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I knew I should write every morning before binge-watching Netflix, but I didn’t.
And I knew getting involved with Kai was the worst idea in the history of bad ideas, but I’d been drowning alone for years, and being with him was the only time I could breathe.
I didn’t resist when he kissed me or when those clever, nimble hands removed our clothes with a few deft tugs and pulls. My own hands joined in, hungrily mapping bare skin and sculpted muscle.
Our first time had been explosive, the culmination of months of buildup. This was sweet and languorous, unconstrained by fear and heightened by our week apart. The night stretched before us in an endless canvas of possibility, and we painted it with kisses and sighs until pleasure swept them aside with one bold stroke.
When it was over, I sank deeper into the bed while Kai rolled off me, my limbs heavy with languid warmth.
“Don’t tell Viv and Sloane,” I said, “but you’re the best houseguest I’ve ever had. Two-hit wonder. Ten out of ten recommend.”
I didn’t care if I inflated his ego further. I was too busy floating on a cloud of post-coital bliss.
His laugh made me smile. Every uninhibited reaction I pulled out of him was another thread unraveled. The mask was falling away, revealing more and more of the real Kai, and I liked him more than I cared to admit.
“Your secret’s safe with me.”
Despite the humor crinkling his eyes, I sensed an underlying tension in his voice. A notch formed between his brows, faint but clearly visible.
“Everything okay?” I asked. “You seem more stressed than someone who just had sex should be. Depending on your answer, I’m either extremely offended or somewhat worried.”
“It’s not you,” he said. “It’s work.”
“Of course it is. Would you be a New York businessman if you weren’t worried about work all the time?” I quipped before growing serious. “Is it DigiStream?”
“That’s part of it.” There was a long pause. Then softly, so softly I almost didn’t hear him, he said, “My mother said I might lose the CEO vote.”
The admission shocked me out of my sex-induced stupor.
I shot up, the sheet sliding off my chest in my haste. His face brightened a fraction, then fell when I yanked the sheet back up. I would’ve found it adorable had I not been so indignant.
“Why? You’re the best person for the job!” I argued, even though I knew nothing about what he actually did or who the other candidates were. I simply couldn’t imagine anyone smarter or more capable than Kai.
Besides, he was aYoung. His last name glowed so large and bright on the company skyscraper that it could be seen for miles. How could he lose?
“Office politics.” He gave me a brief overview of the situation, which didn’t lessen my ire.
“That’s stupid,” I said when he finished talking. “Why do rich people like having their asses kissed so much? Doesn’t it chafe after a while?”
The side of Kai’s mouth twitched. “Excellent questions, darling. I assume the answers are their ego and yes, it does chafe, but they don’t care.” His fingers laced with mine over the sheets. “However, I appreciate your umbrage on my behalf.”
“Your mom could be wrong,” I said, though it seemed unlikely. Making nice with self-centered board members wasn’t the end of the world, but it was annoying Kai had to resort to flattery when his record should’ve spoken for itself. “Did you ever figure out why she’s stepping down so early?”
“No. She won’t tell me until the time is right. Which, knowing her, could be never.”
“What about your father? What does he think?” Kai never talked about him. While Leonora Young ran her media empire in the spotlight, her husband was a far more mysterious figure. I’d only seen one or two photos of him.
“He’s in Hong Kong. He runs a financial services business there, separate from the Young Corporation. My parents are separated,” Kai clarified when my brows winged up. His mother lived in London, which was a long way from Hong Kong. “They have been for ten years, but they make the occasional public appearance together when necessary. Their separation is an open secret.”
“That’s a long time for a separation with no divorce.”
“They resent each other too much to be together but love each other too much to break up. Plus, dividing their assets would be too complicated,” Kai said dryly. “It’s not a healthy situation for anyone involved, but Abigail and I are used to it, and it’s pretty tame as far as dysfunctional families go.”
Considering Vivian’s father blackmailed Dante into marrying her before they actually fell in love, I’d say that was an understatement.
“Why did they separate?” I curled up against Kai’s chest, letting his voice and steady heartbeat lull me into contentment.
I preferred nights out more than nights in, but I could lie here and listen to him talk forever. He rarely opened up about his personal life, so I wasn’t taking a single second of this for granted.
