Page 4 of The Sweetheart
“So a couple years ago?” Nolan joked.
Kai remembered the joke Nolan had cracked the night before about carding him. “You’re real sensitive about my age, huh?”
Nolan met his gaze, amused and mildly chagrined. “A little,” he admitted.
“Why’s that?”
“Because I’ve spent the last year and a half taking the piss out of my brother for the way his girl has him all tied up in knots.”
Kai grinned. “I don’t understand what the big deal is. Relationships are just about who you connect with, no?”
“Sure, if you don’t take into account power dynamics in relationships. Katie runs circles around those three, which evens out the playing field a little. For me, it wouldn’t be that way.”
“You wouldn’t let me run circles around you?” Kai teased, even as excitement flickered through him. He liked this topic. He wanted desperately to know what Nolan liked and what it would be like to be the one who got to please him.
“No.” The corner of Nolan’s mouth turned up again in that half smile Kai was already becoming obsessed with. “I like control.” Nolan met his gaze, and the heat simmering in his eyes was a fan to the flame already licking at Kai’s skin. “Especially when it comes to sex. That’s why I date guys with a little more life experience.”
“Oh, I have life experience. I think you’d be impressed withhow much life experience I have.” He was being sarcastic, but it wasn’t a lie. Kai had spent eight years on and off the streets, and while there was some debate about whether or not he had actually survived, whether all of his broken pieces still collectively made a whole human being, that had to count for something. A few orgasms at the very least.
“I’d like to hear about it sometime.”
“You would?” Kai asked, but the question he really wanted to ask waswhy?
“I told you last night, I’d like to get to know you.”
Warmth flooded Kai’s face as he remembered what had happened immediately after that.
“I’m sorry about… after,” Kai muttered, his eyes dancing away from Nolan’s.
“Don’t worry about it. You didn’t know there were rules.”
Rules?Enquiring minds needed to know. The way Nolan said it made Kai think they were sexy rules, and if there were sexy rules that meant sexy games. Kai’s whole focus was on how he could get on Nolan’s team. Sure, technically Nolan was supposed to be a mark, but even if Kai wasn’t in the mood for the games that he and Liam played, the sexual pull he felt towards the other man had him reshuffling his priorities. Right now, he was in the mood for games of an entirely different kind.
“Eggs are here.” A sing-song voice came from behind him, putting a high-pitched emphasis on the last word. Kai turned around to see the newcomer round the corner: a platinum blond, makeup flawless and understated, dressed elegantly in a white sleeveless blouse, high-waisted black trousers and someone’s grandmother’s pearls around his throat. “Oh, hello,” he said, coming to a sudden stop, an assessing eye taking in every inch of Kai, one hand fluttering towards his pearls, not quite making contact, while the other balanced a heavy-looking casserole dish.
“Dion, this is Kai. Kai, Dion. Bring those over here, Dee.”
Dion skirted past Kai and deposited the casserole dish on the island, standing close to Nolan in a clearly territorial move. Kai’s eyes narrowed as he tried to get a read on their relationship.
“I didn’t know you had company. Is Kai a friend of Katie’s?”
Nolan glanced up, meeting Kai’s gaze, clearly amused. “No, Kai is a friend of mine.”
“And I thought I knew all of your friends after all of these years. You are always so full of surprises.” Dion pressed even closer, resting a proprietary hand on Nolan’s arm. Nolan looked down at him with raised eyebrows, which Dion ignored, finally acknowledging Kai. “It’s very nice to meet you, Kai,” he said, reaching a dainty hand across the island to squeeze Kai’s fingers lightly. It was Kai’s turn to feel amused. Obviously, whatever interest Dion had in Nolan was not reciprocated, but that didn’t seem to faze Dion at all.
Another commotion from the doorway cut off any response from Kai.
“Dessert is here!”
“It’s a cheesecake, Uncle Nolan,” Katie said, her eyes wide and her voice pitched like a little girl.
“Cheesecake and pancakes. That sounds about right, Girl.”
“Look who’s alive,” Marcus—or was it Lucas?—said, a wide, wicked smile spreading across his face when he saw Kai sitting at the island. Kai’s embarrassment returned in full force, colouring his face red again. Katie let out a surprised squeak and hid behind Nolan’s brother, Chris, casting shy glances around him at Kai. Last night, she’d been dressed in the tiniest lace bodysuit, with little ruffles edging the high-cut legs and showing off every inch of her tight, little body. Today, she was wearing a vintage-style, lilac floral dress that cinched her waist and flared into a wide skirt that ended a few inches above her knees. Her long, honey-blond waveswere held away from her face with a white headband topped with a floppy bow. She looked like Alice in fucking Wonderland.
“Glad you survived, man,” the man not holding the cheesecake said with a grin, clasping Kai’s hand and pulling him in for a one-armed hug. The other followed suit before kissing Dion’s proffered cheek.
“You remember everyone?” Nolan asked before pointing and naming each of them in turn with his spatula. Lucas was the wicked-looking one, clean cut with dark brown hair, hot enough that he could be a model, but looked like he would be down to start some shit for giggles. Marcus was softer: warm, golden-brown eyes that matched his caramel-coloured hair and a playful smile that won Kai over immediately.
