Darkest Sins - Page 104

Kai nods, then bends his head to whisper in my ear.

“I’ll dump Armando downstairs to cool his heels for a bit, then come up to finish what we started.” He places his hand on my hip, then slides it down my stomach and lower to press it to my pussy. I barely hold in a whimper.

I follow Kai with my eyes as he walks across the hall toward the basement door the butler is holding open. Armando’s head and deformed arms are swinging left and right at my demon’s back. The instant the door to the sublevel shuts, I rush up the stairs.

When I step inside the living room, Zara jumps from the couch, her eyes roving wildly over my tangled hair, half-untucked blouse, and Kai’s drenched jacket to stop on my muddy shoes. “Nera? What happened to you?”

“We were ambushed when we landed and tried exiting the plane.” I sweep away some of the strands falling over my face.

“What?! How?” She dashes across the room. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’ll go check on Lucia before Kai comes up. What did you give her for dinner?”

“Vegetable stew. Nera! Who attacked you?”

“It was Armando. Kai has him in one of the underground rooms, but he’ll handle him later. I’ll tell you everything in the morning. Um . . . Thank you for watching over Lucia, but I really need you to go now.” I grab her waist and lightly push her toward the door. “Good night.”

Zara stops at the doorway, looking at me over her shoulder. “Are you all right?”

“Yup. Just waiting for Kai. He should be here any moment. We have to finish an earlier discussion.”

My sister blinks. “Discussion?” she asks, but then her eyes go wide as color creeps into her cheeks. “Oh. Um . . . I’ll just go now.”

As soon as she’s out the door, I drop my phone and my purse on the dining table and head into Lucia’s room. She’s sleeping with a stuffed tiger Kai bought her under her arm. I sit down on the edge of the bed and reach out to lightly stroke my daughter’s chin.

“Everything is going to be okay now,” I whisper. “Your daddy promised he’ll make sure we’re safe. And he kept that promise.”

A sharp intake of breath comes from behind me. I turn around and find Kai at the threshold, clutching the doorframe with an iron grip. His face is pale as a sheet of paper.

“She could have heard you. You should be more careful.”

“We’ll tell her soon anyway. She deserves to know.” I stand up and close the distance between us. “Youdeserve her knowing the truth.”

“Never.” He watches our daughter, his jaw set in a hard line.

I take his chin between my palms, tilting his head down, making him look at me. “Why?”

“What will you tell her her father is?” he asks through gritted teeth. His tone is bitter, but every word is filled with pain and sorrow. “A hired hitman? A villain who killed her grandfather? Someone who can’t even remember his own name?”

“No, baby.” I rise onto my toes and kiss his jawline. “I’m going to tell her that her dad is Kai Mazur. The man who’s been watching over me for years, keeping me safe. Who took a bullet for me. The man who has barely slept in weeks because he’s been protecting us. Who spent hours simply watching her sleep, instead of getting rest himself. Our guardian angel. The love of my life.” I tilt his head lower until our lips touch. “The man who loves her and her mamma more than anything else. Just as we love him. That’s what I’ll tell our daughter.”

“Nera . . .” he whispers into my mouth.

“Kai. Let me . . . letuslove you. Please.”

A heavy, pained breath leaves his lungs. He closes his eyes and touches his forehead to mine. “It’s the dream I’ve been dreaming but never dared to hope would come true. People like me are not allowed such ambitions, tiger cub.”

“Well, we’re going to live our dreams from now on.” I kiss him. “And everything else can go to hell.”

My phone starts ringing somewhere. I take Kai’s hand and pull him along with me as I hurry toward the sound. I just want to turn the damn thing off, but as my eyes fall on the flashing screen, my body goes rigid.

“It’s Ajello,” I shudder. “He almost never calls. I need to take this.”

“Want me to kill that psycho for you?”

“No. I just . . .” I mumble staring at the name on the screen. “I’m not in the right mental state to talk with him now, but I have to.”

“Then, I guess I should help you with that.” He takes the phone from my hand. “You haven’t put on your underwear, have you, cub?”