Unbalanced

by Parkerson, Charity

  “Are we going somewhere in particular or was that an open-ended invitation?” Before she could blink, he shot forward. His mouth closed around her bottom lip.

  That was it. He didn’t attempt to deepen the kiss or press for more before backing away and standing. Only when her teeth clicked together did she realize her mouth had fallen open. She stared up at him, mute. With his hands shoved in the pockets of his coat, he winked.

  “I’ll pick you up at eight.”

  He walked away without giving her a chance to argue. Every single eye, including hers, followed him to the door. The moment it swung closed behind him, she sucked oxygen deep into her lungs. When the air expanded inside her chest, she recognized she’d not taken a single breath since the moment their lips touched. This man would kill her. He wouldn’t even need to lift a finger against her. Apparently, her body was too stupid to keep working in his presence.

  “Well, I’m totally not shaving my legs.”

  “Girl, you might want to wear some granny panties too, to be safe.”

  Tearing her eyes away from the door, McKenna focused on the mocha-skinned, chocolate-eyed twenty-something male sitting at the table across from her who’d spoken up. He flipped the page on his magazine, even though his gaze was locked on her.

  “I could hide, get lost between now and then, or buy a chastity belt.”

  “Honey. A man like that owns a flashlight, a road map, and lock pick set.”

  McKenna dropped her forehead to the table and released a whine to make any twelve-year-old girl proud. “I know! They’re each labeled and perfectly stored in an easy-to-reach recyclable container.” She was so fucked.

  * * * * *

  Kurt waited until the numbers on his watch read exactly eight p.m. before tapping his knuckles on her door. The moment McKenna answered his knock, Kurt pounced.

  “You rearranged my belongings.”

  Stepping back and allowing him entry, she didn’t miss a beat. “And how did that make you feel?” McKenna managed to ask the question in such a perfect imitation of a shrink, he chuckled in spite of himself. With her scolding out of the way, Kurt was able to enjoy the view. Beginning at her feet, he eyed her outfit. He lingered on all the strategic places. She shifted nervously beneath his gaze.

  “You didn’t say where we were going. I didn’t know what to wear.”

  She’d chosen a dark blue cotton dress that ended at her knees, and a pair of knee-high, heeled boots. She looked smoking hot.

  “You’re going to work with me.”

  A line appeared between her eyes as she scrunched her face up in thought. “I have no idea what you do. How odd.” She shrugged. “Let me get my coat.”

  He shook his head. She was the strangest person he’d ever met. How she’d managed to make it her entire life without ending up the victim of some serial killer was beyond him. For all she knew, he worked as a pimp or worse he could be taking her to his “other” job. As she attempted to reach past him, Kurt made the delicious discovery he was blocking the coat rack.

  He sidestepped enough to make her think he was allowing her to pass. The moment she took her eyes off him, he made his move. Shifting his foot, he knocked her off balance while wrapping his arm around her waist. In usual McKenna style, she didn’t react in the way he expected. Instead of an outraged protest, she leaned backward into his touch until her ass was flush against his hips.

  Her voice came out sounding low and sexy as hell. “If you plan to cop a feel of someone, do it right.”

  She wrapped her fingers around his wrist at her waist and moved his hand upward until he was cupping her breast. He’d been right. It did overflow in his hand. A hum came from the back of her throat. That permanent limp he’d been living in fear of was one step closer to reality, as well. He moved to touch his lips to her shoulder. She stepped out of his hold.

  “I guess we’d better go if you’re going to get to work on time. Where did you say you worked, again?”

  Counting backward from ten and biting back a whimper, he headed for the door. “I’m an underground fighter for the Warehouse District.”

  She stepped over the stoop seeming almost lost in thought. “Huh. I expected you to do something else entirely.”

  He had to know. “Such as?”

  With her attention on the task of shoving her keys in her purse, she answered. “I don’t know. You’d be an awesome master for some cougars at a fetish club.”

  Throwing his head back, Kurt roared with laughter. He couldn’t remember anyone ever causing him to have such a reaction. McKenna had managed it at least twice since they’d met. He swiped at his eyes.

