“I see. Fair enough. So…is Serra’s baby yours, Kaiden?” I asked.
I cringed internally as I waited for his reaction to my question. If we went for denial and Serra managed to prove that he’d been lying nine months down the line, then his reputation would be damaged irrevocably.
“I’ve already told you that the baby isn’t mine.”
“But if there’s even the slightest chance—”
The dark look he gave me shot me down instantly. Clearly he had no intention of talking about this tonight.
Luckily at that moment, the waitress from earlier broke the tension by bringing over our drinks. Kaiden thanked her politely, but his face was still dark and unsmiling.
“Cheers,” he said stiffly, raising his water to my long-stemmed wine glass.
“Kaiden, I’m sorry if—”
“Don’t worry about it,” he said, cutting me off yet again.
Jeez. When had he become this person? He was so different from the sweet boy I once knew. I almost wished that I’d been around to see the transformation; then I might’ve been able to wrap my head around it all a little more.
“Sorry I snapped,” he added a few seconds later, making my heart soften a little. “I’m just so sick of all this negative media shit.”
“Understandable.”
I took a swig of my wine without breaking eye contact with him, and he smiled. I couldn’t work out why, but I felt as if he were testing me somehow. And speaking of testing things, I was glad I hadn’t shot him down when he’d insisted I try out this expensive wine. It was probably the best wine I’d ever had; not that I was some sort of connoisseur or anything.
“So,” I finally said, trying to get back some of my earlier control. I didn’t want him to think that I was the type of woman who would sit quietly and be pushed around, so I needed to make him see that. “You don’t want to talk about the baby, and you don’t want to discuss the nitty-gritty details of my PR plan…so what do you want to talk about?”
A dirty grin appeared on his face, and I screwed my nose up in a disdainful expression. I was acting like I was repulsed by the thoughts that were clearly in his mind, but my insides were swirling with lust and heavy emotions, as much as I hated to admit it.
“I want to find out more about you,” he said, leaning in a little.
“You don’t need to know more about me.” I fiddled around with my glass, trying to keep myself focused on something real, something I could grasp onto. “I’m just a member of your staff, remember? I seem to recall a certain someone saying that last night.”
He chuckled. “Yeah. That girl was horrible, wasn’t she? But I actually do like to get to know my staff members. And that includes you.”
I felt emboldened by this remark, glad he was finally viewing me as a member of his work-team rather than a possible conquest. He might have screwed around with every other woman that had crossed his path since he became Kaiden Cross: Ultimate Fighting Champion, but I wasn’t going to be one of them.
Not if I could help it, anyway.
“I’m not just saying that,” he said, as if he assumed I didn’t believe him. “I’m close with everyone who works for me.”
“Like your manager?” I said. “I thought you two looked a little cozy beside the cage last night…”
I expected him to be amused by this, or at least a little offended, but he just mused thoughtfully instead. “You always were witty, Riley. Although that definitely wasn’t one of your best jokes,” he said.
Wait, what? Did that mean he actually remembered me?
“What did you say?” I asked, eyebrows knitted in a confused frown. My heart was pounding heavily, my breathing had become a little labored, and I was suddenly and inexplicably terrified about where this conversation was going to go next.
A waiter appeared with our meals at that exact moment, and Kaiden stared at me like a deer in the headlights, showing some genuine emotion for the first time since I’d seen him again. Clearly he hadn’t meant to say what he’d said out loud, and it seemed like he was regretting letting it slip out.
“Do you remember me?” I asked, pressing him for an answer when he didn’t immediately reply. I didn’t want this moment to slide by; this could be the only opportunity I got to bring this topic up.
He leaned backwards and finally spoke again once the waiter was out of earshot. “Of course I remember you, Riley. How could I forget you?” he said.
He was vulnerable now; that much was obvious in his voice. I wanted to answer him, but I didn’t know what to say. I knew that he was unforgettable to me, but in the last twenty-four hours, I’d managed to convince myself that I hadn’t had any impact on his life.
“We were best friends as kids. How the hell could I not remember you?” he continued.
“But…I…you just didn’t seem to know me at all. You even called me by a different name earlier,” I replied.
Now that he’d admitted he remembered me, all of his behavior towards me up until now seemed even more bizarre. I didn’t know whether I should feel relieved that it was all out in the open, or if I should be deeply confused by the whole thing.
Right now, I was definitely leaning closer towards ‘deeply confused’.
“I know. I’m sorry. It’s just so weird to see you again. I didn’t know how to act, because I figured you wouldn’t like me anymore, so I pretended I didn’t remember. Stupid, huh?”
“Well…yeah. That’s one word for it.”
“I see you’re just as honest as ever,” he said. He chuckled, an authentic warmness on his face. “By the way, you didn’t say anything about recognizing me either. You could have.”
“Yeah, I suppose so.”
“I didn’t make it easy for you to say anything, though, did I?”
I shook my head slowly. Once again, I had no idea what the hell to think. Was this who Kaiden Cross was now, and was the other unbearable version of him all an act he put on for god knows what reason? Seriously, which version of him was real?
He began to tuck into his appetizers, and I smiled as he wolfed them down in what seemed to be five seconds flat. It reminded me of how he’d been as a kid.
