Page 24 of Where Sinners Repent

We fall into silence, and my fingers dance over the wooden handle of Kitty, my red nails sliding up and down.

Unable to help myself, I turn to Kai, staring at his side profile. “My clients will probably feel weird with you hanging around like a little ghost. I won’t tell your boss if you wanna go play hooky for a couple of hours. Catch up on some shopping. Or see a movie. I heard the new Toy Story is great!”

If I’m getting under his skin, he doesn’t show it.

I shouldn’t keep pushing him. Deep down, I know. But there’s something addictive about chasing the tiny reactions, rare as they are.

“Yesterday...” I start. “That was something.”

Tightening his grip on the steering wheel, the leather of his gloves creak and the muscle in his jaw jumps. My lips curve in triumph.

“Did you... like it?”

The car rumbles as he accelerates, and the view from the windows begins to blur. The speed causes my stomach to flip.

I’m not expecting a reply. Minutes tick by, and I’ve decided to let it go.

But when his words come out clipped and through gritted teeth, I shiver.

“What part?”

All of it, I want to say.

Pursing my lips, I think about what to say. But thinking of being tangled in the sheets while he wrestled me and fucked me roughly, does nothing but turn me on. Clenching my legs together, I will the needy feeling between my legs to go away.

“My pain.” I decide. “Did you like my pain?” The way the words come out, raspy and raw, I bet he can sense my desire.

Finally, he looks at me. His devastating midnight eyes make my next breath get lodged in my throat. His eyes scan me, the way they did yesterday. Searching. Always searching.

Turning back to the road, his chest rises and falls, steadily.

I’ll take that as a no.

My studio is coming up and I couldn’t be more thankful. Get me the hell out of this stifling car.

I lean forward in my seat, ready to see my baby. My happy place. But the smile on my face disappears in a second.

“What...”

The word barely leaves my mouth.

The SUV hasn’t even stopped before I see it. My front window is nothing more than jagged teeth, glass smashed into smithereens. Glittering shards decorate the footpath, glinting in the morning sun.

“No...”

Tires squeal as Kai pulls up.

The second the car stops, I reach for the handle. A gloved hand shoots across my chest.

“Wait.”

“What?” I gasp. “No, I need to...”

“Wait,” he repeats, this time quieter. Deadlier.

He scans the building through the windscreen, his eyes searching the rubble of my studio.

Every muscle in his body is still. Like this, he’s a panther, ready to pounce on whatever poor animal he has spotted.