UNDYING: A Bad Boy MMA Romance (Midwest Alphas) (Book 3) (30 page)

Kai lays me down and I see that smug smirk on his lips as he pulls his shirt up and over his head. It pushes his thick, brown hair to the side, giving him a fun, disheveled look. He’s always been one to look clean cut and while I’m thankful for it, I always feel a twinge down under when I see him a little roughed up. He towers above me, balanced on his strong arms. His thick muscles flex with ease as he lowers himself down to kiss me again.

Our tryst in the airplane bathroom left me with an eternally throbbing nether. I’ve been begging for another piece of him for hours ever since. He doesn’t hold back his moans as I reach inside his jeans to stroke him. His hands move quick to unzip me and he forces his fingers into my panties. I sigh as he starts the gentle rub against my clit, each one sending a powerful shock wave up my spine to my brain. I quake beneath him, moaning between his lips, as he pushes two fingers deep inside of me.

A knock strikes the door and we freeze in place.

“Ignore it,” Kai breathes, sending his tongue between my teeth again.

He pulls me back in. I grip his cock a little tighter and jerk him with quick, clean strokes while he plays with me.

The knocking continues, this time with a few loud pounds against the door. “Piper, come on!”

I sigh and look at the door. “It’s Mandy.”

“She’ll go away…” Kai grunts.

“Open up!” Mandy shouts again, slamming her palm against the door.

I let go of his hard rod and push myself out from beneath him. “I’ll get rid of her…” I mutter. I pull my jeans up and gesture for Kai to do the same. He adjusts himself, but keeps his shirt off.

“I’m coming,” I say to the door.

“I wish…”
Kai mutters.

I shoot him a wink before pulling it open. Mandy stands in the hallway with her suitcase at her feet.

“There are no rooms left,” she says.

“Oh…” I say, peeking over my shoulder at Kai.

“There’s apparently some big tourist festival happening,” she continues. “There was only one room left and Shawn got to it before me.”

I take a step back into the room to find my phone. “I’ll do a quick search for another hotel nearby—”

“I already have,” she interrupts. “They’re all completely booked up.”

I exchange a glance with Kai. We know where this is going and we both want very badly to avoid it. I bite my lip and turn back to Mandy. “Well, I’m sure there’s a room somewhere...”

“Can I just stay in this one?” she asks, lingering in the doorway. “I’m super damn tired.”

“Umm…”

“There’s only one bed,” Kai adds, his voice full of desperation.

“You can stay with Shawn,” Mandy suggests. “He has two beds.”

“Or
you
can,” he fires back.

“Guys…” I sigh.

“This would never have happened if you didn’t bring him with you,” Mandy says.

Kai stares at her from the bed. “I never would have brought him with me if you had answered his damn text messages.”

Mandy’s eyes go a little more narrow. “Fine.” She presses her lips together and tilts her head. “I’ll stay with him. Maybe he and I will reconnect and start
talking
again. I’d just
love
to tell him all about the other guys I’ve been with since we broke up—”

“Mandy!” I say. “Come on…”

Kai stands up from the bed and throws his shirt back on.
“Fine.”
He bends over to grab his suitcase. “Ladies, the room is yours.”

I reach out to him. “Kai, wait—”

“It’s okay,” he whispers as he passes by me. He stops to land a kiss on my cheek. “It’s just one night.
Right, Mandy?
” His eyes flick in her direction.

“Just one night…” she repeats. She spins around and tosses her suitcase onto the bed. “Ooo, champagne!”

“I’m sorry,”
I mouth the words at him. He winks once before turning around and walking out the door. I look at Mandy and I don’t even try to hide my disappointment.

“What?” she spits.

“You know what.”

“Oh, come on,” she says. “I wouldn’t have told Shawn and you know it.”

“You still shouldn’t hold it over him like that.” I reach for my suitcase on the floor. “Kai doesn’t exactly mark it as an accomplishment.”

“For
now
,” she says. “But you know that eventually, that night will become the ultimate feather in his cap.”

“Maybe someday,” I agree, “but right now, he feels pretty shitty about it and you should cut him some slack.”

“Fine. Consider the slack officially cut — but I’m still staying here tonight.”

