Our kiss lingered, slow and breathy, hot air, hands loosening to soft caresses as the emotion of my outburst dissipated and I let the realization of what it all meant settle into the depths of my heart. Could we be together? Truly together like a normal couple? It was all I had ever really wanted and now that I had it within my grasp, I was letting it get away from me with self-doubt."You look worried." Kai's face was full of concern as his eyes studied mine, so close. Shining with an emotion I hadn't seen in so many years.“I don’t know where to go from here. Which is absurd, considering I have had years to think about it. I just never thought that you cand I could ever be like this,” I rambled as I motioned between our bodies. “I’m still not sure we can—” He gently pressed a finger over my lips."We don't have to have all of the answers now, my love. Our lives couldn't be further apart and as much as I hate to admit i

[Warning: Sexually explicit content up ahead. Read at your own risk!]KAI POV:My day had ended up entirely different from where it had begun. After our encounter in the greenhouse, our picnic, and then the afternoon and dinner with the entire family, I could see that Lilith was exhausted. So instead of monopolizing more of her time, I left her to go to her room with Kaiden for an early night. Kaiden wasn't used to all of this family, so I was sure he probably needed some alone time with his mother. The two of them were understandably close, and I could only imagine it was difficult, for both of them to suddenly share so much of their time with people who were, for all intents and purposes, strangers.So, it was with a ridiculous amount of teenage level glee that I found myself in the kitchen at 3 am in the morning, watching Lilith's figure as it was silhouetted in the light from the fridge. Her arms were outstretched as she held the door open with one and propp

KAI POV:It was time for Lilith and Kaiden to leave. I was agitated and moody, my mind wandering to places I didn't want it to as I thought about the last time I said goodbye to Lilith here in such a situation.It was over eight years until I had laid eyes on her again. And while I knew deep down this was not the same situation, I was edgy about the two-week separation. I was definitely looking forward to being with them at Lilith’s house. I already had my assistant hire someone to look for properties there for me to buy. I couldn't very well do it myself yet, it would set too many alarm bells ringing and I wanted Lilith to have a look at a few while she was back in the city, before the people found out and life became crazy for her.I walked them to the car, hugging Kaiden to me and kissing him goodbye with the promise of speaking to him every day. I pulled Lilith into my arms and held her for an inordinately long period of time. I never wanted to let her

“Lilith.” He cleared his throat. “Lilith.”My eyes remained glued to the black screen. I sucked in a deep breath and exhaled through narrowed lips.“I was going to tell you,” I responded as calmly as I could.“How much of that statement is actually true?” he asked.Finally, I turned to face him. “I have a son—”“I know that much, Lilith. I am referring to the rest.” He paused. “I am not going to ask you why you never told anyone about who your son’s father was. Your private life has always been that: your private life. And I have never wanted to interfere. How much of the rest is true? Because this is about business.”I opened my eyes and held his gaze firmly. “Kai… Kai Rivera is my son’s father.”His expression didn’t change. There was not even the slightest shift in it.“We met when I was younge

KAI POV: I wasn’t sure what time it was when I finally got to sleep, but somewhere, deep into the dreams of laughter and warm smiles, I heard a steady set of stops and starts. I opened my eyes. My phone once again vibrated on my nightstand. I looked at the clock, barely five in the morning, before reaching for it anxiously. I was surprised to see Luca’s name illuminated on the screen. “Luca,” I said groggily. “Kai, where are you?” I yawned as I answered. “Okay. I am in the city. I will be there in an hour. I have something important to talk to you about.” I drew in a deep breath. “Okay. I will wait for you downstairs.” When he arrived, he walked straight into my room. I leaned against the desk. “What is going on?” He watched me warily. “Look, I messed up. I know I did.” I wanted to cut him off, but he kept talking. “I feel like shit about it. When was the last time you spoke to your father?” I blinked. “