Stranded In Paradise

by Jennifer Cole

  Kenny felt used, dirty, as though she were just another notch on his bedpost.

  She’d made a fool out of herself.

  Over the last few days, she had fallen in love with Dax. Head over heels. She had completely lost her heart and soul to him. Up until now, she had lived the life she wanted. She had her garage and her friends and her Uncle Mel. And before Dax, she’d been content with the life she led. However, now that she’d experienced the Dax Winslow no one else knew, she didn’t know how she could possibly go back to living her mundane existence.

  In just a few days, he’d turned her world upside down.

  She didn’t know how she would go on without him.

  Kenny spent the night alone in her room, crying herself to exhaustion.

  Chapter 11

  Dax was already sitting at the kitchen table when Kendall entered around seven-thirty. He knew she rose bright and early, and he was anxious to clear the air between them before leaving.

  “Good morning,” Dax said when she appeared.

  Redness rimmed her usually bright green eyes, telling him she’d had as rough a night as he did. It broke his heart that his woman had been crying, and he was to blame. The puffiness of her eyes and the pale pallor of her skin didn’t deter from her beauty, however. He wasn’t about to allow another minute to pass with his Kendall unaware of his feelings, and more importantly, his intentions.

  Kendall refused to make eye contact with him as she padded barefoot across the floor. “Good morning,” she replied quietly.

  From the cupboard, she pulled out two travel mugs and filled them with the hot coffee he had already made. “Well,” she began in a solemn tone, “we should get going, we’ve got a long drive to the airport, and I don’t want to be responsible for you missing your flight.”

  Dax raised his brow. He hadn’t yet told her he had scheduled a flight today.

  “Kendall…”

  As she spun on her heel, he saw sorrow in her eyes, and then a mixture of emotions crossed her face as he held her gaze. The unevenness of her breathing told him she was struggling for strength to maintain her composure. Her knuckles were white as she gripped the edge of the counter as if it were holding her upright. Dax sensed Kendall felt herself slipping, and she did not want him to be a party to her falling apart.

  “Listen, Dax, I know what I did was wrong, and I’m sorry I deceived you. If I had it to do over again, believe me, I would do things differently. I’m not usually one to play mind games.” She stopped to take a deep breath. “So let’s not draw this out, please, your leaving hurts enough already.” As she exhaled a heavy sigh, her body shuddered. “Look, I heard you on your cell last night and you’re right, we’re just too different.”

  Dax couldn’t stop the grin curling his lips. “You were eavesdropping on my conversation?”

  “No, not eavesdropping exactly. I’d come to your room to apologize for my part in our argument and, well, I just overheard you. I’m sorry, really.”

  “Was that all you heard?”

  The way her eyes narrowed at his question told him all he needed to know.

  Rising from his chair, he closed the distance between them. Gathering Kendall in his arms, he pulled her against his body, kissing her fiercely. When he released her mouth, he reveled in the difficulty she had regaining her composure following his oral attack. A shiver coursed through her as she struggled to draw breath. The tips of her fingers dug into his biceps, and he was sure he’d bear bruises. Holding her tight to his chest, their lips were barely a hairsbreadth apart.

  “When you heard me say ‘we’re too different,’ I was referring to the daughter of one of the senior partner’s at the firm. At my father’s insistence, she and I went out once or twice, but that was it. Anything more than that was a figment of Molly’s imagination. And judging by the surprised expression on your beautiful face, you walked away too soon, and missed the most important part of the conversation.”

  It was her turn to raise her brow. “What are you talking about?” she whispered.

  He smiled against her lips.

  Yes, she was exactly the woman to complete him.

  Pulling back to look into her eyes, Dax continued, “I informed my parents that I have found the woman who has stolen my heart.”

  Her lips parted, but no words emerged. With the pad of his thumb, he wiped away a single tear trickling from her right eye.

  “I reminded them my life is mine to live as I choose. And I finished by telling both of them, as of that very moment, I am out of the law practice.”

  “Dax!” Kendal gasped.

  “Honey, I’m ready for us to start a whole new chapter of our lives.” He hugged her tighter. “I’m going to focus on you first and my designs second. Until I learn the lay of the land around here, I’m going to share your office space to run my architectural design business. If that’s all right.”

  Kendall pulled away from him. The look of confusion marring her beautiful features made him chuckle.

  “I-I don’t understand, Dax. What are you saying?”

  “Come on, sweetheart, you’re a smart woman,” he teased.

  Placing his hands on either side of her head, he kissed her with possession. Once he was sure he held her undivided attention, he told her exactly what was on his mind. “Let me spell it out for you. Ready? I love you. And here with you, is exactly where I want to be for the rest of my life.”

  “Here?” she asked, her voice cracking. “In butt-fuck nowhere?”

  Dax shook his head. “No, baby, here in paradise.”

  “Oh, Dax—”

  He cut her words off with another kiss.

  “There are two tickets waiting for you and me at the airport. I am taking you home to meet my parents, my family, and I’m going to pack up my shit because I’m moving here, right here, with you.”

  The conversation he had the night before with his parents had actually gone better than he thought it would. He’d felt a tremendous weight lift off him as he stood his ground and laid his plans out for his parents.

  “I’m not coming home,” he told them.

  “Well, what exactly does that mean, son?” his father asked in an authoritative tone. “And what about your career? I paid a lot of money to send you to law school.”

