Page 21 of King of Temptation

“I know. I didn’t mean… Jesus Christ, I’m so bad at this. I’m sorry.”

“No apologies necessary. Trust me, I had my own issues with my husband’s legacy, for lack of a better word, when we first got together.”

Interest piqued, Goldie glanced around at the crowded tables outside the bakery. “Listen, I live like a block away. You wanna just come back to my place where we don’t have to talk in code?”

Everything about Aria seemed to light up at the suggestion. “Hanging out with my favorite author, in her apartment? Count me in.”

Chapter 8

Goldie

“Wait. You live here?”

“Ah… yeah.” Pausing in front of the door to her building, Goldie shrugged as she punched in the code. “I know it’s kind of expensive but I love how close it is to everything.”

“No, no, that’s not what I mean. I live here. Or I did before I, ah, moved in with Killian.”

“Seriously? What a small world. Wait.” Yanking the door open, Goldie narrowed her eyes as Aria moved inside and made her way to the bank of elevators. “Did you give Brody the code?”

“Probably,” Aria said with a shrug as they stepped into the empty elevator. “I can’t believe we lived so close and didn’t know it. I knew I shouldn’t have let Killian talk me into subletting my apartment.”

Well, that was one mystery solved, though she couldn’t help but feel a tiny bit let down that Brody hadn’t pulled some shady criminal business to figure out a way into her apartment.

Setting aside the annoying disappointment, Goldie glanced over at her new friend. “They let you sublet? I thought that was against the rules.”

Color bloomed on Aria’s cheeks, piquing Goldie’s interest even further. Aria O’Rourke didn’t strike her as the type of woman who blushed easily. “It is, technically. My husband is a very… skilled negotiator.”

Translation, he either bribed or intimidated someone into doing his bidding. It should be infuriating, but it was almost romantic. In a very fucked-up, dark romance kind of way, which she was well aware should not be her yardstick for romantic gestures, but she couldn’t seem to help herself. “I imagine he is.”

“He’s not a bad guy, though.” Aria’s nose wrinkled. “And trust me, I know exactly how that sounds because it pissed me off to no end when my dad and Lottie kept insisting he was a ‘good guy’ when I first met him.”

The elevator dinged to let them out, and Aria scowled up at the number on the display. “Seriously? Not only did we live in the same building, we lived two floors apart? How the hell did we never run into each other?”

“I’m a fairly solitary creature,” Goldie said with a shrug as she pushed her door open. “So, um, this is my place. Make yourself at home.”

“It’s very… pink. Oh, god.” When Aria turned back, her cheeks were roughly the same shade as Goldie’s throw pillows. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. I have a habit of putting my foot in my mouth. A lot.”

“It’s okay. You’re right, it is very pink. Which is the way I like it.” Shrugging, Goldie placed their boxes on the counter and opened a cabinet to reveal her equally pink plates and matching cups. “I figured I don’t have to share my space with a boy so why shouldn’t it look exactly the way I want it to?”

“I actually love that. I never really did much with my apartment. Or my dorm. And I’m pretty sure my parents bought ninety percent of the decorations for my bedroom growing up.”

Dishing up a cupcake and slice of strawberry roll for each of them, Goldie carried their treats over to the coffee table in the living area. “I’ve got water, milk, coffee, and soda if you want something to drink.”

“Milk would be great, thanks.” Cupping her stomach, which had popped significantly since the first time they’d met, Aria lowered herself down onto the couch. “I’ll have to text Killian if I have anything with caffeine in it, and he’s already going to be growly enough about me sneaking out of the house without a guard. No reason to give him any more ammo.”

Heart lodged firmly in her throat, Goldie poured her guest a glass of milk and herself another coffee. “So Killian is your…?”

“My husband, and the bane of my existence more often than not.” Accepting the glass of milk, Aria grinned up at Goldie over the rim. “And he’s my Daddy, yes.”

It was all Goldie could do to keep her grip on her coffee mug. “So I guess it’s true that kink is genetic.”

Aria shook her head, her dark ponytail flying wildly with the movement. “Considering my dad runs the most exclusive kink club in the city, I try very hard not to think about that, thank you very much.”

“Really?” Excitement bubbled in Goldie’s chest. “Do you think he’d let me interview him? Maybe come by for a tour? I’ve always wanted to write a series centered around a club like that but I don’t know the first thing about them.”

“I’ll ask. But first, you owe me details about last night.”

Heat threatened to engulf Goldie’s face as she cleared her throat. “Well, you know about the main event.” Holy crap, this was harder than she’d expected it to be. She was a kink author, for fuck’s sake. It shouldn’t feel like she was going to explode in a cloud of humiliation just talking about getting her butt spanked.