Which book? There were like a million piled up around the room, and obviously Kat was having a hard time settling on one, because Douche Bag had to tell her to focus. She twisted sideways, focusing her attention on the couch. I had no idea if she was staring at the pillows, the book, the remote, or the magazine.
Nothing happened.
And after three hours, the only thing Kat managed to do was make the coffee table tremble, and I might’ve almost fallen asleep.
“I’m hungry. I’m tired. And I’m done,” Kat announced at some point, and then ended the statement by knocking my foot off the coffee table.
Douche Bag lifted his brows. “Okay. We can pick up tomorrow. No biggie.”
She glared at him.
That made me smile.
Stretching my arms, I yawned. “Wow, Brad, you are such a great trainer. I’m amazed.”
“Shut up,” she said, and then ushered Douche Bag out the front door. I got on my feet and walked into the hallway. They were outside talking. I listened, because I didn’t trust him, and I was nosy.
“What you’re doing by helping me is pretty amazing. I just wanted to say that,” I heard Kat say.
Oh, forget this. I couldn’t listen to this shit. I lifted my hand and extended my middle finger. No one saw me, but it made me feel better.
Walking into the kitchen, I grabbed the mayo, lunch meat, and bread. I was almost finished when Kat walked in. “What are you doing?” she asked.
I waved my knife. “You said you were hungry.”
She inched closer. “You…didn’t have to make me anything, but thank you.”
“I was also hungry.” I plopped mayo on the bread, spreading it out evenly. A few seconds later, I had two ham and cheese sandwiches. I handed one to her. “Eat.”
Kat stared at me, and I smiled before I took a huge bite of mine. I kept my mouth shut while Kat ate. When she was finished, she cleaned up, and then moved to wash her hands. I followed, stopping to stand behind her. I placed my hands on either side of her hips, my fingers curling over the counter.
“So, you had a very interesting conversation with Butler on the porch.”
She shivered. “His name is Blake and were you eavesdropping, Daemon?”
“I was keeping an eye on things.” I tilted my head just an inch, brushing my nose along her neck. I inhaled her peachy scent. “So, his helping you is amazing?”
“He’s putting himself at risk, Daemon. Whether you like him or not, you have to give him props for that.”
“I don’t have to give him anything other than the ass-kicking he deserves.” I rested my chin on her shoulder. “I don’t want you doing this.”
“Daemon—”
“And it has nothing to do with my raging dislike of the boy.” I moved my hands to her hips. “Or the fact that—”
“That you’re jealous?” she said, turning her cheek and bringing her lips daringly close to mine.
“Me? Jealous of him? No. What I was going to say was, ‘or the fact that he has a stupid name.’ Blake? It rhymes with flake. Come on.” I straightened, tugging her back against me. She didn’t pull away. Instead she leaned into me, and I wondered if her eyes were open or closed. “Kitten, I don’t trust him. Everything about him is too convenient.”
She wiggled free and faced me. “I don’t want to talk about Blake.”
I arched a brow. “What do you want to talk about?”
“Last night.”
I stared at her a moment and then backed off. Turning, I walked over to the kitchen table. What was there to say about last night? I needed to apologize for saying she was a problem, but other than that? I wasn’t sure. I rubbed my neck. What a mess.
“Actually,” she continued, “I wanted to finish the conversation we were having before Blake came over.”
“Which is about last night.”
“Yeah,” she said slowly, dragging out the word.
I scratched the stubble on my chin, unsure of where to go with any of this—this stuff between us. “I don’t even know what I was going to say to you.
“Look, last night I was mad. I was also a little caught off guard with…with everything.” I closed my eyes briefly. “Anyway, that’s not important. This thing with Bart is. Part of me just wants to snatch him up and get rid of him. It would be easy. I’m being serious, Kitten. He’s not just a danger to you, but if he’s playing us, he’s a danger to Dee. So I want her kept as far away from this as possible.”
“Of course,” she murmured.
I folded my arms. “And going along with everything will keep tabs on him. So you were right last night about that.”
She nodded slowly, and I waited for her to say whatever it looked like she wanted to say, but she remained quiet. I sighed. “I don’t like this, but…” I paused. “But I’ll ask you one more time to not do this with him. Trust that I can find something out that can help you—help us.”
Her eyes met mine, and I knew in that moment, she wasn’t going to stop this with him. For some reason, she trusted Blake. That cut deep. That reminded me of where we were with each other, which was nowhere. Sadness crawled into her gaze, along with a measure of regret, and it mirrored what I was feeling inside.
Because after it was all said and done, Kat really didn’t trust me.
Chapter 19