Page 31 of Dissension

“Fine. He doesn’t exist. But you and I arelongoverdue for a conversation,” Nick tells her, his eyes flickering over her lips before darting back to her eyes. “Meet me tomorrow. Lunch.”

He wants to meet her for lunch after he just walked in on her getting eaten out in the men’s bathroom by his frenemy? Her mouth drops open stupidly. This is not how she imagined things going.

Seeing her momentary speechlessness, he says dryly, “Use your big girl words, Kara. I can’t read your mind, believe it or not.”

Thank God for small favors. When she regains use of her tongue, Kara chokes out, “Where at?”

Taking that as a yes, Nick gives her a grim sort of smile. Short and quick, almost invisible. “I’ll text you in the morning.” Nick steps back slightly, giving Kara just enough room to squeeze pasthim. Her entire body brushes the front of his and he inhales sharply.

Kara bites her lower lip to hold her feelings in, joining Dieter and his wicked smirk as they return to the gala.

When the hour becomes late, Kara watches the way Dieter drinks and drinks, the way he works the room effortlessly. He’s a perfect social butterfly, maybe even a chameleon. He makes networking look so utterly simple.

Occasionally, he will pat her arm as his signal that she needs to let him go talk to someone privately. She pretends not to be interested in who those people are, these people who he whispers to under his breath while they whisper back.

Conversations not meant for her ears. Or for anyone’s ears. He seems to havea lotof those conversations.

Kara would rather not know. She doesn’t want to know all of his business, because a part of her knows it isn’t allgood.

While she’s waiting on Dieter to once again whisper dark secrets in some politician’s ear, Kara sees Claire giving her a royal little princess wave from across the room.That woman is made of something else, Kara thinks dourly, waving back.

“Ready to leave?” Dieter eventually asks her, pulling her towards the front of the hotel. Clearly, he’s had enough socialization for one evening. Kara has had more than enough. She can’t bear the looks that Nick has been tossing her way all night, igniting her shameful guilt.

“You know me, I’d love to leave,” Kara replies tiredly. “Is your driver coming?”

“I told him to take the rest of the night off.” The words are voiced with a slur.

Kara gives him her hardest dead-sober stare. “What do you mean, you sent him home?Dieter.” Kara groans miserably. Did he plan this? “Should I get you a hotel nearby? Or see if they have rooms here?”

“I don’t want to be here. Just take me to your place,” Dieter says, swaying a bit. He’s had too much to drink, gloating and coming down from his drugs. “I don’t mind your place. It’s okay for a homeless shack.”

A what? Urgh.

He’s trying to invite himself to her place now? Warning bells go off in her head. It’s not like he hasn’t come over before, heck, he knows the code on the gate of her building, but he never went down on her and now that it’shappened, it suddenly feels too intimate.

Her mouth feels dry. She hasn’t allowed a man to stay at her place in a very, very long time. Nick’s never even been to her home. “You’ll have to sleep on the couch. You’ll hate it. Let’s just get you a hotel room-”

“I’m too blasted to hate your couch,” he drawls in reply, his hand finding its way to hers, fingers interlacing. “Take me home.”

Kara closes her eyes and tries to convince herself that she’s not making a mess of her life with this man.

Chapter 14

The sound of her apartment door opening and closing wakes Kara up. She’s never been a deep sleeper and the momentary noise startles her even through the closed door of her bedroom.

There’s a sliver of panic, wondering if this is the moment the creepy man who lurks in the shadows at night has finally entered her home to do who knows what to her…

…but then she remembers thatDieteris in her house. Her heart jolts for a completely different reason, her face heating as she lies in her sheets, remembering the night before.What an absolute cluster fuck. She should have sent him to a hotel last night. Anywhere other than here. That would have been the sensible thing to do.

Too bad she doesn’t always do the sensible thing where he’s concerned.

Kara gets out of bed and pulls on some baggy clothes, taking a moment to swill mouthwash in her bathroom. She can barely look at herself in the mirror, feeling the phantom of her mother whisperingwhorein her ear. Disgust rolls through her mind, nagging at her. How is she supposed to deal with him this morning? Orever again?After what he did in that stupid bathroom stall?

You just let him do what he wanted, didn’t you?Her mother murmurs in that ghostly way, unpleasant and bitter as ever. Always the dark voice of blame and mocking, haunting her footsteps.You were like that with your father. You let things happen, because you wanted him to like you. To love you. An unlovable little girl with a troubled mind-

“Shut up,” Kara hisses under her breath, briefly hating her reflection. In a certain light, it’s like gazing at her mother. Inother lights, she can see echoes of her father. It’s hard to say which isworse.

Steeling herself, Kara works her jaw and steps out of her bedroom.

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