Kai Villalvazo’s Nemesis (The Kalon Tetralogy #1)

Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

MISSING — ESSIYAS

?? KAI ??

A sense of pride surged through me as Yasmina easily caught up with me on the slopes.

She was a professional snowboarder and it showed in the way she elegantly and swiftly slashed through the snow, using the tail of her board to stay afloat in the deep powder.

We were probably one of the last people considering we stopped overnight.

Last night. Just the thought of what transpired sent blood rushing straight to my cock. Holy shit, I could hardly forget the way she kissed me, the way my skin burned, the way my cock throbbed as she straddled me.

If she had kissed me any further, I was going to fuck her right there, against the couch. And we both knew we’d never cross that line. She was still my biggest rival and a major pain in the ass.

And the girl I couldn’t have.

That kiss was entirely a slip on my part, too, and it would never happen again. But would I do it again if the circumstances were different? Absolutely.

She had tasted exactly how I'd imagined: addictive and so fucking sweet.

I don’t know what the hell I was thinking when I asked her to get onto my lap. I knew I was playing a dangerous game, but I was certain I'd make it out unscathed. I probably couldn’t say the same for dear Yasmina. I was going to reduce her to absolutely nothing.

The stunt she pulled this morning didn’t make things easy, either. I was half-conscious when she drew my face, and I let her, feigning a state of deep unconsciousness. I wanted her to be herself then, regret it later. I didn’t even flinch when she took pictures of me and giggled to herself after posting them.

In fact, I was impressed. She had willingly walked into the devil’s den with no fear whatsoever. That was…bold. No one had ever done that kind of risky shit.

As expected, everyone had the same reaction, hence the reason why the post went viral. I didn’t mind. What she was going to face was going to be far deeper than a mere Instagram post. I'd make sure of it.

I was so used to manipulating many people, but Yasmina was anything but malleable. She proved to have a high IQ that questioned and over-evaluated everything. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine having a rival as intelligent as her.

Her thought process was sharp and quick, and sometimes she caught onto little things that I make the mistake of thinking I’ll get away with.

She was ahead of me in a matter of seconds, swerving and speeding down the slope like it was a hobby. She was good. Really good. But of course, my training had been way too inhumane so I had more skill.

More often than not, I had seen her inspecting my board when she thought I wasn’t looking. I caught her looking at it when I left it by the benches one time, and another when she had lifted the heavy board to get a closer look in the storeroom.

She was too proud to ask about my journey and I knew it.

I chuckled in amusement. Getting a hard flex of ten was like signing your death certificate. Anything could happen at any time, and it would be so sudden and quick, you wouldn't be able to redeem yourself.

Death would swallow you whole in a matter of milliseconds.

And that's the thrill I lived for. Knowing that I was skating on the edge of my demise on a daily basis.

We were close to the finish line, and while the obstacles were so much trickier to manoeuvre, we were both alert and swift with our reactions.

While I was focusing ahead, I suddenly heard a scream. My head whipped in its direction and I smirked when I saw none other than Yasmina sunk in a puddle of water between the snow.

Our race was off piste; hence this was very likely to happen. I halted to a stop then glided towards her, stopping and intaking her features.

God, she was so beautiful. Her feminine elements were so clean and delicate, but also fiery and powerful, too. There was an aura to her that instantly captured any male or female, an enigma that spiked curiosity in the beholder.

Something about her made me want to chase her, hunt her down, and devour her soul till she was nothing more than a mere vessel.

And that was completely new to me. I chased and got bored along the way. Most of my prey were easy to catch, and once I was done with them, I moved onto the next.

I never salvaged my prey. One bite was all I needed to annihilate completely, nothing more. No second chances or impulsive meetups.

But something deep in my gut told me that I was about to have a serious problem with Yasmina.

She shivered as she glared at me, a hint of defiance sparkling in her viper green eyes. Sexy. I didn't even overlook the subtle, delicious scent of her fear as she stared high up at me like I was her god.

I might as well be. Her life depended on me right now.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" A cruel smirk threatened to tug at my lips. So much for drawing my face. Everything had consequences, but hers were dire.

"Does this turn you on? Seeing me in danger?" She scowled deeply.

"Seems you're catching onto my personality, impressive." I folded my arms, the sight of her vulnerable intriguing me indeed.

I slowly crouched till I was close to her pretty face. Her intimidating eyes narrowed further until her pupils nearly disappeared and her lips pursed in irritation.

"I'm about to die of hypothermia, get me out of here." She was shivering slightly as my gaze laser-focused on her.

"Are your manners freezing, too?" I raised a perfectly arched brow before giving her a tiny smirk. "What am I getting out of my nobility?"

