He sighed. “I didn’t tell you enough that I love you. I didn’t say it every day, or multiple times a day, because I assumed you knew it and trusted it. Because I do, Kenzie! I love you with every ounce of breath I have in my body!”
“Don’t assume. You know we both have trust issues!”
He smiled. “I promise I’ll do better.”
“You’re going to have to do much better. If you’re going to be in a relationship with me, you need to work on that stank attitude of yours! That shit’s just not cool!”
“If you promise to work on that foul mouth of yours! I swear you cuss too damn much!” he laughed.
Thirty minutes later the two had talked until they’d both heard everything they felt they needed to hear. The emotions had run high a time or two, but both trusted that what they were feeling for each other was what would sustain them in the years to come. It felt good. It felt right. And both believed wholeheartedly that the other was their future, fate sealing the deal between them.
“So what now? Where do we go from here?” Kenzie asked.
Zachary stared at her, his eyes skipping across her face. He suddenly dropped to one knee in front of her, reaching for her hand. “Marry me.”
Kenzie’s eyes widened in pure shock. “Zachary!”
“Marry me. Be my wife. I’m committed to fighting some damn good fights with you because I love you more than anything else in the world.”
Zachary reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a black velvet box. Kenzie’s eyes widened even more, her stunned expression moving him to smile. He slowly lifted the lid on the box, exposing the sweetest engagement ring. There sat a princess-cut diamond set in a 14K gold band. He extended it in her direction.
“Your father asked me to hold onto this for you. He had bought it for your mother, and since that didn’t work out, he tucked it away to save for you. He said that he had planned to give it to the man you fell in love with, and he entrusted me to do just that. I don’t think he imagined that I would have been that man. But here it is. Now, if you don’t like it, we can always get you any ring you want, baby, but I couldn’t come here empty-handed, and I think Kai would have definitely approved. So marry me, Kenzie!” he said as he slipped the ring onto her finger.
Tears of sheer joy rained down Kenzie’s cheeks. She dropped to her knees beside him, her arms sliding around his neck. She pressed her mouth to his and kissed him passionately. “Yes!” she exclaimed. “Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!” she screamed excitedly.
Zachary reclaimed her mouth, kissing her possessively. It was a tongue-entwined connection that reminded them of everything they had shared and the wealth of love that had grown from their experiences together.
“We need to plan,” he said as he sat back on the couch, pulling her into his lap. “We have so many decisions to make!”
She nodded. “We do, but we’re going to have to do it later,” she said as she stole a glance toward the clock on the wall. “I have an interview, and I need to get ready.” She tugged at her hair.
He nodded. “Is this your Knicks thing?”
“Yeah! I’m meeting with the owner one last time and a few of the players at Madison Square Garden.”
“Let me help,” he said. He reached for the hairbrush that she’d rested on the coffee table.
She smiled as she turned around in her seat to give him access to her whole head. With the skills of a professional, Zachary parted her hair into four sections and slowly brushed the tangles from the strands. Before braiding each section away, he scratched and oiled her scalp. His touch was gentle and comforting, and Kenzie knew that there would be many times more when she would want him to play stylist, and she looked forward to him doing so.
When he was done, he kissed the back of her neck, pressing his lips gently against her skin. “Are you going to wear it down?” he asked.
She shook her head. “It’s too cold. I’m going to wrap it in a turban, I think.”
“It is freezing, and it’s March. I’m really hoping you don’t want to stay here in New York.”
She laughed. “You would stay?”
“Baby, I’d do whatever you want. If you want this to be base camp for us, then it will be. What I’m not going to do is lose you.”
She smiled. “I really like how you think, but I love living in Phuket. I’ll take the rainy season over these New York winters any day of the year!”
“Boy, am I glad you said that,” he said teasingly.
Kenzie rose from the seat and moved into the bedroom. He followed behind her, dropping down onto her bed as she stripped out of her clothes and moved into the shower.
