King's Treasure (Oil Kings Book 3) Marie Johnston (books to read to get smarter .txt) 📖

Em sidled past us. She shot a disappointed look at Savvy and a knowing one at me.

Savvy noticed and straightened. “But I’ll figure something out.”

Mrs. Abbot’s smile was serene. She’d gotten her way. “I won’t need Davis’s services today so take as much time as you need.”

As much as I appreciated her looking out for me, and the pang of longing a concerned mother figure inspired inside me, I didn’t need her permission. If Dad could see this, he wouldn’t believe I was the same kid he’d told a hundred times to quit standing on his horse’s back while out riding. The same kid who’d ridden off whenever he wanted and been gone for hours.

I had to use a driver now.

“I’ll grab my coat,” said Savvy.

She wouldn’t need much this time of year. Winter was giving way to spring and we were in a city covered in buildings. I had a shirt under my flannel and my jacket wadded up in my backpack. My camera was slung around my shoulder.

Savvy got her jacket out of the closet. I held a hand out to help her shrug into it, but she didn’t see as she twirled it around to put her arms in. I hooked my fingers in the laptop bag’s strap across my chest but that didn’t make me look less awkward. I didn’t dare glance at Savvy’s sister in case she was silently laughing at us.

Savvy zipped her coat. “I’ll grab my computer and be right back.”

“How lovely,” Mrs. Abbot said as Savvy scurried away. “Where are you going?”

“A coffee shop, probably.”

Mrs. Abbot lifted a manicured brow, waiting for specifics. I had none. I changed it up each day. I had a feeling Mrs. Abbot wouldn’t understand.

Savvy came down the hall.

“Well, you two have fun.” Mrs. Abbot led Em the way Savvy had come.

An engine idled outside. Davis. Our ride.

Savvy stopped in front of me. “Are you sure you don’t mind? I have a lot of work to do, and I don’t want to interfere with yours.”

I thought about how the last several minutes had gone. And how uncomfortable our afternoon would be if we kept up like this. Two adults, leaving on a chaperoned trip.

“What do you say we ditch Davis, find a nice place to get some work done, and then fuck our work and have some fun?”

Her eyes flared. She mouthed fuck our work and peered down the hall where her mom and sister had disappeared. Her wide eyes turned to me, but instead of being scandalized, they were filled with mounting excitement. “Why do I feel like I’m skipping school?”

A slow grin spread across my face. “Ready to sneak out together?”

Chapter 10

Savvy

I tried to decipher the rail map, but it was a mass of rainbow lines. We’d been in and around the city, then we’d taken to riding the metro all over.

Xander leaned in, his hot breath tickling my ear. “You’re so lost.”

I giggled and traced my finger along the map kiosk at the station. “Correction. We’re so lost.”

“Why don’t we find a place to eat while we figure out how to make it back home?”

I shot him an accusatory glare. “You could get back, couldn’t you?”

His grin was unrepentant and chased away the chill, infusing my body with warmth, reminding me how my favorite part of the day was waking up with him in bed next to me. How I wished I could roll over and wiggle into his embrace.

But as each day passed, the space between us grew further and further until an emotional chasm separated us, one so expansive I didn’t know how to cross it. So I kept working. It was what I knew. Work for my parents, prove myself, then try to be brave again and try not to fail. Again.

This day was what I needed. What both of us needed. We’d worked at a coffee shop after Xander had somehow talked Davis into leaving us alone the rest of the day. After a few hours, he’d asked if I’d ever taken the bus.

And there we were.

“I could, but this is more fun.”

“Watching me get lost?”

His grin widened and I turned back to the map, a smile dancing over my lips. This was fun.

My stomach rumbled. We hadn’t grabbed more than a drink and a snack between rides. I pressed my hand to my belly to keep it quiet.

“You’re hungry. Come on.”

“Shouldn’t we get back?” I wasn’t sure where back was, and I was in charge of figuring that out. I didn’t even know where I was now.

Wow, I’d lived a sheltered life.

“We don’t have a curfew,” he said.

I sighed and rested my hip against the kiosk. “It’s bad, isn’t it, the way Mother insists on Davis driving you everywhere.”

The humor faded from his face. “It isn’t good.” He crowded closer to me until I tilted my head back. Was he going to kiss me?

Lowering his head until our lips touched, he kept the kiss light until I was ready to go out of my mind. More, dammit. Give me more. I’d been craving this, only to starve without it each day.

He continued teasing me. Then he pulled back, his gaze sweeping over my face.

My lips formed a troubled line. He didn’t want to kiss me as badly as I wanted him to.

“You look disappointed,” he said.

“I am,” I admitted.

He leaned in again and pressed his lips along my jawline once, twice, until he reached my ear. His hot breath tickled my ear and sent shivers exploding over my body, but it didn’t help the confusion clogging my brain. “That’s only a taste of what going to bed next to you and not touching you is like. I’ve been hard as a fucking rock every day since we first met. I want you, Savvy. That hasn’t changed. Ever.”

My breath hitched. That’s what it was like with him when we were on our own. Fun. Light. He was an assault to my senses. A delectable dessert I hadn’t