Page 78 of Heir

It was like being transported back two years when I was still working for Uncle William, and he was always a hair trigger away from losing control.

Kai rushed toward me, and my vision blurred as it merged with the memory of Uncle William coming out of the office after a visit from Roman Stone.

“I’m sorry!” I said, cowering and covering my face.

It was the day Uncle William realized the King’s Men had gotten into his office computer and extracted all the files he kept as insurance on all of his corruptedfriends.

When he realized it was my carelessness…

Fuck.

That should have been my last day there, but I had come back to work with him until the news broke out about his dealings with the Mansen Brotherhood.

Breathe in, breathe out.

It took me a moment to realize the kitchen had gotten quiet.

Too quiet.

Slowly, I lowered my hand. Kai stood about a foot away from me, his eyes wide and his skin pale. He looked sick.

“Baby,” he said softly, like one would to a wounded animal. “I’m not gonna hurt you. You know that, don’t you?”

My bottom lip trembled. I had known that—or, at least, some naïve part of me did. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have come home with him in the first place. Otherwise, Blue wouldn’t have been okay with me going home with him.

I nodded, and that was what he needed before he moved closer to me. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around me, and a small whimper escaped my lips. I didn’t mean to. He tightened his hold and lifted me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist without prompting, and without another word, he walked out of the kitchen.

The broken pieces of the ceramic plates crunched beneath his boots.

“The mess—”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “I’ll take care of the mess later.”

“But—”

“No.”

“Kai.”

“Gemma.”

I sighed. Stubborn man.

“That’s my good girl. Don’t worry about anything. I’m here now.”

I wanted more than anything for his words to be true. But it couldn’t be, could it?

I couldn’t just hand all my problems over to him and not worry about anything.

Having sex once with the man didn’t make him a permanent fixture in my life—but I wanted it so fucking much.

He walked to his bedroom and sat on the bed with me on his lap.

I kept my face buried in his neck, not ready to face him just yet.

I had overreacted, and now that my heart wasn’t beating so wildly and I could think clearly, I was embarrassed.

I supposed there was some lingering trauma from working for Uncle William.

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