“Hey, can I borrow your phone?” he called out.
She poked her head out of the bathroom. “Of course. Who are you calling?”
“My brother. I need to tell him I got my girl back!”
* * *
When Kenzie stepped out of the shower, wrapping her bathrobe around her body, she could hear Zachary snoring. He’d fallen into a deep sleep, his body stretched across the length of her bed. She reached a hand out to touch him, wanting to be sure that he really was there and she hadn’t been dreaming.
As she pulled on a pair of black slacks and a black turtleneck sweater she was tempted to call and cancel the interview, but she knew the sooner she finished, the sooner she would be able to head back home with Zachary. She wanted to go home.
She dropped down onto the bed by his side, suddenly marveling at the fact that she was going to be Zachary Barrett’s wife. They intended to form a lifetime union, and that was no small step. Even in the dynamics of the apology and the reclaiming of what was most important to them both, the fire in their personalities had them bumping heads. But it was that fire that made their being together possible in the first place. They challenged each other. They pushed each other. They motivated one another, and even in those moments when one or the other feared that it might not work, the fire between them refused to be extinguished.
She was going to be Zachary Barrett’s wife. She was going to be the mother of his children, his partner in business, his companion in old age. She was suddenly overwhelmed by the magnitude of that responsibility. And then she thought about the flip side of that. Zachary Barrett was going to be her husband! She hoped he was up for the task because she knew that it wasn’t going to be easy for him or any man!
She gently eased her cell phone from the palm of his hands. He snorted as he rolled from her, his body easing to the other side of the bed. Rising, she draped a warm blanket over his torso. Then she moved into the other room, excited to call her friend Stephanie and share her good news.
Chapter Sixteen
When Zachary woke up, it was dark outside, only the faintest light peeking in from the other room. For a brief moment he didn’t know where he was, a wave of hesitation washing over him as his head snapped from side to side trying to recognize something or someone. He sat upright in the bed and then remembered that he was in the Bronx, in his baby’s bed.
He threw his legs off the side of the mattress. Kenzie had removed his shoes and his socks, and he winced when his bare feet hit the wood floors. The air was cooler than he was accustomed to, and he was suddenly longing for the heat of Thailand. He took a deep breath and then a second as he stretched his arms high over his head.
He stood up and moved into the bathroom to empty his bladder and wash the sludge from his eyes. When he finally felt fully awake, he headed toward the living area, calling out her name. “Kenzie?”
“In here!” she called back. She turned to meet his gaze as he moved into the room. She was sitting in front of her computer, her fingers flying across the keyboard. “You’re awake!”
He nodded. “How long have I been asleep?”
She turned to look at the clock. “About six hours. You were exhausted!”
He shook his head in disbelief. “I need to call Alexander. He didn’t answer when I called him earlier.”
“He called you. He said to
tell you that he already grabbed dinner and was headed in for the night. The change in temperature has him feeling a little under the weather. He said he would meet us in the morning for breakfast.”
Zachary nodded. “Have you eaten?”
“I wanted to wait for you. I picked up some groceries before I came back in. It’s so cold out I figured I’d cook something for the two of us.”
“You cook?”
Kenzie laughed. “Yes, I cook . . . sort of!”
He grinned. “I really need to take a shower.” He lifted his arm and sniffed. “Yeah, I can definitely use some soap and water.”
She shook her head. “Well, why don’t you go use the last of the hot water while I put the roast beef on.”
“We’re having roast beef?”
“My version of a Philly cheesesteak. I’m going to sauté an onion and a green pepper, warm up the roast beef, and layer it on a hoagie roll with Swiss cheese. A few seconds under the broiler and we’ll have dinner. I already made a salad.”
“It sounds good.” He turned then hesitated. “What do you do for exercise around here?”
Kenzie chuckled softly. “We have a gym here in the building. When the roads are clear, you can always run. And if push comes to shove, you can always get a membership at 24-Hour Fitness, which is about three blocks from here.”
