Chapter Eighteen
After a perfect day at the beach with Lily, returning to work was a blessing and a curse.
Kieran took comfort in routine, and that’s all work was.
But with Lily in the same building, work was also torture.
Before, he’d been able to mostly keep his hands to himself.
After last night, though? Every flyby was a missed opportunity to curl his arm around her waist and pull her back into his embrace.
Every conversation with her was a study in the movement of her lips and imagining how each pout and flick of her tongue might feel against his mouth… or better yet, his cock.
A tan hand waved in front of his face. “Hoooola. Earth to Sullivan. You in there?”
Kieran shook his head and resumed his self-imposed task of folding freshly laundered hand towels.
Except, when he reached for the pile, there was nothing left to grab.
He must’ve folded all the towels on autopilot and continued to stand in the back corner of the training room like a glassy-eyed idiot. “Sorry, just spacing out.”
Sebastián hummed his disbelief. “Spacing out? Is that what you kids call it these days?”
“You kids?” Kieran picked up one of the hand towels and flicked it like a glove in his best friend’s face. “I’m older than you.”
“Yeah? Tell that to the tent you’re pitching down there.” Sebastián jerked his chin, his gaze dropping. “That good with Parker, huh?”
What the fuck? He smoothed his hands down his shorts, and he sure as hell did not have a boner. He scowled and shoved Sebastián back a foot. “Keep it down, asshole. Low-key, remember?”
“You didn’t answer my question.” Sebastián lifted a brow and gathered a stack of towels in his arms. “You taking these to the front desk?”
Kieran huffed and grabbed the other stack. “Yeah, Rachel’s out.” They usually kept the towels up front for anyone who forgot one. “And yeah, we had a good time. Fireworks and all that.”
Sebastián waggled his dark brows. “I saw the video. Didn’t film long, did she?”
No. He’d made sure of that. There was nothing more beautiful than the bend of her body under the fireworks’ glow.
Her moans while he ate her out had blended with the booms and crackles of the show, a symphony only for his ears.
And the sex… She’d been vulnerable with him last night.
Raw in a way she hadn’t been even when she’d told him about her stepfather and her ex.
Last night had been about showing her she had nothing to hide. Not from him. Not ever.
Sebastián grinned, clearly satisfied by Kieran’s answering silence.
Before they could get back to the desk, Rachel met them halfway. Something in her expression twisted his stomach.
“Rach, what’s up?” Sebastián asked. “Somebody at the desk giving you a hard time?”
“No,” Rachel answered, shaking her head. She jerked her thumb over her shoulder. “A guy showed up asking to talk to Lily. Seemed nice enough. I figured he was a friend, so I called her up. She followed him outside, but I swear, she looked like she’d seen a ghost.”
Lily had several guy friends. Why would they show up and take her outside when they had an office for privacy?
“I’ll check it out.” He picked up his pace to the desk and set down his pile.
Sebastián followed suit. “Right behind you, Sullivan.”
They gathered at the window next to the lobby door.
Lily stood on the sidewalk, her arms straight against her sides. Her face was blank in a way he’d never seen before. Like a porcelain doll, painted and beautiful but lacking warmth. Even on the day they’d met, there’d been more life there. A spark of tenacity.
The person who’d extinguished that flame stood before her. Tall like Ilya and similarly built, but his blond hair was darker. The man seemed to vibrate, and the way he looked at Lily—a coldness radiated through Kieran’s chest, rolling over his skin like liquid steel. He knew that look.
Why would anyone believe you?
I’m the best you’ve got.
You’re worthless.
You’re never going to leave.
The guy seized Lily’s arm, but she didn’t jerk away. The man’s face darkened. His lips pulled back over his teeth to let loose ugly words.
Whatever he’d said, Kieran would pummel each one back into his mouth with his fist. As if sensing the promise of violence in his body, Sebastián’s hand dug into his shoulder like a grappling hook, staying him.
She tipped her chin up. Like a warrior facing down her enemy, no porcelain doll in sight. Her lips barely moved.
The other man’s hand shot out and grabbed her jaw.
Fury spread like wildfire through his veins. He’d break every last bone in the guy’s hand.
Kieran ripped open the door.
Five Minutes Earlier
Her feet might as well have been made of lead.
Lily slunk after Vovik, head high but dread bubbling within.
Her blood rushed in her veins—carrying trembling adrenaline into every tip of her body.
Despite swallowing, her mouth flooded with saliva.
