Defying the Lycan King (Kira and Derek) novel Chapter 317

Chapter 317: Evidence of Us

Jessica arrived at the restaurant earlier than everyone else. The streets outside were still grey and quiet, and the building itself had that hollow, waiting feeling that only existed before opening hours.

She let herself in through the back, changed into her uniform in the empty staff room, and made her way out to the dining area with a cloth in one hand and a grim determination in her chest.

She was halfway down the second row of chairs when the door opened behind her.

"I need coffee."

"Sorry, we’re not open yet, you’ll have to come back at—"

Jessica stopped, and her hand stopped too, flat on the back of a chair, the cloth hanging from her fingers.

She knew that voice. It wasn’t the voice of any ordinary staff.

Her heart kicked into overdrive, and she straightened slowly, very slowly, as if turning around too quickly might somehow make the situation worse.

When she finally turned, Kai was standing far too close. Close enough that she could see the faint shadow of stubble along his jaw, so close that she could have put a hand out and touched his chest without stretching.

"Good morning, Mr Mondragon," she managed, her voice coming out steadier than she felt. "I’m afraid we’re not open yet. The restaurant doesn’t start serving until eight."

Kai tilted his head, and his smile widened. "Then why are you here so early?"

"Because I came late yesterday." She swallowed. "And Gloria’s punishment is for me to come in early for the rest of the week and clean up before anyone arrives."

"I see." His eyes swept over the cloth in her hand, the slightly damp tables, the chairs still angled from the day before. "Very industrious. I admire that in a woman."

Jessica felt her face heat. She looked away, fixing her gaze on a point just past his shoulder. "Is there something else you need from me, sir? Because I should really get back to cleaning."

Kai’s smirk deepened into something that could only be described as wicked. "I need a whole lot from you, Jessica."

The flush spread from her cheeks down her neck. She did not respond immediately. She kept her eyes fixed on that same point past his shoulder, her jaw tight, her fingers curled around the cloth as though it might anchor her.

"Please don’t call me that." Her voice was quiet. "My name is Sidonie."

"Your name is Jessica." He said it simply, without drama, as though he were pointing out that the sky was blue. "But we can argue about that later. Right now, I’m here for something else."

She risked a glance at him. "What?"

He stretched out his hand in front of her, palm up, expectant.

When Jessica’s brows began to rise, he said, "Your phone."

Jessica stared at his hand. Then at his face. Her eyebrows rose. "Why do you need my phone?"

"Because we should exchange numbers." He said it as though this were the most natural thing in the world, as if Chairmen exchanged numbers with waitresses every day. "You have mine, I have yours. Simple."

"I don’t think that’s appropriate." She took a small step backwards, but the table behind her stopped her retreat. "Also, I don’t give my number to strange—"

He stepped closer, and before she could react, his hand dipped into the pocket of her apron.

Jessica gasped. "What are you—"

But Kai was faster than her. Far faster. He had her phone out of her apron pocket before she could finish the sentence, and before she could snatch it back, he was holding it up to her face. The screen lit up as Face ID recognised her, and the phone unlocked.

"Hey!" Jessica’s hand shot out, but Kai was already moving, tapping at the screen with his thumb, pulling out his own phone with the other hand. "You can’t just—this is—"

"There." He finished typing and glanced up at her with a grin so satisfied it made her want to throw something at him. "I’ve saved my number. And now I have yours."

He held up his own phone, where her contacts had just sent a call through. It rang once in his hand before going silent.

Jessica stared at him, her mouth open. "You—that’s—that’s stalking. That’s literally the definition of stalking."

Kai pocketed his phone and took a step closer. Then another. Jessica’s back met the edge of the table behind her, and she put a hand down on it to steady herself.

He did not stop until his body was nearly touching hers, and the nearness of him was overwhelming. The warmth. The height. The indescribable pull that made her want to run and stay frozen at the same time.

Blood roared in her ears, and something she couldn’t explain stirred in her. Her fingers tightened on the table, but the surface was slick from cleaning, and her hand wobbled dangerously.

His scent was so good it made her dizzy. Her grip slipped, and she would have fallen if Kai’s arms hadn’t wrapped around her in an instant, steadying her, catching her with ease.

"Careful," he murmured, his voice lower now, textured with something that made the flush return to her cheeks with a vengeance. "I can’t have you falling for me before I’ve even taken you to dinner."

Jessica swallowed hard. "I wasn’t falling for you. I slipped. On the table. Which is wet. Because I was cleaning."

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify