Ruthless King

“Want to guess what my answer is going to be?”

No.

Sheesh.

“But—”

“I know you don’t know me that well, friend,” he said in a low voice. “But I don’t like when people argue with me.”

“Oh yeah? What do you do when someone argues with you?”

“I kill them.”

She could feel the color draining from her face as she gaped at him.

Killed them?

All right. You knew he was dangerous, so why are you acting so surprised?

Perhaps because you keep lusting after him and failing to see the bigger picture?

That he was a dangerous man.

“Right. Well, I was joking. Maxim keeps telling me it freaks people out when I try to do that.”

“J-joking?” she gasped.

“Yes. It was a joke. I don’t go around killing people who argue with me. If I did that, I wouldn’t have any brothers left.”

Jilly swallowed heavily. “Oh. Ha-ha.”

“That was the worst attempt at a laugh I’ve ever heard,” he told her bluntly.

“What? Rude. I’m an excellent actor.”

“No, you’re not.”

“I am so! I played the puppy in Annie when I was twelve and I made an excellent puppy.” Of course, it had been a play that just Jilly she and her mama had put on.

“Hmm, now that I could believe.” He ran a finger down her cheek. “But you still have to do what I tell you. Without argument.”

9

Who did he think he was?

Without argument? Ha!

Jilly narrowed her eyes at him. But just as she was about to bite back, she remembered that she was trying not to piss this man off.

Danger. Danger.

It seemed that her self-preservation was kicking in.

Finally.

And really, if he wanted to clean up her mess, who was she to tell him no?

“All right.”