by Liz Durano
“Your old bedroom?” She asks as she walks to the dresser and looks at the framed photos. One of them is of Mom, Dad, and me, and the other is just of Mom and me when I was a teen.
I watch her pick one of the frames and look at it. “I stayed here for a few days last summer when I had my kitchen redone.”
“Is this your mother?” she asks, and I nod. “She’s beautiful. You have her eyes.”
“Thanks.”
“May I ask you why they’re not together?” She asks. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”
“Dad had an affair,” I reply, looking down at the rug at my feet. “The other woman was a mutual friend, a recent divorcee, and they used to play tennis at the club together. There was no way Mom was going to let that go, and I don’t blame her.”
Roxy stares at me. “Wow, that must have been such a betrayal for her.”
“It was. I don’t know what Dad was thinking then but clearly, he wasn’t thinking with his head.” More likely his dick. “ I used to think the other woman came onto him, but I’ve since learned it takes two to tango. They were both adults. They knew what they were doing.”
I’d been at the country club when it happened, Mom losing it when she saw the other woman in the lobby wearing a pair of earrings she knew Dad had bought. Dad told me once that a woman of status would have handled such things behind closed doors, but not Mom. She was a firecracker and still is.
“When it went down, it was crazy. For months, it was the only thing people could talk about at the country club,” I continue. “My mother confronted the other woman, and by the time I got to the lobby, Mom and the other woman were on the ground, pulling hair, kicking, scratching. Dad came out of the handball court, and he pulled the other woman away from Mom. Then he told Mom and me to go straight home.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No reason to be sorry. It was so long ago,” I say, shrugging. “Anyway, I went home with Mom and Dad didn’t come home that night. Apparently, Mom had pulled the woman’s earrings and she needed stitches or something. She even threatened to sue, but that never happened.”
Roxy sits on the bed. “What happened afterward?”
“They tried to work it out by going to a marriage counselor—Mom’s idea—but Dad was against it. He went twice, I think, before he decided it was useless. After that, Mom filed for divorce and moved Upstate, taking me with her,” I reply, sitting next to her. “I joined Dad in the city during the weekends.”
“And the other woman?”
“They didn’t last long. Probably three months until she realized she didn’t want to be a stepmother to a wild boy who kept acting up whenever she was around,” I reply, chuckling dryly. I remember how angry I was then, angry at Dad for having the affair and at Mom for refusing to reconcile. I’d find out later that Dad had been having affairs for years and Mom knew he’d never change even if they got back together. “Anyway, you’re right about Dad not liking people who don’t belong to his inner circle. Ironically, Mom didn’t belong to his circle originally.”
“How’d they meet?”
“She was working at one of my grandfather’s stores,” I reply, grinning. “Dad was there to look at the books, and he met her and had to find a reason to keep coming back. The fourth time he showed up at the store, he asked her out, and the rest is history. Well, except for the divorce.”
For the next few minutes, we stand in front of the dresser without saying anything else. I watch Roxy return the frame back in its spot.
“I like you, Roxy,” I murmur as I face her. “You’re different. You’re comfortable in your own skin.”
She smiles. “Given the context of tonight’s events, I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“It is a compliment.”
I turn to face Roxy and cradle her face in my hands. She’s beautiful, her gaze lowering as her cheeks turn red. I lower my face toward hers, my kiss soft at first, just a brushing of our lips. I feel her mouth open slightly as I lean in, my tongue grazing her lower lip and I hear her sigh.
As I press a kiss to her lips, she tastes of vanilla and a sexy innocence I want more of. My tongue coaxes her mouth apart, my thumb stroking her cheek, my fingers curling along the back of her neck. I can feel her body melt into mine as my tongue slips between her teeth, tasting her.
Suddenly Roxy pulls away. She takes my hand and interlaces our fingers together. “I really like you, Kodi, but I don’t belong here.”