  “What would you say if I told you I also work security for a fetish club?”

  McKenna’s usual thoughtful expression didn’t shift in the least at his question. “I’d say you’re wasting your alpha-male talent. You should be spanking people instead of keeping them safe.”

  The statement aggravated him. Although, he couldn’t pinpoint exactly why it bothered him. When they reached his Dodge Challenger, he reached past her to open the door. At the last second, he chose to keep going until she was pinned. He’d missed his chance earlier. It wasn’t happening again. Peeling her coat and dress away from her shoulder, he touched his lips to her bare skin. Chill bumps rose beneath his mouth. He wondered if it was from his touch or the cold. Shifting, he placed another light kiss against the side of her neck. It hit him. He knew exactly why her statement crawled under his skin.

  She shouldn’t want to share him. “I’m nobody’s Alpha-on-demand. When I take someone, it’s because it’s what I want, the way I want it. Understood?”

  She shivered. Damn it. He still didn’t know if it was from the cold. Giving up, he helped her into the car. He circled around and slipped behind the wheel. The moment his ass hit the seat, McKenna shocked him by apologizing.

  “I’m sorry. As I was replaying my statement in my mind, I realized it sounded as if I was implying you should whore yourself out. I apologize, because you’re worth so much more.”

  A mixture of aggravation and tenderness ran through him. She still didn’t understand why she’d upset him but she did care. It was more than anyone else gave him. His jumbled emotions carried him all the way to the Warehouse District in silence. A swarm of people gathered outside the building. After helping McKenna from the car, he put his head down, doing his best to barrel a path through the crush.

  Kurt almost made it to the door before realizing McKenna was gone. Whipping around, he searched the crowd with his eyes. When he caught a glimpse of her, he barely stopped his jaw from dropping. Standing on her toes, she held the lapels of some dude’s jacket clenched between her hands. Her nose buried in the crook of his neck. Rage caused the gap between them to disappear before Kurt realized he’d taken a step.

  “McKenna.”

  Even to his ears, Kurt sounded furious. She flashed a smile over her shoulder, dismissing him. The guy she held didn’t spare him a glance.

  “What did you say it was called again?”

  The man’s hooded gaze never left McKenna. A tiny grin hovered on his lips as he answered. “Gentlemen Only.”

  She smacked him on the arm. “I’ll never remember that.”

  “Here,” he said, reaching inside his jacket and pulling out two cards along with a pen. He handed them over. “My email address is at the bottom. If you write your name and contact information on the back of the other card, we can keep in touch. I’ll make sure you get a reminder.” He added a wink. Kurt realized something vital. McKenna had never met this man before in her life.

  “That’s an awesome idea,” McKenna agreed, doing as instructed. Kurt bit back a growl. She was seriously giving her number to some other dude while out with Kurt. With information exchanged, McKenna gave him a quick wave goodbye before rejoining Kurt.

  “What the hell was that?” Was that his voice? Damned if he didn’t sound like he was getting ready to rip into her. He was never, ever jealous. Fuck it. He w
as now.

  “Oh my gosh! That guy smelled better than anyone alive. I had to know what cologne he was wearing. I’m totally using it in my next book.”

  “You gave your contact info to a complete stranger.”

  He hoped by saying it aloud, McKenna would understand how crazy her actions were. She shrugged.

  “Do you have any sense of self-preservation? Don’t answer that,” he said before she could say anything to piss him off further. How had she lived this long? “I mean, seriously?” He added before he could stop himself. “That guy will be jacking off to this encounter for a week. Do you even know what happens to women who look like you when left at a man’s mercy? Don’t answer that either,” he said, turning away and heading for the door. He needed to get his temper under control.

  “Not every man who is nice to me wants to fuck me.”

  He didn’t have any trouble making out her muttered words even with the mass of people surrounding them. His feet froze to the ground. The sudden change of motion caused McKenna to walk into his back.

  He spun, meeting her gaze. “Uh. Yeah. They do.”

