Page 37 of Burned
Instead of talking about the case she was handed, Kenzi locked herself in the bedroom. I said some things to her that I shouldn’t have, but damn if I wasn’t angered by her reasoning. Axe Riley, in my opinion, was nothing but a con artist. He played with Kenzi’s heart to make her believe he was a good guy. I hated to think about what she would find—disappointment and nothing but heartache. He was guilty, and I knew it. Why couldn’t she see it?
Walking to the bedroom, I had to try again to convince her to open the door so we could talk and come to some kind of agreement. I had to remain calm and be sympathetic to her point of view. Rolling my hand in a fist, I lightly knocked on the door. “Kenzi, can we please talk about this?” I pleaded. “Maybe we can come up with a solution together. I don’t want to fight about this.”
Kenzi slowly opened the door and right away I could tell that she had been crying. I hated seeing her this way. It was my fault. Without saying a word, she backed away from the door and walked over to the bed. She reminded me of a child who lost her best friend. I did this, and I had to make things right.
Sitting next to her on the bed. I took hold of her hand. “I’m sorry I got so angry. I just wanted to protect your heart.”
Her eyes met mine as she used her free hand to swipe away the tears from her face. “River, I know you hate Axe, but I took an oath. Everyone, no matter who, is innocent until proven guilty.”
The legal system was a funny thing. Yes, I believed everyone was innocent until proven guilty, but the fact of the matter was, not all people declared innocent were really not guilty. I, more than anyone, knew that. Davian Cross was one of those people. He was guilty and yet he got off. Still, I had to respect the oath that she took. “I understand. How about we make a deal? You can work on your case, but the evenings are mine.”
“Really?” Smiling, she wrapped her arms around my neck and I held her back. “Thank you for understanding.”
It felt like I was giving her a hall pass to disappointment. Swiping my thumb across her bottom lip, I leaned in and kissed her swollen lips. “No work tonight. I have a special treat for you.”
~
After we finished dinner. Kenzi and I sat on the patio and enjoyed what was left of a perfect evening. I filled our wine glasses with the last of the bottle of Cabernet, thinking how this evening would end with me deep inside her. Make-up sex was always the best, especially with her.
As we sat, Kenzi nuzzled against my shoulder. The quiet evening allowed me to look back on my life a few months ago. Not too long ago, I sat alone drinking God knows how many bottles of wine staring at the very same stars. For 15 years, the memory of Joselyn’s death tormented me, but with Kenzi by my side, I could finally say that the tormenting memories had completely vanished. I still thought about Joselyn, but not about her death. Only the happy memories we shared filled my thoughts. Kenzi made me realize that the past needed to remain where it was—in the past. She might even allow me to forgive the man who took her life.
Downing the rest of my wine, I stood and held out my hand. “I think it is time to continue this night in the bedroom.”
Kenzi lifted her glass of wine to her lips and took a long sip until her wine was gone. Smiling, she looked up and said, “Lead the way, Mr. Stevenson.”
Dropping off the empty bottle of wine and the two glasses on the kitchen island, we headed toward the bedroom, her hand in mine. When we entered the bedroom, the scent of Kenzi’s perfume filled my senses. God, how I loved the way her scent filled every corner of the penthouse. I led her to the bed and remained standing as she sat on the edge. Taking her in, her beauty was unquestionable. I wanted to devour every inch of her.
The touch of my fingers against her skin as I lowered the strap of her silky top had my body electrified and I hadn’t even touched her sweet spot. Once her breasts were exposed, I lowered my head and placed my lips over her nipples, first the right and then the left, giving them each the same amount of attention. Her soft moans filled the room, and I knew she was ready. Placing my hands on her shoulders, I willed her to lie back. Her nipples were taut from my ministrations, like headlights on a luxury automobile. Such a gorgeous sight. One that would be encased in my mind. Dropping to my knees, I began lowering her silky pajama bottoms past her hips and down her legs. Once they were freed, I tossed them to the side. She was the sexiest woman alive, purely naked, with only her lacy thong.
