The glass meets the wood of the bar with such force I’m surprised it doesn’t shatter. He braces his hands on either side of my body, blocking me in and I try hard not to tremble, to suppress my body’s reactions, the anger, the desire. The absolute need to turn and kiss him brutally, mark him as mine.
‘Turn around.’
With the intention of smacking the arrogance from his tone, I do turn, but we don’t speak. Just stare, eyes boring into the other in a silent battle of wills. My hand twitches from the force of needing to slide it into his hair. Slap his face. Pull his head to mine. One or all of those things, but my anger is like another person pressed between us, hands out and keeping us apart.
‘Kate.’ His stony expression cracks for a moment, fingers tentative on my jaw. ‘Believe me, I would never—’
‘Kais,darling.’
Right before me, his eyes close, almost as though hearing something painful, the muscles in his frame drawing tight. His fingertips slip from my face as he turns to Sofia. Stepping out from behind him, I render us a triangle of awkwardness and unease.
‘What are you doing here?’ His words are loaded with a quiet menace, much more threatening than a whisper should ever seem.
‘I like art,’ she simpers coquettishly. ‘And you forgot our Friday.’ Her eyes touch mine like lightening as she exhales a brittle laugh. ‘Did I really mean so little to you?’ With a seductive sway, she draws nearer. ‘Habibi, you expect me to just step aside, pretend we meant nothing at all?’
‘Yes, because that’s exactly what it was, Sofia. Nothing. You need to leave.’ A harsh and intractable order she ignores, as like a cat, she slinks closer still.
‘Introduce me to your little friend,’ she purrs, her tone winding around us like a tiger’s tail, her hand sliding around his arm. ‘I’ve missed you, and you know I don’t mind sharing. Three has never been a crowd in your bed.’
‘This is over,’ he growls, untangling himself without even a glance in my direction. ‘If you answered your phone, or spoke to your assistant, you would have saved us this scene.’
‘You can’t mean that.’ Her eyes are venomous. ‘Darling, not for... for...vanille!’
‘This never should have begun.’
‘But... you need me. When you have family in Riyadh—’ The look on her face morphs instantly, from panic to knowledge, or possibly power. Her demeanour altered, the tension in her posture seems to fall away. ‘This is a secret, no?’
Kai’s shoulders rise and relax as he exhales a disinterested sigh. ‘If I weren’t already ignoring what you were saying out of a sense of deep repulsion, I mightactuallygive a fuck.’ He sounds almost bored. A tactic he uses well.
‘Tu récoltes ce que tu sèmes—’
‘Ta Gueule!’he yells,startling us both.‘Je m’en fous!’ The noise reverberates around the stark hall, echoing off the bare wattle walls. I don’t know what it means but by the look on her face, it’s not something you’d say to your mother. Curious eyes turn to our trio, eyebrows raised at the vulgar scene. ‘Rashid will help you find your driver.’ His tone returns to boredom as the taciturn man appears at her side.
‘Va te faire foutre,’ she snarls, her accent more pronounced. Her eyes shine with fury, as with one last penetrating look in my direction, she storms away, Rashid following at a distance.
‘Well, that was—’ I raise my chin aiming for disdain but as my mouth wobbles, I give in. ‘I think I’ll go home.’
‘Of course,’ Kai murmurs, reaching for my hand as I snatch it away, bringing it to my chest.
‘You probably need to stay. I’ll get a cab.’Choose me, my mind chants the unspoken request.
‘No.’ He grips my forearms tightly, causing me to start. ‘No,’ he repeats softer. ‘Please. Let me take you home.’
