Breaking through the Bond (Espen Jetties #2)

17. Jamie

17

JAMIE

King smiled at my compliment, but the tension I’d noticed when I arrived at his place was still there in the rigidness of his stance. If I had to guess, he was worried about how I’d react tonight. I knew what I was walking into when I agreed to come with him. Not gonna lie, my stomach was in knots thinking about what the papers might come up with tomorrow.

I’d spent enough time seeing how they covered my brother’s and King’s lives to know it could either be good, or really, really bad. I also knew the only way to have King was to let them dig their fill. Hopefully, growing up before the age of social media kept most of my life hidden from view. I had my fingers crossed that my tie to Tim would be the worst it got, but I wasn’t na?ve enough to think that was reality.

If King was going to relax, I had to show him I was calm and comfortable being on his arm. I tugged on his hand lightly, bringing him farther into the room. Hayes was a few steps behind us. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him move in the opposite direction. I didn’t want him to feel like he had to leave us alone. About to tell him he didn’t need to run off, I saw him walk up to another Jetties player, Jansen, if I had my names correct. Content that Hayes wasn’t running away from King, I continued to move farther into the room. His steps were tight and very formal for King. I stopped and turned toward him. My lips were on his before he got a chance to utter a word. I slipped my free hand around his waist.

The kiss was soft, sweet, and simple. Enough to show him everything was okay. A flash went off beside us, making King pull back. His eyes darted over my face. I lifted my hand and caressed his cheek.

“It’s okay,” I whispered only loud enough for him to hear.

“Mr. Walker, want to tell us who you brought with you tonight?”

King swiveled in the direction of the photographer. I wanted to show King we could do this. That I could do this.

“I’m King’s boyfriend, Jamie.”

That seemed to do the trick. King’s signature smirk with the media lifted the corner of his mouth.

“Do you have a last name, Jamie?”

King pulled me in close. “He’s mine. That’s all that matters.”

“When did you start dating?”

“Dating is such a formal word. Ask me what you really want to know.” King chuckled as a blush stained the cheeks of the photographer. King winked at the man. “Enjoy your night.”

This time King led us around the room. Devon, the Jetties captain and center, walked up to us. On his arm was a man with light brown hair. I remembered seeing them in the papers a few months back, but for the life of me, I couldn’t remember his name.

“Monogamy looks good on you.” Devon held out his hand to King.

King took it and pulled him into a hug. “You’re damn right it does.” He stepped back and turned toward me. “Devon, this is Jamie. Jamie, this is Devon D’Agostino and Lincoln Newland.”

I held my hand out to Devon first, then Lincoln. “Nice to meet both of you.” King had told me Devon and Lincoln were very private. That was something I understood better than they knew.

“Look at who we found.”

I glanced over my shoulder to see Marcus and Kasper. “Just can’t seem to stay away from him.” I gave King’s hand a squeeze, then let go so we could exchange handshakes with Kasper and Marcus.

We talked for a few minutes before Kasper and Marcus were off to greet someone on the other side of the room. Devon and Lincoln excused themselves a few minutes later to find Hayes and Jansen.

King turned us toward the other side of the room, bringing us face-to-face with Tim. I should have known my brother would be here. Should have, but I didn’t think about how quickly people would figure out our connection once they saw us side by side. With our dark hair and dark eyes, there was no mistaking the resemblance. Clearly, we both took after our father in the looks department.

Tim’s eyes widened as Vanessa threw her arms around me. She looked beautiful in a purple dress with mermaid accents along the bottom like a tail. I hugged her back tightly. “Jamie, what are you doing here? You never come to these things, only donate anonymously.” Before I could answer, she let me go and turned her gaze to the man next to me. “I think I’m starting to see,” she whispered to me. Cameras were going off around us, capturing pictures of the celebrities in attendance. Somewhere in all those snaps were pictures of Tim and me together.

Vanessa and I had a great relationship from the moment she met my brother. She was one of the few people who could take my way too serious brother and make him laugh. I gave her all the credit when Tim let himself enjoy the moment. I took her hand and brought her closer to King. “Vanessa, this is Kingston Walker.”

“King, this is my sister-in-law, Vanessa.”

King took her hand in his and pressed a kiss to the back of it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Aren’t you a charmer? Although, I should expect as much if Jamie’s with you.”

Tim came closer. “Guess you decided to jump in.”

“Feet first.”

The sound of silverware tapping the side of a glass filled the room followed by a woman’s voice. “Please, if everyone could take their seats, dinner will be served shortly.”

