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"You're interested in my private life?" I asked, the provocative undertone already in my voice.
He opened his mouth before narrowing his eyes. Not sure what to answer, because anything would be the wrong answer. "I just wanted to know if she was your new girlfriend."
"I don't think that's any of your business, is it?" I held out my hand to Nikau. Without hesitating, she took it, allowing me to lead her out of the other man's immediate vicinity. My hand moved from hers up the length of her arm until it came to rest on the nape of her neck.
Although he began to speak, I did not let him dictate the course of the conversation. I usually just ignored journalists, paparazzi, and all those pesky members of the tabloid press because I didn't care what they said about me and the women I had little interest in. But Nikau… she didn't deserve to be lumped in with influencer celebs and have things attributed to her just because she was in direct contact with me.
"Here's what's going to happen. You are going to apologize to her and then you are going to leave the restaurant. If I see you near us again, you'll be in trouble. If I read speculation about who she is and what our relationship is in a sleazy tabloid tomorrow, you'll be in trouble too. She is off limits. You can tell that to all your little friends too." Somehow I managed to say the words to him in a calm and civilized manner, instead of shouting at him and really scaring him.
For a moment, I thought he would laugh and continue his behavior until he held out his hand. Nikau didn't take it, so he withdrew it embarrassed. "My behavior was wrong and I didn't realize it was more than a fling this time," he said to her before turning his eyes in my direction. "If you want to do an exclusive interview…"
"Get out," I growled, nodding toward the door. He had better get out of my sight before I lost control and clarified everything I had said to him in another way.
He vanished, although it must've annoyed him to go home without a story.
Nikau slowly turned in my direction. "Is it always like this?"
"When we attract the attention of these idiots, it is." I didn't want to tell her that all these people were jerks. That there was no quiet place outside the resort for me, because she would find out soon enough now that she had been seen with me for the first time.
"Why all this exaggerated interest in you?" Apparently she wasn't interested in returning to the table just yet. Which was fine with me, as I didn't want to know how many other curious people were waiting for us to return.
I was surprised that it was only now that she had asked the question. It was obvious, and after all her comments about my status as the paparazzi's favorite, I had expected to hear it much sooner.
"There was an incident a few years ago…"
"Before or after the resort opened?"
"Before. The media attention did me a favor, if you'd like to put it that way." And ensured that, years later, people would still be interested in what I did in private.
"And what was this incident?"
I had paid a lot of money and gone to court to keep this story out of the public domain. But I didn't mind telling her. "My partner at the time wanted to swap roles for an evening. I went along with it, knowing full well that I did not enjoy it. I was doing it for her– so she could gain the security she had been lacking. In the middle of the session, however, she decided to leave. And because I could not get out of the situation she had put me in, she called and sent one of her friends. He was a well-known paparazzi. He took some pictures, had a good laugh about it, and by the next morning the story was in the local paper. I only discovered it after Kaia found me and freed me. They've been after all my partners ever since, in search of the next big viral story."
Even as I spoke, Nikau's face was contorted in disgust. Probably because of the people who had taken advantage of my situation. Not because I had been willing to give up control only to regret it bitterly afterward.
"That's disgusting, K. Taking advantage of someone because they're in a vulnerable position …" She shook herself. "No wonder you have bad luck with all these women. They only see the picture the media paints of you. And not the real you."
Slowly I let my gaze sweep over her face. The thick lashes, the dark eyes, the curve of her lips and nose made her look like a real person, not a perfect supermodel. She didn't know the business or the media cadence. And it was probably better to keep it that way, because I certainly didn't want her to see me differently just because outsiders suggested she should.
Nikau
Kaden's story seemed to have switched something in my head. The anxiety I had felt all along had magically vanished. He had put himself in a situation where he was totally vulnerable and had been mercilessly exploited. He had trusted and been disappointed.
I followed this line of thought, even though it was a stupid one. Kaden and I had known each other forever. Probably long before we were even aware of it. Even in my earliest memories he played a role. Kaden was always there somehow. In preschool, in high school, when I graduated. We had always been friends, no matter what stage of life we were at. We had fought, had fun together, and finally made a deal, before the seriousness of life struck and tore us from that perfect world. We trusted each other. It had always been that way, and I couldn't imagine for the life of me that it would change. It was just an irrational fear that plagued me, trying to keep me away from possible danger.
In the end, however, I felt I owed him something– the willingness to really commit to what we had agreed. I didn't want to be another disappointment. I couldn't be.
So I needed a plan for the coming year. First, I had to make sure I didn't fall back in love with my homeland. That would only make my departure harder. I also had to find a woman who would be able to give Kaden everything he wanted and needed. Someone who could get to know him for real. And last but not least, I had to try to enter the other part of our agreement unprejudicedly. Most importantly, without losing myself. It sounded like an impossible task, but I had twelve months. I was going to do it. Wouldn't l?
Kaden pulled me out of my thoughts by telling me to follow him to his apartment. In no time at all, I had the chance to prove that everything I had in my head was a perfectly realistic plan.
But Kaden wasn't going to let me slide slowly into the freezing cold water. Less than a second after the door had closed, his voice filled the entire room. It made the fine hairs on my arms and neck stand on end.
"Stand in the center of the room, Nika, and wait for further instructions. I'd like to see what we're going to work with." Suddenly my mouth rivaled the Sahara.
I had never heard him speak like this before. Serious. Dominant. With an undertone that made the order in his words clear without making him sound like a sergeant. Instead, it had a seductive effect on me, as if he was appealing to a subconscious part of me that wanted to respond to his words immediately in a well-behaved way. It seemed so unnaturally normal to do just that
Irritated, I narrowed my eyes. But I moved, even though my body was suddenly very tense. Up to this point, I had not even been fully aware of the meaning of his words, but now it was sinking in.
