Chapter 7
“I’m sorry, sir, but the additional single room you ordered was double booked and given to the other party who checked in earlier.” The petite blonde concierge was so apologetic that Malik almost felt bad that he’d sent most of his security detail ahead of time, ensuring the room would be taken.
“Is there nothing that can be done?” Kerry asked the woman, an edge of panic in her voice. He’d already sprung this weekend at Disneyland on her at the last possible minute and then he’d had her room given away. It was a rotten move, but it was also the move of a desperate man.
“We’re booked up, ma’am, but I see you also have a suite and it’s quite large. We can bring an additional bed if you require.” The woman’s blue eyes bounced between Malik and Kerry, trying to determine the nature of their relationship.
“That’s quite alright,” she said tightly to the woman and turned to Malik. “Look, this is obviously a family weekend and you don’t need me. I’ll find my way back to the city.”
“No.” The word came out much harsher than he'd intended and she flinched. “You can stay in the suite with us. Aram and I will share a room.”
She held up a hand. “Not necessary. I’m just the help. I can sleep on the sofa; I’m sure it’s comfortable.”
He wanted to shout his protest and tell her she wasn’t just "the help" but he knew his words would fall on deaf ears. She still thought he’d kept her as a dirty little secret when that wasn’t at all true. He’d just wanted her to himself. “We’ll figure it out,” he told her and followed his entourage of guards towards the penthouse elevator.
Inside the suite, Kerry rushed off to get Aram settled and changed for an afternoon at the park while Malik did the same. An hour later she had a canvas bag slung across her chest, an army-green hat on her head with her now blue-tipped hair pulled into two braids that fell over her shoulders. She looked young. Too young for him. “Are we ready?”
“Yeah!” Aram jumped up and down, excited at the prospect of meeting his favorite cartoon characters. “Come on!”
“You heard him,” Malik said with an amused voice as they piled out of the room and onto the elevator.
“Kerry, what should we do first?”
She smiled down at him, using that radiant toothy smile that Malik hadn’t seen directed at him in entirely too long. “If you want to start with excitement we should do Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.”
Big dark eyes were round and wide as saucers. “Yes!”
Malik could only watch as Aram and Kerry walked ahead of him, hand in hand, chatting like old friends while he was left as the outsider among them.
He was determined to change her mind about him, about them, this weekend.
No matter what it took.
* * *
Malik couldn’t cover the groan that escaped him when Kerry emerged from the shower, hair wet and slicked back, making her look even younger than she normally did. They were all full of grime and dirt after a day at the park, but she’d bathed Aram first and then let Malik go. Probably something about that "the help" nonsense again, he grumbled, though his gaze remained locked on the tight buds peeking through the thin shirt. The fabric was so thin he was sure that glimpse of pink was her, not the shirt. And those shorts—hot damn—were so short that miles upon miles of legs teased his senses.
This is what I get for the room switch, he thought as she neatly tucked the clothes she’d worn into a plastic laundry bag, zipped up her duffle bag, and scanned the room. “Aram still asleep?”
He nodded. “Feel free to check on him if you’d like.” He smiled when she did just that, returning with the same smile he wore after watching his little boy sleep.
“Completely passed out,” she assured him with a smile and he watched her slow, graceful moves as she padded across the floor in bare feet. Moving like a dancer, she bent over to smooth a sheet over the sofa, making up her bed. He couldn’t help but stare at the heart shape of her ass, wishing he had the right to grab it, cup it, and squeeze until she gasped his name.
“Bed so soon?”
“Nope,” she answered with a breathless smile. “A drink out on the balcony and then bed.”
“May I join you?”
Kerry thought about it for a long moment. So long he was pretty sure she would turn him down. But finally she answered. “Sure. I could use some company.” She poured a glass of wine and stepped onto the patio.
Malik followed, a tumbler of scotch in his hand. They needed to talk and now, he figured, was as good a time as any. “I owe you an apology, Kerry.”
She held up a hand to stop him, shaking her head without ever taking her eyes off the inky, starry night. “No, you don’t, Malik.” Her posture was stiff, drawn in on herself. She was retreating.
“I do,” he insisted, and the intensity of his words pulled a tense nod from Kerry. “I really did forget the date with Chantal, but when she showed up I should have considered your feelings before simply agreeing.” He sighed and raked a hand through hair that was uncharacteristically messy. “It was an obligation, not a date.”
She nodded at his words, her gaze mesmerized by the glittering stars in the sky. “You can’t see stars like this in L.A., not even in Malibu. They have a way of making you feel insignificant.”
“Is that all you have to say?”
Dark green eyes turned to him, looking across the large cement table nervously. “Stars aren’t the only ones to make people feel insignificant. I won’t let anyone make me feel that way again.”
“Never,” he answered fiercely, simply because he would never allow anyone to make her feel like she didn’t matter.
Her smile was radiant. “Good. Then I guess you are forgiven.”
Malik laughed. “I’m glad to hear that.”
“Don’t do it again,” she said pointedly with a stern look.
“I would never do something to hurt you, Kerry, I hope you know that.”
“I think I do.”
“And this thing between us, Kerry, it isn’t over either.”
“What thing?” She blinked innocently but he saw the fluttering pulse at the base of her throat.
“You know and, what’s more, I know you feel it too.” She could deny it but that was just her mouth, her eyes and her body told him so much more.
“That doesn’t matter, Malik.” She sighed. “It won’t end well.”
“You don’t know that.”
She laughed bitterly. “Really? Because I seem to recall you saying that you didn’t want to get married again.”
He had said that and he’d meant it. His first marriage hadn’t turned out well and though he cared about Kerry, wanted her, Malik wasn’t sure marriage was the answer. “That’s not something we should be talking about yet.”
With a laugh she shook her head and slid down in her seat so she could observe the sky without interference. “That’s my point. I don’t do casual sex, Malik, despite evidence to the contrary.”
“It was hardly casual.”
“Well, it definitely wasn’t serious.” She sat forward. “I’m not asking you for more than you want to give, Malik, I’m simply telling you what I want.”
He stood, leaning over her close enough to feel those delightful pink buds pressing against his chest. “And I’m telling you, Kerry, that I want you. Aren’t you sick of fighting it?”
Her response was little more than a shallow intake of breath and Malik took advantage of the moment, cradling her beautiful face and slipping into a heated kiss that stole his breath and just maybe knocked loose some of the bricks in the wall around his heart.