“I bet he wasn’t.”
I doubt that is much of anything, but it might give Carter an idea of where to start to find Westbrook. I rack my brain trying to find ways to ask for more information about Westbrook without her becoming too suspicious.
“Are you going to see him again?”
“Are you jealous?” she winks. “No. I wasn’t allowed to see him after the… that night.”
“Good, I don’t like you with him.”
“I never knew you to be jealous, Nicholas,” because I was never jealous when it came to you, bitch.
“I’ve changed,” in more ways than you’ll ever know.
“Maybe, the time apart was good. It made you realize just how much you needed me.”
“Maybe.”
“I can make you happier than she ever could. I know what you need both in and outside of PFS. You’ll never have to worry about me embarrassing you, or not knowing how to act in certain situations. With her gone you’ll never have to worry again. She won’t be able to do anything to hurt you.”
“Time’s up.”
Chapter 49
Kenzie
“Honey! I’m home!” Nicholas announces loudly as he stumbles into the living room with Carter next to him, sort of guiding him to the couch.
“Nicholas?”
“Kenzie… I’ve missed you. Come sit with me,” he pats the couch heavily next to him after he plops down.
“Mrs. Parker, would you mind if I got a bottle of water from the fridge?” Carter asks, eyeing the kitchen.
“Of course not, let me help you,” I lead Carter to the kitchen.
“What—” I start.
“This is his way of dealing,” he shrugs.
“I thought you guys were stopping to eat at The Summit?”
“We were. I think he needed to drown out the meeting with her.”
“Did you… did she say anything?”
“Not really. We have a couple of leads that we’re going to follow up on,” I can tell he’s purposefully being vague.
“Is he okay?” I ask, not referring to his obvious drunk state.
“I think the alcohol helped,” he shrugs. “That woman… she’s… really something.”
“That bad?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“Kenzie! Where are you?” Nicholas calls from the living room.
“Thanks for bringing him home.”
“Of course. Try and get him to drink as much water as possible, it’ll help lessen the chance of a hangover in the morning.”
“I will.”
“There you are!” Nicholas stands and sways a little as we enter the room.
“Have a good night, sir,” Carter says as he walks toward his apartment.
“Who’s on tonight?” Nicholas asks.
“Hunter is at the entrance,” Carter confirms. “Ben is on call.”
“Good.”
I can’t help but chuckle, even in his drunken state, he’s still worried about our safety. As Carter leaves, I set the deadbolt and turn on the alarm, knowing that we’re not going to be leaving the apartment at all tonight.
“Are you hungry—”
“Yes.”
“I can make something for dinner if you’d like. Julie and I already ate—”
He pulls me onto his lap as soon as I get close to him. I’m straddling his thighs, facing him as his arms wrap around my hips.
“I want you for dinner, baby,” before I can respond he pulls me closer to him until his lips find mine. His tongue immediately searches out mine, as his hands roam my entire body. I can feel his erection through my thin yoga pants as he grinds himself against me. Our clothes quickly come off, thrown carelessly on the floor.
“What are you doing?” I ask as he moves towards the end of the couch before standing up, carrying me toward the kitchen.
“I told you… I want you for dinner,” my face blushes as he sets me down on the dining room table. He pulls my ass to the edge of the table, before gently urging me to lay down. My arms automatically come across my eyes, embarrassment hits me, as the thought of being completely naked on the table.
“Oh God.”
I hear a chair moving across the floor, I open my eyes just enough, to see him sitting right between my legs. My initial reaction is to close my legs, as I know in this position he can see everything. His hands are firm on my thighs, as if he senses my discomfort, holding me open.
“You’re beautiful, Kenzie… every part of you is breathtaking,” he kisses my legs, slowly moving from my knee to my thigh before switching to the other leg and repeating the same movements. When he reaches my thigh this time, he slowly runs his tongue through my folds, before flicking my clit, causing me to jump. I moan loudly, any sense of embarrassment about being on display long gone, as I instead focus on what he is doing to me. The light movements of his tongue continue to tease me, increasing my desire until I’m practically begging for more. I’m moaning, loudly, I’m sure until he finally gives me what I need. I scream out when, without warning, he latches onto my sex ravishing me.
“I love the way you taste,” he mumbles against me. “I could do this every day and never grow tired of your taste.”
I blush at the bluntness of his words, before moaning again, when his fingers join the exploration of my body. He’s nibbling, sucking and licking at me as his fingers slowly move in and out of my body. It’s as if he wants to take his time, as if he has nowhere in the world to be right now, with nothing else to do but this. However, when he takes my clit between his teeth, nipping at it slightly, I nearly jump off the table. He immediately soothes it with his tongue, only to then take it back into his mouth and suck on it, which pushes me right over the edge. I come, loudly screaming holding his head against me, not wanting him to stop. He slowly brings me down, before standing up and slowly pushing himself into me.
He wraps my legs around his waist before leaning over me and taking my breasts in his hands. We both groan when he takes one of my nipples into his mouth, because it sends an immediate jolt to my sex and him because I tighten around him. His movements are quick, but purposeful as he pushes us both toward a release.
