Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 135958 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135958 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
I turned, but I closed my eyes. I didn’t want him to see how it hurt.
This was the same Kai. An agenda. Three, four, five steps ahead, and I’d thought… It didn’t matter. I’d been stupid.
“Hey.” A more insistent urge from him. “Look at me.”
Fine. I did.
And my chest was held suspended.
His eyes damn near smoldered, a fierce expression in them I couldn’t place.
“You bringing my family here, me coming and spending time with them, with you, has meant the world to me.” He drew me toward him, and goddamn, I was going. I couldn’t resist. He dropped his tone, his eyes dipping to my mouth. “This is not something that would’ve happened before you. I doubt it’ll be something that happens after—after we leave here again. But never, ever think my family is not first. They’re the reason I am who I am.”
“Where would you have been if we weren’t here tonight?”
“In a hotel. Fucking you.”
I coughed. “Ah.” Some of the burn eased. Or, well, it was washed away by a scalding pot of fire instead. A whole different type of burn took its place.
He rested his forehead to mine, his hand leaving my neck to trace my bottom lip. “I’m going to send my siblings back with some men. Stay with me. See this out.”
He was inviting me into the darkness with him, but I was already there. With this one, I’d gotten there first.
I nodded, and he stepped back. He went to speak to one of his men, and after a moment, with a short nod, the guard went to do his bidding. Kai turned back toward me. He didn’t stop. He moved past me, snagging my hand. He pulled me with him, his fingers twining with mine, and we were off.
His men were ahead, some on the opposite side of the wharf, and more trailed behind us, but for the first time, they completely blended in.
A thrill went through me.
Kai pulled me ahead, but still remained in the shadows. We weren’t dressed for the event, though that didn’t seem to matter. Just as we got to the event’s main entrance, a roar went through the crowd and almost as one, they turned around to look where we’d come from.
Kai tugged me back, continuing to twist, maneuver through the crowd. I realized he was doing it on purpose. His head was down, his shoulders hunched forward. He had put on a somewhat meek air, so no one paid attention. That amazed me, given who he was, but it was working. For now.
Once we got to a better spot, almost at the very edge of the pier and tucked behind a small booth that was closed up for the night, Kai let me look back.
I did, and the world stopped.
Time stood still. Everything in me paused because walking down the middle of the pier, as if he were king of the fucking universe, was my father. On his arm, my cousin. It was an odd thing, seeing her. A smugness on her lips, her eyes gleaming and greedy as she sauntered beside him. She wore a gold, sequined gown, strapless, and her breasts were almost popping out.
It should’ve sickened me, seeing them together. She was my mother’s niece. There was no blood relation between the two, but he was my father, and she was my look-alike. Except she wasn’t. There was something in her that looked nothing like me.
And they looked like they belonged together.
She was bad, just as much as him. I didn’t know why, what she’d done, but I could tell she belonged there. On his arm seemed the perfect place for her.
I must’ve made a sound because a couple in front of us turned around, and Kai pulled me farther back.
“Can you handle this?”
I whispered through gritted teeth, “I want to murder both of them.”
A low chuckle was my reward. He smoothed a hand down my back, resting over my ass before moving around to the front of my hip. He moved my back to his chest, and I could feel his lips grazing the side of my throat. He pushed my shirt aside, nibbling on my shoulder as his hand began exploring. He ran it across to my stomach, his fingers slipping inside my pants, and I almost fell back, leaning nearly my whole weight on him. My head rested against his as he kissed me.
He moved us farther and farther back until no one could see us. We were separated from the crowd, and with a few movements, he untied the tent opening for the booth.
He pulled me in, tying one string back in place, and then he was on me.
“What are we doing?” I asked between kisses.
“Damned if I know.” His hand moved inside my pants, and I had a second’s warning before his finger was inside of me.