Entangled Chaos (Entangled Duet Book 1)

by C. M. Radcliff

  Kai’s eyes travel up and down my body before resting on mine. The shades of brown swirl in his irises with lust as he picks up on my tone and my body language.

  He’s going to give me a tour, using my body as his map.

  “Right this way.” He gives me a sly smile, gesturing across the room. He laughs lightly as I grab his hand and let him take the lead.

  “So, this is obviously where I sleep,” Kai says as he opens the last door and leads us in. We’re barely in the room when I have my arms wrapped around his neck.

  These weren’t my intentions, but I can’t control the lust and the need anymore.

  My body was made for him to worship and he’s down on his knees, waiting for my command.

  Kai pulls me flush against him and spins me around. His lips find mine as he starts walking us backward until my ass hits the bed. Lightly pushing me onto my back, Kai climbs onto the bed and climbs over top of me until he settles between my thighs.

  Cupping the side of my face, he runs his hand down to the base of my neck and grabs my throat just as his lips meet mine. My thoughts swirl as his tongue dances with mine and he claims me as his.

  But who claims him?

  The thought flies into my mind and ruins it all. Breaking away from him, I glance around the room bringing my eyes back to his. “Did you fuck her here?”

  “Since when are you so jealous?” Kai chuckles, nipping at my bottom lip. “It’s cute.”

  “I’m not jealous, you asshole,” I growl, pushing my palms into his chest. My efforts are futile, and he laughs as he remains solid, hovering over me. “I couldn’t give two shits about who you’ve fucked and where.”

  A deep laugh rumbles in his chest as he lowers himself onto me. “Somehow I don’t believe that.” He smirks before capturing my mouth with his.

  He doesn’t just capture my lips.

  He captured me on a cold winter night, many years ago.

  And he never let me go.

  “I’ll come get you at seven for dinner.” Kai smiles down as he pulls me in for one last kiss.

  His lips gently caress mine before retreating.

  “Seven o’clock,” I agree, stepping onto the elevator.

  Kai’s eyes smile as he watches me and winks just before the elevator doors close. I’m again surrounded by the mirrors and my thoughts as I slowly descend to the first floor.

  Pressing my fingertips to my lips, I smile at the thought of Kai’s mouth on mine. I hadn’t intended on spending the night here with him, but that mouth can be very persuasive.

  I’m lost in my thoughts, thoughts of him and the previous night as I exit the elevator on autopilot. I stop by the valet and give the young man my name and wait absentmindedly for my car.

  Another man pulls up in my car and gets out, holding the door open for me. With a quick thank you, I round the car and slide into the seat. The man shuts the door and I feel the cold metal pressed against my temple.

  “Drive into the parking lot,” my intruder demands in a low voice.

  Without another word, I pull the car out of the drive and into the parking lot. I ease into a parking spot and carefully put the car in park.

  “I see you didn’t listen to a thing Aliana had to say to you,” the man scoffs. “Such a foolish little girl, but then again, you always have been, princess.”

  My body freezes at his words. My breathing ceases to exist.

  Luca.

  “I’ve been watching you for quite some time now.” He pauses and sighs. “I had some faith that you’d listen to Ali, but I was wrong. So, my only option is to take matters into my own hands now.”

  What the fuck?

  The butt of his pistol digs hard into my skin, it would be impossible to move my head to look at him.

  “I need Kai, there’s still hope for him. I don’t need you, but if I get rid of you now, he’ll know.” Luca pauses and pulls the gun away from my head. I chance a glance at him and find him staring at me thoughtfully.

  “The coffee shop,” he starts. “Do you remember that little girl there? The one that was lost?”

  The little girl who couldn’t find her mom. The little girl with a face that I could pick out anywhere.

  Of course, I remembered her.

  I nod slowly, unsure of where he’s going with this.

  “End shit with my son or that little girl will end up like your friends when you were a kid.” He gives me a sinister smile with his eyes as black as night. “You remember what happened to them, right?”

