C5

"This is Omari's sister," Kairo introduced his date. Short and to the point. He never wasted energy on excess words, did he.

"Oh my gosh," the woman's squeal startled me. "Callum Hayes! I am such a fan." Her voice was high-pitched, and she beamed like a hundred-watt light bulb. She turned her gaze at me, envy in it and a fake smile on her lips. "You are such a lucky female. To be Callum's girl."

"Aww, thank you," Callum grinned, his hand roaming down my back. Usually it comforted me, but right now it set me on the edge. "This might help in convincing her to move into my room at the Nightfang Keep. But truthfully, I am the lucky guy."

He leaned in again and kissed my neck. It was so wrong to remember how Kairo's lips felt on my skin while Callum kissed me, but here I was remembering that fire the ruthless man ignited while my sweet, thoughtful boyfriend worshiped me.

I swallowed hard, a bitter taste on my tongue. I wouldn't think about Kairo's lips.

Instead, I focused on the conversation. Ah, yes, moving in with Callum. He'd been hinting and asking for months now, but I kept delaying my decision. Though I knew for sure, this was neither the time nor place for a conversation about us moving together. I smiled tightly, and it probably looked fake as fuck. Unsure how to respond appropriately to either one of their comments, I just decided not to respond.

"I can't wait to have Nia in my place," Callum continued, oblivious to my tension. "To see her every morning and every night."

Kairo's eyebrow raised ever so slightly, a smirk curving his beautiful lips.

"Ohhhh, you should do it," the female gushed all over herself as she continued. "That would be such a dream."

The way she spoke, it seemed like it was her dream.

"And you and Kairo," I snarked softly in my passive-aggressive voice, ignoring the comments about me moving in with Callum. "You found yourself a winner there."

She turned her eyes to Kairo, and I swore there were stars there. "He's the best." My sarcasm was lost on her.

"Yeah, sure," I muttered. There might have been a tiny bit of bitterness mixed with that sarcasm, but she completely missed it. Good thing Zuri wasn't here because she would have picked up my sarcastic tone immediately.

Leaning closer to Callum, giving him a glimpse of her low-cut dress, she murmured to Callum, "Would it be pushy to ask for a picture with you?"

Callum was immediately in friendly warrior mode for his fans. "No, not at all. Babe, how about you join in?"

Yeah, that would be a hard pass.

"Ummm, I'll wait here. You go ahead."

Callum turned his gaze at Kairo.

"I'll pass." Of course he would. He bowed to nobody; people admired him, not the other way around.

And those two were gone, leaving me standing next to the man that made my body burn with lust. I watched those two walk away from us and suddenly wished I'd gone along for the pictures. Enduring photos would have been better than staying alone with Kairo; tension and nervous energy seeped through each pore of me.

God, this man was making me nervous. Even after all those years, he succeeded in rattling me. I was older and wiser now; nobody should impact me like that.

"How've you been, Nia?" His question startled me, and I almost spilled my drink.

"Good, thanks." I sucked at small talk. With Kairo Adeyemi, I sucked at everything. I wished we weren't in public, so I could just turn my back on him and walk away. Or flip him a middle finger and tell him to go fuck himself. "You?"

"Not too bad. You are living in the city center, huh?"

After our one-night stand where Zuri's oldest brother used me for his blood oath retribution, I avoided Kairo like a plague. The secrets I couldn't have even fathomed came out into the light and changed things forever. He granted me one thing—we wouldn't tell Zuri and Kellan what my mother had done to his family, if I kept to myself that I had slept with him. I agreed.

"Yep."

In order to avoid looking at him, my eyes traveled to Callum and his fan. She was giggling like a little schoolgirl, trying to get as many pictures out of him. She was very pretty, with her long blonde hair and her tall frame. Somehow her and Kairo fit well together. Unlike me, I thought wryly. I was barely pushing five foot five, my skin looked pale compared to his permanent tan, and my thick hair was too dark for my complexion.

"I never took you for a big city wolf."

My skin tingled with awareness, his body too close but not close enough. His gaze lazily traveled down my body, melting every inch of me into a wanton puddle. How was it possible that even after everything, my body reacted so strongly to him?

"Well, I'm not a girl anymore," I retorted. "It's fun living here."

"Do you still run in the forest?" I was surprised he remembered I liked running in the Whispering Moon Woods. I annoyed Zuri with it all the time, but when Kairo was around, I tended to listen more than talk.

"Sometimes." God, I wished Callum would just come on. I didn't want to stand here with this man and make small talk. My skin tightened with tension and that familiar tingling sensation that only happened around him. It threatened to burst into fireworks, and I suspected it wasn't the good kind.

I watched Callum and the female giggling some more, and my annoyance grew by the second.

"You look good, Nia." My skin flushed at his compliment, and I knew my cheeks blushed crimson red. His flattery flared the anger within me, and the hurt I buried deep inside.

"Don't make small talk with me, Kairo," I murmured, meeting his eyes. He was still the most handsome wolf I had ever seen, but I wouldn't forget that he considered me his enemy. I was his revenge. For something I had no control over. An Adeyemi always settles the score. "And let's not pretend we are friends."

Without a backward glance, I strode to Callum and his fan with my back stiff, painfully aware of Kairo's eyes on the back of my head. I plastered a fake smile on my face as I approached my boyfriend, letting her snap another photo. Geez, how many pictures does a person need? I wondered.

"Babe." Callum wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me into his body. I couldn't help but compare my body's response to Callum's touch and Kairo's proximity. The latter didn't even have to touch me and I was putty for him. Callum's lips met mine, and although I regularly hated over-the-top displays of affection, I let him in hopes of erasing the hyperactive awareness of Kairo in the room. It didn't work.

"Ready to go home?" I murmured low against his lips.

"Yes." Callum waved behind me at Kairo and tilted his head.

I'd need another five years to recover from seeing Kairo Adeyemi tonight.