Page 2 of Kobalt

His gaze gripped me before his eyelids lowered with desire. When I called him by his nickname, that was his undoing. He took one final step closer, and I could feel the heat emanating from his body—see the outline of his dick print in those damn desert sand brown sweatpants he wore. As an interior designer, I often attributed colors to things that I described—it drove Kevin crazy; Kobalt found it endearing.

“The difference between him and me is that I’m a grown-ass man, and he’s a boy who doesn’t understand the treasure he has on his hands. You’re my diamond, always will be.”

His declaration was so resolute, so serious, and spoken as a command he’d like for me to remember. I loved the deep baritone of Kobalt’s voice that often warmed me up and then melted into a pool of desire. Yet, I refused to let him see what it had done to me.

“Funny. He’s five years older than you, Kobalt.”

“And light years behind me in maturity, Kai. I gave you time to play ya little games, but I’m not gonna keep sitting back and watching you disrespect me.”

“How am I disrespecting you?”

“By being all in that nigga’s face when I’m around.”

“You’re not being fair, Kobalt. You came back to the States a few months ago, found out who I was dating, decided to hire the man as your nutritionist—and you blame me?”

“What’s him working for me got to do with you being in his face when I’m around?”

“I have to drop by the gym and training camp sometimes, so I’m going to see you if you’re there.”

“Do you know the real reason I hired him?”

“Why?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest to hide how my nipples were impacted by his proximity.

“So that I could keep my eye on you. Your time’s run out, Kai. Time for you to bring that ass back home to daddy where you belong.”

I winced and tried to pull away, but he grabbed my hand and pulled me back against him with his front pressed to my back.

“You can’t just pop up and expect me to run to you—be open to you.” Against my better judgment, I sank into his embrace rather than fought against it.

“I’ve always been here, baby girl. Just waiting for you to come to your senses.”

“If you’ve always been here, why didn’t you come to your sister’s birthday party last weekend?”

“Did you want me there?” he asked, whispering in my ear as he pressed against me.

I inhaled and held my breath. My body stiffened. I refused to answer his question and changed the subject. “I have to go, Kobalt. I’ll be late for my flight.”

“You wanted me there.” His voice dripped with confident satisfaction.

“Whatever.” My nonchalant attitude didn’t come off as confident as I’d hoped, especially when I didn’t try to pull away.

“Next time, say the word, and I’ll be there, sweetheart.”

“I can’t go there with you again.”

He spun me around and stared into my eyes. His eyes were dark with hunger and reeked of the element of danger and passion that hung in the air between us. He leaned down and brushed his lips against mine. “Until next time,” he whispered.

He stood there and watched as I jogged to my car. When I turned back, I found him watching me like he knew I’d look back. Arrogance radiated off him as brilliantly as the big-ass diamonds that twinkled in his ears.

God, how I missed that man so badly. No matter how hard I tried to replace him, no man ever could. The last few years, I had run from the memories, the desire, and the love I had for Kobalt Harden, but just like that, I was back to officially missing him. Yet, I couldn’t afford to go there with him again—it’d cost me too much in the past; if only he knew what it had cost me, he might not be willing to go there either.

I wasn’t sure what woke me up. Most nights, I was a sound sleeper, but tonight, something had pulled me out of a deep sleep where my dreams were filled with kisses from Kobalt. A smile tilted my lips. They should make that a perfume, Kisses by Kobalt.

I froze when I recalled where I was and who I was with. I peeled my eyes open and looked at the digital clock on the marble fireplace mantel. It was a little after four in the morning.

The next thing I noticed was Kevin wasn’t in bed, and his side of the bed was unrumpled. The sound of the waves crashing against the beach reminded me that I’d fallen asleep with the balcony doors open. My ears homed in on a strangled noise, and I swung my legs out of bed, grabbed my robe and slippers, and headed downstairs. I prayed that Kevin wasn’t in any trouble.

God’s ears were probably tired from hearing all the praying I’d been doing since I learned about the stupid plan Kevin had gotten himself hooked into. It was bad enough that I learned he was being paid to tamper with the fighters’ food and beverages, but I had caught him in the act of doing it after he had promised he wouldn’t.