Page 17 of Shooting his Shot

I screeched and hung up the phone in his face. Before I continued up the stairs, I checked my cameras to see if he was in my yard, and he wasn't, so I rushed up the stairs to get ready.

"Why would you do this?"I exclaimed as I exited the private jet. I couldn't believe this man right now.

Akari only smiled and grasped my hand in his. He leaned down to kiss it. He was so damn tall it made no sense. We made our way to the waiting car that was parked with a man in uniform waiting for us. This wasn't the first time I rode in one of his cars when he had a driver. I felt on top of the world like I meant something. It was a different feeling.

"I told you whenever you are with me, be prepared to see things you've never seen before. I wasn't kidding when I said that," Akari voiced, opening the car door for me.

I was in awe of this man. "No, for real. You really weren't, but wow! Cali? What's here?" I turned to face him when we were in the car.

He smirked. "Another part of me. I have a condo here and wanted to share it with myfriend."

I wanted to roll my eyes so badly. Since I put that wall up between us, Akari was determined to use that word every chance he got. I was starting to despise it.

Still, it caught me off guard when he said he had a condo. "Wait, you have two homes?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I do. My home away from home when I need some peace is my condo, but you know my mini-mansion is my permanent home. Since I want to get away before my next big game, why not get away with you?"

I beamed. "That's so sweet of you, but remember what I said..." I pointed my finger at him. "No sex."

He threw his hands up. "Yeah, yeah. I already know. No need to remind me."

Sometimes, I felt like I needed to. The sexual tension between us was thick as hell. It continued to brew, and I felt like it was going to spout out of control. There was no telling how it would end for us, so I didn't want to test anything, and it ended up failing.

I droppedmy head to my chest, trying to hide the smile that spread across my face. "You are spoiling me," I admitted.

And he was. We were on Akari's balcony, enjoying a glass of wine while we waited for the chef to finish the dinner. Overlooking the city from the top floor, it was magnificent. Not only that, but the weather was also nice. It was a good thing I wore a dress when I did, even though it was a long one.

He smiled at me. "That's the plan. You deserve it. If a man never gave you the world in your past, I'll give it to you plus more." He reached for his glass and took a sip of the white wine.

I sighed deeply, unable to say anything to Akari after that. What was he trying to do to me? It was getting hard to resist him. I said I wanted us in the friend zone, and that was where we were at. We were friends who shared kisses that blew my socks off my feet. Plus, whenever I was home, in the mornings, he'd come and lie with me, and then we'd share more kisses. The kisses were getting too hot. I could admit I was feeling something for him. It was scaring me since I knew getting involved with Akari was a bad thing.

I picked up my glass and took a sip of it before returning it to the table.

"Cat got your tongue?" he asked, causing me to laugh.

"Well, you can say that. Do you know how long we have to wait for the food?"

He shrugged. "Nah, I don't know. I have a gaming room that we can chill in. I can cut your ass in some pool."

I twisted my lips. "Yeah, that's what you think. I've played pool when I was in college."

He laughed, causing me to frown. "College? You mean the old days? I'm talking about now. You can't beat my ass in pool now."

Akari got up from his chair with his wineglass and held his hand out for me to take it. I grabbed my wine glass in the process, too. We returned inside the house, and before we went into his game room, he went to talk to the chef. He grabbed another bottle of wine, too. It had me wondering what this man was up to. I glanced up at Akari, causing him to look down at me with a wicked smile. Yeah, this was bad. I had a feeling I was about to be set up.

"Are you ready to go inside?" he asked when we reached the door.

I wanted to say no and to take me back to the airport. I had a feeling this was dangerous.What was I about to walk into?With a gulp, I nodded.

Akari opened the door and stepped aside so I could enter. The lights automatically turned on when I walked in. I gasped as I took in what I saw. There were many games inside this room, from slot machines to arcade games. He even had a small poker table sitting in the middle of the room next to the pool table.

"Wow! This looks so amazing. Whoever decorated this did an awesome job." I couldn't help but be in awe of this place. It was an arcade inside a home.

"Thanks. I'll tell my sister you love it. It was her idea, and she made sure it was to her liking."

I smirked. "Your oldest sister is still bossy?"

He grunted. "Always."

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