"Nothing. I'm your snowboarding partner and if you don't get me out, we're going to lose." If she thought that ultimatum was going to scare me, then she had another thing coming.

"I don't mind, kücük tavsan . In fact, I can just race to the finish line and tell them I lost you. And by the time they organise a search team—" I traced my gloved finger along her smooth cheek, "—you'll be gone."

Pure hatred oozed from her glare, but I couldn't find in me to care. In fact, getting on her nerves was starting to become one of my favourite hobbies.

"You're heartless."

"Nothing new there."

"I hope you burn for eternity," she spat, despite her quivering body.

"For you, I can and will." I almost smiled, but it was more amusement than happiness.

"You make me sick, you're a psycho." She gave me a disgusted stare. Guess my little bunny isn't on the edge of death yet.

"If putting a label on me makes you happy, by all means." I shrugged, getting up and sliding back with my board.

Now the look she made in reaction to the movement is what triggered the beast in me. Raw fear. Her eyes widened and her arms gripped to the snow as though she would somehow pull the ground beneath me.

It didn't work like that. She knew I was capable of leaving her here like I said.

“I suggest you make it quick. In case you didn’t know, I have a little something of yours. A tape of you and one of the boards of director’s son. Remember him? Theo? His father manages the Snowboarding Championships, huh?” She paled to the point where I thought she was dead.

“What will the whole world think if you win this year, hmm? That you fucked Theo to win the Championships even if it was purely your hard work? I can make that very possible, kücük tavsan .” I smirked, showing her a preview of the video where she was very much riding Theo’s dick with her clothes on. Her little skirt concealed a lot, but anyone could tell what they were doing from the movements and facial expressions.

I left out the part where I replayed the video over and over again late at night until her angelic moans were engraved in my subconscious, until I pictured her bouncing on my own cock, until I was fucking my fist and fantasising so much about her that I came so hard and saw stars.

Until I hated Theo to the point of making his life hell from the sidelines. It should have been me she was fucking like that.

I wanted this girl, and I was going to have her. Even if it meant forcing her.

“This happened a long time ago, before I even joined the Championships.” She tried to defend herself, but I smirked. Of course I knew that, but a strategy to make her succumb didn’t favour the truth.

“They don’t know that, and if this leaks, you may not even qualify for the rest of your life. You won't get to redeem yourself from last year’s failure.” I gave her a cruel smirk and for the first time, I saw her unfiltered anger, uncertainty, shock and more importantly, fear.

The Championships were a very sensitive topic for Yasmina. She had been so close to being first place, but she lost control and balance at the very last second. She had been found by a helicopter on the brink of death after everyone realised she was missing. The footage of when she fell had been tampered with and lost when the board tried to look into it.

I couldn’t help but think that it went deeper.

“A dirty, little slut, is what they’ll see in you.” My head unexpectedly whipped to the side upon the powerful impact of her sudden punch. Holy fuck, she was strong.

The scalding burn spread throughout the side of my face and I adjusted my jaw, smirking down at her. The metallic taste filled my mouth immediately upon the unforgiving blow.

I twitched at the thought of her punching me again; it fucking turned me on.

“You don’t get to talk to me that way, son of a bitch.” She spat, and my jaw clenched briefly. Wow, this girl had some serious guts. I decided to provoke her even more; I needed her to knock my fucking teeth out.

“You look so fucking sexy in this video, you rode him so good, baby. What will everyone think? All that effort to win the Championships, is what they’ll say.” I turned up the volume on my phone, her moans sounding loud and clear, echoing in the air. I inhaled deeply to suppress the boner I was about to get.

"Don't do this," she pleaded, her face emotionless when I put it away. Out of all the women I've encountered in my life, she fascinated me beyond logic.

"Depends on whether or not we reach a compromise on my reward. You have thirty seconds to make up your mind," I tilted my head, the same manic look that makes her shiver morphing over my features.

"But that's not fair?—"

"Twenty-five."

"I'm not doing this with you, Vazalo, pull me out," she threatened and I barely flinched a muscle.

"Fifteen. I suggest you make up your mind right away." I took in the way her skin was rapidly paling, and now her quivering lips were blue.

In approximately the next three minutes, she'd be a frozen masterpiece. My masterpiece.

"What do you want?" She glared venomously and I bit my lip.

"That wasn't so hard, now, was it?" I slid my board close to where she was before tapping my chin in thought.

"I h-hate you s-so so much…" Her teeth chattered as she said it, and she was evidently getting worse.

Her layers would never save her from this. I knew just how brutal the cold was. Hell, I'd been on the verge of death before God intervened.

