POV: Kai
The knock on my hotel door came exactly when I expected it.
Nova was still in my arms, her face wet with tears, her body trembling against mine. Ten years of buried pain had spilled out between us, and I could feel her walls starting to crumble. She was vulnerable. Open. Everything I'd dreamed of during those endless nights when I'd built my empire thinking about her.
Which meant Darren would come for her now.
"Stay here," I murmured against her hair, breathing in that familiar scent that still drove me crazy.
Her fingers gripped my shirt. "Don't go."
"I'm not going anywhere. But we have a visitor."
The knocking turned to pounding. Aggressive. Demanding.
"NOVA!" Darren's voice carried through the solid wood door. "I know you're in there. Open this door right now."
I felt
