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“How can I relax when it hurts?” I growled.
“Well, if you would just—”
I kicked at him, pushing him away from where he was kneeling in front of me. “Just let it cramp. Ah, ah,” I grimaced, letting my head fall back as a cramp seized my right calf.
Kael took hold of my foot again, undeterred by my irritation, and supporting my calf with one hand, he stretched my sneaker-clad toe toward my shin with the other. “Stop fighting it, Mattie. Relax. Breathe.”
I tried to force myself to relax into the stretch, breathing in deeply and then letting it out slowly. “Why is it lasting so long? God.”
“There you go,” he soothed, pushing my toe closer to my shin and stretching the calf muscle out of the cramp. “Push against me.” I did, and his other hand massaged the calf muscle as the painful contractions eased. “This is because you don’t eat vegetables, you know.”
“I eat vegetables,” I bit out through gritted teeth. Relief shimmied my shoulders down into a slumped position.
“Sweet potato chips don’t count.” Kael rotated my foot in a circle with gentle pressure.
“Do too,” I muttered. I stared down at his kneeling form, smiling faintly as I took in the sexy hoodie made of stretchy athletic fabric he had put on. It had a collar that came up to his chin that was meant to cover his face when running in the cold weather, and it made him look all ninja-like. His thick brows were contracted, concentrating on my leg as he massaged the cramp away. I nudged him with the toe of my white sneaker. “This is because you’re making me run. You miss chasing me or something?”
He glanced up at me, and sardonic, dominant Kael gave me a heated look. “Sometimes I think you say things just so you’ll get in trouble.”
“What an outrageous accusation.” I pulled my foot from his hands and set it down on the pavement under the park bench. “But you should probably punish me later for my insolence.”
A smile tugged at his lips. “You’re incorrigible.”
“Pretty sure you prefer me that way.” I took a drink of water from my water bottle, and glancing around Central Park, I kept an eye out for the courier we were supposed to meet here. Not that I needed to be on the lookout. Kael had said he could pull this plan off blindfolded and drunk, and I believed him. He wasn’t concerned about my “heiress escape” scheme, but he did get nervous when I interacted with my parents. So, I did my part and kept my mouth shut so he didn’t have to make any more “demonstrations” about our relationship.
Kael stood, stretching his arm across his body and panning his gaze over Central Park. We were in a shaded spot just past one of the bridges, and the autumn colors shifted with a soothing susurrus overhead. I breathed in deeply, enjoying how the cold morning air felt on my face after being stuck with my parents for almost two weeks. Hell had nothing on the Thorne residence. Even with Kael there, keeping me sane during the day and driving me crazy with pleasure at night, I found myself counting down every hour until the damn party.
I followed Kael’s gaze. “Anything?”
“Stop looking. You look suspicious as hell.” He rubbed his lower back absently as he helped me to my feet. “Let’s keep running. We can circle back around to the bridge in five minutes.”
“I don’t want to run,” I griped, flopping forward to follow him at a reluctant pace.
Kael slid an acerbic look down to me. “I’m so sorry. Is our rescue attempt inconveniencing you, Your Royal New York Highness?”
My breathing picked up again as we set off on the paved path, weaving our way under bright orange, red, and yellow trees. A gaggle of fast-walking women passed us, and one of them waved at me cheerily. I returned it with a polite smile. Kael watched them with his sharp eyes, and the woman startled noticeably before walking faster and angling away from us.
I gave him a critical stare. “Stop scaring pedestrians.” I scanned the park trail again, forcing my tired legs to keep pace with him. “What does he look like again?”
“A middle-aged nerd. He has little spawn, too, so he’s probably covered in mysterious stains.”
I snorted, and my breath puffed out in a white mist. “Spawn? Do you have something against kids, Kael?”
Kael gave me a contemplative frown, his breath fogging out from his handsome features in a steady rhythm. “Don’t you? Your parents weren’t exactly good examples.”
“I love kids,” I said honestly. I bounced a glance up to him, only to find him staring at me hard. “What?”
“You don’t strike me as the type,” he replied, his brow still drawn in thought.
I bristled. “What does that mean?”
“Just… you’re very independent. Kids are a big responsibility.” He looked forward suddenly, like the conversation had made him uncomfortable.
I tilted my head in an exaggerated way to get a good look at his chiseled features. “Kael Middle Last-Name. Are you afraid of children?”
He smiled at my use of substitute names for him. “I’m not afraid of them. But, like you, I didn’t have the easiest childhood.”
“Oh, my childhood was easy,” I argued lightly, blowing out a breath against a stitch I was getting in my side. “It was my teen years when my parents realized I was an asset that things got weird. But tell me about your childhood.”
