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Almost

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I changed the chapter name.

Chapter 11: Almost (Rose's POV)

No matter how hard I thought about it, I couldn't come to any conclusions, and one question haunted me like the fucking plague. 

Why Kai Warner? 

The animosity between our families had been passed down from generation to generation, it was a legacy so how the hell could Kai's father, how could my father willingly and voluntarily initiate an alliance? And why now? 

The Warners and Chens had come to a civilized solution to the enmity between both families several years ago. 

It was an unspoken rule: We never interfered in each other's deals or sabotaged one another. But everything was fair in love and war, everything was fair and square as long as it was a competition but we were taught to accept our defeats gracriously and our success with gratitude. 

It was always about being better than them. My father would never in a million years let an opportunity to belittle Adrian Warner pass by. How on earth could he possibly be willing to call a truce? How the fuck did he expect me to marry Kai? 

Letting out a soft groan as I entered my apartment, I dropped the keys into the glass bowl by the door and collapsed on the living room couch, my heels falling off as I let my feet hang off the armrest. Blinking, I lay there in silence, staring at the ceiling. 

What the hell am I going to do? How am I going to get out of this mess? 

The more time that passed, the deeper I fell into this, and the less likely my freedom became. 

What if I really couldn't escape this? What if I, ultimately, had no choice but to be shackled to a man I barely knew in the guise of a marriage? And all for what? Business? An alliance that would help my father? 

Sighing deeply, I let my eyes fall shut. "God, help me," I muttered under my breath. Shaken out of my thoughts by the ringtone of my phone, I fished it out of my purse and answered the call from an unknown number. "Hello?" 

"Rose?" 

I paused in doubt before warily replying, "Yes... who is this?" 

"It's Nick," he answered. 

I shot up, swinging my legs off and sitting upright on the couch. "Nick," I said, surprised, "hi." 

"Hi," he chuckled softly. 

"How did you get my number?" I asked in confusion. I couldn't recall having enough time to give it to him. 

"Strangely enough, from my mother," he replied hesitantly. 

"Right," I laughed, "that makes sense... considering how we met," I added awkwardly, closing my eyes and dropping my head forward as my body instinctively cringed at my own behavior. 

What is wrong with me? 

"I was wondering if you would like to have dinner with me tonight," he invited. "I would love to take you out." 

Pausing, I thought about it for a minute. I had no reason to refute him. 

He was the one and only man I had a pleasant experience with over these past few weeks. Nobody else felt worth my time. Frankly, Nick was my only hope at the moment. 

"Sure," I agreed, "dinner tonight sounds great." 

"Why don't I pick you up at eight?" 

"I'll send you my address." 

"I'll see you tonight, Rose," he said. 

"Bye, Nick." Hanging up, I dropped the phone beside me and stood on my bare feet. Oddly enough, I felt a twinge of excitement within me. Perhaps... there was hope after all, even if it was just a teeny, tiny ounce of it. 

It was like a match suddenly lit inside of me that was doused out immediately the moment thoughts of Kai Warner snuck up on me. 

Why did he sit through the date instead of walking off? Hell, why did I? 

I couldn't help but wonder how many other blind dates he'd been on, torturing other women. He must have been on another blind date when I saw him at Nova while I had dinner with Anastasia. He seemed to be enjoying that one just fine... He truly was a jerk whenever it came to me, that asshole. 

It was purely out of curiosity, but a part of me couldn't help wondering if things would be different if Kai wasn't a Warner and I wasn't a Chen. Truth be told, I couldn't imagine things any other way. It wasn't just his last name that made me despise him. 

Kai was difficult through and through. He was arrogant, thought far too highly of himself, and had his head so far up his own ass that he often turned a deaf ear to anything anyone else had to say. He was conceited to think he was always right. He was awful, inconsiderate, and insensitive to every single person. 

How could anyone tolerate him? But... surely, there was a part of him that made him slightly tolerable sometimes. I wasn't exactly a stranger to it. 

People often find themselves drawn to the very things they are forbidden to have. Years ago, I found myself rather... intrigued by Kai—dare I say, almost infatuated. 

When I was younger, the curiosity killed me. I never understood why I wasn't allowed to speak to him, to get to know him. Often, I found myself watching him even in a crowded room, hoping to get a glimpse of who he truly was. 

But Kai was always so cold, his mask firmly in place. 

I never truly knew who Kai was, and I still hadn't quite figured him out. Not even after what happened... or rather almost happened. 

Chatter and rich laughter echoed between the walls, fading into dullness the further away from the main hall I got and the closer I got to the public library of The Grayside Estate, one of New York's prestigious and elite social clubs since 1967. 

It was built of rich family brunches, weekend golf and polo games, tennis matches, and lazy afternoons full of conversation. 

A bored sigh escaped me as I roamed through the library aimlessly, checking random books on random shelves, desperately seeking something to entertain myself. Leaning against one of the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, my eyes scanned the book spines, hoping to find an eye-catching title under the warm and glowing amber lights. 

My eyes darted to the corner of the shelf as I saw movement out of the corner of my eye, and the most startled gasp escaped me as someone stepped out of the darkness and into view. 

A hand flew to my chest as I took a few breaths, and then a surge of annoyance washed over me as I recognized who it was. "What the hell are you doing here?" I huffed, my body growing stiff. 

Kai rounded the shelf and stood across from me, his stance mirroring mine as he leaned back. "Shouldn't I be asking you that question?" he replied. 

I stared at him wordlessly. 

Turning around briefly, he placed the book in his hands back on the shelf and then faced me again, adjusting the silver-rimmed rectangular glasses sitting on his nose bridge. "What brings the birthday girl here? To hide away in the library at her own party," he mocked, folding his arms across his chest. 

