Her eyes were on my lips, and her chest rose and fell a little faster. “That's good because I don’t play games.”
“Then we know where we stand.”
“Feels like your cock is standing at attention as well,” she said with a grin.
Despite everything, this woman was beautiful and fiery, and all I could think about was bending her over the hallway table.
But when I met her eyes again, I was reminded of what I’d seen earlier. The traces of grief. She wasn’t as unbreakable as she wanted to portray. We all had our weaknesses, and it was almost tragic that she felt unable to grieve properly.
“I’m sorry,” I said in a softer tone.
Her brow furrowed as she looked at me. “For what?”
“You lost people today, and I—”
With the palms of her hands against my chest, Amalia shoved me back. “Stop. That doesn’t concern you. You and I don’t mix business with our personal lives.”
“Do you hear yourself?”
“Tomorrow. 8 a.m. My downstairs office.” Turning around, she headed toward the main staircase. “My family arrives tomorrow, and we need to convince them we’re in love.”
Amalia had lost her goddamn mind if she thought she was going to drop that bomb and run.
“Amalia!”
“Tomorrow, Cain. Don’t be late.”
3
Itossed an aspirin into my mouth and downed it with a swig of water. My head still pounded from the cry fest I’d allowed myself last night. Two of my girls were dead, along with Felipe. But I had to pull it together. Being a contract assassin came with its risks, and we all understood that. We gave ourselves a moment to grieve, then moved on. I still felt the distant burn of tears in the backs of my eyes, but I had no time to fall apart.
Maybe later. At the moment, there were more pressing matters—like possibly killing my future husband for already disappointing me.
Late.
Thirty-five minutes late. I’d told him to be at my office at exactly 8 a.m. Last night, emotions were running high, so I postponed our talk for the morning, giving him strict instructions. I had a small window to make sure we’d ironed out details, the logistics of our relationship, and everything this contract entailed.
It was bullshit. All of it. They could marry me off to whomever they saw fit to be the most beneficial to the family.But if it were my choice, then it had to be a genuine relationship, or the union would be invalidated. My hands were tied, and no amount of kicking and screaming, slit throats, or rolling heads would get me out of this. Not unless I forfeited the estate and a bulk of my inheritance.
I stalked forward toward Kai’s room, my boots tapping violently against the polished travertine. The fact he hadn’t had the decency to inform me he’d miss our appointment wasn’t a good sign. How could I expect him to convince my family we were in love if he couldn’t even…
The words raging in my thoughts disintegrated when I tore open the door and found him laying clothes over his bed, with nothing but a white towel tied low around his waist. Water droplets from a recent shower dotted his glistening, tanned skin. Tattoos shadowed most of his upper body, like fine art carved onto hardened muscle.
He whipped around when the doorknob slipped from my hand and subsequently slammed against the wall. Our eyes locked for a beat longer than I was comfortable with. But I found myself unsure of where else to look. While I was never one to be shy or subtle around men with whom I had every intention of taking to bed…Kai Cain, however, was a different case.
“I know this is your home and everything. But knocking is a common courtesy. And I was just about to drop this towel.” The cocky tone of his voice and the grin on his face made me want to slap him. “I don’t mind in the least, but I’m not sure that’s something you want to get into...yet.”
Like a bucket of ice water, I suddenly remembered why I found the man aggravating. Rolling my eyes, I jarred myself out of the muscles and ink stupor that had momentarily clouded my judgment.
“I thought we had an agreement. You were supposed to meet me nearly an hour ago. I don’t like being stood up or kept waiting.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think it was that serious. I hit the gym this morning—nice, by the way—and was just about to head over.”
Kai motioned to the clothes on his bed and turned toward me. It took every ounce of strength not to stray from his gaze down to the broadness of his chest, swollen from his recent workout.
“Would it have killed you to give me a heads up?”
“Come on, it’s not like it was a business meeting.”
