Page 85 of Kai
Fuck.
Half asleep and in a rush, I’d forgotten that my goal had been to tempt Kai in the morning. Lo-and-behold. That’s why he kept offering me that damned towel!
For a smart woman, I was batting a thousand on the stupidity scale.
The skin on my face ignited. My lack of clothing made me feel exposed and pissed me off. I gritted my teeth, wishing I wore my gi and black belt instead.
Kai stood up and approached me. “May I?”
He draped the towel over my shoulders. I nodded my gratitude. Fisting my hands around the ends, I yanked the terrycloth over my chest. Somehow, it helped that Kai stood beside me. It was almost as if he was on my side.
Never mind that. He has no feelings for you. Remember? Finish this.
I squinted at Javier and his aura until it fizzled along with its sound. Maybe he wasn’t a bad guy, but still my skepticism lingered.
“Do you want me to believe you love my sister?” I challenged him with a lift of my chin. “Then you’re going to have to show me that you’re worthy of her.”
“Wow.” He shook his head and screwed up his face. “You are…”
Micah waved his hands frantically, and, standing beside me, Kai shook his head in a protracted no.
“You are relentless,” Javier finally said. “I swear, I’m gonna spend the rest of my life showing Missy how much I love her. That’ll be the ongoing answer to your question. I’m a guy with principles. Okay, well, maybe only a few principles. One or two, but they count. They are: ‘protect Missy’ and ‘make Angel happy.’” He stuck out his chest. “You wanna beat me up? Go ahead. Take your shot. For Missy’s sake, get it over with. I’ve taken far worse for her before. I’ll gladly take your blows, too.”
“Dammit,” Way to defuse the bomb ticking inside of me. By then, I didn’t want to fight the guy anymore. “When you talk like that, I can’t fight you. If you refuse to defend yourself, itwouldn’t be fair.”
“I guess you’re in a pickle then.” Javier flashed the dazzling smile that must’ve melted most females he met, including Missy. “Still, if you need a punching bag, I’m your guy.”
“Ah, shit.” I hated when nice triumphed over hateful. It always put me at a disadvantage.
I wasn’t a hundred percent persuaded of Javier’s good intentions toward my baby sister, but he hadn’t failed my test, either. For now, it was time to end this skirmish and get myself out of sight from three guys who had done their best to keep their eyes on my face instead of my boobs. I appreciated the effort, but like Affie used to say, once you’re naked—or semi-naked in my case—you can’t be unseen.
“Time to exit this theater.” Micah stood up to his full ginormous height, reached for his tank, and propped it on the table. With his timely intervention, the giant I’d so carelessly called an idiot showed a glimmer of brilliance.
“Before you go.” I met Javier’s wary stare. “I want to answer your questions.”
“Or we could talk later,” Javier suggested ruefully.
“We talk now.” Might as well go out with a bang, even though it wasn’t the original kind of banging I’d hoped for. “To answer your first question: no, Kai hasn’t fallen for me.” I ignored the flicker of pain in my chest and also the frown I spotted on Kai’s face. “You heard him. He told you himself. He’s doing his job, so stop pestering him and get off his case. Understood?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Javier said, but I caught a twinkle in his eyes.
A twinkle of what? Amusement?
Never mind that.
“To answer your second question,” I continued. “I’m eventougher than my profile suggests. I like it that way. Since your team named this mission Operation Sorceress, I presume you know I’m named after a ruthless mythological sorceress?”
Javier nodded.
“Circe, Cersei, or Cersi, however the hell you want to spell it, was the offspring of a god and a nymph.”
“A nymph?”Javier looked at Kai and grinned. “Lucky you.”
Kai rolled his eyes. “Goof…”
“You’re missing my point.” I flashed Javier a pointed look. “Cersi used potions and incantations to change men into beasts. Turning guys into pigs was her favorite trick. Personally, I believe men turn themselves into pigs, but hey, if I can help, all you have to do is misbehave.”
“There’s no danger of that,” he said. “Missy is everything to me.”
