Kingdom Come

I turned around, leaning my back on the door, and admired the shadowy room. Though it was dark, I’d seen enough in the light to picture the rich color of the bamboo floors, which contrasted nicely with the few pieces of furniture. An expensive modular leather couch and two armchairs flanked a glass table, which appeared floating on woven reflective legs only there to hold the glass up.

Not much more was in the room. The kitchen, which filled most of the wall to the far left, was hidden behind simplistic cabinetry which tricked the eye into not knowing there was a refrigerator or dishwasher.

The place was minimalistic like an art gallery. Abstract and landscape paintings by an artist I would kill to feature in my gallery were spaced on the walls. Yet no signature was anywhere to be found.

I was certain Kalen had never lived here. Not with the way Bailey had described his place. According to her, it boasted the minimalist style as well, but with enough items that it felt homey.

No, I was certain an artist lived here. One I very much wanted to know. My gallery could use a boost from discovering a talent such as this.

Despite my exhaustion, the wall of windows called to me. I walked over to them, glancing over the New York skyline. Though it was beautiful here, I missed my apartment.

Looking out into the night, I was reminded how I ended up here. After my meeting with Haven in Chicago, I’d gotten the call from Kalen that my apartment had been broken into and vandalized. According to him, someone was targeting my best friend for reasons still unknown to me. I had my suspicions the destruction in my home was somehow related to Kalen, considering the way he insisted on taking care of not only Bailey, who I was sure he was madly in love with, but me too.

Despite knowing this, Matt had forced me back on a plane home because he thought I’d be safer in New York. I didn’t want to admit I was freaked, which was why I was staying put and not going to a hotel or my parents’ house or someplace I could be easily traced. Kalen seemed to think Bailey was the target, but what if she wasn’t? Matt had been worried about my safety. What if someone had destroyed our apartment because I’d gone to see my twin?

I was up in the air about what to do with the apartment. Since the damage was extensive, I’d decided to also do some long overdue renovations. Updating the kitchen, bathroom, and floors had been on my to-do list for a while. But the idea of going home gave me hives. I had no idea what hidden things the vandals had done. Between Kalen, my insurance, and the contractors, the cost to me was next to nothing. I had a feeling Kalen might be pitching in more than he’d said. As it stood, it would be weeks until the apartment was finished.

So I was in Soho, enjoying this beautiful place at no cost to me. Better than a rental or a hotel for sure. It was like taking a mini vacation.

I held my hand up to the glass and stopped myself from touching it. The place was too pristine for me to mar the view with my fingerprints.

Stifling a yawn, I turned and noticed the door next to the kitchen was cracked open. I was sure it had been closed. But I was too tired to make the trek across the expansive room just to close it, so I headed back to the bedroom. I removed the robe I’d borrowed from the enormous closet and slipped under the silk sheets.

I quickly checked my phone and noticed five missed calls from Hans and sighed. He was one of the most attractive men in the world and a highly sought-after model, but he too wasn’t my person. I was such a bad person for being hung up on his penis.

The correct medical term was micro-penis. The man could eat his way to heaven, regarding my pussy and me as the path to get there. But I’d liked dick and not the silicone kind. There was nothing wrong with a good dildo, but it wasn’t a permanent replacement for a hard cock, something Hans lacked through no fault of his own.

As much as I wanted it to work, it wasn’t fair for either of us for me to continue pretending his problem wasn’t mine. He deserved a woman who could love him and adore him completely. I hated that couldn’t be me.

I pushed aside my guilt and decided I’d wait until the morning to return his call. I wasn’t sure what more I could say to him that would make him accept my decision.