He chuckled. “More than you know. Nickie and I are seriously compatible when it comes to sex. If I hadn’t been so concerned about you, I might have followed her home for round three.”
“Concerned about me?”
“What do you think it means that Kyle found the box?”
“I don’t know, but I tested him, and he isn’t under a camouflage spell or enchantment.”
“That doesn’t rule out trouble. He could be a supernatural creature or be working for the enemy. We should call Silas.”
“Don’t you dare. I’ll kick your ass, Jason. I mean it.” She locked eyes with her brother, conveying in no uncertain terms that she meant what she said.
All humor bled from his expression. “Shit, Laina. You’re in deep. He really is your vice.”
“He’s a kind, generous, and successful man, and yes…” She looked down at her hands in her lap, almost ashamed to say the words. “He’s my vice. And I’m falling for him.”
Jason shook his head. “Don’t confuse it for love.”
“I’m not confused. Kyle and I, we are similar creatures, Jason. I really think he might be the one.”
“The one?” Jason stared at her in disbelief. “That’s crazy talk. You do realize that even if you two were somehow fated to be together, he’d forever be relegated to the sidelines. You’re royalty. You’d never be allowed to mate with a human.”
The words hit her in the heart like a wrecking ball. Her throat constricted into a tight knot. “Excuse me,” she rasped. She rose from the leather sofa and headed for the staircase. To his credit, Jason didn’t come after her.
ChapterTwenty-One
Laina lay awake well past midnight, staring at the ceiling and waiting for Kyle to come home. He’d sent a message with his driver to say he’d be very late and that she was welcome to sleep in his bed, but she decided to stay in her own. What Jason had said was true. Her relationship with Kyle was doomed. How would she break it to him? She couldn’t tell him the truth. Would she just disappear? Say nothing? Create an elaborate lie to let him down easy? How would she survive after tearing out a corner of her heart and casting it aside?
Or worse, would she continue the relationship as a lie? Marry Cameron and keep Kyle on the side, a long-distance crutch to appease her wolf with no chance of ever becoming more than a fling? It depressed her even to think about it. He deserved better.
She was so disturbed by her predicament that when the sunrise finally broke her sleepless night, she decided to take Milo for his morning walk alone, desperately needing the solitude to process her feelings.
Love was a dangerous sport, played without the benefit of safety equipment. She would have gladly paid anything for a helmet that fit her heart these days. For someone who hadn’t had much use for the opposite sex up until then, she’d certainly learned why the term used for fast affection was a crush. Everything about her relationship with Kyle was crushing.
“Good morning,” she said to Gerty as she breezed through the kitchen.
“Would you like some coffee?” the old woman offered, holding up the empty pot. “The matching baggage under your eyes suggests you do.”
“I’d love some, but it will have to wait. I’m afraid we’ll have a Milo-sized accident on our hands if I don’t walk him soon.” She smiled warmly as she snagged Milo’s leash from the coat hook and clipped it to him. On a whim, she decided to take the mastiff out front, unable to face the memories the pool and yard afforded. She needed clarity. Before this thing with Kyle went any further, she had to decide what to do about it.
She hadn’t even made it past the fountain when Milo lifted his leg on a bush lining the circular drive.
“Feel better?” she asked him. He looked up at her, tongue lolling out the corner of his mouth.
A car pulled up beside her, a shiny black cube she recognized upon second glance was a Mercedes G-Class. The passenger’s side window rolled down, and Nate’s frog-like face smiled at her from behind the wheel. “I see Milo is in good hands.”
“I hope so.”
“Dad loved that dog almost as much as he loved beautiful women. He’d be pleased. Two of his favorite things.”
Not knowing what to say to that, she gathered the leash in her hands. “Milo needs a walk. Nice to see you again.”
“Is Kyle up yet?” he asked quickly before she could move.
“When I left the house, he was still in bed.”
“I’d want to stay in bed all day too, with a woman like you between the sheets. Only, you’re out here, which begs the question why he’d be in there.”
“I’m here to train the dog. I wasn’t in bed with him,” she said matter-of-factly. “I just noticed he wasn’t out of his room yet.” What was his angle? She and Kyle were mature adults. It was none of Nate’s business if they were sleeping together.