“I love being inside of you, baby; the way you grip me, the way you suck me into your body, the way your walls throb just before—”
“NICHOLAS!” his words push me over the edge.
Just as I’m coming down from my own orgasm, I feel Nicholas erupt inside of me sending me into another smaller orgasm, as he calls out my name. His arms give out, no longer able to hold him up and the top half of his body collapses on top of me. It’s not very often that he does this, because he’s always afraid he’s going to hurt me, but I love feeling his full weight on top of me. I love that he trusts me this much, because there was time I didn’t think we would ever get here.
“Let’s move to the shower so I can have dessert,” he whispers as he wraps an arm under my back and lifts me against his chest before standing up.
“Dessert?”
“Oh yeah, baby, I’m not done with you just yet,” I feel him chuckle against my neck as he carries me into through the bedroom and into the bathroom. It’s only a couple of minutes since his orgasm, but I feel him already hardening, clearly ready for round two. He sets me down in front of the mirror, slowly slipping out of me to turn me around so I’m facing the mirror. My eyes meet his in the mirror, and I watch his gaze slowly slide down my naked reflection.
“Screw the shower,” he mumbles before wrapping his arms around me pulling me against him. His fingers tease my clit while his erection prods me from behind. When I open my eyes, the heat rushes to my face when I immediately find him watching my reflection in the mirror. He gently urges me to lean over, granting him the access he needs. He easily slips inside of me, plunging deep, groaning as he pulls my hips to his.
“Watch us,” he mumbles. “Watch what you do to me, how you make me lose all control, watch how your body responds to me, how in tuned we are to each other.”
“Oh God,” I moan as he sinks deeper into me in this position.
“Watch us,” he whispers before I even realize my eyes closed.
Instead of focusing on my naked body, I look for Nicholas’s eyes. His eyes meet mine, watching my reaction as he moves his hand in front of us, his fingers expertly finding my clit, causing me to gasp and tighten around him. I watch as the moment he teases my clit begins to become too much. I watch his reaction as I feel my sex clutch him; I watch the determination take over on his face as he pushes his own need aside, waiting instead for my orgasm before allowing himself a release. I hold off, waiting and watching his reaction. Without a word spoken, we both fly over the beautiful edge together. His arms wrap around me, anchoring me to him as we both ride out the last waves of our orgasms.
“Wow…” there are no words for what just happened. It was incredibly erotic to watch ourselves in the mirror. I loved watching Nicholas’s reaction to how my body was reacting to what he was doing. It was almost like watching from the outside, yet still feeling everything that was going on.
“I love you, Kenzie,” he whispers against me, squeezing me tighter as he says the words.
“I love you, too,” I lean back kissing him as best as I can from this position.
“Come, let’s take that shower now,” he slowly slips out of me, I can’t help but moan at the empty feeling, which is kind of silly considering what we just did… twice. He takes my hand and leads me to the shower, turning the water on warm before stepping in. The shower in this condo is definitely not as large as the one in the penthouse, but I kind of like that it’s smaller, since it means our bodies end up rubbing up against each other more often.
A few minutes later, we’re both washed and drying off before heading to bed. I grab two water bottles from the kitchen, handing one to Nicholas before taking a sip of my own. I watch him drink nearly half the bottle before placing it on the nightstand next to the bed. Without saying a word, he removes the towel I had on before taking off his own and guiding me to the bed.
“We’re not wearing pajamas tonight?” I giggle.
“No,” he offers no further explanation, but after turning off the lights, he climbs into bed next to me and pulls me against him.
I don’t know how long I was asleep for, but when I open my eyes the room is pitch dark. It takes me a couple of seconds to figure out what woke me; when Nicholas whimpers, I realize it’s not what woke me up but who. His body is tense against mine, he’s mumbling so quietly I can’t make out what he’s saying. I try calling his name, but he’s so deep it nightmare that he doesn’t respond. He hasn’t had a nightmare since our honeymoon and I have no idea what brought this one on.
“Noooooo!!! KENZIE!!!!” he screams out before sitting straight up in the bed, his eyes wild as he searches the room.
“Nicholas, it’s okay,” I say gently as I place my hand cautiously on his arm. I have no idea what his nightmare was about, so I touch him cautiously, not entirely sure if he’s truly awake yet. “I’m right here.”
“Kenzie?” his eyes finally find mine and I begin to feel his body relax a little.
He lays back down on the bed, quickly taking me with him. His head isn’t even on pillow yet before his lips find mine. He wraps an arm around my waist pulling me close to him so there’s no space between us. I can feel the warmth from his body; his hands are roaming over my body almost as if he’s trying to reassure himself that I’m next to him. Eventually we both fall back asleep; as much as I want to ask him about the nightmare, I decide to wait until the morning.
“Morning,” he says as soon as I open my eyes.
“Morning. I’m surprised to see you awake this early,” I admit.
