Page 37 of Until We Burn
I squeeze my eyes shut. I fumble for the faucet before I hurriedly crank it on. Every cold splatter douses the flush on my cheeks and breaks through the hazy desire clouding my senses. Only the dull ache between my legs lingers behind.
I shut off the faucet.
I can’t give in to these impulses, no matter how much I want to. Tempting anything with Kai is wrong for my future. It’d end in nothing but disaster and heartbreak because I will never be his, and he will never be mine. Not with bàba’s expectations on my shoulders. Not with Kai’s ambition to play in the NHL.
But no matter how many times I repeat this to myself, I can’t stop myself from wanting him.
CHAPTER 18
KAI
I never thoughtI’d live to see the day when Luke King might be right about something.
It rarely happens because he has the judgment of a golden retriever. But doubts swarm my mind now as I sit on the couch eating breakfast with Diana while she works on her assignment for class.
The way she looked at me and leaned into my touch last night makes me wonder if I’m not the only one trying to keep their emotions in check.
I poke at my scrambled eggs and groan under my breath.
Even if I wanted to talk about it, Diana didn’t say a word to me last night when we were doing research, she hasn’t said a word to me this morning, and I think she’s trying everything in her will to make sure it stays that way.
“Aiya.”Diana suddenly curses in Mandarin and starts furiously typing on her laptop. I glance over at her. She’s strangely on edge for someone who hasn’t been caffeinated yet.
“What are you doing?”
She doesn’t take her eyes off the screen. “I’m investigating.”
“Investigating what?”
Diana sighs. “I was supposed to work on the joint project todaywith Patrick Hertzberg. Since I’m working on Mellonbaum’s project, we rescheduled the meeting to next week. But now I think Jonathan weaseled his way into the project because I see them attending this rally together.” Diana squints at the screen. “It’s him. It has to be.”
“What the—” I set my plate down. “Diana, are youstalkingyour brother?”
“No, I’m watching a livestream of the rally to see if I can find Jonathan in the crowd of people. I just can’t read their lips.” Diana twists her laptop around to let me see the screen. “Does it look like they’re conspiring against me?”
I blink back at her. “I think you need to go outside and sniff some fresh air.”
“No,” Diana protests. “I need to be on this.”
“No.” I reach over and close the laptop down. “What you need is to be caffeinated and fed.”
Diana hesitates. She bites down on her lip and hugs her laptop.
I sigh. “Come on, Di. It’s not healthy for you to do anything if you’re feeling like this.”
Those words finally make her look up at me for the first time this morning. Surprise overtakes her face as if she’s never had someone say this to her.
Diana’s shoulders fall.
“Okay,” she relents, “I’ll go with you.”
I chuckle. “Your enthusiasm is touching, princess.”
“I’ve had enough of you,” she grumbles. But as she heads out of the living room, I swear I can see Diana trying to hide her smile.
DIANA
“Who’s ready to do some hockey drills?”
