Page 15 of The Boss's Revenge

I chuckled. “Not everything is a competition.”

“Isn’t it? I’ve not found that to be true, in my experience.” She whirled around and set a plate of pancakes on the table in front of me. They smelled amazing.

“Eat with me.” I watched her return to the stove.

She sighed. “Someone has to man the stove. Don’t worry, I will in a bit.” She leaned a hip on the counter, and her face turned contemplative.

“There’s a competitive aspect to every single thing, if you look at it that way. There’s always a winner and a loser.” She folded her arms over her chest and looked thoughtful.

I speared a piece of pancake and held it out to her.

She blinked at me. “But it’s for you,” she pointed out.

“And I don’t want you to wait. We’ll share,” I told her firmly. She grinned, and approached, letting me place the fork inside her mouth. The way her plump lips closed on it was mesmerizing. “You were saying about competition… there’s always a winner and a loser? What about last night? That seems like a draw kind of situation… mutually beneficial.”

She turned back to the stove. “I was the winner, I suppose, you just didn’t realize it.”

“You think you were the winner, when I got to fuck you as hard as I wanted, for as long as I wanted, all night long?”

She didn’t turn, and I wished I could see her face. “And I got to have the best first time anyone, anywhere has ever had, with someone I chose… and I even got to be honest with you, which felt good. I’m the winner,” she said quietly.

I couldn’t have disagreed more, but there was no arguing with her somber tone.

“Well, if that’s really true, then I guess I’m more than happy to lose to you,” I injected warmth into my tone, feeling Kira’s mood to be dangerously volatile. “What’s wrong? You’re upset.”

I waited for her to turn, the bright morning suddenly falling away at the realization that Kira wasn’t feeling as on top of the world as I was. When exactly I had become so attuned to her moods, I didn’t know, but there was no denying that the subtle shifts in the tension in her shoulders were like a blaring alarm to me now.

“You’ll be happy, I heard from Kon this morning,” she said, and finally turned. She smiled at me, but it was as brittle as my own expression was. “His contact came through. I can get my paperwork from him today.”

The last bite of pancake felt like a lead weight in my belly. “I thought you said a few weeks.”

She shrugged. “We got lucky.”

Did we? I wasn’t sure how to feel.

“Anyway, I have to head to Coney Island area to meet him and his guy later.”

A frown pinched my brows. “His guy?”

“Yeah, a contact, some Irish guy who disappears people, apparently. Kon trusts him, so… I guess I can too.”

I stood up, delicious breakfast forgotten. “I’m coming with you.”

She blinked up at me, surprised. “Why?”

I blew out a breath. Why indeed? Why was I butting my nose in, when she was taking care of everything so seamlessly? Why did my chest hurt at the thought of her leaving me?

“Because you asked me to save you, and you’re my responsibility until that happens, one way or another. Now, go and get dressed. We’re going to Coney Island and if you play your cards right, I’ll win you a plushie at the amusement park.”

Kira laughed, and my mission to lighten her mood succeeded.

“I’m not really a stuffed toy kind of gal, in case you hadn’t noticed,” she said, stepping past me to head out of the kitchen.

“Well, I’ll let you choose between that or a goldfish that’ll die in a day,” I said, grinning as I followed her, enjoying the view.

CHAPTER 10

Kira

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