I thought Kairo would sit across from me, but he sat right next to me instead. Him being so close made me nervous, and it felt like I wouldn’t be able to think straight, but I liked him close.
I broke off a piece of the donut and put it in my mouth. “Mm.”
Kairo looked at me, and the desire that swirled in his eyes made my stomach clench.
“You know you moan when something is good to you?”
“I haven’t noticed.”
Kairo leaned in closer and whispered, “I noticed, and so did my dick.”
My eyes got wide as saucers, and I got wet down below.
“Shit. My bad. I let my intrusive thoughts take over.” He paused and took a sip of his tea. “It wasn’t a lie, though.” He winked, then ate a piece of his donut.
I was flustered and didn’t know what to say.
“You’re very straightforward.”
“That’s the only way I know how to be.”
“Got it.” I cleared my throat. “Can you tell me about the summer bash? Like, do you have any ideas of what you want it to be? Or any ideas of where you want it?”
Kairo put his fist up to his mouth and cleared his throat. His eyes were on me, and I squirmed in my seat. Just a look from him had my body on fire.
After a few seconds, he went on to tell me about the bash and what they typically did. He gave me some ideas he had, and I shared a few of mine. We both had some of the same ideas. I didn’t know anything about the area, but I agreed to go with him to look at some places he had in mind to have it.
The more we talked about it, the more excited I got about helping him with it.
“Now that we got that stuff out of the way, tell me more about you. And I don’t want to hear generic answers. Don’t look at me as your boss right now. We’re two people trying to get to know each other and, hopefully, be friends one day.”
My breath hitched when he pushed a fallen strand behind my ear. It was in a ponytail when I went to work, but I had taken it out when I went home.
“By the way, I like your hair when it’s down,” he said as he lightly touched the bottom of my hair.
“Thank you.” If anyone else had done that, I would have flipped, but not with Kairo. I didn’t mind him touching my hair, or anywhere else he wanted to touch.
I thought about what I wanted to tell him, and I felt comfortable about telling him how I ended up in Sunrise Valley in the first place.
“I was in an abusive relationship, and my parents thought I needed a change of scenery.”
I noticed his jaw clench when I said abusive, and I felt the need to clarify what I meant.
“It wasn’t physical abuse, but it was emotional and verbal. Enough to affect me, but I’m good now.”
Kairo grabbed my hand and peered into my eyes. That damn spark was there again.
“It doesn’t matter what kind of abuse it was. Abuse is abuse, and you didn’t deserve that. No woman deserves any form of abuse. I’m sorry you had to endure that.” He held on to my hand but looked away for a minute. The conversation seemed to have bothered him. I wanted to say something else, but I didn’t want to push. “Right after I graduated from the academy, I had a female best friend that was in an abusive relationship. No matter how many times me or her family tried to get her out of it, she wouldn’t leave him.” I felt his grip on my hand tighten a little bit. “He ended up killing her, and I couldn’t save her.” He closed his eyes and inhaled. “For a while I blamed myself, but I knew it wasn’t on me. Regardless, it still bothered me that I couldn’t save her. Any man that abuses a woman in any capacity is a coward. You are brave for getting away from him.”
“Thank you, and I’m sorry you had to experience that. Let’s move on to something more exciting.” I smiled to ease the tension. “Tell me about you. Do you have any siblings?”
I hated that he had to endure that and that his friend couldn’t get out of it. People don’t understand how hard it could be for some to get away from their abusers. They made a person scared of them. Sometimes, they threatened to harm your family, so itwas just easier to stay. I was grateful that Brian didn’t put his hands on me, but it could have led to that if I stayed with him.
“Yes, I have a younger brother and a baby sister. They both are my heart in human form and my best friends.”
His face lit up as he told me about his siblings. He told me his brother ran their family’s hotel, but I noticed he didn’t share whatever his sister did.
“No siblings for me, but my favorite cousin lives here. His name is Elias, and he’s a bodyguard.”
