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

Chapter 28

CHAPTER 28

COMPLETE MESS — 5 SECONDS OF SUMMER

? YASMINA ?

M y room was closer to the kitchen, and I woke up to the aroma of freshly baked cupcakes wafting by.

Who the hell was making cupcakes at two in the fucking morning?

The ambient lamp by my bedside illuminated the room so I found it easy to slip out of bed and pull Kai’s hoodie on. Okay, maybe I was obsessed with the warm texture of the material, or to be precise—his delicious, masculine smell on it.

I tiptoed to the door and opened it, the aroma growing stronger by the minute. Could it be the chef preparing for breakfast? Or did Kayden make a late night, early morning order for food? He did that a lot.

I walked down the corridor to the kitchen, and I was nearly frightened by the huge, masculine figure that swiftly moved through the kitchen, gathering ingredients and mixing things I would never understand.

I leaned back, secretly watching him in his undisturbed element. I watched as he whipped some cream then put it into a piping bag with his spatula. He had a bit of flour against his unscarred cheek and it was such a revealing moment to see the usually flawless Kai smudged with imperfections.

He was doing normal people things. A rare sight.

It was the first time I was seeing him so concentrated and passionate about something as he intricately piped a rosette over the cupcake. It looked so tiny and delicate in his massive hand, but the art in which he decorated each and every one of them was fascinating.

I watched him pace through the kitchen for a while, absorbing and analysing his behaviour when he was alone. He hardly had any expression on his handsome face, but his heterochromatic eyes said it all. Baking meant everything to him and he was probably the happiest when he was doing so.

His abnormally giant physique was relaxed and his stalwart, powerful muscles contracted slowly, as though his enemies were at bay. His golden eye was even bright as he arranged the cute cupcakes on the rack.

They all looked the same, but I saw his lips tug slightly when he took eight red cupcakes out of the baking tray. My heart clenched and I suppressed a gasp of delight. He whipped some cream cheese, icing sugar, and butter to make some frosting, then filled the cupcakes with it.

I gripped the hoodie until my knuckles were pale, and my heart squeezed harder when he took the plain whipped cream and dyed it to a light grey colour, moving to the bright lamp to check if he got the correct shade every now and then.

He was thinking of me.

I clearly remembered telling him that I didn’t like vanilla and preferred red velvet, just to spite him.

Kai finally decorated the red velvet cupcakes with the grey icing then inspected them for a while. He took the best one then after a while of silence, he walked in my direction, completely unaware of my presence. I moved deeper into the shadows and watched in awe as he walked down the corridor.

I followed him carefully, and I was more than surprised when he stopped before my door. He held up his hand to knock, but paused, his fist dissolving as he ran a flat hand down the door. He sighed, bowing his head before chuckling. He was way taller than the doorway, so he obviously needed to duck to face the door.

“You're pathetic,” he whispered, shaking his head. I couldn’t help but observe him with so much curiosity, my heart nearly bursting out of my chest. “This is why everyone hurts you.”

I couldn’t help but feel deeply sorry for him. I knew Kai had some dark secrets and trauma, but witnessing him openly crave for love but believe he didn’t deserve any, made my chest bloom with inexplicable pain.

“Fuck it,” he murmured, knocking against my door four times. He paused in hopes of a response, then added another four.

Of course, his OCD tendencies favoured the number eight. I didn’t know why, but it was serious. His shoulders slumped a little when no response came, and he must have contemplated opening the door himself but decided against his psychopathic tendencies with a curse.

He stared at it for a while before shaking his head again. For the first time, he looked uncertain. Lost. Defeated. He was my nemesis, but he was human. He had found solace in our rivalry and it seemed that it was the only genuine attention he had gotten in a long while, especially from a girl.

It took him eight seconds to wait for a response before he retreated, the tiny cupcake in hand. He had been by my door because he had finally made my favourite flavour and used my favourite colour for the icing, and as he passed my hidden figure, I realised that he had a heart somewhere.

Then Kai stopped, his body pulling taut instantly. His defined muscles coiled one by one, like an enticing domino effect. He definitely sensed my energy when he passed by.

Fucking shit, he could sense a presence now. He was doing that math and analysis again. And he was so still that I feared my heartbeat would give me away.

He didn’t flinch, and my heat pulsated when he moved back an inch. And as if things couldn’t get any worse, he was now inhaling the atmosphere. Yeah, now I was fucked.

“I know you're there, kücük tavsan . Just come out.” His low, calm voice spoke and I covered my mouth, emerging from the darkness with a sheepish grin.

“Surprise.” He swerved then tilted his head down to stare at me. His eyes were shuttered now, as if he never approached my door.

“I didn’t know you were this sneaky. You almost got me, but you smell like me so that was a slip on your part.” He shrugged with a smirk, and I slapped my forehead when I realised that my stupid ass was in his hoodie.

Of course, I hadn’t thought about that.

“It's too cosy, I can't help it,” I whispered, making sure we didn’t wake anyone. My gaze went to the cupcake in his hand and he held it towards me.

“Try it,” was all he said, and he pushed his hands into his pockets when I took it.

“Nervous, Vazalo?” I teased, inhaling the rich whiff of the red velvet.

