Chapter 61
They opted to eat dinner at the in–house restaurant the hotel offered, citing the cold weather and late hour as the reason for not wanting to go into the village to find anything different
Two steaks, a glass of wine and whiskey alike, and she and Kylan were walking hand in hand to their room once more.
The mood was light and relaxed, some of the tension had left her shoulder after her glass of wine.
“That was delicious, Kylan. Thank you” She smiled at him, her thumb tracing absent circles into the back of his palm.
“You chose the hotel, which means you chose the restaurant,” Kylan quietly reminded her.
Is the hotel up to her standard? I didn’t see you do your usual check for dust,” she teased him, wandering into the elevator and watching as he pushed the bumon for the top floor.
Kylan scoffed down at her. “It’s fine, Katrina” He shook his head, but the comer of his mouth was turned up in a subtle smirk.
ting the other
She felt herself grinning, stepping out of the elevator when the doors opened once more. She walked to her room, neither of them letting go until they were inside.
They both readied themselves for bed in mach the same way as they had in Portland. She watched Kylan carefully remove his contacts, patting on the same pair of glasses she had gaped at before.
She washed her face, brushed her teeth, and privately changed into a pair of shorts and a sweatshirt. Kylan, to both her dismay and pleasure, wore only a pair of sweatpants again.
He followed his routine of doing pushups on the floor below, but she dutifully kept her eyes trained on her phone, choosing that moment to connect to the hotel’s internet.
Do you
you know how Oscar is doing” she asked Kylan over her shoulder.
She heard him grunt on the ground and then she felt the bed shift.
“He’s fine, Kate. If there was something to truly worry about, he would tell you.” Kylan sighed and then stood to wash his hands in the bathroom
“Right. Of course.” She frowned as she set her alarm for the morning and then plugged her phone into the wall with her adapter
She pulled back the duvet and crawled under it, relishing the feeling of the cool silk sheets beneath her skin. She was exhausted. Even with the time difference, she was certain she would fall and stay asleep easily.
Kylan walked around the bed and took off his glasses, setting them on his nightstand. He got into bed a fair distance away from her and she rolled onto her side to look at him.
or that up.
“Do you still have nightmares, Kylan?” she asked him quietly, not sure if she was doing the right thing by bringing something like
e was trained on the ceiling, one arm propped under his head, the other over his stomach.
Kylan’s gaze was
“I do” came his curt response
She considered him for a minute, allowing herself to appreciate the sharp angle of his jaw and the profile of his nose. “I’m sorry that’s something you dealt with.” She was honest, remembering just how distressed he sounded those nights in Portland.
She saw Kylan’s jaw clench and she knew she probably entered territory he was hesitant to talk about.
“Who is Yasmin“” She regretted the words immediately, Kylan’s body going entirely tense next to her. It didn’t seem like he was even breathing, his abdominal muscles pulled tautly. Tim sorry. That was inappropriate of me. You just.. Well, that’s the name you called out” She rolled to her back, frowning at the textured hotel room ceiling.
“She was a friend of mine, Kylan’s soft voice took her by surprise.
She attempted to keep her composure, her heart racing in her chest in the same fashion it always did any time Kylan disclosed anything concerning his past.
“I’m sorry. Kylan. For whatever happened with her, she said it tenderly, truthfully, and with complete sincerity.
Someone like Kylan. Someone who only allowed himself to openly express notions such as anger, frustration, or the occasional passion when it was about things like Ross Corporation. This friend must have been important if she invaded Kylan’s dreams in such an unfiltered manner.
“Get some sleep, Kate. We have to wake up early,” Kylan murmured to her.
He didn’t sound angry or annoyed, which she was glad for. “Good night, Kylan. I’ll uh. you know, be here, if you have a nightmare,” she said a little awkwardly, but it felt important to tell him.
Chapter 61
Rylan didn’t respond, but he did turn his body to face her, and she pretended that didn’t impact the way her heartbeat in her chest
-0-0-0-
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. No. I’m sorry, It’s my fach. It’s my fault ”
It startled her only briefly, hearing Kylan cry out a few hours later. She sat up in bed, the duvet falling down to her lap while she turned on her bedside lamp
Kylan was thrashing next to her, his chest glistening with sweat and his eyes scrunched in agony.
It hurt her more this time, seeing Kylan like
this. Seeing g him in so much pain.
She hesitated for a moment, her r mind drifting in the last time she comforted Kylan during a nightmare. Even still, she couldn’t leave him to fight off his mvisible demons alone
She scooted over in the bed, gently taking hold of kylan’s arm and pulling him into her as much as she could. It was awkward and clunky, trying to get her arm around him.
After a few minutes though, he was nestled against her, his head on her chest and her nails raking gently up and down the expanse of his back that she was able to reach from the angle she was in
She thought Kylan was sound asleep again, no longer thrashing. No longer calling out apologies or pleas
“You don’t need to do this Kylan mumbled into her chest.
His voice sounded broken, so much different than his usual tone.
I do,” she sofily replied, With her free hand, she raked at through his hair, gently pushing it away from his sweaty forehead
Kylan went rigid for a beat, his whole body tense against her own. She didn’t pause her actions, still combing his hair and softly scratching along his
And then, he seemed to melt, all at once. He heaved a great sigh and draped an arm across her waist.
She fel herself smile, pressing her chin to the top of his head. “I wish you would tell me what her nightmares are about,” she admitted before she could stop herself
“They’re my cross to bear Rylan breathed into her chest; his voice strained.
-You d
You don’t have to do things like that alone, you know that, don’t you? She frowned down at him.
“Go back to sleep, Kate Kylan instructed, though he didn’t move away from hen
“Okay, Kylan. Stay here as long as you’d like,” she hugged him to her then, closing her eyes and yawning
Kylan hummed in reply and soon, she felt herself drifting off to sleep, the smell of Kylan filling her mind with a warmth she didn’t know what to do
with
-0-0-0-
This year’s international summit was held in a great conference hall, lined with rows and rows of white–backed chairs. A large stage, much larger than any she had at a summit before, and a behemoth of a TV screen, were fixated at the front of the expansive room.
She was still jet lagged, running primarily on caffeine and willpower. On the outside, though, she looked poised and put together
Her all–black, above–the–knee dress, coupled with a white blazer and her favorite red heels, all helped she look more confident than she rein. Her hair was half pinned up, and her face was caked in more makrog than usual in hopes of masking her exhaustion.
Kylan himself looked every bit the part of a billionaire CEO, his movy suit pressed and tailored to the nines, his white button–down sitting past right underneath his suit jacket. A small, white pocket square, stuck out from the packet over his chest. He chose a silver watch to coat his wrist, black loaters, and an equally black leather belt lagging his hips nicely,
He looked good. He always did.
He sat next to her in the conference hall, his arm situated behind her chair, though not quite touching ber She kept her attention focused on the different speakers who took to the stage, jutting down a few notes here and there on the tablet in her lap.
She kept track of anyone worth approaching later, taking care to remember both names and faces.
Kylan glanced at her work every so often, but he mostly kept
By the end of the day, her eyes were bleary, and her head was aching. When the summit was called to a close for the time being, she forced herself bot to immediately bound out of her seat.
2.56 PM
Chapter 61
“Do you want to go to a pub?” Kylan whispered into her ear
She swallowed the sudden dryness in her throat. “Absolutely, Sir, she responded quickly.
Kylan hummed in reply, standing from his seat to guide her out of the crowded hall.
