by I. T. Lucas
Kian kissed the top of her head and squeezed her shoulder. “I’m grateful for your foresight, and you should be too. It’s a good warning mechanism that might’ve saved you from something very nasty. But enough of that, I don’t want you thinking about it anymore. You’re safe now.”
Parting ways with Brundar at the elevators, they stepped into the one going up to the penthouse.
“How many of those spiked cups did you have?” Kian asked as the doors opened to the vestibule.
“Three, but there wasn’t that much alcohol in them. It’s just that I’m a really lightweight drinker.” She grimaced. “Half a glass of wine makes me woozy.”
“You’ll feel better after you eat. This dizziness is probably the result of stress combined with alcohol and an empty stomach. I’ll have Okidu whip up something.” Kian dropped her duffle bag by the entry and headed for the kitchen.
Hesitating, Syssi wasn’t sure if she was to follow him or wait by the door. Looking around and twisting her hands as she reacquainted herself with the place, she wondered if Kian planned for her to stay with him.
She should’ve thought of asking him to drop her off at Andrew’s.
Truth be told, though, she’d let him lead her like a goose and hadn’t been thinking at all. It seemed that her brain took a hiatus whenever Kian was near, mistakenly assuming they were an item and letting him take care of her as if she was his. Except she wasn’t, which explained why she felt so awkward and displaced coming home with him. Besides, she was an independent woman who didn’t need anyone to take care of her. Except until recently, it had meant earning a decent income and paying her own bills.
Defending herself from crazy cult members wasn’t something she’d ever anticipated dealing with.
Syssi wasn’t a warrior, she had never even taken a self-defense class, and she had a feeling calling the police wouldn’t have done her any good. She needed someone like Kian or her brother to keep her safe from them. Posturing her independence and insisting on staying home would’ve been just stupid. Sometimes, a girl needed to acknowledge her limitations and accept help.
Taking a deep breath, she put one foot in front of the other and followed Kian to the kitchen.
Chapter 39: Kian
The sound of Okidu chopping vegetables greeted Kian as soon as he opened his front door. The thing was, the speed at which his butler was performing the simple task would’ve seemed unnatural even for an experienced sushi chef. He hurried to the kitchen and put a hand on Okidu’s shoulder. “Good, I’m hungry, and so is Syssi,” he said, letting Okidu know that they had company he should be mindful of.
The speed slowed immediately.
“It seems we both skipped breakfast.” He turned around and motioned for Syssi to join them in the kitchen, then reached under the counter and pulled out a stool for her.
Okidu paused his chopping and turned around with a big welcoming smile already plastered on his face. “Of course, Master, and good day to you and the lovely lady. It is a pleasure to see you again, madam.” He wiped his hands on a dish towel and bowed.
“May I serve breakfast in the dining room, Master?” He intercepted Kian as he was about to pull out another stool for himself.
“Yes, good idea, the dining room...” Kian pushed back the stool and redirected Syssi toward the formal dining room.
Good save.
Thankful for Okidu’s intervention, Kian shook his head. As ridiculous as it was for someone his age, he didn’t have much practice at being a host. Besides the Guardians, he never had guests over—not that the guys qualified as such or required special treatment.
If not for his butler, it would’ve never crossed Kian’s mind that there was anything wrong with inviting Syssi to eat brunch at the kitchen counter. Not that there was, necessarily, but she deserved a little courtesy, and the truth was that he wanted to impress her.
Never mind that what Okidu had been programmed to consider as proper etiquette no longer applied to this day and age. Kian, however, was a product of a different era.
Damn, it had been such a long time since he had treated a woman like a real lady. Problem was, he would’ve been laughed at if he tried it with any of the mortal women he typically interacted with—in any capacity.
Kian grimaced as it crossed his mind that his mother would’ve been appalled to see him behave like this. If she ever decided to grace his home with her presence, he’d have to brush up on the good manners she had attempted to instill in him all those centuries ago.
Regrettably, he didn’t have much use for even a fraction of those manners with the kind of company he kept. Curiously, though, it hadn’t bothered him before. His nightly prowls required little if any effort or finesse on his part. He’d show up, zero in on his chosen prey, and the females usually took it from there.
Easy...
He had never brought any of them home.
If he hadn’t fucked them against a wall in a dark alley or some other secluded corner, he would bring them to one of the timeshare apartments on the lower levels, or a hotel. Later, Okidu would make sure that Kian’s thralled and confused partners found their way back safely.
He had never spent the night with any of them.
“I don’t mind eating at the kitchen counter,” she said in a small voice.
Kian leaned to whisper in her ear, “I don’t mind either, but it will upset Okidu to no end, and he’ll act pissy for the rest of the day. I’d rather humor him.” He was such a rotten liar. But Syssi looked uncomfortable and he wanted to put her at ease.
She smiled. “I wouldn’t want to upset the poor guy. Lead the way.”
Walking her toward the dining room, Kian put his hand on the small of her back—his touch eliciting a slight shiver. Syssi was attracted to him, but so were most of the women he came in contact with. He wanted more from her even though he shouldn’t. There could be nothing between them other than some harmless flirting, and he was pushing the limits of that too.
