“Wait. You’re not including me in that group, are you? I’m like no other man you’ll ever meet. Baby, if you give me a chance, you’ll never want anyone else. After tonight, I’m more convinced than ever that we belong together. That you and I—”
“Kenton, don’t start.” She groaned, but he didn’t miss the smile that played around her gorgeous lips.
“Don’t start what?” He feigned ignorance.
“You know what. We’ve had this conversation a thousand times. How about we table your pursuit of me for another day?”
“Okay, I’ll drop it for tonight, but since I’m staying, why don’t we—”
“You don’t have to stay. I’ll be fine.”
“Yeah, but I’m too tired to go home. Besides, I don’t feel like being alone tonight. I need you.” He gave her his best sad puppy face.
She laughed, the sweet sound filling him with warmth.
He released her hand and put his arm around her shoulder. Despite their heavy conversation, spending the evening at her house felt normal. Like they did this all the time. Having someone to come home to was what he was missing in his life. Deep in his heart, he felt that someone was Egypt.
Kenton inhaled deeply, loving how amazing she smelled, like vanilla with a hint of lavender. The soft scent only added to the comfort he felt in being in her presence. They might not be a couple, but she always made him feel desired, and…comfortable. He could be himself with her. It wasn’t that he didn’t feel comfortable with others, but there was just something different about being with Egypt. Something he couldn’t really put into words.
“How about we find a movie on TV. Maybe something with suspense and action.”
She picked up the remote. “Now that I know that you’re into chick flicks, how about we watch one?”
Kenton dropped his head against the sofa, mentally kicking himself for mentioning Pretty Woman, earlier. “Please don’t make me watch a girlie movie. I say we watch what I want tonight and watch something you want to watch next time.”
“Fine. Ya big baby.”
He laughed. “Now you’re starting to sound like Dakota.” She was always calling him names during one of their bantering sessions. “Do you have any popcorn?”
“God, man. Do you always have to be eating?”
“Actually, no.” He leaned in close, nuzzling her ear and making her squirm against him. Normally, he kept his flirting to verbal sparring, but since kissing her earlier, touching her was like a need he couldn’t fight. “We could be doing something else. Maybe hugging, kissing, which could lead to se—”
“Uhh, I’ll go get that popcorn.” She scurried out of his hold. Kenton watched, appreciating how good her butt looked in the tight jeans, as she sauntered from the room.
Hot was not a strong enough word to describe the woman.
He could tell he was wearing her down. Secrets and all, Egypt Durand would one day be his.
Chapter Eight
Egypt nestled deeper into the warmth that surrounded her, unwilling to open her eyes. Her internal clock told her it was morning and time to get up, but she couldn’t make herself move.
I’ll lie here a few more minutes.
Just as she started to drift back to sleep, movement caused her eyes to snap open. Her heart rate amped up.
What the…
Suddenly, patchy memories of the night before leaped into her mind, and she bolted upright. At least she tried to.
“Where you goin’?” Kenton’s sexy, sleep-filled voice filled her ears, his strong arm tightening around her waist.
Egypt stiffened.
Oh. My. God.
Her mind reeled as she recalled them watching a movie. Training Day. Though Denzel was her favorite actor, she had only made it through the first half of the movie. At some point, Kenton had talked her into stretching out on the sofa. The last thing she remembered, was that she was using his lap as a pillow.
So how’d she end up on top of him, wrapped in his strong, muscular arms, their faces closer than they should be? At least they were fully clothed. Well, mostly. Before the movie started, she had changed out of her jeans and into yoga pants, and he had been fully dressed. But now, her hand rested on his thigh. His well-built, beefy, bare thigh.
With that realization, a sweet thrill shot through her body, sending waves of desire blasting to every nerve ending as her hand felt around. When the heck had Kenton stripped down to his boxer briefs? She wanted so badly to glance down and see what this incredible, hot man was working with, but…
“Stop thinking, sweetheart. Your thoughts are keeping me from going back to sleep.”
This man. He never ceased to amaze her and make her laugh.
Smiling, she lifted her head and slapped at his hard chest. His eyes were closed, but he was very much awake. “Kenton, you can’t go back to sleep. You have to get out of here. You might have the day off, but I don’t. I need to get ready for work.”
“Not yet. It’s still early.” He rotated his body to the side and in turn, pressed her against the back of the sofa. Considering his size, it was a wonder they both fit on the piece of furniture, but she was pretty sure his long legs hung over the arm of the sofa.
“Kenton, get up.” When he didn’t budge, Egypt huffed out a breath and wiggled against him, trying to make her getaway.
Big mistake.
She froze.
“I should probably be embarrassed since you’ve been greeted by my morning woody,” Kenton said, sounding too sexy for his own good. He turned onto his back, pulling her with him. “I can’t help it. You turn me on.”
“W-well, you need to turn yourself off and tell your um…your man part to relax, ‘cause nothin’s happening here. Now let me up.” After a slight hesitation, he loosened his hold but didn’t move his massive arm from around her.
