Page 36 of Merciless King

He was shirtless, hands wrapped and curled into fists. His expression was fierce, and he was punching the bag hanging to one side of the room with a force so hard I jolted every time his fist made contact with the black leather. He must have come in right after I walked out to change, because there was already a sheen of sweat coating his upper body.

He growled and smashed the bag again, harder than before, and I jumped.

His head twisted toward me sharply and he froze. “London?” He dropped his hands, and grabbed his phone, turned down the music then started toward me. “What are you doing here? Is everything okay?”

I managed a nod, at least I think I did. How was I supposed to function when I was faced with a sweaty, intense, shirtless, drop-dead sexy Van King?

“London?” he said again, more urgently. “Are you okay?”

I shook myself out of my lust-induced stupor and nodded. “Yes.” I was talking too loud again. “Ruby offered some self-defense lessons and I took her up on it.”

He rubbed a hand over his hair, causing his biceps to bunch really nicely. “Yeah?”

“Yep.”

“How did it go?”

He’d moved closer. “I loved it. She’s an excellent teacher.”

His stare had grown darker. “I’m glad. It’s a good idea.”

“I thought so.”

“You doing okay?”

It had only been a day since I’d last seen him. “Yep. Doing great!” Now I sounded like an excited Chihuahua.

He grinned and tucked my hair behind my ear.

I stilled and so did he.

I wanted to reach up and kiss him, but that would be a terrible idea because nothing would change. Van still wouldn’t want more than what we’d shared on his couch. I couldn’t do that to myself.

I dropped my gaze to his chin. “It was good to see you,” I said, again too brightly.

“London—”

“I better go. Ruby’s waiting.”

I spun away and rushed out.

* * *

We ate at a little café around the corner from my store. It was nice. Connor was nice. Attentive, attractive, funny. I liked him. A lot.

When we walked out, he took my hand and we headed back to the store. It felt strange, but I let him. Finding your happy, remember! He smiled down at me and I smiled back.

We hadn’t talked much about my case, only that he should have the DNA results later that day, and after that he avoided the subject completely, which I appreciated. I tried my best to stay upbeat, to ask questions, make eye contact—all things I’d learned to help make my difficulties in social situations easier. I thought it was working, but it was hard to stay focused. Despite Terrence Ferida being behind bars, I hadn’t been sleeping.

But thinking about him and what could have happened wasn’t the only thing keeping me awake…

“I had a nice time,” he said, pulling me to a stop outside my store. “Look, I shouldn’t be doing this, I’m still working your case, but I’d like to see you again.”

I could see Erin inside serving a customer.

When I looked back at him, he was staring down at me, waiting for my answer. He really was a great guy. I wanted to want this so bad. But forcing it wouldn’t be fair on either of us. “I’m not sure…”

He leaned in and brushed his lips over mine, soft and sweet. Nice. But there were no sparks, no chemistry. I didn’t feel like I might explode if I didn’t get closer to him, like I did when Van kissed me.