Contract Marriage with My CEO Boss (Kylan and Katrina)

Aaron and Maine stayed the night with Katrina and when the woke the following morning, she was sandwiched between the two of them on her hed: their much longer legs and arms entangled with hers. She groaned, pushing their arms away from her torso. Neither of

them moved, and she remembered that they both had way more alcohol than she did last night.

She staggered to her feet and then stumbled just as much to her bathroom. She stripped her clothes off and took a smoldering shower, taking extra time to enjoy how the water was bringing her body back to life slowly

As soon as she was done, she dried off and put on a pair of comfy clothes, not planning on going anywhere inday She brushed her teeth and then stepped out of her bathroom. Her eyes trailed to her bed, and she shook her head when she found Aaron and Maine stall fast asleep.

She grabbed her phone from her nightstand and took it off silent mode. She had a few miscellaneous notifications that she cleared and a text inessage. A text message from Kylan that he had sent nearly twenty minutes ago.

She ignored her suddenly racing heart and opened the message.

"The painting is rather heavy, 1 can help you hang it properly so that it doesn't fall and cause damage to your wall or flooring, if you would like Kylan texted.

She stared at her suddenly ton-bright phone screen in the dimness of her bedroom. He was offering to come back just to help her hang a painting. Did she want him to come back? She was conflicted, just like she was with everything else concerning Kylan these days. she fell b

herself frown and her shoulders slumped. Kylan was exhausting. He always had been. She found she didn't want to see him, not today

That's alright. Sir. Aaron and Maine are

here, just asleep in my bed. I'll entrust their help as soon as they w

wake up"

"They're asleep in your bed?

They are, yes. We always share a bed when they stay the night here."

"You slept in the same bed as them last night"

Her eyebrows furrowed, her fingers hovering over her phone's keyboard. He couldn't possibly be worried that anything more than sleeping happened, right?

Yes, I did. Sir. We all slept there.

"Aaron is not yet married, is he?"

Ob. That's exactly what he was worried about. Against ber better judgment, part of her wanted to mess with him, just a little bit. Just enough that he would know she was annoyed with him

Tve only ever kissed him twice, and both times were ages ago. I'm certainly not Maine's type, anyway. She's straight."

She wasn't lying, not technically. She had kissed Aaron twice in the past, but both times had only happened when she was drunk off her asses. There had never been anything when she was sober, but she wasn't about to tell Kylan that. Not right now, anyway. agree, Katrina?"

Tim confident you sleeping in a bed with another man, is a breach of our contract. Wouldn't you ap

ebony

She snorted, actually snorted at his words. He was going to talk to her about breaching the contract after he himself had done just that. The was incredible, and she only felt more annoyed because of it

She was at a new crossroads. She could either find the courage to bring up what happened after the masquerade, or she could choose to ignore his hypocrisy. She wasn't sure which route to go, not when she had so much time left for her contract "Nothing happened, Sir. We watched movies anal then we moved to my bed and fell asleep. If anything they probably groped each other after asleep."

a shit, Katrina. That was inappropriate You're mine and I caution you not to forget

"I don't give a shi

She read his words several times, her mind guang blank. He was acting so... so, possessive. And for what reason! She wasn't his, not truly. Not in all the ways it would actually count. She was his employer, and he was her boss. Her boss who had his tongue down her throat a couple of days ago. But that was a technicality she was willing to overlook right now. She didn't like the way Kylan was making her feel. It wasn't fair of him. "With all due respect, r, I didn't do anything wrong or even remotely inappropriate. Aaron and Maine are in a relationship, and you not really.

"I'm coming over to help with the painting"

and are not

Her eyes widened and her heart skipped a beat, which only annoyed her more. What the hell was he playing at? She didn't want him to come over. Dad she? Was that why she told him about Aaron and Maine, in the first place! She couldn't possibly be that ridiculous, could she

Freak. 0

Chapter

With a glance back at Aaron and Maine, she walked rather quirkly to her living room,

the offending painting. She couldni, not right now Not while her heart was

frone of he

Without allowing herself to overthink it sheduled Kylans phone number and put her phone in her ear. He answered se

"Lean't talk once I'm on my mon

She rolled her eyes, halfway disappointed he couldn't see her doing so. You don't need to come over here. Sir Keally happened. I already told you that" She worked to keep her voice steady hopeful that in rame across char way in Kylanı "Did you not sign the contract?"

"Of course I did. Ser she responded, her voice wavering slightly as fresh annoyi

"Did we not say we would be exclusive to each other during its duration?

