11. Kai
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Kai
I didn’t expect to see Sadie here at bowling night, since she’d never been before. And I sure as hell didn’t expect to catch Adam kissing her.
The second his lips touched hers, dark and ugly emotions twisted in my gut.
It wasn’t just jealousy—it was something more, something deep, fiery, passionate… maybe a little crazy.
I clenched my fists at my sides, willing myself to look away, to turn and walk off like it didn’t matter.
But it did.
God , it did.
I had to fight the urge to rip him away from her.
The worst part?
She kissed him back. She let him pull her in, let herself melt into it. And then she opened her eyes—and saw me.
I saw the exact moment panic slammed into her. Her whole body went stiff, her lips parting like she was about to say something, but she didn’t. She just stared at me.
And I stared right back.
The heat in my veins turned cold.
What the hell was I doing?
I forced myself to move, stepping back into the crowd, into the noise, anywhere but there.
I told myself I didn’t care.
That she was free to do whatever the hell she wanted.
But as I threw my next frame with too much force, sending the ball crashing into the pins like it had something to prove, I knew I was lying.
Thank God the night was already winding down, because I could not shake the restlessness coiling inside me.
I didn’t even finish the bowling set before I took off looking for her again, knowing I couldn’t just let it go.
I found Sadie alone near the door, her fingers worrying the hem of her sleeve, her gaze distant.
Good.
She was all mixed up about this, too.
I stepped up beside her, letting the silence stretch between us before I finally spoke. “Didn’t know you were coming tonight, S.”
She startled slightly, then recovered, turning to face me. “Yeah, well… Adam invited me.”
Of course he did.
I studied her, the way her eyes flickered, the tension in her shoulders. “So that’s how it is now?”
She exhaled sharply. “Kai, don’t.”
I let out a dry laugh, running a hand through my hair. “Don’t what? Don’t acknowledge the fact that I just watched you kiss him?”
Her jaw tightened. “It’s none of your business.”
That hit harder than it should have.
I took a step closer, lowering my voice. “Funny, ‘cause it sure as hell felt like my business when you kissed me.”
She sucked in a sharp breath but recovered fast, shaking her head. “That was?—”
“What?” I cut in. “A mistake?”
She hesitated, and that second of silence was like a blade to the ribs.
“I thought we were building something, S,” I confessed, and the words came out rougher than I intended. “I thought maybe you came back to Medford and realized we weren’t finished. I assumed….”
Idiot.
I shouldn’t have assumed anything.
She’d been gone for years. Who knew what life she’d lived away from here.
I’d lived mine…
Her eyes flashed, but I wasn’t sure if it was guilt or pure pain. “Kai, it’s not that simple.”
“It could be.” I held her gaze, letting her see the truth in my eyes. “If you’d let it.”
She swallowed hard, her breath unsteady.
But she didn’t answer. And that silence?
That told me everything.
I didn’t wait for her to respond. I turned on my heel and walked out of the bowling alley, the crisp air hitting me like a slap.
It didn’t cool the anger burning in my chest, didn’t settle the tightness in my throat.
I heard her footsteps behind me before she spoke again.
“Kai, wait.”
I didn’t.
I kept walking, the gravel crunching under my boots, my hands shoved deep into my jacket pockets.
“Kai,” she tried again, a little breathless as she caught up to me. “Would you just?—”
“What?” I snapped, stopping so suddenly she almost ran into me. “What do you want me to say, S? That it doesn’t bother me? That watching you kiss Adam was fine?”
Her lips parted, but no words came out.
I let out a humorless laugh, shaking my head. “You can’t even say it, can you?”
She bit her lip, hesitating. “I never meant to hurt you. It just happened. We were just talking and?—”
“Yeah?” I scoffed. “Well, don’t worry. You aren’t the first woman to fall for Reid’s charms.”
Her face crumpled, but I didn’t have it in me to take the words back.
I should have walked away again, but the way she looked at me, like she wanted to say more, had me rooted in place.
I exhaled sharply. “So, it’s Adam, right? You and him?—”
“We aren’t anything. And it never became anything with…”
She trailed off, her eyes widening like she’d said too much.
It never became anything with…
What the hell did that mean?
My stomach turned. “With who, S?”
She hesitated, then looked away. “Kai, it’s nothing.”
“No, say it.” I stepped closer, my voice sharper. “Who?”
Her throat bobbed, and she finally whispered, “Samuel.”
Something in me snapped.
Samuel .
I took a step back, then forward again, too restless to stay still. “Are you serious?”
Her silence was answer enough.
I let out a rough breath, my hands shaking as I dragged them through my hair. “Jesus, S.”
Guilt flashed in her eyes, but it didn’t soothe the fire in my veins.
First Adam.
Now Samuel.
That darkness from earlier clawed back up my throat, possessive and unrelenting.
I closed the distance between us before she could stop me, my hand sliding around the back of her neck, tilting her face up to mine.
“Kai—”
I didn’t let her finish.
I kissed her.
Not soft, not gentle.
Raw, desperate, claiming.
She gasped against my lips, but I didn’t give her a chance to protest.
My hands tightened, pulling her closer as my mouth swallowed whatever words she thought she’d say. And the second she melted into me, the second her fingers fisted in my jacket, I knew I wasn’t letting go.
But I needed more.
Breaking the kiss, I pressed my forehead against hers, our breath mingling in the cool night air. “Come with me.”
Her fingers twitched against my chest. “Kai…”
I didn’t give her a chance to second-guess it. I laced my fingers with hers and started walking, leading her down the quiet streets of Medford.
She didn’t fight me, didn’t ask where we were going.
Maybe she already knew.
The Foundry loomed ahead, its brick facade solid and familiar. The windows shone faintly from the streetlights outside, but inside, it was dark and still.
I led her to the side entrance, punching in the code that granted access to the upstairs loft—the place I now called home.
The place I shared with Samuel and Adam.
Sadie hesitated in the doorway as I flicked on the light, illuminating the open space.
Exposed beams stretched across the ceiling, the warmth of the wood contrasting with the modern steel accents. The open- concept kitchen, leather couches, and thick rugs softened the industrial edges.
Her eyes swept over everything, landing on the wall of floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked Medford’s main street. “You live here?”
I stepped behind her, close enough to feel the heat radiating from her skin. “Yeah.”
Her gaze flickered to mine. “With… them ?”
“They’re not home.” I reached for her jacket, sliding it off her shoulders before she could argue. “They’re still at bowling, remember?”
She shivered, but not from the cold.
I let the silence settle as I tossed her jacket onto a chair, then reached for mine, shrugging it off.
She watched my movements, her lips parting slightly as I took a step closer.
“Say the word, S.” My voice was rough, low. “Tell me to stop, and I will.”
Her chest rose and fell too fast. Her fingers curled at her sides.
She didn’t tell me to stop.
I moved, bridging the last bit of space between us, my hands finding her waist, my lips brushing the shell of her ear.
“You came back to Medford.”
She sucked in a sharp breath.
“You kissed me.” I let my lips trail lower, skimming the sensitive spot just beneath her jaw. “Then you kissed him .”
She trembled.
“And Samuel?” My grip tightened on her hips. “Did you let him touch you like this?”
Her fingers dug into my shoulders. “Kai?—”
“I don’t care.” I swallowed hard, feeling the raw ache in my chest. “I don’t care, as long as you’re here now.”
Her hands slid up, threading into my hair. She pulled me down, her lips crashing into mine.
And just like that, I lost myself.
In her.
In this moment.
In the past we never got to finish… and the future I wasn’t ready to give up on yet.