms around my waist to pull me to her, she groans. “You have no idea. You standing here in nothing but awhite towel low on your hips is the best part of my entire day, baby.”
I’ve been with a lot of women, but none of them have ever made me want them more than this woman. It’s like she has some kind of hold on me.
