Kenzie bit down against her bottom lip. Her cheeks dimpled from the seductive smile she gave him, and her eyes half closed as she stared from his face to his hands and back. She moved slowly around the end of the pool to stand above him. As she did, she slowly eased the strap of her tank top from her shoulder, her fingers gently stroking her own flesh.
Zachary’s face lit up like a kid who had just gotten his Christmas wish. He extended his legs, still stroking himself, slowly at first and then more forcefully, his hips pushing gently up and down against his palm. As he pleasured himself, his eyes watching her intently, Kenzie began to slowly remove her clothes. Her stripper game was on point as she gyrated seductively to the music playing in the background, removing each piece of clothing one by one. He watched her with an eager expression on his face, salivating ever so slightly.
Kenzie didn’t speak. Soon she had stripped down to her panties and the high-top sneakers she wore. Then she began to taunt him. She pulled the crotch of her undergarment aside, giving him glimpses of her treasure box, only to quickly cover it up again. She pulled the fabric tight against herself and squatted down within inches of his face as she gyrated her hips. This aroused Zachary even more, and soon he was breathing heavily as he bucked his hips up and down in rhythm to his fingers and palm. He licked his lips. “Talk dirty to me,” he commanded, his eyes beseeching.
Kenzie eased herself slowly out of those panties, and then she began to touch herself, talking dirty to him the entire time. “Do you like this pussy, baby? See how hot, and wet you’ve made me! Look how my fingers slide in and out!” She tossed her head back against her shoulders and purred. “And it feels so good!” she hissed, her voice a loud whisper. “I know you want to put that dick right up in here!”
Kenzie eased herself above him and straddled his head. Her crotch was mere inches from his face. She turned and leaned forward, supporting her weight by holding onto his thick thighs. “That’s it, baby,” she hissed as she eased her buttocks back and lowered her crotch to his face. “Rub that pussy good! Get me wet! You want me, don’t you, baby?”
“Yeah! Oh, yeah,” Zachary croaked, the words catching in his throat as he panted.
Kenzie dropped even lower over his face, covering his mouth until she felt his tongue lapping at her folds. He licked her from front to back. He drank the taste of her sex, the pungent aroma and flavor hardening him even more.
Kenzie moaned with joy and pleasure as he began to move her pussy around with his mouth, spreading the flow of her juices all over his face as his tongue dipped into each crevice. “Oh, God!” she exclaimed.
“Come for me,” Zachary ordered in a low, throaty whisper. “I’m going to make you come!” He stopped stroking himself as he grabbed her butt, kneading the flesh with a heavy, heavy hand. He pulled her back against him and then pushed into her, his tongue plowing her like a piston in overdrive.
Kenzie bent her knees to lower her torso even more. She suddenly took him in her mouth, sucking him like he was an ice pop and it was noontime in the middle of the summer. They licked and sucked and lapped at each other in a twisted sixty-nine position until she felt her legs begin to quiver, her entire body beginning to spasm with pleasure.
Zachary suddenly pushed her forcefully, spinning her at the same time. He pulled her down against him, driving his dick deep inside of her. The intrusion into her secret spot was explosive, and Kenzie felt her body gush, the satin lining of her inner muscles squeezing and tightening around him. She pumped her body up and down, around and around, over and over again, until Zachary fell off the edge of ecstasy with her, screaming her name into the midnight air.
Their orgasms were earth-shattering, the two shaking and quivering intensely. Everything seemed bigger and brighter, smells more intense, touch more sensitive. Zachary pumped himself in and out of her until there was nothing left to push and pull, every ounce of himself drained. He fell back against the hard surface beneath him, Kenzie falling against him as she clutched his arms and held on tightly. Her torso heaved up and down in sync with his as they gasped and panted for air, feeling as if there wasn’t enough oxygen to share and needing to save the other with each breath.