"I don't remember inviting you," I bit out, my eyes narrowing. 

"You didn't," he responded, "I was already here before your little party started. Your turn." 

I watched him warily as he shifted his weight. "My turn to what?" 

"I answered your question. It's your turn to answer mine," he said. "What brings you here?" 

Taking a breath, I tipped my head back. "I just... needed a break. From all the fake smiles and greeting strangers bullshit." 

The corner of his mouth twitched in amusement. "Is the little princess tired already?" he mused, pushing his glasses further up his nose with his middle finger. 

I scoffed at the immaturity of his gesture. "God, seriously, who let you in here?" I muttered, rolling my eyes at him. 

"Careful, sweetheart. I wouldn't recommend being so rude to a guest of yours." He took a step forward, easing his glasses off and hanging them on the collar of his disheveled white button-up. As he hitched his sleeves up to his elbows, he got even closer, lifting an arm to brace it on the shelf behind me. "It's not a good look," he smirked down at me. 

"Last I checked, you weren't invited. Hence, you're not my guest, Warner," I retorted, tilting my head back to meet his gaze. "It's a well-known fact that you're a dick," I added with a shrug. 

"Debatable," he argued, tilting his head to one side as his eyes traveled across my face, glimmering with amusement. 

"Despite that," I continued, "aren't you going to wish me? I'm not a teen anymore. I'm finally twenty." 

"Hmm," he hummed in understanding, "there goes my final reason to call you little princess, right?" 

"Mm-hmm," I nodded. "I'm not a little girl anymore." 

He took a small breath, shifting the weight from his hand to his elbow, leaning in closer. "No, you are not," he said quietly, scanning my face. 

I caught the way his eyes dipped to my chest as it rose and fell with short, heavy breaths. My heart was racing beneath my ribs, and I didn't know why. I couldn't tell if it was screaming at me to run in the other direction or if it was something else entirely, something more magnetic. 

His eyes darted back up to mine. "Am I making you nervous, sweetheart?" he smirked, leaning into me. 

"Why would you?" I asked instead, holding onto that confident facade for dear life. "The only thing you're successfully doing is pissing me off. You're crashing my birthday party, and you didn't even have the decency to bring me a gift." 

"A gift," he echoed. "And what if I tell you to bargain that for a wish, Ms. Chen?" 

Ms. Chen? That was a new one. I'd lost count of how many nicknames Kai picked up and dropped over the years. 

"A wish?" I asked in surprise. "Are you sure you want that? It gives me an awful lot of power over you," I taunted, pushing off the shelf and arching into him. When he didn't answer me, I lifted a brow at him sharply. "Well?" 

He remained silent, simply staring at me. His lips parted ever so slightly as I lifted a hand to trace his collar. 

"There is nothing only you could possibly give me, Warner." 

"Are you sure about that, Rose?" he asked. 

My breath audibly hitched, a short gasp escaping me as I felt his fingers trace my hip over the fabric of my dress. It grew even harder to breathe, as if all the air in this room was taken away from me. I didn't dare to look away from him despite the way my heart thudded at the thought of what he would do, even though anybody could walk in at any minute. 

His grip tightened as he began gathering my dress, teasing the hem up from my ankles to my thighs, slipping a hand beneath the fabric to touch my bare skin. 

"What do you think you're doing?" I whispered, almost breathless. 

"Consider it a birthday gift," he mumbled, tracing the waistband of my panties. A soft chuckle escaped him as I gasped at the faintest brush of his thumb over my clit, and despite his lips repeatedly brushing against mine, that distance was one he refused to close. 

I leaned in recklessly, desperately eager for more, but he only pulled away. 

"I can't let you kiss me," he said softly, "that's out of bounds." 

Struggling to stifle my moans as he slipped his hand into my panties, I barely got out the words, "And what you're doing to me under my dress isn't?" 

"I couldn't help it," he whispered, "you look irresistible tonight." 

A defiant moan crawled up my throat as he slipped two fingers inside me, and my head naturally fell back against the shelf as my eyes rolled shut. 

"Keep it down, sweetheart," he mused, his fingers working faster inside of me. 

When his thumb teased circles against my clit, I couldn't take it any longer. "Kai," I gasped, my knees practically buckling as an orgasm rolled through me, and my body completely fell into his. 

Suddenly, the shrill echo of the library doors opening interrupted us. I was startled enough to snap out of whatever post-orgasmic haze I was in, but Kai didn't seem to care because he definitely took his sweet time withdrawing from me. 

"Kai," I rushed out, bracing my hands against his chest. 

"Rose? Are you in here?" I heard Dom call out. 

Kai took a step back, increasing the distance between us while I fixed up my dress. 

"Yeah!" I called out. 

"Where are you? Everyone's waiting for you. The cake's ready!" 

"I'll be right there!" 

All I could think at that moment was: What the fuck just happened? Why didn't I stop it? Why the fuck did I... like it? 

A minute passed as I stared at Kai, not knowing how to react before deciding I didn't have time for this. Adjusting my dress one final time, I moved to rush back out, only to stop as his hand clasped mine, tugging me back in place. 

"Happy birthday," he said with a light smirk before disappearing behind the shelves once again. 

We never spoke of that night again. Ever. In fact, the next day, we went right back to pretending nothing happened. 

I'd never admit to Kai or to anybody, even to myself, but that 'almost' haunted me every night, even today. 

My first fucking orgasm, and the man giving it to me was Kai goddamn Warner... 

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Chapter 11

I wasn't planning on writing smut or writing a chapter this long

but enjoy it

next ch: win