Page 99 of Midnights
“I refuse to believe that’s what love is and I refuse to believe that real love doesn’t exist. So until I find that love, I don’t want any of it. I won’t live in a relationship where love isn’t real because I know it’s out there somewhere.”
He looks at me like he’s seeing me for the first time. His mouth parts slightly, like he’s about to respond but then he closes it.
“It’s just a reminder of where I come from.”
There’s a steadiness to his voice, but beneath it, I catch something else. Something raw and guarded.
He’s putting up a wall and his mask slips right back into place. Looks like whatever the tattoo means is a door he’s not willing to open.
Now I really want to see it.
But the way he told me just enough then shut that conversation down, tells me it’s not happening. Not tonight.
Figures.
I'm in way over my head here and all we’re doing is washing dishes. Damn Rachel for leaving me alone to deal with this. How the hell is a girl supposed to focus when his sleeves are rolled up and I can see the veins in his forearms standing out like that? It’s downright distracting.
And now, with the whole tattoo mystery? I can’t help but wonder what else he’s hiding.
Just what I need, another puzzle I have no business trying to solve.
Just seeing his body inclothesis enough to mess with me. But imagining him without the restrictions of fabric?
I quickly lick my suddenly dry lips and force myself to focus on the dishes, drowning my wandering thoughts in the bubbles.
Kane chuckles softly like he knows exactly what’s going on in my head and the sound sends a shiver straight down my spine.
Of course, he finds this amusing.
“Touché,” is all he says.
I glance at him out of the corner of my eye, and there it is. That damn self-satisfied smirk.
I can hear the storm outside rumbling while the thunder rolls through the room like a warning. All I know is my heart is racing and I have no idea what's happening.
I turn to grab a towel, but don’t get that far because Kane’s right there, holding it just out of reach.
My breath catches and for a moment, I forget what I was doing. His eyes lock onto mine and I feel the tension snapping tight.
“Looking for this?” He starts winding up the towel, wearing a mischievous grin.
Oh, hell no.
“Don’t. You. DARE,” I warn, narrowing my eyes at him. But it’s too late.
The flash in his eyes says it all. Gone is the composed, always-in-control Kane. What stands before me now is pure temptation. Like a predator ready to pounce.
He raises an eyebrow and that’s all the warning I get before the towel snaps through the air with asharp crack.
I yelp, twisting out of the way, barely dodging it in time.
I scramble to the other side of the island while my heart pounds in my chest. My eyes dart around, searching for something to shield myself with or maybe even to throw at him, but there's nothing.
“Kane, think about this,” I say, trying to sound calm and reasonable, as if I’m talking him down from the ledge.
His grin widens.
“Oh, I’m thinking about it.”
