The King

  The King

  A Gentlemen Rogues Novel

  Nana Malone

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Saffron

  Chapter 2

  Saffron

  Chapter 3

  Lachlan

  Chapter 4

  Saffron

  Chapter 5

  Lachlan

  Chapter 6

  Saffron

  Chapter 7

  Saffron

  Chapter 8

  Lachlan

  Chapter 9

  Saffron

  Chapter 10

  Lachlan

  Chapter 11

  Lachlan

  Chapter 12

  Saffron

  Chapter 13

  Lachlan

  Chapter 14

  Saffron

  Chapter 15

  Saffron

  Chapter 16

  Saffron

  Chapter 17

  Lachlan

  Chapter 18

  Lachlan

  Chapter 19

  Saffron

  Chapter 20

  Saffron

  Chapter 21

  Saffron

  Chapter 22

  Saffron

  Chapter 23

  Lachlan

  Chapter 24

  Saffron

  Chapter 25

  Lachlan

  Chapter 26

  Saffron

  Chapter 27

  Saffron

  Chapter 28

  Lachlan

  Chapter 29

  Lachlan

  Chapter 30

  Saffron

  Chapter 31

  Lachlan

  Chapter 32

  Lachlan

  Chapter 33

  Saffron

  Chapter 34

  Saffron

  Chapter 35

  Lachlan

  Chapter 36

  Lachlan

  Chapter 37

  Saffron

  Chapter 38

  Saffron

  Chapter 39

  Lachlan

  Chapter 40

  Lachlan

  Epilogue

  Lachlan

  Also from Nana Malone

  Nana Malone Reading List

  About Nana Malone

  1

  Saffron

  It wasn't like I was sneaking out.

  I was a grown adult, and I could do what I wanted.

  Except it was midnight, and I was sneaking around the back of the property. The moon hung low in the sky, brightening up the whole side of the gardens and expansive rolling hills, bathing the grounds, and subsequently me, in bright light.

  Shit.

  When I told Tabs I would handle the midnight run down to the shops three kilometers away to get ice cream, I hadn't wanted to risk going out the front in the likelihood that my brother would see me, stop me, and ask me a whole slew of questions I didn't feel like answering.

  Big brother Gabe had all kinds of rules about my presence on the compound. Which was bullshit, because dammit, I was a grown ass adult.

  So really, he was forcing my hand.

  You could just move out.

  I could, but that would be surrender. Besides, the enormous compound that was the Gentlemen Rogues headquarters was my home. So for now, I'd stay subversive.

  Dressed in all black, I kept to the shadows along the edges of the trees heading toward Tabatha's car on the north lot. She’d left it parked at the bottom of that hill, and her keys jingled in my pocket as I headed that direction.

  She liked to see if she could find a way to sneak onto the property. Every time she managed it without someone stopping her, she gave herself a high five and then properly closed up that security gap. We all had our oddities. I wasn't going to begrudge Tabatha hers.

  When I passed the training lodgings, I crouched under a window by one of the hydrangea shrubs. God, this was ridiculous. I should be able to take my own car and come and go as I pleased.

  As if your brother is going to allow that.

  Ever since my birthday three months ago, he'd been a little extra about security. Almost as if he'd known what I was up to. I vanished off the security cameras for a whole four hours, and he'd gone mad when I came home. I'd gotten a lecture, and he'd gone on and on about responsibility. But I'd explained that I'd left the club early and gone to Tabatha's, giving our guys the slip. Needless to say, he didn't buy that for a minute.

  I was twenty-two years old. I hardly needed a security detail. Hell, I was my own bodyguard. I was well-trained, almost always well-armed, and…

  A rustle behind me made me hold perfectly still in the shadows. What the hell was that? Had someone snuck past the perimeter?

  It was one thing to get out; it was a whole other thing to get in. I reached for my phone, ready to make an SOS call if needed. And just as I turned my attention back to my original target, a hand clamped over my mouth and a hard body jerked me up. My body went ice cold and burning hot all at once.

  I struggled against the hold, and a very male voice behind me whispered in my ear. "Hold tight. I don't want to hurt you."

  Hurt me? The fuck? I was going to hurt him.

  I slapped my hand back toward the easy target, his groin. But he blocked it, which left me few other avenues. I clamped both hands on the hand that was covering mine, peeled it down just enough to get my teeth free, and then bit him with every ounce of pressure in my mouth. With a muffled curse, he groaned and released me, pitching me forward.

  I stumbled, but then I caught my balance and whipped around.

  I couldn't see him well in the dark, but he was big. Taller than my five-foot-eight frame at least. Was he familiar?

  “You don't want to do this," I warned.

  "Are you sure? Seems like I'm about to enjoy dragging you in."

  His voice was low and smooth. It sounded like whiskey pouring over rocks, and I could almost see that sort of amberish smoke coming off a solitary ice cube in a glass. Holy hell. Why did he feel familiar?