Egypt knew she should make her escape, but she’d be lying if she didn’t admit that being on top of him felt good. Damn good.
Having a big, strong, sexy man, whose thick shaft pressed against her, was a little too tempting to pass up. Unable to resist, she placed her hands on either side of his shoulders, and did a slow slide down his body, intentionally brushing against his erection.
Holding back a moan was almost impossible when his rock-hard length bumped against her most sensitive spot, and liquid heat pooled between her thighs. Now she was the one who should be embarrassed. Using his body to satisfy the lustful ache growing at the center of her core. All they had to do was lose the clothes, and nothing would prevent him from sliding into her.
The thought sent a flash of heat soaring through her body. Or maybe it was the way they were now grinding against each other like high schoolers in the backseat of their parent’s Buick, with out of control hormones raging.
“Damn, woman.” Kenton groaned, locking her against him with a firm hand cupping her butt cheek. “You can’t be doing this shit unless you’re seriously tryin’ to get something started,” he whispered close to her ear, squeezing her butt as he nipped at her neck and continued moving beneath her.
When his lips found hers, Egypt moaned, the sound of her pleasure filling the quiet room as he hungrily devoured her mouth. She’d been wanting to kiss him again after what they had shared in her office, wondering if the connection had been a fluke.
Nope. Definitely not a fluke.
Kenton held the back of her head and deepened the potent lip-lock, sending fireworks shooting off inside her brain. She savored the sweetness of his experienced lips, but common sense told her to put a stop to the kissing and the grinding. They were friends. They shouldn’t be doing this. Yet, her sex-starved body craved him…and only him. Kenton was probably the only man who could get her juices flowing without getting her naked. If only they…
We can’t.
I can’t.
The words ricocheted through her mind, but how could she stop? The sensual ache between her thighs was growing more intense. Their bodies moved as one, kissing and simulating the ac
t of lovemaking. How many times had she fantasized about getting busy with him, feeling him buried deep inside of her? All it would take was for them to get rid of their clothes.
No. No, we have to stop. But…
As if reading her mind, Kenton pulled his mouth from hers and stopped moving, but held onto her. His chest heaving, he closed his eyes tightly, as if willing his body under control. “We can’t do this,” he muttered, the words spoken so quietly, Egypt wasn’t sure if he was talking to her or himself.
“What?” she croaked, surprise, relief, and a bit of disappointment waging war within her.
“I mean we can, but not like this. I want you. God, I want you so bad, but I don’t want you regretting our first time together. If we would’ve kept going, that’s exactly what would’ve happened. I know you’re not ready for what I’m offering. I want all of you. Not just your body, and I’m not settling for less than that.”
The adrenaline pumping through her body moments ago waned, and Egypt dropped her forehead to his shoulder, knowing he was right. What the hell had she’d been thinking? It didn’t matter how much she wanted to have sex with him, and only a tease would start something she couldn’t finish.
“I’m sorry. I am so sorry. I shouldn’t have let it get that out…”
“Don’t. Don’t apologize. This was on me,” he said, his large hand still cradling her rear end. “This is more proof of how much we want each other. When we finally do make love, and we will, there won’t be any regrets.”
Egypt shook her head, her forehead rubbing back and forth against his shoulder while her locks swished side to side. It would be fruitless to argue. She wanted Kenton in more ways than one. Wanted him more than any man she had ever met. If only circumstances weren’t keeping her from making that a reality.
He moved his hand and rested it against the small of her back as their bodies settled down.
“I don’t know what’s holding you back, but I know it’s something. Just so you know, I’ll be here when you’re ready.”
“I can’t ask you to wait for me,” she said, her voice muffled against the crook of his neck. Even the next day, his natural masculine scent was still intoxicating. She slowly lifted her head. “You are the sweetest, kindest man I’ve ever met, but we’re friends…and coworkers. We can never be more than that.”
Catching her off guard, Kenton raised up into a sitting position, still holding her close and showing off how strong his ab muscles were. Now she straddled his lap.
“Why?” he asked, studying her eyes as if trying to gather some hidden answer.
“Kenton, we’ve already been through this. You’re one of my best friends. I never want anything to come between us. I never want anything to hinder our relationship, and I never want to lose you. Besides, office romances don’t work.”
“I disagree,” he said immediately. “Just because your relationship with Ross went nowhere, doesn’t mean that ours will fail.”
“But what if it doesn’t work?”
“It will.”
“What if the physical attraction we share fades away?”
“It won’t.”
“Kenton,” she ground out in frustration.
“Egypt,” he said in his usual patient tone. “We will never know how good we can be together if we don’t at least give us a chance. If we take our friendship to the next level, we might end up with a relationship that exceeds anything we could have dreamed up. And if we find out that we’re incompatible,” he shrugged, “then we go back to being just friends.”
“It wouldn’t be that simple. You don’t know if we could still maintain our friendship.”
“Yeah, I do.”
“No, you don’t!”
“Babe, we will always be friends. Nothing will ever change that.”
Egypt swallowed the emotion inching up her throat. He seemed so sure, but he didn’t know everything. He didn’t know her as well as he thought he did.