The nauseating whispers of uncertainty swam in her belly, threatening to overtake her.
He hadn’t changed much. Still tall and lanky. Perhaps thinner than before. He’d cut his hair back from the sweeping sandy waves in his eyes to a long fade.
Was that how Kelly liked his hair?
“So what do you want?” She stopped ten feet from the door, unwilling to step further away from the protection of the gym.
Vovik had kept her in his territory for as long as she could remember. Surrounded by his belongings. His friends. She’d always been a tolerated guest at best. A prisoner at worst.
The gym was hers. Her sanctuary.
“I saw your Hit It.” His green eyes blazed with an all-too-familiar fury.
It vibrated through him, taking away his ability to stand still.
He paced across the sidewalk, prowling and keeping her cut off from any escape other than retreating into the gym.
“Is that seriously what you left me for? To fuck some guy on video?”
Heat flamed her face, and she curled her hands into fists at her sides. “I’m not fucking him.” Not on camera, at least.
“You never kissed me like that.”
You never made me feel alive.
She inched backward, ever closer to the gym. “You have no right to show up at my work.”
“It’s not like I can call you. You blocked me.”
“Well.” She couldn’t help the dry sarcasm that crept into her voice. “We broke up.”
He sucked his lips between his teeth, holding back whatever venom he wanted to spit. “That doesn’t give you the right to embarrass me. My mother sent me that video.”
“I can’t help that I’m on your mom’s algorithm. Maybe you should have your family block me.”
He scoffed and shook his head. “You seriously don’t even care? I fucking gave you everything!”
“No, you made me a rag doll.” Lily blinked rapidly, refusing to cry. “I was something you could control—something you could pick up and throw when you were angry and expect it not to break.”
“But you can’t break, Lil!”
She dug her nails into her palms. No way in hell would she react to his old pet name.
He rushed forward and grabbed both of her hands in his. His thumbs stroked over her knuckles, a mockery of affection. “That’s what I love about you. You’re strong.”
No, he didn’t believe that. It was a lie. Pretty words to make her think twice.
“You broke me.” In more ways than one. More ways than he knew.
He’d splintered her soul. Shattered her heart and desecrated everything sacred within her.
The girl she’d been—scared and scarred but willing to trust the world—he’d killed her.
“Why do you even care? Ilya said you’re expecting a baby with Kelly. ”
“I don’t want a baby with Kelly! You’re supposed to be my wife, zaichik. You’re the only person I want kids with.”
“You cheated.” Lily swallowed heavily. “I’m the one who gave you everything. Endured everything! You couldn’t even be faithful.”
His right hand dropped hers and lifted, gripping her arm. Her flesh stung where his nails dug in, but she was frozen. All the training she’d done and the self-defense lessons she’d taken those first months after leaving melted away. There in his grasp, she was nineteen again.
“Who I fuck doesn’t matter,” he hissed. “I gave you my grandmother’s ring. I promised you my last name. You think my mom cared about my dad’s affairs?”
“I think your father was a demon.” Though her voice trembled, steely resolve steadied her heart. “And you’re just like him.”
He gripped her jaw. His nails bit into her skin, dragging her forward and tilting her face upward. “That’s enough. Get in the fucking truck, Lil.”
She shook her head as hot tears spilled over her cheeks.
His grip on her arm tightened even more, and he twisted, forcing a pained gasp from her lips when the pressure burned in her shoulder. “I wasn’t asking.”
* * *
Sebastián charged through the door before Kieran, taking with him all the rage that had filled Kieran’s body. The only thing that mattered was getting her away from that asshole. Away from Sebastián before arms started swinging.
He wasn’t sure who roared, himself or Seb, but the guy let Lily go as they sprinted toward him. Kieran grabbed Lily’s hand and hauled her out of harm’s way as Sebastián threw his first punch.
“?Hijo de puta!”
The chaos that followed blurred as Lily ducked into Kieran’s arms and held on to his shirt like it was her lifeline.
His blood pounded in his veins, begging for him to split his knuckles on the guy’s face, but the woman in his arms tamed those instincts.
He wrapped her up in his embrace and held her tight against him while sucking in long, deep breaths. “I’ve got you.”
The quiver in her shoulders didn’t fade, but she matched her breaths to his.
“Should I call the police?” Rachel was at the door, her phone already in her hand.
Lily stiffened. “No. Please, don’t. I just want to go home.”
Kieran shook his head at Rachel.