Chapter 2 The Devil in the Kitchen

The Devil in the Kitchen 

RAVEN'S breath caught for a split second. The guy standing in front of her looked annoyingly familiar.

The dark hair, the sharp jawline, the broad shoulders. The kind of face magazines probably paid money to photograph, every feature seemed unfairly perfect.

He was tall too, far taller than she had expected. And judging from the expensive black shirt rolled to his forearms and the confidence dripping from every inch of him, he knew exactly how good he looked.

Then it clicked.

The portrait! Yes, the portrait in the hallway, the racing pictures. 

Kai.

So this is him, the so-called Ashford son.

Raven rolled her eyes internally.

‘Great! Just great.’

The guy continued staring at her. His gaze swept from her messy ponytail to her oversized hoodie, down to her ripped jeans. Then finally to her worn combat boots.

The look on his face made it seem like he had just discovered something unpleasant stuck beneath his shoe.

His lip curled.

"Who the hell are you?"

Raven blinked. Not because she was intimidated, but because she was genuinely surprised.

The nerve.

She folded her arms.

The guy took another step forward.

"What are you doing in my house?"

His house?

Interesting.

Raven merely stared back. She was instead studying and measuring him. He didn't look dangerous, just very arrogant and obviously proud. The kind of person who probably loved hearing himself talk.

When she didn't answer, his expression darkened.

"I'm talking to you."

Still she said nothing.

Raven simply turned, she wasn't in the mood. She had been here less than an hour, already exhausted, already overwhelmed and now she had to deal with some spoiled rich kid.

She took one step, ready to leave.

His voice stopped her.

"You don't walk away while I'm talking."

Raven froze. Slowly, very slowly she turned back.

Kai had both hands shoved inside his pockets, looking at her like she was something dragged in from the street.

"I will ask again."

His eyes narrowed.

"Who the hell are you, and what are you doing in my house?"

Something inside Raven snapped, but not enough to explode, just enough to become annoyed.

"Funny."

Kai raised an eyebrow but remained silent.

"You keep calling it your house," she continued. 

A muscle ticked in his jaw.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

Raven shrugged.

"It means I thought rich people were supposed to have manners."

The temperature in the kitchen dropped.

Kai laughed a short laugh, one with absolutely no humor in it.

"Trust me," his eyes traveled over her clothes again, "you don't look like someone qualified to talk about manners."

Raven scoffed.

"There it is. There the personality is."

Kai's eyebrows furrowed.

"What personality?"

"The one where you are an asshole for no reason."

Silence.

Then Kai smiled, the smile somehow made him look worse.

"Oh, I have reasons."

Raven rolled her eyes. Of course he did.

His gaze moved toward the refrigerator.

"You don't seem very impressed with the foods in there."

Raven immediately knew he had heard everything she had spoken on the phone, every word.

Wonderful!

Kai smirked.

"What was it you said?"

His voice dripped with mockery as he mimicked her.

"'They don't have this.'"

"'They don't have that.'"

"'These rich people are weird.'"

Raven's jaw tightened.

Kai continued.

"Maybe you should try being grateful."

Her eyes narrowed.

"Oh?"

"Yeah," he leaned against the counter, "most people would be excited seeing food like that."

He gestured toward the refrigerator.

"But I guess if you have never seen anything beyond instant noodles and cheap frozen meals..."

There it was. The insult, the condescension, the assumption.

Raven burst into laughter, a sharp laugh, one that surprised even him.

"You know what's funny?"

Kai folded his arms, mute and watched. 

"I thought rich people were supposed to be educated..."

His eyes darkened.

"...but apparently money can't buy intelligence."

The smile disappeared from his face.

Good. Raven was just getting started.

Kai stared at her then shook his head.

"You won't last here."

Raven's eyebrow lifted.

"Oh! I'm shaking, I'm scared," her facial expression imitated a scaredy cat.

He scoffed.

"Every foster kid that comes through here always thinks they have found paradise," his gaze hardened, "then reality hits."

Raven smiled, the expression held no warmth.

"That is very cute."

Kai frowned.

"What is?"

"You think you are intimidating."

For the first time, genuine irritation flashed across his face.

Raven continued.

"You know absolutely nothing about me."

"And yet you have already decided who I am?"

She pointed at him.

"I, however, have figured you out in five minutes."

Kai's eyes narrowed.

"Oh, really?" He challenged, "what am I then?"

Her smile sharpened.

"A spoiled brat with abandonment issues."

Silence fell. Absolute silence.

Something dangerous flickered in Kai's eyes and that made Raven immediately knew she had hit something hard.

Good!

She turned, done with the conversation, done with him, done with this kitchen. She had barely taken two steps when a loud bark exploded right in front of her.

Raven jumped.

"What the—!"

Another bark followed, deep and aggressive.

She spun around. A large black dog stood near the doorway. Its dark fur was messy, its body powerful, its teeth very visible.

The dog barked again and Raven instinctively stepped backward.

Kai burst out laughing. Not a chuckle nor a grin, a full mocking and amused laugh.

Damn! This brat was annoyingly handsome and completely infuriating.

Raven glared.

"Control your dog."

Kai smirked.

"Dog?"

The animal barked again. Kai scratched behind its ears.

"This is Diesel."

The dog immediately relaxed. Tail wagging, tongue hanging out, now looking significantly less terrifying.

Raven wasn't impressed.

"Control your Diesel, petrol or whatever."

Kai frowned.

"Stop daring me, kid," he warned.

Diesel barked again, as if answering for himself.

Raven ignored and took another step and the dog immediately moved forward.

Kai looked entertained, far too entertained.

"Diesel."

The dog looked up and Kai's smirk widened.

"Go say hello."

The dog started moving.

That was it.

Raven snapped. She marched toward the nearest counter, grabbed the first knife she saw and spun around.

The kitchen froze, even Diesel stopped.

Kai's smirk vanished instantly.

"What the hell?"

Raven pointed the knife directly at the dog.

"Move him."

Kai stared, completely stunned.

"Are you crazy?"

"Move. Or you see real crazy."

"You are not serious."

Raven took one deliberate step forward, the knife glinted beneath the kitchen lights as she brandished it.

Kai moved immediately.

"Hey," he stepped between her and Diesel. "Okay," his hands lifted, "calm down."

"Move your dog."

"Nobody is attacking anybody."

"Move. Your. Dog."

Something in her eyes finally convinced him that this girl wasn't bluffing, not even a little.

A strange chill slowly crawled down Kai's spine, he backed toward Diesel. Then bent down and scooped the dog into his arms.

Diesel immediately began panting happily, completely unaware of the chaos he had caused.

Kai rubbed the dog's head.

"Easy," he scratched behind Diesel's ears, "easy, boy."

The dog licked his jaw.

Kai looked at Raven then shook his head.

"I didn't realize we were housing wild animals now."

Raven's eyes narrowed.

Kai continued petting Diesel, trying very hard to look relaxed, trying very hard to pretend she hadn't just scared the hell out of him.

Raven scoffed, then casually tossed the knife back onto the counter. The metallic clang echoed through the kitchen.

Without another word, she turned and walked away. This time she didn't look back.

But before she disappeared through the doorway, she caught one final glimpse of Kai as he stood there holding Diesel and watching her leave.

And for the first time since they had met, he wasn't smirking anymore, he had a different expression, one she couldn't read.