  “You don’t,” she shot back.

  Wow. She was really dense. “Uh. Yeah. I do.”

  She was shaking her head before the final word left his lips. “I’m not saying you’d turn me down if I threw myself at you. Then again, I’m not sure you’d turn anyone down. As far as you wanting me in particular, I don’t think that’s true.”

  He moved in close enough that she was forced to tilt her head back to continue holding his stare. “I take back the apology I sent in my email. Not only are you crazy, you’re also an idiot.” Her lips parted on a gasp of outrage. It worked against her. Snagging her ass with one hand and her neck with the other, he hauled her body flush against his. He sealed his mouth over hers. Delving inside, he stroked her tongue and swallowed her surprised cry. He hummed against her lips as her flavor coated his taste buds. Electricity surged through him going straight to his cock. It lengthened. Ripping his mouth away, he touched his lips to the shell of her ear. Uncaring of who was watching or about the people forced to move around them to enter the building, Kurt held her in place. In a sultry tone, he told McKenna exactly what he pictured since meeting her.

  “Fucking you wouldn’t be enough. I want to feel your hot channel pulsing around my dick, your moans filling my ears. The sensation of your hard nipples against my bare chest is something I crave with a desperation I’ve never known. I’ve seen the way your eyes glaze over when your focus turns inward. It drives me insane because I want to be the reason for that expression.” He traced the line of her ear with his tongue. “On second thought, I’ve decided you’re right. I don’t want to fuck you. I want to consume you, own you.”

  She clutched his t-shirt, holding onto him when he would’ve stepped away. Going up on her toes, McKenna touched her lips to the bare skin showing above his collar. It was the first time she’d done anything he took as being real. In an instant, he knew she did desire him but for some reason, she didn’t welcome the emotion.

  “You shouldn’t want me.” She whispered the words as if they were painful. “I’m not a good person.”

  She released him. In his shock, he let her go.

  *

  The women were staring at her. McKenna could feel their gazes boring into her skin. When she’d finally managed to convince Kurt she didn’t have any intention of expounding on her reasons for avoiding his advances, he’d given in. Escorting her inside, he led her straight to two women who seemed to find her fascinating. After introducing the women as the wives of some men he knew, Kurt had abandoned her to prepare for his match.

  Unable to stand another second of their combined intense gawking, she faced them. There wasn’t a hint of remorse on their faces. Both continued looking at her unabashedly. The short brown-haired girl, Kerry, was the first to break.

  “I want details.”

  “Fuck that,” Mandy, her blonde counterpart, growled. “I want pictures.”

  They’d already lost her. “Are we naming random shit we want? If so, then I want minions.”

  Both women blinked in confusion, as if she were the one speaking in riddles. “Kurt has never introduced us to one of his dates before,” Kerry said.

  Mandy nodded. “I don’t even think he has dates, per se.”

  McKenna thought over their statements before adding her agreement. “It would be exhausting making sure your socks always matched. Not to mention, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn it took four hours to get anywhere with Kurt after he touched every doorknob three times.”

  “Oh. Now I see it.”

  “Yep. There it is,” Mandy agreed. In unison, they both switched their attention to the cage.

  Damn. She’d done it again. People either loved her or hated her. No matter which way they leaned, they all agreed on one thing—she was off her rocker. In this instance, it kind of sucked. She wasn’t sure why she wanted these women to like her but she did. There was no help for it. She might be strange but she was smart. Pulling out her cell phone, she sent Kurt a text, hoping against hope he still had his phone on him.

  McKenna: I need a nude photo of you.

  Kurt: Will end up on the net?

  She felt moved to be honest. Possibly.

  In a matter of seconds, three images appeared on the phone’s screen. They’d obviously been taken recently but not tonight. McKenna almost swallowed her tongue. Holy Hell. She bent closer to the screen. Was that a piercing in his junk? It was, she decided after a minute of study. Almost reluctant now that they were in her possession, McKenna kept the best of the three open and handed the phone to Mandy.

