32

I rolled onto my side and looked at her. Kira was on the verge of tears. My post-coital bliss vanished, replaced with icy fear. Had I done something wrong? All I’d wanted was to make her feel what I felt. The last thing I wanted to do was upset her.

When she looked at me, I could see that wasn’t it. She opened her mouth to say something but stopped as though frozen with indecision. A tear slipped down her cheek, and without thinking, I reached out and wiped it away. Kira closed her mouth and stared at me.

My heart twisted as I watched her throw up the barriers and walls that had always stood between us. She sat up, squaring her shoulders and lifting her chin. Without a single hint of what she’d been about to say, she got up and started searching for her clothes that lay strewn across the room.

“Let’s forget this happened.” She didn’t even look at me as she spoke.

“Wait, what?” I said, pulling the sheets over my nakedness, suddenly ashamed.

With an overly dramatic sigh, Kira turned, her breasts still uncovered and swaying. “You’re my brother’s best friend. This was…a mistake. I was pissed off at the world, a little tipsy, and horny as hell. My head wasn’t in the right place. It never should have happened.”

“Kira? You can’t believe that.” I gestured to the bed. “What just happened was…” I tried to think of the right words. “It was more than sex. That was intense–”

“Wyatt, now isn’t the time for romanticism, okay? We fucked, it was good, but it’s over now. Forget about this. It’ll be easy.”

She found her clothes and hurriedly shimmied into her thong and shorts. I could tell she meant to leave as soon as possible. I stumbled out of bed and pulled on my own clothes, managing to get dressed and across the room before she had the door open. I slapped my palm against it, shutting it before it moved more than a few inches.

Kira glared at me. “Wyatt, I need to leave. Zoe’s probably worried about me.”

“If it has to be this way, then fine. But I won’t forget this, Kira. I couldn’t. If I must, I will pretend it never happened. It won’t be easy, but I will do that because you asked me. What I want to know is why you were crying a minute ago.”

Something wavered in her eyes, but it was gone so fast, I might have imagined it. Kira sighed and shook her head sadly, like I was a child who didn’t understand something simple.

“Mind your own business, Wyatt. From now on, you won’t have to worry about me.”

That was it, the clue I’d needed. From now on. It meant she had made it onto The Reject Project. She was going to be on that awful, godsdamned show.

Kira sighed and yanked the door open. She was down the hall before I could react. I was shocked that my greatest fear had been realized. I ran after her but had to double back to get my shirt. By the time I got to the elevator, the doors were closing. Kira simply stared at me as I ran toward her, but she made no move to stop the doors.

Deciding to take the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator to return, I sprinted down to the lobby, but I wasn’t fast enough. The elevator was empty, and Kira was nowhere in sight. I high-tailed it out of the hotel and headed to the club, hoping to find her, knowing that was where she had to have gone. At the door, I flashed my badge again and ducked into the bar, searching through the mass of bodies for Kira. I didn’t see her, but her scent was fresh, which meant she was here. The only problem was that the place was even more crowded than before, almost elbow to elbow.

Frustrated, I went to the bar to ask the bartender if he’d seen someone matching her description. There, leaning on the bar counter and nursing a drink, was Zoe. She looked hammered but was still coherent enough to recognize me.

“Hey.” She raised her cocktail toward me, some of the liquid sloshing over the rim. “How did all that go? I saw you and my girlie hustle out the door.” She hiccupped. “Did she clean your pipes out good?”

“What are you talking about, Zoe?”

Squinting blearily, she poked my arm. “Sorry, buddy. You can’t pull one over on a fae. Two people can’t hate each other that much without eventually either killing each other or fucking their brains out. My guess is the latter since you’re both still alive.”

I grabbed her arm and pulled her to the door.

Zoe pointed at my hand and called out to the bar patrons. “Lookie! Mister Grabby-Hands is back for more.”

“Where’s Kira?” I asked when we were out on the sidewalk and away from the incessant thumping of the bass music.

“She texted me like ten minutes ago, said she was coming to find me.” Zoe swayed, and I scooted her over to the wall so she could lean against it. “What happened?” She frowned and glanced at my crotch. “Oh no. Is it small?” She pouted up at me and held her forefinger and thumb an inch apart. “All that build-up, and you’ve got a little wiener?”

“Zoe?” Kira yelled.

I glanced at the door, where Kira was coming out of the club. She rushed over to us and wrapped an arm around her friend to hold her up. Kira pushed me away from her.

Zoe leaned close to Kira’s ear. “Does he have a small pee-pee?” she asked in a loud, drunken whisper.

Ignoring her again, I put my hands out, pleading. “Kira, don’t do this. I can’t watch you put yourself in danger. I won’t be able to save you this time.”

Kira snorted in disgust and turned to wave for a cab, tugging Zoe along behind her.

“I’m not the weakling you think I am, Wyatt,” she called over her shoulder. “It’s too late. My fate is sealed. You’ll have to get over it.”