“I never understood how you could eat so much and never gain weight. You used to eat entire packets of cookies and not gain an ounce…meanwhile whenever I so much as look at a crumb, I double my dress size,” I said, looking pointedly at the mountains of food in front of him. “And you’re still like that! Isn’t your metabolism ever going to slow down?”
He grinned. “I guess I’m still a growing boy.”
Boy? Nope. Kaiden Cross was definitely a man. There was nothing immature or boyish about him—well, maybe aside from his personality—not his chiseled good looks or his height or those ripped muscles of his. He gave me another grin a second later, blue eyes twinkling, and my heart did a little pirouette.
Yup, he was a man, all right.
Just as I worked up the bravery to finally ask him for an update of his life—I wanted to know everything that I’d missed out on—his expression hardened once more.
“Speaking of growing…who’d have thought that you’d grow up into such a bangable babe?” he said.
“What?” I asked, eyes widening.
I was dumbfounded. He’d gone from being relatively normal to ‘sleazy asshole mode’ within just a few minutes. I’d thought that once he’d admitted he remembered me, the rest of his douchebag act would vanish.
Apparently not.
“Come on,” he said, arching an eyebrow and licking his lips in an over the top gesture which I found utterly disgusting. “You want me. I saw the way you were looking at me earlier.”
“Okay, that’s it!” I said, finally snapping as he suggestively waggled his eyebrows at me. “I cannot stand another moment of your crap, whether I work for you or not. I’m outta here. Oh, and by the way? You wish. I’ve seen whale sharks more attractive than you.”
I quickly reached into my purse and threw some cash down o
n the table—I didn’t want to owe him for anything, let alone a glass of wine and a meal—and then I turned on my heels and stalked towards the exit. Rage and frustration were burning through me, but there was also a twinge of hurt coursing through my veins. How could he treat me like I was nothing more than a piece of meat? Or a ‘bangable babe’, as he’d so eloquently put it. It felt awful.
Wasn’t there a law which stated that men who acted like that were required to be rounded up and tossed into the ocean with a pair of lead boots? Oh wait, no…that was just my perfect fantasy world. My mistake.
I made my way outside the restaurant and turned into the nearest alleyway, where I paused for a second, leaning against the wall and breathing heavily as I tried to regain my composure. I’d never been through anything like that before in my life, and to be pushed that far was just ridiculous. I decided to tell Eric that I couldn’t cope with Kaiden as a client. It just wasn’t worth it.
Oh, and speak of the devil…
“There you are.” Kaiden’s smarmy voice burst around the corner a few seconds later. “You didn’t get too far.”
“Oh, get the hell away from me!” I said, raising my eyes to meet his.
I knew I shouldn’t be speaking to him like that, but now that I’d decided I didn’t want to work with him anymore, I didn’t care. I just wanted him to leave me the hell alone. He’d changed too much, and there wasn’t even a shred of my old friend left in the man who stood before me now.
“Jesus, Riley, calm down,” he said. I almost launched myself at him to throttle him. If there was one thing that could provoke a person into committing murder, it was telling them to calm down.
“Don’t talk to me like that,” I replied, narrowing my eyes at him.
He grinned and stepped towards me, moving too far into my personal space yet again. “There’s no need to be like that. I was just kidding in the restaurant. Sorry, I thought you’d get it.”
“Well, I didn’t. You looked and sounded pretty damn serious to me, and it wasn’t funny.”
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry. But do you seriously think I lick my lips like a seventies porn star to get women into bed?”
“Well…I don’t know. This is you we’re talking about, after all.”
He chuckled. “You know, you used to have a better sense of humor, Ri.”
Right. This was somehow my fault for not having a better sense of humor to suit his immature taste in jokes? Nope. That was ridiculous, and it was a bullshit apology.
I turned my head to the side, refusing to look at him anymore as I fumbled with my phone, trying to figure out where the nearest Uber was. As Kaiden neared, I tried to make my feelings towards him clear with my body language, but he continued regardless.
“Not speaking to me now?” he murmured, drawing ever-closer.
Things were dangerously teetering into childish territory, but that still didn’t stop me from refusing to reply. Kaiden was so close now that I could feel his breath on my cheek, and the discomfort within me started to slowly evaporate as heady lust thickened the air between us. It was as if I couldn’t control myself when he was around, which made me even madder, and then his hand lightly touched my hip, testing my boundaries even further. When I didn’t instantly recoil from this, he pressed harder and trailed his fingers up my body and towards my neck.
I was torn. Half of me wanted to tear myself away and slap him, and the other half wanted to remain rooted to the spot and let him touch me.
The lusty side won out, and I didn’t move even an inch, despite the rational side of my mind screaming for me to get away. Kaiden’s hand gently lingered on my side for a second, and I took a deep breath as a hot ball of pleasure started to roll around in my stomach before spreading wanton warmth all throughout my body. When his hand finally reached the top of my neck, I noticed that my head had slowly made its way back around to face him, and as soon as our eyes connected, my heart just melted. Those blue eyes just contrasted so well with his tanned skin, and his mesmerizing gaze made it impossible not to get sucked in.
