Free Sparks of Blue (Dark Light Book 2) by Rose Wulf Page B

him?
    ****
    Kai pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes squeezed shut, after Belle’s exit. He wasn’t sure which part of that exchange upset him more. He’d known better than to try apologizing but he hadn’t been able to stop himself. She’d wanted an idea of what was going through his head and that was what had fallen from his mouth. Admitting his feelings for her probably wouldn’t have done any more damage. But, he reminded himself, why did it matter if he’d done more damage or not?
    They weren’t together. They would never be together again. He’d already seen to that. How much more could he damage, anyway?
    He was an idiot, that was all there was to it. He should have lied to appease her instead of causing her more pain. But he wasn’t so sure he could keep lying to her anymore. The irony of which was that, ultimately, that greatly increased his chances of causing her pain. What was that old saying? Screwed if you do, screwed if you don’t. And he had no one else to blame but himself.
    “Did we trade Belle for the nachos?” Gwen asked as she slid into the booth opposite him. “Or did she just go to the bathroom? ’Cause I don’t recommend using the bathrooms here.”
    “She went back to the hotel,” Kai replied absently. At the moment he really resented his current assignment. Not for any fault of Gwen’s but because he wanted nothing more than to go to Belle and plead for a chance to explain himself. Never in his long life had he been so desperate; so willing to fall to his knees and beg. If only it were that simple.
    “You let her go by herself?” Gwen asked, disbelief in her voice. She reached forward and snagged a loaded nacho.
    At this Kai finally met her gaze. “You’re the one the demons are after. Belle will be fine.”
    Gwen bit into her chip, the crunch seeming to echo over the table. “Yeah, but, that one—Creed, right—he seemed kinda hooked on her.”
    Kai’s gut clenched and he looked away. Gwen was right, but he knew he shouldn’t be focusing on Belle’s safety. The consequences that had torn him away from her once would be infinitely worse if his concern for Belle cost them Gwen. He clenched his hand around his glass.
    “Uh, Kai?” Gwen called carefully. “Your drink’s on fire…”
    Kai looked down and noticed she was right. His energy had leaked out in his distracted, frustrated state and the liquid was burning. Pushing the glass away, he leaned back. “Let me know when you’re ready to leave.”
    “Wow,” Gwen replied, capturing another nacho. “The chips only just got here. Hell, we barely just got here. Don’t go blaming me because you two had a fight.”
    Grinding his teeth, Kai said, “I didn’t say you had to rush.”
    “I’ll tell you what,” Gwen began after finishing her latest chip. “I’ll eat these delicious nachos while you tell me the story between you two, and we can go when you’re done.” She paused, pointed a cheesy chip at him, and said firmly, “But it better be the real story, you got that?”
    Kai frowned. “Why do you want to know what story may or may not be between us?”
    Biting into her chip, Gwen pursed her lips in thought. “Because I have to live with you for a while,” she finally said. “And I’m obviously the third wheel.”

Chapter Seven
     
    Kai looked away, his frown deepening. He supposed he could see Gwen’s point, even if he didn’t like it. But he couldn’t go revealing that closely guarded secret, either. Not in a way that could potentially endanger Belle, anyway.
    Finally, he released a breath and said, “There’s not much to tell. We used to be friends. Things happened, and we lost touch for a while.” Hell, when he said it that way it was almost true. Except they’d never been platonic friends.
    Gwen ate another couple of chips, processing his story. He spotted her rejection before she voiced it. “I don’t believe you. Not entirely, anyway. Why can’t you give me the juicy parts?”
    Kai rolled