Chapter 18 #2
“Good evening, Mrs. Elmantas. Just Konni. Please. I apologize for stopping by unexpectedly, but I promised Sophia I would return her shoes tonight.”
“Please come in, and call me Abbye.”
Konni stepped inside, his gaze immediately locking on me. I watched his pupils slowly expand and hurried forward to grab my shoes.
“Thanks for returning them. You can go.”
“Sophia.”
Mom’s scolding tone brought a brief smile to Konni’s mouth, and his eyes calmed down before she looked at him again.
“Make yourself comfortable, Mr. Steele. I was just going to have Sophia send you an update. I have a meeting with one of my old coworkers tomorrow. She was surprised to hear from me but was willing to get together for lunch to catch up.”
“That’s great news,” he said.
“I thought so too.” She glanced at me and the shoes I was still holding. “Why don’t you put those back on and run to get us something to eat? There’s nothing for dinner in the house.”
“I can take you,” Konni said quickly. “To dinner. To get something.”
This time, Mom grinned.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I said.
“Nonsense,” Mom said. “It’s a Friday. Go. Relax. You said it was a long day. Bring me back whatever.”
With her good hand, she nudged me toward Konni and the door.
Giving in, I slipped on my shoes and walked out with him. He hurried to open the door for me and was all energy as he got in behind the wheel.
“What are you in the mood for?”
“You.”
He froze mid-start of the car and looked at me.
“I wish you weren’t a dragon because I’d like nothing more than to ask you to take me to a hotel so I can satisfy this itch I have to be with you.”
“You don’t like dragons?”
“I don’t want a mate. Just sex.”
“It can be just sex,” he said unhelpfully.
“You said dragon’s mate the traditional way.”
“We do. But sex doesn’t make a mate bond.
For wolves, it’s sex and a bite that cements a bond until it’s intentionally severed.
For dragons, bonding is done in stages and only if both parties accept each other.
If one or both don’t, a bond can’t form or complete.
So, sex can just be sex if that’s all you want it to be. ”
He stared at me, waiting for my reaction. I was debating straddling him and demanding car sex, but was worried I’d scar Mom for life if she looked out the window.
The longer we stared at each other, the wider his pupils got.
“Pizza,” I said finally. “I could go for some pizza.”
He let out a long, slow breath, nodded, and started the car.
We went to a nearby place where no one was likely to recognize either of us and had a nice meal.
We talked about my time at college and about what Wrenly and I had done together for fun.
He laughed at my stories even though a few of them were about hilariously failed hookups.
Then he asked questions, wanting to know more about me, but he only offered little bits about himself, which I appreciated.
I didn’t want to know him better. I didn’t want to fall any deeper than I already had.
When we finished, the server packed up the rest for Mom, and Konni brought me home.
At the door, he caught my wrist and turned me toward him. His fingers delved into my hair, and his lips were brushing against mine a second later in a gentle, sweet kiss.
He withdrew before I could turn it into anything publicly questionable.
“Thank you for tonight,” he said.
“Thank you for dinner.”
He kissed my forehead, then reached around me to open the door.
“I’ll see you Monday.”
I nodded dumbly as I stepped inside with the bag of leftover pizza in my loose grip. The door closed softly behind me.
Standing there, heart racing, I resisted the urge to turn around and chase him down. I wanted to have my way with him badly. But would I be able to keep it just sex? I wasn’t so sure anymore.
A slow, shaky breath escaped me, and I absently rubbed my shoulder.
“It’s been ages since I’ve been in here,” Mom said, looking around the boutique.
I was looking around too, but for different reasons. This was the fifth store we’d stopped at, and I was mentally noting the aesthetics for inspiration on the Southside build. Focusing on decor and layout wasn’t easy with the pretty clothes I wanted to pet, whispering to me from the racks.
“You should try this on,” Mom said, picking up the skirt I’d been eyeing.
I was tempted. She saw it and pushed it into my hand.
“My treat if you want it.”
Her treat. We both knew it was actually going on the card that Konni had given her, but that was the point.
We needed to spend some money while we were out shopping.
We needed to be seen with designer bags.
We needed to look like everything was fine to poke at the hypothetical person targeting us, so we could prove whether it was just a hypothesis or a fact.
So I took the skirt into a room, made love to it with my eyes, and claimed it for my own. Mom happily paid for it. Out on the sidewalk, she hugged me.
“I’d better stop now,” Mom said. “The car will be here in a bit. I’ll see you at home.”
“Okay. Call if you need anything.”
She grinned and waved me off, looking graceful in her loose-fitting dress and updo I’d given her. The cast didn’t distract from her beauty at all.
Turning away from her, I started down the sidewalk to the next store I wanted to look at. It was one of the higher-end jewelry stores in the area—not Zellon, which Miranda was obsessed with for good reason, but still a good one.
The saleswoman greeted me politely when I entered and let me browse the glass displays without interruption for a few minutes.
My phone buzzed.
I pulled it from my purse, thinking it was Mom letting me know she’d made it all right. Instead, it was two pictures—one of me straddling Konni in the back of his car and another of us eating pizza at the restaurant last night—and a text from a number I didn’t know.
