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  She took her own deep breath, her nerves vibrating intensely. “You need to understand that I’m not usually so sensitive. I wasn’t expecting you to roll out the red carpet for me, but I thought we’d at least gotten to a point where we could be civil with each other. I thought the dinner we had with your brother and sister-in-law let us get to know each other, and then we’d had a good time that evening we talked. The next day it felt like you turned on me.”

  Nodding his head in agreement, he said, “And you deserved better than that. Which is why I’m apologizing.” He dropped a hand to her knee and squeezed it gently.

  Kenzie gasped, his touch like an electrical current threatening to make her combust. She cleared her throat, desperate to shake away the sensations that were shooting up her spine. She gently pushed his hand away and shifted the subject. “What doors?”

  He chuckled warmly, clasping his hands back together. “Excuse me?”

  “What doors were you wanting to keep closed?” she asked, referring back to his earlier comment.

  He hesitated before responding, seeming to drop briefly into thought. When he finally answered, the humor had left his tone. “My marriage, for one. That’s a sore point for me, and you didn’t seem to get the hint.”

  She nodded. “And I apologize for that. I wasn’t pushing to make you uncomfortable. I just wanted to know if you were still emotionally invested in that relationship.”

  “Whether I am or not, the subject didn’t have anything to do with your article,” Zachary said with a slight shrug of his broad shoulders.

  Kenzie met the intense look he was giving her. “Truth?”

  “I expect nothing less.”

  “My reasons for wanting to know were strictly personal. I wanted to know if you were ready to move on or if pursuing you was a waste of my time.”

  The faintest smile lifted his full lips. His eyes skated along with hers. “Is that all?” he asked.

  “What do you mean, is that all? Should there be more?”

  “There could be. Because you like me, and we both know once your emotions get caught up in another person everything takes on new meaning.”

  She laughed. “I like you?”

  He grinned and nodded. “Yeah. You really like me! And you spend a lot of time thinking about me.”

  The wealth of her laughter warmed Zachary’s spirit as it resounded around the space, echoing off the water in the pool and dancing in sync with the twinkling lights that trimmed the trees bordering his property.

  “And how do you know that I spend a lot of time thinking about you?”

  “I know this, Kenzie, because I’ve spent a great deal of time thinking about you.”

  The few minutes they sat staring at each other felt like a lifetime, the moment surreal. The tension that had churned between them earlier began to slowly dissipate, giving rise to something else that was brewing thick and decadent between them.

  “Truth?” Zachary questioned.

  Kenzie smiled, her head bobbing against her shoulders. “Always, I hope.”

  He took a deep breath. “I’m scared,” he said matter-of-factly.

  A hint of surprise wafted over her expression. “You? Scared? I don’t know if I believe that.”

  Zachary smiled again, nodding in response. “Well, I am! You throw a mean left hook when you get mad.” He laughed heartily.

  “Do you take anything seriously?”

  “I take everything seriously. But I also know how to find the humor in every situation. You, on the other hand, don’t know how to take a joke.”

  “That’s not true.”

  He laughed again. “Time will tell.”

  Kenzie shook her head, frustration furrowing her brow. She hated that he seemed to know her so well when she was still feeling in the dark about so much. A soft sigh blew past her lips. “Tell me about you and Kai Tamura. He trained you, right?”

  Zachary’s eyes dropped to the ground as he seemed to drift into thought. A moment passed before he answered. “My relationship with Kai is a matter of public record. I trained with him. He was a great mentor. He left my employ many years ago. End of story,” he finally answered, lifting his eyes back to hers.

  “Do you know where he disappeared to?” she asked.

  He hesitated a second time. “Your father left me too, Kenzie,” he answered, his voice dropping to a soft whisper. “He left, and he didn’t want to be found. I didn’t like it, but I loved him enough to respect it.”

