The Boss’s Runaway (Possessive Kingpins)

I couldn’t get used to Jae touching me. It was like flipping a switch, and his casual touches were melting me into a puddle—in a church of all places.

Dami glared at us as we went to congratulate Vincenzo, and his wife, Suna, Jae’s sister, looked just like him. Gorgeous inky-black hair and golden skin. Her dark eyes were shrewd and assessing as they passed across us, lingering on her brother’s hand clasped in mine.

“Congratulations,” Jae said, kissing his sister.

Suna tilted her face up to stare unflinchingly at him. I knew that look. It was the kind siblings give each other, where they figure out what’s in your head before you know yourself. “I might say the same to you. Mother says you’ve shacked up with some whore,” she said casually, making me swallow the wrong way and start to cough.

Jae put a hand on my back and rubbed warm circles there. Suna watched us both with a look that missed nothing. Vincenzo, her dark, brooding capo husband, moved behind her and looked us over.

Suna tilted her head to rest against her husband’s chest in a move so natural she had to have done it a hundred times. “I told her that if Jae was living with a woman, it had to be the real deal. She’s quite distraught, you know.”

Jae smiled and inclined his head to his sister. “Consider it a push present.”

Suna laughed. “Stop. Vincenzo already gave me some far-flung Italian island he plans to fortify like Fort Knox and retire the entire family. Don’t wait for an occasion to upset Dami. Feel free to do it anytime.” She turned her eyes to me. “So, you’re the woman my mother has spoken non-stop about for days.”

I didn’t know quite what to say. “Right. I’m Kat, the whore, apparently.” I held my hand out to Suna.

She stared at me a moment and then laughed. It was a beautiful sound. She had none of the stiff reserve of her brother. “Women who are going to be my sister don’t shake hands. They hug.” Before I could respond, she pulled me into her arms. She even smelled good, like baby powder and jasmine.

“I’m happy to meet you, Kat. Don’t give up on Jae too quickly. He’s a miserable bastard half the time, but he’s one of the good ones. A rare find in the world we live in,” she whispered in my ear and then pulled back. “Let’s talk later. You can come over for lunch one day.”

Jae put his hand to the small of my back again and ushered me forward. He’d been speaking to Vincenzo, and now, the tall, intimidating man turned his eyes to me. He simply nodded as we walked past, and I felt like I’d passed a test of some sort.

As a small body barreled toward us, we walked up the aisle to the open doors.

Jae tensed. “My parents are coming,” he muttered, sounding irritated as hell already.

I hadn’t heard much about his father, only that he was old and had retired, handing the responsibility of the business over to Jae.

Jae let out a long-suffering sigh as we emerged onto the sunlight street before the church. His men surrounded us, and the instant layer of safety was soothing. Of course, his men would still let his father through.

I frowned. “Did you want to avoid them?”

Jae turned to me, and the gleam in his eyes sent a hot slide of anticipation down my spine. He stepped closer, crowding me against an ornate arch outside the church. His hands went to my waist, holding me captive as he leaned closer.

“What are you doing?” I whispered, my skin heating immediately.

“Improvising. Play along,” he murmured before lowering his lips to mine.

Maybe it was meant to be chaste. A little pretend kiss to put his family off and make it seem like we were too wrapped up in each other to be disturbed. Maybe it was a ploy to ensure everyone knew the head of the Song family was spoken for. Maybe Jae never intended for it to turn into what it did.

His lips pressed against mine, and in my shock, I parted beneath them. He stilled, perhaps surprised at the willing, hot slide of my tongue against his mouth. But then that still moment passed, and he was on me. He pressed his taut body against mine, pining me in place with his hips as his mouth moved over mine with hard intent. His tongue delved inside my mouth with a carnal movement that made me want to rock my hips against him, church car park or not. His teeth nibbled my lips, pulling the bottom one into his mouth and sucking on it. Fuck, I felt like I’d never been kissed before at that moment. It felt too good. It heated me too hot. I couldn’t get enough.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my breasts against him, needing friction on all the places he had set on fire. His hands were at the small of my back, but now they dropped to my ass. He gripped my butt through my thin day dress and rubbed my body against his. I felt as delicate as a doll in his strong hands, like he could position me anywhere and do what he wanted with me. The thought only turned me on more.

A car backfired in the street beyond the parking lot, and the noise was an unwelcome intrusion in the dreamlike bubble we’d fallen into. I could ignore it. I planned to, but Jae pulled away. His security team was a wall of black-suited backs, hiding us from view, except for a couple who stood inside the protective circle, watching us.

Jae collected himself, stepping away from me, and I knew I looked like a disheveled mess as I smoothed my hair. Dami raked judgmental eyes across me.

“Song Jae Han, who is this woman, and what are you doing with her?” His father’s voice was like a whip. I suddenly recalled Jae talking about how strict his father had been growing up.

“I should think that was clear,” Jae said. “We’re seeing each other.”

“Seeing each other? She was at his house, in a bedsheet!” Jae’s mother jumped in, looking fit to faint.

Her husband snapped something at her in Korean and turned back to his son. He nodded. “Keep it private. You know your responsibilities. We don’t tangle with Ivanov’s lightly.”

My father’s words were like a silent detonation, rippling through Jae, making him still in a way I’d never seen before. Fuck.

Jae’s youngest sister, Hana, came over, pushing ungracefully through his guards. “Oh! Hi, again. I love your dress,” she said as her mother lost her patience and hit her with her handbag.

“Ow! Okay, I’m going.” She huffed as she was pushed away.

Jae’s father nodded to him, cut his eyes to me, and disappeared into his entourage. Jae turned to me, his eyes assessing. There was a gleam that told me that my days of secrets and no questions were behind me.

“Wow, so that was your whole family in one day. That’s a lot,” I said weakly as he took me back to the car.

“You handled it brilliantly.”

“I did?” I cheered up at his praise. Maybe he wasn’t about to interrogate me in a drafty old warehouse somewhere.

“Half of them love you. The other half hates you. I’d say you’ve got about the same stats as me. The real question is what your family thinks about you, Kat Ivanov.”

Crap. Looked like my time had run out, and I was about to see the other side of the brutal heir of the Song family.