Chapter 19 Kaylor #2
A twitch of motion snagged at the edge of my vision, a quiet shift in the doorway.
I turned my head…and there he was.
Kreed leaned one shoulder against the door frame, posture deceptively relaxed, but his gaze was anything but. Storm-gray eyes locked on me like I was the only real thing in the room. Heat prickled up the back of my neck. My lungs forgot their cues.
I swallowed and offered him a small, tentative smile, my walls lowering, vulnerable in a way I didn’t let just anyone see. Then I mouthed across the hallway, “Thank you.”
For bringing Poppy here.
For knowing what I needed before I did.
For still being close enough to reach even when everything else felt uncertain.
His gaze held mine, longer than was polite, longer than Poppy would ever let me hear the end of, and something flickered across his face. The faintest shift of his jaw, the slightest softening around the eyes, and a ghost of a smile tugging at his lips.
Before I could decode any of it, he pushed off the frame and disappeared into his room, leaving the door cracked.
Poppy let out a low whistle. “So that’s still a thing, huh?”
Heat rushed to my face. “I told Kreed I loved him.”
Her eyes nearly bugged out of her skull. “I’m sorry, you did what?”
“That was basically his reaction too,” I groaned, tucking pieces of my hair behind my ears.
“Oh, Kaylor.” She flopped dramatically on her belly. “Don’t tell me you fell for a Corvo.”
I joined her, stretching out on the bed. “Trust me, I didn’t mean to. It just happened.”
“That’s what they all say. It’s the Raven lure. They’re like male sirens.”
“You mean tritons?”
Her brows furrowed. “Is that what they’re called. God, why does that fucking fit them?”
It was so damn nice to be hanging out with Poppy again. “Because they’re not human.”
Poppy nudged my shoulder with hers. “So…you love him, huh?”
I stared down at where my fingers twisted in the blanket. “I tried not to fall for him. I really did.”
“The heart wants what the heart wants.” She sighed dramatically.
“Speaking of hearts, does yours still want Nash?”
“Hmm, it depends on what day of the week it is and whether he bothers to show for school.”
I snorted. “Okay, that might be slightly my fault. What else have I missed?”
“Oh, not much…except all the gossip about you and the Raven Crew.” Her grin widened wickedly. “Some of the theories are pure gold.”
“Like?” I braced myself. I didn’t know why I asked. Did I really want to torture myself with the babble of my peers? I didn’t give a shit what they said about me, and yet…I waited on the edge of the bed for Poppy to dish.
“My personal favorite: you’ve been inducted into the Raven harem as their sex slave.”
I blinked. Once. Twice. “Raven harem? Sex slave? You’re kidding?”
She shook her head. “Wish. All the girls think you’re selfishly keeping them for yourself. As if Kreed wasn’t enough for you.”
I busted out laughing. “That. Is. The. Stupidest. Shit,” I said between fits of giggles that shook my belly so hard I fell back on the bed.
Poppy collapsed beside me, holding her stomach as her laugh joined mine. “I thought you might get a kick out of it.”
It took a few minutes for the foolishness of the rumors to fade, leaving both of us breathless. “I really needed that.”
“Me too,” Poppy said, turning her head to the side to look at me.
“Can you stay?”
“Wasn’t planning on leaving.” She scooted closer, shoulder brushing mine. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily. Should we order food and binge-watch something trashy?”
“That sounds better than any date I’ve been on.”
She flipped her hair. “I’d make a damn good boyfriend. Or girlfriend. Honestly.”
“Fuck yes, you would,” I agreed, smirking.
I wasn’t whole—not yet.
I wasn’t safe—not really.
But Poppy was here.
And across the hall, through that thin ribbon of golden light…Kreed Corvo was still close enough to touch.
For now, that was enough.
If someone had told me even a week ago that I’d be living under the same roof as Donovan Corvo again, voluntarily, no less, I would’ve laughed in their face before telling them to go straight to hell.
Yet here I was, eight days into this arrangement, surviving off a steady diet of caffeine and raw nerves, pretending with every fiber of my being he didn’t exist.
It was genuinely amazing how two people could inhabit the same sprawling house and never once cross paths.
The estate was large enough, certainly with two wings and more rooms than I’d bothered to count.
Maybe it was dumb luck that kept us apart.
