He pulled away from me and walked around the island, stopping on the other side to face me. “So—the break in?” he asked nonchalantly.
“What about it?”
Then he asked the question I was dreading, “The detective told me you thought it was me—”
“No, I—” I interrupted, lying through my teeth once again.
If it had been him, I definitely wasn’t going to admit what I thought while I was alone with him.
“Oh, then it was Zander?” he countered.
“He didn’t tell—” but I didn’t know how to finish the sentence, since I was so scared to say the wrong thing.
I wish Zander was here.
“Don’t worry about it. You were scared. You’re all alone in this big house, maybe your mind just went to the first person that popped into your head, no big deal,” he assured me as he walked back around the island to stand in front of me.
There was that smell again. He smelled so fucking good. And his confidence―the imposing confidence that entranced my fear and lust swirled together in a tornado of emotions I couldn’t quite get a handle on. Having watched this man for years, I secretly longed for his body and skill to grace my thousand thread count Egyptian cotton sheets.
Maybe he was right. Maybe my fear was blaming him for no reason. After all, and like my mother said, he did offer Layla as his alibi.
Stop rationalizing while he’s standing in front of you.
He cupped his palm to my neck, rubbing his thumb against my cheek. “What am I gonna do with you, baby girl?”
My eyes closed as the quiver between my legs urged me to unbuckle his belt. Suddenly, I found myself willing to be seduced by this overtly handsome man; a man my mind had accused of breaking into my home, and of stuffing a woman into his trunk. Lust was a great motivator to forget the glaringly obvious danger standing in front of me.
Against my better judgment, I allowed him to kiss me, but as I opened my eyes, I could make out a small crescent shaped bruise under his right eye. I probably wouldn’t have even noticed if I wasn’t standing so close to his face. Reaching behind my head, I pressed my fingers to the fresh knot which had doubled in size from the night before when I banged it into the shadowy assailant.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Oh. Nothing—I—where did you get that bruise under your eye?”
He touched the skin under his eye. “Oh, this? Sort of a hazard of being a football player, I suppose.”
“Football?” I echoed.
“Yes, football,” he repeated.
I stood there for a moment, unable to tell whether or not he was lying. Football seemed plausible. “Well, Zander should be here—”
“You are so beautiful. So natural. You don’t even need makeup,” he complimented, leaning in to kiss me again.
I blushed.
Fuck. Stop falling for his obvious one-liners.
Maybe I was letting my fear run wild with my imagination. I should really stop, since I wanted to enjoy the moment I had dreamt about for so long. I began to feel a little more comfortable with him. I started to second guess myself, and Zander. Could this gentle man have broken into my house the night before? I wasn’t sure anymore. I shook my head, trying to rid myself of all the insinuating thoughts that were rolling around in my clouded brain.
A knock on the door broke through my thoughts.
“Excuse me,” I said, sliding myself from between him and the counter. “I’ll just be a second.”
“Sure, I’ll be waiting right here,” he said in his deep, engaging voice.
The dark silhouette behind the frosted glass tapped on the door again. “Who could this be?”
I turned my head to him and smiled, slightly blushing as I rounded the wall into the living room. Reaching out for the doorknob, I twisted it open. “Zander—umm—what are you doing here?” I asked, trying to stand in the gap of the door so he couldn’t see Ty if he happened to walk out of the kitchen.
“Hey—I came to apologize,” he said with a smile, handing me a dozen red roses.
“Oh, my…” my words trailed off.
From behind I heard a voice say, “Hey, Zander!” Ty greeted smugly from the living room.
I turned to Ty, watching as he waved at Zander, taunting him from the kitchen door.
“What’s going on here?” Zander asked, taking a step back.
I was caught. All the pent up angst that had been swirling in between my legs suddenly disappeared, replaced with an ache in my heart and a sinking feeling. I had just jilted the one person I actually had real feelings for because I got caught up in infatuation.
