Defiant Heir (The Heirs 3)

She comes back and pulls the sweater over my head, then arranges my collar. Brushing her hands over my shoulders, she says, “All done.”

I lift my hand to her left cheek, and leaning down, I press a kiss to her forehead. “Thank you.”

“Uh-huh.”

“So, we have a date later?” I ask.

“What?” she gasps.

“Arranging my clothes by color,” I remind her.

“Oh, sure.” I can swear I hear a sliver of disappointment in her voice. I’m still thinking about ordering us food so we can have a picnic on my bedroom floor while working, but before I can mention it, Fallon darts to the door. “Have a good day. See you later.”

For a minute there, I thought things were better between us, but it’s clear Fallon’s still awkward around me.

What did you expect? One day of being nice to her isn’t going to make weeks of heartache disappear.

Patience, Kao.Chapter 17FALLONThings are weird. I hardly slept, replaying the kiss and Kao telling me he loves me over and over. It feels surreal like I’ve slipped into a dream to avoid my devastating reality.

And then this morning. Seeing Kao’s abs in all their hard and hot as hell glory made me feel overly aware of him. Helping him button his shirt was a new experience. Yeah, needless to say, it was super hard focusing on the job and not giving in to my desire to run my palms all over his chest.

A soft smile plays around my lips as Kao runs circles in my mind.

I feel frazzled… and awkward. It’s like our friendship from before the accident is a distant memory. We used to be comfortable around each other, and yeah, there was attraction, but nothing compared to what I felt while helping Kao get dressed.

Maybe it’s because I almost lost him?

My smile fades as a new worry begins to worm itself into my heart. I want to be with Kao… so desperately, but the scars.

My heart is torn in two. If Kao was scarred in the accident, I wouldn’t care at all. I’d still love and want him.

But it’s hard to think Kao would feel that way about me.

Ugh, it’s such a struggle.

“Are you ready?” Mila asks, drawing me out of my thoughts.

“Yeah.” I pause when I see Noah rush into Kao’s room. “Give me a second.” I walk down the hallway, and when I push the door open and step inside, I see Noah give Kao medication. “Is everything okay?”

Noah glances at me. “Yeah, it’s just a migraine.”

Concerned for Kao, I move closer. “Is there anything I can do? A cool cloth?”

“Sure,” Noah answers.

My gaze flits worriedly over Kao, where he’s sitting with his head resting in his hands. I go to his bathroom and rinse the washcloth under the cold water.

Rushing back to Kao, I say, “Lie back.”

Gingerly he moves, and once he’s lying down, I place the cloth over his forehead. I remove his shoes, and then I take a seat next to him on the bed. “Can I try something?”

“Sure,” he whispers, an intense look of pain tightening his features.

Leaning over Kao, I press my fingers to his temples and rub slow circles over his skin.

A minute or so later, Kao murmurs, “That’s helping.”

I glance up at Noah, “Can you get me a bowl with some ice in it?”

Noah nods and heads out of the room.

“On a scale of one to ten, how bad is it?” I ask.

“It was nine, but now it’s seven.”

“Good,” I whisper. “Hopefully, it keeps getting better.”

When Noah comes back, I ask, “Can you add some water?”

Noah gets some from the bathroom, and when he sets the bowl down, I remove the cloth and soak it in the icy water.

“Stay and rest,” Noah says, “I’ll go through the work with you later.”

“Thanks,” Kao says, his voice sounding strained.

Mila peeks into the room. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, Kao has a migraine. I’m going to stay with him. Will you take notes for me?”

“Of course.” Her worried gaze darts to Kao. “I hope you feel better soon.”

Once they’ve left, I say, “Can you stand up? I want to get you into comfortable clothes. Maybe if you sleep a little, you’ll feel better.”

Kao climbs off the bed, and I work quickly to get his sweater off. I rush through the buttons and pull the shirt off, then I run to his closet. I grab a t-shirt and sweatpants. Hurrying back to him, I hardly take in his body as I help him out of his pants. Once I have him in the comfy clothes, I say, “Lie back down.” I press the water out of the cloth, then gently brush it over his forehead. “Tell me if it’s too cold.”

“It feels really good,” he murmurs. The corner of his mouth lifts slightly. “Never thought the first time you undress me would be like this.”