Sucked in like so many other girls before me...
“I…” I began to speak, but his face moved closer to mine, which instantly silenced me. Was he going to kiss me? Oh god, I wasn’t sure what I planned to do if he did. I had no idea if I’d be able to resist, despite my earlier vow that I’d never fall for his charms like every other woman seemed to.
He kept his distance instead, just enough so that we were almost brushing lips. It wasn’t a real kiss, so no rules were really being broken.
At least that’s what I was going to tell myself for now.
I noticed his other hand making its way towards my thigh and I almost lost it right there and then. As it slid onto my leg, the moment arrived for me to yell and throw him off if I wanted this to stop, and I knew I should, but it didn’t happen. Then he started to swirl his finger round and round, stroking it up and down my leg but never quite reaching the spot which I was suddenly desperate for him to touch. He murmured something unintelligible into my ear, and my mouth dried up.
My panties did the opposite.
“Oh…” An involuntary moan escaped my lips, but instead of feeling embarrassed, I felt free, and I threw my head back and closed my eyes, losing myself in the moment.
“You really want me, don’t you?” Kaiden said.
I nodded against him, and the second that I did so, I felt the warmth of his muscular body vanish. He’d moved away from me, leaving me alone and filled with frustrated fire, and I gulped down shame, the reality of everything hitting me in the face like a blast of cold water. I’d almost let Kaiden do all sorts of things to me in this dirty alley, right next to a busy restaurant.
Again, what the hell was wrong with me?
I glanced down at my feet, smoothing my dress with my hands as I waited for Kaiden to explain his actions, and he looked down at me with an amused smirk. “You said we have to keep it professional, right? Or would you rather ditch me as a client and have your way with me? Can’t have it both ways, sweetheart.”
Smug prick. I immediately reversed myself on my earlier decision to stop working for him. If I did, he’d assume I really wanted him and was willing to ditch my job for him, and from that he’d also assume that I was going to be putty in his hands like every other woman was around him.
Screw that. I’d finally returned to my senses.
“You’re right. I’m still working for you, and yes, we should keep things professional. Let’s just forget this. It was a mistake,” I said, not daring to look up at him again. I didn’t want him to know how close to tears I was.
I wasn’t so much upset with him as I was with myself. I had no right to call myself a professional if this was how I was behaving after just twenty-four hours with a new client, regardless of any attraction or personal history I had with him. I was just lucky we hadn’t done this in a more public place where anyone could have seen and taken photos, because if that had happened, I’d be fired the second my boss saw them popping up on the gossip blogs.
“Goodnight, Kaiden,” I added as the smirk faded from his face.
“Night, Ri.”
He looked like he was about to say something else, but I turned and briskly walked away before jumping into a cab which had just dropped someone else off at the restaurant. I brushed my angry tears away before forcing a polite smile and directing the driver to my house.
When I arrived home, I pushed the front door open and let it slam shut with a loud bang as I strode inside. I wanted to scream with frustration, but I couldn’t because I’d irritate all of my neighbors, so instead I punched the nearest pillow that I could find. I was still far more annoyed at myself than Kaiden. Why had I fallen for his bullshit, and so fast too? Why did I allow myself to get so turned on by him, after he’d already been such a pig to me? And after admitting that he knew exactly who I was, no less.
I was an idiot. A prize idiot.
As I stomped into the kitchen to get a glass of water, I
noticed a light flashing on my answering machine on the counter. One new message. My mind instantly shot to Kaiden, but that was impossible; he didn’t know my home number. All I’d given him was my cell contact details.
I clicked on the little grey button on the machine, and a vaguely familiar voice burst out. “Hello, Miss Solis, this is Renee from the Grove Health Center. We have your most recent test results, and Dr. Zhang would like you to make an appointment to come in and discuss them as soon as possible. Thank you, and have a good evening.”
A beep rang out for a while after the message ended, leaving me sick to my stomach as my mind whirled with fear and sadness. I knew it was bad news. It had to be. The doctor would only want me to come back in so quickly if there was something wrong. I’d already suspected it after my last appointment, but hearing the medical receptionist’s voice made it all seem much more real.
Last week I’d had to have a test for the BRCA genetic mutation, because my mother and aunt had both suffered from breast cancer. I’d lost my Mom two years ago to that horrendous disease, and my aunt was still fighting it along with uterine cancer. Her doctors had looked back into our genetic history and found that breast and ovarian cancers were quite common in our family, so they’d tested her for the BRCA gene mutation and come up positive. It was also likely that my Mom had had it, but she hadn’t been tested while she was alive.
BRCA mutations were highly hereditary, and women who had them ran a substantial risk of developing breast or ovarian cancers at some point in their lives. If I had inherited the gene, then I had an extremely high risk of developing those cancers too, even at a young age, and it would leave me with a tough decision to make—I’d have to seriously consider getting a double mastectomy or an oophorectomy to prevent future problems.
Maybe both.
Everything else that had happened tonight faded into the background as my health became my priority, and I slid down onto the floor, just sitting and staring aimlessly at the tiles.
Bad Boy Brit (A British Bad Boy Romance) Page 26