Forbidden Temptation

by R. L. Kenderson

  She felt her climax approaching and knew that Sawyer wasn’t far behind her. He tilted her chin to the side and bit down as they both came. A small part of her knew that she should try to get him to release his teeth from her neck, but it felt so good that she started to wonder if her orgasm would ever stop.

  She barely caught her breath before Sawyer started moving inside her again. She knew he had come. She’d felt it in his body and in between her legs, but he had already recovered and was on to round two. Her next release didn’t last as long, but it was just as strong. Thinking this would be the end, she was shocked to find out that Sawyer wasn’t finished with her.

  When all was said and done, Sawyer had come in her four times, gotten her off five, and left four deep bite marks—two on each side of her neck. She was definitely going to be sore tomorrow, and there was no way she’d be able to meet Jake and his friends like this.

  Shit. Jake.

  Kenzie’s orgasmic euphoria faded quickly, and she shook Sawyer off. He’d already let go of her neck and waist, but he was leaning against her and was still inside her. As she pushed on his chest, he stood up and stepped away. He slipped from between her legs, and she immediately felt his wetness there.

  She was a stupid, stupid fool.

  Sawyer had marked her good. His bite marks were on her neck. His scent was all over her skin. And his seed was between her legs. He had to know that she wouldn’t be meeting anyone tonight, no matter how innocent that relationship was.

  Kenzie needed help. She couldn’t believe that she’d kept doing this to herself. You would think she would have learned. But no, she’d kept putting herself in these situations with Sawyer, and she had no one to blame but herself.

  Tired and defeated, Kenzie limped back toward the bathroom to clean herself up, so she could go home.

  “Kenzie,” Sawyer practically whispered behind her.

  She didn’t know if he regretted what they had done or if he could read her body language, but she didn’t have the strength, either mental or physical, to turn around and confront him. All she wanted to do was go home, crawl into bed, pull the covers over her face, and pretend like she’d never met Sawyer Lennar.

  “Just go,” she practically begged, her back to him.

  “Kenzie.”

  “Please.”

  “Can I at least get you anything?”

  She needed her keys, purse, and coat before she could go home. With the last of her pride gone, she told him where her stuff was and asked him to get it. “Will you please just leave my stuff on the bed and tell Naya that I had to go?”

  Sawyer sighed but didn’t protest. “Yes.”

  Kenzie went into the bathroom after Sawyer had left the room, but she didn’t turn on the light. She couldn’t look at herself right now. She quickly cleaned up, and when she heard Sawyer in the hall, she closed the bathroom door until she heard him leave again. He had stood there for several seconds, and for a second or two, she was worried that he would never go.

  She quickly grabbed her stuff, including her phone from the floor, and even though it wasn’t easy, she managed to sneak out of the house without seeing Naya. One good thing about winter was that she could hide in her big, bulky coat and pull her hat down low over her ears.

  Kenzie drove home on autopilot. Once in her apartment, she took off her dress and underwear and threw them both in the garbage. Her underwear had barely been hanging off her waist anyway, and she never wanted to see her purple dress again. It would only make her think of Sawyer, and she wanted to forget about him.

  She threw her bra on the floor and slipped into bed, naked. Just as she was starting to feel sorry for herself, she heard her phone vibrate against the kitchen counter as it rang. Worried that it might be Naya, Kenzie slipped from her bed and picked it up.

  It hadn’t been Naya, although she had sent Kenzie a text, but Jake.

  She closed her eyes. She’d forgotten about him again.

  Her phone vibrated once more, this time shorter. Jake had texted her. She walked back to bed as she read his message.

  Jake: Hey, Kenzie. I tried to call. Just worried about you. It’s been almost two hours, and I haven’t heard anything. I wanted to make sure you didn’t get into an accident.

  Kenzie: I’m sorry, Jake. I ran into some troubles with a friend. I won’t be able to make it tonight.

  Jake: I understand. I hope everything’s okay.