“I think you’re a breath of fresh air, Roxy.”
“To you, I am. Not to your father or his friends,” she says. “Anyway, I know it’s early, but I’d like to go home. I know this party is sort of an accounting of what you did back there, and so you have to be here, but I can get an Uber.”
“No, I don’t have to be here,” I murmur. “This is just another one of my dad’s parties. He enjoys hosting them.”
“I’m happy for him. But I’m probably better off heading home.”
Roxy doesn’t object when I park the Jeep and walk her up to her apartment. I wish the evening didn’t end too soon but I can’t blame her for feeling the way she does. Dad’s behavior surely didn’t help.
The buzzing of my phone yanks me out of my thoughts. I answer the call as I follow Roxy up to her floor.
“You asked me to monitor the social media posts regarding those pictures, Mr. Donovan,” Caden says. “Miss Porter lives in Rego Park, correct?”
“Yes, she does.” As I speak, Roxy slows pauses on the first landing, frowning. “Why?”
As Caden tells me Roxy’s street address and apartment number, I feel my jaw clench.
“She’s been doxed?” I ask, my throat tightening.
“I’m afraid so, Mr. Donovan. They already know where she works but the home address popped up online this evening,” he replies. “I’ll text you the screenshots. We’ve submitted requests to have the posts removed but so far, they’re still up.”
And even if they’re taken down, people have seen it, I almost add. “Thanks, Cade,” I say. “I’ll let her know.”
“I wouldn’t recommend she stay by herself,” he adds. “Not unless she’s got good security. We can start with a few things on our end as long as both of you are okay with it. Secure her apartment, install cameras and a security system, and also monitor her incoming phone calls, in case strangers start texting or calling her.”
I don’t argue with Caden. I know the drill because they’d given Melanie the same security as well. It just came with the job and I have to stop pretending it doesn’t.
“Yes, do all that,” I say before hanging up.
“What is it? Roxy asks. “Is anything wrong?”
The screenshots arrive seconds later and I show them to her. Her address on the screen for all to see. Roxy covers her mouth with her hand, her face turning pale.
“Why would anyone do that? All I did was… sleep in the same bed with you. We didn’t even…” Her voice fades when the front door below swings open and she recoils against the wall, staring at the bottom stairs.
I should have expected this, the double standard of shaming Roxy for her so-called walk of shame while cheering me on resulting to this. And while I pay close to a million dollars a year for my security, Roxy has none. Anger rises from deep within and I want to beat the crap out of the idiots who posted her address for all to see. I can feel Roxy shaking as I continue to hold her hand, not wanting to let go.
“I’ll take care of this, Roxy,” I muter as I pull her to me. “I’ll make things right.”
Chapter Ten
I don’t even argue with Kodi when he tells me I should stay at his place. With my address posted out there for all to see, I don’t have much of a choice. Even Mr. Reyes comes out of his apartment with his wife to tell us that there’d been two pizza deliveries earlier, something he’s never seen me order in the eight years I’d lived there. But since I wasn’t home, the men left.
We wait until the head of his security detail ar
rives, a tall and heavily muscled man named Caden Grayson, along with two other men who, with my permission, set up an alarm system for my door including a camera where my peephole should be.
While they’re busy with that, Kodi helps me pack my things and load them in the Jeep. When I tell him that I want to bring my electric sewing machine and my turntable, he doesn’t object. He’s probably relieved to know I have a lighter sewing machine in addition to the original one in my living room that weighs a ton. I feel silly wanting such things with me but I want to keep myself busy. I don’t want to just sit around in Kodi’s house doing nothing.
It takes Caden and his men an hour to get everything set up and by then, I’ve recovered from my shock. We don’t talk on the drive back into the city. I don’t even know what to say. Luckily, there’s a parking spot right in front of his townhouse and it takes him two trips to bring my weekend bag, sewing machine, and turn table inside.
