9. Kaitlyn
NINE
Kaitlyn
I WAKE UP WITH A START, MY ENTIRE BODY JERKING against the warm, hard slab pressed against my back and the heavy weight anchoring me to it.
Went.
Like I said his name out loud, he tightens the arm he has hooked around my waist and buries his face in the back of my neck. “Time is it?” he mumbles, his mouth brushing against my nape with every word. Hearing him ask it reminds me of that first morning when I found him asleep on the couch at Northpoint in his underwear. Looking at him, all I could think about was how beautiful he is. How much I wanted to touch him. Trace every swoop and swirl of ink tattooed into his skin with my fingertips. Feel them move and shift beneath my hands.
“I don’t know.” It was close to sunrise before we finally tumbled into bed, naked and exhausted. Looking around the room for a clue, I come up empty. It could be noon or midnight for all I know.
The best part is, I don’t even care.
Well, you should, shouldn’t you? You left, Kaitlyn. You just left. Ditched your mother’s car on the side of the road and ran away without even saying goodbye.
It’s not Luke’s voice in my head, berating me for my selfishness. It’s my own.
They’ve read your letters by now. They know that you ran away. When your father finds out, he’s going to be furious. More than furious. He’ll come looking for you. Abbey knows who Went is. Where to look for him. Do you really think she’ll keep it to herself? It’s just a matter of time before your father hunts you down and when he comes, Went is going to decide you’re more trouble than you’re worth. He’s going to decide you’re not worth rescuing, and he’s going to send you away because he doesn’t love you.
“Hey...” Went’s arm tightens around my waist for a moment before he uses his grip to turn me toward him. Suddenly, we’re face to face, straight, dark brows lowered over his pitch-black gaze. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” I shake my head, trying to lend credence to the lie we both hear in my tone. “I just…” Shifting my gaze away from his, I stare at the swirls of ink stretched across his shoulder while my brain fumbles around for an answer. “I don’t have anything. I don’t have any clothes or?—”
“There’s a about a dozen boutiques in the lobby,” he tells me, still frowning because I’m lying. He knows I’m lying. “You can go down there and charge whatever you want to my account.”
“How?” It comes out high-pitched and panicked. “Neither one of us is even supposed to be here. If I charge things to your account, not only will people know you’re here, they’ll know I’m here with you and?—”
Pulling his hand off my hip, Went crooks his index finger and tucks it under my chin, lifting it until I have no choice but to look him in the eye. “I’ll figure it out.” Leaning into the space between us, he brushes his mouth against mine before pulling back with a smirk. “I’m smarter than I look.” When I don’t laugh at his joke, Went’s face falls into another frown. “Sunshine, I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s going on.”
Rescue me.
You mean rescue me.
“I left my birth control pills. At home.” It tumbles out before I have a chance to stop it. “If I’d known I was leaving, I would’ve brought them, but?—”
“Shit.” The arm anchored around my waist loosens a moment before he pulls away to sit up. Scrambling up after him, I kneel on the bed beside him, suddenly panicked for an entirely different reason.
“I take them every day. I took one yesterday morning, I promise,” I say, frantically trying to reassure him. “I’d never try to?—”
“Stop.” Turning toward me again, Went drops huge, heavy hands on my shoulders, using his grip to give me a short, gentle shake that snaps my mouth closed. “I already asked you to marry me, Sunshine. It’s a little late to try to trap me with a baby, don’t you think?” Even though I know he’s trying to make a joke, I can tell he doesn’t find it funny.
