Perfect Ruin (Unyielding #2)(23)

Boyfriend? The game? “No, unfortunately I had business to attend to.”

“Oh, man, you missed a good one. The Raptors totally kicked ass….” I looked from one to the other as they chatted about the basketball game.

Kai put his arm around my shoulders and dragged me in to his side. “Right, hon?”

“Huh?” I was still reeling that one of the security guards spoke to Kai as if they were friends. A man I was sleeping with in order to fulfill a deal.

“Well, keep the ah… hammering down?” Derek wiggled his brows at me.

Jesus. I’d been the quiet geek in loft 607 and now I was… God, I didn’t even want to know what the security guys would talk about now. I’d never be able to look them in the eye again. I’d have to run for the elevator or better yet, come in through the parking garage and avoid them altogether.

Kai shut the door. I pulled from his snug embrace and walked into the kitchen. I grabbed a bottled water from the fridge, cracked it open and chugged it back.

By the time I’d set it down on the counter, Kai stood next to me, eyes twinkling.

“Boyfriend?”

He didn’t say anything.

“The game?”

Again, he didn’t say anything.

“What are you doing? You have two more nights then this is over.”

“Four.”

I glared. “No. Two. You didn’t show up for the last two nights. That’s not my fault.”

He gently took the water from my hand and took a sip before answering. “Four, London. Actually, five because tonight isn’t over.”

“That’s not the deal. It was one week.”

“Yes. Seven days.”

I wasn’t giving in on this. I couldn’t let him win. He was taking advantage and I couldn’t do four more nights. It was… it unhinged me. I lost control and I didn’t like it. I didn’t like any of this because the truth was I did like it and it was wrong.

I marched to the washroom then glared over my shoulder at him. “Two more nights and then our association is over.” I slammed the door.

I leaned over the sink and splashed cold water on my heated cheeks, brushed my teeth and hoped by the time I was done, he’d be gone.

He wasn’t.

He was lying naked in my bed.

I crossed my arms. “What are you doing?”

“If you insist on two nights, I plan to make them last.”

“You can’t stay the night.” Shit, this was backfiring. I expected him to f*ck me and leave, not lie next to me all night.

One leg was bent and the sheet pooled at his hips, dipping where there was a light trail of sparse dark hairs. He was half-perched up by two pillows under his shoulders and I hated that he looked hot in my bed, relaxed, as if he belonged there.

“You going to throw me out, London?”

I crossed my arms over my chest and stared at him. “I’m not sleeping naked,” I grumbled as I walked to the bed and climbed in with my yoga pants and shirt on.

“We’ll see,” he said and pulled the sheet up over me. His thigh landed on top of my thighs. Then his arm came around my shoulders and tugged, pulling me back against his chest.

I fumed.

Because I liked him wrapped around me. I liked the feel of him. I liked him in bed with me.

And I’d never felt so protected in my life. The irony was I had the feeling that Kai could very well destroy me.





TWO MORE NIGHTS.

I paced back and forth. Tonight, I had dinner at my dad’s and I hated not being able to say anything to him. But what made this all feel like it was worth it was that the worn, worried frown he’d had for months had eased, although he was still pale and looked tired.

Even though I wanted to ask him about Kai and the drug he was working on, I couldn’t. No matter how old I was, I’d always be his little girl and he’d want to protect me. Finding out Kai and I were sleeping together would be catastrophic.

Kai was someone my dad couldn’t protect me from. Although with each encounter, I felt more and more like Kai was the protector and not the threat.

By one in the morning, he still hadn’t shown, but it was nothing unusual. I realized this was how he liked to play it. Keep me waiting so I was thrown off. I poured myself a glass of wine and tried to study, but I read the last paragraph four times and still didn’t take in what I was reading. I listened for the key in the lock and every time I heard the ding of the elevator, my heart raced.

It was the weekend and I didn’t have classes, but still, staying awake all night waiting for some guy wasn’t something I did. I laughed to myself because this wasn’t just some guy or some usual night.

I stood, parted the curtains and looked into the alley. I had no idea why. It wasn’t like he’d be down there. I couldn’t picture Kai standing in an alley. He wouldn’t sneak around. He’d go wherever he wanted.

My phone rang and I nearly dropped my glass of wine at the sound. I hurried over to my desk, set my wine down, and glanced at the display, Unknown Number. I normally avoided answering calls like this, but in my gut I knew it was him. Who else would call at this time.

“Hello?”

“London.”

“Kai.”

“Baby, I need you to do something for me.”