~Kai~“Oh, coffee,” her voice was raspy from all the screaming she did last night. She grabbed the cup and took a sip, smiling sweetly. “This is so nice,” she whispered, her eyes roaming all over the place.“It’s beautiful out here,” she cooed, staring at the ocean. “Look at that view.”The wind swept her messy, dark waves.Something has changed overnight. She seemed contented, happy. My chest tightened. A twinge of overprotectiveness surged through my veins.I don’t deserve her. Klaus didn’t deserve my betrayal, but Benny deserved more. She deserved to be happy.Klaus will be so fucking mad at me. That man usually acts before he thinks. A bullet between my eyes? I’d consider myself lucky if he ended me that way, but I will take my punishment rather than hurt Benny.She melted into my arms when I embraced her from behind. Gathering her hair to one side, I nuzzled my face into her neck. Her sweet scent short-circuited my brain.Hugging her was a bad idea because the moment she angled h
~Benny~My plan was simple. Seduce Kai away from his work and have him all to myself.We sleep in the same bed, wake up next to each other. He turned me into his personal fuck doll, and I’m not complaining. For a first-time lover, I think I hit the jackpot. Kai was a great balance of sweet and wild, caring and rough, possessive and attentive.I crave his attention like a druggie needing a fix. It’s unnerving. ‘Can he blame me?’ My day ends and starts with him drawing orgasm after orgasm from my body.Like a petulant child, I stomped down the beach, cursing under my breath. He didn’t have to be so mean. I just want to spend time with him.Reaching the hammock tied between two palm trees, I sat and stared at the gorgeous, warm hues coloring the sky. It would’ve been perfect for a romantic afternoon if only Kai hadn’t been in a sour mood.I imagined we’d be making out. Then, when things take up a notch, he’d throw me over his shoulder and carry me inside his bedroom, just like yesterday
~Benny~ “Dominguez is behind bars,” Kai continued. “Do you want me to go into details of how that happened?” His indifference was as real as the chaise we were sitting on. Through my peripheral vision, chills crawled onto my skin at how distant his eyes were. No trace or even a shade of the familiar warmth in those pools of gray. His jaws were tense. He’d been clenching the beer bottle so hard I feared he’d break it. “Uhm… sure,” I murmured, not knowing what else to say. This news should make me happy. I could go back to my life. Markus wasn’t forcing me to go to Sicily or lock me up in a tower surrounded by his men. He was giving me a way out. I could go home. “After Granada, Dominguez put in play another plot to take down the Martinellis,” Kai narrated flatly, as though he was telling a sloppy story. “Davide, Markus’ brother, tried to capture Rylee by using Kara. But Rylee’s dad… Vicente Suarez-” My spine straightened, ears perking up. “Suarez? You don’t mean Suarez Cartel,
~Benny~Kai’s lips were gentle, almost feather-light. He nibbled and sucked and licked, coaxing me to forget everything else and focus on his touch.He trapped my face between his rough palms, taking a better angle at kissing me.A sob wracked my chest. I fisted his shirt on the waist. A war waged in my head. We shouldn’t be kissing. We should be talking with words and not with our bodies. But I was a putty for Kai. One touch, and I was a goner.Spearing his fingers into my hair, he grabbed a fistful, tugging my head back. I moaned, my lips parting. He shoved his tongue inside my mouth. He tasted of beer and sin and my downfall.I resisted giving in to his teasing tongue. He lapped at my lips, tasted every nook of my mouth, searching for the responsive girl he’d been with for the last couple of nights.She’s here, just scared to give in. She knew something big would go down tonight, and Kai was diverting my attention to sex.Fisting his shirt, I took strength from it to keep myself g
~Benny~ On autopilot, I put on Kai’s shirt, made the bed, brushed my teeth, tied my hair in a messy bun, and walked out of our room. I hoped to find Kai in the kitchen, making breakfast while sipping his coffee - black with a pinch of sugar- just the way he liked it. We had fallen into a domesticated routine, one I became comfortable with. I was in denial, but I knew something wasn’t right. I could feel it. The house was eerie, apart from a hushed conversation in the living room. Reaching the end of the hallway, I saw two men sitting on the couch. One had his back on me, occupying the single sofa. I had the side profile of the other, who quickly lifted his brown eyes to mine. I recognize him from Granada, one of Klaus’ men. He looked much older than Kai; I’d put him in his early forties. He stood once he saw me, flashing a friendly smile. “Berenice,” he murmured, brown eyes darting to the other guy. “You’re finally awake.” Hostility swirled in my veins. I might recognize him, b
~Benny~ The first break of sunlight in the mountain range blinded me. I pinched my eyes, barely blocking Markus’ right front kick with my palm. Leaning my body backward, I evaded Markus’ jab. His one-two combination was a hoax, a trick he does before he throws a sidekick. Sidestepping, I smirked and circled Markus. Today was hand-to-hand combat defense training, but I badly wanted to retaliate. Maybe old age was catching up with him. His movements were slower, or I could be getting faster. Whatever it was, I could read his movements better than the first day of training. We circled each other, counting our breaths, eyes watching one another. Markus feigned a push kick and aimed for the kill with a right spinning kick. I blocked both, wincing at the power of his attack. ‘Damn. The old man is getting serious.’ Following the momentum of his spin, he aimed at my face with a jab. I caught his knuckles, smirking. “You’re in a good mood,” he commented, as if he was expecting me to be