As he pulled a chair out for Syssi, he was acutely aware of how different she was from his nightly fare.
The women who tended to take his bait were the hardened, disillusioned types frequenting the bars and clubs, looking for some good times. Just like him.
No questions asked and no expectations.
Most times he hadn’t even asked for their names.
Syssi seemed so innocent and fragile in contrast, sitting there like a proper lady with her back straight and her hands in her lap, looking nervous.
Her eyes darting around, she looked at everything and anything in the room just to avoid meeting his eyes.
So shy... so reserved... so sweet...
She wouldn’t make it easy on him. She would expect him to woo her, be romantic.
Kian’s brows drew tight as it dawned on him that he didn’t know how to do that. He had never felt the need to make that kind of an effort before.
Living the way he did, and with hardly the time or patience to watch or read anything romantic, he didn’t even have the benefit of learning by example from fiction.
Yeah, he had the finesse of a bulldog and was just as charming.
He would have to improvise, and hopefully, manage not to blunder too much. Because even though he expected to have Syssi for only a few days, he wanted those days to be special, different.
Chapter 40: Syssi
Kian was acting like the perfect gentleman. It started with him pulling the chair out for her, then waiting for her to be seated before gently pushing it toward the table. When Okidu brought a pitcher of orange juice, Kian insisted on pouring it into her glass, and when the salad arrived, he loaded her plate himself.
No guy had ever doted on her like this. In fact, she’d only seen such manners in a period movie, or read about it in a historical romance novel. Although Kian looked to be in his early thirties, he was old-fashioned like a man at least double his age.
Which reminded her.
“I forgot to ask Anandur to bring me the keys to
my car. Could you please call him?” She glanced at her watch. “I have an appointment later today that I can’t miss.”
Kian frowned. “Could you reschedule?”
Syssi shook her head. “I could, but I would hate to do it. I promised three dear old friends that I’d come back and finish reading a book to them today. They’ll be very disappointed if I don’t. We were just getting to the good parts yesterday, but it was getting late, and I didn’t want to drive home at night.”
He looked doubtful. “Is this some new thing? Friends reading together?”
Syssi chuckled. “No. The three were my grandmother’s friends. Toward the end of her life she lost her eyesight, so I read to her whenever I came to visit, which was every Friday afternoon. Her friends always joined us, and after she passed away, I didn’t have the heart to stop the visits. They kind of adopted me as their granddaughter. Besides, I enjoy their company. They are lots of fun.”
As she thought about the kinds of books the ladies had her read, Syssi felt a blush creeping up. After all this time, she should’ve been cured of the damned blushing. Was it possible that her grandmother’s friends sought to help her get over it by making her uncomfortable on purpose?
If they did, then it wasn’t working. The bane of her existence was incurable.
Perhaps she should use a heavy foundation, the kind actors used on stage. Because nothing else could cover it up. It was such an embarrassment to have her feelings show when she would’ve preferred to keep them to herself.
For a private person like her, it felt awful to be exposed like that. It had gotten to the point that she avoided talking about anything that might cause her discomfort, which unfortunately included talking with guys she was interested in. Not that there had been many. But there had been one or two instances when she would’ve liked to start a conversation but hadn’t out of fear that her flaming cheeks would advertise her interest.
Kian was no exception. The only difference was that she was stuck with him and had nowhere to run.
He clasped her hand. “That’s very nice of you.”
She tried to shrug it off. “It’s nothing. As I said, it’s not a big sacrifice. I enjoy doing it.”
Kian nodded. “I’ll have one of my guys drive you.”
“I would hate to inconvenience anyone. I have a car and no one knows I visit the Golden Age Retirement home. I’ll be perfectly safe.”
“Perhaps. But I’ll be going out of my mind with worry. I’ll feel so much better knowing you have someone to protect you in case of trouble.”
Syssi narrowed her eyes at Kian. He was a sneaky one, guilting her into agreeing. “I know what you’re doing.”
He smirked. “Is it working?”
“What do you think?”
“Good. It’s a huge relief. I meant every word of it.” He sounded sincere. “When do you need to be there and how far away is it?”
“I didn’t tell them an exact time, but I think ten will be perfect. The drive there shouldn’t take more than twenty to twenty-five minutes.”
Kian seemed happy with that. “Excellent. That means we have plenty of time to have coffee out on the terrace. It’s a beautiful sunny day and it would be a shame to spend all of it inside.”
“I would love that.”
Okidu prepared a tray and Kian carried it outside despite the butler’s protests.
“He is awfully bossy, isn’t he?” Syssi said as they stepped outside.
Kian lowered the tray onto a mosaic-inlaied bistro table. “It’s not that he is bossy, it’s that he is programmed to assume responsibility over all domestic duties, and whenever I do something that he considered as his domain, he gets rattled.”
Syssi arched a brow. “Programmed?”
Kian paused in the middle of pouring coffee into one of the small porcelain cups Okidu had put on the tray. “Set in his ways, that was what I meant. We all have habits we cling to. Sugar?”