“Why?”
“I expected to you to be nursing a hangover most of the day.”
“Nah, I don’t get too many of those.”
“Want to talk about it?”
“Let’s take a shower first,” he sighs his reluctance obviously showing.
I groan as I get out of bed, my body sore in far too many places. Nicholas has a proud look on his face as I slowly make my way to the bathroom. Who knew having sex used this many muscles?
“You okay?” he asks, as I get in the shower after him.
“Sore… a little sore.”
“You should take something when we get out of here, but the heat should help relax your muscles,” he suggests.
We spend far too long in the shower, but by the time we’re done I can move much easier. He massaged my back, thighs, calves and even my arms before we left the shower. Between the massage and the heat of the water, getting out to the shower was much easier than getting into it was. While I’m making us breakfast, Nicholas straightens up the mess we made last night. Papers that were once on the dining room table were on the floor and much to his amusement, I made him wipe down the table before we sat down to eat there. My face heats up, recalling what we did there last night, and knowing that I’ll never be able to look at the table again, without thinking about it.
“So…” I begin, as we both finish eating.
“She’s… she’s seriously screwed up, baby,” he sighs. “There is no other way to put it. She admitted she was behind everything with the media—”
“She admitted that?”
“She said she was trying to get me to see that I needed her,” he clenches his fist.
“Did she tell you anything about…” I can’t even bare to say his name.
“Not really. She knows he was staying at a motel about half an hour from here, but otherwise, she didn’t know much, or at least not that she was saying. She doesn’t know what his plans are. Her job was to convince me that I… I should be with her and that you couldn’t be what I needed. Then when I left you, he would be free to…”
“To come after me,” I finish the sentence for him.
“Yes, but you have to know that I’ll never let that happen. Carter has everyone working on finding him, we won’t let him—”
“I know you’ll do everything in your power, to keep me safe,” I assure him and try not to let my doubts show.
“He’s not going to hurt you again, Kenzie,” he takes my hand, squeezing it tightly just as someone knocks on the door.
“I know,” I say before getting up to find Carter at the door.
“I hope I’m not disturbing you, Mrs. Parker,” he says before stepping into the living room.
“No, you’re not. Would you like some coffee?”
“If you have some made, ma’am, I wouldn’t refuse a cup.”
“Carter,” Nicholas gestures to the chair next to him at the table.
“I thought we might need to go over your schedule now that you’re back in New York, sir, and determine what security measures are necessary.”
Chapter 50
Kenzie
“We should be there in about ten minutes,” Hunter says, as he maneuvers us through the rush hour traffic that is New York.
“Okay,” I wouldn’t care if he told me it would be another hour until we got there. I don’t think I’ve ever been so relieved to get out of the house as I was today. I absolutely love the new house and the fact that now I can at least go outside, unlike at the condo.
“Mr. Parker will be leaving momentarily, if he hasn’t—”
CRASH
The sound of metal crunching and screaming fills the air. I’m screaming, Hunter is calling for me to hold on and Ben is yelling at Hunter to turn the wheel a different way. I have no idea what’s happening, but the car is being tossed in all sorts of directions. Another sound of metal comes, and I realize we’ve been hit again, th
is time on the passenger side of the SUV. My head bounces off the window and everything before me goes black.
I must be in and out of consciousness, because I only hear bits and pieces. I feel myself being dragged from the vehicle, my feet falling hard to the ground. I try to take a mental inventory of my injuries from the accident: my head is pounding, I can feel warmth running down my face so I know I’m bleeding from somewhere. My wrist and arm hurt–I think I banged it against the door, or maybe the window. When I open my eyes, everything is fuzzy. I hear someone calling my name, maybe Hunter, but he sounds too far away. Then, the world goes black again.
“Wakey, wakey,” a voice I never wanted to hear again pulls me from a… sleep if that’s even what is was. Whatever it was, the voice immediately brings me back to reality. A slap to the face, forces me to open my eyes and the sight before me is exactly what I expected it to be.
“Well, look who decided to wake up,” he snickers as he looks me over, and despite still wearing all the clothes I left the house in, the look he is giving me makes me feel naked.
I don’t say anything, opting instead I take in my surroundings. I’m tied to an uncomfortable wooden chair, with my hands bound behind me. I can feel the rope cutting into my wrists, tearing at my skin, as I slowly test the knots. My ankles are tied to the legs of the chair, just as tight as my wrists, from what I can tell. My head is still pounding, but the pain is more manageable. My wrist and arm hurts, but that just could be from the rope. Looking around, I instantly realize where I am—my old apartment. And the man I never wanted to see again, is standing in front of me, smirking holding a gun, pointing it at me.
“I have to give that hubby of yours some credit, he certainly didn’t make it easy to get to you. You have no idea how long I had to watch you, before I could finally formulate a plan. After he told Harper he would go back to her and drop you, the last thing I expected was for him to go back to that fortress. Apparently, he just likes to lie to everyone, doesn’t he?”
The Arrangement Duet Box Set Page 74