  “Dixon, is that you?" Ryan Dixon had been a recruit a year ago, and he'd flirted relentlessly, despite the Rogues no-dating rule. He’d been kicked out of training for making unwanted advances toward a female recruit.

  “I don't know who the fuck Dixon is, but I know you're in trouble."

  "Oh, you think so?"

  He lunged for me, and I turned out of the way, sending a strike straight to his throat that sent him sprawling. I was on him in a flash, trying to get him in a headlock. Unfortunately, I didn't have any purchase, so he stood easily, lifting me with him and backing me up against the wall of one of the training facilities. Since no one came running out, I assumed it was empty.

  Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

  He tried to dislodge me, but I had my arms locked around him. My legs as well. With a grunt, he crashed me back against the wall, and I gnashed my teeth, feeling my spine rattle.

  Who the fuck was he?

  He smelled good.

  Sandalwood and male. Familiar. Like a song that was just on the tip of my tongue but I couldn't grasp.

  Luckily for me, he started to sag from the lack of oxygen. He sank to the ground and then pitched forward. I held on for another second. I didn't want to kill him. I just wanted him to pass the fuck out.

  I released my arms, unlocked my legs, and climbed off him. But not quickly enough. His arm snatched out, grabbed me by the ankle, and tugged me down. He rolled on top of me, and we struggled.

  "What the fuck?"

  Again, a hand clamped over my mouth. The moonlight gave me little to go on in terms of his identity. His hair was inky dark, slightly curly, with a lock falling on his brow as he loomed over me. Suddenly, a tingle of awareness skipped my spine.

  I knew him. br />
  No. God, no.

  He was still for a second, and then he laughed.

  Out loud. Head thrown back. And even though I couldn't see his face, I knew his laugh would be rich and warm, which turned my insides into a pooling puddle of need. I knew that laugh.

  He eased his weight off me a little while clamping both my hands above my head as his hands roamed over me.

  "Just what the fuck do you think you're doing? I will scream, and so help me God, if you touch me—"

  "Sweetheart, I like my women willing. And while you are stunning, I generally like women who want to climb into my bed. I'm just checking you for weapons. Who are you? What did you take?"

  Who the fuck did he think I was? He knew me. “I didn't take anything," I muttered.

  "Lay still."

  “I'm sure you've asked many girls to lay still, but I won't be one of them." I lifted my hips and rolled him over. His eyes widened in surprise just before I delivered an elbow to his jaw, wrenching my wrist from his hold. He growled, but by then I'd already adjusted my legs and pinned down his arms.

  "Who are you?"

  Why was he asking who I was? Did he just assume I was undercover?

  I pulled the small knife that I always had strapped to my lower back and held it at his jugular. “You first."

  "My name is Lachlan King."

  What. The. Actual. Fuck.

  He said it without hesitation. What the hell was he doing here? Was he an agent? Had he always been an agent? Had he played me?

  Of course he played you.

  Three months ago when I’d met him and slept with him, I was nothing more than his mark.

  Lachlan

  Who the hell was this woman?

  She was tall. Five-eight maybe? And she was strong. A couple of hits she'd gotten on me were going to leave bruises. And she was wily, staying in the shadows.

  She snapped out a kick and I grabbed her foot. I was probably more surprised than she was because I lost focus for just a moment thinking about how delicate she was. And then my world rotated. My feet were kicked out from under me, and all I saw was night sky and stars as I whooshed out, "Motherfucker."

  "You kiss your mother with that mouth?"

  What the fuck? Was she taunting me?

  The hum of electricity under my skin made me smile. What the hell was wrong with me? Had I been so long without a woman that now any contact was getting me hard? "Nope. But I kissed your mother with it."

  Oh yeah, mature. Real fucking mature.

  She laughed. "Oh God, you’re into necrophilia? My mum's dead."

  The way she said it, the hollowness in her voice, made me realize I'd hit a nerve. A painful one. And the guilt ate at me, even as I quickly rolled. I tucked my right leg under my left, placed my hands down to lift myself, and sprang back up into a defensive position.

  What the hell was going on here? I'd heard her outside my fucking window.

  The residences, as they called them, were guest houses dotted along the property. Each one with three bedrooms. Mine was on the north side of the property. I shared it with Saint, my flatmate for the duration of this adventure. There was also an empty room, and if she'd been on that side of the guest residence, I wouldn't have heard her. But she'd been right under my fucking window, so I'd gone looking.

  When I arrived three months ago, I'd made my escape attempts. More than once. But I lacked the skill set to actually escape. It was after my third attempt that Gabriel Webb dragged me into his office. I wasn't a fan of his. Everything about him screamed SAS.

  Okay fine, prick was what it really screamed. He was overbearing. Domineering. Reminded me of my grandfather and my father. Thought his shit didn't stink. He stared me down and gave me some speech about how I was never getting out of there. It was unnerving. He talked to me about Charlie, about how this place was something Charlie had wanted and had trained for.