  How fucking dare this motherfucker?

  He has the audacity to threaten the life of a poor little girl.

  To throw my past in my face; the past that he created for me.

  The thought of losing Kai, after all this time, it breaks my heart.

  But that little girl’s eyes linger in my mind and I know what I have to do.

  Luca has my hand and he’s left me no choice.

  “Fine,” I tell him quietly. “I’ll end things with him as long as you don’t touch a fucking hair on her body.”

  “Very well.” Luca smiles. “I knew you’d make the right choice.”

  “Get out of my car,” I demand, my voice barely audible. Luca obeys and opens the door and climbs out.

  Clutching the door, he bends down and his black eyes meet mine again. “Don’t try and fuck me over, Dahlia,” he warns. “I’ll find out.”

  Without another word, he slams the door shut and disappears in the parking lot. I don’t wait around to see where he went and peel out onto the street. My knuckles are white as I grip the steering wheel as I speed home. It isn’t until I pull into my driveway that reality sets in. Pulling into the garage, I put my car in park and drop my head into my hands as the tears flow freely from my eyes.

  I had to let him go again... for the last time.

  Kai

  GLANCING DOWN AT MY watch, I know that I’m early, but only by five minutes. I told her I’d be here at seven to take her out for dinner. I ring her doorbell twice and wait those five minutes before ringing it again.

  Peering inside the window, I can’t see through the thick blinds, but lights from in the room shine through the cracks.

  If she isn’t in there, then someone else is.

  Pulling out my phone, I begin to dial her number when the front door unlocks and is pulled open. Dahlia stands in the doorway in booty shorts and a tank top with her hair pulled up in a messy bun. Her face is free of any makeup, leaving her with a fresh natural look. Memories of her young innocence that she lost flash through my mind as my eyes take her in slowly.

  Shaking her painful loss from my mind, I come back to the present, remembering why I’m really here.

  “Hey,” I say, perplexed, shoving my phone back into my pocket. “Did you need more time getting ready? I can push our reservations back.”

  With a small smile, she lightly shakes her head. “I can’t, Kai.”

  “Okay. We can just go another night instead,” I tell her, reaching for my phone. “It won’t be an issue—”

  “Kai,” she interjects, softly. “It’s not just tonight. I can’t do this. Not tonight, not any night.”

  My hand freezes in my pocket as her words slap me across the face. “What does that even mean?”

  What the fuck happened since this morning?

  Clutching the side of the door, she pulls it closer to her body, wedging herself in the doorway. “It took me a long time to get where I am in life, to move forward and let go of the past.” She stares at me blankly, her eyes and tone void of any emotion. “There’s no future for us, not when you’re a painful reminder of our past. You’re the only connection to that time in my life and that’s the only place where you belong... in the past.”

  I stare at her incredulously, completely taken aback from wherever the hell this is coming from. She’s too closed off, too emotionless. Her words flow from her mouth perfectly rehearsed, like a puppet underneath the hands of a puppeteer.

  And then it cli
cks.

  Luca.

  “He saw you,” I concur without asking. It’s not even a question, it’s a fucking fact that we both know is true.

  Motherfucker.

  A flicker of guilt flashes through her eyes. “I don’t know what you’re—”

  She stops abruptly as I move closer, invading her space. “Don’t you dare bullshit me, bambolina,” I growl, running my thumb along her jawline. “I can see right through it all.”

  Inhaling sharply at my touch, Dahlia shudders and instinctively leans into my touch as my hand wraps around the base of her neck. “What’d he say to get to you?”

  Dahlia’s expression is pained as her eyes glisten with tears. “I saw this little girl the other day and somehow, I know her. I don’t know where from, or how Luca even knew, but he threatened to kill her if I don’t leave you.”

  What the fuck?

  “I will not let that happen, okay?” I pause as I gauge her tense reaction. “Do you trust me?”