He nodded. “I am so glad you want to go back to Phuket,” he said matter-of-factly. “There’s no way I can train for my fight here.”
“That’s not true. Baby, this is New York. If it exists, it can be found here somewhere!”
“I’ve already looked. The one gym that would best meet my needs is the home court of the one and only Antonio Barrera. I can’t train where my opponent trains.”
“When we’re home, you train wherever, whenever. You make it work, and you do a great job of that. You could easily do the same thing here. I know you can.”
He thought about her comment for a moment. He slowly nodded his head in understanding. He turned back toward the bathroom. “I really like it when you refer to Phuket as our home!”
“Me, too,” she quipped as she tossed him a look over her shoulder.
Zachary gave her a wink of his eye as he hummed his way back to the bathroom and she began to prep their evening meal. He’d been standing beneath the spray of warm water for a good few minutes when the sliding glass shower door slid open and Kenzie stepped inside.
He grinned as she pressed her naked body against his, easing up on her toes to kiss his mouth.
“What about dinner?” he muttered softly as her kisses moved from his lips, across his jawline, into the warmth of his neck. Her mouth was warm and wet and teasing, and his whole body quivered in anticipation.
Kenzie shrugged. “I want dessert first!”
* * *
Hours later they sat naked atop her bed, sharing a bowl of orange sorbet. It was almost three in the morning, and sleep was eluding them both. There was too much to talk about, and the conversation was flowing smoothly.
Kenzie lifted the spoon to his lips, and Zachary sucked the chilled sweetness into his mouth.
“I am not supposed to be eating this,” he said as he licked a drop of sorbet from her fingers. “My brother will have a fit if he finds out.”
“I won’t tell,” she said as she took the next bite of the icy goodness.
“I really need to be good, though. I do have a title fight coming up.”
“I’m still not comfortable with you and this fight, Zachary. I’ve been watching some of Barrera’s fights on YouTube, and he’s vicious. Are you really certain about being ready?”
“I have the best team in the business who will help me get ready. It’s going to be fine.”
She nodded. “What do you have planned after this fight? What’s next for you?”
He hesitated for a moment. He’d given that question a lot of thought since signing his name to the contract that would put him back into the fight ring. He knew that this would more than likely be the last fight of his career, and he was more than ready for that. It was getting harder to get his body to cooperate, and he’d gotten to a point where he just didn’t want to do it anymore. His answering her question was actually easier than she probably imagined it would be.
“I’m done after this, Kenzie. This is going to be my swan song. I hope to retire still holding the title belt, but if that doesn’t happen, I’m okay with it.”
“If you’re ready to quit, why bother to fight this fight and take the risks you’re taking?
He exhaled, a heavy breath blowing against her face. “One, this will be the biggest payday of my career, and two, I just want to prove to myself and everyone else that I still have it. There’s this little voice in the back of my head telling me to go for it.”
“It’s probably my father’s ghost!” She chuckled softly
Zachary laughed heartily. “I was thinking the same thing!”
Kenzie said, “You know I’ll support whatever you want to do, but please be careful.”
“Always.”
“Have you ironed out all the details?”
He nodded. “We’re fighting in Vegas. In six weeks.”
“Six weeks! Are you kidding?” Anxiety washed over her expression as she suddenly realized how much time had passed since he’d first told her about the fight.
“Actually I’m very serious.”
“Six weeks doesn’t seem like enough time for you to get ready. That really scares me!”
“I’m in pretty good shape, Kenzie. It’s not like I’m starting from scratch to get ready. You just need to trust me to do what I do.”
She took a deep breath. She leaned forward to kiss the sugar from his lips. “So when do you plan to marry me. Before the fight or after?”
“Whenever you’re ready, I’m ready. Do you want a big wedding or something smaller?”
