The Damaged (The Insiders Trilogy #2) - Tijan by Tijan

A nerve was pounding. A vein stuck out from his neck. He was speaking again, the car sidling up to a stoplight. “My grandfather wanted to hurt me through you, so he was moving to hold a claim over your school, and then therefore over you. After he thought that would be cemented, he wanted to see you again. That fact alone had the sole purpose to scare you, to let you know he could get to you whenever he wanted, wherever you went. I took out both those options because I told your university that if they accepted his thirty million donation, Peter Francis would pull his seventy million donation that they were set to receive later this month. Like I said before, money aside, they do not want to align against myself or your father, and that was them choosing. They chose our side.”

The light turned green and we moved forward.

We weren’t going to the apartment. I recognized our surroundings. We were going to Naveah.

Kash was still speaking. “I lost one of the edges I had on him today. I don’t know if my trip will work out to give me that same edge on him, so that means after we go to Naveah, after I fire your classmate, after I shower with you, I have to keep making moves on him. I have edged out ahead of him and I cannot lose that. I could lose you, but that won’t happen, because I know his last play and that will be to hurt you.”

We were slowing, turning in to the basement parking lot of Naveah. Kash stopped talking until he had parked. The door leading to the elevator inside opened and two guards were standing there.

Kash ignored them and turned to me. His eyes were glittering and fierce. “He wants to destroy me, even more now, and the one way to make sure he shatters me is to touch you. I will never let that happen.”

I was breathless, my stomach was in knots, and I was reeling all at the same time—and yet I wasn’t. I knew Calhoun was coming for me, but seeing Kash in action today changed everything. It all got a bit more real, a bit more surreal, and I reached for his hand.

I had to touch him.

He grounded me.

As soon as my fingers grazed his skin, I felt the roots sink into the ground.

I felt stronger.

I also had a feeling I was getting a few more guards.

I whispered, “I believe you.”

Some of the fierceness lessened, and a softness came over his face. His hand lifted, cupping the back of my head, and his fingers slid through my hair. He tugged me to him. “I need to kiss you, then I’m going to fire your classmate. You can watch if you want.”

I would be delighted to watch him fire Hoda.





EIGHTEEN


Torie greeted us as we stepped off the elevator. She was wearing a black Naveah staff shirt, black skirt, and pumps, holding a clipboard. She flashed me a smile. “Hey, girl.” A professional smile formed and she cleared her throat. She straightened, and I could see the actual employee slide into place. “Miss Mansour is waiting downstairs in the lobby. Should I give you a moment before showing her up?”

Kash’s hand was behind the small of my back. He ushered me in first, as our two guards followed us. One took point outside his office door. The other remained by the elevator. Torie moved ahead, opening his office door, and we followed inside. Kash’s hand touched my back, keeping me in place, and he moved close behind me. He said over my head, “Give us five. Erik is downstairs. Have him walk her up.”

Torie winked at me before leaving.

Once those doors were closed, the club’s music was faint, but still there.

Kash was at my side, his hand on my chin, and he was turning my head. “I need more.” His meaning became clear as his mouth touched mine, and anything I might’ve thought or felt about him having Erik show Hoda up to her firing was wiped away. The usual heat and need and desire took over, and it wasn’t long before standing and kissing me with his head tilted wasn’t enough. He groaned, taking over. Tugging me back to his office, he picked me up, sat me down on his desk, and was between my legs within one second.

Then his front hit mine, his hands were into my hair, holding my head, and his mouth was opening over mine.

Jesus.

I was swept up. My pulse was racing, my blood pumping, and I was panting as his tongue slid inside to meet mine.

One second.

Two.

Thirty.

The kiss kept going.

My legs were wrapped tight around him. Our chests smashed together.

We were doing something, or waiting for something. I was trying to remember, but I forgot everything.

I was unbuckling him, not remembering where we were, when we heard a discreet knock, followed by the elevator arriving.

Kash tore himself away from me, cursing as he did. He barked out, “Hold.”

There was absolute silence outside the door.

Not in here. I was breathing loud and ragged, trying to gather myself, still on his desk. I was half-sprawled over it, and Kash was breathing almost as hard, a few feet away. I watched him, literally watched as he closed his eyes and a wall fell over him. He’d been there with me, right there. Needing. Living. Feeling. Then a knock, the elevator ping, and I was sitting here, cold from the loss of him, and a stranger came down over him. He was pulling on his mask and his face turned granite again. He was hard, and he stared back at me. A flicker of heat speared me from his eyes before he came back to me.

He straightened out my clothes. He pulled down my sweatshirt. I hadn’t noticed when that went up.

He buckled my jeans. I hadn’t realized those were undone.