Kane and Steele

Chapter 5

Aurora

"Steele. What the fuck? Besides the fact I told you not to come, you shouldn't be off for hours." I question, looking bewildered and baffled, my hands on my hips also giving him some attitude along with surprised aloofness.

"Better question, what's he doing working here and talking to you??" Steele angrily mutters, his eyes lasered in on Kane, his lips tightly pursing with his nostrils flaring in rage while he awaits an answer unable to break his gaze from Clyde Banks mysterious handsome stranger that stands behind the bar.

I don't look at Kane, keeping my focus on the ticking time bomb that is Steele and if I don't diffuse him soon, the whole situation will explode.

"I"m sorry if my presence in Clyde Banks has put you at unease when it comes to your girlfriend. Trust me when I say I have no ill intentions. I'm only here on a temporary basis and all the interactions and meetings I've had with Aurora have been coincidental. Aurora is a beautiful woman. I can understand your concerns and worries, but I'm not a disrespectful man. I would never try to make advances to a taken woman." Collectively, Kane speaks up, ruffling his fingers through his silky dark hair, catching me off guard by his words and calm nature. His words that not only seem to ease Steele some, as I see Steele's hoisted shoulders falter lower, but his words that say I'm beautiful. Having small butterflies swarm inside my belly like when I was a school girl, the way they did whenever Jason said or did something sweet or touched me, the way I shouldn't be feeling' from some strangers' words.

Apparently not being the only one being thrown off guard and taken aback, Steele drops his defenses. He becomes the man I know him to be and holds out a hand, "I'm sorry for coming off as such a dick. I'm Steele by the way, if I haven't mentioned it before."

And then I interrupt, as Kane reaches out to accept the offering. "I may not be available but Steele is NOT my boyfriend, even though he refrained from including that information. I hold no ties to any man." My hands that had dropped from my hips momentarily when Kane spoke up , somehow have quickly found their place back there again with a fierce madness laced across my face. I wasn't Steele's, I belonged to no man, I never would, I was sick and tired of everyone misconstruing me and Steele's relationship that way and him playing along, letting people believe it.

"I'm sorry Aurora. It's not like we don't have some form of a relationship, so I didn't see a need to make any corrections." With beseeching eyes, Steele reaches out taking my hand in his, softly caressing the upper flesh with his thumb, rubbing it just below my knuckles.

A part of me begins to melt, feel remorse for being so callous and feel my heart warm out to Steele. I may not be in love with him, but I do care deeply for the man and his touch does have a soothing effect on me. He has been a strong support, someone who has spent many restless nights overseeing my well being as I cried myself asleep for months after Jason's death. Even when I tried to refuse his friendship, when I tried to shun the world, to hide away and sink into my own deep depression, Steele never let up. Always persistently making himself a presence in my life when I needed someone the most. I was just too grief stricken at the time to know it. This isn't the time or place though to be arguing about our problems.

"Steele, I'm working. I can't do this with you right now. Please just leave." I pull back my hand, go to turn around and return to my tables, but he snatches my arms abruptly.

"Wait Aurora, I want to discuss this now." He says commandingly, tightening his grip on my arm.

"I don't want to talk now so let go!" I raise my voice, jerking my arm. His hold is too strong, I don't break free and then I see Kane approach closer, a fury building in his eyes, all the muscles in his body tightly bulging.

"She told you to let go and she didn't want to talk right now. You need to respect her wishes," Kane huskily asserts, placing a firm grip of his hand on Steele's shoulder, forcing Steele to let go of my arm.

"Do you have any idea who you're messing with!?" Steele is now also heated. He has turned to face Kane. The two brutish men both physically tense, ready to start throwing punches.

"Do you think I give a fuck!?" Kane replies with a ferocious grunt. Fire steaming from his entire body. He's one serious gentleman who has a hard on for a death wish. I find it endearing that he would go to such extremes to be protective of me, a woman he doesn't even know, but he has no idea what he's getting himself into.

I step in between the two of them, facing Steele, "I'll go with you, just stop this now."

"You don't need to go anywhere with him Aurora," Kane says from behind me. His voice is now softer.

"You need to mind your own fucking business and go back to wherever you came from!" Steele ignores the fact that I'm still standing between them to bark back at Kane.

I reach up, grabbing Steele's jaw in between my fingers. I turn his face to look at me. "I gave you a chance, but you still wanna act like a fucking child. We're done." I let go, wedge my way out between the two of them and make way to the kitchen. I know Steele, I know him well, this will get his immature ass away from that argument before the two of them tear up this bar and before Kane is out of a job day one.

"Aurora, don't walk away from me. I'm sorry." I hear Steele yell from behind, following. I called it. Now I have to figure out if I really do want to end things for good.