Chapter Eight
Alaska
When the clerk handed me my ticket and I saw it was going to bring me to Los Angeles, I almost turned around and walked out. I had vowed to never go back, to never return to the source of all my troubles.
But I decided to take the risk anyway. Life was filled with challenges, ups and downs; how could I walk away from something that felt so right?
Kealen had this power over me, this heavy-handed, fall to your knees power. I wanted more, needed more. . . So I jumped.
Swallowing my stomach, I shut my eyes and took that leap of faith. I had nothing to lose. There was no place I could run to that I wouldn't be recognized. So, what did it matter?
It didn't.
I had literally made it to the other side of the country and still reporters were able to find me. The front page claimed my name as its own, I couldn't escape. Hiding didn't do shit anymore. I was found.
The soft flicker of the candle lit up Kealen's face. “This is really nice,” I said, taking a sip of my water. “Thank you.”
“Allie, this is just the start, I hope you know that.” Breaking a piece of bread in half, he popped it into his mouth and smiled.
I loved his smile. It was comforting and sexy, melting me from the inside out. This man went above and beyond to make me feel at ease, and it didn't seem like an act or ruse to trick me.
He seemed genuine, like the world was just a playground that you could enjoy. I knew it differently. I saw it as a place filled with deceit and lies that stalked you daily.
“I know a lot of things, but none of it is this good.” Twirling the ice in my glass, I stared blankly at the table.
Eyeing me curiously, Kealen leaned in over the table. “Look, I know you've been hiding from something, I know you want to disappear and pretend you were just born right before the moment we met. . .”
Snapping my eyes up to his, I inhaled a sharp breath. It scared me how well he could read me, how he could see right through me and know that much.
I wasn't sure how he did it, but it made it harder and harder for me to hold my wall up. Secrets weren't a healthy way to move forward. They devoured you from inside, eating away through your muscles until they finally breached the surface.
Pursing my lips, I leaned forward to speak, but bit my tongue.It's too soon. Let him get to know you so he doesn't get scared away.
Kealen stared at me through slit lids, waiting to see if I would answer. And I still couldn't. Not yet, not when things seem so good.
Scrunching his lips, he sat back in his chair. “What I can't figure out is why you haven't asked me anything. Aren't you curious about me?”
“I am.” Shifting in my chair, I nervously stroked my hair. His eyes lit up in the flame, twinkling with small sparks. My belly twirled and spun like strands of silk being weaved together.
He made me nervous, but it was the best kind of nervous I had ever felt.
The gray jacket he wore tugged on his muscles as he flexed his arms, drawing my eyes right to them. A tight, white shirt fixed to his chest, forming snugly against him like wrapping paper around a present.
Every contour, every groove and bulge were snapping and perking as he bent his arms and wiggled closer to the table.
I was suspended in thought, my brain skipping between where he was leading the conversation and the desire to peel the shirt off his body so I could run my hands over his muscles.
Tapping his fingertips together, Kealen rested his chin on his hands, smirking. “So why don't you ask?”
“I just thought it was easier to not know.”
“What's that supposed to mean?” Cocking a brow, he dipped his head.
“I mean. . .” Pausing, I lifted a spoon off the table and started to twirl it around. “If I don't ask you, you won't ask me.”
Laughing hard, Kealen rubbed his jaw, letting his hands fall down lightly. “Allie, I already know you won't talk about yourself, but you can ask me anything you want. I'm not going to pry, but I'm an open book to you. All I can hope is that at some point you'll give up your secrets willingly.”
Not a chance in hell.