  Kenzie stared at him, the comment surprising her. For longer than she realized, she had imagined that Zachary would have had the answer to all her questions about her father, and in that moment it felt as if he was as lost as she was. Tears misted her gaze, her eyes batting them back. “I apologize for my comment earlier,” she said, “about you not being worthy of Kai’s friendship. It was a low blow, and you didn’t deserve it.”

  Zachary nodded. “Something tells me that as we continue to get to know each other better, you and I are going to make each other mad a few times before we get it right.”

  She pondered his comment for a good few minutes, and then she laughed, releasing every ounce of tension that she’d been holding tightly onto. “I’m sure you’re right,” she said.

  Zachary shifted his body closer to hers. “So, are we good?”

  Kenzie was suddenly lost in the wave of heat that wafted off his skin, his temperature seeming to rise with a vengeance. She lifted her gaze to his, her eyes dancing an erotic tango with his. The ardor between them had risen to a new level, and she felt herself gasp ever so slightly. She bit down against her bottom lip to stall the quiver of desire that was suddenly all-consuming. She nodded. “I think we’re very good.”

  Zachary nodded. His voice dropped to a low, seductive whisper. “Does that mean I can finally kiss you now?”

  Kenzie smiled. “No”, she said as she shook her head from side to side.

  “No?” His eyes widened in surprise, a level of shock registering across his face.

  She laughed, amusement dancing in her gaze. “What it means is that I can kiss you!”

  * * *

  Kenzie pressing her mouth to Zachary’s was truly a dream come true. That first touch was satin gliding across silk, the touch so slight that it was the faintest flutter. Flesh brushed flesh ever so sweetly. Slow, simple pecks soon had them both open and gasping for breath. Then his tongue slid past her lips and the line of her teeth, probing and teasing, a heat-seeking missile on a mission of its own. In no time at all, the desire consuming the two was everything.

  Kenzie wrapped her arms around his neck as she lifted herself up to straddle his legs. Zachary drew her close, wrapping his own arms around her waist and back as he pulled her pelvis tightly against him. She grabbed his head and buried her tongue down his throat. Their connection was suddenly intense, sweet shifting to wickedness with lightning speed.

  Zachary slipped his hand into her thick curls, hugging her tightly. “I’m about to explode, I want you so badly,” he whispered into her ear just seconds before plunging his tongue inside. He trailed his lips over her lobe, along her profile, around the curve of her chin, and down her neck. Seconds later their tongues were entwined once again, neither able to get enough of the tasting and teasing.

  When Kenzie’s mouth left his lips and began a slow trail down the length of his torso, Zachary was gasping for air, fighting to stall the wealth of sensations that had him near tears. She kissed and licked his neck, nuzzling that spot beneath his chin. Her hands were heated as they laid the path her mouth followed.

  Since the first day she’d laid eyes on him, she had been enamored with his tattoos. He wore the ink like a badge of honor, each intricate design painstakingly chosen to tell a specific story. Both arms were sleeved, and the first outline of a full back piece had been started, the detail yet to be finished. He preferred black ink against his warm, brown skin, with hints of color here and there. His chest was still bare, free from the graphic storytelling. She tra
ced every line with her fingertips and kissed and licked the patterns as if they were candy.

  When she suddenly fumbled with the string tie that held up his athletic pants, Zachary took a deep breath and held it. When she eased her hands inside his waist band, he almost lost it, his control wavering from the excitement.

  Kenzie focused her eyes on his face as she gestured for him to raise his bottom from the seat, allowing her to work his pants down to his ankles. She stole a peek downward and gasped before lifting her gaze back to his. Zachary wore no underwear. She imagined him suddenly feeling exposed and vulnerable as her fingertips lightly traced his flesh.

  Zachary met the look she was giving him with one of his own. His gaze urged her on. His dick was hard, feeling like forged steel. It stood straight out with just the hint of a curve in the shaft. She gripped it between her fingers and thumb, pushing it gently back against his body until the tip hit his belly button. A slow grin filled her face as she stole another look toward his face, dropping to her knees between his widened legs. The sensation of her touch was sweeping, the heat too intense. If it could have gone on forever he would have been a very happy guy.

