“I’ve changed my mind. And I’m not spoiled.” But even to his ears he sounded like he was. “You don’t need a job and if you’d let me, I’d give you whatever clothing you want. I left you money to buy things, and Izzy said it was still on your dresser.”
“You paid me like a whore.” He staggered back from her words. “You fucked me and left money on the dresser like I was nothing more than a common whore. What will I get for the fuck in the limo, Steele? A bracelet that I’ll never wear? Perhaps it was worth a bed and breakfast stay for the poor little whore. Is that why we’re here? As a payment?”
“I didn’t mean it like that.” She moved away from him, and he reached for her. He had to make her understand. But the moment he touched her, an arch of electricity shot out from his fingers and knocked her back. Before he could get to her, Kari was gone and her cat, a big fucking panther, was snarling at him.
“Kari? Please come back to me.” She snarled again, this time swiping her paw at him. “I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to piss you off. And I never meant to treat you like a whore. I only meant to give you some money to spend on yourself.”
You fucking bastard. He fell backwards when she spoke to him in his mind. You only meant for me to spend it on myself? How is that any less like treating me like a whore?
“You spoke to me.” He watched her. “Could you do this all along? Could you have spoken to me whenever you wanted?”
So? He hurt. Steele had no idea why, but it hurt him that she’d shut herself off from him. He supposed no more than he had her. What do you care? I can talk to anyone I have sexual contact with. So don’t think you’re all that special.
Steele stood up. He was crushed. His entire body was feeling the weight of her words, what they meant. He was nothing to her…less than nothing. And right then Steele knew that he loved her.
“I’ve messed this up so badly.” The cat didn’t move, but she was no longer snarling at him. “I have…I’d very much like…. When you leave here, I won’t stop you from leaving. You’re right. I’m nothing but a bastard. Worse than a bastard, I’m my father.”
He left her then…walked out the door without a backward look. He had no idea if she’d stay or not, and reached for his phone to call Chad. After making arrangements to have her picked up whenever she was ready, he called Izzy.
“Kari and I are calling it quits.” She asked him why he’d do that. “She needs to be on her own, and I need to let her go. We’re no good for each other, and we’re tearing…I’m tearing her apart.”
“Do you love her?” He sobbed out his answer as he rode to another hotel. “She loves you as well, Steele. Make it work. Come back with her and the two of you work it out.”
“No. I’m….” He watched the buildings go by and he thought of what he’d done to her. “I’m certainly my father’s son. I won’t…I’d never hurt her physically, but I can’t continue to hurt her mentally either. Or verbally. I’m a bastard and a prick, just as she said I was.”
“You are nothing like your father. You’re a wonderful person who was hurt terribly as a young man, and you let it rule your life.” He laughed without humor. “You think it’s been easy watching you grow up like this? To see you go deeper and deeper into the depression you’ve let yourself fall into? That woman was the best thing that ever happened to you, and you’re letting her go. Why? Because you got your feelings hurt? What would Aster say to you?”
“She’d tell me to stop being an idiot and go after her.” He could almost, even after all these years, hear her say it to him. “But she’s not here and Kari needs to be free. Maybe then she’ll eat better and get some rest. I saw her. She’s too thin and I did that to her.” Steele ended the call before she could tell him he was right.
Steele called the driver and asked him to take him to the shop again rather than to another hotel. Steele decided that he’d work. He knew that he’d never sleep, so what would be the point of even trying? As he got out of the car the driver asked him if there was anything else.
“Yes. Could you go back to the bed and breakfast and wait for Miss Briggs? She’ll be heading to the airport soon.” The driver stared at him for several seconds before nodding. As he went into the building, Steele saw three ghosts hanging around. He lowered his head, ignoring them. That was another thing he was going to do now. Get out of the business of death. He should never have gotten back into it after Aster.
He’d been doing this job now since he’d been seventeen, and he was tired of it. Not the job…the enjoyment he got from bringing some peace to people had been wonderful. But he wanted to work more on his own businesses, the ventures he’d invested in when he’d turned twenty-one and had inherited everything. He walked in to find everyone gone but Ray, and he looked as if he’d been waiting for him.