Chapter 19
Acouple of hours later, Kai was really over it.
The night had been… okay. Hanging with Katie was fun.
In this setting, she was so much more reserved, but it was cool getting to know her when she wasn’t in her little headspace.
Apparently, she was the daughter of an American diplomat, classically trained in ballroom dancing and went to finishing school in France.
Reconciling that with the girl who had gone through her kink list in very, very fine detail with him was a wild ride.
Kai finally made his escape when Nolan was lured into another conversation by yet another middle-aged dude, grinning maniacally and guffawing too loudly.
Nolan introduced him, but Kai didn’t care to remember his name.
All of these guys blended into one that he had formally labelled “douche.” These people were so deeply out of touch with reality that everything they said, all of their fake laughter, grated against his nerves.
Kai caught Nolan’s attention immediately when he stood.
“You okay?”
“Bathroom,” Kai mouthed quietly. Nolan pressed a kiss to his mouth and let him go.
It was a lot easier to get lost in the crowd now that it was mostly on its feet.
Dinner was finished, and the self-congratulatory speeches for all their generosity had finally ended, thank fuck, and a band had kicked up.
Couples had taken to the dance floor, and Kai eyed them jealously because they seemed like the only people genuinely having a good time.
Katie floated by with Marcus, but they were so deep into each other that neither of them noticed him.
The quiet of the bathroom was a welcome relief.
There were a few other men in there, but they were largely disinterested in Kai.
He peed quickly, then stared at his reflection.
He’d shed his jacket a while ago, and he wished he could do the same with the corset.
It was so binding and starting to pinch uncomfortably.
Kai sighed and ran a hand through his dishevelled hair, trying to bring it back to order while he tried to work up the willpower to go back out there.
He knew he would have to soon or Nolan would come looking for him.
Outside, he paused, shoving his hands into his pocket and fingering the stashed Lego while he tried to decide what he to do. Did he want to go back to the table or try to find some fresh air?
A loud tut had him turning around to find Marilise standing in his path.
“I don’t suppose your mother ever told you not to linger in doorways.”
Kai gave her an irritated once-over. Wealth dripped off of her, from the gems at her throat and around her wrists to the millions of tiny beads that had probably been handsewn to her gold gown. Not for the first time that night, Kai wished Liam was here but this time to put this bitch in her place.
Katie had been right. Associating with her seemed to bring on the ire of Marilise and her crew, but there was nothing Kai cared less about. Nolan had made it clear he didn’t care to have her good opinion either.
“No, but I’ll run and ask her about it right now.”
“Do, dear, because you’re blocking the way.” She said it pleasantly, but the smile she gave him didn’t meet her eyes. Kai glanced behind her and realized that he was, in fact, blocking the way. A flush of embarrassment hit his cheeks.
He brushed past her and, because he could, he deftly unclasped the tennis bracelet on her wrist. At a different time, he would have taken it, but tonight he just let it fall to the ground. She huffed impatiently, but he was pretty sure she hadn’t noticed. He didn’t look back to check.
Kai spotted Nolan walking towards him right away when he entered the main hall.
“I was just coming to find you,” he said, taking Kai by both hands. “Let’s go.”
“Home?” Kai asked hopefully.
Nolan laughed. “Not yet.” He led him to the dance floor, and Kai sank against him, sighing heavily as Nolan wrapped an arm around his waist and took his hand in his.
Kai breathed in the familiar scent of Nolan’s cologne.
Cocooned in his arms, the gentle rhythm of them moving around the dance floor soothed some of Kai’s overstimulation.
“You’re tired,” Nolan said close to Kai’s ear.
“Yes.” Kai smiled ruefully, not bothering to deny it.
“Don’t worry. We’ll leave soon.” He spun Kai out, then pulled him back close, grinning at the disapproving look on Kai’s face.
Kai wasn’t in the mood for fancy dancing right now.
He wanted socially acceptable dance-floor cuddles.
“Thank you for coming with me. These kinds of things are not my favourite, but I loved, loved, having you here with me.”
“I’m glad I came. It was kind of cool. I mean, the people kind of suck, but it’s not all bad.”
“They’re not all that bad.” There was humour in his voice, so it was pretty clear that he wasn’t taking it personally.
“If you say so. We should totally bring Liam next time though. That would be a wild night.”
