CHAPTER 10

" Is he supposed to be jealous? " - Kathy, asked.

Leo was reluctantly charmed by the lack of coryness in Kathy's questioned.

" Yes, " - Leo, said finally.

" If he cares about you, he should be jealous. " - Leo, added.

" Then he's jealous, " - Kathy said.

" I just told you he couldn't be, " - Leo, said. He countered in exasperation.

" Also, we're on the last leg of our tour, and I'm duty-bound to finish telling you about the-- " - Leo, added. Kathy was shaking her head at him.

" No, Mr. Arlotta. This is more important. Love, " - Kathy said clarified gravely.

" Is more important than anything else. And I'm telling you that he is jealous. " - Kathy, added.

'Stubborn girl', Leo thought.

" I'm also telling you he's not. " - Leo, said.

" How do I prove to you he is? " - Kathy, asked.

Deciding the biker needed a kick in his guts to be reminded of what he had but could lose, Leo looked at the girl with a hooded gaze.

" You really want to know? " - Leo, asked to Kathy.

" How does it feel to be at the losing end of the stick this time? " - Kellion, asked.

Yuri pretended not to hear Kellion's question, instead saying.

" It might be a while before Kathy's tour ends. " - Yuri, said politely.

A lie, of course, since he knew to the exact second how long her tour was and the end was just five minutes away. 'That or as soon as Leo Blaze Arlotta stopped flirting with his fianceé', Yuri thought, whichever came sooner.

" I don't think there's any need to ask, " - Helios, said drawled.

" It's written all over the boy's face. " - Helios, added.

Yuri rolled his eyes at the way the two insisted on calling him 'boy' even though he was only a few years younger than them. He checked his watch, 'four minutes'. At the moment he heard Kathy's laugh tinkle in the air, a silvery sound guaranteed to seduce anyone with a dick. Everyone in the table stilled... Except for Yuri.

" You don't mind that? " - Andreus asked finally.

" She just laughed. " - Yuri answered patiently.

" It wasn't an ordinary laugh, " - Helios, said. Before Yuri could answer Kellion cursed.

" Well, this time she's placed her hands on his shoulders, and she's goddamn smiling into his eyes. " - Kellion, said. When Yuri didn't turn around.

" I'm not lying. " - Kellion, said with snapped. Then Yuri slowly turned.

'Ah', Yuri thought.

It was the truth indeed. Kathryn Ice Rewis had her hands on Leo Blaze Arlotta's broad shoulders while the Italian hand clasped her slender waist with his large, strong hands. Something blazed inside of him, but Yuri ruthlessly buried it before it could develop into feelings he had to acknowledge.

" You're still not going to do anything? " - Helios said. He demanded under his breath when Yuri turned his back on the couple and returned his attention to his phone.

" They're not doing anything illegal or harmful. " - Yuri, said while pointed out. All of three of his friends looked at him like he was insane.

" Is this a fucking act?! " - Andreus, asked darkly.

" You want to play the cool bastard for some reason?! " - Andreus, added.

" I followed her here because Kellion said that school tours may cause something to develop between my fianceé and her tour guide. I came here out of concern to ensure he wasn't going to push Kathy past her limits. That's all. " - Yuri, answered.

" That's all, huh? " - Kellion said while leaned back against his seat. Yuri raised a brow.

" Are you trying to make some kind of point? " - Yuri, asked.

'Yeah', Kellion thought. 'And my point is that I never thought your fear of falling in love could actually turn you into a heartless, pompous prick'. But out of loud, Kellion's tone was deceptively casual as he answered.

" Not really. " - Kellion said. His eyes went back to Kathy.

" Just that your fianceé's about to kiss another guy. " - Kellion, added.

'Now let's see you handle that', Kellion thought.

Helios, whose thoughts ran in the same direction, decided to give the vice president one minute before his control vanished and he tore through the caféteria to break the two apart. Andreus, who knew Yuri a little bit more than the other two, mentally gave Yuri ten seconds. Both of them were wrong. Yuri was out of his seat in a flash.

Reaching Kathy's side just before her mouth reached the other man's. Yuri unceremoniously dislodged, Leo's hands and replaced it with his own Kathy gasped, her eyes flying open, but he didn't pay her any heed, only tightening his hold on her waist before lifting her off her feet and placing her behind him.

Then he faced Leo Blaze Arlotta. The Italian returned his gaze with impressive equanimity. 'Would it mean he was jealous?' Yuri pondered seriously, 'If he planted his fists on the Italian's too-pretty face?' Before he could make a decision, Kathy had stepped around him, making Yuri's face turn hard.

" Kathy--- " - Yuri, said. But Kathy was looking at Leo.

" I told you. " - Kathy, said. The Italian gave her a mocking bow.

" You win then. " - Leo, said.

His enigmatic gaze rested on Yuri for a moment before turning to walk away. Yuri's urge to punch the other guy in the face intensified. 'He must have been mad', Yuri thought. 'to entrust Kathy with him'. That man was too handsome for his own good. Beside him, he felt Kathy's fingers gaze the sleeve of his shirt.

" Yuri? " - Kathy, asked.

