Chapter 68

Amaris' POV

I lifted my feet above the ground wrapping my arms around them as I curled up on the couch. Kian parted his lips about to say something when the lights went out leaving us alone in the dark room. *Oh shit. Not again.* This same thing has been happening over and over again and I always told myself that I was going to complain to an electrician about it but I was always so busy with work that it kept slipping my mind. And now I'm stuck in a dark room...with Kian.

I tapped my hand frantically as I searched for my phone on the table beside the couch I was sitting on. "Ugh where is it?" I groaned. I always kept my phone or a flashlight close by just in case it happened again, but now....

"Amaris are you okay?" I heard Kian ask from the other end of the room, his tone tinged with worry.

"I'm fine." I let out an annoyed sigh as I realized that I had left my phone in the kitchen when I went to get Kian a glass of water. I immediately got up from the couch moving towards where I assumed was the kitchen but then I hit my head against a brick hard wall before falling weightless and helplessly through an endless void. My hands flailed out, searching for something, anything, to grasp onto and it wasn't long until I landed with a soft thud on something solid. It dipped slightly beneath my weight like a mattress or a couch would but it wasn't a surface...it was a person? Kian!

My heart raced as I subconsciously reached out to confirm my suspicion. My fingers brushed against a smooth warm surface which I suspected to be his skin.

I pulled my hand away, startled and hesitantly reached out again just to make sure I wasn't assuming things. Kian was sitting on the couch few seconds ago. There's no way I'd bump into him right? This time, my hand made contact with a firm, muscular shoulder and I could feel the gentle rise and fall of their chest and the soft whisper of their breath. Yup. Definitely Kian.

Just then the lights flickered and the darkness was shattered by a warm, golden glow. I batted my lashes as I tried to adjust to the bright light. As my vision cleared, I found myself looking down at Kian who stared back at me. I had never been this close to him before....yeah he was always and when I said always I meant always in my personal space but right now we were closer than that. So close that I could feel his body heat and his warm smooth skin against mine.

His features were strong and chiseled with shimmering green eyes that seemed to bore into my soul. His curly dark hair was kind of messy and my hands itched to shift them away from his eyes. My gaze dropped to the hint of stubble shadowing his jawline before moving to his thin lips.

"Are you hurt?" He asked, his voice a bit rough as his gaze dropped to my chest and that was when I realized that I was still on top of him, with my chest pressing hard against his! I scrambled to sit up before nodding, my heart still racing and somehowthe shock of falling had nothing to do with it.

Kian's eyes followed me, his gaze never leaving mine as I crawled off his body. He was lying on his back and I realized with a start that I had been lying in top of him and our fronts had been...*shit. shit. shit*

A flush spread across my cheeks as I scrambled to my feet. "I'm sorry. I didn't see you there." I managed to say as he sat up slowly, his movements fluid and graceful and almost seductive.

He rubbed the back of his neck as his gaze dropped to floor. "No it's not your fault....I should've said something." He said before looking around particularly at the light bulbs. "So your lights just go out like that?" He asked as our eyes met again, and I felt a jolt of electricity run through me.

"Yeah....it started happening a few days ago after Mia left." He wrinkled his forehead before glancing around again.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I blinked trying to understand what he meant by that. Why was I supposed to tell him? It was only after a few seconds that it dawned on me that Kian was the owner of Beck Luxury homes....in other words my landlord.

I parted my lips to speak but no words came out. The only words that popped in my head where, "I forgot."

"You forgot?" He got up from the couch, his voice sending cold chills down my spine. "Amaris you could get really hurt if you fall and..."

"It's okay." I told him. "It's not like the lights go off for a long time...as you can see..." I gestured around. "....it just comes right back and I always have my phone or a flashlight with me....I just forgot to take them out of my room today." I explained but he just stared at me like I wasn't making any sense.

"Yeah but that doesn't stop you from getting hurt..." He said reaching for something in his pocket. "...looks like Sophia is not doing her job right." He muttered to himself but it was loud enough for me to hear. I stared at him as he swiped through his phone. Who was Sophia? And what did he mean by she wasn't doing her job right? Was he going to fire her? Oh no.

"Kian..." I moved closer craning my neck so I could look at his phone even though I knew I was invading his privacy. "...I hope you're not planning to fire anyone."

"Don't worry I'll take care of it." He flashed me a small smile before he resumed typing. I moved my face away from his phone giving him some privacy but I couldn't shake off the feeling that I had put someone in trouble. I picked up the empty glass by the couch stealing a glance at him before taking it to the kitchen. I decided to make something since Kian was here. It would've been rude if I just let him go without offering something that wasn't water.

I glanced around the kitchen searching for what to make with the little time I had. I pulled open the fridge searching through for anything I could use. My gaze settled on the slice of bread I left over this morning and the slices of cheese in the corner. "Ok then....I guess I'm making a grilled cheese sandwich." I smiled to myself as I pulled out the bread and the cheese.

I was in the middle of placing one bread slice in the skillet when Kian walked in. "What are you doing?" An amused glint flashed in his eyes before he narrowed them into thin slits.

"Making you a snack obviously," I said my eyes never leaving the buttered bread slice in from of me. "Are you done firing Sofia?" I asked my tone laced with sarcasm.

"I didn't fire her." He let out an exasperated huff causing me to turn to him. "I just reduced her pay temporary that's all." He shrugged his shoulders before folding his arms over his chest as he leaned on the doorframe. "I mean I didn't even yell at her."

"Oh wow, so you're actually capable of yelling at someone?" I lifted a brow as a small smile crept up my lips. "I guess you're not nice and sweet after all." A teasing smirk spread on my lips as I turned back to the skillet above the grill.

A heard an audible gasp but still didn't turn to face him. "I am nice and sweet," he drawled emphasizing on the word "am." "....to a few people that is."

"Mhmm." I hummed a reply. "And why does those few people include me?"

"I don't know....I guess you should figure out that yourself." And then without warning I felt a hot breath graze my neck causing all the hairs on my skin to stand up straight. It was as if the air molecules around me had shifted, ever so slightly to signal that someone was there.

My heart flipped in my chest as I felt another wave of shiver running down my spine even though I already knew who it was. I froze, my spatula hovering over the pan and I suddenly started feeling self conscious for some reason. How I did not hear him walking towards me?