Contract Marriage with My CEO Boss (Kylan and Katrina)
Chapter 36

Chapter 36

It was no surprise when Kylan chose a nice restaurant near the heart of the city, for lunch. Katrina climbed off his bike and took his hand by second nature, walking with him into the restaurant. She was guided to a table in the far corner, and she let go of Kylan's hand,

shimmying out of her jacket and scarf and draping them over her chair.

Kylan didn't say anything, and she didn't either. She both looked over

dover the

menu, ordering both tea and water alike when the waiter car

came by She looked at Kylan, studying his face as he kept his eyes trained on the menu. She noticed how his brow furrowed slightly, and how the corner of his mouth sat in what she was certain was a near-permanent downturn

She took record of his black hair as it nearly fell into his eyes, and the resisted the urge to push it back for him. He looked nice, peaceful even, were it not for the frown on his face.

She decided that she liked seeing Kylan outside of the office and in the real world. The real world that he could choose to be a part of, and not the role of CEO that she wondered how he was coaxed into.

She had questions for him, of course, she did. There was so much she didn't know about Kylan. So much that she wanted to know about him. She picked through her mind in search of an appropriate thing to ask him.

"Have you always lived in New York City?" she decided to ask. It seemed like a relatively safe thing to ask, and she took a drink of her water while she waited for him to respond.

Kylan glanced at her for a moment, before he looked back down at the menu. "I'm originally from Rhode Island," he surprised her by saying "Bristol" he added.

Her eyes lit up and she felt herself smile at him. "You're from a small town, too?" she asked him excitedly.

Kylan rolled his eyes and nodded. "I am. I moved to New York after my mom uh, died. I lived with Keith before I started Ross Corporation with Ryan," he told her, grabbing hold of his tea and taking a sip. He made a dissatisfied noise that she chose to ignore. "What made you want to start Ross Corporation?" she asked him, happy that he was talking to her like this, Casually, when there wasn't to really be talking other than that she wanted to talk. any reason

sickly tried to redirect the

She saw Kylan visibly tense, and she knew she had asked the wrong thing. Tm sorry, Sir. It's none of my business," she quickly conversation, "I think I'll get the filet mignon, what about your" she added licking her lips and staring at her own menu. "Justice," Kylan said quietly,

y, his voice impossibly solemn now

She looked at him, but found he wasn't looking at her, but rather out the window at the front of the restaurant. He seemed to be far away, though. he still sat at the table with her.

"Justice, Sir?" she asked him, her own voice shaking with nerves. She knew this was entirely uncharted territory, and she needed to t tread carefully. "Justice, Kate Kylan turned his gaze to hers and she frowned at him. He looked.. lost, almost. And sad. Sadder than she had ever seen him look. "I see." She took another drink of water in an attempt to wet her now dry throat. "Did you replace the justice you were looking for?" she ventured to ask

Kylan clasped his hands under his chin and bummed quietly. "No, I never have he told her softly, his voice a mere mumble now

She frowned at him. "I'm sorry, Sir, I hope you know how many people you've helped with your drones, though. That and the security cameras, oh, and even the doorbell cameras. You've undoubtedly helped solve and prevent several crimes, both with the stealth drones and cameras."

It felt important to lift K Kylan up, to remind him of his incredible accomplishments. All of which was true, too.

Kylan scoffed and shook his head, sighing and sitting up straighter in his chair. "You sound like Ryan," he told her, raising an eyebrow at her She couldn't help but laugh at him. "Maybe Ryan has a point, then," she said with a shrug

The corner of Kylan's mouth twitched into a shadow of a smile, just for a second. Just for a fleeting moment, and then it was gone. But it was enough to make her smile brightly in return.

-0-0-0-

They spent the rest of their meal talking aimlessly, mostly swapping stories about growing up in her respective coastal towns. She struggled to picture Kylan of all people, going sailing on the weekends or willingly stepping onto a sandy beach at all. But even so, that's what he told her he used to do,

By the time she was leaving the restaurant, she felt lighter than she had all weekend. She felt happy, even.

"Can I show you something?" Kylan asked her while he handed her her helmet

She cocked her head to the side, eyeing him curiously. "Alright," she conceded

wat and then she was back

nearer. Sure enough, he parked a minute later, and she grinned at him once she was off his

h him. She followed him, smiling to herself all the

prompted her to amule more. When she did come here she always

colorful leaves that covered nearly every bit of dewalk that the traversed over. She

susement or annoyaner, but the truly couldn't tell which one it was

seased him, stepping on a particularly large leaf next and feeling happy when it crunched and broke

ever have Katz" Rylan said, staring at her

ath what was definitely amusement now

proceeded to step on a few more leaves.

the park when Kylan pulled her down a path that opened into an area with a large, empty fountain, no doubt absent of water perparation for the coming winter. There were several benches full of people around her, and she wondered if she might sit on one before Rylan Really and truly smiled.

package of sanitizing wipes from the depths of his jacket pocket and began to wipe down the chairs and subsequent ches

ber thing that relaxes me, yes" he replied, almost sounding embarrassed

would have never assumed you had the patience for something like chess she admited, sining down in one of the chairs while Kylan now wiped

ther one

He shot her a glare but she only smiled at him. He sighed and walked to throw away the used wipes, then came back and spritzed a bit of hand

aruzzer on his hands instead. He offered her some next and she accepted

"Lest talking more playing if you know how?" Kylan asked as he started to set up the chessboard.

