by Donna Hill
He slowly sat down and stretched his arm along the back of the couch. Kai sat at the far end.
“Thanks for seeing me.”
She didn’t respond.
He cleared his throat, suddenly feeling unsure of himself, which always seemed to happen when he was with Kai. He couldn’t think straight. “Listen, I know that I promised that I would give you the space that you wanted, and I know that you said it couldn’t work. I tried, I really tried to honor your wish...but I can’t.” He angled his body more in her direction. “One of the big problems between us was Crystal.”
Her stomach jumped.
He drew in a breath. “I met with her when I got back to New York...” He told her about their talk, his declaration to Crystal that it was over between them in no uncertain terms. He even told Kai about the reporter and the news article.
She was singing on the inside. He didn’t have to tell her about the article, but now she understood why and how it all happened. He wasn’t sneaking around or trying to get back with Crystal. He was trying to end it in a public place to avoid any drama.
“I’m glad you were able to work things out.”
“That’s it?” He looked at her incredulously.
“What else can I say?”
“At least say that you’ll reconsider.”
She lowered her head for a moment, then looked directly at him and it was almost her undoing. His eyes went straight to her core.
“I know or at least I understand that what happened with you and Crystal wasn’t an easy thing for you to do. You were married. You have a child together and because of that you will always be connected. If...if I were to be a part of your life, I’d have to deal with that aspect of it as well.”
“And?”
“You have a life in New York, Anthony, a life that is all-encompassing and will only get more difficult when you step into your new role. I totally accept and respect that.” Her eyes pinched at the corners while she spoke. “I know how important it is to you, and I don’t know how we could ever be more than a weekend fling when you have time. I don’t think I can deal with that part of it.”
He took her hand. “You wouldn’t be in it alone.” He moved closer to her and cupped her face in his hands. “It would be the two of us...trying to figure it out, trying to make it work. I know it wouldn’t be your typical relationship. But if we try, if you want to we can make it ours. Whatever I need to do, I’m willing. Are you?”
Damn, he was good. “I...yes.”
Relief flooded through him, and he didn’t hold back a second longer before he took her into his arms and reconfirmed his commitment to her.
Kai heated and then melted in his embrace, and gave herself over to the sweetness of being held and kissed by him. It was better, hotter, steamier than she remembered. His tongue did things to the inside of her mouth that trickled all the way down to her toes. The fine hairs on her arms stood up, electrified, when he touched her. His heart pounded against her breasts and it emboldened her knowing that his want and desire for her reflected her need for him.
“Not here,” she murmured against his mouth. She pulled away, stood and led him to her bedroom.
It was as if the bell for the final round had gone off as they went at each other with a hunger that could only be quenched by stripping down until nothing but air was between them, and that simmering need for their bodies to be united was met and fully satisfied.
In a tangle of limbs, hot, wet kisses, moans, sighs and cries of passion, they closed the gap that had separated them, they erased the time they’d lost, and came together in an explosion of emotional and physical release that left them satiated and shaken.
For many moments afterward, Anthony refused to move, to disconnect. He’d always believed that his work, his passion for justice was the only thing that fueled him, that drove him. It was what Crystal always accused him of, and when they were together it was true. His work fulfilled him, not his marriage. Being with Kai helped him to realize that there was so much in his life that he was missing. He wanted to be able to wake with her, see her at the end of his day, make love to her at night. He kissed her temple and she sighed beneath him. But to do that he would have to sacrifice all that he’d worked for or she would have to return to a life that she’d vowed never to do again.
A sacrifice would have to be made if they were to succeed.
* * *
For the two days that Anthony was in town, he and Kai spent all of their time together almost as if they believed this ideal would somehow evaporate like a dream if they were ever out of each other’s company.
“I finally decided to put up some of my photography at the gallery,” she said while they worked side by side preparing a light lunch. She cast him a side look to gauge his reaction.
His expression lit up. “That’s what I’m talking about.” He hooked his arm around her waist and lightly spun her around. “Congrats. What made you finally change your mind?”
She giggled. “Tiffany. She’s relentless.”
“Good for Tiffany. Hope I get to meet her next time I come down. But in the meantime, can I at least get a sneak peek?”
She looked at him coyly. “Hmm. Okay. Come on.”
Chapter 24
Kai led him to her workroom. There were very few people that she shared her work with. Desiree and Tiffany had been the only two since she’d moved to Sag Harbor, and now Anthony. She was actually nervous about his response.
Several of her pieces were hung on the wall while others were spread out on desks and tabletops. Anthony slowed in front of each one and studied them in silence. The stark black-and-white images of unsuspecting subjects, the magnificence of nature and her ability to capture the nuances of shadow and light as they played across her subject matter were astonishing. He came to a full stop and reached for a photo that was on the desk next to her computer.
