Page 54 of Collide

A frown appeared on Kai’s face as he took in my words and relief thathe seemed to be taking me seriously swept through me.

“I’ll speak to him,” he said coldly as his eyes found the door againbefore drifting back to me. “But I assure you that won't happen again. I’ve got things to take care of today, that’s why I need you to go with Hendrix, but I give you my word, he won’t hurt you.”

He took my hand in his and gave it a reassuring squeeze. It was soout of character from the man I had come to know.

What in the world was going on?

It was on the tip of my tongue to argue, but hadn’t I promised myselfthat I was going to give him a chance? That started with learning to trust him.

“Okay.”

He stared at me for a beat, as if waiting for the argument, instead, Igave him a tentative smile. I realized then he was still holding my hand. Not that I had pulled away either.

“Was there anything else?” he eventually said, breaking our stare.

“Actually, yeah there was.”Here we go. “I said to Angel I would gether games console from our apartment. She’s obsessed with the damn thing and I think it’ll make her time here a bit easier,” I rushed out, and then held my breath, waiting for whatever bullshit demand Kai would make in order to get the blasted games console.

“I’ll ask one of my men to collect it today.”

Wait.

What?

“Just like that?” I asked in surprise. “Isn’t there something you want inreturn?”

Kai let out a deep sigh and frowned. “Riley, I-” He paused, trying tofind the right words. “No, I don’t want anything in return. I’ll make sure she has it before the end of the day. Is there anything else you need from your apartment?”

I wondered for a moment if Kai had had a personality transplantovernight because thisdefinitelywasn’t the man I had dealt with so far. Or maybe Danny had spoken to him in the same way he had spoken to me, and this was Kai offering me an olive branch.

Either way, if Kai being amenable made my life a bit easier then I wasgoing to grab it with both hands.

“No, that was all. Thank you.”

I should have left, should have walked away, and not given the man asecond thought. But my feet were having a hard time listening to my brain and instead, I just stood there, still with my hand in his sweaty palm and his eyes holding mine, an array of different emotions running through me.

“I should go,” I said, removing my hand from his.

“I hope you enjoy your day, Riley,” he replied cryptically, and inresponse, I gave him a small smile.

As I walked away, I couldn’t help but turn back, only to find himwatching me intently, the way a wolf would watch its prey.

“Erm, thanks for the clothes as well. That was kind of you,” Isaid, nervously picking at the skin around my fingernails, a habit I had when I was anxious.

“You’re welcome.”His eyes roamed my body, landing on my feet. I waited for the complaint to come but then he shocked the shit out of me once again. "I'll make sure you have some more sneakers delivered if that's what you'd prefer to wear?"

"Oh, yeah, I don't really like wearing heels unless I have to. Thank you."

He gave me a soft smile and nodded his head. Leaving him to his workout, I opened the door to find a rather pissedoff looking Hendrix waiting for me. Without saying a word, he started walking back down the hallway.

I reluctantly followed, trying my hardest not to think of the strangefeelings that had stirred deep in my belly following my latest interaction with Kai Wolfe.

Chapter 16

Riley

“Howwasyourday?”Kai asked in his deep voice from across the table.

We were in some posh as fuck restaurant calledThe Orchidandwere seated in a room that was separated from the main restaurant, giving us privacy from the eyes that followed Kai as we walked through. Not that I could say much, I was one of those who couldn’t keep my eyes off him.

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