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Maybe it was stupid, but there in that moment, in the sudden quiet of the room, I nodded.
A silent acknowledgement that I believed him.
He nodded back. “Okay. We’re doing this then. Push, Kara. Let’s meet your kid, okay?”
17
VAUGHN
One minute I was contemplating throwing punches at my father’s business partner.
The next I was being shoved up against the wall of an elevator, Kian’s lips hard on mine.
In an instant, every old memory flooded back. Kissing him now was like kissing him for the first time, only we were better at it. There were no braces bashing, no mangling of lips or too much tongue.
His kiss was different, but it still had the same effect it always had.
I fucking wanted him.
I grabbed his face and kissed him back, taking as much as giving, opening my mouth and letting in his tongue before pushing back so I could taste his lips.
He ground on me, his dick pressed to mine, both of us instantly hard and desperate for more.
“Fuck, I’ve missed you,” he whispered urgently.
I couldn’t even voice words. I just wanted more of his lips on mine. I took what I wanted, cutting him off, silencing him with a touch that made my head spin.
The elevator doors binged open.
I drew up every ounce of willpower and pushed him away.
He blinked in surprise, but I tore my gaze away from him.
“We need to go. Come on.”
I strode through the lobby and back out onto the street, practically running for the car.
“Vaughn.”
I didn’t stop. If anything, I picked up the pace. Suddenly, the safety of the car felt very far away, and I was completely exposed. I glanced up at the building we’d come out of, knowing Harold Coker was up there, probably watching down from his office like a hawk, ready to swoop and snatch up an unsuspecting mouse at any moment.
Kian was the mouse.
Despite his size and how violent he could be in a fight, Kian was vulnerable. Harold had warned me away from him once, and I’d ignored him.
That had ended with Kian in a coma. I’d never been able to prove it, but I was sure with every beat of my heart that Harold had been the one to instigate the attack. It had been a show of power. Proof I was Harold’s puppet and he had ways of making me do whatever he wanted. I was sure he’d paid those guys to follow us and attack Kian, as a warning to me to do as I was told.
I had no business starting anything up with Kian again. Not when it put him in danger. Not when it was doomed to fail.
This time, I’d protect him. Rebel too.
Behind me, Kian’s boots quickened on the pavement. “Vaughn!” His fingers bit into my arm. “Fucking hell, would you stop?”
I jerked out of his grasp and kept going, but he followed with a dogged determination. When I reached for the car door handle, he walked straight into the back of me, pinning me to the metal body.
His dick was still hard, and it ground against my ass.
I fought back the urge to moan. “Get off me,” I demanded. But it was a weak request, and we both knew it. My knees were wobbly at the thought of him hard behind me.