Chapter 17 #2
We reached the main doors, and I stepped out into the sunlight before I admitted the truth to myself.
I was jealous.
Dammit! How had I gotten in so deep? Konni wasn’t mine. I had no claim to him. I didn’t want any claim on him.
Liar.
“Are you going to give me the silent treatment the whole time?” Konni asked as we walked toward Harlow.
“I’m not that immature. My silence is a filter as I step back from the problem and look at it logically.”
“And what problem are you looking at?” Konni asked as Harlow opened the door for us.
I slid in first and waited until Harlow closed the door to turn to face Konni.
“You. You’re the problem.”
Konni’s brows twitched in surprise. Instead of getting angry, he reached for my hand.
“How?”
I jerked back from his touch.
“Like this. Keep your hands and your flowers to yourself, Konni. Steele Corp is for work, not for brushing up against each other whenever your horny dragon self has the urge.”
Harlow made a choked sound, and I flushed, hating that I’d been too angry to notice he’d gotten in.
“Brushing up against—” Understanding lit Konni’s gaze, and a slow smile grew on his face.
“Keep laughing, and you’ll start wishing I was filtering again.”
He immediately sobered. “You’re right. Your jealousy isn’t something I should take lightly or find joy in. I apologize for letting another female get so close to me. It won’t happen again. I promise.”
“No. Go ahead and let it happen. I don’t care. My life will be a lot easier if you’d pick someone else as your mate. Then I wouldn’t need to filter or lie.”
He let out a slow breath. “That’s not how this works.”
“So you say. But you looked pretty comfortable with Lianna leaning over you earlier.”
“She’s like fami—”
Harlow coughed violently.
“Don’t stop him from saying stupid things, Harlow. The man either digs his own grave with the shovel he’s holding, or I’ll beat him with it.”
Silence settled in the car, and I turned to glare out the window.
I had to be insane to care about Konni. Why did I care?
Just because he was good-looking? So were hundreds of thousands of other men.
Because he hadn’t cared about my stupid transitioning excuse and continued to show up night after night to talk to me?
There had to be at least one other guy who would do the same, right?
But there hadn’t been.
Konni had been the first.
The first to not care. The first to stay. The first to get to know me. The first to buy me shoes. The first to loan me money without strings. The first to buy me flowers.
A tear slid down my cheek, and I turned to look at him angrily.
“You made me cry!”
The car veered to the curb at the same time Konni reached across the seat to unclasp my seatbelt. I was in his lap a second later. Cuddled and soothed by a low rumble from his chest, I leaned against him, tears flowing. He rubbed my back.
“I was careless, kitten. Please don’t cry. It’ll never happen again. I’m yours. No one else will ever touch me. I promise.”
Each word heated me from the inside, and I melted into his embrace, looping my arms around his shoulders.
“You’re so dumb,” I said, crying harder.
“I am. Please don’t leave me. I’ll be smarter in the future. I promise.”
I rubbed my wet cheek against his neck and breathed in his scent. It calmed me and made me want more. More of his scent. More of his touch. More of his taste. I licked his skin and listened to the rumble increase.
“Take what you need, baby. I’m yours,” he said.
Of course, I’d take what I needed. He was mine. I pulled away from him and quickly changed positions so that I was straddling his lap. His hands gripped my thighs, pulling me closer as he looked up at me with his golden gaze.
His mouth called to me.
Just once, I told myself.
I leaned in and softly kissed his lips. His hand moved to the back of my neck, holding me, guiding me as his mouth opened. The way he gently nipped at my bottom lip then gently sucked it into his mouth sent a shock of heat straight to my core.
My libido screamed for more while my voice of reason yelled for me to get off of him.
I compromised by kissing him deeply, tongues devouring, before tearing myself away and scrambling off his lap. Breathing heavily, I risked a glance in his direction.
He was watching me with the intensity of a predator watching its prey. The black voids of his pupils had almost swallowed the gold at the top and bottom, but not the sides.
Reptilian eyes.
Dragon eyes.
The air around him shimmered, and I saw a hint of hand-sized scales on his face, like a projected overlay.
“You scare me,” I admitted. “Not the eyes or the scales, but what my attraction to you means. I watched my mom fall apart after my dad. She’s still picking up the pieces ten years later.
He slept with my stepmom while still married to my mom.
I refuse to be hurt like her, Konni. By a man who has no loyalty. ”
He breathed deeply and closed his eyes.
“I understand, and if you let me, I’ll prove myself to you and to the world.”
I knew what he was asking. He wanted to be public.
“My mom and dad weren’t secretly married, and their marriage still fell apart because he was chasing money and status.
I don’t want either of those things, but that’s what I would get if I said yes to you.