~Benny~ “He was giving you a leeway,” Markus said, unfurled the foldable chair, and sat beside me. “Klaus?” I asked. He hummed, pulling out the content of his fishing bucket one by one. “You’re lucky he lasted two years without kidnapping you or tying you up in a chair in his house,” he said with a chuckle. I was on the wooden platform by the lake. I spend most of my time here, fishing, thinking, reading or just sipping coffee. The temperature was slowly plummeting as the sun sets. My mouth salivated at the aroma of coffee as Markus poured a cup from his thermos. He handed me the coffee and filled another for himself. I sighed. The mug warmed my palms. The soft spring wind rocked my fishing line floater. Markus expertly set up his fishing rod, put a bait, and tossed it on the water. Fishing taught me patience. It cleared my head, and I enjoyed doing it with Markus. It became our thing since Klaus hated fishing. He accompanied Markus and I once, and he’d fallen asleep in his sea
~Kai~ “There you go, bear,” Markus said, gently setting down little Mikael on the mat with cartoon owl print. He carefully set the overhead gym with dangling fluffy owls. Mikael’s small hands stretched up, drooling as he blabbered something like ‘woo woo owo.’ Unlike Mikael, who’s still high on energy, Ramona was peacefully asleep in my arms. In fact, she’d fallen asleep in the middle of the chatter in the gazebo. Once Mikael was occupied, Markus stood and took Ramona from me. “I got you, princess.” Markus set her in the pink crib, making sure she was comfortable. I watched the boss, fascinated. Seeing this side of him, a gentle and loving grandfather, was a breath of fresh air. “I got everything covered here,” he said, sitting crossed leg beside Mikael, wiping his drool with a fluffy white towel. “Go enjoy your break from work.” In my time working for the Martinellis, this was the longest I spent with Markus. And the smile ghosting his lips as he glanced over his shoulder sent
~Benny~ In the pregnant silence that followed, Klaus’ grin morphed into a frown of confusion and rage, then a mask of indifference. His emotions were suddenly sucked into the black hole of his passive expression as he pushed from the chair, eyes trained on Kai and me. Rylee’s hand covered Klaus’, gripping the knife he used in cutting his fillet. I sucked in a breath. His hands were terribly shaking. Worry raged in my mind. Kai, on the other hand, was as calm as the August wind. His thumb was even drawing circles on my knuckles beneath the table. Like an emotional iceberg, Klaus turned, exiting the dining room towards the lawn. A few moments later, a motorcycle heading for the estate’s entrance rumbled until the sound faded. “I think that’s our cue to leave,” Ghost murmured. “Thank you for inviting us over.” And the rest of Klaus’ men followed him out. Markus, Rylee, Kai, and I remain sitting at the dining table for twelve, with empty plates and glasses. This dinner started so wel
~Benny~Hiding my excitement that Kai and I were finally engaged was like wearing a mask of indifference all day. Rylee caught me too many times grinning like a demented fool to myself, and all those times, I lied about why I was on cloud nine. She knew it had something to do with my weekend escapade in LA, and she’s trying to find out why.But Kai said, for his safety, I had to keep my mouth shut about our engagement. It’s because of Markus and Klaus’ stupid bet. I’ve been on a mission to get Rylee to spill hints about what was at stake.“So…” I bumped Rylee’s hip with mine. “Do you know what Klaus has been up to these days?”Rylee pinned me with a sideway questioning glance. We were in the kitchen, preparing dinner for the family and our guests. Klaus invited his team to celebrate successfully putting up MiRa Investigation and Security. He named his security company after Mikael and Ramona.“He’s always up to something.” Rylee turned back to the three fillets in the cutting board, s
~Benny~I tripped once and almost fell on the bathroom floor while freshening up and changing into the red baby doll I bought specifically to seduce Kai. My heart drummed in my chest as I entered the bedroom; Kai sat on the edge of the bed.His gaze lifted to mine, a crease on his forehead, his eyes traveled down the length of me.I shifted in my bare feet, chewed my lip, and wondered if I’d get punished for not following his instruction. The danger lurking in those darkening gray eyes should bother me as he took in the thinness of my dress, but I felt the opposite. It stirred my libido to life. A zeal for the dark promise of his heavy-lidded gaze started to brew in my belly.I didn’t wear anything underneath this see-through dress. My nipples were pebbled hard, poking through the fabric, yearning for some relief that I knew Kai could give.“Come here,” he commanded in a low growl. My pulse quickened. This is what I want. This is what I’d been waiting for since the night I confessed
