She doesn't wait around for me to explain. She retreats, and fast. And she takes my heart with her. "Denali—it's not—I mean itis,but—wait!"
She's not listening. In fact, she's heading for the kitchen, where she set down her bag. She grabs it and makes a mad dash for the front door, Taco all but forgotten as she panics and doesn't think any of this through.
My worst fears come to life.
I sprint out the door and into the hallway of the ritzy apartment complex, catching sight of her quickly-fleeing form as she rounds the corner and heads for the elevators. Pursuing heris easy, because though she's fast, I'm faster. Just as the elevator doors start to close between us, I reach through the gap and grab her by the wrist, yanking her into the hallway with a groan of effort.
She falls against me like a movie scene come to life. But then, she comes to life, too, and starts to struggle against me. Her hands shove against my chest, eyes everywhere but on me.
"Let me explain," I tell her, because the only chance I have now to salvage this is to make her understand. To admit what's going on with me and put it out on the table. "Please, Denali, can we—can we talk?" I glance around the hall, and though there are other people, other apartments on this floor, I seriously doubt they'll be up and active yet. There's still a chance, but it's slim.
I make the spilt-second decision to throw her over my shoulder and jog lightly back to the apartment, closing the door behind us and locking it for good measure. But so that she doesn't think I'm trying to kidnap her here, I make sure to point out the keys on the way past.
"If you don't want to stay after you listen to me, the keys are on the counter, right by your bag. I won't stop you.
I walk right past the kitchen, right through the living room with all the fancy rugs and seating spots, and head straight back for my bedroom, where I dump her on my bed and wait for her to right herself before I speak. When I do open my mouth, I lean over her, bracing my hands on either side of her hips to cage her in so she can't run from me any more.
"Yes. It's you. You're thekara.My little annoying woodpecker. Is that what you wanted to hear? Did you need me to confirm what you already knew? Or was it just that you couldn't believe me when I said it the first time?"
Finally,finally,her eyes are on mine. "Kai," she starts, but I don't think she can decide what to say to that. If she even has anything to say to it. "I—we—this is—you?—"
"You wanna know why she was so mad, walking out of here?" I watch as Denali inches backward away from me, putting herself inevitably further on my bed. I crawl after her, refusing to let her get too far away. "Yeah, she wasn't lying. I couldn't get it up for her. Nothing I did mattered. Because every time I looked ather,I realized she was noyou."My cock twitches in my pants at the way Denali's legs peek out of those briefs that look so familiar, that have been on my body more than once, taunting me, reminding me whatdoesget me hard. "Ever since you stepped into my life, I've not been able to get you out of my head. You're intoxicating, addicting, like the headiest wine." Another few inches backward, and she's almost out of room to run. I follow, my knees on the bed , one hand snaking out to grab one of her ankles as her heels slip on the satin sheets and threaten to land in my lap, in an uncomfortable way. "I don't want any other woman, Denali," I tell her, desperation making me choke on the admission I'm giving in the worst of ways. "I wantyou."
"No," she mutters, her eyes wide. "You can't?—"
"But I can. Ido."She's run into the headboard now, and I tug her down a little, the shirt she's wearing riding up on her ribcage, baring her stomach as it catches on the bed and bunches the fabric. "When I close my eyes at night, I dream ofyou.Under me. On top of me. Your lips on mine, and those legs around my waist as I fuck you senseless. Is that what you want to hear? How desperate I am for you? How much I want you?" I crawl in between her legs, a hand on each ankle, spreading them so I can make room for myself. She doesn't fight me, which is a good sign. I'll take it. "If you don't want this, tell me now. Say no, and I'll stop. But if you want me like I think you do, like I want you,kara,then let me show you how you drive me crazy. Let me show you the only thing that's on my mind every minute of the day."
She doesn't say a word, just shifts her knees a little further apart and bunches her hands in the sheets, tossing her head to the side as she bites that bottom lip and moans my name.
That's the last thing I see before I put my face in her lap and inhale her arousal, my hands sliding under her ass to bring her center to my lips so I can get to work showing her just how bad she's got me twisted up inside.
chapter twenty-seven
Denali
Kai's wordsdrive a stake through my soul and pin me to the corkboard like a butterfly specimen in a biology class. My wings, so long dormant, flutter to life as I struggle to sort out how I got here, and why I'm so stuck.
"What do you mean—I don't understand, Kai?"
In his grip, and my state of hiding, I can't see what his next move is, but I can feel it as he presses his lips to my pussy, right above my clit, holding me a little tighter like he's afraid I might run away. "What I mean is, I want you, Denali Stone. And not as an employee, either—though youarethe best assistant I've ever had."
Now I'm even more confused. "I don't—huh?"
No way does he mean what I think he means. What Iwishhe meant.
His hips shift as he pulls me up higher, so I'm forced to look at him. My eyes are still damp with unshed tears from my confession. I'm still shaking from the intensity of the feelings behind that story.My story.And yet?—
"I'm trying to tell you that I'm in love with you,kara."
No. No fucking way.
"I'm obsessed," he continues, his eyes unyielding as he lays me down on the bed and leans over me, careful to give me an escape route if I need one. The consideration, the gentleness with which he's handling this whole thing, it's too much. "I've been obsessed with you for a while, and no other woman will do."
"You're lying," I breathe, closing my eyes, putting my hands over my face to hide myself from the realization that I'm not alone in this longing, that he's right here with me. Trying and failing to make myself realize that this is just a huge misunderstanding.
"I've never been more honest than this in my life." He clears his throat, prying my hands away from my eyes so I can see the truth written in the lines of him. It's in the way his eyes stay glued to mine, how he doesn't shift or flinch, or look for ways to minimize contact between us. In fact, he's trying to get closer. And succeeding.
Never in my life have I considered myself a coward. But when faced with his deep, dark secret, when I'm forced to look the scary truth in the face, after everything I've been through tonight, all the brazen bravery that usually lurks beneath my surface is conveniently absent.
