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King's Pleasure
Adrianne Byrd
The sexy King brothers own a successful bachelor-party-planning business and a string of upscale clubs across the country. What could be better than living the single life in some of the world's most glamorous cities?Finding a woman worth giving it up for…Jeremy King's brothers may have turned in their player cards, but that just leaves more action for him. Like the gorgeous, bikini-clad party crasher who saunters into the Malibu bachelor bash he's hosting. Leigh Matthews wants Jeremy, but just for one last fling. And what Leigh wants, she gets.Unable to forget their amazing connection, Jeremy is stunned when weeks later Leigh hires his company–to plan her bachelorette party. Leigh has her reasons for getting married. But after their night of unbridled pleasure, Jeremy doesn't believe she's truly in love. Now he's got six weeks to convince her that their incredible Malibu night was only the beginning.…
KING’S PLEASURE
King’s Pleasure
Adrianne Byrd
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
To Alice: Forever my inspiration
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
To my family and friends, thanks for all the support
and love that you’ve given me.
To my editor, Evette Porter, for helping me
through one crazy year. To my wonderful fans
and readers, thank you for allowing me to do
what I do. It’s always a pleasure to entertain you.
I wish you all the best of love.
The House of Kings series
Many of you have followed the Unforgettable series, which morphed into the Hinton Brothers series. Now I’m introducing you to the Hintons’ playboy bachelor cousins—the Kings.
Eamon, Xavier and Jeremy, along with their infamous cousin Quentin Hinton, are business partners in a gentlemen’s club franchise called The Dollhouse. One of their most popular and lucrative specialties is their bachelor party services. With clubs in Atlanta, Las Vegas and Los Angeles, the brothers are determined to make sure their clients’ last night of bachelorhood is one they’ll never forget. But it’s not as easy as it sounds dealing with hotel managers, outrageous clients and, of course, the entertainment. The brothers are prepared for anything…except when love comes knocking on their door.
In King’s Pleasure, Jeremy King meets beautiful Malibu party-crasher Leigh Matthews. Within minutes, he knows that she’s a woman who is used to getting whatever she wants. And for one wild night, she wants him. After their torrid, one-night affair, his bikini-clad goddess disappears only to return weeks later to hire him to plan her bachelorette bash. Stunned, he refuses to host her party, but quickly reconsiders. After all, the wedding is six weeks away, and there’s not a sexual trick in the books that he won’t use to try and change her mind.
If you missed the first two books in the House of Kings trilogy—King’s Passion and King’s Promise— both are still available. Better yet, buy all three and enjoy this sizzling summer series.
Remember, in love, never bet against a King….
Adrianne
Contents
Prologue
The Playful King
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
The Girl Is Mine
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
You Give Love a Bad Name
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Rolling in the Deep
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Then There Was One
Chapter 32
Prologue
Quentin Dewayne Hinton was getting desperate. It began slowly, but now it was picking up steam. A part of him longed for the days when he was reckless and carefree—drinking by day, screwing by night. Why, oh why, did it have to end? Deep down, he knew the answer. His carefree life had ended when he became the very thing he detested: a successful businessman.
In the beginning, of course, it had been fun. But that was only because he had joined forces with his cousins, the Kings. And just like the three Musketeers—there were four of them. But as the late, great Biggie Smalls said: “More money, more problems.” And Quentin’s biggest problem seemed to follow him around wherever he went.
“Let me get this straight,” said Father Dickerson, braiding his fingers together. “You want me to perform an exorcism on you?”
Quentin coughed to clear his throat. “Well, me and my house…and my car. And if it’s not too much to ask, at this club that I work at.”
“You mean the strip club?”
Q coughed a little harder this time and straightened upright in his chair. “I guess for a lack of a better term… Uh, yes. I, uh, own a chain of strip clubs called The Dollhouse. Actually, there used to be four of us. Well, three, really. They were supposed to operate the clubs and I was just the money man—the silent partner. Then they started settling down and selling their shares in the business. The next thing you know—pow! I own the whole kit and caboodle.” He flashed the cleric an awkward smile.