“Do I look nervous to you?” He raised his brows, and I noticed the way his thumb rapidly tapped his knuckle when he removed the left hand from his pocket.

A frequent habit whenever he was overthinking, upset, anxious, or collecting his thoughts and emotions.

I bit into the cupcake, unable to resist a moan when the fluffy delicacy fused with the cream cheese frosting and icing. I shut my eyes briefly, falling into a different universe of bliss before staring up at Kai.

He looked very satisfied with my reaction.

I nodded in approval, taking another heavenly bit with a soft hum. Damn, he was so good at this. It was the best red velvet I'd ever tasted, and all the unique, saturated flavours melted on my tongue.

“If you don’t want to be fucked against the wall where anybody can see, then I suggest you tone the sex sounds down.” His dark, slow voice made me shiver slightly and I giggled in response.

He followed me to the kitchen and I struggled to get onto the counter until I felt his hand push me up by my thigh. It was so quick and effortless, I had to hold back my surprise. These little gestures from him made my heart flutter.

“So, any reason you baked cupcakes at two in the morning?” I questioned him as he stood before me. I was on the counter, but I still looked up at him.

“Insomnia,” he simply replied. His breath hitched when I mixed some of my red velvet cupcakes with the ordinary ones on the rack. He had obsessed over their order when I was spying on him, and now I was here to reverse everything.

“I dare you not to rearrange or colour-code them.” I winked, knowing very well that he was starting to feel very disturbed by the sight.

Science said that his obsessive habits were a method of assuring the person they had control over something, and Kai definitely loved controlling.

He exhaled deeply, his jaw ticking eight times before he teared his gaze from the disorder. I watched as Kai internally battled his demons, his hand clenching slowly before he accepted the situation and stepped away from me.

“What inspired you to start baking?” I gave him an interested look, and he contemplated his response for a while.

“My mom loved baking when I was little. She made me all sorts of meals and snacks, especially bread with melted butter,” he explained, his voice a little softer.No wonder he baked the best bread.

“That’s so sweet. So she’s the one who taught you?” I tilted my head and his lips twitched.

“Yeah, when I was around six. I always used to try and avoid her, but she always found ways to drag me to the kitchen and we would use her hand-written recipe book.” He chuckled softly to himself. “She was my biggest role model, her persistence in getting a recipe right.”

My mouth made an ‘O’ shape when the past tense signalled me something. “She’s?—”

“Gone? Yeah. But good news, I still have the recipe book.” He gave a half-shrug, and it was clear that he didn’t want to go too deep into the topic.

“That’s great, at least you have a piece of her with you,” I whispered and his eyes flickered to me. They hooded a little as he scanned my face, then my body.

Yep, his mind had definitely diverted.

And so to provoke him, I leaned forward and murmured seductively.

“You're suddenly quiet, Vazalo.” I tilted my head curiously at him, sitting up on the counter. “What's on your mind?”

The tiny, venomous sliver of a smirk that briefly tugged his lips should have scared me, but my heart began to pulse uncontrollably fast, preparing me for his next, unpredictable move.

In a slow, calculated movement, he moved towards me, swift and slow like a predator ready to devour its prey. His left eye reflected a lipid, deep amber colour, while the other was a cold, mercury-like sensation that made my skin prickle with anticipation.

His shoulders were massive and beautifully sculpted to scrupulous perfection, I could hardly fathom the fact that he was real.

I sharply inhaled when he stopped before me, staring down at me with an intimidating glint of desire reflecting in his destructive pupils that swallowed any colour he previously had in his eyes. Holy shit, I hated the fact that I was so attracted to him.

My rival.

“Do you really want the answer to that, kücük tavsan ?” His deep, velvet murmur encased in hot sex enveloped me like a delicately soft piece of silk fabric; I fought the urge to extract his beautiful tenor and savour it within my own mouth.

I didn’t back down, bracing my shoulders despite the quivering of my pussy beneath the thin, soaked fabric under my shorts. He moved so close, the oxygen thinned out in the atmosphere until his existence was all I could inhale. Citrus, ice, man…

His dark eyes trailed down and I followed his heated gaze, blushing when it settled on the most intimate part of me. His large, calloused hand moved to graze over my thigh and my breath hitched at the action, feeling the sparks of his touch searing my pores bit by bit.

His warm breath fanned the small of my ear before he whispered, “Your pussy is the only thing constantly on my mind.”

When I didn’t respond, he continued, “How saccharine you taste, your venom on my tongue—what a sweet, soulful death it would be, hm?”

I was a hundred percent blushing right now, and to make matters worse, I was dripping so much that my panties were dampening quickly.

“Let’s play a game.” His silver eye signalled me that he had lost his sanity now, and that we were back to square one.

“I'm guessing games are the only way of involving me in your dangerous schemes.” I sighed and his cruel smirk widened.

“You're a fast learner, aren’t you? Now that you know, let’s start,” he whispered against my lips when he moved forward, trapping me with his robust arms and broad shoulders that seemed to be growing bigger with each passing minute.

“This is not good.” I bit my lip as a sadistic glint flickered in his eyes.

“We both know you like bad boys, baby.” He winked before whispering, “We’re going to play hide and seek. You hide, and I’ll seek. You get a head-start, but don’t let me catch you, little bunny. Because if I do, your pussy is all mine.”