28
The security was all Fort Knox level, as expected. They’d actually added to it since Leon and I had installed all the systems, which raised my brows somewhat. Out of curiosity, I pulled out the bypass device I’d lifted from the guy at the last house.
The silent alarm activated before I even got two steps inside the house, and I quickly keyed in the code to stop it reporting back to… whoever the fuck it reported to.
My phone rang a second later, and I smiled as I answered it. “Just me,” I said quickly. “I was testing the security system.”
“Good to know they’re working,” Zed replied. “They’re linked to a team of Timberwolves, so if you need backup…”
I gave a low laugh. “I won’t.”
“I don’t doubt it.”
Smiling to myself, I ended the call and put my phone back in my pocket before turning to Kai. “Home sweet home, for now.”
He was looking around the foyer with a confused look on his face, but when I spoke, his attention shifted back to me with an intense sort of hunger that reminded me I was all alone in this big old mansion with a man determined to fuck me every waking second of the day.
Not that I was complaining… much. But I had a few pressing issues that needed dealing with. Not the least of which would be working out how to not let Leon gut Kai with a hunting knife. As much as I was refusing to admit any strong feelings, I didn’t want him dead. Far from it.
“Show me around?” Kai suggested. “This place is huge.”
I nodded, dropping my bags at the base of the stairs. “It’s only five or six bedrooms from memory, but yeah they have a whole lot of other shit in here.”
Kai gave a soft laugh as I pointed out the full-size gym, complete with a training octagon for MMA fights. Then we continued through to the massive indoor pool, and I indicated the steam room and sauna on the far side.
“Fucking rich people,” he muttered under his breath as he grabbed my bags and we headed upstairs.
I led the way through to the master wing and quirked a brow at him. “Big Man, I’ve seen your fucking private island and jet. You wanna pretend you’re not a rich person? Try spinning that story for someone who hasn’t witnessed your wealth firsthand.”
He had no response for that, just huffed a sound and dropped my bags beside the dresser.
“I’ll show you where the rest of the bedrooms are,” I offered sweetly. “I’m sure you want to get some sleep, and this bed isn’t big enough for both of us.”
He gave the king-size bed a pointed look, then leveled a hard look my way. When I batted my lashes innocently, he barked a laugh, tossing his head back.
“Cute, Siren. Real fucking cute.” He tugged his shirt off in one smooth motion, showing off all those glorious muscles covered in ink. “I’m gonna go for a swim actually. Care to join me?” His jeans hit the floor, and he stepped out of them.
I wet my lips, my attention embarrassingly locked on his tight black boxer briefs. It was such a tempting offer.
“I have some calls to make,” I murmured, playing coward like never before. “You have fun, though.”
Kai shrugged those impressive shoulders and sauntered out. “You know where to find me if you change your mind!”
Biting my lip, I had to stop myself chasing after him. Because as hard as I tried to think badly of him—and there were plenty of reasons to do so—I couldn’t help feeling like he was deliberately giving me space. Like he’d sensed that everything was getting all a bit much inside my head and I needed some breathing room to process.
With a small groan of frustration, I changed into a sleeping T-shirt and flicked the lights off. Fuck processing, I’d rather sleep.
The exhaustion of the day caught up with me quickly, and I crashed hard and fast, not even waking when Kai slid into bed with me when he returned from the pool. All I knew was, one second, having so many conflicting thoughts and emotions crowding my brain that it physically hurt. And the next, I was waking up calm and rested, with Kai’s huge frame draped around me like my favorite blanket.
He was fast asleep, his breathing heavy and even, so I slipped out from his embrace without waking him. Because I knew if I woke him, we’d end up fucking again, and all my common sense seemed to fly out the window when we were fucking.
Silently, I grabbed some clothes and my phone, then padded downstairs to the massive open plan kitchen. I vaguely remembered there being a pretty awesome coffee machine that I wanted to take for a spin.
After switching it on to warm up, I pulled on my clothes and sent a text to Leon to ask how his flight was. Then I got all nervous that I was coming across like a needy girlfriend and he would lose interest if he wasn’t chasing me so hard. So I almost unsent the damn thing before giving myself a mental slap that I was acting like a sixteen-year-old with a crush. Leon wasn’t losing interest anytime soon, he’d as much as told me he was in it for the long haul.
So had Kai.
Fuck, that was going to blow up in my face soon, I just knew it. And Leon didn’t know I was here with Kai… Shit, now I felt like I was cheating even though I’d never promised monogamy to either man. Part of me knew I should steer clear of fucking Kai again until I could discuss it with Leon. But the other part of me knew that telling Leon would force me into a decision I wasn’t remotely ready to make.
I couldn’t even be sufficiently mad at myself for ending up in this situation, because I felt more alive than I’d ever been in my whole fucking life. The emotions that both Kai and Leon stirred up in me, I didn’t know I was even capable of. I thought that part of me had been snuffed out a long, long time ago. Yet here I was, giddy and infatuated with two men who were both polar opposites and dangerously similar at the same time.
Tapping my nails on the marble counter, I watched the coffee beans grinding—praying they weren’t stale—then made myself a double espresso. It was a little bitter, but good enough for a caffeine hit. Just enough to kick start my brain as I made my way through to the gym.
The fact that it’d taken me twenty-two minutes to make that idiot sing was irritating me. I’d let myself slack off under the pressure of multiple hits on my name, and there was no time like the present to get back into shape.
I didn’t have any boxing gloves, so I couldn’t work out my issues on the bag unless I wanted to split my hand open again. But there was plenty of other equipment that I could use, so I got to work. It was a welcome distraction, pushing my muscles and testing my limits in a controlled environment rather than fighting for my life, and I quickly lost track of time.
By the time the gym door opened and Kai strode in, I was dripping with sweat and my limbs were like spaghetti noodles.
“What’s with the face, Big Man?” I asked, panting, as I placed the weight bar back in its cradle. I sat up and mopped my face with my towel. Kai looked mad as hell, his shoulders all bunched up with tension.
“You’ve been in here all morning?” His words were clipped, and I could hear the anger he was struggling to control.
I arched a brow in question. “Yeah. Why?”
His scowl dipped deeper, and he seemed slightly at a loss for words. Then he gave a quick shake of his head. “Never mind,” he muttered. Then he eyed my weights and gave me a sweeping once over with his eyes. “We working out, huh?”