42. Kian

42

KIAN

" L orelei?" I shout after inviting myself into the ladies' bathroom in the coffee shop.

She's been gone for almost fifteen minutes.

"You shouldn't be in here," she calls back weakly.

"I'm worried. Are you?—"

"Fine. I'm fine. I'll just meet you back at the office."

I frown.

"What's wrong? Are you sick?"

"No, I'm fine," she repeats.

"You're hiding in a bathroom stall. You are not fine."

She huffs in irritation a beat before a toilet flushes.

The lock disengages and suddenly the door is ripped open.

"I am not hiding," she states firmly, marching toward the basins with her head held high.

"Then why are you?—"

"I already told you, I wanted to have some peace, Kian," she spits. "Is it so hard to believe that I might need five minutes away from you?"

Her words are vicious, and the look she pins me with in the mirror isn't much better.

"Lorelei, I—" My words are cut off as the bathroom door opens and a woman walks inside.

Her eyes widen at the sight of me standing in the middle of the space, and she gives the sign on the door she's still holding a double check.

"I'm sorry. I'm just leaving," I say before moving toward the door. "I'll meet you back at the office."

Without waiting for a response, I walk out of the bathroom and then soon after, the coffee shop.

" C ome in," I call the second a knock sounds on my office door.

Lorelei stalks inside like always. There is no sign of the woman who ran and hid in the bathroom earlier.

"I have the report, sir," she says before placing a folder on my desk.

I study it, reading the first few lines before looking back up at her.

"Thank you."

"I'm going to finish up a few other things, then I'll be heading home," she informs me.

"I trust that you're going to have a more sensible night," I muse.

"Not that it's any of your business, but yes."

She backs away from my desk in favor of the door.

"Good. I need you ready tomorrow."

"Have a good evening, sir."

"Don't worry, I intend to."

She looks over her shoulder just in time to see the smirk that pulls at my lips. She frowns but doesn't respond and a second later she's gone.

I expected her to say something this morning.

To apologize, maybe. To at least ask me to forget I'd ever seen anything.

What I wasn't expecting was for her to say nothing.

My office door closes behind her, leaving the room feeling cold and lonely.

I stare at it, battling with myself about whether I should go after her or not.

I asked Melissa to check on her after she returned from her lunch, and she assured me that Lorelei was fine.

Dragging my attention back to my monitor, I continue with what I was doing, but just like before, my focus is elsewhere.

The buzz of my cell is a welcome distraction; so is the person I find in my messages.

Makenzie: I'm bored

Kian: Do some homework. It's never too late to learn something.

I smirk. Teasing them will never get old.

Makenzie: I'm already smarter than you, old man. What are you doing?

Kian: Trying to work.

Makenzie: Boooooring.

Makenzie: You should do something fun.

Kian: I am. You should see this spreadsheet I'm working on.

Makenzie: Yawn.

Makenzie: Ditch work and come get me? I'm going crazy stuck at home.

Kian: It's been three days.

Makenzie: Three looooooong days. Don't tell her, but I even miss Tilly.

Kian: I'm so telling her.

Makenzie: Traitor. Come and rescue me and I'll let you off.

Kian: Blackmail, really?

Makenzie: Come on, old man. You know you don't have a better offer.

She adds a load of praying emojis, and before I'm aware that I've made a decision, I've saved what I'm doing and turned my monitor off.

Kian: You have thirty minutes.

Makenzie: Yessssss!

After changing out of my suit in my private bathroom, I head out toward the elevator.

The reception area is empty and silent, and I can't help but be drawn to Lorelei's desk.

Everything is perfectly tidy. It has been ever since I pointed out her mistake on day one.

The only thing that sits on the top is a notebook.

Fucking notebooks.

I've no idea how many she has, but this is another that I've never seen before.

It reads, "Too busy for your bullshit."

Shaking my head, I refrain from putting it away.

She'll know it was me, and she'll know that she's getting to me.

It does spark an idea, though.

As I descend through the building, I make two calls. One to secure something to put an end to Kenzie's boredom for an hour, and another to my graphic designer.

You want to play, Lorelei?

You chose the wrong opponent.

" O h my god," Kenzie screams as I take the corner too wide and the car's back end spins out. I knew it was coming, but it still made my heart lurch in my chest. "This is awesome," she squeals as I right the car and floor it down the straight.

I've been coming out here to burn off steam for years. Usually alone, though.

Kenzie has been begging me to bring her out with me. She's an adrenaline junkie—something we have in common.

She's already asked me if we can do a parachute jump for her eighteenth birthday.

I haven't broached the subject with our mom—not that her opinion will matter much to Kenzie. When she sets her sights on something, it usually happens.

Apparently, it's a family trait that hasn't just come down from our father.

Pushing the gas as hard as I can, I watch the speedometer climb higher and higher until I have to brake for the next corner.

