"I'm not sure I want you in my bloodline," Kashi said as she sliced into the steak on her plate.
Chaos looked across at her. "Why not?"
"You." She pointed her knife at him. "You are not someone I need right now. I prefer having a good time. I have no plans to tie myself down to one man—especially a business partner."
"But I already told the damn world you're my woman."
"You can call it a joke."
Chaos caught his lower lip between his teeth. "Saints, are you playing me right now?"
Kashi smiled. "I've dealt with men like you. I know what you want, what you need and what you think you see." She set down her knife and fork and met his gaze. "Let this go, Chaos."
"And if I refuse?"
"I'll sue you for harassment."
Chaos's mouth curved. "How about I do what I want? Give me a few minutes' access to you and I'll give you a reason to sue."
Kashi stared at him. This damn bastard. Did he never give up? "I like someone else."
"That's impossible."
"I prefer women."
Chaos chuckled. "You are getting desperate."
Kashi paused. "You're not my type."
"Oh, come on!" Chaos dropped his fork onto the table with a clatter.
A laugh slipped out of her.
"You enjoy toying with me." He looked personally aggrieved. "I'm an innocent man with simple feelings."
"Simple feelings?" Kashi glanced pointedly at him. "Is that why you've been staring at my dress all evening?"
Chaos went still. So she knew. Damn. He had tried to hide it. Apparently, not very well.
His mouth curved, slow and deliberate, and he leaned back in his chair.
"Can you blame me?" His gaze remained on her. "You're wearing that dress like you wanted the world—or me—to burn for you." He lifted his glass, took a measured sip, then set it back down. "I don't stare for nothing, Kashi," he added, quieter now. "When I want something, I look at it until it knows it's mine."
No raised voice. No teasing grin. Just certainty. And somehow, Kashi thought, that made it worse.
Oh, to hell with her morals. She tilted her head.
"Would you like me to strip it off?"
Chaos rose from his chair. The scrape of it against the stone floor sounded unnaturally loud in the quiet night. He didn't rush. His movements were slow, deliberate, each step towards her carrying intent. When he reached her side, he didn't touch her.
He simply stood there, towering over her, his shadow spilling across Kashi in the candlelight. His gaze held hers as though daring her to take back what she had said. Kashi looked up at him. Her expression remained controlled. Her eyes did not.
"Again," Chaos drawled. "Say it again, Wildflower."
"I asked"—her gaze stayed on his—"if you wanted me to strip it off."
Chaos bent towards her, one hand braced against the table, the other settling lightly against the back of her chair. Close enough to cage her in. Without forcing her anywhere. His voice dropped. "If I say yes, will you fuck me once and run?"
Kashi's mouth curved. "I told you. You don't deserve my bloodline."
"Should we test that theory?"
Kashi lifted a hand. Her fingers traced slowly down the front of his shirt, barely touching, following the lines beneath the fabric without giving him what he wanted.
Chaos sucked in a breath through his teeth. Kashi swallowed. His eyes had fallen shut. He wasn't even doing anything. She was the one teasing him. And yet somehow this man was still driving her insane.
What would those lips feel like against hers again? The club flashed through her mind. Their first kiss. She had been drunk, but not drunk enough to forget. No matter how hard she had tried. Whatever this was— whatever ridiculous thing kept dragging her back towards him—surely it would disappear once she had him again.
Wouldn't it?
Chaos's eyes opened slowly. "Saints." Her name left his mouth the same way it always did.Like devotion.
That was enough.
Kashi caught him by the neck and pulled him down. Their mouths met. Chaos's control shattered. He kissed her back harder, his hand sliding into her hair as the other caught her around the waist and pulled her to her feet.
Kashi collided with him. The table shifted behind her as he pressed her against its edge. The city below disappeared. The lights, mountain, silence. All of it. There was only him.
His mouth against hers. His body pressed close. The dangerous certainty in the way he held her. Kashi's hands travelled over him, restless, searching. She wanted more. Chaos deepened the kiss. Her fingers caught in his hair. His mouth left hers and moved along her jaw, then lower, brushing over the sensitive skin of her neck. Kashi's breath broke.
His teeth grazed her skin.Then his lips.Then another teasing bite.
"Fuck…"
Chaos caught one of her legs and drew it against his hip, his hand settling firmly against her as he pulled her closer. Heat rushed through her. His mouth returned to her throat.
"Kashi…"
The sound of her name came rough this time. Possessive. Barely restrained.
His teeth brushed her neck again.
Kashi gripped his shoulders. "Ngh... haa" She could feel the heat of him through every point where their bodies met. Then— Chaos froze. Completely.
The hand at her waist loosened. His other hand rose to her jaw, but instead of pulling her closer, his fingers trembled faintly against her skin.
Kashi went still. Chaos's breathing was rough. Uneven. He pressed his forehead against hers, eyes shut, as though fighting something she couldn't see. Neither of them spoke. For several seconds, there was nothing but their breathing.
Chaos exhaled sharply and stepped away. Like another second of touching her might undo whatever control he had managed to recover.
Kashi stayed where she was. Chaos looked at her. And for once, there was no teasing in his expression. No smugness. No easy arrogance. Something softer lingered there. Something darker beneath it.
He swallowed, turned slightly away and straightened his suit jacket with deliberate care. Piece by piece, rebuilding himself.
"Not tonight."
Kashi stared at him. What? After all that? After she had finally let him close—after everything it had taken for her to stop pushing him away—he was backing off?
No explanation. No ridiculous excuse. Nothing.
Chaos remained half-turned from her, his hands clenched briefly at his sides before he forced them loose.
Kashi watched him. Questions crowded behind her teeth. But then he looked at her again. Only for a moment. And the look answered the one question she hadn't asked.
It wasn't that he didn't want her. God, no. It was that he did. Too much.