“Yes, please. One cube.”
Kian dropped it in. “Creamer?”
“A little bit… That’s enough.”
He stirred it all together and handed her the cup. “Any habits that you have and don’t like anyone to disturb?” he asked.
Syssi took a sip, relieved that it had come out the way she liked it. “I’m very particular about how I like my coffee. I was gritting my teeth when you did it for me. But it came out good.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Kian poured a cup for himself and didn’t add anything to it. “I would’ve left your coffee alone to fix any way you wanted.”
She shrugged. “It would’ve been rude. But you asked.”
“I appreciate the honesty.”
She nodded. “It’s one of the things I value most about people. I’ll take rude and honest over polite and deceitful any day. But I know I’m odd that way. Most people prefer polite even if it involves some white lies.”
Kian flinched as if she hurled an insult at him. Did he think she was insinuating that he’d lied about something?
Perhaps he had. But about what?
He seemed to recover fast. “Yeah, most people are too touchy to hear the brutal truth.”
That was probably what had caused the flinch. He’d been reminded of hurting someone’s feelings. The guy was doing his best, but he seemed like the type who wasn’t all that attuned to other people. Under his good manners and sophisticated veneer, she sensed a rough edge. Even danger. Curiously, it didn’t scare her. On the contrary, it was titillating.
Syssi shook her head. There must be something wrong with her. She’d never understood the appeal of bad boys, thought herself above such silliness, and yet here she was, pining for a man who was hiding something dangerous just underneath the surface.
The thing was, she also sensed that Kian was a good guy. He wasn’t as full of himself as she would’ve expected from someone so good-looking and successful, but he carried himself with the confidence and self-respect of an honorable man. A decent man. The whole package was quite irresistible. Except, he could loosen up a little; the guy was too serious, too somber. She wanted to see him smile more.
“I wasn’t completely honest before.” She smirked.
Kian arched a brow. “Oh, yeah? How so?”
“If you ever see a huge zit on my nose, and I ask you if it looks horrible, I expect you to lie and say that nothing can detract from my beauty.” She made a face, scrunching her nose and forcing her eyes to cross.
Kian didn’t laugh, not even a chuckle. Instead, he leaned back in his chair and pinned her with a stare that was hard to read. “I’ll remember that. But I wouldn’t be lying.”
“Oh, you’re smooth, very smooth.”
He seemed offended again. “That’s the honest truth. You could be covered in pimples and still look beautiful to me.”
Anddd… the blush was back.
What was she supposed to say to that?
Silly girl, just say thank you. Hattie’s voice sounded in her head.
“Thank you, that’s very sweet.”
Kian chuckled. “Believe me, Syssi, there is nothing sweet about me.”
Chapter 41: Kian
Kian wanted to kick himself. Syssi looked like she wanted to hide under the table and it was all his fault. It had been going so well, she was loosening up and smiling more around him, and then he had to throw in that last remark, flustering her again.
She was so easy to read. A pretty blush would be the first indicator that she was feeling uncomfortable, then she would dip her head and let her long hair fall forward to hide her face.
She had done both after his last remark.
A change of subject was needed. Something neutral. “How are you enjoying working at the lab?”
Syssi shrugged, still not looking at him. “I like the research and I like working with Amanda, but this is temporary, just until I find another internship.”
“You studied architecture, right?”
She nodded, finally lifting her eyes to his and smiling
a little.
It was progress. “I know a thing or two about it. Not from the design side, but from the development and construction sides. Our family owns several development companies. In fact, most of the high rises on this street are ours.” Why the hell was he telling her that?
It would be just another thing he would need to erase from her memory once it was safe for her to return to the old converted garage she called home. He needed to have a talk with Amanda about the wages she was paying the girl. As far as he could remember, the budget for her research assistant’s salary was generous. Syssi should be able to afford a decent apartment.
“I didn’t have a chance to get a good look, but from what I’ve seen so far your building is gorgeous. Who’s the architect? Anyone well known?”
Kian chuckled. “Not really. She is a cousin of ours. I can ask if she has a need for an intern.” Amanda was going to kill him if he helped Syssi get away from her, but he would be doing them all a favor. The girl had a knack for messing with Amanda’s and his heads.
Syssi blushed again. “I wasn’t fishing for a job recommendation. Besides, I’m more into designing single family homes and would like to intern with someone that does that.”
“I’ll ask around. I’m sure an internship will pay more than what my sister is paying you.” It was so unlike Amanda to take advantage of the girl and pay her less than the job had been budgeted for, just because she hadn’t been trained in neuroscience.
A quiet snort escaped Syssi’s throat. “I doubt that. Amanda pays me very well. I’m going to have to settle for much less as an intern.”
So why the hell was she living the way she did? Kian ran his fingers through his hair. It could be that she was burdened with student loans. He’d read an article about it last weekend. It said that the cost of tuition had doubled in the last ten years and students were drowning in debt. Or maybe she didn’t want to make any adjustments to her lifestyle because this well-paying job was temporary.