“Yeah, definitely not. That boy has trouble written all over him.”
Nolan had casually led them to the bank of French doors that opened onto a massive balcony overlooking the city.
The sun had mostly set, but remnants of light still littered the horizon.
This deep in the city, you couldn’t really see that many stars, but the Toronto skyline had its own impressive beauty.
Nolan walked Kai backwards until they were in a darkened corner of the balcony, a large planter blocking them from view of the other guests.
“You’re not wrong,” Kai scoffed.
“You know what we should do?” Nolan asked.
“What?”
“Not talk about Liam right now.” With that, he leaned down, capturing Kai’s mouth.
The kiss was soft at first, Nolan alternating between that and brushing his lips across Kai’s mouth, drugging him into submission.
The next time, he let the kiss deepen, wrapping an arm around Kai’s low back, pulling him forward until their cocks rubbed together.
Kai moaned, pressing harder, chasing the friction all while Nolan’s mouth never left his.
He felt the satin dampen with precum as Nolan ground against him.
Kai’s brain went hazy in the heady way it always did when Nolan took control of his body.
The kiss went on forever, and the longer they stayed like that, the more loose and melty his body felt as he surrendered to the jolts of pleasure accompanying every thrust of Nolan’s hips.
“Shhh,” Nolan whispered against his mouth, amused.
“Hmm?” Kai asked, dazed and confused.
“You’re moaning so loud, baby. Everyone’s going to know you’re back here doing wicked things with your Daddy.
You going to come for me?” he asked with a roll of his hips.
Kai jerked back to his senses. He didn’t even have time to be embarrassed about moaning like a porn star while surrounded by these uptight, pretentious asses.
“Shit!” He pushed at Nolan, and then groaned as his dick throbbed from the sudden loss of pressure. He couldn’t come now! That would put a serious damper on his surprise for Nolan. There was nothing sexy about cummy underwear.
“What’s wrong?” Nolan asked, immediately concerned.
“Nothing. Just… hold that thought until we get home.”
Nolan pulled him back into his arms. “Seriously?”
Kai grinned at Nolan as their mouths found each other briefly. “Yes. Super seriously.”
“Fine. I guess we should get back in there before Katie sends a search party for you.”
Nolan led the way back through the crowd, holding onto Kai’s hand.
He was sure he was flushed from their make-out session, certain anyone who glanced his way would know what they’d been up to.
Their short break away from the crowd should have helped, but the bright lights and the noise seemed worse now.
Someone in the distance caught Nolan’s attention but Kai didn’t recognize him.
“Come on. There’s someone I want you to meet.”
Kai looked the man over, wondering who he was.
He was older than Nolan, but probably not by much, and his perfectly styled hair and beard were combed through with deep streaks of silver.
There was something sharp about his eyes that made Kai think he could spot bullshit from a kilometre away, but he grinned at Nolan as they made their way over.
The two of them greeted each other warmly while Kai waited to be introduced.
“This is Landon King. He’s a lawyer and a really good friend of mine. I told him you might need some advice on your rights as a beneficiary of your grandmother’s will.”
Kai had reached for the other man’s hand but dropped it quickly as Nolan’s words registered. His stomach suddenly churned, the overcooked steak they’d had for dinner threatening to make its way back up his throat.
“Wait, what?” He leaned toward Nolan. “You said that I could think about that.”
“Of course you can think about it. He’s just gonna give you a little more information. Why don’t we go chat for a few minutes?”
Kai leaned even closer, panic welling. “But I didn’t think about it yet.”
“That’s okay. You can still think about it. This is just a chat. It’ll help if you know what rights you have.”
He wasn’t understanding. Kai wasn’t ready for this right now. His heart ricocheted against tight bands in his chest, and he couldn’t take deep breaths as the bands squeezed tighter and tighter. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
“I can’t. I… gotta go.” He jerked away, turning on his heel. He didn’t even know what direction he was going in, only needing to escape so he could catch his breath without Nolan talking to him. He could hear Nolan calling his name, and Kai knew he would be hot on his heels.
“Hey, where are you going?” Katie’s chipper voice pierced the fog in his head as she stepped into his path.
“I gotta… I gotta go. Do me a favour. Stall him, okay?”
“What? Who? Kai, what’s wrong?”