All three of them just sat there, and I didn’t know if they were stunned or mad or what, but they definitely weren’t happy.

“I’m sure you fancy yourself the architect of some grand scheme,” I continued, “but the agreement you made moves forward regardless of whether or not you’re ready. Your bride will soon be on her way here. I’ve arranged a suite at the Mandarin for her while we do repairs at the house.”

Kai picked up the envelope, his jaw flexing as he ripped it open, pulled out the paperwork, and began flipping through pages.

“He didn’t make the revisions,” he said, scanning it.

“Nor will he, I dare say. Take it or leave it.”

Kai was cornered, and he knew it. But really, what was the problem? He knew how to get on the twelfth floor now. He didn’t need the hotel, and he didn’t want any connection to the Torrance family. Why not just back out? Why had he agreed in the first place?

“If I don’t sign, it’s open season on Damon,” he warned. “Michael, me, Will, Rika…we’ll handle it, and we’ll do it any way we like.”

I nodded, understanding. If he didn’t sign, Damon would have no promise that he’d be welcome back in the city. If he came home, they might go after him.

“But if I don’t sign,” he said, his voice lower, “you’ll leave.”

I’ll leave? Is that what was binding him to this stupid agreement?

I saw the lump move in his throat.

He didn’t want me to go.

And I’m not sure how much I wanted to anymore, but that contract couldn’t make me stay if I really wanted to leave. He had to know that. I was only here at Gabriel’s behest.

“I can leave any time I want,” I reminded him.

“You would go back to him, wouldn’t you?”

I dropped my eyes, not wanting to have this discussion and especially not wanting to have it in front of his friends.

His voice was eerily calm. “Do you want me to sign it?”

“Yes,” I gritted out. “I want Damon home.”

He watched me, his eyes hard, but he didn’t make any other move. The guys listened silently.

“I woke up last night, wanting you again,” he said.

My heart pumped harder, the heat of embarrassment rising to my cheeks.

Leaning back in his cushioned chair, he drew in a deep breath. “I fucked up, guys,” he said, this time to his friends.

Michael looked over at him. “We want what we want, right?”

Kai shook his head at me.

So, Damon wasn’t the only goal here. Somewhere along the way, it had become about me, too. Gabriel made me work for Kai, so I did. But no contract, no Banks.

“You wear his clothes,” Kai said to me. “You barely eat. He controls your freedom, your food, your friendships…. What do you want, kid? If you were him, if you were a man, what would you do? What would you take?”

I shot off, rounding Will’s chair and came up next to Kai. Leaning down, I snatched the contract from the table and one of his fountain pens, flipping to the final page. I quickly scrawled Kai Mori in his damn near-exact handwriting as I’d seen on other documents at the dojo.

Throwing the pen down, I flipped the contract back into place, slid it into the torn envelope, and handed it to him.

Let’s end this. I was calling his bluff. Call off this idiotic agreement and let me go, or give the papers to Gabriel and let my brother come home.

“Now you have a slave until your wedding,” I challenged him. “What will you do with me? Order my clothes off right here and bend me over the table, big boy?”

He took the envelope, a bitter grin on his lips. “Nah. That’s nice and sweet. Something I’ll do to the new little wife,” he taunted. “My toys get a little more wear and tear.”

I heard Will snort to my left and then he blew out a breath. “Damn.”

Michael ran a hand over his face, looking exasperated, and Kai just stared at me. He stood, picking up his jacket from the chair and rolling back down his sleeves.

“Get to the dojo,” he ordered me. “It’s going to be a long day.”

Hours later, and I was sweltering. He was working my ass off.

After I’d dealt with the plumber and two contractors who both told me a year was a reasonable estimate for that piece of shit hovel Kai lived in, I’d made it back to the dojo to spend the rest of the fucking day dealing with grunt crap. A washing machine exploded, some dumbass Storm player friend of Michael’s dropped his cell phone in the toilet, a chick on her fourth aikido class this week puked in the lobby, and why the fuck was I dealing with this bullshit?

Kai was pissed, and I kept talking myself out of walking out today. No one could keep me here, and I wasn’t bound to a stupid contract. I told myself it was for my brother. Sit tight and just breathe until it was time.

I told myself I wouldn’t let Kai win. He was trying to push me, and my pride was at stake.

And I told myself I had a duty. I’d made a commitment to Gabriel’s house, and I would not bend.

But the truth was, I had nowhere else to go. I’d gotten a paycheck today. A real check, made out to Cash for more of a wage than I made in a month with my father. If I left now without another plan, I was going to be alone. Gabriel wouldn’t take me back if I broke the deal, and I’d be out of the loop, unable to be Damon’s eyes and ears any longer.

I had every reason to stay.

But my temper wasn’t made any better when Rika and Alex walked in while I was mopping up chunks off the floor, their rivers of hair, hundred-dollar perfume, and cute short shorts in sixty-degree weather amplifying all the shit I was feeling.

Especially my jealousy.

Every inch of Kai that touched me last night had touched her once.

I’d always resented her. From the moment I’d first heard about her, Michael, and Kai in the steam room at Hunter-Bailey. But things were different now. My attachment to Kai was growing, and every moment he and I were in the same room and he wasn’t touching me made me long for him more.

I hated that they saw each other every goddamn day. I could barely contain my hatred as I stared at her back as she walked to the locker room.

I finished tossing the dirty towels into the washer, and I charged out of the laundry room, shoving the swinging door so hard it hit the wall.

It was time to go home. I needed a break and a nice, long walk away from here.

I headed into the office to tell Kai, but he wasn’t there. I was about to leave and look for him, but the landline on the desk started ringing. I quickly picked it up.

“Sensou.”

“Who is this?” A guy asked, sounding confused.

“Who’s this?” I shot back.

“Oh. Banks,” he said, finally placing my voice. “It’s Michael. Where’s Kai?”

I took the cordless and drifted into the hallway, looking lazily left to right. “Walked off for a few minutes, I guess. Can I give him a message?”

“No. I don’t trust you, remember?”

I laughed under my breath, strolling farther down the hallway. “That’s wise of you, Michael. You’re learning.”

But I stopped, seeing Rika and Kai in the lobby. I remained hidden in the hall, watching them chat. The sternness that always hardened his eyes into the look of a perpetual student was gentler now. Relaxed.

It was hard to breathe.

He stood too close. Smiled too softly at her and touched her arm too long.

“But you trust Kai?” I asked Michael, still staring at them. “With all of your treasures?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

I shook my head, watching as Kai made his way for the Great Room and Rika came my way, back down the hallway.

I turned, relaxing into the wall and looking down as she passed. She disappeared into one of the workout rooms.

I cleared my throat. “Nothing,” I said. “I’m bored. Any message or not?”

He didn’t say anything.

“Fine, I’ll tell him you called.”

“Wait.”

I stopped, putting the receiver back to my ear. “Yes?”

I heard his sigh on the other end, but the guy clammed up again all of a sudden. I waited, hearing only silence.