Page 27 of Collide

Another door grabbed my attention and I marched across the roomand yanked it open in hopes it might be another way out.

Of course, it wasn’t.

The room opened into a large dressing room which was surroundedby empty wardrobes and shelves. A long mirror was in the corner of the room, next to which stood another door that was slightly ajar.

Seriously, this place never seemed to end.

Once again, I pushed open the door to see what was behind it andwas relieved to find a bathroom.

Like the bedroom, this room was gorgeous too, completely covered intiles of different shades of gold, browns, and creams which shimmered from the gold chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

There was a double sink with a large mirror hanging above it and thetoilet was next to the sink. At the end of the room stood a double walk-in shower, complete with a huge waterfall showerhead hanging from the center.

If I was going to be here for a while, at least I’d be comfortable.

I made the most of the bathroom, doing my business and washing myhands before splashing some water on my face. Exhausted, I made my way back into the main bedroom and collapsed on the bed, not bothering to take my shoes off because I had zero intention of laying there for long, and I certainly wasn’t going to go to sleep.

The bed wasunbelievablysoft, almost like I was lying on a bed offeathers. Even though I had just bought new beds for Angel and me, they were nowhere near as comfortable as this bed.

The thought of Angel sleeping home alone sent a pang of guiltthrough my chest. She was going to wake up in a few hours and be all alone. I knew she’d panic and worry about where I was and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it. Guilt turned to anger at Kai fucking Wolfe and the audacity of the man who thought he could take whatever he wanted, consequences be damned.

A string of curses escaped from my mouth as thoughts of what I’dlike to do to that man churned in my head, mainly involving castration without anesthetic.

Those thoughts circled around and around until exhaustion took overand as much as I tried to fight it, I drifted off to sleep.

I don’t know what woke me, but I must have been sleepingfor a few hours because when I next opened my eyes, the sun was beginning to rise outside and shining into the room. It took a minute to remember where I was, my bedroom didn’t have any windows so I was never woken by the sun, and then everything from the night before poured into my head.

I sat up on the bed and rubbed a hand over my face, trying to wipethe sleep from my eyes, before letting out the biggest scream when I saw the figure sitting at the end of the bed.

“Holy hell, you scared the shit out of me,” I said to Kai when I realizedwho it was. My hand shook as I clutched my chest and my heart pounded hard against my rib cage, I was sure the bastard could hear it beating.

“My apologies, Riley, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he replied with achuckle.

“If you didn’t mean to scare me, why the fuck were you watchingme sleep?” I bit back angrily because that’s what he had been doing.

The weirdo was relaxed back on the chaise lounge as if he’d beenthere forhours. His smart shirt was crinkled and untucked, he’d undone another button, the start of a black tattoo creeping up his neck on display, and he had crossed one long leg over the other, much like he had done on the night I had danced for him.

He had a tumbler in his hand which had a small drop of clear liquid init, Kai drained the glass and I couldn’t help but stare when his tongue popped out of his mouth and he licked his lips.

I may have hated him, but there was no denying just how fucking hothe was.

Dammit.

“I was merely waiting for you to wake up,” he replied after a pause.

My eyes snapped back to his, guilt flashing through me at beingcaught staring at his mouth.

I glared at him, waiting for him to tell me what he wanted but he didn’tspeak again, just stared at me as if he was examining every inch of my face and committing it to memory.

Nerves fluttered low down in my belly under his intense stare until Icouldn’t take it any longer. I cleared my throat in preparation to ask the million-dollar question.

“What do you want with me, Kai? You can’t keep me here. I have alife.” I tried to keep my voice steady, to show bravery that I was not feeling.

“It’s not much of a life from what I’ve observed.” His tone wasn’tunkind, yet he still managed to rile me up the wrong way.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I snapped, glaring daggersat him.

“Only that you work your cute ass off for pittance when you deserveso much more,” he replied, raising a brow.

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