"hardly think me deeping in a bed, would be considered cheating Sir." He was pushing every single damın bunu

I'm coming over

She audibly sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger in exasper

on playing. "Kylan, if you have more that you'd like to say to me, you can say it over the phone. It's Sunday I'm continuing this conversation." She didn't realize she had addressed him by his first name

well, though. If he wanted to complain about the contract, she figured she could at least call him by his truc God

y minutes"

be there in twenty

She heard the line click dead and she groaned, carelessly tossing her phone in the general direction of her im about where it landed.

He was relentless. And obnoxious. Possessive. Stoic. Annoying.

Handsome. Weirdly sweet e

SWEEL EVery so often. A fantastic as hell kis-

Nope. Not going there.Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair a few times. She looked around her apartment well aware that her space was up to da to kylan's rigorous cleanliness standards.

She sp

spent the next ten minutes cleaning up as much as she could, stacking dishes precariously in her sink as garbage she found. She vacuumed the kitchen and living room and then lit a candle for good measure

She glanced at the time and figured she should probably wake up her house guests. It was better her than Bylan. that he wouldn't storm his way into her bedroom, what with the weird mood he was in

It took a lot to rouse Maine and Aaron back to consciousness, but she finally did. She told them to take a sh bathroom, pushing, and shoving each other playfully the whole way. and they stumbled

""Please don't make a mess

rss in my y shower, she called after them

Aaron flashed her a grin and a wink before he closed the bathroom door. She cringed and then made her bed, over stepping back to look at i

Again, it was good enough.

She was out of time, anyway. Kylan was nothing if not punctual, and that meant he was surely on his way up to her floor by

She walked back to the living room, wringing her hands together with nervousness, she couldn't quite place

Like clockwork, a series of knocks resounded un her front door, and she took a deep breath. This was no big deal. No big insisted on coming over, despite her protests Yeah, no big deal.

She took another breath as she walked to her door and stood in front of it for a moment. pushed the deadbolt back, and finally opened the door

And then she stared. Openly stared, right at Kylan

cked once more, and she rolled her eyes

He looked the most casual she'd seen him since the baseball gone. He sported a white button-down, dark wash jeans and à probably cost more than her entire wardrobe. He looked Damn it, he looked good she fell some of her annoyance evaporate i and she internally kicked herself.

"You didn't need to come over she mumbled halfheartedly.

Kylan rolled his eyes. "Yes, I did he responded simply motioning for her to get out of the way so he could wep inside

244 PM

eyes and let him in. She noticed that he was holding a hammer and several long screws. His eyes raked DYET She fought a roll to her own apartment, and she wanted for the inevitable criticism to follow

her

8

To her surprise, he said nothing and instead headed in the direction of the painting on the table. She followed him over to it, folding her arms across her chest while he pulled a leveler out of the pocket of his jacket and looked around the room again. -Do

want it in this room?" he asked, his gaze not really landing on hers

you want it in

She shrugged her shoulders and sat on a stool near her kitchen counter. "Wherever you think it will look best" she responded quietly.

She watched him size up different blank spaces on her walls, partially amused to see this almost domestic side to him. He seemed to be all business, though walking around with a carefully concealed mask of nothing on his face.

He really wasn't looking at her "Nothing happened," she reiterated her earlier point.

"I think I'll put it here," he indicated to a wall near her kitchen table, and she nodded.

"Did she hear me, sir! I said that nothing happened, she tried again.

"I'm going to put four screws into her wall. Is that alright?" Again, Kylan wasn't looking at her as he spoke

"I don't see my I

landlord having a problem with that she responded, anxiety steadily bubbling to the surface of her throat

Kylan nodded once and then got back to work. He was silent, carefully measuring the distance between where the screws would go and then meticulously checked to ensure each one would be level with its counterpart.

She heard talking down the hallway and turned her head toward it, finding Maine and Aaron walking hand in hand. She looked back at Kylan and realized he was already staring the pair of them down, his eyes narrowed, and his jaw firmly set. Simultaneously, her friends realized that not only was Kylan there at all, but he was staring at them. No, glaring at them, rather intensely.

"Old Hi. Sir. We didn't know you were coming over."

She didn't miss the subde glare that Aaron sent her way as he nervously addressed her boss

"I told him not to come, she responded as a way of explanation.

Aaron nodded once "Right. Well I think we'll go." He walked over to her and planted a kiss on her cheek, just as he always did when leaving.

She tensed at the gesture, absolutely positive that Kylan was now rigid where he stood.

"Gardner, hands and f*cking lips, to yourself," Kylan demanded curtly

Aaron looked at her in confusson and then his eyebrows raised sky high, and he was smirking, the smug bastard. "I apologize, Sir."

He sounded anything but sorry, and the internally groaned. "I'll see you later, Kate. Sir." He nodded at Rylan, giving her one more look that clearly read you're a liar, and then he and Maine were gone. Katrina looked at

Kylan, who finally looked at her. "Nothing happened,' she repeated herself y

yet again.

