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“I—” I swallow and my eyes flutter closed. My cock feels heavy in my sweats, chest constricting in his presence. “Two thousand dollars for France, two thousand for today,” I whisper.
The letter from Dad.I can’t tell him though, can’t take the risk. If Damon finds out, he’ll know I haven’t kept my part of the deal. To keep it secret.
“Two thousand dollars?” He hisses through his teeth, agony seeming to swell inside with each passing second, though I can’t gauge his reaction. “Are you fucking kidding me?” He lets out a breathy bark that becomes louder the longer it lasts. For a few seconds he lets go of my nape, while he keeps on chortling. And then he spins me around, my back hitting the door. My cheeks burn and our locked stare is intense, a hot mess of rage and regret. It tickles the hair on my limbs and creates a low, heavy feeling in my stomach. He is perfection, even in his anger. Especially in his anger.
“That's all?” Kai spits. His lashes flutter and his eyes darken, turning stormy. “Two thousand, fucking dollars to wipe out our entire existence?”
‘It wouldn’t have killed you!” I let out.
“Is that what they told you?” He lowers the gun, letting the nuzzle slide from my collarbone toward my stomach, featherlight like a lover’s touch. It makes me shiver —hemakes me shiver, makes me practically choke on my own confusion and fear. “You know, people love to read all about gangs. Love to know how the bad guys keep the streets of this city in their grip.” He presses a knee between my thighs. I don’t think he even realizes what he’s doing, he’s seething once more. But I do, and it’s bringing a different kind of panic. “People love excitement. They love the gossip, the darkness. Is that what this was to you? You wanted some entertainment in your life? Something different?”
“Something different?” I stammer.
“Something different,” Kai drawls in mock horror, a sly smile curving the corner of his mouth. He seems to quiet down as playfulness blows his fury gently to the side. It gives his square jaw a different glow, like it wants to be cupped and caressed. Licked and nipped at. The thought has me spluttering, and I sink my teeth into my lower lip. Fuck, if I continue like this, I’m going to be hard. And I really,reallyhope that he won’t notice. Guys like him aren’t into other guys. Please, don’t let him notice. “Is that what this was, baby mouse?” Kai’s gun slides to my side as he leans forward, the lingering material freezing my bones despite the cotton of my sweatpants. It makes me shiver, but my eyes stay glued on his onyx stare, as it carves through mine. “Were you looking for real danger? Knowing that I’ve got a gun, and you’ve got no place to go?” He rasps. My eyes dart to the arm that’s poking my thigh and I swallow. “Or is it exciting to be playing both sides? To be spying for one, and screwing the other one? You did a fantastic job on that boat.”
“I didn’t want to—I wasn’t—”
“Sshh.” The gun presses deeper into my skin and I press my lips closed on a forced nod.
“Or is this real danger to you, knowing that I’ve come here for your blood?”
“I’m—” I choke, then just shake my head. “No.”
“Real danger is being out there alone.All alone. No friends, and no protection. Tell me something,No One. Are you a member of All Saints?”
“They—” I swallow, trying to stop my knees from buckling. He beats me to it when his sculpted bicep keeps me upright. My skin feels flushed, clammy and cold with affection, because he does affect me. So much.
Hitting the grounding wood of the door with the back of my head, I exhale on a shudder, needing to cool down this overheated body, fueled by anger and fear. The scent of vanilla flies through my nose, entering my system in all its sweet seduction, and I try to focus on the music that still floats through my room, on the lyrics, and their calming effect. It doesn’t help. The only thing that’s real is this man. This handsome, powerful man with his destructive gun. And his hatred, that he throws over me like a net until I’m left floundering, like a fish out of water.
“No, I’m not with All Saints.” The words finally leave my mouth, but they don’t bring relief. They bring more fear, knowing that he now knows too, that I’m all alone. Kai’s smoldering eyes flick over my face in their search for something. Golden flecks and fury, thoughtful and thorough. That’s why I haven’t succeeded before in getting his expression right, I realize in surprise. Because his gaze is so much more than a chocolate stare. There’s a whole scale of rage passing through them, and it makes the auric glimmer light up like little jolts of electricity. It’s mesmerizing. When they finally reach my eyes, the ends of his lips curl up ever so slightly.
“So you really are a baby mouse, then. All alone.” He takes a curl with his finger, rolling the hair around it, then tilts his head. “Hey,No One, where’s the attitude now?” The gun presses against my thigh. “Where’s your anger? Your fight?”
‘Fuck you,” I grit out. He lets out a toothy laugh that turns predatory when his leg presses forward, right onto my crotch. The collision brings an instant fluttery feeling inside my stomach, low and treacherous. It’s foreign, unwanted, and my hand flies out to his leg, squeezing it tight, silently begging him to let go.
“All alone,” Kai mumbles, not in the slightest taken by my protest, because his eyes are still searching my face, lazily taking in every inch as he does so. “And at my mercy.”
ChapterSix
KAI
Holy. Fucking. Shit.
What the hell am I doing? This wasnotwhat I signed up for when Logan asked me to join his secret security operation. When I relieved our security guys earlier, I had every intention of bringing him in. But once I stood right in front of his building, I changed my mind. Ever since Mia dug up his address, I've been coming here, and I’ve come to learn a few things about our mystery guy. For instance, No One rarely takes the front entrance, instead climbs the fire escape up to the fifth floor. So when I stood out there before, in front of his run-down block, I wanted to feel what it's like. What it’s like to be him. What it’s like to be that kind of guy who doesn’t take the main entrance, but who sneaks in and out via the fire escape. To hisownhome.
This place is a dump, the entire block is. Still his room is bathing in twilight, the air perfumed with vanilla. It’s so different from my own condo, which is large, spacious and sparsely decorated. I’m much more of a city boy, always in my car, going from A to B. Nothing like this place, that’s somehow sweet and soft, and strangely intimate, despite its state.
But here we are, and this is it, the moment I needed. No One defenseless and ready to be taken in. It would be Connor’s perfect wedding gift, a bow around his pretty face and…enjoy. He wouldn’t stand a chance.
But now that I have him exactly where I want him, I hesitate. We’re still standing chest to chest, both breathing heavily, his back flush against the door. His large eyes are on mine, as if allowing me to drink him in. I do so, greedily, fascinated by the variety of fleeting expressions that ripple over his face.
“Tell me what you’re thinking right now,” I demand. His eyes flutter as he rolls his lips, and I don’t know why I catch the movement, but I do. They are pink, and wet, and perfectly shaped.
“That I’m sorry for today, and for what happened in France."
"You’re lying." His curls, still damp from his earlier shower, bounce sluggishly around his oval face when he shakes it in denial, one cheek red and puffy from my earlier assault. He’s wearing similar clothes to the ones he wore earlier in the park— a pair of dark sweats and a hoodie.
I want to hurt him again. My mind’s begging me to do so, to erase this confounding flutter in my stomach. But I also want a little more of him, and that feeling is equally as surprising as it is annoying. “You’re lying,” I repeat, needing to hear myself say it. Fisting my hands, I fight with this awkward need to be close to him. It's a struggle I lose when I press my forehead against his in some weird display of phony affection. God, his pale skin feels soft, and warm.