I sigh. “One night only,” I say. “Tomorrow, you can sleep on the street.”

She lets out a high-pitched cackle. “Me-ow, lady.”

“I’m serious,” I say. “Kai put a lot of thought into this week. He wants it to be perfect and—”

“Jeez, I get it. Cool your jets.
You’re
the one that asked me to come along in the first place.
Remember?
”

I force myself to sit down on the sofa and take a few deep breaths. “Yes, I remember.”

“I have half the mind to suspect you and Kai did this on purpose to get Shawn and me back together.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Looks like,” she says. “You would have fought way harder to get me to stay with him tonight if you had.”

“Exactly.”

“Sorry I ruined your night,” she offers.

“Sorry for snapping,” I say. “Just feeling like crap. That plane ride was a little bumpier than necessary.”

“Haven’t told him yet, huh?”

“Nope.”

She sighs and grabs a glass off the drink cart. “Well, there’s always tomorrow.” She pours herself a glass of champagne. “Want one?”

“No, thanks.”

She shrugs. “More for me then.”

Chapter 8

Kai

“What’d you do this time?” Shawn asks.

I stare back at him from the open doorway of his hotel room. “I didn’t do anything,” I say. “Your
ex-girlfriend
, on the other hand…”

Shawn steps to the side and lets me in. “Sorry, man,” he says. “I probably should have stayed home.”

I shake my head and drop my suitcase to the floor. “Don’t worry about it. It’s just one night.” The room is far smaller than the one I reserved for Piper and me, but at least it has two beds.

“I won’t let it happen again, I swear,” he says. “Next time, I’ll bite the bullet and insist she stay with me. Staying out of your way was part of the deal.”

I cringe slightly. I’d never in my life describe Mandy as vindictive, but I can’t help but wonder how much of her threat was true and I fully intend on taking this secret to my grave. “We’ll just look into hotels tonight for the rest of the trip,” I say, “and make sure there’s enough room for everyone.”

“Sounds good.” He lies back on his bed and stares at the ceiling.

“Staying in?” I ask him. “There’s a whole city full of English-speaking ladies just waiting for you.”

“I wouldn’t know what to do with one if I got one,” he jokes. “I forgot how long that flight was.”

A smirk shoots across my lips as my loins recall that splendid quickie in the bathroom. I’ve been dying to get back inside of her since then.

Stupid Mandy Black…

Shawn shoots a thumbs up at me. “By the way—” he says, reading my face. “Good job on your Mile High Club entrance exam. Looks like you passed with flying colors.”

“You saw us?”

“Damn right I did.”

I sit down on the other bed across from him. “And here I thought I had been so stealthy.”

“You were,” he says. “I’m just creepy.”

I chuckle and lie down on the thick pillows. “It was certainly worth the exam fee.”

“Lucky prick.” He kicks off his shoes. “Everything is off to a good start then?”

“I think so.”

“Good,” he says. “I’m happy for you guys.”

“Thanks.”

A good start.

I don’t think Piper and I have ever had a good start. Not with anything. When we first met, she wanted nothing to do with me. Sure, we were five and all I had to offer her was half a cheese sandwich and a purple crayon, but it was definitely the start of a pattern that would last the better part of nearly two decades. Eighteen years of awkward encounters and vocal sparing matches. It’s a goddamn fucking miracle we made it this far in the first place.

Piper Lynch is a puzzle box. I have no idea what’s going on inside of it. It could bring heavenly bliss or hellish calamity to those that attempt to crack it open. There’s too much risk involved with solving it, but I still can’t stop tinkering with the clues. I could solve it and feel really fucking good about myself afterward, or I can let the mystery live on and not suffer the possible consequences involved.

But then again, where’s the fun in that?

***

“Have you seen her naked yet?”

I look up from my plate. “What?” I ask.

Shawn stares across the table at me with expectant eyes. “Have you seen her naked yet?” he repeats.

“I heard you the first time,” I say, my eyes shooting around the cafeteria. “Keep your voice down. And no — of course not. Why would I?”

“Oh, you know,” Shawn says. “Late at night. She accidentally leaves her door open a smidgen. You’re walking by while she’s changing—”

“No.”

He sighs. “You know, Kai. When you said you were moving in with Piper Lynch, I expected more out of you.”

