I smile weakly and command my feet to move, one foot in front of the other until I cross the threshold. My basic motor functions cease to exist as the man who has haunted my dreams and consumed my thoughts stands across the room looking like the demonic perfection I remember him to be. The two of us just stare, the tension so thick it feels like we’re trapped in the middle of an Amazon rainforest, and need a machete to hack through the brush. Matias emerges from a room to my left, minus my bags. I didn’t even notice him disappear; I’m so engrossed by the human being standing in front of me.
Matias stands between us, glancing from me to Kayne and then back again. He has to feel it, the unstable energy smothering the elegantly decorated room.
“Let me show you around,” Matias says. Following him in a haze, he shows me the living area with a couch, television, wet bar, and small working desk. The bedroom he placed my things in and the sundeck with private pool. Upstairs is the ‘well-being room’ with twin massage tables, balcony, and sauna. This freaking place is bigger than my apartment and my parents’ combined. Matias chatters nonstop as we make our way back downstairs.
“ . . . And as Mr. Andrews knows, I am here for whatever you need, whenever you need it.” He smiles, the skin wrinkling around his kind eyes.
“Thank you.”
“Monsieur?Will there be anything else?” He turns to Kayne, who hasn’t moved from his spot.
“No, that will be all,” he answers, and his voice feels like an oversized tuning fork vibrating against my body.
“Ring me when you are ready to leave for dinner,” Matias responds in a hurry.
Kayne nods, never taking his eyes off me—those majestic blue eyes with the brown lightning bolt that have the ability to cut me right in half. Once Matias is gone, it’s just me, Kayne, and a whole shitload of awkward silence.
“How was your flight?” Kayne finally asks, breaking the ice.
“Fine,” I answer flatly.
“The boat ride?”
“Fine.”
“What do you think of the island?”
“It’s fine.”
“Is there anything that isn’t fine?”
“No.”
Kayne smirks, and I wonder what the fuck is so amusing.
Awkward silence regains control of the room.
“Ellie, I—” Kayne takes a few steps forward, and I take a few steps back. He freezes with a frown.
“I’ve arranged dinner for us,” he informs me, and then continues to approach me.
I nod, persistently backing up as he stalks across the room. I bump into a wall, and can only watch with wide eyes as he closes the distance between us. He crowds me, coming so close that I can feel the heat of his body and inhale the fresh scent of his cologne. He can still make me weak, even after all this time.After everything.
Kayne lifts his hand to my face and skims his thumb across my cheek. I stand paralyzed, caught by his touch and the hypnotic look in his eyes.
“I’m glad you’re here, Ellie.” He leans in, inching closer and closer to my mouth. My heartbeat speeds up, and my brain function slows down as he brushes his lips against mine. Then he does it again, this time adding more pressure and swiping his tongue between my lips. I nearly fall apart. The third time, he full-blown kisses me with no hesitation or second thought. He takes full possession of my mouth, trapping my face in his hands, and pinning my body flat against the wall. I kiss him back with even more force than I knew I was capable of. Our tongues twist together as we both fight for air. The longer we kiss, the more aware I become of heightening sensations and overflowing feelings. I start to spin out of control, trying frantically to untangle the strings of my emotions.
“Kayne—” I pull away.
“Ellie.” He returns with so much need it nearly cripples me. I have to think, and that’s not going to happen while he detains me with his oppressive presence.
“Please stop.” I grab onto his linen shirt for dear life.
He takes a deep breath, fighting the urge I know we’re both feeling. But I’m not just going to fall into his bed, or get tangled up in his seductive web. There are issues that need to be worked out, and questions that need to be answered.
“I’d like to freshen up.” I try to move away from him, but he cages me in by planting both hands on the wall.
“I have missed you every single second of every single day that we have been apart.”