Kylan set down the hammer on the kitchen table and took his time walking over to her. He suddenly seemed calm, too calm. She was nervous, so nervous as he stopped right in front of her.

"Are you unhappy with the contract, Kate?" Kylan asked her, stepping forward and caging her in by not quite touching her, but putting his hands on the counter on either side of her.

she

She forced herself to swallow against the sudden dryness in her throat. "ICs. It's fine, Sir. It's not. Nothing happened. Her voice was shaking. could both hear and feel it. Her eyes scanned Kylan's face, stopping on his lips for a second too long. The air was thick around them, the same way it was in the hallway not two days ago.

Kylan's grey eyes bore down into her own and she found she couldn't breathe. Not as he lifted his hand, and not as his thumb brushed over her lower lip, tugging it forward and then letting it go,

"Don't do it again," he told her, his voice so low, she could almost feel the vibration of it down in her damn toes.

She snapped out of it as soon as he stepped away from her, entirely composed like he hadn't just touched her so intimately. She watched him expertly hang up her new painting put off by the fact that he didn't ask for her help once.

As soon as he was done, he stepped back to admire his handiwork. Slse slid off her stool and came to stand next to him.

It was gorgeous, the white and blue brush strokes nearly sparkling in the daylight filtering through her living room window. The green of the pine trees and the brown of the snow-covered cabin almost seemed to bounce off the wall as if they weren't merely painted en a canvas at all.

"It's beautiful, Sir." She breathed, completely captivated.

2:44 PM

Don't do it again, Kate," Kylan sand from right next to her.

She pulled her gaze from the painting and looked at him. He was staring at her with a frown on his face. A real frown, one that reached his eyes and pulled all his features down. She found herself frowning in response.

"Sir, is there... is there anything you want to, you know, talk about?" Her lips decided for her, opting to address the possible elephant in the room

She watched the grey of Kylan's eyes darken as he looked over her face. He faced her, and she faced him, and then he gently brushed the back of his fingers over the expanse of her cheek once.

"No, there isn't." Kylan said softly, stepping away from her and gathering up the tools he used to hang her birthday present

Her shoulders slumped, but she couldn't say she was surprised. Once again, she asked herself if she was actually reading into things. He very well could have kissed her simply with the contract in mind. It didn't quite make sense, not with where and how the kissing took place, but it wasn't impossible.

If he felt there was nothing to address, she had no choice but to go along with it. He was her boss, after all She wasn't about to piss him off more than she already had by sleeping in the same bed as Aaron and Maine with Maine, especially, who's also a woman like her. "Okay, Sir." She tried to keep the disappointment and confusion out of her voice.

Kylan fixed the collar of his leather jacket and then glanced at her. "Have you had lunch yet?" he asked rather casually.

She shook her head, "No, I haven't"

He nodded and cleared his throat. "Go get changed into some city-appropriate clothing, and I'll take you to lunch." he told her, putting the leftover screws and the leveler back in his pocket.

The way he said it, the way he always said anything, left it as more of an order, rather than a request. Which should have bothered her, but she was used to it.

"Do you insist, Sir!" she still couldn't stop herself from asking.

Kylan narrowed his eyes at her again. "Yes, Katrina. I insist," he deadpanned, clearly growing annoyed with her.

She sighed but listened and wandered down her hallway and into her bedroom. She sifted through her closet, pulling out her favorite white turtleneck sweater and a pair of jeans that she knew fit her well. She changed into her clothes and then moved to her bathroom, where she brushed and styled her hair and added a thin layer of makeup to her face.

Since she already brushed her teeth, she skipped that step and then showered perfume all over her body. She checked her reflection and then walked to Kylan, stopping when she saw that he was in the process of doing her dishes.

"You don't need to do that, Sir" she said in a rush, her face warming with embarrassment.

I

enjoy cleaning" was all Kylan said in response.

And so, she watched him wash her dishes and she put on her boots and jacket, adding a scarf around her neck for good measure. It looked like another muggy day outside, but it didn't look like it was raining, at least. Kylan took hold of her

Ten minutes later, she and Kylan both were ready to go. She turned off the lights and blew out the candle on her counter. K hand as soon as she stepped out of her apartment, and she didn't question it. She was back in public, she supposed.

The elevator ride down to the street below was quiet, but not entirely uncomfortable. Kylan seemed to have finally let the Aaron and Maine issue go, and she was glad. There was only so much she could do to appease him, especially when she still didn't feel like he was being entirely fair to her.

She easily got on the back of Kylan's bike, helmet securely in place and her arms wrapped tightly around him. She noticed that Kylan pressed back into her a little more than usual, but she figured it was due to the cold November was kicking off with.