  Everything was far from okay, but that didn’t mean she had to wallow in self-pity. She’d gotten herself into this mess, and it was up to her to get herself out.

  Kenzie: Everything will be fine. Thanks for caring.

  Jake: No problem. 

  Kenzie: Will you do me one favor first?

  Jake: Sure. What is it?

  Kenzie paused before replying, but she knew it was time to make a change.

  Kenzie: Tell your parents I accept their job offer.

  With that, Kenzie shut off her phone, set it on her nightstand, and rolled over to go to sleep. She might have made a mistake tonight, but with everything in her, she would make sure that it was the last one.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  KENZIE PUT THE last of her summer clothes in the box and taped it up. Looking around the room, she felt pretty pleased with herself. She’d been busy packing all week, and her efforts really showed. It probably helped that she hadn’t had anything else to do, like work, so packing had become her temporary job.

  She grabbed her phone and looked at the clock. She had just enough time to take a shower and meet Naya for dinner. They were going to one of their favorite restaurants. Naya thought it was just a girls’ night out. What she didn’t know was that Kenzie was going to break the news about her new job in Iowa. She’d been putting it off since she told Jake that she accepted the job at his family’s hotel. But she couldn’t leave Naya in the dark forever.

  Kenzie showered, dressed, put on makeup, and headed to the restaurant. Naya was already there, sitting at their table, when the hostess brought Kenzie over.

  Naya smiled when she saw Kenzie. “Hey, how was work? Did you have a lot of traffic?”

  Normally, Naya would have come to Kenzie’s apartment before they went to dinner, but Kenzie had wanted to explain her plans to Naya rather than having Naya figure it out from her half-empty living room and the boxes stacked against the wall. Kenzie had lied and told Naya she would meet her on her way home from work.

  Rather than furthering the lie, Kenzie only answered the second question, “Traffic was fine. How was it for you?”

  “Good. I made it here earlier than I’d thought I would.”

  The server came over with their menus and asked if they wanted anything to drink. Naya ordered water due to her current state. Kenzie ordered wine. A little liquid courage couldn’t hurt.

  Not wanting to be interrupted by anyone, Kenzie made small talk until after they ordered their food. After the server left with their orders, Kenzie started to get a little nervous about telling Naya she was moving. The good thing about best friends was that they could read each other well. The bad thing about those friends was that they could read each other well.

  Naya sat back in her chair. “All right, Kenzie, spit it out. I know you have something to say.”

  Naya had said the words with a smile on her face, probably thinking that whatever Kenzie had to say wouldn’t be that bad. But the second Kenzie said, “I’m moving back to Iowa,” all happiness left Naya’s face.

  Naya jumped forward in her seat as much as she could with her rounded belly. “What?”

  Kenzie fidgeted in her seat. “I’m moving back to Iowa.”

  “When?”

  “Saturday.”

  “Saturday! That’s only a few days away. I thought you were going to say next month, not Saturday. Why so soon? What is going on? Why the rush? What about your job?”

  This was the part that she really didn’t want to tell Naya about because she knew Naya would feel guilty and responsible even tho
ugh it wasn’t Naya’s fault that Kenzie had been kidnapped.

  “Well, I actually haven’t been working since I came home from my...ordeal.”

  Naya shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

  Kenzie sighed. “They fired me, Naya. And I haven’t been able to find another job since I came back.”

  “Why?”

  “Naya, I was gone from work for, like, three weeks. There was no way they were going to let that slide.”

  “But I thought you had a note saying that you were sick and in the hospital. I thought Vaughn’s family did that for you.”

  Naya seemed to be getting very upset, thinking that the Llewelyns hadn’t taken care of things, so Kenzie put her hand on her friend’s.

  “Naya, they did give me a letter from the doctor saying that I was in the hospital with pneumonia, but my boss didn’t think it was enough.” Kenzie removed her hand. “And he was right. If I were really sick, I would have called in way before missing three weeks of work. Or I would have had someone else call work for me. I’m surprised Dave didn’t come out and call me a bald-faced liar. But even if he had, there was no way I could tell him what had really happened.”