Vanessa pressed a kiss on my cheek, then wrapped her arm through my brother’s. “I expect to see you two later.”

Tim shook both our hands and guided Vanessa to their table, a few down from ours. I held a hand out to King, who linked our fingers together. “She’s a whirlwind.”

I chuckled, trying to ignore the rumbling mass of nerves in my stomach. There were things I should tell King before he read it tomorrow. But now wasn’t the time. “Reminds me of someone else I know.”

King shook his head. The smile on his face small. “I have no idea who you’re talking about.”

When we reached the table, Hayes had already taken his seat next to Jansen. King took the seat between Hayes and me, with Devon and Lincoln on the other side. Another couple sat directly across from us.

“Jamie, this is Jansen McKenna, who thinks he’s the best defenseman in the league, and Noah Nordin, who isn’t half as cocky as Kenna. And this striking woman is Emily, Noah’s obviously better half.” Noah balled up his name card and threw it across the table at King.

Emily gently smacked him on the arm. “Knock it off.”

He grinned like she should expect this then turned toward me. “Nice to meet you, Jamie.”

Jansen lifted a hand to me. “I’d tell you to have fun tonight, but you’re with King and damage control might be a term you should familiarize yourself with.”

We’d only barely gotten another word out when the microphone attached to the podium at the front of the room came to life with someone tapping on it.

“Good evening and thank you all for attending tonight’s fundraiser for the homeless shelters.”

After that I tuned out. It wasn’t just staying out of the spotlight that kept me away from these types of events. The never-ending speeches and praises for doing the right thing were exhausting. I couldn’t spend all the money I had. There was no way I needed to be thanked a million times for giving it to people who needed it.

With the first speech done, I leaned over to King. “I’m going to grab a drink from the bar, can I get you one?”

“An IPA would be great.”

I leaned around King. “Hayes, want a drink?”

“Vodka on the rocks, please.”

I smiled at him. “A man after my own heart.”

I pressed a quick kiss to King’s lips and walked over to the bar. Once I flagged down the bartender, I ordered another vodka for me, an IPA for King, and Hayes’s vodka. Someone stepped up next to me and I looked over to see my brother standing there.

“Are you ready for this?”

I didn’t have to ask him what he meant by this . He meant the media storm that was going to hit me tomorrow, once the papers figured me out and did their digging. I turned and leaned my back against the bar, watching King. The way he easily lit up the people around him. I thought back to the night I wanted a distraction from my shitty day at work. The way he came out with me, even though he had to be exhausted from working out. Danced the night away with me. How my skin caught fire every time he touched me.

King had changed things for me. Made me feel things I never thought I would. This was love.

Holy fuck.

I was in love with Kingston Walker.

And that made the answer to my brother’s question that much easier.

“Not in a million years, but he’s worth any bullshit they may find out about me.”

Tim smiled. “You love him.”

“Fuck, how did that happen?”

Tim chuckled, his eyes on Vanessa. “I told you before, it comes and smacks you right upside your head when you’re least expecting it.”

“Yeah, well I never expected it to happen to me.”

“That’s because you were too busy clubbing it away, pretending the world around you didn’t exist.”

My eyes snapped to Tim. “You’re really going to choose right now to start this argument again?”

He sighed but kept the smile on his face. “You don’t get that I’m not trying to argue. I don’t want to, but I also don’t want to see you waste your talents. You can’t hide when it’s all in the open tomorrow.”

“I’m perfectly happy where I am.” The bitterness of the lie hit my tongue.

“No, you’re not.” He clasped his hand on my shoulder. “I just hope someday you’ll stop running from Dad’s words and realize it’s not what he wants that matters, it’s what you want.” I opened my mouth to continue, but he held up his hand. “If I really thought you were doing what you wanted, I’d be fully behind you. The reason I’m not is because I know you, this is stubbornness, not desire.”

Without another word, he walked back to his table, which included Kasper and Marcus Warnes-Wilder, among other corporate business owners from the city. Glancing around their table, I looked at the faces of the people and tried to see myself in them. Except, I didn’t. I was nothing like them. Shaking my head, I turned back to the bartender, who had just set the last drink in front of me. I dropped some cash down.

Drinks in hand, I walked back to the table. King’s hands were flying as he garnered the attention of the entire table. His eyes moved up to mine when I set the bottle of IPA in front of him, then set Hayes’s down, before retaking my seat.