  “I’m not interested in practicing law, Dad,” Dax said matter-of-factly. “I’ve never enjoyed law, and I’m not going to do it anymore. This is my life to live, and I’m going to live it how I want to live it.”

  “Dax.” His mother sighed.

  “I am going to officially open my own architectural design firm,” he declared proudly. “Right here in Milton Ville. I’ve met someone,” he added, smiling as he thought of Kendall down the hall. He was a wreck that they had argued, but it would all be rectified soon. “And I’m in love.”

  “Tell me about her.”

  The pleasure Dax heard in his mother’s voice had him beaming.

  “Kendall is incredible, Mom. You’re going to love her. And she is absolutely gorgeous.”

  “Kendall,” his mother repeated. “What a pretty name.”

  “Daxton.” Hearing his father use his full name made Dax’s hackles raise. “I can’t tell you how disappointed I am—”

  Dax cut his father off at the quick. Pulling up every ounce of his confidence, he was not about to back down. This was his life, and he intended to live it, with Kendall. There was nothing his father could have said or done to change his mind. He would not allow his father to bully him into continuing to live a life he didn’t enjoy.

  Life is too fucking short, Dax had reminded himself.

  Kendall was his life now; and if it meant losing his relationship with his father to be with her, well then, as much as it pained Dax to be forced into such an unreasonable position, so be it.

  “I’m sorry you feel that way, Dad,” he said assertively. “But I am an adult, and I’ve been kowtowing for far too long. I may have only been here a few days, but I have changed.”

>   “Daxton,” his father began again.

  “No, Dad,” Dax again interrupted him. “You have no idea how upset it makes me to hear that I’ve disappointed you, but I’m happy here, and will gain great satisfaction running my own firm. I didn’t tell you this earlier, because I knew how pissed you’d be, but I agreed to the Waterston assignment just to meet with a conglomerate of doctors who have hired me to oversee the development of the building design I sold them.”

  When he stopped to take a breath, his father’s words froze him in place.

  “Do you honestly think you’d pulled one over on me?”

  “Dax, that’s wonderful news. Congratulations, we’re so happy for you.” His mother’s cheery voice had him replaying the last minute of the conversation back in his mind.

  “You knew?” he asked his father in disbelief.

  “Jesus, son, of course I knew,” his father replied. A heavy sigh came from the other end of the phone, before his father continued. “Listen, when your brothers followed their own paths, I’ll admit I was upset. But during that year while I was being a giant asshole, I realized something—that I am very proud of you boys, no matter what path you choose in life.”

  “Uh, I, uh…” Dax was speechless.

  “Now, what I was going to say was, I am very disappointed that my firm is losing such a talented attorney. And I wish you all the best in your endeavor, son.”

  “Uh, thank you,” he muttered, in a mild state of shock.

  “How soon are you considering the move, my sweet?” his mother asked.

  “Immediately,” Dax replied.

  “And your Kendall,” his dad said. “What are her thoughts?”

  “Actually, I haven’t told her yet,” Dax confessed.

  “You love her?” his father asked.

  “More than I ever thought possible.”

  “Well then, you must follow you heart, my sweet,” his mother told him.

  “I have my parent’s blessing to follow my heart and my passions,” he told Kendall. “My second passion is the desire to run my own design firm. And my first passion, my heart, is you.”

  As her lips began to tremble, he dipped his head, placing a gentle kiss upon them. He felt her body and mouth respond as she returned his kiss.

  He had her!

  “Marry me, baby, and I will spend the rest of our lives making you the happiest woman in the world. Sorry I don’t have a ring to offer you, making my intention official. I’d planned on taking you out for an incredible dinner, before going back to my apartment and making love to you until neither one of us could stand. And then I was going to propose, when I was sure you were so thoroughly sated you wouldn’t turn me down,” Dax finished with a chuckle.

  Kendall laughed through her tears. “Dax,” she whispered, welcoming another kiss from him.

  “Well? What do you say?”

  The tears flowed from Kendall’s gorgeous green eyes at a rate he couldn’t keep up with. Knowing they were tears of happiness he gave up wiping them away and just allowed his beautiful woman to weep her joy. After a moment, he felt warm moisture trickling from his own eyes as he awaited her answer.

  “I guess I better go and pack a bag.” She grinned at him. “I love you.”

  About Jennifer Cole

  http://www.lyricalpress.com/jennifer_cole

  By day, Jennifer Cole is a mild mannered administrative assistant in a bustling office. By night, she shuts out the world of reality and enters…the realm of erotic romance and fantasy.

  Living for exhilarating plots and wickedly delicious sex scenes, there is nothing too outrageous or off limits for this slave to eroticism; in fact, the naughtier the encounter, the better.

  * * * *

  After reading a number of erotic romances I got the bright idea it might be fun to write one. Seems I possess a talent to tell a lascivious tale. Regardless of the steamy sexy stories I create, for me it’s all about true love and happily-ever-after, or a reasonable facsimile—the guy must get the girl in the end.

  On those rare occasions when I manage to steal some spare time, I read. When not sweating over the laptop tapping to keep up with my over-active imagination, I squeeze in running, cycling, trips to the gym and occasionally shoot pool. Above everything else, I cherish time spent with my family and friends.

  Currently I make my home in a small city in South-western Ontario and just enjoy life.

  Jennifer’s Website:

  http://jennifericole.webs.com

  Reader eMail:

  jennifercole.author@gmail.com

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