Sweet Hatred
Chapter 86: You can’t hide from me

Chapter 86: You can’t hide from me

KAEL

It had been three days.

Three long, perfect, hellish days of her trapped in my house. My bed. My arms. But now we were outside. On the way to work.

She was supposed to leave the morning after that fever hit again. I was supposed to let her. Be a good boy, stay quiet, take my meds, and let her go back to her boring little life where I wasn’t always inside her, beside her, all over her.

But instead, I’d coughed a little louder. Winced a little harder. I even faked a goddamn shiver when she checked my temperature the second morning.

She didn’t buy it. Not for a second.

She’d narrowed her eyes, that sexy little suspicion blooming behind her lashes like smoke curling from a matchstick.

"You’re not sick anymore," she’d muttered last night, sliding off my lap with her thighs still trembling from the fourth round I swore would be the last.

And I, being the shameless bastard that I was, had just grinned and pulled her back down. "Then maybe I’m possessed. Better stick around and keep an eye on me."

She stayed. But she was cold again.

Not openly. Not with anger. No—Aria was a fucking expert at quiet shutdowns.

She still brought me water, still shoved my pills at me with a muttered "take this before I stuff it down your throat." But her eyes had gone somewhere else. Guarded. Careful. Hesitant.

And I hated it.

I could feel her slipping again. Like she always did when she realized I wanted more than I should. Like she was trying to remind herself I was the devil in disguise—not to be trusted, not to be wanted.

Too late, sweetheart. I’d already had her on every surface in my house. I’d already memorized the way she tasted when she was pissed off and desperate. She could build a wall made of fire between us and I’d still walk through it barefoot, just to get my hands on her again.

She was mine.

Even if she didn’t know it yet.

She looked like trouble in heels as she entered the elevator.

Hair tied back in that half-assed way like she didn’t care, but I knew better. That little undone strand by her jaw was perfectly placed. Lip gloss barely there. Eyes locked on her phone like I didn’t exist.

Cute.

I stepped in behind her just before the elevator doors slid shut, close enough to smell her shampoo—coconut and that expensive shit I’d ordered by the dozen just to keep it in my house. Her spine stiffened, but she didn’t look up. Didn’t acknowledge me. Just like she’d done all morning. I hated it but I knew it was fake.

"So," I said casually like I hadn’t given her a another hour of pleasure and new set of hickeys this morning, "what’s the plan after work?"

"Getting away from you," she muttered, still scrolling.

I smiled. Full teeth. A little wicked. "You know you can’t hide from me, right?"

"Watch me." She turned her face slightly, just enough to glare up at me with those narrowed, dangerous eyes. "I’ll go full witness protection if I have to."

God.

I couldn’t get enough with the way she hated me.

Or pretended to. I hadn’t really decided which.

"Try it," I murmured, leaning just enough to let my voice curl against her neck. "I’ve got eyes everywhere."

"Creep."

"Sweetheart." The doors pinged open.

Aria stormed out like I’d said something offensive—which, let’s be honest, I probably had—but I barely noticed. My eyes stayed glued to her swaying hips as she disappeared into her office like she couldn’t wait to get away from me.

She’d be back.

"Sir?"

I turned slightly. Rose—my new secretary—stood beside me, clutching a tablet like it might save her from drowning. Not Mia. Not even close. But competent enough to keep shit from burning down.

"Yes?"

"You’ve got back-to-back meetings all week," she said, tapping the screen. "And several items that have been delayed since your... sick leave." Her voice hesitated just enough for the sarcasm to bleed through. She wasn’t dumb. She’d probably heard everything. God help her.

"Send them in," I said, still watching Aria’s door.

"Should I also—?"

"Delegate some to Aria."

She blinked. "Sir?"

"I said, give her something to do. She’s been idle."

Lie.

She’d been running herself ragged while I sat around pretending to be on the verge of death.

But she was mad at me. And nothing made her madder than more work.

I grinned to myself as I stepped into my office and shut the door behind me.

...

I had three pending contracts, four missed calls from the board, and one email from Legal threatening to combust if I didn’t sign off on something that apparently couldn’t wait.

And then the door opened.

Aria walked in holding a folder—hair loose now, blouse tucked in but a button undone like she didn’t give a damn—and I forgot what planet I was on. She didn’t even look at me. Just marched across the room, heels clicking like gunshots, dropped the file on my desk like it personally offended her.

"Review and sign," she said, flat, clipped.

I leaned back in my chair, letting my eyes drink her in. "You’re gonna chew my head off, aren’t you?"

She gave me a look like she wanted to, then sighed through her nose and crossed her arms. "I’m five seconds away, Kael. Don’t tempt me."

My lips twitched. "Tempting you is literally my job."

"Your job is to sign that document and stop looking at me like you’re undressing me with your eyes."

Too late.

Still, I grabbed a pen, signed where I needed to, but didn’t take my eyes off her. She looked tired. Not the kind of tired that sleep fixes, but the kind that crawls under your skin and lives there. I could see it in the way her fingers tightened on the folder, the tiny twitch in her jaw.

Something was off a little. Maybe I truly overdid it?

"Anything else?" I asked, handing the file back.

She hesitated, then muttered, "I’m going out after work... to pick up something for my nephew. His birthday’s tomorrow."

A beat. My heart twitched.

"What?" I asked, soft with a knowing smirk.

"Nothing," she snapped. "Forget it."

She turned to leave.

"Aria—"

The door slammed behind her before I could say another word.

I sat there staring like a lovesick idiot for a full minute before I realized I was smiling.

What the hell was wrong with me?