“He’s a good boy…he’ll be a great addition to your team…”
“This isn’t about giving him a job, Leilani.” Mason sat down again, heavily, feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders suddenly. “The job is his…but I can’t tell him, that’s not something that should come from me.”
Leilani started to cry softly and Mason was startled at the emotion that pulled out of him. Suddenly, he could easily picture the beautiful, exotic woman that he’d spent countless hours wrapped around. “Please, Mason…he’ll hate me if I tell him. I can’t have him hating me. He’s all I have…”
Mason sighed, once again moved to irrationality by this woman. Was there anything he wouldn’t do for her, even now? “Don’t cry, Leilani.” He sighed again, suddenly exhausted. “Fine, I’ll tell him. Somehow, I’ll tell him…if that’s what you really want.”
Her tone immediately brightened. “Oh, please, Mason. I know I’m putting a lot on you, and I know you don’t deserve this, but it has to come from you. If I tell him, it will destroy what we have.”
“But if I do…it doesn’t matter, because we don’t have anything. Because you never let me have anything. You took his entire childhood away from me, Leilani.” Mason sighed heavily, loneliness sweeping over him. “How could you do that to me?”
Leilani sobbed again. Quietly, she answered with, “I’m sorry. I was young and foolish. I thought you were better off, being left in the dark. I didn’t want to confuse you…or Kai.”
“Maybe you should just let him keep believing that Nathan is his father. Does it matter now?” Mason ran a hand through his hair, resting his elbow on the table. He felt like the table would barely hold his mammoth weight anymore.
Leilani sighed. “I agree with you, but Nathan doesn’t. He’s done with the lies. He feels it’s time.” Her tone turned a little sour. “Personally, I think he’s hoping Kai will turn against me. We’re very close…” Her voice cracked and she sobbed again.
“Leilani,” Mason breathed, his own emotion bubbling up. “Don’t cry, sweetheart.” Mason blinked, surprised that he’d called her that, after all this time. She seemed startled as well, and her crying dried up, eventually stopping. Mason cleared the buildup in his throat. “It’s late, I should go, Leilani.” He needed to process this conversation, and get away from what her mere voice immediately brought back in him.
She sighed. “Okay, Mason. Thank you,” she whispered.
He swallowed that lump again. “Yeah,” was all he could get out.
Just as he was about to say goodbye, she quietly spoke. “I never stopped loving you, Mason.”
He closed his eyes. “Me either, Leilani.” Then he hung up the phone before she could respond.
Blinking back to the present, Mason turned back to his table of pinned-in-place bees. He suddenly felt exactly like those bees, trapped into a position he didn’t want to be. Leilani had effectively twisted him into a spot that neither he nor Kai could get out of now. He was sure that Kai would never see what was coming, Mason certainly hadn’t.
Closing his eyes, he blocked out the sight of those trapped insects. Mason hoped that he and Kai survived this more intact than the dying insects that he was studying.
Chapter 7
Falling Fast
Jessie rubbed a sore spot in her back while she opened the door to her place. She’d had a long day and had been dreaming about a bubble bath for the last twenty minutes. The irony of Jessie’s muscles being sore wasn’t lost on her; Jessie was a masseuse. She preferred to think of it as physical therapy, and even worked in an esthetician’s office instead of a spa, but what her job boiled down to was a masseuse. That was okay with her, for now. She was thinking about expanding her talents into acupuncture or concentrating her focus on sports therapy. Truly, she was still wide open on the course she wanted to steer her life down.
Setting her purse down on the kitchen table, Jessie noticed some of the things she’d thought to bring Kai yesterday. She smiled to herself, tucking her curls behind her ear as she wondered how his first day on his new job had gone. She still wasn’t entirely sure what he did, but he’d seemed excited to do it.
Forgetting the ache in her back and all thoughts of a relaxing soak, she headed to the laundry room to grab a large box that the girls had been using as a “dump” area for laundry left behind in the dryer.
Walking into the living room with it, Jessie squinted an eye and tilted her head, trying to picture her things through Kai’s eyes, trying to picture what he might like to see in his home, small as it may be. Picking out the most masculine things she owned, Jessie began filling the box. First, she found the musky pillar candles in her closet. Then she went through some of her picture frames and tucked those in the box, removing her photos first, especially the one from when she was twelve with frizzy hair and awful braces. Finding a couple of black throw pillows behind the couch, victims of April’s last temper tantrum, she stuffed those in. In the bathroom, she picked up a couple of decent towels, knowing that he was probably using bare scraps that did little to actual contain moisture. On a whim, she included a six inch figurine of a camel that her dad had bought for her once. The thing was atrocious and gaudy, but it always made her smile for some reason. She loved the thought of it making Kai smile.
Just as she was tucking a few more things into the box and closing the top, she heard her door open. April’s trill greeted her as her roommate walked into the room, chatting on her cell phone. Jessie could tell by the timbre of her friend’s voice that she was talking to a boy. As Jessie took a last sweep of her home, mentally searching all of her rooms for anything she may have missed, April sank onto the couch, plopping her feet up on the coffee table. Noticing some old magazine under that table, Jessie squatted down and grabbed a couple, thinking Kai might like something to read while he stayed up late at night, still adjusting to the time zone.