She cupped his cheek, running the pad of her thumb over the light scruff on his face as she imagined what it would be like to wake up to him every morning. As a little girl, she dreamed of getting married right out of high school and then having babies. Life didn’t always go according to plans, and dreams didn’t always come true. The world as she knew it had been ripped apart, and she was still suffering the effects.
She wrapped her arms around Kenton’s neck and placed her chin on his shoulder. They’d had this conversation more times than she could count. Always ending up at the same place. They both wanted something that neither of them could have.
Egypt couldn’t deny their chemistry. Maybe in another life, they would’ve been able to pursue whatever this was brewing between them. Unfortunately, this was the life she’d been dealt, and it didn’t include Kenton as more than a friend. She just had to figure out how to stay in control and not succumb to the lust rushing through her.
When Kenton’s arms folded around her, holding her tightly against his body, it felt like all was right in her world.
But it wasn’t, and it never would be. That constant reminder of why they could never be more than friends kept invading her mind.
He was former FBI.
*
Egypt caught herself staring off into space, something she’d been doing off and on since arriving at work. One night. Kenton had stayed with her one night, and from the moment he walked out the door that morning, her house hadn’t felt the same. She hadn’t felt the same. It didn’t help that he had planted a searing kiss on her before leaving, saying he wanted her to think about him all day.
She leaned forward with her elbows propped on the desk. Closing her eyes, Egypt rubbed her forehead as if that would help clear her mind.
Their relationship had shifted, making her imagine what it would be like to...
Her eyes snapped open. Enough already. “Just stop thinking about him,” she grumbled into the quietness of her office. She scanned over her to-do list, ranking the tasks in the order of importance, then got to work.
The rest of the day went by in a blur, and Egypt hadn’t realized how late it was getting until Hamilton walked in.
“Got a minute?”
“For you? Always.”
Like his team of security specialists, Hamilton usually dressed up for work. Today was no different. He wore a dark blue suit with faint pinstripes, tan dress shirt, and a paisley tie. He looked sharp and authoritative like an owner of a Fortune 500 company.
“I need a favor,” he said holding up a green folder that Supreme usually used for potential clients. He claimed the seat in front of her desk.
“What’s the favor?”
“I need you to do some research for me. I know you’re swamped, and I started to give this project to Rebecca, but I need your expertise and thoroughness. You’re great at getting answers to questions I haven’t thought to ask.”
“Wow, flattery. Should I be nervous about this assignment?”
It wasn’t unusual for him to ask for background checks, and sometimes credit reports on their potential clients. However, this sounded like it would be more involved.
“No need to be nervous. You’ve earned that praise. I can’t imagine running Supreme without you,” he said seriously, then held up the folder in his hand. “Today I met with this potential client. She thinks her soon-to-be ex-husband has been doing business with some questionable people and may be involved in something illegal.”
“Have they threatened her?”
“No, but her husband stopped by her apartment the other day. When he left, some guys she’d never seen before, were waiting outside for him. According to her, they exchanged words, then roughed him up before leaving. He claimed it was just a misunderstanding—”
“But she doesn’t believe him,” Egypt finished for him.
Hamilton nodded. “Not only that. Yesterday, when she stopped by their house to pick up the last of her belongings, she found $10,000 hidden in their guestroom closet. According to her, he never kept tha
t much money in the house, and if he’s in any trouble, she doesn’t want to get caught in the middle.”
“I can see why she’s seeking our help.”
That was the one thing she didn’t like about the services Supreme offered. Often times, they didn’t know how dangerous a situation could be until it was too late. At least that’s how Egypt saw it. Their people were more than qualified to handle themselves. All had extensive experience in some form of law enforcement and or the military. She didn’t like knowing that her family, which is how she saw them, were putting themselves in harm’s way.
“I assume she questioned him about the money,” she said.
“He hasn’t returned her calls.”
Egypt accepted the file folder. Hamilton was a sucker for women in this type of situation, but whatever else was mentioned during the meeting must’ve set off his—what don’t we know—meter. Otherwise, he would’ve just accepted the job.
“Do you want me to dig for anything in particular?” Egypt asked as she opened the folder, curious about this potential client.
Her hand stilled when she saw the woman’s name.
Meesha…Hoakley.
There was no way she could be related to Ross…could she? What were the chances of running into him one day and two days later, hearing that he might be in some type of trouble? Egypt had known that he’d gotten married a year after she left the company, but…
Ross Hoakley.
Her chest tightened as she quickly skimmed the information in the file. Crap. Ross’s name was in the space that asked for any additional information. Would she ever be rid of the guy? Now she had to dig into his background. Egypt had hoped seeing him the other day would be the last time she’d ever have to deal with him.
“Egypt?”
Her head snapped up, and Hamilton’s concerned expression bore into her.
“What’s wrong? Do you know Meesha?”
“Uh…no, but I know her husband.”
Chapter Nine
Kenton pulled up to the gated community, glad there was no one at the guard stand. Instead, he used the keypad on the call box to get onto the property.
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