"Mentally, I've been with Denali since she first bossed me around."
It earns a grin from Arista, and another groan from Denali.
"Well," Arista finally says with a wink in my direction, "you two move fast, but that's not the end of the world. When you know, you know, right?"
The barest hint of a smile cracks the edge of Denali's cringe. She's coming around to the idea, finally.
"Ah, and the real reason why I called you in here: there's an awards show in Khula City, and you're being nominated, Kai. Or rather, your old group, LoveTalk. So you'll need to attend." Her eyes trail over to Denali, now that she's turned to business instead of pleasure. "I'll send the details to your email, Denali. You'll be his plus one, I assume?"
She mumbles something incoherent and blushes again, but doesn't hide this time. "Sure, yes, I suppose I will be."
"Good. I'll CC you on the invite and all that jazz, and send you the names of the staff you'll be traveling with. That'll just be hair and makeup, stylist, and manager, as well as a few extra members of security."
"Where are we staying?"
Arista types on her phone for a second before she hands it over, and I see an advertisement for a local resort thingy. It'll be packed, and we're short notice guests, so I have no idea how they managed to secure us a room—or two?—
"You'll be staying in one of the detached cabins. The hotel and resort lodge were full up. As were most other hotels in town. The rest of your group won't be far. I think they're staying in the actual lodge."
Ah.
"So we're the afterthought?"
"Don't think of it as an afterthought." She grins that disarming smile of hers, the same one I bet a million bucks she uses on Jun whenever he won't let her have her way on something. "Think of it as a vacation. That starts tomorrow, by the way. It was cheaper to rent the damn thing for a weekend than it was to rent it for a day, so you two get two extra days there on your own."
"What are we supposed to do for the extra two days?" I think Denali means work-related, because to be fair, any time we go to one of these, events or whatever, we have to dosomething,but this time Arista shakes her head.
"Nothing. Each other. Whatever you want." She shoots Denali a wink, and I'm instantly on edge, hesitant to know what this is all about, what it means. "Consider it hazard pay for having to deal with him on the regular. And doing it well."
We leave the office quietly, folder of prepared statements in hand, so that we can sort through them and make a decision. But honestly, the announcement isn't shit to me. Whatever makes it so I can spend as much time with her on my arm as I want is my choice.
chapter thirty-one
Denali
"Wow."
Wow is an understatement. Wow doesn'tbeginto describe the little cabin we're up in this weekend in anticipation of the award show tomorrow.
The damn thing has vaulted ceilings, they've gotta be at least fourteen feet tall. One wall is covered in windows—I think it might be a whole wall of window. I bet that's a bitch to heat in the winter.
It's a modest A-frame cabin on the outskirts of Khula City, by the Dread River. The hardwood floors look brand new, the finish is all rustic but fresh, and every sitting surface in this place looks like it might be softer than a cloud. There's an actual fireplace along one wall, and instructions on how to work it next to it on the wall. Outside there was a shed with a bunch of logs stacked under it, meaning we'd stay well warm enough if it snowed while we were here. It's not supposed to, but stranger things have happened.
"So, your bedroom is upstairs, the kitchenette is fully stocked with your requested foods, and there are fresh linens in the closet and bathroom, and on the bed. The firestarter supplies are under the kitchen cabinet, and if you need anything, you canpick up the landline and dial out to anywhere. 311 goes to the front desk, though, and there's a night watchman on call who will answer and help if possible. Don't hesitate to call us, if we can be of any service!"
The little resort staff member bounces out of the house, and we wait exactly thirty seconds, until we can hear the sound of her little golf cart start up and go down the gravel driveway, before we break into unbridled laughter.
And about ten seconds after we've had a good laugh over her eagerness, we fall on each other, hungry for the intimacy we've been slowly—well maybe not so slowly—exploring these past few days. We've got tonight to ourselves, and then the show is tomorrow. After that, there's one more day, but we have to check out before dinner and drive back home.
"Come on, prety girl. Come join me on the couch. There's no time to waste."
There really isn't.
I let him take my hand and lead me over, and then we're falling into a huge armchair, our laughter echoing around us.
His eyes flick down to my chest, spot the tops of my breasts popping out of the shirt, and quickly zip back up to my face, eagerness and pure lust in their depths. “I can't wait to put my lips on you,” he starts, but I don’t give him the opportunity to speak.
I grip his collar in my hand and yank him forward, pressing my lips to his in a desperate plea. I toe off the pumps I slipped into earlier while I run my hands up the inside of his lapels, fingers mapping out the defined but subtle muscles beneath his shirt.