Her heart jumped. She tugged on her bottom lip with her teeth.
He turned toward her with a look of wonder in his eyes. “When did you take this?”
“It was a Saturday in early spring. It was an overcast day and I love to capture stormy skies. I went into town and the mist had begun and the sky grew gray. I started shooting.” She paused and looked away, recalling the day. “When I got home and printed the pictures I saw that one of you...and something inside of me...”
“Something inside of you what?” he asked softly walking slowly toward her.
“Shifted...as if the earth had moved beneath my feet.”
He was right in front of her now. “The same way I felt the first time I saw you standing in your doorway.”
The pulse leaped in her throat.
“I haven’t stop thinking about you, wanting you since that very first day. If anything it’s only gotten more intense, more difficult to ignore.” His gaze roamed across her face. “I didn’t think it was possible...at least not for me.”
“What?” she said on a breath.
“That I could fall in love, really in love, so quickly and so deep.”
Her heart pounded so loud and so hard, it felt like it would bolt out of her chest.
“I love you, Kai.” He pulled her into his arms. “It’s as simple and as complicated as that.”
Her fingertips touched his face. “Yes, it’s complicated.”
His lips touched down on hers with such tender sweetness that she felt her insides give way. She looped her arms around his neck, sank into the moment and turned herself completely over to him.
As with all of the times that they found themselves together, the need for each other blinded them to everything else. His hands were all over her, teasing and tempting and bending her to his need for her. Kai gave as good as she got, tugging his shirt off and tossing it across the room. She swept all of the photos and papers off the
desk and onto the floor. It was the only signal that Anthony needed.
They made quick work of discarding clothing that wound up in a tangled pile as he lifted her onto the desk. Kai opened for him, wrapped her legs around his waist and welcomed the burst of hard, hot heat that filled her and pushed the air from her lungs.
She clung to him as he moved deep inside her. She angled her body so that his every stroke tapped the pulsing bud of her sex. Jolt after jolt of fire ripped through her limbs as he grew harder with every dip and dive into her willing wet walls.
Her skin tingled while ripples of sensation flooded her body. She was so close. So was he. She knew from the shift of his breathing, the way he held her, how his strokes grew deeper and faster.
Suddenly, he grabbed her hips, holding her in a vise grip. The muscles in his neck grew tight as he plowed into her over and over and then...
“T...ony! Oh, God. Oh, God.”
The world disappeared behind an explosion of light.
“Yessss,” he groaned, and swallowed her cries of release with his kiss.
Entwined, they held each other as their breathing slowed to normal. In the distance, the sound of Jasper barking nearly masked the ringing doorbell.
“Expecting someone?”
“No,” she said breathlessly.
Reluctantly, Anthony moved away. They stared at each other and broke out into laughter.
“I better get that.” She gathered her clothes and quickly got dressed. She closed the door to the workroom behind her.
“Well, took you long enough,” Tiffany said, then stopped and took a good look at her friend who was trying to put her hair in place. Tiffany cleared her throat. “Busy?”
Kai’s cheeks heated. “Not anymore.” She bit back a smile.
“I can come back.”
“No. Come on in.” She stepped aside.
Tiffany stepped inside.
“What’s up?” Kai asked as they went into the living room.
“I should be asking you that,” she teased. “I just thought I’d stop by and see how you were making out with the photo selection.”
An image of her and Anthony getting it on in her workroom flashed through her head.
Tiffany snapped her fingers in front of Kai’s face. “Earth to Kai Randall.”
Kai blinked. “Sorry.”
“You must be Tiffany.”
They both turned at the sound of the sexy baritone.
Tiffany’s eyes widened.
Anthony walked over to her and extended his hand. “Anthony Weston.”
“Tiffany Howard. Nice to finally meet you.”
“You as well.” He turned all of his attention to Kai. “I’m gonna go,” he said. “Let you ladies do what you do,” he added with a grin. He kissed her lightly on the lips. “I hope to see you again, Tiffany.”
“I’m sure.”
Kai walked with him to the door. “Call me if you want to come over later,” he said only for Kai to hear.
“I will.” She closed the door and turned to Tiffany who was looking at her as if seeing her for the first time.
“When did that happen?” she asked, pointing toward the now-closed door.
Kai drew in a breath. “Since he came back on Friday.”
“Girl, and you didn’t call me! Guess you were too busy.” She walked over to the couch and plopped down. “Well, don’t start playing coy now. What happened? I thought you pretty much swore it was over. Done.”
“I know.” She sat down and tucked her feet beneath her. She sighed and then told Tiffany all that had transpired, the talk they had, what the meeting in New York was about and finally Anthony’s declaration of love.
“Wow,” was all that Tiffany could manage.
“Exactly.”