“Wanna join us for our picnic?” Ty hollered with a slight chuckle attached.
“No, I think I’m good,” Zander replied, shaking his head at me, his eyes laser focused on mine.
“What are you doing here? I thought you were done with me?” I asked quietly.
“Are you serious, Kenzi? I got upset and left a few hours ago, and you’ve already moved on to a picnic with your creepy ass neighbor?”
“It’s not like that,” I whispered.
“What’s it like, then?” he asked in a raised voice.
I didn’t reply. He looked at me for a moment then turned and walked away. Ty came up from behind and pressed himself impossibly close, the hard flesh in his pants pushing up against my ass.
He pulled the door open. “Bye, Zander. I’ll come by the grocery store later,” he mocked.
Zander, who was already halfway down the cobblestone driveway, whipped around. The anger in his face could be seen from miles away. “You muthafucker!” he growled.
“Muthafucker? C’mon then, bitch,” Ty coerced.
Zander’s face ran red, his fists clenched next to his sides, and his jaw became rigid.
“C’mon, son of a bitch. Show me what you got,” Ty taunted.
Zander was quick to take him up on his offer as he started running toward us. I jumped in front of Ty and put my hands up to try and block Zander’s advance, but Ty fastened his hands around my waist and set me to the side like I weighed nothing but a few pounds. He ran out the door with his fists clenched, ready to punch Zander.
In defense, Zander lunged at him, grabbing his wrists mid-air as their bodies made contact. Ty fell backwards and Zander followed suit. Ty’s back struck the cobblestones. Zander straddled Ty, while Ty struggled to get his wrists out of Zander’s grasp.
“Say it was you, muthafucker! Say that you set the store on fire! Say that you broke in here last night, you pussy son of a bitch!” Zander yelled.
“Fuck you,” Ty said through gritted teeth. He was able to pry one hand away from Zander’s grasp and land a punch square into his jaw.
“Stop!” I screamed, looking up and down the street for help. “Stop fighting!”
The blow snapped Zander’s head to the side for a brief second, but as soon as he regained his composure, he clenched his fists and started to pummel Ty in the jaw.
What should I do?
Even if I could bring myself to step foot outside, there was no way for me to separate these two alpha men going at it like animals.
Ty was able to knock Zander off of him by landing a low blow and kneeing him in between his legs, sending Zander tumbling onto the ground. Ty didn’t waste any time scrambling to his feet, wiping the blood that was streaming from the side of his mouth with his hand, whipping the excess to the ground.
Spitting a vile mixture of blood and saliva into Zander’s face, Ty lifted his shirt to clean up the remaining blood. Turning to me with a look of unbridled anger, he pointed at Zander and asked between heavy breaths, “This is the piece of shit you want?”
But before my lips could separate to answer his question, Zander roundhouse kicked Ty behind the knee, causing him to lose his balance and slam his knees on the hard stones. Zander pushed himself off the ground, cocking his fist behind him then quickly delivering a fierce jab into Ty’s shocked face. The blow thrust him backward, causing h
is eyes to roll back into his head as he fell toward the ground. Unconscious, his body fell like a stone. Zander stood over him, panting heavily, his chest palpitating, the muscles in his arms rippling as he clenched his fists. He waited patiently, ready to pounce if Ty moved again.
“Zander, stop it,” I cried from the door.
Zander turned to me, his face bloodied from the blow he took. He moved toward me, but then stopped when the sounds of sirens coming from the north side of the street neared. We both looked toward the street, awaiting the police cars to arrive.
“One of the neighbors must have called the cops,” he said, looking back at me.
“This was so stupid―bunch of uncivilized jerks!” I yelled over to him, shaking my head as two police cars pulled into my driveway behind Zander’s truck. “This is so embarrassing.”
I just knew my mother was turning over in her grave at this moment, knowing that all her neighbors were witnessing the childish spectacle transpiring in front of her house. I just wanted to close the door on the whole mess.
