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Kai snapped his head up, examining the side of her face. “What happened?” When she didn’t answer right away, his finger hooked beneath her chin and turned her gently.
She swallowed hard, her sky-blue eyes tumbling through the storms of his, seeking answers.
How much did he hate her mother for what she’d done? How much was he masking it for Isla’s sake?
“I talked to Sebastian, and now he knows everything.” Her gaze lowered to the dock, tracing the rotted lines in the dark wood. “I should’ve never kept it from him. I had no right. It was selfish and stupid.”
Kai fully turned her so he could take her in his arms. A simple, loving embrace to any outside eye while everyone was surely, secretly watching.
She should’ve done better to keep up her appearance. Who knew how the gossips would spin her looking so downtrodden.
“No, it wasn’t,” Kai said softly. “You did what you thought you needed to protect him.”
Isla wrapped her arms around him, sinking into his warmth and wishing she could stay like this forever. “All I did was put off the inevitable and found a way to hurt him more.”
She felt Kai comb his fingers through her hair. “Where is he now?”
“I don’t know.” Worry clenched her heart like a fist. “I asked some of the staff to keep tabs on him to see if he remains around the House and hall, but I don’t know where he went.”
“I’ll find him.”
She pulled back to meet Kai’s eyes again. “Thank you.”
Kai took her face in his hands, crooning in a slightly mocking tone, “Anything for my beautiful girl.”
Isla rolled her eyes, a smile tugging at her lips as a lightness spilled into her chest.And then, the distance closed between them.
She sighed into the kiss, relishing the feeling of his mouth on hers, the way the world melted and nothing else mattered in his embrace.
One of Kai’s hands had gone to her waist, while the other angled her head, taking a little more of her lips as he traced his tongue along them. Thatdamntongue. Heat flooded her cheeks and pooled in her lower belly.
She could feel him smiling.
“Unfair,” she whispered into the kiss, and then there was the sound of a cracking flashbulb from beside them.
They broke apart, heads turning to the stack of barrels where wood became land. Where a reporter, not so smoothly, tried to shield himself after snapping their photo.
With his narrowed focus remaining on the man, Kai asked her, “What do you think the headline will be?”
Isla groused, “Alpha is the world’s biggest tease.”
Kai chuffed a laugh and turned back to her. “This morning wasn’t enough for you? Or last night?”
“No.” Her simple answer seemed to amuse him further, but then something dawned on her. Her eyes darted to either side of him. “Where’s the pup?”
“At home.”
Her eyes snapped to his. “Byhimself?”
“He was sleeping last I saw him.”
Isla gaped. “But when he wakes up, he’s going to be terrified.”
The amount of concern that edged her voice had surprised her as much as it seemed to surprise Kai. She couldn’t explain why the little creature had captured her heart so easily. Maybe it was his innocence. A monster not yet forged.
Hope. Most likely horribly misplaced hope.
Kai took her in frankly and lowered his voice. “Well, I can’t bring a baby bak with me through the hall.”