  I had to admit, it was a good tactic. It made me listen. He talked about how Charlie had wanted to do something bigger than him, greater than him. And I'd known all of that already. My brother and I were born with the proverbial silver spoons, but Charlie was always looking for some greater meaning. And I… Well, I'd been looking for some greater party. Charlie was the serious one. The one people expected to do great things. I was the one people expected to fuck up.

  And you did fuck up, didn't you?

  I tried to shake off the heat of shame, but I was doused in it. I was here because I had fucked up. And Charlie wouldn't have.

  After my little heart to heart with Gabe, he'd called in the big guns. My grandfather. While I loathed my father with the strength of a thousand suns, I actually respected my grandfather. Not that he was warm or cuddly like most grandfathers. No, he wasn't. But he had actually taken time to get to know me, unlike my father. Some of my earliest adventures were with my grandfather. He didn't say much. He believed in leading by example, and seeing him walk into my prison hadn't sat right.

  And then he'd given me the spiel. Most of it unimportant except for the fact that I would be here for a fucking year. One year to become a better man than I was. One year to get the training my brother was supposed to have received. One year to prove that I could be something more. Whatever the fuck that was, I didn't know. If I chose to leave again, I would be completely cut off. No money, no nothing. Those dreams that Charlie and I had together, all his foundation ideas and things he wanted to do, the things I planned to do, were over. I was in jail for a year.

  And now, this woman was sneaking in here? Why? Was it a jailbreak? I hadn't seen other women trainees. There were some trainers who were women, working on staff, training us, but I hadn't seen any female trainees. Or maybe they were being kept somewhere else.

  Maybe we didn't need the distraction.

  “I don't want to hurt you."

  She stepped forward then, and I felt like I'd been poleaxed right in the solar plexus. Jesus Christ. As the moon shone down on her ebony skin, I could see her amazing bone structure. The delicate line of her jaw to the point of her chin, the almost too full lips, the wide dark eyes framed by thick lashes, and her skin appeared so soft like satin. Dear God, something about her froze me, which was a problem, because when she actually physically came at me, I wasn't ready.

  I was more in the shadows than she was, but she still managed to land a hit to my sternum that had me gasping for air, and then another sweeping kick which put me on the ground.

  "Stay down."

  "Why the hell should I stay down?" I pushed myself back to my feet.

  She came for me again, and this time I was quick enough to shift my feet slightly to the left and turn, grabbing her by the waist with my arm around her neck. I didn't actually close the gap to tighten my hold, but I did plant my hand on her shoulder, so there was no wiggling.

  Her scent washed over me, and I felt like I couldn't breathe. One inhale, and everything in my body went tight. I could feel the blood rushing to my cock and fucking hell…

  I'd never been into this kind of thing before, but Jesus, fighting her was sure as hell doing it for me.

  She wiggled in my hold, and her arse ground right on my cock as I cursed low. “For Christ’s sake, just relax. I'm not going to hurt you."

  She laughed then. Laughed like a crazy person. "Said the lion to the lamb."

  Then she ground on me again, and this time I groaned. "What the fuck are you doing?"

  "Making sure I have my target."

  Her next blow was a direct hit right into my dick. She'd shoved her hips back, creating space between us, and then landed an open-palm smack right in the center of my balls. I had no choice but to release her, coughing as I went down to my knees. I glowered up at her. "What the fuck?"

  I fell forward, too dizzy to think. The bile tried to rise up from the depths of my soul as I tried desperately to keep it down. “Fucking hell. Fucking hell."

  “I told you to stay down."

  I'd fallen forward but then rolled over as I kept a hand ove
r my balls. I figured it was better if I could see her coming than her landing a blow on the back of my head. But no blow came. When I peeled my eyes open, she was standing over me, a look of shock on her face. Lips parted, eyes wide. “It's you."

  Her expression indicated she knew me.

  “Yeah, it's me. It was my dick you might have just severed."

  She stepped forward and almost looked like she was reaching for me.

  I rolled away automatically, forcing myself to my knees. "Who are you? What are you doing on the property? Or are you making an escape?"

  "Who am I? Are you serious?" She searched my face, and her confusion had given way to what looked like annoyance. Why was she annoyed?

  “Yeah, who the fuck are you? Why did you attack me?"

  "Me? Attack you? You're insane."

  "Honey, I'm the one on the ground."

  Her eyes scanned my face, and I locked gazes with her. Her eyes were dark. Soul seers. That's what my grandfather would have called them, soul seers. The kind of eyes that could suck you straight in, peer into your soul, and see things that you didn't want them to see. And I felt like I knew her, like I understood her, and I couldn't look away. Despite the pain in my balls, despite being on the ground with her standing over me about to do whatever the hell she wanted to do on the property, I couldn't look away.

  My gaze dropped to her lips, and I had to swallow hard as a hit of blood to my groin caused another roll of pain. Fuck me. What the fuck was it with this woman?

  All of our rolling around must have caused some kind of ruckus, because I could see the flashlights up ahead, and I nodded that direction. "Oi."