I snaked my hands up her thighs until I could snake my fingers beneath the strap of her thong. Yes, I could have twisted my hand and torn them off, but these were very sexy and I loved the way they looked on her. Throwing her thong where her bottoms were, I licked my lips and began devouring her sex.
Her scent was sweet, and I could have feasted on her forever. Kissing and sucking her clit, her back arched. I enjoyed watching her struggle to hold back the release. How I loved to tease her inner rage by taking her to the edge and then pulling her back. Her response to my touch was addicting, and all I wanted was more.
Losing myself in her sweet essence, my cock became unbearably hard. I rose to my feet and undressed. As I pulled down my pants, already I could feel a small amount of relief. My shirt was off next and joined the pile of clothing I had created on the floor. Willing myself to be patient, I positioned myself between her legs, running my hands up every curve of her body. She was so responsive to my touch. A smile of satisfaction was splashed across my face as her continued moans of ecstasy echoed off the walls.
Her eyes were closed and her lips parted as I pushed her legs further apart with my hands. Already I could feel her tight walls wrapped around my cock, pulling me deeper inside her. She was mine, and I had to keep it that way. With this trial in the balance, I had to make it permanent.
This was not the time to think about anything else but how good she felt. Rocking my hips forward, I increased my pace. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could hold on.
“Please, River. More.” Kenzi said softly, her words almost incoherent.
I wanted nothing more than to give her what she wanted. Reaching between our bodies, I found her clit. Tweaking the hard nub between my fingers, her hips moved with mine. Our bodies crashed and slapped together until neither one of us could hold on. Nothing beyond these walls mattered, and it was then I knew Kenzi would be my wife. Tomorrow, while she was doing her research, I would go to the jeweler’s and buy her the most expensive diamond ring they had. Soon everyone would know that she was mine.
~28~
Kenzi
River had left early this morning, but not without leaving me with another amazing orgasm. He had a few errands that he needed to take care of. He was acting weird. Not crazy weird, but more like a secretive weird. I offered to go with him, but he insisted I stay in the penthouse. For a man who was concerned about leaving me alone, he was very adamant about leaving me here, and with neither Mark nor Brian to watch over me.
Gretta was nowhere to be found, so I poured myself a cup of coffee and made myself comfortable on the sectional before powering up my computer. The patio would have been the perfect place to do my research, but the air was a little chilly. September was one of my most favorite months. Not only could I still enjoy the warm weather, but I could also watch the leaves turn colors.
Before I left the office yesterday, I was researching Magdalena Harris. It seemed like as good a place as any to start my research. I might even find out who the man standing beside her in the donation photo was. There was something about him that gave me an uneasy feeling. Typing in her name, I waited for the information from yesterday to come up. Before I left the office, I had only enough time to click on a few links. I would really have liked to find something on her. Axe was pretty hell bent that I research her.
When the first page of links appeared, I scrolled down to the bottom of the page and clicked on the next set of links. I scrolled through the links and clicked on the next pages until something of importance came up. When an interesting link came up, I stopped scrolling. I wasn’t sure why this link wasn’t at the beginning of my search. It involved Magdalena, and a man named Claude Wilkerson. This was no longer a coincidence. Sharing the name Harris with the man who kidnapped me might have been, but reading the name Wilkerson wasn’t. Somehow, Van Wilkerson and Niles Harris were connected to Claude Wilkerson and Magdalena Harris.
I clicked on the link and waited for only a moment before a news article came up in theChicago Sun-Times. As I read the article, my curiosity about the man was satisfied. Claude Wilkerson was the husband of Magdalena Harris. Just as I thought, he wasn’t a good man. Further down the article, it appeared that Mr. Wilkerson met his fate. His profession involved buying and selling drugs. Apparently, a drug deal he was supposed to make went bad, and he ended up dead.
The information in the article still didn’t explain why it was so important to Axe that I research her. There wasn’t anything mentioned in the article about any connection to Van Wilkerson or Niles Harris except that they shared the same names as Claude and Magdalene. Maybe I was going about this the wrong why. Maybe I needed to research information on any children they might have had together.
