Chapter 11
Chapter
Eleven
GORAN
Iwoke before the sun, the room still wrapped in that quiet gray light of dawn.
Kaylani was curled up against me, head resting on my chest, her arm wrapped around me as if I might disappear, our legs in a tangle. Her shallow breaths warmed my skin. I didn’t move. I didn’t want to wake her.
If anyone saw us like this, it would be a death sentence. For both of us.
My fingers swirled lightly over her shoulder, memorizing her softness. The dread I felt now for her safety mirrored something I had only felt once before.
Kaylani had only been twelve when she first met Alex in a chat room. A year later, he had convinced her that her family hated her and that he was the only one who could truly love her. He was the only one who understood her. Then, like the scum he was, he talked her into sending him nudes.
She was only thirteen for fucksake. It still made my blood boil.
Things escalated, and she realized Alex was not who he claimed to be.
I could still remember the look on her face when she ran into Nathaniel’s bedroom, crying.
We had been up late after one of Nathaniel’s college hockey games, drinking beer and complaining about shitty referee calls, when she burst in.
She couldn’t even get the words out through her sobs.
Back then, I had thought of Kaylani like a sister. The look Nathaniel and I shared after he calmed her said everything.
This Alex…was a dead man.
Now, I was the one betraying Nathaniel.
I pinched the bridge of my nose as the guilt twisted deeper.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
I had to talk to him before he heard it from someone else.
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.
My phone shattered the quiet. I glared at the stupid thing.
Kaylani shifted, her cheek pressing more firmly into my chest, her fingers curling as if she sensed the moment slipping away. I exhaled slowly and reached for the phone before the vibration woke her.
“Goran.”
“Sorry to call so early,” Dimitri said, his tone suggesting the complete opposite. “But I assumed you would be awake.”
I looked down at Kaylani. At the faint discoloration beneath her cheekbone. The urge to tell him to fuck off was so strong that it took me a second to rein in the rage before answering.
“Yes, sir. How can I help you?” I stared at the door, half expecting his men to kick it down.
He paused.
“Do you know where my daughter is?”
“Yes.”
Silence stretched. If there had been a clock on the wall, I would have heard the tick, tick, tick of the second hand.
Dimitri Mikhailov was used to people jumping. Begging. Handing him everything without being asked. I wasn’t one of them.
“And I presume she’s safe?”
“She is.”
Kaylani stirred, her lashes fluttering as she woke. She glanced up at me, her hand sliding slowly over my stomach. She smirked as her fingers drifted lower, testing my resolve, daring me to stay quiet.
I tightened my jaw.
“I know that last night got a little out of hand,” Dimitri said, beginning to reframe events I had watched unfold.
Kaylani wrapped her hand around my shaft and slipped beneath the blankets.
Holy hell. She was going to get me shot.
I swallowed, listening to her father drone on. I wasn’t even sure why he was calling me specifically. Unless he already knew she was here.
He might.
That thought clawed at my mind. I glanced at the small security camera light in the corner that warned of intruders. It stayed green.
My worry was shoved aside as her hot mouth slid down over me.
Dimitri continued speaking, unaware and unconcerned. Something about this was truly fucked up, but I refused to analyze right now.
“My daughter seems comfortable with you.”
If he only knew how comfortable.
“I’d like you to escort her to lunch today. Neutral ground. Public setting. Somewhere she doesn’t feel ambushed.”
As if anything involving Dimitri was ever anything but an ambush.
She moved faster. My abs clenched, my heart lodged in my throat.
I tossed the blankets aside just in time to watch my cock disappear all the way down her throat.
Not even with all my training could I force myself to look away from the bobbing head beneath the blankets or ignore the effect of her devilish intent.
Fuck me.
I licked my lips. “Where?”
“La Seraphine. I trust you know the location?”
“I do,” I said, sucking in a sharp breath as she brought me closer to the edge. I fought to keep my voice steady. “And the meeting is with you?”
“No.”
I waited, knowing he was holding out for effect.
“Julian.”
My grip tightened on the phone.
“I won’t be attending,” Dimitri added smoothly. “No need to escalate things further with my hot-headed daughter.”
As if last night hadn’t already been an escalation. As if this were her fault.
“I’ll inform her,” I said evenly.
“Be sure you are there,” he said, the undercurrent unmistakably a threat. “And Goran—” His voice softened just enough to sound civilized, almost fatherly. “Tell her I’m sorry. For last night.”
Sorry wasn’t remorseful to a man like Dimitri. It was leverage.
“I will,” I replied.
The line went dead. I locked the phone and tossed it aside.
“Fuck, that feels good,” I groaned.
Kaylani released me and crawled up my body, fully in control. She straddled me, taking what she wanted as she sank down onto my cock. My hands found her hips as she rode me. Her breasts bounced, nipples hard, hands braced on my abs, her eyes locked on mine.
I’d been lost to her for years.
I could die right now and be the happiest man alive, having known this kind of love and passion.
“Oh…God, yes…” she moaned, and my entire body tensed.
“Fuck,” I growled.
I sat up and wrapped my arms around her just before she came, sucking her nipple into my mouth. Kaylani jerked as she climaxed, and that was enough to push me over the edge.
We held each other, refusing to let go as our breathing slowly steadied.
Kaylani’s lips brushed my neck, my cheek, then my mouth.
“Who was that?”
I didn’t want to tell her.
“You sounded tense,” she added with a teasing smirk.
I kissed her and rolled us over, pinning her hands above her head. She laughed, eyes bright and wild with passion.
“I love you.”
“I love you too.” She studied my face. “So why do you look worried?”
Lacing our fingers, I kissed her again instead of answering. I memorized the shape of her lips, holding onto this version of us before the world forced her walls back up.
When I finally let her breathe, her lips were swollen, cheeks flushed, and eyes glassy.
“Now tell me. Who was on the phone?”
Bracing for her reaction, I met her gaze.
“Your father.”
The warmth vanished instantly.
I rolled onto my back, staring at the ceiling, hating everything about this situation.
Why couldn’t I have been born worthy of her?
Kaylani sat up, pulling the blanket around herself like armor.
“How did he know to call you?”
“I don’t know. But you did shut off your phone last night so I assume he thought you were with Nathaniel.”
“What did he want?”
“He wants me to escort you to lunch,” I said, turning my head to look at her. “With Julian…and he’s not coming.”
Her jaw tightened. “Of course he’s not. Coward.”
I reached for her, but she had already pulled away. Lani stood, the softness from moments ago replaced by steel. She paced the room with the blanket wrapped tightly around her.
“What else,” she asked.
“He said to tell you he’s sorry.”
She didn’t react at first. Just stared.
“Sorry doesn’t erase what he did,” she said, fury in every word. “He hit me. Left a handprint on my face. He treated me like a thing, a possession.” She pointed to the faint bruising on her cheek. “Sorry doesn’t erase any of that.”
Lani turned away, and the distance between us slammed into place like a wall.
“What should I do?”
I ran my hand through my hair. “Until we have a plan we’re at his mercy.”
“So you think I should go,” she said and swore. “God, I hate this.”
Before I could say anything else, she marched into the bathroom and slammed the door, leaving me alone.
My heart wanted her, but deep down, I knew the likelihood of keeping this reality was somewhere between never and impossible. Princesses didn’t marry foot soldiers. This wasn’t a fairytale, and I was not a frog waiting for a kiss to turn me into her Prince Charming.
Our moment was over.
The world was back.
And Dimitri Mikhailov had made his next move.