“Put your hands in the air,” the first police officer yelled from behind his car door as his eyes shifted between Ty and Zander, trying to surmise the chain of events that had occurred.
Stay With Me
Zander raised his hands above his head and waited for the officer’s next command, while another officer ran over to Ty to see if he was alive. He pressed his two fingers to Ty’s neck and looked back at the officer with the gun pointed at Zander and nodded.
“Put your hands behind your head!” the officer yelled in a husky voice as he walked toward Zander with his gun still cocked and ready to fire. The moment he got close enough to Zander, the officer grabbed Zander’s wrist and wrenched it behind his back. The officer put his gun away and pulled out his handcuffs, restraining Zander’s hands behind him.
“Tell me what happened here?” the officer questioned.
“Nothing happened,” Ty said in a cracked voice as the second officer helped him up from the ground.
“Sir, we can see that’s a lie. Obviously, something happened here,” the officer subduing Zander refuted.
Ty stood up, brushed off his clothes, then wiped the blood from his mouth. “Isn’t your boss Commissioner Heather Bahm?”
The first officer stuttered to reply to the question, “Yes—that’s her.”
“Well, I know her personally, and I would hate to have to give her a call about two of her officers detaining some law-abiding citizens for some simple horseplay in the yard,” Ty subtly threatened.
The two officers looked at each other, the second nodding to the first as the first unlocked Zander’s handcuffs.
I looked around to the gathering crowd chattering amongst themselves. Their whispers might as well have been screams from the highest peaks, echoing through a barren land. My cheeks became flushed, and I could feel the outside world starting to creep through my door. Ty shook the hands of both officers, while Zander rubbed his wrists.
“All right, Officers, I will be sure to tell Commissioner Bahm how helpful you two were,” Ty said with a smile as he waved them off.
“Thanks for that,” Zander thanked Ty with sincerity in his voice.
Ty kept waving and smiling to the officers, and without turning to Zander, he said, “I didn’t do it for you, muthafucker.”
Zander shook his head. “Well, thank you, nonetheless.”
“Don’t thank me. If you’re in jail, I can’t get to you,” Ty threatened.
“What the fuck does that mean?” Zander asked, setting his arms to his side, his knuckles turning white from clenching them so tightly.
“Stop!” I yelled from the door. “Both of you. Stop!”
Ty looked at me. “Keep the basket, Kenzi. I’ll be back to pick up where we left off later,” he said as he pulled the edge of his shirt to his mouth to wipe off the excess blood.
Pausing to pan over to the crowd, I noticed all the women had stopped gossiping to ogle Ty’s abs.
“There’s nothing to see here,” Ty announced as he started toward the crowd.
The women met him halfway, looking over his face while intermittently shooting piercing glances back at me. I closed the door, shaking my head in disgust, resting my forehead on the cold frosted glass, squeezing the doorknob tightly.
A light knock alerted me to a shadow standing, not one foot away from me, on the other side of the door.
I really need a fucking peephole.
Cautioning myself, I asked, “Who is it?”
“It’s me,” Zander’s voice came through loud and clear.
“What do you want?”
“You.”
“No, you don’t. You want to be some crazy, territorial animal,” I replied.
“That guy makes me crazy. I’m sorry,” he whispered just loud enough for me to hear.
“Ever since you came into my life, I’ve had nothing but problems. I think we should part ways here,” I said, turning my back to the door.
He knocked again. “Let’s talk about this.”
I looked at the ceiling and closed my eyes. “What should I do, Mom?” I whispered, but she didn’t answer. “Oh, now you wanna be quiet.”
Zander knocked again.
“No! Just leave,” I raised my voice so he could hear my anger.
“If you really want me to leave, I will. But this is the last time. I won’t come back, and I certainly won’t grovel anymore.”
“No one asked you to grovel, but why did you have to fight with him?” I asked, turning back toward the door, pressing my ear in close to hear his response.
