Page 83 of Kai
“Missy doesn’t know any better.” I crossed my arms and glowered at him and his friends.
“Did I hear right?” Javier frowned and shifted his gaze between Kai and Micah. “Did she just say Missy doesn’tknowany better?”
“She did indeed make such an odd statement,” Micah offered in his stilted tone.
“Let me explain,” Kai interjected. “Cece thinks Missy is delicate.”
“Delicate?”Javier’s narrowed eyes fell on me and his nostrils flared, betraying the existence of a temper that could match mine if unleashed. “Missy is strong. Smart. Amazing. If ‘delicate’ is the best you can say about your sister, then you don’t know her like I do.”
“I love Missy.” I faced off with a warrior that tripled me in size and strength, but I was determined to unmask his greed, and he had just given me the first hint about his temper. “But my baby sister is like a porcelain doll. She wouldn’t have been able to survive the mean girls at boarding school without me. She’s been delicate since she was a baby.”
“For sure, you don’t knowmyMissy.” Javier’s jaw set at a stern angle.
“YourMissy?” I let out a manufactured snicker. “You don’t have a Missy. I do.” It was time to up the ante. I braced my feet at a stagger and wiggled four fingers in the air. “Come on, you cash-hungry bloodsucker. Let me give you a preview of how I keep gold diggers away from my sisters, and what I’ll do to you if I find out you’re after Missy for her money.”
“Did you just say I’m a gold digger?” The man’s pronounced Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat, and the startled look on his face made him look genuinely baffled even though a vein popped on his forehead. “You thinkI’m after Missy’s money?”
“She’s kind and sweet, and she never thinks ill of anyone,” I informed him briskly. “But she’s got someone to fight for her now. I’m back, and she’s got me.”
“Okay, all right, don’t lose it, Goofman,” Javier muttered,seemingly to himself. “Slow down the temper, control the emotion, think before you speak. You know the drill.”
I didn’t miss the offense that sparkled in his eyes when he glanced at me. Or that every muscle in his body was tight, as if he were fighting to control himself. Perhaps I should leash my temper as well, but it had always served me well on occasions like these. I intended to test this man to the best of my insolent ability. Like most men who had come calling at Astor House, he probably just wanted the heiress, not my sister. Plus, he’d called us witches!
“Miss Astor?” His throat rippled with a swallow. “Ifight for Missy.Iloveher. Do you read me? I don’t give a fuck about her money. I’ve never touched a cent that belongs to her. Never will. I’ve got my flaws. I’ve got some baggage and I’m not perfect by any means, but I adore your sister and I’mnota cash-hungry bloodsucker.”
“You could be.” I challenged the surge of pride that stiffened his body. “Gold diggers have always chased after my sisters. I’m the one who chases them away. It’s my job to protect my baby sister from you.”
“I get you feel strongly about assholes chasing after you and your sisters,” Javier said, shifting on his feet. “Missy told me about that, and I know you all had horrible experiences—”
“Don’t try to get into my head,” I warned. “Pretending sympathy doesn’t work with me.”
“I’m not pretending shit.”
“You asked about my witchy power?” I deepened the bend of my knees and went back into my fighting stance. “Well, let me teach you what one of my witchy powers is.”
“You…” He cleared the hoarseness out of his voice. “You wanna fight me?”
“Yes.” I stepped to his left, angling for a blow to the liver to begin with. “I’m gonna kick your ass.”
“But… why?”
“Because if you’re not willing to fight for my sister, you’re not worthy of her.”
“Excuse me, I’m sorry, I’m confused. Give me a second here.” Javier rubbed his forehead, and keeping a wary eye on me, turned to Kai. “Is she for real?”
“She’s for real.” Kai beamed a smile at me before he returned his attention to his friend. “Goof, you’re in trouble. She’s a badass. Unless she decides otherwise, she’s gonna come at you with all she’s got.”
“I…” Javier choked. “I can’t fight Missy’s sister.”
“Of course you can’t,” Kai scoffed. “That’s like, obvious.”
Javier’s eyes widened and shifted to me. “I won’t fight you,” he stammered, then tossed a desperate look in Kai’s direction. “What do I do?”
I didn’t register Kai’s reply. My mind was stuck on his compliment. Had Kai just called me a badass?
Some might have taken offense at being called a badass. But not me. Iwasa badass—most of the time. Kai offered his compliments with the conviction of an ally, a man who believed in me and didn’t need to exert any effort to defend, claim, or prevail over me. Okay, so maybe I didn’t resent him that much for excluding me from the conversation.
I looked at him, attempting to keep my head from floating away along with my heart. His lips were moving as he talked Javier through something, but all I could see was Kai’s aura, bright, pure, and intense, like the man himself.