" What? " - Yuri, asked. He heard himself without taking his gaze off Leo Blaze Arlotta's back.

" Were you two talking about? " - Yuri, added. But inside him, a mocking voice taunted Yuri about the real question he wanted answered but couldn't make himself ask.

Even now, he couldn't get rid of the image of Kathryn Ice Rewis' mouth a second away from coming into contact with the Italian's. When she didn't answer, he swung around to face her. He expected her to look anything from guilty to furious, but she was none of those. Her beautiful face bore its usual placid expression, but the look in her gaze was decidely soft. A suddenly realization hit him.

" Why, you little minx? " - Yuri, said. While shook his head.

" You set it all up, didn't you? " - Yuri, added.

Her lips twitched the slightest bit, but her voice was the soul of meekness when she answered.

" Yes. " - Kathy, said.

She took a step closer towards him, and suddenly Yuri found himself surrounded by her scent and his sight blinded by the temptation of her soft curves. Her violet eyes captured, enslaved.

" Mr. Arlotta told me If you really love me, you wouldn't have let me go with him. " - Kathy, said. 'Leo Blaze Arlotta had a big mouth', Yuri thought.

" I told him he was wrong. He told me If you loved me, you would be jealous and I said, then of course you would be. I asked how to prove it and he told me I should laugh like he had said the funniest thing on earth. " - Kathy, added. 'Leo Blaze Arlotta was a dead man', Yuri thought.

" He also said I should touch him because no man in love liked seeing his woman touch another guy. " - Kathy, said again. 'Leo Blaze Arlotta had the right, but he was still a dead man'. Yuri thought.

" And finally, he said I should kiss him-- " - Kathy paused. Yuri interrupted her sharply.

" I don't want to hear anymore. " - Yuri, said.

Kathy obediently stopped speaking, but the way she looked at him was all womanly instinct. Now he knew. 'A woman didn't have to be normal', Yuri thought dryly. 'to know when she had a man wrapped around her finger'.

" Let's go join the others? " - Yuri, asked. Then she nodded but didn't move.

Remembering there was only one way to get Kathy moving, he offered his hand. She took it. As they walked back to his friends table.

" Kathy? " - Yuri, asked.

" Mm.. " - Kathy, answered.

" Don't make me jealous again. " - Yuri, said.

" I promise. " - Kathy, paused.

" But I also want to ask you a thing. " - Kathy, added.

" I won't make you jealous either. " - Yuri, said. She surprised him by shaking her head.

" Not that. " - Kathy, said. He frowned.

" What is it? " - Yuri, asked.

" Don't lie to me. " - Kathy, said. He stilled, which forced her to halt beside him.

" Why would you ask me that now? " - Yuri, asked.

" Because, a while ago, when it took so long to make you jealous, I was afraid. " - Kathy gaze didn't waver from his.

" I started to think that you lied to me. That you didn't really love me and it... Hurts... Here. " - Kathy suddenly beat her chest with her fist, hard enough for him to immediately hold her wrist so he could stop her from doing it again.

Regret sliced into Yuri. He remembered Andreus' question and wondered now if the other biker actually knew him better than Yuri knew himself. He hadn't allowed himself to even consider the possibility that he was jealous. He had wanted to play the role of a cool bastard because cool bastards didn't feel pain. And so he hadn't, but he had ended up hurting an innocent girl in exchange.

" I'm sorry. " - Yuri, said tautly.

" I didn't mean to make you doubt... What we have. " - Yuri, added.

Instead of answering, she twined her fingers with his again, and the warm, forgiving gesture made Yuri swallow. 'God.Damn.It'. How different she was. How special she was. And how unworthy he was for someone like her.

" It's okay. " - Kathy, said.

Her voice was soothing, and Yuri's self-loathing increased when he realized she was actually trying to comfort him.

" You can make it up to me next time, Yuri. Be quicker to show your jealousy. " - Kathy, added.

'Ah, Kathy'. Yuri thought. Her words something only she could say and actually have it make sense had him torn between laughing out loud and just walking away, never looking back.

Kathy started tugging on his hand, and he obeyed her silent command. They joined his friends, and the other three immediately did their best to make Kathy feel at ease with them. He watched them fawn over her, watched Kathy alternate between frowning and almost smiling at his friends' teasing, and only one thought ran through his mind.

'Too fast... Too goddamn fast... Everything was happening too goddamn fast'. Yuri thought. Kathryn Ice Rewis had only been in his life for barely more than a day, most of that spent in a fucking airplane, and she had already remolded his world into something he didn't recognize.

Because Kathy was different, because she was special, none of the rules applied. His beautiful violet-eyed girl didn't feel the need, the pressure, to get to know him first. She didn't give a shit about what people would say if they learned she and Yuri had only met once before he had come to take her away from Greece.

For Kathy, insta-fucking-love was real. For Kathy, love was a choice and a promise. And Kathy had chosen him. Yuri Daniel Athanas. The heartless bastard who had lied to her.

'He had forgotten about the sleeping arrangements', Yuri thought. He wearily massaged the back of his neck in a futile effort to ease the tension inside him. 'This', he thought grimly, was shaping up to be the longest day in his life and even now, the rest of the night seemed to stretch endlessly before him.