  “Yes,” she admits without hesitation and her body relaxes. With my hands still around her neck, she leans into me slightly.

  “I promise you nothing will happen to that little girl.”

  She nods as she pushes away the tears that filled her eyes.

  Changing the mood, I redirect the conversation, back to where we were originally going. “So, I’m a painful reminder, huh?” I ponder as my hand slowly trails down the front of her. Dragging my fingertips along her skin, my hand dips down into her shirt, grazing the sides of her full tits. Her breathing speeds up as her chest quickly rises and falls.

  Slipping my hand under her breast, I cup it in my hand and softly knead her soft flesh. Dahlia closes her eyes as she moans softly as my thumb brushes across her hardened nipple. Pinching it tightly in between my fingertips, I slide my other hand up her neck and into her hair. Gripping her thick curls in my fist, I jerk her head backward and bring my face to hers, capturing her lips with mine.

  She moans into my mouth as I steal the air from her lungs. Brushing my tongue across her lips, they instantly part as she lets me in. We ignite a blazing fire and our demons dance in the dark around the flames.

  Her hands are around my neck, pulling me closer with her body pushed flush against mine. Drawing her bottom lip between my teeth, I bite down. Dahlia moans as she digs her nails into my skin and I smile against her lips, tasting her blood on my tongue.

  Abruptly dropping my hands from her, I pull back, leaving her breathless as the distance between us hits her like a ton of bricks.

  Her green eyes are filled with lust as they search mine rapidly. She swallows hard and her chest heaves as she struggles to catch her breath.

  “What the hell?” she breathes with a hint of anger. “Why’d you stop?”

  “You said this was too painful, right?” I shrug with a smile playing on my lips. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “Yes, you do,” she retorts. “Or you never would have come here.”

  She isn’t wrong, but she isn’t right.

  Reaching out, I tuck a stray curl behind her ear. “So, what’s it gonna be?” I question her.

  Standing on her tiptoes, she grips the front of my shirt, pulling me back to her. “I want the pain. I want it all.”

  My eyes meet hers as my head dips down to hers. “I don’t live in your past,” I whisper against her lips. “I live in your present and your future.”

  Dahlia pushes the door behind her open and drags me inside with her. “You never belonged anywhere else.”

  Lifting her up, she wraps her legs around me as her lips crash into mine. Kicking the door shut, I carry her upstairs to her bed. Stripped bare, I ease into her and we light the fuse, burning our past to a pile of dust.

  Together, we rise from the ashes cleansed from our haunted past. What once was lost, is now stronger than it ever was.

  “I can feel you staring at me.” Dahlia smiles with her eyes closed.

  Sleep wasn’t something we did much of last night. After I took Dahlia upstairs, I fell into bed with her and never left.

  It was different this time.

  She finally stopped pushing.

  Brushing her hair back, my fingers wander down the side of her face. “I’ll stare at you as much as I want to.”

  Opening her eyes, she lightly rolls them as she smiles. “Of course you will. You do what you want.”

  “When I want,” I add, rolling her onto her back and pinning her beneath me. “You’re mine, and no one else’s.”

  She narrows her eyes at me, tensing underneath my weight. “And what about you?”

  “I’ve always been yours and only yours,” I admit without a moment’s hesitation.

  Dahlia scoffs, rolling her eyes and pushes me off of her. “I don’t think everyone approves of that.”

  Fuck.

  Memories from the night before come back to the front of my mind.

  Luca.

  “What did he say to you?” I demand, propping myself up to stare at her.

  She glances over at me and shrugs. “It wasn’t just him.”

  Dahlia pauses before telling me about her run-in with Aliana at the coffee shop the other day. Aliana’s threats are insignificant, but she’s not who I’m worried about.

  After taking a deep breath, Dahlia calmly explains her encounter with my father.

  The fucker found her.

  I’m sure he knew where she was this entire time, but Anthony was true to his word and he kept her safe. I fucked this all up and now Luca got to her.