Riding the last waves of their orgasms, neither noticed the slight scrapes against her knees and his back, skin red from the abrasive flooring they lay on. Neither paid any attention to the clouds that had darkened the late-night sky, the first sign of bad weather coming. And when the rains finally fell, they could have cared less, still lost in the beauty of being with each other.
Chapter Eight
Sarai hit the redial on her cell phone for the umpteenth time. When she didn’t get an answer, she tossed the device aside in frustration.
“What’s wrong?” Alexander asked. He lifted his eyes from his morning newspaper. “Who are you trying to call?”
“Your brother. Have you spoken with him? I’ve called Zachary a few times, left a ton of messages, and he hasn’t called me back.”
Alexander chuckled. “I spoke to him the other day. He’s doing just fine.”
“Are you sure? I got a message from Kenzie. She’s canceled her trip here to Colorado. She’s done all her interviews with the staff here by phone and video chat, and she’s planning to submit her story in the next few days.”
“Well, that’s a good thing, right? She got everything she needed.”
“I guess, but I wanted to make sure. Which is why I want to speak with Zachary. To get his take on why she changed her plans.”
“You worry too much. If I guessed, I’d venture to say that things are probably going very well with both my brother and Kenzie.”
Sarai stared at her husband for a brief moment. Alexander Barrett was the most beautiful man she had ever laid eyes on. She’d been enamored with him since she’d been a little girl and her mother had received a Christmas photo card of him and his family, he and his twin brother looking like two bookends in little boy suits. Meeting him had been a dream come true. Becoming his wife had opened the doors to Eden, the two of them so in love that sometimes she was in total awe of how happy they were together.
He gave her a smile that melted her heart and had her legs quivering with anticipation. She loved his smile, the simple gesture warming her spirit.
Sarai laughed. “What do you know?” she questioned as she moved to his side and eased herself into Alexander’s lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and drew him close, meeting his lips with her own.
Alexander kissed her back, a deep, tongue-entwined connection that left them both panting when they finally pulled back. He took a deep breath before he spoke. “I know that my brother and that girl are doing just fine. They don’t need either one of us in their business. And Zachary certainly doesn’t need you running interference for him.”
She hesitated for a brief moment, mulling over her man’s comment. “So they’re a thing now? Zachary and Kenzie?”
Alexander shrugged. “I don’t know if they are or not. But I know that my brother likes her, and when he asked my opinion I told him to go for it. He has nothing to lose.”
Sarai shook her head, and Alexander could almost see her mind working. His wife’s relationship with his brother went back years, before he and she had met. He knew that other people often questioned the bond the two shared, wondering if that something between them was more than platonic, curious if their friendship came with any privileges. He himself had been skeptical of their relationship before he and Sarai had fallen in love and married. But he knew both their hearts. His brother had his back and would never betray him like that. His wife loved him as deeply as he loved her. He trusted them both, and he understood his wife’s concerns. “Are you jealous?” he teased, his brow raised questioningly.
Sarai shook her head. “No, not at all. If he’s happy, then I’m ecstatic!”
Alexander smiled. “He’s very happy!”
She kissed him again. “You know he’s going to mess it up, don’t you? Somehow, some way he’ll do someth
ing to push her away and blow it. He needs to call me so I can tell him what he needs to be doing.”
Alexander laughed. “Let’s hope not! Let’s hope that he can get it right this time. But I’m sure the minute it goes left, you’ll be the first person he calls looking for advice. Then he’ll call me for a second opinion.”
His wife nuzzled her nose beneath his chin. “You’re right,” she said. “I guess I won’t worry.” She trailed her tongue across his jawline. “Now, how much time do we have before we have to be at the gym?”
Alexander stole a glance down to his wristwatch. He stood, lifting her in his arms as he moved onto his feet, reclaiming her mouth with his own. His voice was a loud whisper, the tone inviting. “We’ll make time,” he said.
* * *
Zachary was humming. Zachary never hummed. But many times that week he’d been caught uttering a rhythmic murmur under his breath, his staff and friends eyeing him curiously.