  Kenzie traced patterns over his pecs and across his stomach, her mouth laying warm, wet kisses against his skin. She tipped her tongue into the well of his belly button, then teased it even lower toward the dark-brown tufts of pubic hair that met the lower edge of his abdominal wall. When her lips, warm and wet, blew a heated breath against his male member, his whole body quivered, the chill of a sensual current coursing deep into the pit of his stomach. His erection throbbed and pulsated and ached with the sweetest pain. And then she took him into her mouth.

  Zachary shifted his buttocks to the very edge of the seat so that he hovered between sitting and standing. The angle let him watch his penis slide in and out of her mouth, fascinated by the way it bulged her cheeks. He was in awe of her oral skills, amazed that she could take as much of him down her throat as she did. She held him with one hand and played with his balls with the other. She sucked up and down his shaft, at the same time jerking the base and twisting to change up the pressures and frictions and suctions that had his head spinning. Kenzie brought him to the brink of orgasm multiple times, his dick going frantic, his heart racing. And then she’d pull him back just to ignite that fire in him one more time.

  He didn’t have to tell her when he was coming. His body told her, spilling out like a dirty secret kept hidden for far too long. His hips reared up from the chair as he drove his cock into her mouth. His hands gripped the back of her head, clutching the thick curls that tickled his inner thighs. His own head rolled from side to side as he suddenly fought the urge to scream from the intense pleasure of it all.

  His body was out of control, his ass jerking up and down against the plastic surface beneath him. His orgasm was volcanic. For just a fleeting moment, he thought that he might die, the convulsions were so earth-shattering. She sucked him dry, and as he gulped air, he stroked her hair and whispered her name as if he were in prayer.

  Zachary didn’t know how long she stayed there, on her knees, her tongue flicking back and forth between his legs as she lapped at him, her touch light and easy. Time seemed to stand still as he reveled in the sensations she was still eliciting from his body. And then he hardened a second time, his male member engorged beyond his expectations. It surprised him, his body’s recovery breaking all personal records. He was brick-hard and suddenly anxious to see where that would take him next.

  Kenzie moved onto her feet, taking a step back. The smile on her face was taunting as she slowly brushed her thumb against her lips. The look was teasing, and as he reached for her, she took a step back, moving herself just out of his reach. She shook her index finger at him, and his eyes widened. He laughed warmly, the rich sound echoing through the late-night air.

  She did a seductive striptease that had him salivating. She pulled her T-shirt over her head, dropping it easily to the concrete beneath her feet. When she stepped out of her shorts, standing in the sweetest pink lace lingerie set, his manhood surged, the muscle desperately twitching for attention. He stood up, done with being passive as she held control.

  He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her into his embrace. His mouth captured hers in another tongue-entwined kiss. Kenzie moaned, the guttural tone rising from deep in her midsection. Heat wafted off her skin with a vengeance. Zachary’s yearning was monumental, and all he wanted was to drop his body into hers and lose himself in the beauty of that connection.

  Kenzie seemed to read his mind, her own desire as electrifying as his. It filled the air around them, an intoxicating current fueling a host of emotions. “Do you have protection?” she whispered.

  His response was incoherent as he murmured in her ear, his palm gently kneading her breast, his thumb and forefinger pulling at the protrusion of nipple. Kenzie kissed his mouth, licking his lips as he spun her around, carrying her in the direction of his bedroom. She gasped, loudly, when he suddenly snaked a hand between them, his fingers sliding past the line of her panties to tangle in her wet fold.

  Zachary snatched the bedclothes and tossed them to the floor as he lowered her down to his bed. He was still fingering her unabashedly, his touch searing. Kenzie’s body was moving of its own volition, her hips pressing upward, wanting him to touch her deeper, harder, faster. His fingers were slick, coated with her feminine moisture, and when he pushed himself from her to reach into his nightstand for a condom, he shoved his fingers into his mouth, savoring her taste.