  He threatened her and shook her up, but my girl doesn’t break. You can’t break something that’s already broken.

  And that’s exactly how I want her.

  “I’m taking you to work tonight,” I tell her as she gets out of bed, offering no explanation.

  It’s not safe.

  Pulling my shirt on, she pauses and shrugs. “Okay,” she agrees without question. “I trust you.”

  I watch her as she turns around and walks to the bathroom. Her words ring in my ears and I realize how badly she fucked up.

  She isn’t supposed to trust me.

  She can’t.

  Dahlia

  “VIN LETTIN’ YOU GO earlier?” Tierney asks as she walks into the dressing room.

  Lacing my shoes, I look up at her and smile. “I don’t think he has much of a choice anymore.”

  Tierney giggles and drops into the seat next to me. “I’m surprised that Kai even lets you work here at all anymore.”

  Sitting back up, I shrug. “He doesn’t control me, so I’ll stop working here when I’m ready to stop.”

  She rolls her eyes at me and nods mockingly. “Yeah, sure, keep telling yourself that.”

  “He does not control me,” I insist.

  He doesn’t, right?

  Fuck.

  Tierney is in my head, making me question shit. Kai’s very demanding and does whatever he needs to get what he wants. But he doesn’t control me.

  No one controls me.

  Right?

  Grabbing my purse, I quickly stand up. “I gotta head out,” I tell Tierney before she can get another word in.

  “Wait,” she calls out as I reach the employee entrance. “Why are you going out back?”

  “Because I can.” I smirk and push through the door into the parking lot.

  It’s late and the sky is dark and ominous. Kai insisted on picking me up from work and he demanded that it was out front. So, I came out back, because he doesn’t control me.

  Who the hell am I trying to convince? What am I really trying to prove out here?

  The rows of cars seem to grow as I walk through the parking lot toward the front of the building. I’m unsettled and wound tight as I fight the urge to run.

  I shouldn’t have come out here.

  Grabbing my phone, my finger slides to Kai’s name as I begin to type out a text to him. As I’m about to hit send, my phone is ripped from my hands.

  “What the hell?” I yell
as I look up, but everything goes black. A satin hood is thrown over my head and I can’t see anything.

  A large hand clamps over my mouth and thick arms wrap around me as I try to break free. It’s a futile effort as I’m rendered defenseless. I hear the zip from the ties being secured around my wrists and suddenly my feet are lifted from the ground.

  My clammy skin slaps the cool leather as I’m tossed onto a seat. I’m pulled upright with a hand clamped over my mouth again as a door slams.

  “Drive,” a gruff voice commands by my ear.

  The car lurches forward and I’m pulled back as we speed off into the night.

  “Drop Aliana off first,” the man barks, in a deep, familiar voice.

  Aliana?

  “Come on, baby,” she whines. “I wanna play too. She fucked up things for both of us, Luca...”

  Luca.

  Involuntarily, I shiver as the bile rises in my throat.

  “Let me fucking handle it,” he seethes. “I have a plan.”

  The car falls silent as we continue our drive. My mind runs wild as it’s flooded with a million questions.

  And it’s a million questions that I shouldn’t have because I shouldn’t even be in this car.

  How the hell did I end up in this position?

  I should have listened to Kai.

  Where is Kai?

  Letting my mind consume me, I ignore everything going on around me because none of it is in my control anymore.

  I never did have control.

  Kai is the only one who deserves to have any control over me.

  Kai

  THE LIGHT TURNS GREEN and I lay on my horn as the car in front of me doesn’t move. I glance to the clock on the dashboard and tighten my fists on the steering wheel. Dahlia was supposed to be done work any minute and I wanted to be there early.

  She’s not safe and I’m responsible for her safety now.

  Driving the palm of my hand into the black leather, I lean on my horn again, cursing under my breath. With this bullshit and traffic, it’s going to take me at least ten more minutes to get to the club.