“What can I say, other than I’m a man and I got jealous.”
“That’s not an excuse,” I said, deflated by the day.
“It’s not an excuse, but it is what it is, and I’m sorry,” he said as he rested his hand against the glass.
I took in a deep breath and pressed my hand within the sharp outline of his.
“It’s just too hard to be with you,” I exhaled.
“Do you think you’re a walk in the park? But I wanna try,” he professed.
“Why? You haven’t even known me two full days yet.”
“I don’t have to. My father knew my mother was the one the minute he laid eyes on her. Just like I knew you were the one the minute I laid eyes on you.”
“I’m broken.”
“So am I.”
What more could I ask for than his complete sincerity? We both had issues, but he was willing to deal with mine, and if I was truly honest with myself, I was completely willing to deal with his. I reached for the lock and flipped it to the left. The knob twisted, and the door creaked open. Quickly, I turned to wipe the few tears that had escaped and had begun to roll down my cheeks. The footsteps against the hardwood floor neared, followed by a warm hand pressing against the nape of my neck.
“Kenzi,” he said softly. “I’m sorry.”
I turned to him. “My mother would have never approved of that behavior.”
He cupped his palm to my cheek. “I couldn’t help it. I saw him with you.” He shook his head slightly. “I just couldn’t help it.”
His touch was so gentle. I closed my eyes and pressed my cheek in closer. “I just don’t understand why you would resort—”
“What don’t you understand?” he interrupted.
I opened my eyes once again. “I don’t understand what you had to prove. What could be so important that you would resort to violence?”
“You,” he quickly replied.
I paused to let what he had just disclosed sink in. “Me?”
“I think it’s pretty obvious. I have never lost my temper so many times in one day—ever!”
“Me,” I repeated as I looked toward the table that held all my family pictures. Focusing in on my mother’s in particular, I pondered whether or not she would approve of this.
I shifted my gaze back to him and smiled. “I don’t think I’m the right girl, Zander. My life has been shattered. I have b
een shattered.”
He leaned in. “I wanna help put you back together,” he whispered, touching his lips to mine.
His hands ran down the nape of my neck to the small of my back, resting there while he enchanted me with his kisses. Pressing my lips in closer, he laid his right hand on my shoulder and slid the strap of my tank top off. I knew what he wanted, and I was prepared to give it to him. Throwing caution to the wind, I began to unbuckle his belt.
A knock at the door pierced through our moment. Zander’s hand fell to his side, and the action in my mouth ceased as he pulled away. “That better not be him.”
I looked toward the door; the shadow through the glass was still and not willing to give away its owner’s identity. I dropped my arms to my side, only to have Zander grab my hand, tugging my body back toward his.
“Don’t open it. It’s that crazy bastard. I’ve seen his narcissistic type before,” he warned.
“I’ll tell him to leave.”
“If you open that door, I’m leaving. I’m serious, Kenzi. You can’t have it both ways.”
Although my mother was urging me to be polite and open the door, I stepped back and listened, not wanting to do anything else to jeopardize our budding relationship.
“Okay, baby, I won’t,” I said softly as I walked back toward him, looking over my shoulder to the shadow still standing at the door.
The shadow persisted, knocking three more times.
“If this muthafucker knocks one more goddamn time…” Zander’s words trailed off as another knock echoed from the door.
Zander
“That’s it!” I growled as I shot to the door.
I angrily flung it open to see Ty standing on the other side, freshly showered with a new suit on. “What the fuck do you keep knockin’ on the goddamn door for?”
“I’m here to see Kenzi.”
“I’ve already told you—”
“And isn’t it funny how what you say to me doesn’t fuckin’ matter? I wonder if that’s funny to you too?” Ty asked sarcastically.
“I’ll tell you what the fuck is funny to me—”
“Stop it! The two of you! I’m sick and tired of this shit at my front door,” Kenzi chimed in.
Enemy Inside (Captive #1) Page 9
