Page 15 of Courting the Consequences

Kara retreated to the large, all-white kitchen that was on the left side of the open room. A massive island served as both a focal point of the kitchen and a demarcation line between the kitchen and living room. Four padded barstools lined the island, giving it a more sophisticated look. The rest of the room was done in shades of tans and browns, with pops of turquoise in the lamps, throw pillows, blankets, and rugs.

It was warm and welcoming and somehow very Kara. At least, the Kara she presented at the office, not this cutoffs-and-tattooed version of Kara that was in front of him. It was a startling contrast and made him realize just howlittlehe knew her despite working together for three years.

Kara was stirring something on the stove, and Kevin noticed the smell for the first time. Garlic and oregano. It smelled divine. Kara ignored him as she went to a cabinet to the left of the fridge and pulled out a bottle of what appeared to be whisky. She moved to another cabinet and grabbed two squat snifters.

Kevin stood to the left of the massive island, never feeling more out of place. He watched her move around her home with ease and grace, though he could see the irritation written on her face.

Goddamn she’s beautiful.

Her fucking hair was amazing, but those damntattoos. He didn’t have many himself, only a couple that were covered by clothes, butdamn.

Black and red ink contrasted against pale skin. There were skulls and butterflies, buildings and gravestones, roses and tulips. Both red and black ink dripped off of pictures and bled into other scenes, making the tattoos look like scenes were bleeding or the ink was running. In any open spaces there were butterflies and stars. There were words scattered throughout, single words floating between images:Dream,Live,Fight. All randomly located, it seemed, throughout the sleeves except for the wordsLive, fuck, die. They were grouped together with commas in bright red ink, tatted right under the crook of her elbow on her right forearm, so they’d stand out. On her left forearm in the same location was the phraseLive in the moment. Like a reminder to herself. On her right bicep there was a large and menacing skull with red eyes. Kevin eyed the skull, wondering where he had seen it before. There was something familiar about it.

“Now I can see why you wear long sleeves all year, even when it’s ninety degrees,” he tried to joke. “I just thought it was because the office was freezing.”

“Why do think the office is kept freezing?” she deadpanned. She poured two glasses of whisky and slid one toward him.

He glanced at the label on the bottle. Macallan.Hot damn. He took a sip of the amber liquid and swallowed slowly. It was smooth going down. Really smooth.

He set down his glass and moved toward her. She was preoccupied with putting the cap back on the bottle. He moved around the side of the island and slid up next to her. “Babe,” he murmured. He snaked a hand between her and the counter and rested it on her stomach. He gently turned her to face him. He put both hands on her hips as he towered over her. She was so small compared to him. He was used to her in six-inch heels.

She gasped when she realized just how caged in she was. “Kevin,” she groaned and shook her head. Her hand came up and rested on his stomach, between the two open halves of his cut.

He gripped her hips and lifted her onto the island, stepping between her spread legs before she could push him away. He rested his forehead against hers. “Talk to me,” he murmured.

Kara felt warm all over. Sitting on her granite counter, caged in by Kevin, his body pressed against hers, she itched to reach out and pull him in for a kiss. She was dying to grab him by the cut and pull him in even closer. He smelled freshly showered, a mix of mint and leather.

Her heart was beating a million miles a minute. Her stomach fluttered at the anticipation building within her. But her lawyer brain was screaming, all the reasons why she shouldn’t want this parading through her brain, stomping on her feelings of lust and desire.

She was used to heartbreak in her life. She was used to things being difficult. She had fought tooth and nail to get to be where she was in life. Against all the odds of her childhood upbringing on the south side, with all the disadvantages against her, she’d still managed to make it to the top.

She really didn’t want to lose that.

Kara sighed. “You’re not going to like what I have to say.” She kept her eyes closed; she couldn’t look at him. She couldn’t see the disappointment on his face. He’d come to mean too much to her in the last three years. Their playful banter and back and forth teasing, seeing his face in the halls when she was having a bad day: his smile had a way of cheering her up without him even knowing.

Kevin tensed. He lifted his forehead off hers.

She opened her eyes to watch his deep chocolate eyes survey her face. He took in every inch of her, as if memorizing her. The longer he assessed her, the more uncomfortable she became. She wasn’t used to not being the strongest person in a room. She was a formidable lawyer and damn good at her job. It was her job to make people uncomfortable with just one look.

Being on the other side of the microscope didn’t normally bother her because she always knew what her opponent would find. Tonight though, with Kevin? She had a feeling he would see right through her.

She had a feeling she was on the edge of a precipice, choosing whether to take that jump and fall and change everything or to back away and stay safe. It was a pivotal moment with consequences that could either make or break her.

“Say it.” Kevin’s voice was deep and rough as gravel. His usual warm eyes were hard and almost black, his face a cold mask of indifference.

Kara stifled a gasp at the change in him. He was bracing for the worst.

“I can’t.” Her voice cracked and she looked away, anger swirling in her belly.

“That’s bullshit,” Kevin growled. “You don’t get to be a fucking coward about this.”

Kara’s eyes snapped back to his and narrowed. “I’m not being a fucking coward,” she spat. “You don’t get it, Kevin. I’m the fuckingmanaging partnerof Carmichael and Associates. The whole fucking city looks to my firm, looks tome, to see if I’m gonna fail.”

He sneered and stepped back from her. “So, if it doesn’t fit into the perfect little image you’ve crafted for yourself, it’s not worth it? That it?” He pressed, his voice rising. “What happened to the girl who covered herself in tattoos?” He grabbed her forearm and held it up. His grip was firm but gentle as he manhandled her.

Kara growled.

He didn’t give her a chance to speak. “Live, fuck, die?” he quoted the words dripping in blood-red ink on her arm, tatted on her right inner elbow. “Or these words,” he added, grabbing her left arm, “Live in the moment?” He dropped her arms with a scoff and stepped away from her.

---