Gamon turned to stare at him as Zachary hummed from his desk to the file cabinet and back. He hummed as he sat back down to sign a stack of checks, and he hummed as he reviewed the week’s employee schedule. Twice he exited the room, and when he returned he was still humming.
Gamon swallowed back a laugh, bemused by the other man’s behavior. “You are very happy,” he said, interrupting the chorus that had risen to a new pitch.
Zachary smiled sheepishly. “Sorry! I guess I got a little carried away.”
“No need to apologize. If you are happy, then you are happy.”
“I admit it. I’m in a really good mood!”
He and the older man exchanged a look.
“Is Miss Kenzie in a good mood, too?” Gamon asked, his expression smug.
Zachary shrugged, his wide smile spreading into a full grin that filled his face. He didn’t bother to respond.
Gamon rolled his eyes toward the ceiling, his head waving from side to side. He crossed his arms over his chest. “You need to stay focused,” he said, the slimmest hint of scolding in his tone.
Zachary scoffed. “How am I unfocused, Gamon?”
“You are missing classes. You are not spending time with your clients like you usually do. You haven’t returned important phone calls, and you spend much time locked away in your home with Miss Kenzie. You are like a schoolgirl with a crush!” The man tossed up his hands in frustration.
Zachary laughed. “I am not that bad!”
“You are worse!” Gamon countered.
“Okay,” Zachary said with a soft sigh. “I’ll get focused and do better. I promise.”
Gamon sucked his teeth, “Tch!” He waved a dismissive hand. “You will be just as bad as long as she is here. When is she leaving?”
Leaning back in his leather executive’s chair, Zachary paused on the question. He met the other man’s stare when he answered. “I don’t want her to leave,” he said softly. He lost himself in another split second of reflection, then said, “I like having her here.”
Gamon eyed him intently before nodding his head. “We need the cottage she is staying in. She will move in with you so that we can have that space for new clients coming,” the patriarch said, his comment feeling very much like an order.
“Fine,” Zachary answered. “She can move into my spare bedroom.”
The look the old man gave him made Zachary laugh and blush, his cheeks warming with color. “What?” he asked.
Gamon headed toward the office door. “We should call the monks,” he said matter-of-factly.
“The monks? Why?”
“For the marriage blessing,” Gamon said as he exited the room, closing the door after himself.
“The what . . . ?”
As the door closed, Zachary chuckled warmly, amused by his friend’s attempt at a joke. Even though he knew Gamon well enough to know the man probably wasn’t joking, he found him comical. Because Gamon knew marriage was the last thing on Zachary’s mind. Having been there and done that, he couldn’t imagine himself making such a commitment ever again with any woman.
Then he thought about Kenzie, and suddenly he wasn’t so sure anymore. Kenzie had him wide open. Their sexual connection was off the charts. They were having a good time together, and with everything he discovered about her, he found himself excited to learn more.
Kenzie Monroe was an anomaly in his small world. She not only excited him, but she challenged him. She didn’t fit into the box where he so casually placed all of his female relationships. She spilled past the boundaries he set between himself and the women he associated with. She soothed his soul, and he was fascinated with everything she said and did. And she frustrated the hell out of him; her sensitive nature, sometimes hyper behavior, and devil-may-care attitude gave him many reasons to pause and reconsider what he was getting himself into.
Zachary sat in deep thought for a good few minutes before turning his attention back to the paperwork on his desk. He really did need to work harder on staying focused, but after an hour of being away from her he couldn’t get the exquisite creature out of his head. Kenzie had that effect on him, and he didn’t see that changing anytime soon.