Father Dickerson’s eyebrows crashed together in the center of his forehead. “Son, please forgive me if this next question offends you. But, uh, are you well?”
Quentin actually gave the question serious thought. “To tell you the truth, Father, I’m not sure I’m qualified to answer that just yet. I mean, honestly. I can be frank with you, can’t I?”
“Sure. Absolutely.”
“Good.” Another smile crept across Q’s face as he tried to clear his throat again with a deep cough. “To be honest, I feel fine—better than fine on most days. I mean, how could you own the hottest strip clubs in three cities and not feel upbeat about life, right?”
Father Dickerson just stared at him.
“Well, maybe you don’t know. But trust me. A man like me, still in his prime and surrounded by beautiful, firm, heavily oiled bodies is its own blessing.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” the priest said.
“Yeah, uh, right. Anyway, there has been some un- usual— Well, not quite paranormal activity happening from time to time.”
“Paranormal? Like ghosts?” the priest asked, trying to quickly get to the crux of the problem.
“Well, that’s the ‘not quite’ part of it,” Quentin said, squirming.
“Son, if you’ve come to me for an exorcism, that leads me to believe that you’re seeing or hearing some sort of, shall we say, disturbing spirits?”
Quentin looped the phrase through his head a couple of times, but he was still uncomfortable with it. “Now, does your definition of spirits mean that the person or persons are…”
“…Dead,” Father Dickerson supplied as more lines creased his forehead.
“Well, see, that’s still my gray issue.”
“Come again?”
“Well, the entity that I’m dealing with hasn’t exactly died.”
Father Dickerson continued to stare at Quentin.
“She—”
“It’s a woman?”
“Yes. Actually, she’s my sister-in-law, Alyssa.”
“Your living sister-in-law?”
“As far as I know.” Quentin shrugged. “I mean, I haven’t talked to her in a few months, but I’m sure someone in the family would’ve contacted me if something had happened to her. Then again, who knows? I’m not exactly on the best of terms with my family.”
Father Dickerson snatched off his black-rimmed glasses and proceeded to rub his eyelids. “Let me try this again,” he said. “You want an exorcist to get rid of a spirit that isn’t really a spirit but a recurring vision of a woman who is very much alive? Do I have that right?” he said in disbelief.
“Well, it’s more than just a vision. She talks to me and tries to give me advice—most of the time when I’m not asking for it. She’s made me look crazy in front of some of my dates. Her specialty is popping up right after I— Well just because you wear that collar doesn’t mean you don’t know what goes on between a man and a woman. Am I right?”
When the joke fell flat, Quentin couldn’t cough long or hard enough to clear whatever the hell it was that was stuck in his throat.
“Son, this is probably the first time in my thirty-one years at this parish that I’ve ever said this to someone who has come to me for guidance. I would love to help you, but what you need—neither I nor the church can really help you with. I think that you need to see someone in the mental-health field—maybe someone in a white coat, with the authority to prescribe medication or who can admit you to someplace safe.”
“I’m not crazy,” Quentin declared defensively. “At least my shrink doesn’t think I’m crazy.”
Relief flooded Father Dickerson’s face. “Ah, so you are seeing someone.” He reached over and picked up the phone. “Is there a number or…?”
“What about the exorcism?”
“Son, I can’t exorcise a spirit that doesn’t exist. It is metaphysically impossible for someone who is alive to haunt you. Clearly you are seeing and hearing things that just aren’t there. I’m sorry. I’m sure that’s not the answer you wanted to hear, but that’s the cold, hard truth.”
Quentin shook his head. “Well, can’t you just sprinkle some holy water around? I mean, what’s it going to hurt?”
“Mr. Hinton, are you even Catholic?”