(unknown): You have two options. Accept the generous proposal you’ve been given, and rise in influence and wealth. Or reject the proposal and lose everything when these photos are released. Choose wisely.
My temper flared as I forwarded both pictures and the text to Konni.
Me: This is the message I just received from an unknown number. This is why I wanted to keep things professional.
K: Send me the number. I’ll give you an explanation tomorrow.
Me: I don’t want an explanation. I want boundaries.
K: Does assigning another guard to follow you even when you’re at work cross your boundaries?
Me: No.
K: Would installing something on your phone to trace all your messages cross a boundary?
Me: No, as long as it’s to figure out who is trying to set me up. If it’s for any other reason, yes.
K: We’ll need to meet tomorrow. Don’t respond to the message, and let me know if they send another one.
Me: Okay.
K: Can we meet for dinner tonight?
Me: Are you serious right now?
K: I miss you.
Me: I’ll block you. Be helpful and fix my problems instead of adding to them.
He didn’t send anything else.
“Would you like to try the necklace on?”
I realized I was clutching my phone and staring blindly at the jewelry in the case.
“Yes, but not that one. This one.” I pointed to a pretty necklace that was now in my price range, thanks to Konni’s help.
Realizing how odd the situation was, I smiled as she moved to open the jewelry case. If not for the targeting, Mom would have never accepted the card Konni had given her. And helping him was helping us, at least financially.
Although if no one had targeted us, I wouldn’t have run into trouble at Steele, and I wouldn’t be so close to Konni now.
That wiped the smile from my face as the saleswoman set the necklace in front of me.
“We have it in yellow and white gold,” she said.
“Thank you,” I said, picking up the necklace and discreetly checking the price as I tried it on. The saleswoman moved the mirror so I could see it on myself.
“I’ll take it,” I said, thinking of how it would look with the outfit Mom just bought for me.
The woman accepted my credit card and carried it and the necklace to the back, leaving me to continue browsing. My phone buzzed again.
K: Send me a picture of what you like.
I casually glanced at the jewelry case again before looking outside the window. The woman I glimpsed getting out of the rideshare at my house was lingering across the street, playing with her phone until the light changed and she crossed.
Acting like I was just distracting myself as I waited, I scanned the rest of the crowd on the sidewalk and saw another familiar person getting out of a car at the curb.
“Here you are, Miss,” the saleswoman said, recalling my attention.
I took the bag and my credit card from her and headed for the door, hoping my father’s wife wouldn’t recognize me. Fate wasn’t that kind, though. Her gaze locked with mine, and she veered toward me on the sidewalk.
“Sophia, you should be more self-aware.”
“I’m not the one who approached you,” I said.
“I’m referring to your shopping. Your celebration is premature. Those shares aren’t meant for you. Too bad that the store doesn’t allow returns. Although what’s a little more debt when you’re on the verge of homelessness?”
“Wow. I don’t know you, and you don’t know me. So, drop the act, and keep on walking.”
I moved to do just that, but she caught my arm.
“Those shares weren’t your father’s to sell.
The transfer will be revoked by Monday morning, and this little self-entitled fit you're throwing will come crashing down. You’re lucky that someone like Mr. Hestian is remotely interested in gutter trash like you, or you wouldn’t even have that as an option out of the destitution you’re determined to sink into. ”
I laughed, jerked my arm from her hold, and kept laughing as I walked away.
Despite my internal rage, I kept my smile firmly in place, well aware that the bodyguard and maybe even someone else was watching me.
Inside the clothing store, I asked to try on a top and closed myself in a fitting room.
Hands shaking, I sent Konni a text.
Me: What if my dad wasn’t the owner of those shares? Would the transfer be invalid?
K: I’ll reach out to Felix and have him look into it. I’m sending Harlow to pick you up.
Me: Don’t you dare.
K: Please, Sophia. She said she grabbed you.
Me: And I laughed.
K: Because you were amused or angry and protecting yourself?
Me: Mind your business.
K: You are my business, Sophia. Let me in. I won’t disappoint you.
The sales associate knocked on the door. “Can I get you another size or color option?”
With a calm expression, I opened the door and handed her the top.
“It’s beautiful, but not right for me.”
I left, feeling a little calmer than when I’d gone in. Choosing to ignore the confrontation, I focused on my purpose downtown and continued shopping, paying attention to customer flow, the layouts and feel of each store, and the overall vibe.
Closer to dinner time, my phone vibrated again.
K: I have an answer from Felix. Harlow’s waiting in the very modest blue sedan idling at the corner.
Me: It feels like a kidnapper van filled with free puppies and candy just pulled up next to me.
K: Are you comparing Felix to puppies and candy?
I stared at his message and fought not to smile. Was he jealous?
Me: Send me a selfie, please.
The picture I got made me smile widely. He was frowning, his golden eyes sparkling dangerously, and his pupils definitely showing his inner dragon.
Me: Thanks for the eye-candy. I guess I’ll get in your car and have dinner with you under the pretext of hearing whatever news Felix shared with you.
Grinning, I walked to the corner and got into the back seat of the blue sedan.