* * *
Kenzie had found the perfect spot on the beach, under the most perfect tree. The weather couldn’t have been better. The warm sun overhead sat in a bright-blue sky where marshmallow clouds floated lazily through the midday air. The water was crystalline, a shade of blue that was calm and soothing, sparkling like a collection of rich jewels beneath the light. It was as if the moon and the stars had aligned in perfect sync, the entire world rotating on its axis at just the right speed to insure the day was the best that she could have ever imagined. Kenzie felt relaxed and happy and like no one and nothing could push her off the pedestal she was sitting on top of. She imagined she was queen for the day and there wasn’t a whim or wish that she would be denied.
Zachary had put her on that dais and had lifted her sky-high, making her feel like she was the end-all of everything he held near and dear. He spoiled her, teased her sensibilities, and had her feeling like an adolescent with her very first crush.
Kenzie found herself laughing out loud, the sound resonating through the warm air. She was happy, and she couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so incredible. With her article about the two brothers finished, Kenzie had no reason to still be in Phuket, but she wasn’t ready to leave. She had pushed the SEND button on her writing days earlier, and her agent expected her to head back to New York, but Kenzie hadn’t even given the possibility of leaving a thought. There was still so much she wanted to learn about Zachary and even more that she wanted to share with him.
Everything about her newfound friendship with the man moved her spirit. He had her questioning everything she thought she knew about herself and what she wanted for her life, and suddenly the thought of a man in the middle of that mix didn’t feel so foreign to her.
She deeply inhaled the warm air, allowing it to fill her lungs and nourish her insides. Sitting there in reflection, Kenzie had to admit that she had never imagined herself wanting any man to be in her life for longer than a minute. And she blamed her parents for her disdain about marriage and relationships.
Kai Tamura and Tanya Monroe had met when he was touring the United States, trying to attain his own heavyweight title championship. The Madison Square Garden event had been one of many her mother had worked, taking tickets at the window, working the concessions stands, and whatever else helped pay her bills at the time. Running into Kai had been a fluke, fate interceding when neither had expected it. His English had been faltering, but he’d had the most brilliant smile. Their attraction had been instantaneous. At the time, Tanya couldn’t fathom the cultural differences that would eventually tear them apart, only knowing that he made her heart flutter at the possibilities. Kenzie was born twelve months later. Her father had returned to Bangkok months earlier to prepare for the fight that would make him a household name. He had not been there to witness her birth. Her mother had often told her the story o
f their first meeting, Kai fawning all over his six-month-old baby girl. Kenzie often regretted that she had no memory of that moment.
Things between Kai and Tanya had gone downhill from there. His checks came like clockwork. But he was gone more than he was there, and there were other men who made her mother feel better about her situation. Kenzie had grown up never seeing either of her parents in a healthy, loving relationship with a partner. She’d always been angry about her father leaving, feeling abandoned as though she was unwanted goods. Her mother had tried often to assure her that the very adult issues between them had nothing at all to do with her, but Kenzie had never been able to wrap her mind around the truth of that.
When she’d been a little girl, her father had called often to check on them both. His professional fight career had him traveling more often than not. She’d often imagined him standing in telephone booths in Paris, Spain, Belgium, Morocco, and a whole host of other countries he would find himself in, always taking time to call and tell her he loved her. Then there’d be the fights between him and her mother about the money that was never enough as far as Tanya Monroe was concerned. For longer than Kenzie could remember, Tanya was always holding her hands out for more, for bigger, for better, bleeding her father dry of everything he had to give. Most especially his love.
An injury had eventually returned Kai back to Thailand to teach. Kenzie had been twelve and certain that her father would be back in her life to teach her about the boys to avoid and hold her hand at the father-daughter dances that her youth group sometimes hosted. But Kai Tamura had never come for her. Eventually his calls waned, their frequency starting to feel like leap years. The last time he’d called to wish her a happy birthday and tell her that he loved her, she’d been seventeen, surly and contentious, angry that her mother had yet another new boyfriend, some other man wanting to play daddy in their home. And she’d taken her anger out on her father, telling him to never call her again. Years later, when she’d finally reached out to make amends, Kai Tamura had vanished.
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