Page 25 of Angels Are Falling

Kai reached for me slowly, as if coaxing an unpredictable feral animal out of its cage. He turned me around with a firm grip on my elbow.

Tears streamed down my cheeks before he could do more, and I stifled the sob bubbling up my throat. I screwed my eyes shut, pressing my back against the cool glass.

God, I wanted to disappear. I wanted the ground to swallow me whole. I felt cheap, standing naked in front of a fully clothed man who had paid for my body.

Most of all, I felt betrayed. Not by Kai, because even though he had taken the brunt of my anger, he didn’t owe me anything. He never promised to protect me from other men.

No. Kai didn’t break his promise, but Stefan did.

Bottled-up bitterness bubbled to the surface in the form of fat tears. It dawned on me that my anger toward Kai came from feeling abandoned by the man I loved. Stefan was off gallivanting in Africa, living out his dream job. Raising three children with me in a small town was hell for him. He was gone the moment he received an all-expenses-paid trip, and I was the one paying the price. Stefan left me as collateral, a body to be ravaged by Kai.

“Amelie, look at me.”

Kai’s voice was gentle, not amused or mocking like before. He must’ve sensed my shame.

Small mercies.

My entire body was rigid at the thought of what came next. His frame crushed mine, not to cause pain, but to snap me out of my despair. Still, I couldn’t look at him. I just couldn’t. His hand gripped my cheek, forcing my face toward his.

My eyes popped open when I felt his hot breath fanning my lips. He was going to kiss me!

I knew the exact moment he realized it. The moment he saw my raw terror. The plea written on my face.

Please don’t make me do this.

Kai stepped back and braced his palms against the glass on either side of my head, creating a cage around me without touching me.

“Stop,” he whispered, sounding slightly alarmed.

My eyes fluttered. “Stop what?”

“Stop staring at me like this is killing you.”

It is. I didn’t say it out loud, but he knew.

We stared at one another, a hair’s breadth apart. His eyes traced my face, my hair, then my naked body in the dusk.

I’d vowed to detach myself from what was happening tonight, but I couldn’t go through with it. I wouldn’t be able to recognize myself if I did. I’d be filthy, a whore to be passed between two men. More tears rolled down my cheeks.

“Don’t cry,” he whispered, leaning his temple against mine.

But I couldn’t stop.

Kai was deliberately absent when his lawyers outlined the details of our prenup and suggested Stefan sit out of the meeting as well. This way, the lawyers would deliver the bad news only to me. The prenup stipulated that if I broke our agreement, we’d owe Kai everything he had invested in this arrangement thus far, including this trip, summer camp for the kids, and their boarding school tuitions. If I didn’t sleep with him tonight, I’d plunge my family into a deeper financial hole.

Although we had no means of paying him back, I couldn’t bring myself to go through with it. I felt utterly broken at the thought of another man touching me.

“I can’t,” I sobbed, desperate. “Please, don’t make me do this.”

A warm body engulfed me, pressing me further into the glass window. I realized it was meant to be a hug. While a part of me inwardly laughed over Kai’s lame attempt at comfort, the other screamed in despair. I had never let another man coddle me, and this was just the beginning.

My shoulders shook as he wrapped his arms around me. I was faintly aware that I was still naked. Despondency had stolen my sense of reason. I felt alone and clung to him desperately for comfort, burying my face in his warm, bare chest.

“I can’t go through with this. I’m sorry.” Each gasp stole my breath, my head pressed against his chest.

I braced myself. Kai’s lawyers had been very clear about what would happen if I didn’t hold up my end of the bargain.

To my absolute shock, Kai held me until my tears dried. “Don’t cry, Princess,” he murmured.