I've played once or twice but not since high school," she admitted sheepishly.

Kylan nodde

The expected that kind of response from her. "Il teach you." he offered, looking at her with a new intensity.

And then, be began wiking He spent the next twenty minutes explaining the various rules and pieces of chess, his voice incredibly serious as he spoke. It was rudraning, we couldn't help but take note.

Very rarely, if ever had she ever experienced Kylan be so animated or alive about something. The closest things she could compare has current actitude to were possibly tea or koss Corporation tech. And even then he still didn't seem to be this passionate. She paid close attention the entire time he talked, deciding that she wanted to impress him by doing a good job when it came time to play.

She felt like she had the base gast of the game down by the end of kylan's instructions, though she knew he would easily beat her.

Still she had fun playing with him. She enjoyed watching hun ponder his next move, and she found equal joy in trying to outsmart him, even though it was useless.

She played three games, and he won each time, to no one's surprise. But he wasn't ang about it. In fact, he seemed to be incredibly relaxed.

"She did well. Kate." he praised her as he stood from his chair and adjusted his leather jacket.

She smiled

him again. "Thank you for teaching me she

or told him with sincerity

Kylan nodded once and then took hold of her hand. Together, she began the trek back to his motorcycle.

"When are we visiting her father?" Kylan asked her a while later, just as his bike came into view.

"Our flight is slated for this weekend," she told him, looking at his side profile as she spoke.

10

Chapter 36

"Alright," Rylan said, looking at her for a moment. He let go of her hand, only to then wrap an arm around her waist instead. He pulled her into has side, and she let him

Kylan insisted on walking Katrina up to her door, and she gave up trying to tell him he didn't have to when he flashed her a rather nasty glare,

Hand in hand, she took the elevator. Her mind called back to Friday, and her stomach filled with butterflies against her will.

This wasn't going to be a repeat of that. It wasn't. Sure, she had a surprisingly pleasant time with Rylan today, but the contract still remained. A slip-up was a slip-up, but it wouldn't happen again.

She reached her apartment and Kylan seemed to pause. "Can I double-check the painting?" he asked her quietly.

She searched his eyes for a second, but just as usual, she couldn't read him. "Um, sure. It isn't like you to question your work, though." She let go of his hand and unlocked her door.

As soon as she stepped inside, she was thrown off balance, quite literally.

Her mind needed a second to play catch up, and it was then that she realized Kylan had pressed her against the wall near her front door.

"I'm going to remind you of the contract one more time. It bothers me, Kate. It infuriates me that you had a man in your bed this morning." He was close to her, so close to her And she was nothing but frozen in place while she looked at him with wide eyes. "I told you. Aaron's already engaged with Maine." she managed to stutter out.

Kylan scoffed, his warm breath fanning her face. "You're mine until the contract says otherwise. His words were dripping with dangerous honey that made her toes curl. He then gripped her hip with a firm hand and stepped so that his body nearly stood flush with hers. "I'm not. I'm not yours, Rylan," she reminded him, all sense of formality thrown out the damn window at this point.

For all intents and purposes, you are, Kate. To the world, you're mine. It's binding, this contract. Her signature is on it, is it not?" Kylan echoed her earlier conversation.

She fell herself nodding, and then he reached his hands up and cupped her face gently.

"I'll send you money for today," he breathed, his gray eyes traveling over her face, their depths swirling and storming all the while. Her knees felt weak, so weak.

She shook her head as much as she could in his hold. "No, this wasn't a predetermined date, she told him firmly. She didn't want his money. She didn't.

"I don't care. And with that, Kylan descended on

her.

It was short, it was passionate, and it was filthy. His lips moved aggressively against her own, so much so that it took her breath away completely. He pressed the length of his body to hers as his tongue ravished the inside of her mouth, and she was left wondering when the hell that even started to happen in the first place.

She kissed him back, even through her shock and confusion. She felt emboldened, stepping forward and gripping his hair in her hands. She held him to her, willing him to understand her confusion through this new kiss.

And then all too soon, he pressed his lips to hers more f

to hers more firmly for a moment, and then he pulled away from her.

"I promised she 1 wouldn't do that again, but then she had two men in her fucking bed" Kylan's face was flushed, but his voice was all too

controlled

She gaped at him, not able to speak or maybe e

even move at al

all

"Don't do that again, and I won't kiss you like this," Kylan told her like it was obvious, pulling his phone out of his pocket and doing something with

it

She continued to stare at him, still frozen, though her heart was running a marathon in her chest. She heard her ph

phone chime in her pocket.

"And stop trying to refuse my f*cking money, Kate. It's damn insulting." Kylan told her, putting his phone away and then stepping back over to He placed one, searing kiss, in the middle of her forehead and then opened her front door. "I expect my tea and an overview for the month of November, first thing tomorrow morning," he told her briskly, and then with one last look, he

was

She heard her front door click closed, but she just stared at it.

She was reeling, Reeling and warm and confused. So confused.

kissed her again. And then he repeated it wouldn't happen again in private. And then he talked about her coming workday like he hadn't just

done

of that.

2:46 PM

Chapter 36

Her fingers moved to brush over her lips subconsciously and she closed her eyes.

"Damn it..."