“So much for our plan, right?” I say, chuckling dryly as he hands me a duplicate key to his townhouse.
“Our plan is fine,” he says. “We can’t control anything that happens beyond that, whether it’s my dad’s reaction or the Internet mob who thinks it’s funny to broadcast a young woman’s address.”
I sigh. “Thanks for being there for me, Kodi.”
“I’m glad I was,” he says, guiding me away from the front door and deeper into his townhouse. “Why don’t I show you around first?”
As he gives me a tour of his townhouse, I’m grateful for the distraction. Kodi’s three-level townhouse has five spacious rooms and three bathrooms. One of the rooms is his office and another is his entertainment room with a big-screen TV, a large leather couch and giant bean bags. The other three are bedrooms, two guest bedrooms and the main one where I spent the night after the reception.
It has a gorgeous living room and a dining room, a fully stocked bar and a deck where I first met him during one of his summer parties. Except for the absence of anything retro, probably my favorite room in the townhouse is his kitchen which has everything one could possibly need to prepare a five course meal, from a large oven to a three-door refrigerator and more counter space I could ever ask for.
I take the bedroom next to his and as he sets my weekend bag on the chair, I can’t help but chuckle.
“What’s funny?” he asks, smiling.
“Not funny. Just… interesting or ironic, depending on how you look at it,” I reply. “I mean, here we were thinking just a simple announcement of our engagement would solve all my problem but it hasn’t. Instead, here I am, crashing your place.”
“You’re not crashing at all, Roxy.” He takes a step toward me and strokes my cheek. “I’d rather you be here with me than anywhere else.”
“This will be over before you know it,” I say. “Who knows? Tomorrow, my union rep could call me and tell me that the whole thing was all one big mistake and that the hospital acted prematurely. Then life will go back to normal again.”
“Except for that asshole standing outside your door tonight and my father being a jerk, I like this new normal,” he says, smiling. “I like you, Roxy.”
I chuckle. “I think we’ve established that earlier tonight.”
“I’d like to establish it again,” he murmurs as his face dips lower, his lips brushing against mine.
I close my eyes, shutting out the rest of the world that seems to be against me and welcoming only this, the feel of Kodi’s gentle kiss. This time, there are no people outside the door talking about money and investments, no father judging me for the way I look and believing me not good enough for his son. There’s just us.
As his tongue coaxes my lips apart, the kiss feels like a culmination of everything that’s happened between us since he slid that garter up my leg two days ago, sending the guests into a cheering frenzy. If he only knew how he’d done pretty much the same with my heart.
I just didn’t want to admit it then.
But life has changed since then. Right now, everything is simple, boiled down to a look, a touch, a kiss. Besides, after everything I’ve been through tonight, from Franklin believing I’m not good enough for his son to having my home address broadcasted to the world, I need a break.
As our kiss grows deeper, Kodi pulls me closer, my breasts pressing against his chest. I bring my arms around his neck, feeling his hands rest on my back. We’re still dancing though our tongues are doing most of it, tangling and tasting.
Kodi pulls back and studies my face, his finger tracing the outline of my cheekbone. Then he dives in again, his kiss deeper this time, his mouth moving down to the side of my neck, lingering in the soft hollow of my collarbone. As I feel his erection pressing against my belly, I can’t deny the ache growing between my legs, a hunger I haven’t felt in a long time.
I want more.
As if reading my mind, Kodi pulls away. He takes my hand and guides me up the stairs to his bedroom. The moment we walk through the door, he pulls me to him and crushes his mouth against mine. It’s deep and passionate, making my stomach clench.
All thoughts of not being good enough fly out the window as Kodi’s heated tongue dances around my mouth, making me moan. As his hands drag down the zipper of my dress, I let my hands travel down h is taut stomach before tugging at his shirt. He pulls away, slipping the shirt over his shoulders and I catch my breath at the sight of his broad chest and muscled shoulders.
“Wow,” I breathe as Kodi grins.