That and more pandering and manipulation from the man who doesn’t deserve to be called my father.
“I just want to live a quiet life without any pressure so my mom can finally heal and be the woman she’s meant to be.”
I reached over Konni and rolled down the window.
“It’s safe,” I said to Harlow, who was standing outside of the car with his back to the door.
“Yes, Miss,” he said.
Konni’s hand brushed down my back as I returned to my spot. Then he closed the window and stared out of it as Harlow set off again.
The ride to the construction site took an hour through the city. No one talked the whole way.
I didn’t regret losing my composure or admitting what I had, which should have terrified me. It meant I felt safe with him. No, it meant I was in deeper than that even.
I trusted Konni.
Damn it!
When we arrived, Konni opened the door while Harlow went to the trunk. He handed us both hard hats, then a pair of athletic shoes to Konni, who knelt in front of me.
Did I feel ridiculous letting him change my shoes for me? Hell no. I felt like a damn princess, and I craved more of it like I craved Double Dutch chocolate ice cream around my period.
Once he had them laced up and my head appropriately protected, he led the way to the fence that surrounded the site. The foreman was already there, waiting for him.
I listened as they greeted each other, and I shook the man’s hand when Konni introduced me.
“Let me show you the retail spaces first,” the foreman said. “Then we’ll look at the living spaces above.”
Touring a partially finished building was interesting and a little scary. The windows weren’t even installed, and many of the walls inside were just beams to support the floors above.
I listened to everything, marveling at Konni’s keen eye for detail and knowledge of construction. After hearing the foreman’s explanations, I could visualize the potential uses for each area.
“What do you think?” Konni asked as we finished the tour of the commercial space.
“I think,” I said, glancing around, “if the question is how to market it, you need to highlight the versatility of the build itself—how the current construction gives the future tenants room to customize. Like those pipes the foreman mentioned.
“As someone with zero construction experience, I’d have no idea that they make rewiring or layout changes cheaper. And those oversized sewer and water lines? Perfect for food service or a spa.”
I frowned as I took in the space around us. “The issue isn’t the size of the units—it’s the imagination of our marketing department. There’s a lot of potential here. They just need to help the buyers see the possibilities.”
Konni’s mouth quirked slightly because he knew it was a dig at Lianna.
“And the ceiling height?” he asked.
I tipped my head back, studying it. “It’s almost the height of some of the downtown shops. Impressive unless the tenant wants a rock-climbing wall.” I looked at him again. “Am I missing something?”
“The owner wants to recreate the atmosphere of downtown. A kind of Southside downtown.”
I shook my head. “You can’t duplicate downtown. It’s a collection of buildings, not a single structure. But we can reinterpret it. Brand this as ‘Little Downtown,’ or maybe ‘Old Town’—something that hints at downtown’s heritage without pretending to be it.
“If they’re targeting high-end food and fashion, the central corridors could be finished with brick-and-mortar facades with turn-of-the-century charm.
Or they could go sleek steel for a modern edge.
Whatever direction they take, cohesion in this main area will bring the vision to life.
It’ll feel like a curated neighborhood instead of just another cold retail building. ”
“Agreed,” he said. “Shall we continue to the residential units?”
The apartments above varied in size, and I didn’t see any issues with them. We finished the tour just after our usual lunch hour, and I followed him back to the car as my stomach protested loudly.
“What are you hungry for?” he asked as Harlow opened the door for us.
“Anything. I’m too hungry to think rationally.”
Harlow chuckled, closed the door, and walked around the car.
“There’s a pizza place downtown that we could—”
“If we’re going back to the building, I can just grab something from the cafe on the way to my desk.”
“It’s Friday, Sophia. Let me take you out for a late lunch somewhere nice. We can catch a matinee, walk along the river, then grab dinner. After, we can stop at your uncle’s place for some drinks.”
I was already shaking my head.
“We’re not taking a half day to go on a date. If there’s nothing else you need to do, fine. Take some time off. It sounded like your mom is worried you're overworking. But I already took half a day this week. I’m going back to the office.”
He flashed me an annoyed look, and I raised a brow at him. After letting out a long breath, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes.
I met Harlow’s humor-filled gaze in the mirror. He winked at me and headed for the office.
When we arrived, Harlow didn’t open my door but walked around to Konni’s side. Konni got out and waited for me. It felt like everyone watched us on our way to the elevator, which I found odd.
It wasn’t until I was on the elevator that I realized I was still wearing athletic shoes with dress pants. Internally cringing, I looked up at Konni.
“My shoes are in the trunk.”
“I’ll ensure they’re returned to you tonight.” He kept his gaze straight ahead at the doors this time.
I frowned a little and faced forward. And it was a good thing too.
Lianna stood just outside the elevator doors as they opened.