Page 26 of Daring Enzo

I struggle to keep the terrible memories of dredging, but it’s impossible. Flashes of my mother’s lifeless body filled my head like I was back there again. Shaking them away does no good, only replacing her body with Kelly’s, her lifeless eyes staring blankly at me as I open her door.

With a mind of their own, my feet hurry to the elevator, sweat forming beads on my forehead and running down my white-sleeved shirt. I wait impatiently for the elevator doors to open, my eyes pinched close in hopes I won’t find her in the same position I found my mother.

I’m glad I memorized the code as I ran off as the elevator doors opened. I run out to her door, typing it in. I pause, unsure of what I’ll find when I open the door. Will she be dead? Or will I find another person holding at her gunpoint, to realize this was a ploy to let me in?

If she was careless enough to let me see it so easily, who knows who else could’ve seen it and possibly been there right now? I push the door open, careful to not make a sound. The living room is empty, and I hurry to the bedroom. My hand stills on the knob when I hear a muffled sound through the door. I push in, ready to attack whoever is with me when I’m met instead with the delicious sight of her calling my name.

My anxiety slowly dies down as I stare at her. I grin as the sound of her moaning my name echoes in my head, sending pleasure and relief through me. I’d been biding my time, waiting for her to crack. She’d sort of done so by moaning to images of me; however, I don’t know whether to tease her some more and leave her high and dry until she fully cracks and gives in me, not just in body, or to give in completely.

Her gaze shows her curiosity. She wants to ask questions I’m not ready to give answers to. I give in to my desire to distract her and myself because I can't fight the panic anymore. I’ve wanted her from the moment I saw her again and the desire had gone nowhere in the weeks ’s passed despite my rejection of her obvious advances.

I regretted my decision to go full-on, however, not enough to stop me from doing it again and again. We finally had a date after she shared her time fairly with the other men. This is our first date in a while.

Kelly looks around in awe as we walk down to the farm. “I’ve never been on a farm before,” she says giddily.

I smile at the childlike excitement she exudes. This is why I brought her here instead of the equestrian center. She races ahead of me to the stables, grinning as she’s led in stables.

Kelly returns wearing the horse-riding gear I bought on our way here and twirls. “How do I look?” she asks me as a brown horse is led out behind her.

My jaw ticks as I look her up and down. Seeing her in those tight little riding pants put images in my head. I groan as I imagine bending over behind a tree in a secluded area with me standing behind her, gently easing in her.

I sigh, closing my eyes but it does nothing to clear my vivid imagination. “You look wonderful.”

She smiles at my words. “Thank you, now come pick a horse.”

She follows me in as I look at the horses, settling on a midnight black horse. I help her up and climb on mine as we begin a slow-paced walk through the farm.

“So, how was your date with Jonathan?” I ask.

“Oh, it’s great. We went on a boat cruise. He had a chef on board prepare us a 5-star dinner and then we danced and retired for the night when we got too tired to do anything else,” she says excitedly.

My jaw ticks as she speaks. Although I asked, I didn’t expect she would still be going out on dates with any of these guys.

Shouldn’t she have realized by now I’m the only one she needs?

I turn away so she won’t see my sour expression. This is part of my mistake. I should’ve waited a month like I planned to and now, things aren’t going as well because of it.

“Race you,” she screams, pulling me from my thoughts as she kicks the side of her horse, riding off. Her excitement is palpable as her horse gallops off, and she turns slightly to face me. “Come on.”

Despite myself, I roll my eyes and move, my horse running to catch up with her. She squeals when she hears the sound of my horse and kicks at her horse again, increasing her pace.

“Hiya,” I grin devilishly as I snap the reins, propelling my horse faster. I smirk as I pass her, laughing when she forms a pout. She leans forward, going as fast as she can.

I reach the fence before her, slowing down to wait for her. I turn to her when she reaches me. “I’m a better horse rider than you are.”

She rolls her eyes, taking my hands. “Whatever.”

Hands clasped, I led her to the picnic basket and asked the staff to help me set it up. “Lunch, milady.”

She smiles and sits down. “Thank you, kind sir.” She rifles through the basket, bringing out the wine I selected from the Lombardi winery.

“I see you brought some good wine,” she says.

“Not the only good thing I brought,” I state as I set out the packed lunch. “I cooked.”

Her eyes snap up to mine, the surprise and warmth evident in her gaze. “That’s so sweet and unexpected. Thank you.”

We eat lunch amidst laughter and jokes.

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