Mafia King: A Mafia Royals Novella Rachel Dyken (ebook audio reader .txt) 📖

around his neck.

Our foreheads touched. “You hate me,” he whispered.

“Hate is such a strong word,” I said flippantly as our bodies rubbed together.

Another groan escaped his lips as the water lapped around our shoulders.

And then all chaos broke out as cousins came running toward the shore, stripping and jumping in.

Ash protectively shoved Annie behind him as she undressed, and then he carried her in.

Everyone else didn’t give a shit.

Which I kind of loved.

“We heard yelling!” Serena laughed, splashing in. “And then we saw two naked-ass bodies.”

“Guilty!” I called back. “He goes where I go. I get naked; he has no choice.”

“Yes.” King nodded his head. “Sounds like a good job if naked equals naked.”

Tank barked out a laugh. “Yes, well, in her case, naked could also equal death so…”

“Risk-taker.” King grinned knowingly. “I like your style.”

Tank slowly released me as the ocean became crowded with my cousins, with my friends, family. I loved that they were there.

Including us.

Me.

But I was upset that whatever had just transpired between us was gone as Tank moved over to Ash and started shoving him under the water.

Annie watched with a wistful smile on her face. I swam over to her and laughed when Ash threatened to kill Tank only for Tank to shove him back down.

“Boys,” I said.

“Men,” she countered. “Or have you not noticed?”

“My cousin? Hell, no. I mean…he’s pretty, everyone knows that, but I don’t look at his pee-pee.”

Annie giggled as water lapped around her pale skin. “I would hope not.”

“Pretty sure it’s illegal.”

“Not in Kentucky.” Maksim floated right on by on his back, dick in the air.

“EWWWW, MAKSIM!” I kicked his ass while Annie covered her face with one hand.

He just chuckled darkly and started singing row, row, row your boat, gently across the stream, life is but a penis dream…

“Something’s wrong with him,” I muttered.

I was about to shove him under the water when Izzy beat me to it. He gulped ocean water and then down he went.

She would kill him dead one day.

And he’d only have himself and his sad little penis song to blame.

“Hey!” a man yelled from the beach. Flashlights blinded us as more yelling ensued. “You can’t swim after nine!”

“Lameeeeee!” Junior yelled. “Where’s my gun?”

“I have a knife,” Valerian said helpfully while Violet sighed as if she were disappointed. “What? I do. How else can I protect you?”

“Your fists,” King said stoically. “GOD, STOP YELLING!” he roared toward shore. “It’s like they don’t understand that it’s been weeks since any of us have killed someone.”

Valerian snorted. “Speak for yourself.”

“Showoff,” Maksim muttered.

“Lots of blood?” Junior just had to ask while everyone leisurely made it toward the shore, ignoring the flashlights and yelling.

“Meh.” Valerian shrugged. “Ask Ash. He’s the one who went in for the final kill. Damn knife got lodged between a few ribs.”

“My favorite knife,” Ash swore. “Damn rats.”

I grinned, loving it when they talked dirty because…hello, how else were we supposed to live this sort of life without having a nervous breakdown?

Normalize it.

Justify it.

I didn’t say it was right. Or good.

It was, however, necessary.

“Get out before we call the cops!”

“I am the cops!” Tank yelled, earning laughter from everyone.

I mean, he wasn’t wrong.

“Above the law, bitches.” Ash fist-bumped Tank. “Badge up, bro. We’ve got your back.”

“FBI, FBI!” Maksim chanted, followed by Junior and King.

I was surrounded by idiots.

“Get out!” the security guard yelled again, and another one joined him.

“Playing by the rules sucks,” I said, mainly to myself. “Hey, does this resort still have that super cheesy club?”

“YES!” Junior pointed at me. “That’s the enthusiasm we need tonight!”

We all rushed toward the shore in a naked blur, grabbing clothes, shoes, and running as Ash yelled out, “Twenty minutes!”

The security guards started reprimanding us, but all it took was one look from Tank as he literally pulled out his badge from his trouser pocket, and both security guards shrugged, nodded, and walked away.

Tank grinned and waved. “Gracias.”

I held my dress to the front of my body while Maksim moved next to me in a drunken blur.

“I’m too drunk...” Maksim stumbled in the sand. “But, hell yeah, twenty minutes… Wait, where are we going?”

“I got him.” King laughed.

Valerian helped King get Maksim to his feet, and off they went while I semi-covered my body even more and shivered toward my hotel room.

“Hop on.” Tank stopped next to me.

I looked down.

He sighed. “Yeah, I meant my back.”

I shrugged. “But you understand my confusion, right?”

He gritted his teeth. “You’re not helping, Tiny.”

“That’s one thing you are not…” I nodded. “Tiny.”

“Get on before I get off from that pout,” he barked.

My knees buckled a bit. “W-what?”

His eyes gleamed. “Ah, so she does have a weakness.”

“And what’s that?”

“Sex.”

“Pleaseeeeee.” I forced a laugh. “That’s so far from the truth that—”

I was pinned next to the beach snack shack in a flash, heat vibrating from every part of Tank. “Oh?”

“We’re going to be late.”

“Mmmm…” He leaned in. “Scared?”

“No.” I gave him a shove. “I just don’t like getting poked in the face with dangerous weapons.”

He smirked. “I’m not that tall.”

“You were an inch deep in my belly button. It got weird. We can both wash our eyes with bleach later.”

“Nice try, Tiny. Nice try.” Tank started to turn around.

I used the opportunity to jump onto his back and hook my feet around his waist. “Question, if I orgasm by rubbing across your back, would that be weird?”

“Answer, if all it takes is my back to give you an orgasm—damn, girl, you’ve been doing it wrong this entire time.”

I gasped and jumped off his back.

And then I was silent as we walked back toward our bungalow.

He didn’t turn around when we got through the front door.

But I did hear the shower turn on.

I was too stunned by his playfulness.

By the fact that he wasn’t backing down despite my attitude, my teasing.

It was like Tank had decided something.

I just wished I knew what.

Furthermore, I wished it didn’t make me think that he might actually have feelings for me that went beyond annoyance.

I took a deep