Page 23 of A King’s Obsession

She shook her head but followed, mumbling something about how she should've known I was up to no good.

By the time we reached the section, Malachi was already standing. His eyes traveled down my body before returning to my face, and the smile pulling at his mouth told me he'd noticed exactly what I'd worn for him.

I gave him my sweetest smile. “Hey, friend.”

His eyebrows pulled together as he looked at me. “Friend? That's what we calling each other now?”

I laughed at the irritation in his voice, and Jru snorted beside me. Malachi shook his head before turning his attention toward her.

“You Jru?” he asked, extending his hand.

She nodded, introducing herself with a polite smile. Malachi greeted her before motioning toward the man beside him.

“This E,” he said.

Ezra stood, and Lord have mercy, the man looked even better up close. His eyes briefly landed on me before shifting toward Jru, where they lingered long enough for me to notice. He extended his hand toward her, introducing himself in a deep, commanding voice. “Ezra King.”

“Jru Sinclair,” she replied, placing her hand in his.

I watched as his gaze dropped toward their joined hands before slowly returning to her face. Interesting. There was something about the way he looked at her that caught my attention, but before I could figure it out, he released her hand and turned toward Malachi.

“This the girl interviewing?” he asked, his expression barely changing.

Well, damn. No nice to meet you, no smile, no attempt at small talk. This man went straight to business like being friendly required an appointment. He wasn't necessarily disrespectful, just dry as hell, and apparently smiling wasn't something he did often. Still, I couldn't deny the man was fine as fuck.

We settled into the booth, and Malachi started asking Jru about her experience working at the bar in Rosemont. She sat a little straighter at first, answering carefully, but as he continued asking questions, she relaxed and began explaining the responsibilities she'd handled at her old job.

I tried to pay attention, but Ezra kept distracting me. Every time Jru spoke, his gaze shifted toward her. When she pushed her glasses higher on her nose, his eyes followed the movement. When she turned toward Malachi, Ezra leaned back against the booth, watching her with an expression I couldn't quite read. And when she shifted in her seat, his eyes dropped briefly before returning to her face.

Oh, bitch. I knew that look. He might've been mean, but he damn sure wasn't blind.

I sat back against the booth and took a sip of my drink, hiding the smile threatening to spread across my face. Four days in Westhaven, and things were already looking up. Jru was finally out of Rosemont, Malachi seemed interested in giving her a chance, and Ezra King had looked at my best friend enough times for me to know it wasn't accidental.

I didn't know what he was thinking, but I knew a man checking out a woman when I saw one.

And something told me this was about to get interesting.

Chapter 6

I had a fucking problem, and unfortunately, she was sitting directly across from me wearing glasses she couldn't seem to keep on her nose.

I hadn't expected Jru Sinclair to catch my attention the way she had. Truthfully, when Malachi told me Ashlynn's friend was interviewing for one of the positions at Vice, I'd barely given it a second thought. Shit, we needed people. She needed a job. If she could handle the work, cool. That had been the extent of my interest until I looked at her. Really looked at her. And then I smelled her.

That shit had been fucking with me since she sat down. I didn't know what the hell she had on, but every time she moved, I caught another trace of it. Something warm and sweet with a little vanilla underneath, mixed with something I couldn't quite place. Whatever it was smelled expensive as fuck, and it clung to her without being overpowering. Somewhere between listening to her answer Malachi's questions and watching her push those glasses up her nose for the third time, I'd stopped thinking about whether she'd make a good employee.

She would. That wasn't the problem. The problem was Jru was fucking beautiful, and I wanted her. Bad.

Smooth, rich milk-chocolate skin. A sleek bob framing her face. Pretty light brown eyes sitting behind glasses that should've made her look innocent but were having the exact opposite effect on me. Then there was that burgundy jumpsuit hugging her little frame like whoever made the shit had done it specifically to piss me off. She wasn't flirting or trying to impress me either. Her attention stayed mostly on Malachi as she answered his questions, calm and sure of herself. If she didn't know something, she admitted it. If she did, she explained it without turning a simple answer into a damn speech. I liked that about her.

My eyes dropped toward her body again, and I immediately regretted it. The jumpsuit fit too fucking well. I rubbed a hand over my beard, trying to redirect my thoughts before they went somewhere they had no business going during a job interview. I wondered what she'd look like without all that composure, whether those glasses would stay on when—

Fuck.

How old was she?

The question hit me out of nowhere. I studied her face again, suddenly realizing I didn't know a damn thing about this woman beyond what Malachi had mentioned. She looked young, but I couldn't tell exactly how young, and the longer I sat there wondering, the more it irritated me.

Malachi was in the middle of asking her something when I interrupted. “How old are you?”