~Kai~“Can we have sex now?” Benny grumbled with a pout.The beer I was sipping went down the wrong pipe and came out of my nose. That shit fucking stings. I coughed, slammed a fist on my chest, and stared wide-eyed at Benny. “Damn, baby. Warn a man, won’t you?”We had moved to the balcony. Benny’s bare feet rested across my lap as we languidly drank our preferred alcohol. Wine for her, and I was on my third bottle of beer.I planned to make love to her. My cock had been knocking on my pants since she arrived, but I didn’t want to come as a sex-starved man when I was anything but.We discussed our plans for the next few weeks and agreed to keep our engagement a secret for now. If my assumptions are correct, Klaus will throw a fit if he loses the bet. And I don’t want to be around when that happens. That man does not deal well with losing.Benny blushed, crossing her arms over her chest. “What? We haven’t had sex since Paris. That was two months ago. I thought you won’t be able to get
~Kai~New York dragged longer than I anticipated, effectively slashing the prospect of seeing Benny before I flew to LA off the tables. Klaus dipped into the business of private security. He had the team secure office and training facilities, permits, and background investigation on the staff, which will continue the process we’d started. It had to be strategically planned, from putting up private security to hiring our people and targeting our market. After the fiasco with Dominguez, Kino, and Davide, Klaus had been particularly meticulous in hiring employees. Cleansing Martinelli Holdings was a grueling process, like weeding the garden so the flowers could bloom, and bloom did the company did. And Klaus saw the need to have his own legal private security for all their businesses. As the current security manager of Martinelli Holdings, Klaus tasked me to establish security in their newly opened hotel. Even with Klaus’ people working with me, I was hands-on in every step that neede
~Kai~Kissing Benny had always been out of this world, always better than the last, and tonight it was sweeter, hotter, and steamier. Maybe because our feelings were finally out in the open.I struggle to pull away from her, remembering where we are. It was fifteen minutes before eleven. Although I wanted more time with her, keeping my word to Markus was at the top of my priorities.Still breathless from my kiss, Benny toyed with the ends of my hair. She was on her tiptoes, lips plump and red from my sucking and nibbling. My hands circling her waist dug into the exposed skin of her tank top, drawing her closer.“Are you sure you don’t want to take me back to your hotel?” she asked coyly, desire sparkling in her eyes.I groaned, grabbing a handful of her ass, rubbing her against me. “Stop, temptress. I promised to get you home by eleven. This is me keeping my word.”A sultry smile tugged at her lips. “Technically, you did.”She was playing me, and it’s fucking working. I missed her so
~Benny~I fought off the smile that was about to tear my face in half, watching Kai slow his motorcycle to a complete stop in the mansions’ roundabout. He was the image of a magazine model in his rugged jeans, vintage gray tee, leather jacket, and biker boots. His hair had been mused to perfection as though he ran his fingers through them a couple of times; either way, he looked good enough to eat.He grabbed the bouquet of roses sticking out from his backpack and jogged the stairs until he stood before me on the threshold.“Hi.” His blinding smile made my heart swoon. “Hey,” I greeted back breathlessly, taming my prancing heart and knocking my ribcage walls.He offered me the flowers, and their soft scent instantly hit my senses. He hesitated for a beat, biting his lower lip before dipping and planting a gentle kiss onto my mouth. “You look beautiful.”Heat bloomed on my cheeks, and I was glad an hour of fumbling over my closet paid off. He told me to dress casually; I ended up with
~Benny~“He asked me out on a date!”Without even a hello, I dropped breathlessly into the couch of Tracy’s office.She smiled at me, her inquisitive brown eyes roaming over my face. From the floor-to-ceiling glass window where she stood, her heels tapped against the sandstone floor as she strutted towards the couch opposing mine.Tracy was in her late thirties, her doll-like face made her look younger than her age. “Did you say yes?” she asked encouragingly.I sank further into the couch, tipping my head back onto the backrest. “I haven’t given him an answer.”It had been a week since Markus’ birthday. Since then, Kai and I have been talking every night, shooting messages back and forth during the day. Our late-night conversation had been the most anticipated part of my day. I waited for his messages and calls like a love-sick puppy.“Is something holding you back?” A slight frown creased Tracy’s forehead. “You’ve been waiting for him to ask you out.”Sitting up straight, I mulled ov
~Kai~My brain went to a gruesome war against my body. Every cell in my body wanted to deepen this kiss, plunder her sweet mouth just like I pictured every day since she left. My brain understood my need, barely muting a protest that we were in a public place, a gathering for her father’s birthday, no less.Reluctantly, I ended the kiss. Benny’s mouth chased mine as I pulled away. My cock jerked. She wanted that kiss as much as I did.I kept my hand around her waist, staring down at her, admiring the red stain on her cheek.Heartbeats passed, yet my mind needed convincing that she was really here. I cupped her jaw and skimmed her plump lips, opening my mouth to speak, but she beat me to it.“I love you.”My heart stills. “What?”Her emerald eyes widen as dinner plates, as surprised as I am. Mouth gaping and closing like a fish out of water, she pressed her eyes shut, gathering her bearings.I was still recovering from her confession when she said, “but we can’t be together.”My wide e