Burned » Kai Parker

8

Kai's POV

An incessant ringing tore me from my slumber, causing dreams of full, red-lipsticked mouths and long-lashed brown eyes to hastily evaporate.

"Jesus fucking Christ," I groaned, slapping a hand against the nightstand to feel for my phone. Once I got a grip on it, I jammed my thumb onto the answer button without bothering to check the caller ID. "What?"

"Don't tell me you're still in bed, Malachai," my father answered gruffly.

I tiredly sat up to prop my back against the headboard and lazily pulled my phone away for a brief moment to check the time. "Yeah, I am. Because it's six in the morning and sleeping is kind of a thing people do at that time."

"Yes, people. Average people. And you're a coven leader. I expect you to be on top of things."

I roughly rubbed a palm over my eyelids, feeling the irritation of being jarred awake being explosively fueled by my stick-in-the-ass father. "Feel like the memo hasn't reached you yet, Dad, so let me refresh your memory. I don't take my duties lightly, and I sure as hell don't need to be told how to execute them. I scheduled the counsel's final meeting to go over the contenders for nine a.m. sharp. And it's still three hours before that deadline, so I'm going to hang up now, and I'll see you three hours from now. We clear on that?"

He grumbled on the other end. "It would be wiser to–"

"Ah-ah." I chuckled dryly. "Way too many words coming out of your mouth right now. I really just need to hear one."

Silence, more silence, and then– "Fine. See you at nine."

Once he hung up, I fell back onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling through half-lidded eyes. Sleep was refusing to return to me, even for just one more damn hour, thanks to the unceremonious wake-up call I'd received from the bane of my existence. Just what I needed on the most critical day of this weekend; to be a dazed and confused leader, stumbling through vital meetings with a foggy head.

Deciding I'd rectify the issue later with a particularly strong cup of coffee to go with a hearty breakfast, I reluctantly abandoned my mattress to start up my morning routine in the bathroom.

After brushing my teeth, I stood under a hot shower, half-asleep and frustrated as fuck.

My dreams were hard to recall in vivid and entirely sensical detail, but one thing I could bring to memory were the various images of Eva, up close and personal, like she'd been at the bar last night. It was like the universe had been having a good laugh at my expense, when I walked in to unwind from the taxing nature of the final trial day and found her there.

Seriously, of all the fucking bars in Portland? Maybe she was my punishment for the evils I'd committed as a full-time sociopath, popping up at every corner and rudely invading my brain.

To make it worse, Carter had been flirting with her and that had my blood simmering to a boil for reasons that I couldn't be damn sure of. All I knew in that moment was that I needed to intervene, and I did so, impulsively.

The low cut top she'd been wearing ran through my mind now, maddening as the hot water steamed over my skin. I had fought a battle to keep my eyes level with her alluring brown ones, and ultimately lost, when she made a subtle movement that drew them downward instantly. I knew she caught me looking, her face didn't hold back the awareness, but I hadn't even been able to summon the presence of mind to be ashamed.

With one palm pressed firmly against the shower tile, I sharply turned the shower nozzle toward the right. Hot water morphed into cold, icy sheets beating down on my back and shoulders and trickling down further.