The ride back was silent.
Silent in the way a room became silent after someone threw a glass at the wall and everyone waited to see who would throw the next one.
Kashi sat with her arms folded, staring out of the passenger window as the city lights blurred past.
Chaos drove. He had tried speaking once. She had slowly turned her head and looked at him.
He had wisely reconsidered. Now the only sounds inside the car were the quiet hum of the engine and Kashi's increasingly aggressive thoughts.
Not tonight.
Not tonight?
Kashi's jaw tightened.
The bastard had pursued her for weeks.
Weeks. Appearing at her office without appointments. Interrupting meetings. Flirting with her in public. Calling her his woman to practically anyone with functional ears.
Bringing her that stupid grass he called flowers. Touching her hand like some devoted fucking saint. Giving speeches about everything he liked about her.
Then the moment she finally—
Kashi shut her eyes.
No.
She was not thinking about that. Absolutely not.
She had not kissed him first. She had not dragged him down by the neck. She had not allowed him close enough for her dignity to file for immediate resignation.
None of it happened.
And if anyone asked, the entire evening had ended after the steak.
She opened her eyes again. Beside her, Chaos's hands tightened slightly around the steering wheel.
Kashi saw it and Ignored it.
Good.
Let him suffer too.
The gates to her estate opened ahead of them. Chaos drove through and stopped in front of the house. Before the engine had even fully gone quiet, Kashi reached for the door handle.
"Kashi."
She froze. Her eyes closed.
Oh, now he wanted to talk? Of fucking course he wanted to talk now.
She turned.
Chaos was looking at her, that same unreadable expression from earlier stripped of his usual smirk. "Kashi, I—"
"Shut the fuck up."
Chaos paused.
Kashi shoved the door open. "Not another word from those snake-filled lips of yours." She stepped out, then bent slightly and glared back into the car.
"Actually, you know what? Fuck you."
Chaos's mouth parted.
"And before you say anything stupid—yes, I know you'd probably enjoy that. So shut it." She slammed the door. Hard.
Chaos sat there alone. For several seconds, he stared at the closed passenger door. Then lowered his forehead onto the steering wheel.
Inside the house, Kashi marched through the entrance like someone had personally offended her bloodline. The living room was dim except for the enormous television mounted across the far wall.
Gunfire exploded from the speakers.
"Move—move to the side… yes, die, die—YES!" Zarri was sprawled across the sofa in shorts and an oversized shirt, a gaming headset over her ears and a controller gripped between both hands.
On-screen, some unfortunate digital soldier collapsed dramatically.
Zarri threw both fists into the air. "HA!"
The front door slammed behind Kashi. Zarri jumped so violently the controller nearly left her hands.
"Jesus Christ!" She ripped off the headset and whipped around. "Kashi? Dios mio."
[Oh my God.]
Kashi kept walking. Zarri looked at the clock, back at Kashi.
"Oh." A grin began to form. "You're back."
Kashi stopped.
Zarri's grin widened. "So?"
Kashi looked at her. Zarri immediately abandoned the controller and twisted around on the sofa, suddenly invested in matters far more important than digital warfare.
"How did the date go?"
Kashi's expression remained perfectly still. "Horribly."
Zarri blinked. The grin vanished. "Que?"
[What?]
"Sí."
[Yes.]
"What happened?"
Kashi started towards the stairs.
Zarri shot to her feet. "Wait, wait, wait. Horribly how? Did he say something? Did you fight? Did he do something?"
Kashi kept walking. "Worse."
Zarri stopped. Kashi reached the first step.
"Kashi."
Nothing.
"Kashi Saints."
Kashi paused halfway up.
Zarri pointed at her. "You cannot say 'worse' and walk away like some season-finale villain. What happened?"
Kashi looked over her shoulder. "I'll tell you later."
Zarri's mouth fell open. "When is later?"
Kashi continued upstairs. "Goodnight, Zarri."
"It's barely ten!"
Her bedroom door shut upstairs. Zarri remained at the bottom of the staircase for several seconds, she slowly turned towards the television.
Her character was dead.
"Oh, for fuck's sake."
She returned to the sofa, picked up her controller and put the headset back on. A teammate's voice immediately crackled through.
"Where did you go?"
"My best friend returned from a date emotionally homicidal."
A pause.
"…You playing?"
"Yes."
"Cool."
Zarri settled back into the cushions. "Respawn me."
Upstairs, Kashi shut her bedroom door and locked it. Silence.
Finally.
She kicked off one heel.
It flew across the room and landed somewhere near the dressing table. The second followed. Kashi reached behind herself and yanked at the zip of her dress.
It caught.
"For the love of all things unholy."
She pulled harder.
Nothing.
Kashi twisted around, fighting with the zip like it had personally joined Chaos's side.
"Come off, you stupid—"
The zip gave way.
Kashi dragged the dress down and stepped out of it. She stared at the black silk pooled around her feet. This dress.
This fucking dress.
Zarri had looked at it and said she should arrive looking like a weapon. Apparently, the weapon had malfunctioned. Kashi snatched it off the floor and threw it towards the wardrobe.
It missed completely.
She did not care.
She walked towards the mirror. Her hair was no longer perfectly arranged. Her lip gloss had disappeared. And along the side of her neck—
Kashi froze. Her fingers touched the faint mark. Her face darkened. "Hijo de puta."
[Son of a bitch.]
Chaos Riegrow.
That insufferable, arrogant, ridiculous—
She pulled off one earring.
—confusing—
The second joined it on the vanity.
—blue-eyed—
Her bracelet came next.
—psychotic—
She stopped. Kashi stared at herself. What exactly was she angry about? That he had stopped? Yes. Obviously. Because who did that?
Who spent weeks acting as though he would gladly burn civilisation to the ground for access to her, then finally got what he wanted and suddenly discovered restraint?
Was he playing with her?
No.
His face had not looked playful. That somehow annoyed her more. Kashi grabbed a robe and pulled it on. Perhaps he had changed his mind. Her mouth tightened immediately.
Impossible.
She had seen his face.
Felt— No. Not thinking about that either. Maybe he had realised she was drunk.
She wasn't. Not enough for that excuse.
Maybe—
"Ugh!"
Kashi threw herself onto the bed. The mattress bounced beneath her. She stared at the ceiling.
Not tonight.
Those two words were going to irritate her into an early grave.
She rolled onto her side, her back. Then the other side.
A minute passed.
Kashi sat up. "This is ridiculous." She grabbed a pillow, punched it twice, then dropped back onto the mattress. She did not care. She genuinely did not care.
Chaos could stop whenever he wanted. He could refuse her.
He could join a monastery for all she cared.
Actually—
Hold up.
Perhaps monks would appreciate him.
Perfect.
They could have him.
Kashi dragged the blanket over herself. Tomorrow, she had work. Important work.
Sigurd.
Meetings.
Crushing Grey Enterprises.
Real things.
Things that did not involve one maddening man standing beneath candlelight, whispering her name like...
Kashi squeezed her eyes shut. "Damn that hot, blue-eyed devil."
She pulled the blanket over her head. Five minutes later, Kashi Saints fell asleep furious. Mostly at Chaos. Partly at herself. But especially at the possibility that somewhere out there, that bastard had ruined her perfectly good evening and was sleeping peacefully.
He had better not be.
Because if Chaos Riegrow was sleeping comfortably tonight, Kashi was going to find a way to make that his problem.