Page 6 of Ignite
By the end of the day, I was exhausted, and the last place I wanted to go was home. Without Kenzi there to greet me, the penthouse no longer provided any reprieve. The silence was agonizing. Everything inside the four walls reminded me of her.
As I loosened my tie and headed to the bedroom, her scent still lingered in the air, as sweet and fragrant as a spring rose.The soft sheets still held her scent, and the little trinkets she left around made me wish she was here, waiting for me. So badly, I wanted her by my side. I wanted to be surrounded by her warmth—our bodies molded as one. I felt like my entire world had crumbled. I relived each memory of her over and over again. The memory of what we shared tormented me everywhere I looked.
Hot water cascaded down upon my naked body from the shower head, washing away my tension, along with the grime and hassle of the day. I stood beneath the hot stream and listened to the sound of the water echo off the walls. Thoughts of Kenzi and the last time we had made love under the comforting caress of the water filled my mind. It had been only days since we had last made love, but that time seemed like forever ago.The pain I felt for her absence was unbearable, and the thought of not having her in my arms was torturous. Needing some relief, I took hold of my shaft and slowly stroked myself. I closed my eyes and pictured her moving her lips further down my erection until I could feel them nudging against my balls, then giving them a little tug before coming up again. I tightened my hand around my shaft and squeezed—aching to release some of the sexual tension I had been carrying since Kenzi left.
Thoughts of each moment I had spent with her over the last weeks brought me to a higher state of arousal, teetering on the edge between exhaustion and release. Her green eyes and soft smile still lingered on my mind. As I stroked my cock, images of her face floating across my mind’s eye blurred with fantasies of her naked body.A low groan escaped my lips as I felt myself grow hard. The softness of her body pressed against mine tormented me. The thought of having her succulent lips wrapped around my cock was overwhelming as the memory brought it forth to life. I squeezed my hand around my shaft slightly tighter and continued to stroke. Kenzi, on her knees in front of me, was all that filled my vision as I closed my eyes and pictured her working her magical mouth up and down my erection. My stokes became a little faster as pain lanced through my chest. The muscles in my stomach tightened as I released into her in an explosive climax. My muscles went limp as jolts of pleasure coursed through my body.The word “Kenzi” fell from my lips in a hoarse cry as the pain of missing her washed over me in wave after wave. My body went limp, racked with agony. I had to get her back.
~5~
Kenzi
The last few days with Axe watching my every move had been close to unbearable. The explanation I gave Burt for Axe being with me took care of his uneasiness but did nothing for mine. It was nearing lunchtime, and I had to get out of the office. For the last two days, Axe insisted on grabbing something for us and eating at my desk. I had seen enough of this office to last a lifetime. I needed a break.
“Axe, please let me go with you. I really need to get out of this office.” I gave him a puppy-dog look and hoped it would pull at his heart strings.
With my added pout, Axe took the bait, hook, line, and sinker. “Okay, but only if you stay close and don’t wander off.”
I place my hand on my chest and used my index finger to draw an imaginary cross over my heart. “I promise.”
I found myself galloping down the hallway and soaking in everything going on around me. As we walked down the hall, I tried not to show it, but I couldn’t hide my excitement. My excitement rose as we headed down the elevator. I was certain that Axe could feel it, too. Once outside, I took a moment to fill my lungs with fresh air.
We rounded the building and headed toward Chili’s Tequila Bar & Grill—my favorite lunch spot. The smells of Tex-Mex food teased my senses as we approached the restaurant by walking through the courtyard. The patio area was packed with people enjoying their lunch hour, sipping on margaritas or other libations, and snacking on a tasty bowl of queso blanco and chips while they waited for their food order.
Once the hostess seated us and we placed our order, the silence between us became uncomfortable. We had been working on Axe’s case and found nothing to help him out. This wasn’t the best time or place to grill him about Van and Niles, but I wanted to make damn sure I had my facts straight.
“Tell me again what exactly Van said to you when you went to River’s house to confront Gretta,” I said as I pulled out the notepad I kept in my purse and flipped it to a clean page.
“I’ve already told you everything about that day.”
I could tell that Axe was getting frustrated with me, but I had to make sure nothing he said was left out. “I know, but there might be something you missed.”
I popped a chip layered in queso into my mouth and focused on Axe’s every word. As he spoke, I wrote what he said. Van was a smart man. Smarter than his brother Niles, yet dumber than River. I still had a hard time believing those three were brothers. Nothing about any of them was alike.
“Van knew exactly what he was doing when he got rid of my phone. It was like he knew I was recording him.” Axe turned his head to look at me. I narrowed my eyes, pretending to shield them from the sun.
“Were you able to track your phone?” I threw it out there, knowing full well he already tried that route.
“Patton did everything possible to track it, but it was a no go.”
I didn’t know what it was, but something about the way his mouth moved sent a bolt of desire straight to my groin. His voice rumbled and seduced me to his will. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat and let my eyes wander down to the floor. When he looked over at me, it took everything I had to gather myself. I wanted to jump across the table and capture his lips with mine.
Our order couldn’t have come at a better time. My focus switched from Axe’s lips and what I wanted to do to them to the smothered burrito the waitress placed in front of me. As we ate, I kept my focus on my food, and away from Axe. I shouldn’t be having these feelings for him. I had to keep our relationship professional. My only focus was to find evidence to prove he had nothing to do with blowing up my mom’s bookstore.
~
There was nothing wrong with my mind—it was exhausted from the constant advice Axe had been administering on his case since we returned to the office—but I couldn’t let him know that. I needed him to disappear for my own sanity. Even though we had so much ground to cover, it was worth it if I got him to leave me alone for a short time to tame down my annoyance with him. Hopefully, he wouldn’t think I was getting aggravated by his suggestions, which I was, and would just think I needed something to drink instead.
I called for a quick break and asked Axe to grab me a Coke from the vending machine down the hall. After he closed the door behind him, I sank down into my chair behind the long conference table, stretched out my right leg, and kicked off my heel. I hung my left leg over the edge of the chair, kicked off the other heel, and began rubbing the arch of my foot. There was little chance that I would be seen in this position if anyone walked by. I was giving myself a small bit of relief in an uncomfortable chair while allowing myself to take a much-needed break without detection.
Axe returned to the boardroom carrying two Cokes. I hadn’t had time to put my heels back on, but at least I was sitting upright with both feet on the floor. When Axe rolled the chair out from the head of the long table, I instantly noticed my black heel wedged between two of the legs. When he looked my way, I was met with his mischievous grin before he bent over and handed me my shoe.
I felt my cheeks turn red as I reached across the table and took my shoe from his hand. “It’s been a long day,” I said as I placed my shoe on the chair next to me.
His expression and the way he held his hands in surrender said it all. The tone I used might have been a bit harsh, but it had been a long day. Ever since we got back to the office from lunch, my thoughts teetered back and forth from Axe’s case to how badly I wanted him to kiss me again.
I had to focus on the case. Flipping through my notes, I remembered something I had found during my search. Clyde and Magdalena Wilkerson had three sons. As I stared at the names, the name CMW Holdings caught my eye, and I scrolled through the rest of my notes to find out more.CMW, I thought to myself. “Holy shit,” I blurted.
Looking at Axe and then to my notes, I realized I might have just found a connection between CMW Holdings and Van Wilkerson. Looking at Axe again, I saw a confused look on his face.