“That’s from three months spent building schools without power tools plus a little sunburn, thanks to my Irish skin.”
“I like your Irish skin,” I whisper as he kisses me again, his hands sliding my dress off my shoulders, revealing my slip.
His nostrils flare as he lets his gaze rake down my body. “God, you’re so fucking sexy, Roxy.”
I melt under the warmth of another deep kiss, feeling his thumb trace my hard nipple through the silk slip.
“Are you sure about this, Roxy?”
I nod. After everything I’ve been accused of being by an anonymous online mob who even felt the need to publicize my home address, I need this.
“I’m sure,” I whisper as Kodi pushes the strap of my slip off my shoulders and takes a hard nipple in his mouth. I suck my breath as he teases it with his warm tongue before moving to the other one and doing the same. As he pushes my slip off my body, it drops in a heap on the floor at my feet, revealing my garter belt and stockings.
Kodi grabs my ass with both hands, pulling me toward him. His lips blaze a trail of kisses down my belly and I suppress a giggle as he presses his mouth above my hipbone, his beard tickling my skin. I rest one hand on his shoulder and the other behind his head as he slides his mouth lower, just over my mound and kisses it. I shiver in anticipation as he slides my panties down my legs, leaving me with only my garter belt and stockings.
“You’re so fucking sexy, Roxy,” he whispers, gliding his hand up and down my leg. He pulls me toward the bed and onto my back.
Kodi slides over my body, kissing me again, his fingers finding me so wet as he brushes between my wet folds. He nudges my thighs apart with his knees, his fingers circling and pressing my sensitive nub. I moan against his mouth, our tongues tasting and tangling until I pull away, needing to catch my breath.
As it begins to rain outside, Kodi’s lips leave mine and move down my neck, my breasts, my stomach. He nudges my thighs apart with his hands, his mouth finding my heated core and I gasp as his tongue slides between my folds and presses against my clit. I clutch the sheets, moaning, my hips bucking against him.
Kodi grips my hips, pinning me in place as his tongue flicks my clit from side to side, the sounds of my breathing filling the room, joining the rapping of raindrops against the windows. My legs tremble as the first wave of my orgasm hits me hard. My body bucks against him but he keeps my hips pinned on the bed, his mouth and tongue driving me to the edge and back again and again.
When I can’t take anymore, I feel him slide
off the bed. I watch him unzip his pants and step out of them. He’s big, just like I’d heard everyone say he is and this time, I’m not catching a quick glimpse like I did the morning I woke up in the same bed. As I stare at his cock, Kodi pulls out a condom from his wallet, tearing the wrapper open. He returns to the bed and kneels between my legs, rolling the condom over his cock. I reach for him, our fingers intertwining as he kisses me again. I’m shaking with anticipation as he presses the head of his cock against my opening.
I groan as he slides his cock into my pussy, his movements slow at first as I get used to his size. As Kodi begins to push, my pussy throbs around him, each thrust deeper than the one before it. Kodi grinds his hips against me, the pressure inside me building and building until I can’t take any more. My walls begin to spasm around him, a feeling so intense I can’t think of anything else but letting go.
“Look at me,” he groans and I meet his gaze just as my orgasm hits me. As I cry out his name. Kodi captures my mouth in a deep kiss, groaning as his own release comes, his arms holding me close.
Minutes later, as I catch my breath, I’ve never felt so bared to anyone before tonight, so naked… yet so safe.
Chapter Eleven
The buzzing of my phone wakes me up the next morning. As I steal a glance at the phone display, I can see the congratulations coming in one after the other. The Hamptons Live feature must have gone live.
“What time is it?” Roxy murmurs, her voice thick with sleep.
“Ten,” I reply, setting my phone to silent before resting my head back down. I can’t believe we went through two rounds last night, getting a second wind at three in the morning that lasted two hours. By that time, I could barely keep my eyes open.
