25. CHAPTER 25

25

KAI

“Jesus, Kai. Did Jules fuck you or beat you last night?” Simon says, as he eyes my neck when I meet him out the front of the house to go over to Desire with him this morning.

“No comment,” I say, not wanting to discuss what happened between Jules and me. I’m happy for people to know about us, but I don’t like discussing my sex life, and given how forward everyone here is, I think that will be something I’ll have to get on board with.

“I’d say it was both with the noises coming from his room last night. You fuckers are loud. Do I need to buy earplugs?” Si teases.

“Just drive.”

“Oooh someone is coy, are you blushing, Kai? Oh this is fucking awesome. If the sex banter is too much, I suggest you tell Jules to leave your neck alone as you’re going to get a hammering from the brothers when they see you. And the girls at the club.”

Ugh. Great.

“Good to know. But I’m not discussing it,” I say as we drive off to the club. Hoping to put an end to this grilling, I focus my eyes out on the streets through the passenger window. It’s so fucking cold this time of year, I hate to leave the house. Everyone walking the streets are layered up to their noses, fighting off the cold air that threatens to give you frostbite. I’m being overdramatic, but it feels that way. Why people insist on going shopping in the winter is beyond my comprehension. Just order online.

“You will. That’s how they are in this family. Dima and Lev make you share everything. They might be tough bastards, but are not dissimilar to a gossip group.”

I don’t know why, but this conversation is irking me. I want to keep what happened last night between me and Jules. It was our time, and personal to me. I’ve never allowed myself to let go like that and talking about it is like I’m cheapening what it meant. Or maybe I’m overthinking this and need to stop being such a whiny brat. I turn to look at Simon and decide to test his theory that we all have to ‘share.’

“What about you and Carlos? Have you fucked?” The words are out before I can regret it. But fuck him. If I have to share, then so does he. Simon’s grip on the wheel tightens, his jaw pulses from grinding his teeth. A response is building, and from the tension vibrating off him, it will be a snappy response. As that’s Simon. Very serious and always so defensive when it comes to Carlos.

“Why the hell would you think that? There is no me and Carlos, and I would rather be flayed than fuck that asshole.”

“There’s just a lot of sexual tension between you both.” God, shut the fuck up, Kai.

Simon slams the brakes on in the middle of the road and moves his body to face me. Murder is written in those brown eyes. I do wonder for a second if he might actually kill me. Horns blare around us as we remain stationary on the road, but Si is so focused on me he doesn’t notice.

“You need to shut the fuck up. There is no sexual anything between me and Carlos and I’ll rip your tongue out if you mention it again. The only tension there is hate. Pure, consuming, fucking hate.”

I’m torn between feeling threatened and smug as he protests too much. There’s definitely a sexual vibe, and I can’t wait to see it bubble over between them. The vitriol Simon holds against Carlos is so toxic I think they would kill each other during sex.

“Let’s make a deal. You quit the questions about Jules, and I’ll not mention Carlos again?”

“You’re such a smartass,” is all I get in response as we start back on our journey. I decipher from him calling me a smartass that he’s agreed to the rules.

A few minutes later, we park outside Desire, and enter the building through the side door. Even with the club empty, it’s still fucking gorgeous. I follow Simon through the club to the bar, where Bonnie is going through some paperwork.

“Hey, Bon,” Simon says in greeting.

“Hi hon. Kai, nice to see you again. I see the vampires paid a visit last night. Or did someone try to strangle you in your sleep?”

My hand flies to my neck and words lodge in my throat. I look at Simon but he just smirks at me. His eyes dance with the ‘I told you so,’ look and that he’s leaving this to me to deal with.

“Something like that,” is all I can manage to say.

“Well send them my way, I love a little choking with my lovin’.”

Thoughts flick to images of Jules fucking Bonnie. Shit, has he fucked her before? Jealousy rises in my chest as the green-eyed monster wants to show himself. I’ve never felt territorial before, but now I’m looking at Bonnie like competition I need to take down.

“He won’t be interested.”

Bonnie’s eyebrows raise in humor at my response. Simon chuckles next to me, and I feel like a kid who’s been caught in a lie. My eyes are looking everywhere else, avoiding eye contact.

“Steady on, hon. I’m only teasing you. Although I would love to meet the mystery man, or is it someone we already know?”

She’s really starting to piss me off, and Simon is about to get his face punched if he doesn’t stop chuckling next to me like a damn high schooler.

“Can we just get started on what we’re here to do? Looking over the books, I believe?” I say, proud of myself for taking charge. This is foreign, but I like the power shift when I notice Bonnie withdraw slightly.

“So shy boy has some teeth. That’s good, you’ll need them around here.”

She bends down behind the bar and retrieves a large stack of files that she passes over to me.

“You boys want a drink?”

“We’ll take two orange juices, Bon. Can you bring them over?” Simon says.

“Of course.”

Bonnie winks at me before turning to make our drinks and Simon nudges me to follow him. We walk over to one of the tables at the back of the club.

“You did good back there. Snarky Kai is a blast.”

“The brothers won’t be mad I was rude to her?”

“Nah, you stood your ground, and that wasn’t rude. Now, down to business. Every week we check the cash flow that Bonnie records with receipts every night, and then we check the girls’ rosters to see who turned up and if anyone is slacking and not making any money. Slackers get the boot, then we’d need to recruit.”

“Okay.”

Bonnie walks over and silently leaves our drinks as we immerse ourselves in the endless paperwork. It’s cool, and it’s something I don’t think I’ll have any trouble doing on my own in the future.

Things are starting to look up a little, giving me a burst of hope that things are finally coming together.