“I didn’t
move in
with her. It’s not like we’re shacking up or anything.”

“Yeah, not yet,” he says. “You’re still in a very beneficial position, Kai. Better than anyone that’s come before.”

I shake my head. “Beneficial position or not, I’m still no closer to sealing the deal,” I say. “Piper’s just as terse at home as she is at school. Almost more so.”

“She’ll loosen up. Just use a bit of that Casablancas charm on her.”

I glance across the cafeteria and catch sight of Piper in the far corner. She’s once again got her face in a book. Her raven hair hangs to one side, exposing the delicate, doll-like skin of her neck. Mandy sits next to her, chatting into her cell phone. “I’ll get to her. It just might take a little time.”

“Like a week or what?”

I nod. “A few weeks.” I grab my drink and bring it to my lips. “A month, tops.”

***

I look at the clock and smile as it shows two in the morning. There’s too much excitement brewing in my chest, refusing to let my pulse rest long enough to get even the slightest bit of sleep.

I sit up on the bed and lean down to grab my shoes. While I’ve never been accused of being a romantic guy, I feel like I can sense an opportunity when one presents itself. Sure, some shitty circumstances have forced a drastic change of plans for tonight, but that doesn’t mean the night is ruined. There’s still plenty of time to improvise and I just to happen to be the master of that.

I rush through the quiet hotel and pause in front of Piper’s door. My hand shoots into my pocket to find the room’s key card still burning a hole in my jeans. I hear nothing on the other side, so I can safely assume the girls have fallen to sleep. With slow movements, I slide the key into the lock and push the door open.

“Piper?” I whisper her name into the darkness. Two body-shaped lumps lie on opposite sides of the big bed. Only the one on the left side stirs. “Piper?” I say again. This time, she shoots straight up in shock. Her thick, black hair covers her panicked, tired face. “It’s just me, Pipes!” I add, keeping my voice low.

She gasps for air and throws her feet around to the floor.
“Jesus, Kai…
You scared the crap out of me,” she says.

I lower myself to my knees in front of her. “Sorry,” I chuckle, pushing her long hair back behind her ears. “Didn’t think you’d be asleep.”

“Just barely,” she says.

“Good,” I say. “I couldn’t sleep either.”

“You don’t have to whisper.” She shoots a glance over her shoulder. “Mandy downed almost the entire bottle of champagne. She’ll be dead until tomorrow afternoon.”

I shake my head. “Well, it’s good someone enjoyed it.”

“Sorry things are screwed up already,” she says.

“They’re not,” I say as I stand up and take her hand. “Come with me.”

“Where?” she asks.

I don’t answer. I pull her up off the bed and plant a sweet kiss on her lips. “Get dressed,” I say.

***

She follows me through the hotel with excitement, all the way to the top floor. “Where are we going?” she asks.

Once again, I don’t answer. It’s the third time she’s asked since I pulled her out of bed and each time, I smile just a little wider. I continue pulling her down the hall with me until we reach a black door labeled
‘roof access.’
I catch sight of a hotel employee leaning against it and I greet her kindly. “Thanks again, Julie,” I tell her as I slip her a decent tip into her palm.

She nods as she pulls the door open for us. “Have a good night, Mr. Casablancas,” she smirks.

Piper’s eyes go wide as I lead her up the stairwell. “You didn’t sleep with her, did you?” she finally asks.

“Of course not,” I laugh. “There
may
have been some flirting though.” I push the roof entrance open and the black night sky above greets us.

“Well,” she says, “I guess it’s just one of the perks to having a stunningly handsome boyfriend.” She detaches from my hand and walks across the roof with wide open eyes. I can’t stop looking at her perfect face; that perfect look of bewilderment in her eyes that makes my knees weak.

I fill my lungs with the warm night air. Flashbacks attack my mind, taking me back in time again to that night four years ago. I finally made the definitive move on Piper Lynch and we spent the entire night in bed together. Just before dawn, we went on a walk through the near-abandoned city streets and watched the sun rise over Big Ben. That was the start of the best week of my life. An almost perfect sequence of memories that were heavily tainted by the days that followed, but I can still remember the bliss I felt during the first few days.