“Could we just go to the courthouse? I don’t need anything fancy. I just want to say I do and be done.”
“A woman who doesn’t want a wedding?”
“I never believed in marriage, remember? I think we’ve both made some serious progress to even be thinking about tying the knot!”
He smiled. “We can do it in Vegas or Colorado.”
“Colorado?”
“When we leave here I’m going to my brother’s gym in Boulder to get ready for the fight. I don’t know what the rules are there, but if you choose Vegas, there are no rules. No blood tests, no waiting period, no hassle.”
“If we pick Vegas, Elvis could marry us,” she said teasingly.
He laughed. “There are no limits in Vegas, but I don’t know if I can work with an Elvis impersonator. I don’t want to feel like my marriage is pretend. We’ll need a real minister.”
“Well,” Kenzie said as she set the spoon and empty bowl against the nightstand, “whatever we decide to do, let’s commit to doing it before we go back to Thailand. I hear the marriage ceremony there is even longer than the funeral ceremony. I don’t think either one of us could take all that chanting from the monks again.”
He nodded. “You’ll get no argument from me there!”
There was a brief moment of pause.
“How did your interview go this afternoon?” Zachary asked, changing the subject.
“It was good. In fact, I’m actually done with the story. This meeting was more about my fact-checking than anything else. I’d like to submit it before we leave, but if that’s not possible, it won’t be a problem.”
“If you need to spend a few more days here, I understand, but I need to go. I need to get to work.”
She nodded. “Let me talk to Stephanie tomorrow, and we can decide then. I want you to meet her before you leave, though.”
“I look forward to getting to know her. What about your mother? I’d like to meet the woman who stole Kai Tamura’s heart.”
“And I’m sure you will. One day. It just won’t be anytime soon. She is on a cruise ship in the Greek isles right now. Som
ething about finding herself a tycoon to be my stepdaddy.”
Zachary laughed. “That sounds like the woman Kai told me about. What about our wedding? Do you want her there?”
Kenzie chuckled. “You’re going to discover that my mother really isn’t the maternal type. I’ll send her a message, but if there’s nothing in it for her, she’s not going to go out of her way to be there.”
“Are you okay with that?”
Kenzie smiled. “She’s my mother. It’s nothing that I’m not used to. I’m good. I swear.”
Zachary nodded, leaning to kiss her cheek.
Kenzie yawned, sleep beginning to sneak in and lay claim to her body. She lay back against the pillows, propping them beneath her head and torso. She opened her legs. Wide. Exposing the best of her most intimate place. The seductive look she gave him was taunting, her eyes voicing nothing but need. She teased a finger across her clit and then past her lips, sucking it in like a lollipop.
Zachary felt his dick go rock hard with no hint of hesitation. Kenzie was totally naked, her knees spread apart as her right hand began to rub at her crotch. He leaned forward to eye her private spot, her fingers moving up and down and side to side. He bit down against his bottom lip, desire seeping with a vengeance from his eyes. Kenzie moaned softly, the sound exquisite to his ears as her knees came together to clamp her hand in the tight recess between her legs. Her body shivered and she closed her eyes, her movements intent on getting them both heated.
She brought her hand to her mouth a second time, tasting her own juices, and his cock twitched as he eyed her, feeling like an electrical impulse had surged from somewhere deep in his midsection. Despite his best efforts, he could barely contain his excitement, or his erection, but he tried to keep his expression calm and cool as he watched her.
“You are such a tease!” he exclaimed, his voice dropping an octave. He clenched his fists together, determined to hold off touching her and himself.
Kenzie smiled, her eyes still closed as she continued pleasuring herself. She shifted her feet and knees apart even further, practically doing a split against the mattress. Zachary lifted himself up, pushing her shoulders back as he moved above her. He knelt down between her parted legs and ran his index finger along the length of her folds. She was moist and sticky, the evidence of her arousal coating the tip of his finger.
Perfect Pleasures Page 20