Tiffany slowly shook her head in amazement. “Guess you just never know.” She looked Kai right in the eye. “What about you? How do you feel about him?”
“I know you’re going to think I’m crazy. It is so unlike me...but I love him, Tiff. I’ve loved him before I met him. I know that now. A part of me has always known. I guess that’s why the craziness messed with my head so bad. But I do,” she added, imploring her friend to understand.
“Look, there’s no accounting for the ways of the heart. As long as you’re happy. As long as he makes you happy, those are the only things that are important.”
Kai pressed her lips together and nodded in agreement. “He does. He makes me so happy that I feel like I could burst.”
“Then go for it, girl. Take the happiness where you can find it.” She paused a beat. “What are you two going to do about him living in New York and you living here? You planning on going back to the city?”
“I’ve tossed that idea around every which way but loose. I can’t see myself going back.”
“Hmm. And he plans to stay there, I take it.”
“Looks that way.”
Tiffany exhaled a long breath. “I’m sure you two will work something out.”
Kai wished that she could agree. It was the one thing she was uncertain of.
Chapter 25
Monday morning, Anthony was right back in the thick of cases and Harrison’s campaign. His weekend with Kai still hummed in his veins and it took all of his concentration to stay focused on his tasks at hand. At the end of the day, Harrison pulled him aside.
“Come to my office. We need to talk.”
Anthony walked alongside Harrison to his office at the far end of the corridor. Harrison stepped inside. “Close the door, would you.”
Anthony closed the door, slid his hands into the pockets of his slacks. “What’s on your mind?”
“I think I should be asking you that.” He sat down and leaned back in his chair. He folded his arms across his small paunch.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that your mind is clearly someplace else. I need you at one-hundred-and-fifty percent. I have too much going on not to have you focused. We have a major Rico trial in two weeks. We need to nail these bastards once and for all. That cannot be done if you’re not on your game. There is no room for slipups or distractions.”
Anthony rocked his jaw. “I’m on top of it.”
Harrison studied him. “It’s that woman, isn’t it?”
Anthony’s gaze flashed toward his boss and mentor. “I can have a life and a career. I do my job.”
Harrison lifted his chin, then leaned forward. “I need to know that you want this as much as I do.”
Anthony hesitated—something he’d never done before. “I do.”
Harrison slowly nodded. “Good.” He lifted a folder from his desk signaling that the meeting was over.
Anthony turned away and walked out, and as he returned to his office and the pile of work that waited for him, it was the first time that he inwardly questioned his journey.
It was nearing midnight when he finally put the key into the door of his apartment. Exhaustion weighed down his steps. He tossed his briefcase on the couch and went to fix himself a drink. No sooner had he taken the first sip than his cell phone rang. He looked at the number on the face of the phone and his exhaustion dissipated.
“Hey, baby.”
“Hi. How are you?”
“Better now.” He took his drink and walked into his bedroom.
“Sounds like you had a rough day.”
He snorted a laugh. “That’s putting it mildly, but I’m used to it.” He sat on the side of the bed, set down his drink on the nightstand and took off his shoes. “How was your day?”
“Only a few patients today. I went over to the gallery to talk about the show.”
“Great. What’s the latest?”
“Well...I’m scheduled for my first showing i
n six weeks,” she said, the excitement brimming in her voice.
“What! Fantastic. Are you ready?”
“I will be. A lot of organizing and developing some kind of theme.”
“I know it’ll be amazing.”
“You’ll be here for the opening?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
“Do you think you’ll get a chance to get out here before then?” she asked with hesitation.
He paused. The way things were going at work, he was lucky to get off at the end of the day. “I want to. I’ll try as often as I can. It’s that I have a major case that is ready to be presented to the grand jury. There are mounds of prep work that have to go into—”
“Anthony...it’s okay. You don’t have to explain. I understand.”
“Do you?”
“Sure. Take care of what you need to. It’s important.”
“So are you.”
“Get some rest. I know it’s late.”
“I love you,” he said.
“Love you back. Good night.”
“Night.”
He disconnected the call and glanced upward. This was only the start of how things would be. Something was going to give.
* * *
“When was the last time you saw him?” Desiree asked. She, Tiffany, Layla and Kai were at the gallery to work out the details of the showing and the reception. The gallery had printed fifteen hundred palm cards and there was a big poster in the window announcing the show.
“Two weeks ago.” She sighed. “Just overnight. He had to go right back for a campaign event.”
They walked through the space where the reception would be held. Kai remembered the night she’d spotted Anthony in the crowd during the book signing. A wave of melancholy swept through her.
“We talk every night at least for a few minutes. He’s so exhausted.”
“It’s not going to get any easier or any better when he becomes district attorney,” Layla said. “Are you prepared for that?”