* * * *
Kenny could not believe she was fucking a man in the back of a limo that she’d just met a couple of days earlier. She had never had sex in a car. She’d never had sex outside. The things this man made her want to do excited her beyond conscious thought. She would do anything he asked.
Anything.
She wanted to be his. At this very moment and until he went home, she would be his.
Kenny never wanted to let Dax go. As he lay in her arms, she felt safe, comforted, loved. Cherished. With Dax was exactly where she wanted to be. Except that he would be going back to his life and probably very soon.
They felt the car turn left into Kenny’s driveway and roll to a stop in front of the house.
“Mmm, we are so far from finished, honey,” Dax whispered. He helped her to straighten her dress and wrapped his jacket around her. “Let’s get you inside.”
Kenny refused to make eye contact with the driver as he held the door open for them.
She kept her eyes glued to her feet as she raced up the stairs and into the house.
“Thank you,” she heard Dax say to the driver and the rear door of the car slam shut.
“Good evening, Mr. Winslow.”
Kenny heard the limousine drive away and her front door close. The lock clicked into place. She turned to see Dax stalk toward her with intent purpose, unquenched lust and desire filling his eyes.
Chapter 9
Their evening of celebration had continued into the morning. After making love before getting out of bed, again in the shower, and finally on the kitchen counter, with reluctance Kenny left the house to make an appearance at the garage for a few hours. She felt bad that over the last few days, the day-to-day operations of her garage had fallen on the shoulders of Uncle Mel and Haydn. Neither one would ever complain. They loved the garage as much as Kenny and were as much a part of its success as she was.
Deep down she knew Dax would be going back home to his life soon and she would have to go back to hers as well. She tried not to dwell on the eventuality of their parting but it was hard not to. Kenny knew she had lost her heart to him. She enjoyed their conversations and loved his wry sense of humor. She loved his natural, masculine scent. The feel of his hands on her body, drove her close to madness.
His skin tasted exquisite and was soft under the touch of her exploring fingertips. She would miss his passion when he was gone. He was a sensational lover, confident and demanding, as well as gentle and giving. He would take and give with equal fervor.
Not knowing if tonight would be their last night together, Kenny wanted to do something special for Dax. She wasn’t quite sure exactly what that would that be yet, but she had all afternoon to plan something fabulous for him.
She did not want him forgetting her any time soon. If ever.
* * * *
Once Kendall left the house, Dax retreated to the kitchen to make a few business calls. He reviewed the contract drawn up for the new medical development, signed it, and couriered a copy of it back to Dr. Wagner. He was taking a big step agreeing to oversee the project and was eager to begin this new adventure. Life is very good, he thought, leaning back in his chair, his fingers interlaced behind his head.
Glancing around the kitchen, he caught himself focusing on the countertop where he had taken her a short time earlier. A smile of contentment crossed his lips as he inhaled the trace of their lovemaking still scenting the air.
After making one final call, to the airport, he decided to head outside to enjoy his last afternoon of good clean, country air. As he stepped onto the back porch, he inhaled deeply the smells of peace and contentment. The scent of comfort, no rush living.
Kendall’s place was a perfect paradise.
Home.
Kendall was his paradise. His salvation.
“Stranded in paradise,” he mused to himself.
While Kendall was gone for the afternoon, Dax decided to tackle a couple of chores she needed done, but hadn’t gotten around to. First, he was going to fix the gate in the small corral and the door on Sam’s stall. Then he’d cut the grass.
Dax picked a couple of apples from a tree in the yard and wandered over to the garage to scope out some tools. Finding what he needed, he strolled across the lawn to the corral. In the palm of his hands he offered the two steeds an apple, enjoying their quiet company. He marveled at the soothing peacefulness their presence brought him. It astounded Dax that in the short time he’d been with Kendall he felt like a new man.
After finishing with the gate and stall door, Dax went back to the garage and eyed the riding lawnmower. He had never operated one before and realized just how many simple things he’d been missing out on.
For as long as he could remember, a landscaping company had taken care of his parent’s estate. When he had left home, he moved into a penthouse suite in a high-rise. The only vegetation he had to care for was a fake Ficus which sat in a corner of his balcony.
He’d never operated one of these machines, but he was an educated man, after all, and figured it couldn’t be too difficult He sat down on it and fired her up, grinning dumbly in satisfaction at achieving such a major feat. It took Dax a few minutes to figure out the controls, but within no time he had driven the mechanical beast out of the garage and was cutting the grass.
About twenty minutes into his groove, the lawn tractor sputtered and died.
“Ah shit,” he growled. This was not his week for operating motorized vehicles. He tried the key. The engine turned over, but refused to catch. He tried again. Nothing.
“Maybe it’s out of gas,” he said hopefully, hopping off and heading back the garage.
He went in search of a gas can, but came up empty-handed. Everything in the garage was pretty much visible and there was nothing resembling a gas can. Standing with his hands on his hips, Dax continued to survey the garage.
“Hmm, what’s back there?” He walked toward a set of doors at the back of the garage that he hadn’t noticed earlier. Unlatching the lever resting in the old-fashioned slot, he pulled the two doors toward himself.
