Page 69 of Stars At Dusk

‘Well, that’s good babe, because if I ever decide that I want you, it won’t be a game. I’m not those lame-ass, gamin’ losers you’re used to. Trust me, they’re not even in my race, let along in my league. See, I’m a man with no shame in going after the prize I want. I’ll give you the time,kara, but don’t keep me waiting too long.’

This time she almost choked at his absolute balls.He had quite the pair. ‘Play all your want Kage, doesn’t mean you’ll win,’ she managed to breathe out.

‘Thing is babe, you need to win too, for this to work,’ he said, a small smile on his lips. ‘Which is why this is more than just a game to me.’

She heard the depth of care in his words and she felt like she was being pulled into hot, thick whirlpool of longing, for something just beyond her reach.What was he doing to her?

She nailed him with a long look. ‘Your brass is ballsy, Kage Sable,’ she eventually retorted.

She turned around and stepped out of his hold of her. But she shot him a look over her shoulder that was part tease, part challenge.

He winked long and slow back at her, placing a thick arm on the gold frames of the cloud shaped enclosure on either side of her. Heat emanated from his body behind her and she instantly felt enveloped in a strangely wild mix of freedom and possession.

She realised in that moment that for the first time in months, years, that she was having the time of her life. In a man’s company.

Although brunt, a tad crude and unrelenting, Kage made her laugh. He challenged her. He aggravated her. He pushed her buttons. In a highly exhilarating way. Yet he hadn’t put her down or demeaned her, ever.

She also liked that he appreciated the good things in life like she did. He did it without the snobbery and pompousness many of her exes had exhibited. He seemed a man who derived great pleasure from life, but the simple, raw variety.

He was also extremely smart, kind, and deeply loyal to the things he cared for. So different to the aggro, sexist and fake macho men she’d dated in the past.

They’d been the ones who’d wanted to mould her into what she was not.

He was possessive yet he never acted like he’d wanted to own her. In fact Kage didn’t seem to care to control her. She was secretly touched by the words he’d said to her ten months ago about respecting her body and choices. That flew high in Harlow’s world.

Yet she was determined to keep her pledge to herself to leave dating and men alone for a few months. It sucked because the spark between them was becoming a small blaze. One that if fanned the right way, could fire up into a major inferno.

But she just wasn’t primed for it. She wasn’t sure she was ready for any of it, ever. She needed to work out if love, romance and relationship was what she needed or even wanted for her life. She had little to work with, especially after the piss poor example set by her parents.

However those were troubles and worries for another day.

Maybe after her project with The Sable Group was delivered.

Maybe when she had time to unpack all of her, and all of him.

Maybe, maybe, maybe.

Kage

On the ride back to The Sable Group complex, Kage cradled Harlow’s hand against his thigh, and she let him. He counted that as a win.

He’d caught the uncertainty crowd back into her eyes after their heated back-and-forth banter at The Nebula Crown. He knew that if he pushed her buttons too soon, she’d probably give in for one night, then fly, and he’d lose her altogether. He couldn’t let that happen.

Harlow would never be just a hookup for him; she was beginning to mean so much more, and he was committed to playing the long game if need be. He was determined to seduce and undo her one little step at a time. Kage lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her back of her hand, almost as a promise to himself. He saw her smile at the corner of his eyes.Naam, she was going to be worth it.

The arrived at 517 just as dawn seeped through the dome above.

They sauntered from the flyer to the lifts, arms around each others’ waists. In the elevator, Kage pulled her close to him and held her close to him. She tucked her head against his chin, and he breathed her in.

She felt so warm, so lush, so his.

She just didn’t know it yet.

The lift doors parted, and they stepped into her suite’s foyer.

He stopped just outside the lift doors and gazed down at her.

‘Thank you,’ she whispered. ‘That was an amazing, magical, crazy and brutal mystery lunar tour.’

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