  She didn’t disappoint. “Oh. My. Fucking. Gawd!” She tilted the phone several angles while she and Kerry huddled together to get a good view. It seemed the pair had been rendered speechless. After several minutes of ogling and drooling over Kurt’s picture, Mandy handed her phone back. Both women wore matching evil grins.

  “Wow girl,” Kerry sighed. “That’s deliciousness.”

  “Yeah it is,” she agreed as she snuck another peek at the pic.

  Kerry and Mandy moved in, forming a wall and blocking out the people around them. Kerry pulled her phone out.

  “This is my husband.”

  McKenna wasted no time getting in on that action. Sultry blue eyes and an angelic face did nothing to hide the man’s devilry. She fanned her face.

  “Whoa.”

  Kerry’s smile turned luminous at the compliment. “Come on, Mandy,” Kerry goaded. “You’re on the hook here too.”

  With a childlike giggle, she pulled a digital camera out of her bag. “I’m a professional photographer,” she explained at McKenna’s questioning look.

  She huddled even closer to the women. This would be good. Good turned out to be an understatement. McKenna gawked at the images and ended up giggling like a schoolgirl. It was all an act. They had gorgeous men. There wasn’t a need for her to feign a reaction but her mind stayed with Kurt. The hard lines of his body against hers lingered at the forefront of all her thoughts. He didn’t know how badly she wanted to cave. Since the moment they met, he consumed her fantasies. Her stomach cramped. She couldn’t watch her passion kill someone else. The first bell rang. Mandy jumped and readied her camera.

  “Yay! My husband’s up.”

  Turning her attention to the cage, McKenna was amazed by the difference in the man who was gearing up to fight from the one who Mandy captured in her shots. This man was hardened and unforgiving. She couldn’t imagine the willowy blonde standing at her shoulder surviving life with such a man but her happiness was apparent. Giving up on puzzling out their relationship, she concentrated on the action instead.

  It was fascinating, disturbing yet engrossing. The sound of fists against flesh was louder than she expected. Greed hung in the air heavily enough that McKenna swore she could smell it. Everywhere she looked, she saw dead-eyed patrons who smiled with malicious glee at each pound of flesh doled
out for their entertainment.

  Mandy’s husband, Knox, finished off his opponent in what McKenna would’ve sworn was record time. Mandy assured her it wasn’t. The moment Knox’s fight ended, Kerry’s husband, Dane, appeared at her side with two other men in tow. They were equal in height but while one was similar to Kurt in size and bulk, the other man had the lean muscle of a runner. In McKenna’s opinion, they were both the epitome of masculine perfection. Kerry introduced the Kurt-sized male as her brother-in-law, Rhys. The beautiful one was Asher. Although she felt certain she was staring, she couldn’t seem to stop. To make matters worse, Asher smelled even better than the man from the parking lot. She tried to behave. Honestly, she did.

  “Can I sniff your skin?”

  Every person within hearing distance turned to stare. Her face heated. For the first time in memory, she found herself explaining her odd behavior.

  “I’m an author. It’s an issue.”

  Rhys smiled kindly. “No need to explain. I completely understand your pain. He’s a bit irresistible.” McKenna wanted to smack herself for not seeing it sooner. They were together and not in a platonic way. Shit. She’d really hadn’t meant to hit on the dude’s man. He was still beaming as he waved her closer.

  “Come here. Seriously,” Rhys added when she didn’t move. Asher shook his head but he was smiling as he made room for her to stand between them. The closer she got the harder it became for her to hold back.

  “Wow,” she said, leaning in to get a better whiff. “How the hell do you resist him?”

  Asher’s eyes twinkled with suppressed humor while the two of them exclaimed over his cologne. “You are both quite outrageous. Whatever shall I do with the two of you for the entire night?”

  At his question, McKenna turned back to Rhys. “Holy fucking shit! He has a sexy accent too?”

  “I know, right?” Rhys winked as he added, “I’m a lucky guy.”

  She smelled Asher’s jacket again. Her mind went fuzzy as a memory pricked at her brain. “I know what it is. You’re a chocolate-covered cinnamon apple.”