Page 35 of Unsuitable

Kas is standing on his balcony. And, when I say standing on his balcony, I mean, he’s up on the stone railing.

Standing there, hands on his hips, face turned up to the morning sun.

He’s wearing black running shorts and a black T-shirt.

He looks like a god.

A mean god.

He moves down to sit on the edge of the railing, legs dangling. Then, he slides his butt off, putting his feet on the outer ledge, keeping ahold of the railing with his hands, so he’s standing on the wrong side of it. The not-so-safe side.

My heart starts to beat faster. My eyes are glued to him.

I watch as he casts another glance skyward. Then, without hesitation, he moves down into a crouch. One hand still on the railing, he slightly leans forward.

And jumps.

Noise pops in my ears, and I realize it’s my own voice screaming, “No!”

Then, I’m running toward him, my heart in my throat the whole time.

He’s going to die.

Oh my God, he’s going to die, and I don’t know CPR!

Why didn’t I learn CPR?

And why the hell did he just jump?

My mind is going a million miles a minute as I sprint toward him, my bag banging against my side.

And I watch in fascinated horror as Kas hits the grass, landing on his feet in an almost catlike way. The motion takes him down to a forward roll, and he’s back up on his feet in seconds.

What the…bloody fuck?

And I’m still running.

Kas turns his head, seeing me, and his stare brings my feet skidding to a stop.

There’s about thirty feet between us.

He watches me for a long moment, no hint of emotion on his face.

Then, the fucker grins.

He actually grins. And then he takes off running across the paddocks, heading for the forest at the back of the estate.

Me? I’m shaking like a leaf, my heart going ten to the dozen.

What the hell was that?

Trying to catch my breath, I put my hands on my hips and look up at the balcony. It’s about a twenty-foot drop, and he just jumped it, like it was nothing.

I’m just…I can’t believe he did that.

I need a coffee.

Well, a stiff drink would probably be nice, but as I can’t have that, I’ll go for a hit of caffeine.