“What the fuck?”
The room was dark. However, the daylight shining in the opening from where he stood was enough to reveal headlights and the sparkling grill of a car.
He slid his hands along the wall in search of a switch. Flicking one he found, bright light illuminated the room from above. In the middle of a double-car bay sat a 1969 cherry red Corvette convertible. Dax stood stunned for several minutes processing his find. He was having difficulty wrapping his mind around it.
Kendall had lied to him. But why?
Dax caught himself clenching his fists at his sides.
“Hell, maybe the fucking thing doesn’t even run.” He relaxed and walked to the driver’s door.
Spying the key in the ignition, he opened the door and sat behind the wheel.
Dax turned the key.
The engine caught.
Blankly, he sat staring ahead.
“Of course it would fucking run, she’s a goddamned mechanic!” he hollered to the empty garage.
Unable to control the boiling of his blood, he shut the vehicle off and got out. Scanning the contents of the garage, he found a lonely gas can sitting in the far corner. Picking it up and realizing it was full, he took it out to the lawn tractor to finish cutting the grass.
By the time he had finished mowing the lawn and returned the tractor to the garage, he’d calmed down and was amused at his earlier irrationality. In truth, no harm had been done. He’d attended his meetings and landed both deals without difficulty. More importantly, he’d learned something about himself, and he intended to embrace it.
* * * *
Kenny burst through her front door on the hunt for Dax. She was excited to be home and anxious to wrap her arms around him. She found him in the kitchen stirring something on the stovetop.
“Hi,” she said, smiling. “I’m sorry I’m so late, I lost track of time. Hey, I thought we would go
out to dinner tonight. Maybe not somewhere as extravagant as we went last night but I want to treat you.” Kenny came up behind him, wrapped her arms around him and stroked her hands across his broad chest. “Thank you for cutting the grass. It was getting unruly.” She chuckled. “Maybe I should get a goat. Or I guess I could always tie Sam and Eddie out front sometimes.”
Kenny walked over to the fridge and grabbed two bottles of beer.
“No problem. Oh, and I found some tools in the garage and fixed the gate in the corral and Sam’s door.” Dax turned to her.
“Thanks, you really didn’t have to do that.” She handed him an uncapped beer. “But I do appreciate it.”
“I didn’t mind at all. I like to use my hands.” He winked at her playfully.
“Mmm, I know you do,” she purred against his neck.
* * * *
Although he was long over his earlier pissiness, Dax needed to hear Kendall’s explanation regarding the Corvette in the garage. “The tractor ran out of gas before I finished,” he informed her casually. “But I found a gas can in the back part of the garage.”
Dax watched her body stiffen.
“I emptied it,” he announced. “So, it’ll need to be refilled.”
From the other side of the room he could almost taste her nervousness.
“Nice ’vette.”
She stood quietly.
“The other day you said you didn’t have a car to loan me. Imagine my surprise to find one sitting right out there in your garage,” he said gruffly, more irritated by her silence than anything else. “You knew how important those meetings were to me.”
With furrowed brows Kendall eyed him. “Your meetings went ahead as scheduled. You landed Waterston for your firm and you sold a design, taking your side business to a new level,” she said defensively. “That’s what’s important.”
“That’s not the point, Kendall,” he stated simply. “You lied to me.”
As he saw tears well in her eyes, his heart just about broke.
Almost.
“I wouldn’t have wrecked it, and I would have returned it to you,” he said, raising his voice slightly. “Why in the hell did you lie to me?”
* * * *
Kenny couldn’t control her emotions any longer, and she let the tears flow. Dax had found her out and now she had to come clean. She would lose him for sure. No matter what he felt before, she could see the look of disgust in his eyes. He was angry. The best thing to ever come into her life was about to walk away and never look back. She was embarrassed, completely humiliated.
“If you had a means to leave, I would have never seen you again. You would have left me forever. And I couldn’t let you leave, Dax, I wanted you so fucking bad it hurt,” she cried out.
“You didn’t even give me a choice,” he stated.
“You’re right, I didn’t. I was selfish. I couldn’t just let you go. From the first moment I laid eyes on you, I felt something that frightened me, something I don’t even think I can explain. You draw me to you. You’ve got some magnetic pull on me I have no control over. It scares the hell out of me and excites me and—”
“I would have come back, Kendall,” he said, reaching for her.
She flinched. “No, Dax. No, you wouldn’t have. You would have gone back to your life and never given me a second thought.” The crying had stopped, and was now replaced by anger. “Damn it, listen to me. I’m fucking pathetic. I sound desperate, needy and fucking pathetic!” She gasped for breath. Panting heavily, her voice was barely above a whisper when she finally spoke after a few silent minutes. “Christ, look what I’ve been reduced to. I’m an intelligent and successful woman who just wants happiness and love. Something I never thought I’d ever find, I found in you. And here I am, groveling and begging for something I’ll never have and don’t deserve. You.”
* * * *
Dax’s heart broke, and he felt her pain as if it were his own. Jesus, he didn’t want to fight with her.