He has saved my ass too many times to count.

"I can't seem to think of anything," I drawled, lowering my merciless gaze down to her.

Her frozen arms were slowly giving in as the snow sunk and she was now slipping deeper into the bone-chilling water. It looked like something from a movie, minus the part where the psychopath pushes the victim in.

But I wouldn't do so. It was too much of a simple way to snuff her life out. There were other interesting ways to do that.

"I'll…d-do anything y-you want," she blurted out, her gaze now begging me for help.

Yasmina finally seemed helpless and I smirked, gripping her hand just as she completely gave in. I had calculated it all in my head and I never missed. I effortlessly pulled her up with one hand until she was standing stiffly by the edge, her eyes void and almost lifeless.

She glanced down at the rippling water below her, the fear seeping into her as she realised that if I let go, she'd definitely die.

"Anything, you say?" I studied her features, and she was slowly returning to normal when her brows furrowed in indignation.

"No— ah!" She screamed when I let go, but in the nick of time, she caught my wrist with both hands. She looked horrified and completely stunned by the fact that I was definitely going to leave her out to die if she didn't comply.

In a swift movement, I stepped out of my bindings then stood over the deep puddle with my legs spread. Carefully, I lowered Yasmina until her back was flat on the water. My hand secured around her throat immediately. A reminder that her life was still in my hands. She looked so damn sexy with all that terror sparkling in her eyes.

She was just inches away from the most tragic moment of her life. My boss would be so proud of me.

"I thought you got the memo that I'm not generous." My eyes skimmed her curvy body, my mind involuntarily fleeting to some unholy scenarios that I needed to purge.

"I did," she said cautiously, as though any wrong move would send her to the afterlife.

That was true. It would be unfortunate, but these things didn't faze me.

"So stop testing my patience. Let's try one more time." My dark voice was malicious enough to make her flinch. "Are you going to do anything I say after I save you here?"

She hesitated for a split second and the longer she took, the deeper I pushed her into the water. Her face was nearly immersed when she nodded frantically, gasping desperately for oxygen.

Beautiful. I fucking loved this. Having the power to grant her air or not. Deciding whether she gets to live or not.

"What was that?" I raised both brows as she swallowed.

"Yes, I'll do anything," she declared. And in a swift motion, I pulled her up and out of the water, then set her as far away from it as possible.

Her resentment rolled off her in waves as she removed some droplets from her shoulder. Her clothes were waterproof so she wasn't wet, save for her hair that stuck to her skin in tantalising patterns.

Regardless, she was shivering violently, and I wasn't sure if it was from anger or the cold. Probably both.

"Get onto my back," I simply said while walking towards her.

She whipped her head in my direction, and if looks could kill, I wouldn't be standing before her. "Don't be ridiculous."

"You seem to have forgotten your declaration a moment ago. Don't make things harder for yourself," I warned in a calm but threatening tone while stepping into my bindings.

My threat seemed to be enough because she stepped out of her bindings then stood behind my gigantic figure. I bent to her height and patiently waited for her to battle her demons and jump on with her board in hand.

She finally did and when my journey to standing straight began, she clung tightly to my body like a leech. Perfect. Her tiny hands on my chest like this. Like I had her life in my grasp.

I secured my muscular arms under her thick thighs then started sliding down the slope. Yasmina seemed to be a bit worried about my speed, but relaxed in my grip when I kept a steady pace.

I couldn't be as aggressive with her on my back like this. She couldn't die yet, not when I haven't decided on what I want from her. Not when I haven’t found the code to her father’s information. She was the only one who had it, but I didn’t know where.

When we got to the finishing line, everyone was waiting for us and cheered when we crossed the line. They could barely hide the shock of seeing Yasmina on my back, but I barely gave a shit.

"Finally. I was getting worried about you two." Coach Karter moved towards us with a clipboard then scribbled something before facing us both.

Yasmina hadn't gotten off my back and was absorbing most of my warmth for herself, squeezing me a bit tighter than before. Her shivering had minimised now and she was much calmer.

"Better late than never."

"Right. Impressive work, Kai and Yasmina, but you are in last place. Mainly because you stopped over for so long, but that was a wise thing to do considering the blizzard," he pointed out, his gaze switching between the two of us.

He was trying to detect if we fucked. I could see it in his busy eyes. My bored gaze was enough to tell him that he was not going to go far with that investigation.

"Yas, oh my, I missed you." Her best friend Yelena moved over to us with all the other girls and she slowly slid off my back. They all hugged her tightly, but that didn't last long because she finally gave in and went unconscious.

Everyone rushed towards her as I calmly watched from a distance.

This season was going to be way more interesting than I anticipated.