“You’re angry.” Something cold and slimy rolls over in my belly at the thought. “I’m?—”
“Don’t you fucking dare apologize,” he growls at me, his hands tightening around my shoulders for a brief moment before he loosens his grip completely. “I’m not angry at you. I’m angry at myself for not…” Whatever he’s about to say gets swallowed. Instead of finishing his sentence, Went sighs. “You didn’t do anything to be sorry about. Fuck, you’ve been the only responsible person between the two of us…” His gaze drops away from mine to graze against my belly before he looks away from me completely. “I don’t make a habit out of having unprotected sex, Sunshine.” Lifting his gaze again, he finds mine and holds it. “You’re the only woman I’ve ever been inside of without a condom. I should’ve been using them all along. That’s on me.” Went’s forehead crumples like it’s made of paper. “I’m the one who should be sorry. I am sorry—I’m the one who fucked up. I’d never intentionally put you at risk?—”
“You’re the first person I’ve been with in three years,” I tell him quietly. “The only reason I’m still on the pill is because after I broke up with Brock, I just kept taking them.” Brock never wore a condom. Never took any sort of precaution to protect me. He said he didn’t like the way they felt, and it was just easier for me to take a pill. Until now, I always assumed that’s the way it was supposed to be. Never understood how much trust I put in him. How badly he abused it until now.
“Lexi and I stopped sleeping together a couple months ago,” he says with a nod before looking at me again. “I blamed stress but to be honest, I stopped because I was pretty sure she was fucking someone else.”
“I’m sorry,” I tell him because I know how shitty it is to be cheated on. How worthless it makes you feel.
“Don’t be.” His mouth twitches into a brief smirk. “I’m not.” Reaching for me again, Went skims his fingertips across my forehead, brushing the hair off my face. “I’ll take care of it.” Leaning into me, he kisses me again and like always, I immediately feel myself start to melt. “Make me a list of what you need and I’ll have the concierge go to the drugstore and pick it up.” Like he can read my mind, he pulls away from me with a lopsided grin. Standing, he reaches toward the nightstand to turn on the lamp, the soft, golden light of it pushing back the dark and giving me my first real look at the room we’re in.
Last night, Abbey tried to explain to me just how wealthy Went actually is, but I don’t think I fully comprehended it until just now.
The bed is a massive four-poster—bigger than any bed I’ve ever seen—straight out of some sort of medieval romance novel with a canopy and heavy, black velvet drapes tied back to give a glimpse of the lavishly decorated space. I don’t know anything about antiques but I know that this room is filled with them.
He inherited everything when his grandparents died. His sister got a huge trust fund and his mother gets some sort of monthly maintenance, but he got everything else. He’s CEO of the largest international luxury hotel chain in the world.
“Kait?”
Hearing my name jerks my attention back to the present and I find Went standing on the side of the bed, shirtless. Jeans on but still unbuttoned and frowning at me like he’s been talking to me this whole time, only to realize I haven’t been listening to a word he’s said.
“ Hmmm …”
“It’s after noon,” he says carefully, his tone making it obvious he’s repeating himself. “Are you hungry?”
I nod again, refocusing my gaze on his face. “Yes.”
Still frowning, Went reaches down to open the drawer of the nightstand to pull out a large, leather-bound book. “I’m going to make some calls,” He tells me before holding the book out to me. “This is the room service menu. Call down and order up whatever you want.”
When he says it, I frown. “But?—”
“This line rings directly to the concierge,” he says, predicting what I’m about to say. “It’s okay. He already knows we’re here.”
“Okay.” I nod up at him while I reach out to take the offered menu. Instead of letting go when I have it in hand, Went keeps a hold of it.
“Is there something else we need to talk about, Sunshine?” He’s frowning again.
I just woke up in an episode of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous and I’m pretty sure I’m in love with you. I’m just as equally sure that you’re marrying me because you feel like it’s your responsibility to save me .
“No.” I shake my head while pushing a smile onto my face. “What should I order?”
Seeing my smile relaxes his face. Using his grip on the menu between us, Went pulls me to him. Letting go of it, he lifts his hand to close it around my throat. Thumb pressed into the underside of my chin, he angles my mouth up to meet his, kissing me so slow and deep I feel every aching part of me begin to warm and loosen in anticipation.
Just when I’m sure Went has every intention of pushing me back onto the bed, he breaks his mouth away from mine. “Whatever the fuck you want,” he whispers against my lips. Kissing me again, this time quickly before pulling away from me completely, Went sighs like it’s the last thing he wants to do. “You can make me that list of things you need from the drug store while you wait.”