Reopening the box to smash some gossip magazines inside, she heard April sigh and snap shut her phone. “What ‘cha doing?” She tilted her head, her straight, black hair shifting over her shoulder.
Jessie smiled, thinking about showing up on Kai’s door with a box full of goodies. She didn’t know if he’d be home yet, but she could always just leave it in front of his apartment if he wasn’t. She contained a frown, hoping that he wouldn’t think it was weird that she was giving him a box of what, she supposed, he could consider crap. Guys weren’t really as in to dressing up a place as girls. And she didn’t have anything garish for his bachelor pad – no beer signs or nudey magazines – although, Kai didn’t strike her as the type that was really into either of those things.
Widening her smile, she answered April. “I’m just going through some of my extra stuff. My cousin just got into town, so I thought I’d share the wealth.” She laughed on the end of that, once again hoping that Kai saw the value in the trinkets she was offering him.
April set her feet on the floor and leaned forward over her knees. “Oh, cousin? Are we taking her out this weekend?” She wriggled her hips on the couch in a move that Jessie was sure meant dancing.
Jessie smirked at her eager-for-an-adventure friend. “He. My cousin in town is a guy.” A very attractive guy that Jessie knew all too well, in some ways at least. She bit the inside of her cheeks to hold back another frown. She really shouldn’t think about that anymore.
Successfully hiding her thoughts from April, the adorable Asian lit up, truly excited now. “Ooh, a guy…is he hot?” She raised her eyebrows alluringly.
Jessie sighed, thinking that he gave new meaning to the word. To April, she shrugged. “He’s family…I don’t know.”
April frowned and stood up, flattening the loose cardigan she had on over a long, modest skirt. April worked as a receptionist in a medical office. Her daily appearance was surprisingly reserved, considering her personality. Her parents highly approved of work-April. “Well, only one way to know, I’m coming with you.” She pointed to the box.
Jessie bit her lip. Sh
e really didn’t want to introduce Kai to April right now. For one, she wasn’t really sure if April would remember him or not. Secondly, April was attractive and provocative, two things that usually got guys’ attention. And once she saw Kai…she’d go straight for him, especially since Jessie had just written him off as nothing more than family. Jessie knew she couldn’t hold up his love life, especially since they were nothing more than family, but, she didn’t want to speed it along either.
“Um, actually, he’s not home from work yet. I’m just dropping and dashing.” She shrugged her shoulders and jerked at the box with her thumb. She really wasn’t sure if he’d be back or not, but she wasn’t about to let April know that. A little surprised at the multiple lies she’d already told her close friend, Jessie felt the guilt wash through her.
April didn’t notice that either though. She shrugged and started walking towards the hallway, most likely to strip off those moderate clothes and put on something much more formfitting. “Alright, but I want to meet this could-be hottie soon.” Twisting her head back at Jessie, she smiled brilliantly. “Invite him up this weekend…for dinner.” Her grin turned mischievous, and Jessie could clearly see what she really meant by dinner.
Jessie frowned when her friend disappeared back into her room. Keeping April away from Kai may not be easy, or even possible. She sighed. It also didn’t matter. She couldn’t have anything with Kai. Best to let him move on quickly and she supposed that a friend would be better than some random stranger. At least if he was with April, she’d have an excuse to see him, even more than she did now.
She twisted to pick up the box, sort of hating that thought. Hating both the queasiness in her stomach that she was still attracted to the man that shared her last name, and the horrid ball of tension that built up over the thought of him being with April in her room, helping her remove all of that modest clothing.
With those troubling, conflicting emotions in her head, she shoved the box in her truck and drove right to his apartment. Her mind busy spinning, twenty minutes later she was at his place, staring at his bike in the underground parking garage. With his visored helmet slung causally over one of the handlebars, it was clear that he was home. It made Jessie smile that he was and forgetting her queasy thoughts, a small surge of butterflies flitted through her. She’d get to see him and, wrong as it was, for right now, he was only hers.
Grabbing the almost awkwardly large box, she shuffled over to his elevator, pressing the third floor button. Jessie leaned back against the wall as the cage started to rise. The lifting movement mixed with her butterflies, making her extra anxious and she swallowed three times to calm herself. Really, she’d seen him every day since the club. She should be used to the anticipation by now.
The doors dinged open and she shuffled over to his apartment. Once again, her arms too full to knock, she kicked a greeting with her toe. She heard a muffled, irritated reply, followed by what sounded like low curses. Worrying her lip, she started thinking that she probably shouldn’t have bugged him again. He was going to think his cousin was stalking him. Thinking of setting down the box and leaving, she twisted just as the door swung open. Jessie’s eyes locked with Kai’s and she halted her movement, and her breath. She just couldn’t get used to the absorbing color of those eyes. She couldn’t look away either.
He blinked and tilted his head. “Jessie?”
He sounded a little peeved and Jessie was sure he wasn’t happy to see her…again. Shaking her head to jolt herself out of the mini-trance of his eyes, she sputtered, “Oh, I’m sorry, you’re busy. I can come back later.” She felt herself flushing and suddenly wished she could hide the massive box she was holding behind her back. Guys didn’t care about this kind of stuff. He was going to think she was an idiot.
