“Theatrics!” she yelled back at me. “You choked me!”
I hadn’t seen this fiery side of her yet. I didn’t like it.
“Watch your tone.”
The only response my warning had was to further infuriate her.
“Watchmytone! You almost killed me.”
I’d hardly take it that far.
“You kidnap me. Lock me in a dark room, and then come in like the king…”
She continued to rant. Yelling things, while her arms swung through the air. I ignored her and went about my business. Clipping my watch on, slipping my feet in my shoes, and adjusting the navy tie around my neck. After all that, she was still carrying on.
I could handle that. There were always ways to shut someone up. When she picked up the lamp and threw it at me, however…
I looked down at the shattered porcelain, and then calmly sauntered across the room. Kya jumped up, bare breasts swaying as she got ready to lunge. She didn’t get that far.
I lifted my arm and smacked her across the face, knocking her back on the bed before she could make her move.
She didn’t say anything. Just laid there, cupping her cheek, while staring up at me. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at the pained look on her face.
My strike wasn’t that hard. Just enough of a tap to knock her out of her frenzied state.
“Now, would you like to continue to throw a fit like a child,” I sighed and rolled my shoulders back, “or would you like to open your birthday present?”
Her brows knit for just a second. “Why would you get me a birthday present?”
I didn’t know how to answer that because I didn’t quite understand it myself.
“How do you even know when my birthday is?”
“A better question, Pet,” my brow rose, “Is what don’t I know about you?”
Rather than wait for a response, I opened the drawer on the bedside table. Inside was a white box with a red bow. She eyed it for a second before accepting it from my grasp.
I sat down beside her and tried to ignore the red mark on her cheek. It shouldn’t bother me. Kya wasn’t the first woman I’d struck, and she wouldn’t be the last.
Yet, there it was. Shining like a beacon in my peripheral vision, while tugging at something in my chest. The strange ache didn’t stop until I reached out and stroked her skin with my thumb.
Kya snapped her head back and shuffled away. Which upset me a little, and then pissed me off because I was upset at all.
Preferring to focus on something else, I tipped my chin to the box. “Open it.”
Her bright eyes dropped to the red bow. I could tell she was thinking about something. Kya only chewed on her lip like that when she was deep in thought.
“What is it, Pet?” I asked, telling myself I only cared so I could get in her head.
Her answer wasn’t what I expected.
“Is it my birthday today?”
“No.” My gaze trickled over her, absorbing the disappointment in her features. “It was yesterday.”
“Oh.”
I watched her shoulders sag and found myself wondering what she did for her birthday. Did she have cake, or a party? Her parents were useless, but surely they did something for her.