  “But I don’t understand why you can’t stay here and find a new job.”

  Kenzie shrugged. “I’ve been looking since it happened. No one wants to hire me. There are tons of hotels in the area, but when it comes down to it, it’s a small community, and I’ve been blacklisted. No matter what my reputation was before I was kidnapped, all they know now is that I didn’t come to work for three weeks without telling anyone beforehand. I applied to probably thirty hotels, and I didn’t get one phone call. Not a single one. And I only have so much money in savings.”

  Naya looked like she was going to start crying as their server brought their food over.

  “Is there anything else I can bring you?”

  “No, thank you,” Kenzie said with a smile in hopes that he would leave them alone. Their food looked delicious, but Kenzie didn’t know how much she’d be able to eat with the ball of nerves still knotted in her stomach.

  After the server walked away, Naya asked, “What are you going to do in Iowa?”

  “Well, first, I’m going to move in with my dad for a while. It’s rent-free. And you’ve heard me talk about my old boyfriend from back home, Jake, right?”

  Naya nodded.

  “Jake and his parents offered me a job at their hotel. So, not only will I have a place to live, but I’ll also have a job.”

  “But you hate your hometown. You love the Cities. I’m here.”

  Kenzie laughed. “I know. And I am going to miss you like you wouldn’t believe, but right now, beggars can’t be choosers. And I am way beyond begging at this point.”

  “I don’t want you to go.”

  “I know, honey. I don’t want to go either.”

  The two of them picked at their food in silence. Kenzie could see that Naya was processing all the information Kenzie had given her.

  Suddenly, Naya said, “I know.”

  “What?”

  “My family has connections. Vaughn’s family has connections. They can find you a new place to work.”

  Kenzie smiled sadly at her friend. “That is really sweet, but I don’t want their handouts.”

  Naya scowled. “Kenzie, it would not be a handout. It would be what you are owed for what you went through. You’re lucky that the only thing you lost was your job. You could have lost your life.”

  Naya’s voice was starting to rise, so Kenzie quickly said, “You’re right. I understand where you are coming from.”

  “But that’s not it, is it?”

  Kenzie cringed. She really didn’t want to tell Naya this part, but it seemed like there was no avoiding it. “No,” Kenzie said, shaking her head. “I can’t stay here with Sawyer around. It’s gotten to the point where we are almost toxic to each other.”

  Naya set down her fork. “Kenzie, what else are you not telling me? Why are you keeping all this stuff bottled up inside?”

  Kenzie shrugged again. “I don’t know. Because you’re pregnant. Because you’re married to Sawyer’s good, if not best, friend. I don’t want to put you in the middle of anything.”

  Naya rolled her eyes and let her arms fall to the table. “Kenzie, I have known you way longer than Vaughn or Sawyer. And, of course, I love my mate, but my loyalty is to him and you, not to Sawyer. Now, tell me what is going on.”

  Kenzie slowly pulled back the collar of her sweater to reveal the sides of her neck.

  Naya put her hand up to her mouth and gasped. “Oh my God.”

  Kenzie released her sweater and held up a hand. “They look a lot worse than they are.”

  “Kenzie,” Naya said, dumbfounded, “you have two huge bruises on your neck and shoulder. And those are not fresh bruises. They’re several days old. Are they from the party?”

  Kenzie nodded.

  “So, they are almost a week old, and they look that bad still. What in the hell happened?”

  “Sawyer happened.”

  Naya’s eyes blazed with anger, and she pushed her chair back as if she was going to get up, walk out of the restaurant, and find the man who had done that to her friend.

  “Naya, will you let me tell you what happened before you go and kill someone?”

  “Fine,” Naya said, pulling her chair back up to the table. “I’ll let you finish. But I still reserve the right to commit murder after this is said and done.”

  Kenzie laughed. “Shh...someone might hear you.”

  Naya did not think the situation was funny like Kenzie did. “So? I really don’t care right now. Spill it.”