His face softened, like he just now realized that he seemed grumpy. He shook his head, his hand coming out to grab her arm. With pleading eyes, he said, “No, I’m glad you’re here.” His entire face scrunching into an adorable look of helplessness, he nearly whimpered, “Please help me.”
Confused, Jessie twisted back to him and cocked her head. It was only then that she noticed he was half-naked again. Dressed only in jeans, his free hand was scratching his bare chest, just below the black ink of his tattoo swirling over his collar bone. Her eyes widened fractionally at the sight of him, and Jessie thought she shouldn’t come in for an entirely different reason. But…he was family, and he’d asked for help. Nodding, she followed him into his studio.
He took the box from her when he finally noticed her carrying it. Looking around the side of it as he walked it into his living room/bedroom, he gave her a bewildered face. She smiled at seeing it. “What’s this?” He lifted the box a little, indicating it. Jessie’s eyes strayed to his flexed biceps when he did.
Clearing her throat, she helped him set it on the floor in front of his bed. The bed. “Um, just some extra crap I had lying around.” She looked around at his bare walls, already envisioning where he could put everything. “Just something to make your home a little…homier.”
When she brought her eyes back to his, he was staring at her, a little stunned. Finding his voice, he blinked and shook his head. “You didn’t have to… You’ve already done too much… I can’t…” He bit his lip, still scratching his body, and Jessie smiled at his overwhelmed face. Finally, he shrugged. “Thank you, Jessie,” he whispered.
She felt flushed and heated, warmed in places that her cousin shouldn’t warm her. Looking away, she muttered, “Well, don’t get too excited. It’s just some candles, art, knickknacks…nothing to write home about.” She glanced at him but he was smiling softly at her. He was also still standing in front of her partially nude. It was distracting, hitched her breath.
Trying for casualness, she touched his chest with her fingertips. His skin was cool…and inviting. “For someone who’s always cold here, you sure are shirtless a lot.” She laughed on the end, but it came out in a nervous titter, so she stopped herself.
Instead of laughing, he sighed and sat down on his bed, heavily. “Stupid bees,” she thought she heard him mutter.
Sitting down next to him, the huge box at their feet, she ran a hand back through her hair, mainly to stop her fingers from trailing down his chest. “What?” she asked, still distracted by the shape of him.
He glanced back at her and his expression froze, like something she was doing was equally distracting to him. They stared at each other in silence for a second, and Jessie swore that if she leaned in to kiss him, he’d lean in too. She let the fantasy fill her for the briefest moment, and then the accompanying horror came right behind it. They couldn’t. They shouldn’t.
Kai blinked, seeming to come out of it too. “Uh,” he looked down, away from her. Frowning, he scratched his shoulder blade. “I got stung today…stupid bees.”
He seemed so sullen about the whole thing that Jessie couldn’t help but laugh at him. He glanced back at her, his eyes not as amused as hers were. Smoothing her face, she stopped her giggle. Kai smiled at her restraint, then reached behind her. The move brought his bare chest in contact with her arm. He was colder than she was and a shiver went through her entire body; she was pretty sure that his skin’s temperature had nothing to do with her shiver either. She twisted her head to look down at him, her eyes half-closing, her breath increasing. They shouldn’t. They couldn’t.
Finding whatever he was looking for on his messy bed, he started to straighten back up. When he noticed her face, he paused. He stopped with his body still leaning against her arm, his head directly in front of hers. His tropical eyes flicked over her face, taking in the desire that she knew was in her eyes, apparent in her fast breath. Those eyes flicked down to her lips, his tongue coming out to briefly wet his bottom one. Grossness filled Jessie, but it was being squashed by her rising need for him to press those lips to hers. They couldn’t. They shouldn’t. But…if he did…she would too.
He leaned in and Jessie leaned forward. When she was certain it wa
s happening, he flinched and pulled back, his hand rubbing a spot on his back. Jessie pulled away, taking long, deep breaths. No…they couldn’t.
As his face twisted in discomfort, he lifted a jar of what seemed to be a natural salve for stings, bites, and burns. His eyes looking helpless again, he only said, “Please?”
Jessie took the jar of ointment, grateful to have something to do other than fantasize about kissing him. As he twisted away from her, her eyes ran down the tattoo across his shoulder blade. It curled and spiraled delightfully and it took everything in her to not trace the lines. Focusing elsewhere, she finally noticed the angry red welts along his back. Several of them. Jessie laughed again as she unscrewed the cap. “What happened to you? You walk into a swarm of killer bees?”
He sighed and hung his head as she dabbed her fingers in the gel, rubbing a spot on his back with a nasty bump. He flinched then groaned in relief. “No…honey bees.”
Jessie laughed harder and he twisted his head to glare at her. Biting back her giggles again, she applied more cream to the spots that he hadn’t been able to reach. Kai smiled and shook his head. “My boss is studying why they’re dying, and I was helping him.” He shrugged. “Apparently, I suck at it, and the bees let me know…repeatedly.”