I'll have Mom on the phone later, ripping me a new one for bringing her here. But I'm pretty sure Kenzie needs this release just as much as I do.

Nothing but the car and the asphalt matter when you're on the track. The rest of the world and all the issues that come with it fall away in favor of heart-racing adrenaline.

"Why are you stopping?" Kenzie complains when I finally drop the speed and head into the pits.

"Time's up," I say, feeling as disappointed as she sounds.

"You'll bring me back, though, right?"

"Assuming Mom doesn't kill me in the meantime."

"She'll be fine," Kenzie assures me. I'm not sure I agree.

She's always refused to allow me to bring her here, and that was without a broken ankle.

"You hungry?" I ask, not ready to end my evening and head home alone quite yet.

Kenzie laughs. "Obviously. Burgers?"

"You read my mind."

Once we're back in my own car, we head across town at less hair-raising speeds to our favorite burger place.

"Tilly is gonna be pissed."

"Ken," I warn.

"Dude, I'm fifteen. I can say pissed."

I raise a brow.

"Jeez, you're as bad as Dad. I bet you were saying and doing much worse when you were my age."

"Definitely not. I was an angel."

"Bullshit," she coughs, earning herself a hard glare. "Sorry. Sorry. I know I shouldn't listen to Kieran's stories."

"They're all lies," I state firmly.

"Suuuuure."

"So, how's school?" I ask, attempting to change the subject.

"Dull as ever. I'm ready for college."

"You've got a while yet. And anyway, you might not get in."

She throws a fry at me. "I'm going to Harvard, and you know it."

"Tills will. You…I'm not so sure."

"Evil, Bro. Freaking evil."

I 'm still buzzing from the drive around the track when I let myself into my apartment later that evening.

Mom wasn't home when I dropped Kenzie off, so I managed to avoid the ass-ripping that I'm sure is to come when she discovers where I took her baby tonight.

After replying to a handful of urgent emails that landed while I was hanging out with my sister, I head for my bathroom, stripping out of my clothes as I go.

The moment I step into my walk-in shower, everything I've forced myself not to think about today comes rushing back full force.

"Fuck," I groan, my cock hardening and the desire she sparked in me last night surging through me with the force of a tsunami.

Reaching out, I wrap my hand around my aching length.

I jerked off twice to her photo, and then again this morning, but it's barely taken the edge off.

The second she walked into my office, it all came flooding back, and I'm sure I was a heartbeat away from splitting my pants. Thank fuck I didn't have to stand up.

Every single thing about the image was perfect.

The only thing is that I'm pretty sure she never meant to send it to me.

And that's a big fucking problem.

Because it means she's intentionally sending them to someone else.

I swear to God, if it's her asshole of an ex…I'll fucking end him.

He doesn't deserve her after what he did, and if he's still got his claws into her…

Anger collides with my desire, causing something dangerous to explode within me.

I jerk my cock hard and fast, already knowing that it's going to lead to a surface-level, unfulfilling release.

I need more.

I need her.

I had every intention of saying something about the photo earlier, but then she walked into my office and knocked me on my ass. Or at least, she would have if I weren't already sitting on it.

"Fucking Temptress," I grunt as my release surges forward. "Lorelei, fuck. Fuck."

I come into the torrent of water raining down on me, but just like I suspected, it barely takes the edge off.

Resting my palm against the tiles, I hang my head, shame washing over me.

I should have deleted that picture the second it landed on my cell.

But then I guess the things we should do and the reality are often very, very different.

My muscles are once again pulled tight when I crawl into bed an hour or so later.

Propping myself up, I flip my laptop open. I force myself to finish what I started before Kenzie messaged, but it's hard work.

I've never had such a hard time focusing.

It's all her fault.

Lorelei and her perfect tits.

Her lips.

The kiss.

Fuck.

I've got a real fucking problem here.

And I'm pretty sure that my plans for the rest of the week are only going to make the issue worse.

I smirk as I think about what the next two days might hold.

I've warned her time and time again that once I set my sights on something, I do whatever it takes to secure it.

She keeps underestimating me.

Well…more fool you, Lorelei Tempest.

I've decided what I want, and I'm going to use every dirty trick in the book to ensure it happens.

And I'm going to enjoy every fucking second of it.

The second I've finished, I slam the lid of my laptop down and grab my cell.

I've got messages in the group chat with my brothers, but I happily ignore them in favor of my chat with Lorelei.

The second I open it and the photo emerges on my screen, it's like last night all over again.

I might know it's there now, but I'm no less surprised or turned on by it.

She knows I've seen it. The little blue ticks beneath it are all the evidence she needs.

Does she know just how much I've made use of it, though?

My cock jerks, craving more than my own hand can offer.

With a smirk, I tap out a message that is sure to cause a reaction.

It took all my self-control not to reply last night. But it's over. My restraint has run out.

She might think she can outrun me, but she's going to learn that I'll always be one step ahead.