AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Okay. I got a little bit of sleep...but it felt a little weird without you there." As if on cue, I let out a big yawn.
"You still tired, Kiki?"
"A little,” I admit. “I have to work tonight. I have to take a few new trainees out into the field and observe them."
His hand tickles the back of my neck. "I'll come with you."
I shake my head against his chest. "No, that's okay. I have a driver for tonight and the club will have security."
"Yeah, me. I'll come and I won't get in the way. Think of it as me coming to see how your employees work and if they'll be a good fit for Jade Bay."
I nod, my eyes closing, feeling so safe right here in his arms.
"Sweet angel," he murmurs, kissing me gently on the forehead and rubbing his hands up and down my back.
I feel like I'm in a daze, exhausted from the last few days. Even so, I hadn't been able to fall asleep in his bed without him.
My body is lifted and then lain down on the couch.
"I'll be right back,” he whispers. “I'm just turning the light off."
Soon everything is dark. I hear the murmur of him saying something to someone else, then he's right there, lifting my head onto his lap, his hands stroking the hair out of my face.
"Sleep, sweet Kiki."
"Youhaveameeting...Ihavetogo," I slur two seconds from sleep.
"Shhh. I'm right here. You just get some sleep."
And then I fall and my dreams are filled with tender whispers and cornflower blue eyes.
twenty-two
Kiara
For most people, night time in Hong Kong is almost cool enough to be outside without breaking into a sweat within seconds. Not that it's a problem for me. I was the only child wearing her sweater in the middle of summer when we lived in England. Now in Hong Kong, I could permanently live outdoors and feel like I'm finally warm enough.
Even thirty floors up outside on Kylian's balcony, the wind is warm, washing up against my skin, bringing with it the smells of sky and city.
It's ten p.m. and after an impromptu two hour nap in Kylian’s office, I drove to check on my employees in the other apartments where some of the more experienced of my players lived. I was taking six players out and pairing them up for some training. Usually we train the new girls in house for a period of intensive playing to teach them the mechanics of the game and different types of bets and players. But after about two weeks, we noticed that those with an affinity for the game had quickly picked up their fellow roommates' tells, ticks, and tricks, and we needed to branch out to a new pool of players for them to be exposed to all sorts. The club we are playing at tonight lets me bring my trainees, without having to pay a cover charge.
After briefing them on the game plan for tonight, I drove back to Kylian's apartment and let myself in. A long bath had massaged out the soreness of a few days with little sleep and then I'd spent an hour meditating on Kylian's yoga mat, somehow feeling so close to him like I was communing with him through our spirits alone. I'd borrowed a dress from one of the other women, not wanting to go back to my apartment alone, and I hadn't wanted to take up more of Kylian's day than I already had. He must’ve missed at least one meeting to sit with me as I slept.
But I’d needed it, and those two hours refreshed me more than a whole week's sleep does sometimes.
Kylian was having a dinner with a business partner and promised to be home by ten to go with me to the poker club. Dashing around the apartment, using what little make up I could borrow from the girls and random household items to help me do my hair, I wanted to be ready when he got home so we could leave as soon as possible. When my hair and makeup was finally done, I slipped into the tight black dress slightly worried that I might not cover enough to be decent. A quick check in the mirror showed me that the hem hung barely half an inch below the curve of my ass and each step showed the slightest hint of the lace hem of my panties.
Something about Kylian coming home to see me dressed like this alighted parts of my body that I didn't know I had.
And now I stand here on his balcony, waiting for him to come. Something about it feels so domestic, so intimate, and not like two people who have really only spent one night together.
“Are you trying to kill me in that dress, Kiki?"
I spin around and he's standing at the door, his suit jacket slung over his shoulder.
His back is to the light streaming from his living room, but the moon bathes his face in a soft glow.
Every time I'm away from him, I forget how staggeringly, devastatingly handsome he is. Perfectly symmetrical, sharp angles everywhere, cheekbones that seem like they don’t stop until they hit his temple, which should make him look aloof, unfriendly, but the purity in his eyes paint the whole effect in an almost angelic glow. He calls me angel, but he looks Gabriel the archangel himself.
