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He cocks a brow, a small smile playing along his lips. “Really? You’re fine? Well, now I’m definitely worried. Anyone who is in your position should be anything but fine, Emilia. Come on, talk to me.”
“I—” I’m not even sure what I opened my mouth to say, but whatever it is seems to stick in the back of my throat. Instead, something so much more embarrassing happens. I cry. I fuckingcry. I don’t even know why. The tears just start coming, and I can’t work out how to turn them off.
“I’m sorry,” I babble, swiping furiously beneath my eyes and sniffing my nose. “I don’t even know why I’m crying. I think I’m losing my mind in this house.” I wave blindly toward the door. “Around those two assholes.” Kai snorts out a laugh, but he lets me continue on with my ramble. “Wilder hates me. Like honest to godhatesme. And Hawk is giving me whiplash. One minute he’s indifferent and couldn’t give a shit, and the next, he’s staring at me and giving me orgasms on the bathroom floor.”
There’s a part of me that realizes I’m being highly inappropriate right now, but whatever elastic band was wrapped around my sanity has officially snapped.
“I’m not going to last another day under their roof. I need to get out of here.” Blinking away my tears, I focus on Kai until he comes into view. “Please, Kai. I need to get out of this house.”
His expression is tight and withdrawn, and I can see the outright denial on his lips before he even speaks. Not giving him a chance to say no, I reach across the table and grab his arm with both of my hands, giving it a desperate squeeze. “Please, Kai.Please. I’d do just about anything for some fresh air, to feel the sun on my face, and to know I’m not going to walk into one of them at any second.”
His eyes soften, and I can tell he’s wavering. He just needs a little push.
“We can go anywhere. Wherever you decide. Hell, we can hang out in an abandoned quarry for all I care. Anywhere buthere. Please.Please, Kai.”
I realize I’m laying it on thick, and I don’t even mean to. I’m just so,sodesperate to get out of here for a couple of hours.
His eyes drift shut and his jaw clenches, an inner battle ensuing behind his eyelids. I let him argue with himself while I observe his face for any signs of which side won with my heart lodged in my throat. After what feels like an eternity, he opens his eyes and focuses on me again.
“Fine,” he grits out. “But we go somewhere remote, only for a couple of hours, and you do absolutelyeverythingI say. Do you hear me, Emilia?”
I’m already bobbing my head furiously before he finishes speaking. “I hear you. I’ll stick to you like glue. Hang upside down from a tree if you tell me to.”
He frowns, apparently not a fan of my joking. “Why the hell would I tell you to hang upside down from a tree?”
“I dunno.” I shrug a shoulder. “But if you tell me to, I’ll do it. Even though I hate being upside down, and I can’t even do a handstand because I hate the way all the blood rushes to my head and makes me feel dizzy.”
He just continues to stare at me like I’m insane. I’m ninety percent certain that I am. This house—those boys—havemademe insane. Instead of arguing with him, though, I push to my feet. “We’re going now, right? Like, right now?”
His gaze drops down my small frame, and I follow it, realizing I’m wearing an old tank top with no bra underneath, which means my nipples are on display for any perv to see—excellent!—paired with a pair of shorts I found in my bag; my outfit definitely shouldn’t be worn outside of the house.
“Oh, uh, let me go change. Five minutes, yeah?”
Not giving him a chance to argue, I race out of the kitchen and up the stairs, changing faster than I’ve ever changed before. It’s not more than three minutes before I’m flying back down the stairs, wearing an old band tee, jeans, and sneakers with my hair pulled back into a ponytail.
“Okay, I’m ready. Let’s go!” I bounce impatiently up and down on the balls of my feet while Kai gathers his things at a painstakingly slow pace, mumbling under his breath the entire time. Something about how I’m acting like a dog who has been told they’re about to go for walkies.
It’s only when he grabs a gun from one of the drawers in the kitchen and tucks it into the back of his jeans that the risk of what we’re about to do resonates with me, diminishing some of my joy as I swallow around the sudden lump in my throat.
Catching me watching him, some of the tension bleeds out of Kai’s shoulders as he turns to face me. Walking over, he plants his hands on my shoulders and bends down until we are at eye level. “Are you sure about doing this?”
Despite the nerves fluttering around in my stomach, I nod my head. “Yup. I’m sure.” I’m not going to back down or change my mind. I’m doing this.Weare doing this. “Now stop procrastinating and come on.”
His lip quirks up in a smile, but it doesn’t reach his eyes and I know he can hear the nerves behind my upbeat tone.
* * *
An hourlater and I couldn’t find my way home if I tried—and trust me, I did actually try to remember the route we took here, except after about the eleventh turn, I gave up. But that’s okay. I have no interest in returning to that tension-riddled, testosterone-charged house any time soon.
The second Kai turns off the engine and gives me the okay to get out of the car, I practically launch myself out the door, the widest grin on my face as I spread my arms out on either side of me and spin in a full circle. I tilt my head back, allowing the afternoon sun to soak into my Vitamin D-deprived skin, and I just let myself be present in the moment as the light breeze blows into my face.
The horrible cloud that has been hanging over my head for the last few days is chased away by the sunshine, and I feel infinitely lighter and more like myself as I continue to spin in a circle, making myself dizzy.
Right before I lose my balance, I open my eyes and plant my feet, laughing as the world continues to spin around me. After a few seconds, everything comes back into focus, and for the first time since we pulled up, I take in the scenery around me. I can see for miles in every direction, nothing but greenery as far as the eye can see.
“Wow, this is gorgeous.”
Kai smiles warmly. “You haven’t seen anything yet, Em. Are you up for a short hike?”