  Kenzie reached for the prophylactic, taking it from his hand. She tore the wrapper open and sheathed him quickly, pinching the end of the condom as she rolled it over his length. Wanting seeped from his eyes and hers, both drunk with their desire. The moment was exhilarating. Zachary hesitated, his eyes closed as he took a handful of deep breaths to stall the blood that surged so intensely. He dropped his head, his thick tongue teasing one nipple and then the other as he suckled her breasts, wrapping his lips around the lush tissue. It was almost too much as she cried out, her buttocks lifting off the bed to urge him on.

  Zachary pushed her legs open, and as he dropped himself between them, he plunged himself into her. The moment was telling, the intensity of it so powerful that neither had the words to explain what they were feeling if their lives depended on it. Their loving was frantic and immeasurable, the wealth of it so abundant that it spilled out of every crack and crevice in the room.

  There was a whole other level of excitement that danced hand in hand with their being together for the very first time. From that initial touch there was something wholeheartedly different from the years of casual encounters both had known. Breaking personal taboos as hands touched bare flesh, fingers caressed intimate places, the kissing, the sucking, the swallowing was greater than either could have anticipated. The room was a stereo of little moans and cries of pleasure.

  Kenzie came first, her whole body beginning to buck as he stroked her relentlessly, driving himself in and out of her like a piston. Each time he rammed his cock back into her, a surge of pleasure radiated throughout her whole body. Zachary was large and abundant, and he filled her pelvis with the wealth of himself. He thrust himself into her hard and immediately retracted his body only to dive back in again. When she finally reached the peak and orgasmed, her whole body convulsed with pleasure. They were both shaking and trembling, and then his second orgasm spewed, sending them both over the edge of ecstasy together, both shuddering in sync with each other. Zachary fell against her, his weight pinning her against the mattress. Everything felt right as she cradled him against her, both panting heavily as they wallowed in the glowing aftermath of the experience.

  Zachary tried to roll off of her, but she gripped him tightly and whispered, “Stay inside of me!” Her muscles pulsed around his organ, squeezing him gently. He pushed himself back against her, rolling enough to wrap himself around her body. He hugged her close, pressing a warm kiss to her forehead and her nose, meeti
ng her lips as he sucked her bottom lip. His kisses were ravishing. Kenzie could barely breathe, all of the air knocked out of her lungs. She pulled a leg higher around him, teasing his backside, and they lingered in the easy caresses of each other’s touch as they panted for air.

  They lay together for some time before Kenzie finally pulled herself from him.

  “Are you okay?” he asked as she moved onto her feet.

  She nodded. “I’m better than okay,” she whispered back as she headed toward the bathroom.

  Zachary lay listening to the flush of the commode and then the running water. Minutes later she came back to the bedside, a warm washcloth in hand. He lay back, one arm resting over his head as she discarded the soiled condom and bathed him clean. Her touch was gentle and easy, and each pass of the washcloth felt like he was being babied in the most nurturing way.

  When she was done, Kenzie fell back into his bed, and Zachary pulled the covers around them both. There, in that moment, everything felt right. They wrapped their arms around each other and rubbed noses like little kids. She giggled softly as she turned onto her other side, cradling her buttocks into his crotch. The curve of her back arched against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her waist, seeming to draw her even closer as they lay there pressed together.

  Sleep came swiftly, pulling them both beneath a dark, quiet blanket of bliss. Their dreams were sweet that night, promises twinkling in the bright stars that peppered the dark sky outside his windows.

  Chapter Seven

  “I am not needy,” Kenzie snapped. She sat on the edge of Zachary’s soaking pool, dipping her toes into the warm water. “In fact, I am the least needy woman you will ever know.”

  Zachary lay reclined in the pool, his back pressed against the tiled wall. He shook his head. “I didn’t say you were needy. I said . . .”

  “I heard what you said. And I fully understood what you were implying,” she said defensively. “Just because I sometimes allow my emotions to get the best of me doesn’t mean I’m desperate for male attention. Yours or anyone else’s.”