Page 12 of Unmatched Devil

Warden tossed Rian a wry look. “Apparently, it was your boyfriend winning over yet another of your guys.”

His boyfriend. Rian liked the sound of that. No one had been tied to his name in that capacity before. Kylian seemed like the perfect candidate.

Chapter Six

Kylian’splaceinJerseywas a simple three-bedroom brick home with a big fenced-in backyard. It had nice landscaping and a lackluster security system. Rian’s guys had easily bypassed it months ago to cover the place with cameras. While Rian doubted Archer would show his face here, Rian told himself he protected an asset. No doubt everyone saw through that flimsy excuse to Rian’s obvious obsession. He wasn’t the type to care. It took a certain level of insanity to stay in his position. He always had to go a step farther than everyone else to keep his territory. Sometimes that meant being ruthless. Other times, it meant being the craziest person in the room. With Kylian, Rian was both.

Rian eyed Kylian’s living room as if he had never seen it. “I don’t know what I expected, but this isn’t it.”

Kylian chuckled as he steered his suitcase down the hall. “What did you expect?”

Rian followed on Kylian’s heels to his bedroom. “I don’t know. Your dad being who he is, I suppose I expected him to have you in a place a bit over the top.”

“That’s fair.” Kylian parked his suitcase next to a wardrobe that looked like an antique. “He tried to put me in this fifteen-thousand-square-foot home with eight bedrooms and nine and a half bathrooms in the Short Hills Millburn area. I pointed out how insane it would be for me to have to drive nearly an hour one way to school every day. Finally, he caved and bought this place. I like it. It feels more like me than any place I’ve ever lived.”

Rian sat on the edge of Kylian’s queen-sized bed. “You did great today.”

Kylian moved closer. “I had fun, but I still don’t understand the point of that.”

Rian snagged Kylian’s hips and lured Kylian to stand between his knees. “The point was for you to have fun and get paid doing so.”

Confusion crossed Kylian’s features.

Rian realized he hadn’t explained anything to Kylian. He was too used to being in charge and not explaining his actions. No one questioned him. Everyone in his life followed his orders because he was the boss. Things weren’t that way with Kylian. “Scott is looking for a co-host for his show. Today was kind of an impromptu interview. He’ll send you a check after the show airs based on the number of subscribers at the time and ad revenue. In his business, he can’t guesstimate pay. It varies from show to show, but you’ll get a percentage. My best guess is you’ll make about five hundred dollars.”

“For an hour of chatting?” Kylian sounded skeptical.

Rian smiled at his reaction. “You told me what makes you happy, and I matched that the best I could with the highest paying job. If Scott doesn’t choose you as his co-host, this was still an amazing way to get your foot in the door to mimic exactly what he does for your own show. Except you’d choose a topic you want to discuss however often you’d like to record. I’ll rent the studio time for you until you’re established and find you sponsors. You can give me a cut of the revenue the way Scott will do for you from today’s show.”

Kylian didn’t look sold.

Rian kept pushing. “You were a natural today. There’s something special about you, Kylian. People like you. You’re personable and smart. I get the feeling everyone tells you their problems and feels healed by your presence. You could garner a huge audience of avid listeners. I don’t know what you’re studying at Princeton, but you aren’t meant to waste away in an academic institution, slowly paddling toward a career that’ll suck out your soul. Obviously, if you want to be a Princeton graduate, because you deserve it, then you should do that. But you were smiling today. I saw genuine happiness in you today. That’s all I want for you.”

Kylian’s gaze moved over Rian’s face. He stroked Rian’s jaw. “I wish you didn’t feel like such a puzzle to me. Why did you come from nowhere to terrorize me, only to end up seeing me clearer than anyone else? Nothing about you makes sense to me, especially how I feel when I look at you.”

“How do you feel?” Rian had to know.

Kylian took a step back, blushing. He held Rian’s hand and tugged him to his feet. “Come on. I’ll make you dinner.”

Kylian turned away and Rian acted on instinct. He wrapped his arms around Kylian’s waist and pulled him to a stop. Rian spoke against the shell of Kylian’s ear.

“If you don’t want to tell me, fine. I’ll tell you. You make me feel like a teenager. My palms sweat when I’m with you. All I can do is scheme ways to stay with you longer. When we’re together, my mind races for ways to accidentally touch you while I internally beg for you to touch me. I don’t know what’s happening here or why, but I don’t want to be anywhere else.” His pulse beat harder in his ears with every word, drowning out all other sounds. He wasn’t this guy. Rian didn’t give anyone this much of himself, especially to someone he was still getting to know. There was just something about Kylian. He truly made Rian feel all the things he listed and more. It was addicting. “You make me feel alive.”

Kylian turned in his arms. Their mouths met. Kylian cupped his face while sucking Rian’s tongue. Goddamn. He was such a mixture of innocence and siren song. Kylian’s mouth moved to Rian’s neck. He held on like he needed someone to hold him back. After a full minute passed, Rian barely caught Kylian’s whispered words. “You make me feel like it’s okay that I’m not good.”

Something deep inside Rian shifted. He realized exactly what kept drawing him back to Kylian. Inside, they were the same. They were trapped in a life of trying to please fathers who didn’t notice. Kylian’s because he thought his baby boy was above making any mistakes. Rian’s was dead. That changed nothing. He couldn’t fuck up the legacy dropped on his shoulders. But Kylian and Rian were different together. Rian let Kylian be free and bad. Kylian let Rian be soft. It was like breathing again for the first time since his father’s death. Rian didn’t want to go back to suffocating.

Something shifted between them. Kylian thought maybe it was acceptance. It felt like they had made a silent agreement that this was a relationship now of some sort. They had accepted they both felt something more than they should. A spark.

Another thing Kylian felt was Rian’s eyes following his every move. Rian wouldn’t let him cook. Instead, Rian paid for someone to bring them a nice dinner, but Kylian still had to gather plates and whatnot. Rian’s stare was like a physical touch as Kylian moved around the kitchen.

“What’s Warden doing for dinner?” Kylian didn’t really care. He just needed to make conversation.

Rian shook his head. “I don’t know. He has plans with someone. It’s best for us both if I stay out of his business.”

Kylian shot Rian a puzzled look as he set a plate and silverware in front of Rian. “You sounded a little angry just then.”

Rian made a dismissive motion. “Not really. He used to date someone in my family. It ended badly. So it’s best for everyone if he tells me nothing about his personal life.”

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