He looks like he’s ready to grab me and throw me out of his apartment for wasting his time.
“I should go,” I say when he continues to stare. “I’m sorry. I should’ve told you before.”
“Don’t go,” Kayden snaps, sounding even wilder than he did when his hands were on me, his finger thrusting inside of me. “I don’t want you returning to your apartment building, not with those jerks outside. Stay here. If you trust me with your keys, I can send someone by to collect your most valuable things. From what you’ve said about this Quinn bastard, he might try and get revenge by breaking into your apartment.”
I feel torn down the middle, one part of me glowing with his supportive words, the other twisted and depressed. He’s saying so much that makes me think he cares about wanting to keep me safe… but it’s like he’s purposefully avoiding the virgin issue.
“I don’t want you to feel like you still have to.”
“I didn’t offer you this apartment for sex,” he says. “I know I said you had to come for me, but that was just…”
“I know. It was talk. Excitement. I get that. I know you didn’t mean it literally. But—”
“But what?” he growls.
I flinch away from him. He looks like a caged beast who’s grown tired of its bars, his jaw clenched and his eyes wide. It’s like he’s going to snap into violent action at any moment.
“But you’re looking at me like you hate me.”
“Hate you?” He groans, running a hand through his hair. “I could never hate you, Kyra. But I have to go. Where are your keys?”
“They’re in my bag.”
He looks around the room, kneels down when he spots it. I dropped it when we entered the apartment. When our lust took over… when the warning sirens rang out in my mind, telling me to stop this before it began before I filled his mind with promises I can’t keep.
Taking them, he stands and turns for the door. “Text me that list. Someone will drop your things off later.”
“There isn’t much, but—”
But nothing. I don’t get to finish my sentence.
Kayden ducks his head and walks toward the hallway, leaving me feeling like the world’s biggest idiot as I watch him go.
Should I chase after him?
He didn’t even tell me how he felt about me being a virgin. But surely his sudden exit is all the answer I need.
He's disgusted, angry, repulsed even.
So why is he still letting me stay here?
When the elevator beeps from down the hallway, telling me he’s gone before I’ve even decided how to handle this situation, a sad truth settles deep in my gut.
The reason he’s still letting me stay here is that he’s a good person. He doesn’t want to kick me out just because I’m not ready to have sex with him. But at the same time, he can’t hide how disappointed he is… no, it’s more than that. It’s like he wanted to kill me for telling him.
“Well, I’m sorry I can’t be your instant fucking porn star,” I say to the empty room.
I drop onto the couch, my thoughts swimming with all that’s happened.
I’m sitting on Kayden Kater’s couch, in his million-dollar apartment, with the taste of his tongue on my mouth and the phantom tingle of his hand stroking over my center.
How the heck did this happen?
He swore on so much that he was attracted to me. I believed him. I felt his attraction when he ground himself against my ass.
But he didn’t want this extra complication.
I should go, knowing he doesn’t really want me here.
But Kayden’s right. Quinn will probably want revenge and, without Kayden there to protect me, there’s nothing stopping him.
Or is that just an excuse, a justification so I can sink into the comfortable couch and close my eyes?
After a minute, I manage to calm myself down. Taking out my phone, I try not to be disappointed when there are no texts from him.
I start my list. There isn’t much. A few DVDs, gifted by Zadie in high school, with sentimental value. My mother’s hairbrush and a few knickknacks, as well as my clothes and toiletries.
I send it off without any kisses or extra words.
Maybe he’ll see how blunt I’m being and realize he’s acting like a jerk. Because, heck, he is.
Even if he was disappointed, he didn’t have to storm out like that. He could have at least tried to treat me with respect.
The bait doesn’t work. His text comes back bluntly.
I’ll send someone by later.
I text him back, saying thank you. I am thankful.
But at the same time, I can’t help but wish he was here, telling me it was all okay, telling me he still wants me.
Chapter Thirteen
Kayden
My heart is still pounding like it’s trying to cause me serious damage. It’s been like this all day and last night. Once I left the apartment, I had to lean against the wall, hands on my knees, heaving in shaky breaths as the word virgin bounced around and around in my mind.