He stood speechless. Kendall had just said, virtually verbatim, everything he himself had been feeling. She had ignited a fierce desperate need in him that scared the hell out of him, and he hungered for her. He wanted to share the rest of his life with her.
He needed to share the rest of his life with her.
As he reached a second time to comfort her, she again flinched and pulled away roughly.
Dax fumed.
How dare she open herself up to him, and then turn around and slam the door in his face? Her words touched him, giving him insight to a future he thought he would never experience. But her refusal to accept his touch infuriated him beyond his self-control. Cursing under his breath, Dax turned and left the room.
Standing at the front door, he hesitated several minutes before walking through, then slammed the door on his way out.
Chapter 10
A couple of hours later, Dax lay on the bed in the spare room, his heart still racing from their earlier argument. The turn his simple question invoked had taken him by surprise. Oh yes, he’d been pissed when he’d found the car in the garage, realizing Kendall lied to him. But logical thought prevailed and he calmed down, knowing his anger was ridiculous. He’d just wanted to hear her side of the story. His only intention was to find out why she had kept the fact she had a car hidden from him. He was upset she hadn’t even allowed him to make the choice himself.
What he was not expecting was the heart wrenching confession she laid on him. He knew he would have come back to Kendall, because the moment his eyes met hers, he’d fallen in love.
He was in love.
The whole of his heart and soul belonged to her, completely. There was no doubt in his mind this was exactly where he was meant to be, with Kendall. With her, he would be free to live his life as he chose. With her encouragement and understanding he could take his dreams as a designer to the level he wanted. Oh, his designs would still continue to take a backseat, but only to her.
Dax desperately wanted to go to Kendall, to comfort her; he needed to touch her, to feel the warmth of her body against his.
The ringing of his cell abruptly interrupted his thoughts.
* * * *
Alone in her room, Kenny felt miserable, knowing full well she had been completely unfair to Dax when she exploded earlier. He’d asked a simple question, without malice, and deserved an honest answer. She’d deceived him and was totally in the wrong.
Kenny understood she never should have kept the fact she had a car hidden from Dax. His meetings had been important to him, she knew that, and she now felt as though she’d let him down. How in the hell could she ever expect him to be interested in a relationship with her now, when he would probably never be able to trust her again?
She needed to apologize to him. He deserved so much more, but it was the least she could do, for right now. She needed to make things right with him. She wanted his strong arms wrapped around her, to feel the beat of his heart against her chest, his heat seeping into her very being.
As she sat on the bench in front of her bedroom window, she could smell him in the air. She smiled, thinking of how she’d learned so much about herself over the past few days. Dax unleashed a passion within her that was exciting, even though he’d exposed her vulnerability.
Biting her bottom lip, Kenny stood to leave her room. She would apologize to Dax and they could see where the future would take them, if anywhere. Calmly, she would tell him exactly how she felt about him and that she wanted a life with him, whatever that may hold for them.
She made her way down the hall and smiled when she noticed the door to the spare room was ajar. He’s been waiting for me. As she neared the opening, Dax’s soft voice carried into the hall.
“Yes, I know.” She heard him say as she stood in the doorway.
He stood with his back to the door, looking out the window into the darkness of the night.
“Uh-huh,” he continued. Kenny was about to make her presence known when his next sentence stopped her short
. “Oh, it will never work. We’re just too different. She’ll have no choice but to accept it. Please, it’s not like it would really matter to her anyway. She’ll never even miss me. I’m quite confident she’ll bounce right back, without missing a beat. Women like her don’t have any trouble moving on. Listen, we can pick this up later, my flight will be in around two tomorrow afternoon…”
Kenny had heard enough. Spinning on her heel, she ran back to her room, tears streaming down her cheeks, her heart broken.
* * * *
A sound in the hall grabbed Dax’s attention, and he turned to glance out the open door. Disappointment needled him when he didn’t see Kendall. He’d hope she had come to him. Their earlier disagreement was forgotten as far as was concerned. Now he was anxious to start making up. He needed to go to her and make things right.
Tossing his cellphone atop the bed after finishing his call, he left the room and made his way down the hall toward her bedroom. Stopping outside her door, he placed his ear against it. No sounds came from within, he knocked softly and then tried to turn the doorknob. The door was locked. Resting his forehead against the frame, he sighed heavily.
For several moments Dax contemplated knocking loudly and encouraging Kendall to talk with him. A tightening in his chest had him holding his breath. His heart ached at causing his Kendall such grief over something so ridiculous as the car parked in the garage. He knew she was as miserable as he was, he could feel her anguish even through the wooden door separating them.
There was so much he needed to say. So many things he needed her to know. With another sigh, Dax figured that perhaps for tonight, it would be best if he gave her some space.
Reluctantly, he turned and returned to his room.
* * * *
After returning to her room, Kenny locked herself in her bathroom and sobbed into a pillow she’d snatched off her bed.
Love and a life with Dax were not to be hers. It just didn’t pay for her to put herself out there; because she had opened her soul to him, and he stomped all over her heart as if it meant nothing to him, as if what they’d shared meant nothing.
Stranded In Paradise Page 8