Maybe he was deliberately avoiding me the same way I was definitely, consciously avoiding him.
No late-night run-ins in the hallways when insomnia drove me downstairs.
No awkward glances across the massive dining table during the few meals I’d forced myself to eat.
Not a single glimpse of the notorious Crew lord in his natural habitat.
I almost started to delude myself into thinking he didn’t live here or that he had moved into a hotel.
The delusion crashed into me on Wednesday morning on my way to the kitchen to get my ritual coffee before school when I turned the corner, hair still damp from my shower, wearing shorts and one of Kreed’s old football tees, and slammed straight into the devil himself.
The impact sent me stumbling backward, my shoulder blade connecting painfully with the door frame.
Donovan stood towering over me in the gleaming kitchen.
He was immaculate despite the early hour, dressed in perfectly pressed dark slacks and a crisp white dress shirt rolled precisely to his elbows, revealing forearms corded with lean muscle.
Not a single strand of his silver-streaked dark hair was out of place.
His expression didn’t waver even slightly, not even as the porcelain cup in his hand sloshed dangerously from the impact of our collision, dark liquid threatening to spill over the rim.
“Miss Steele,” he said smoothly, recovering without so much as a blink of surprise.
Every survival instinct I possessed screamed at me to run, to retreat back upstairs and hide in my room until he left for whatever shady business occupied his days.
My pulse kicked up immediately, jumping from resting to racing in the space of two heartbeats, but instead of fleeing, I forced my spine straight and squared my shoulders.
My chin lifted in what I hoped looked like defiance rather than terror. “Morning,” I managed.
He nodded toward the expensive chrome coffeepot sitting on the marble counter, then proceeded to pour another cup with a casual ease. “I assumed you’ve settled back into your old room comfortably?”
I swallowed hard, hating the way my throat bobbed visibly and gave away the unease I desperately wanted to hide. “Didn’t really have much of a choice in the matter, did I?”
My tongue earned me the faintest hint of a smile, but it didn’t come anywhere near touching his eyes.
“In business, Miss Steele, one learns very early that choices are rarely pleasant affairs. Deals are almost never clean or simple. But they’re absolutely necessary if one intends to succeed.
” He paused, handing me the second cup. “That’s how you win at life. ”
I took the mug. “Win what, exactly?”
“In your particular case? Your parents’ considerable fortune,” he replied with casual cruelty.
He leaned back against the granite counter, crossing one ankle over the other.
“Your father did quite well for himself. The auto shops were profitable enough; certainly, legitimate income always helps with the tax situation. But that wasn’t where the real money came from. ”
I stared at him, my pulse thudding so loudly in my ears that it almost drowned out his words. The kitchen was suddenly too small, the air too thick. “You seem to know an awful lot about my father’s business practices.”
“Information is currency,” he replied, taking another measured sip of his coffee.
“Your father understood that. He left you quite a considerable inheritance, the shops, investments, and liquid assets. The total sum is impressive.” His eyes locked onto mine with intensity.
“Play your cards correctly, invest with some wisdom, and you’ll live comfortably for the rest of your life without ever needing to work.
Assuming, of course, you don’t give me any reason to reconsider our current arrangement regarding your guardianship and access to those funds. ”
The implication hung in the air between us.
I refused to take the bait, refused to ask what would constitute giving him reason to reconsider.
Instead, I sighed slowly through my nose.
I had to get out of here, away from him, where I could breathe again.
“I’m going to be late for school.” It was the quickest excuse my mind could come up with.
He inclined his head in acknowledgment. “I’m glad to see you’re taking your studies seriously. Perhaps some of that dedication will rub off on my sons.”
I set my untouched coffee on the counter and walked out of the kitchen with as much dignity as I could muster, fighting the urge to break into a run the moment I was out of his line of sight. My heart battered against my ribs, each beat painful and too fast.
I took the stairs two at a time, desperate to put as much distance as possible between myself and the man who held too much power over my future and seemed to take genuine pleasure in reminding me of that fact.
When I got to my room, I swiftly closed the door, pressing my back against it.
There was one bright side in all this. I’d been dreading this first confrontation with Donovan, going over the conversation in my head, picking apart my imagined words.
Now, it was over. The unknown of it could no longer haunt me.
My head hit the back of the door as I blew out a breath.
Fuck, I left my coffee in the kitchen.