  “Sawyer found out that I was going to meet Jake after your party. At first, Sawyer made me so mad that I lied and told him that Jake and I were having sex. Then, I told him the truth—that our relationship was platonic—but Sawyer couldn’t get past the fact that I was still meeting up with my ex and that he was the first guy I’d had sex with.”

  Naya sucked in a breath, and her eyes widened.

  Kenzie leaned closer. “He went fucking ballistic. I’ve never seen him like that. He kind of seemed to lose control. My bruises are from him biting me during sex. At the time, it felt good. I pretty much can’t have an orgasm anymore without Sawyer biting me, but this time, he bit me really hard. I didn’t notice until the next day. And not just that...”

  Naya leaned closer, eager to hear the rest of Kenzie’s story.

  “My fricking crotch hurt for, like, three days. I actually put an icepack between my legs quite a few times over the first couple of days. I have never been fucked so hard in my life.”

  Kenzie leaned back, and Naya did the same.

  “The thing is, Naya, it would be kind of hot to tell you this story, knowing that someone wanted me this badly. And as caveman as it is, it’s still a little hot to think someone would be that jealous over me. But the sad fact of the matter is that Sawyer doesn’t want me.” Kenzie paused and thought about her last sentence. “No, that’s not right. Sawyer wants me. He just doesn’t want to want me, and that’s another reason I have to leave.”

  Naya opened her mouth.

  Kenzie cut her off, “At least for a while. If I could make it so that Sawyer and I would never see each other again, that would make things easier. But that is not possible with you and Vaughn being mated. Sawyer is never going to get over the fact that I am human, and he’s never going to move past his dislike of humans. And unless I’m gone, he is never going to stop wanting me.”

  Kenzie looked down at her hands. “And I’m never going to get over him. Because, despite the fact that he can be a world-class asshole, I unfortunately saw that other side of him when he lost his memory and didn’t remember that he hated me. I saw how good things could be if he would just let himself love me the way I could love him.” She sniffled, trying not to cry. “Hell, the way I probably foolishly already do love him.” She looked up at Naya. “Why am I so stupid?”


  Unlike Kenzie, Naya wasn’t attempting to hold back her tears. “Oh, Kenzie, that is so sad.”

  Kenzie shook her head. “No, Naya. Unfortunately, that’s life.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  SAWYER AND VAUGHN were sitting in the living room of the bunkhouse, playing video games. Since Naya had gone out to dinner, Vaughn had come over to hang out. Since both of them had the night off from patrol, they decided to play some games.

  From his spot on the couch, Sawyer heard Vaughn’s phone ringing again. “You’d better answer that, man. Your phone has rung three times. What if something is wrong?”

  Vaughn paused the game. “Oh, shit. You’re right.”

  From the chair across from them, Tegan made a sound of disgust. “Men. You are so lucky that Naya loves you.”

  Vaughn scowled at Tegan as he answered his phone, “Hey, baby.”

  “Where are you?” Naya said from the other end. No hello from her. She was all business.

  “I’m at the bunkhouse.”

  “Is Sawyer with you?”

  Vaughn turned to look at Sawyer.

  Sawyer shrugged. He had no idea what Vaughn’s mate wanted with him.

  “Yes,” Vaughn answered.

  “Good. Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be there in half an hour.”

  “Okay, baby.”

  “Okay. By the way, don’t baby me. I know you were too busy playing video games to answer the phone.”

  The next sound was the beep Vaughn’s phone made when the call ended. Vaughn pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at it as if just making sure Naya had really hung up.

  Tegan laughed. “Oh my God, I love your mate.”

  Vaughn narrowed his eyes at her but didn’t say anything. Instead, he turned to Sawyer. “What in the hell does my mate want with you?”

  “How should I know? I hardly ever talk to her.”

  Vaughn grabbed a handful of chips. “Yeah, and it’d better stay that way.”

  Sawyer rolled his eyes. “Dude, I don’t want your woman.”

  “I know. But I’m still going to make sure you know that she’s mine.”