Dinner was delicious. If I could have focused on it more, I might have been able to enjoy it. Instead, I watched the fork as it disappeared behind King’s lips and I wished it was my dick instead of a cool metal utensil. I had a feeling King was doing it on purpose. I didn’t miss his smirk when I adjusted myself in my seat, trying desperately to hide my hard-on. Definitely did not need the papers printing that.

After dessert, the band began to play. Couples flocked to the dance floor. King was right, I couldn’t rock my hips against his to a driving bass beat, but I could hold his sexy body to mine while we danced and waited for the right time to head back to his place and ditch the clothes between us.

I stood up and held my hand out to him. “Dance with me.”

“I thought you’d never ask.” He grinned.

He took my hand and we walked out and moved between some of the already dancing couples. I used my grip on his hand to turn him into my arms. “If I can’t bump and grind with you, I’ll take the next best thing.”

King captured my lips, teasing with his tongue, then pulling back. “Thank you for coming with me tonight.”

“Of course I’d want to be on the arm of the sexiest man in the room.”

“I’ll take that compliment and soak it up for all it’s worth.” He kissed me once more as we rocked back and forth to the slow beat.

I didn’t know how long we stayed on the dance floor. Slowly around us, the crowd thinned until only a few couples remained. I hadn’t let go of King once. I found myself unable to give up the feel of his body, even when the speed of the music picked up.

“What do you say to a private dance in my bedroom?” he asked.

“When can we leave?”

King and I walked off the dance floor together. “Let me find Hayes and tell him we’re going. See if he wants to ride with us.”

I lifted our joined hands to my lips and kissed the back. “Let’s go find him.”

Noah and his wife were the only ones still at the table when we returned. Emily fanned herself. No doubt they’d come from the dance floor. I knew how she felt. If the press wouldn’t have been there, I’d have already ditched my jacket.

King glanced around. “Where is everyone?”

Noah laughed. “D and Lincoln barely made it through dessert before they were on their way. You know D isn’t a big fan of this stuff. And Jansen left to go somewhere with more action. His words, not mine.”

“What about Hayes?”

Noah’s brows drew together. “He didn’t tell you he was leaving? He bailed about an hour ago, said he was tired and felt a headache coming on.”

“I’m sure he didn’t want to interrupt us while we were dancing,” I said.

King nodded. If only I hadn’t seen the change in his entire demeanor. He was worried about Hayes. He had been before we left for the gala. No doubt in my mind that this only intensified it.

I leaned over and whispered in King’s ear. “We’ll find him.” To the others, I said, “Goodnight. It was great meeting you.”

“You too,” Emily and Noah replied.

I led King down from the ballroom to the lobby, ordering a car on the way. It was already waiting at the curb when we stepped out the door.

Worry lines creased his brow as we climbed into the back of the car. I knew what I had to do if I was going to get my happy, carefree King back. As much as I wanted to go back to his place and fuck until the wee hours of the morning, this was the right choice. We had all day tomorrow for hot sex. I leaned toward the driver and gave him my address, then sat back next to King.

As soon as we turned in the opposite direction of his place, King straightened. “Where are we going?”

I lifted my hand to his cheek. “I’m going back to my place and you’re going home to talk to Hayes.”

“But I—”

I covered his lips with my finger. “Everything will be okay. You need to do this, and I’ll be here when you’re ready. We can spend the day together tomorrow, after you’re sure Hayes is all right.”

King kissed my finger then rested his head on my shoulder. “You’re amazing, you know that? What would I do without you?”

I lifted my arm, wrapping it around his shoulder. I kissed the top of his head. “Good thing you don’t need to find out.”

We pulled up in the U-shaped drive at the main entrance of Obsidian Tower. King sat forward, his eyes traveling up the building.

“You live here?”

“Yes, but we can talk about that later.” I kissed King on the lips and stepped out of the car. I leaned back down into the car. “Talk to Hayes and call me tomorrow.”

I shut the door and watched the car drive away. Hopefully, everything King learned from the media wouldn’t send him running. I walked inside the building and straight to the elevator for my floor. Once I had the key in and it was traveling to the top, I wanted to kick myself for not telling King more before we went to the gala.

I would have told him tonight before he read it in the morning, at least what they might find. While that would have been what I needed, it wasn’t what King did at the moment. I’d put on such a show tonight that none of this bothered me, his main worry needed to be Hayes, who obviously had his own problems. Mine and King’s could wait until tomorrow.

Unless tomorrow was too much for him.