Be My Forever: The Complete Series Box Set

by Lauren Wood

  “Well I will never be able to compete with that Kendra.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Do you really not see that I have been into you since we started working together?”

  I knew that Craig liked me, had known for a while, but I figured that he understood that I didn’t like him like that. He was a great friend and co-worker, but I didn’t have the same romantic feelings for him that he obviously had for me. How was I supposed to answer that comment without hurting his feelings?

  “Craig, it is complicated. We work together and I can’t imagine losing you as a friend. Trust me when I say that I am a far better friend than I am a girlfriend.”

  He didn’t seem to hear me and started to get closer. It was the look in his eyes that made me back step. I didn’t want to give him any ideas, though I had always been careful not to. Where was all of this coming from now?

  “I know that it is complicated, but I can’t deny that I wish you could just look at it in its simplistic form. I care for you and you care for me, why not see what happens?”

  Craig was advancing and then there was nowhere else to go because the edge of the counter was in my back, I didn’t know what to say or what to do. All I knew was that this wasn’t going to happen. “Craig I mean it. Stop. I don’t want to do this.”

  His face held a touch of rage before he smoothed it over with a smile. I wish I hadn’t seen it because now I knew how he felt. Was he like Dennis, thinking that he somehow had a hold on me or that he was owed something?

  “I don’t get you sometimes Kendra. You give me smiles like that, making me think something could happen and then shut me down. I am not going to wait around for you forever. That guy isn’t going to marry you. He is richer than most of the city and men like that don’t settle for women like you.”

  I was shocked with the vitriol in his voice. I had never seen his face so screwed up in anger before, no matter how long I had known him. It was a side of Craig that I had never seen before and I didn’t want to even look at him when he was like that. Why was everyone in my life being so possessive today?

  “I think you should leave Craig.”

  He turned to go, heading for the front door when he turned back around. His mouth opened and I braced myself for whatever he was going to do and say next. I can’t say that I was much looking forward to hearing it, but I was the type that thought getting it out was always better than keeping it in until someone explodes. Craig didn’t feel that way, just huffing and then leaving like I asked.

  It was going to be hard to go to work tomorrow. I knew that this wasn’t something that I wanted to linger, but I had a feeling that it was going to. Going to shut the door, I saw that Dennis’ car was still out front and I stopped for a second. What was he doing out here?

  I closed the door and sighed to myself. How had my life got so complicated all of a sudden when yesterday everything was fine?

  Chapter 14

  Dennis

  I watched the man leave her house not long after I did and I have to say that I felt good about it. I believed that she wasn’t with him in that way, the man was so much different than me, but it was even better to see him leave. Then I wouldn’t have to think about what was going on all night. I almost got out and knocked on her door. We had a lot to talk about but right now wasn’t the time for that. I didn’t miss the look that she gave me before she shut the door. Instead I just left the flowers that I had gotten her and went back home.

  The next day I went to work and tried not to think about it. I had messed up again with her and I wished that I didn’t care as much as I did. But I did care and I knew that none of my old vices were going to make me feel any better. If I felt this way before, I would merely find a woman to be with and then I would forget about whatever it was that ailed me. If that didn’t work, there was always solace in the bottom of a bottle, but even that wasn’t working. It just made me think about her more.

  So I decided that I was going to ignore the gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach and I was going to forget about all of the things that could go wrong. She said she would contact me and to save myself from going absolutely mad, I was going to wait it out and see if she did or not. I knew that it was going to be hard, but losing Kendra again would have been harder.

  Work kept me busy for most of the week, but it was worth it. I just left her to her thoughts and finally on Friday she texted me. I wanted to ask her about Craig, but I knew better. When she just said hi, I waited for more, curious what it was that she wanted, but I knew that I wasn’t going to lead her on. I was going to let her tell me what was on her mind and then I would know better how to respond.

  “Let me just call you.”

  I waited for the phone to ring and my heart rate jumped a little when it did. I knew that it was her and again I didn’t like the anxiety I felt. I was not used to all of these feelings. I was used to running things. I was a man that ran most things, my business, money, women, everything, except Kendra.

  “Hey Dennis.”

  Her voice was soft and so sweet. I hoped that the timbre I heard in her voice was because she was in need. It was what it sounded like to me, but I could be wrong. Hell with Kendra, it seemed like I was always wrong.

  “Hey Kendra. What is going on?”

  “Not much. Just got off of work and I am deciding what I want to do this weekend. What are you doing?”

  I had a million things to do, meetings to have and a merger in the making, but for her, I would clear it all.

  “Not much of anything. Why, what’s up?”

  “I was wondering if you could do me a favor Dennis. I hate to ask you, but me and Craig aren’t really getting along at the moment and I need an extra adult for some plans I was trying to make.”

  It sounded promising and I liked the fact that she was arguing with Craig. It just made him further off the list as far as I was concerned.

  “Sure Kendra, what do you need?” I was really hoping that she would tell me that she wanted another night like last Sunday. I was still thinking about it and just the idea of it made me a little hard. Damn I forgot how this woman affected me. It was like I could never get enough of her.

  “One of the girls needs to go upstate and she wants to take a friend. To leave and go that far, I have to have another adult. This would be something that me and Craig did, but like I said before, we kind of had a falling out and he is not going to be able to make it. I would appreciate it so much if you could ride up with me.”

  “I didn’t mean to start anything between you and him. I really didn’t. I was just not expecting him there is all. When I saw you with another man, it just threw me off.”

  “It wasn’t like that, but what is done is done. I would really like her to go up there to see her parents. I am hoping to get her out of there, but I have to make sure that her house is ready to go back to. It’s kind of like an inspection and time for them to see if they can work past some of their problems. It is the whole point of this place and I would really like to help her. She hasn’t been home in so long.”

  It was not at all what I was thinking about, but the idea of going upstate with her didn’t seem to be such a bad idea. That meant some time together, even if it wasn’t alone. I am sure I could find a way to make that happen.

  “When and for how long?” I was asking just to see if I could figure out a way to get some alone time with her, but it didn’t matter what she said. I don’t care about any of that and would do anything to be with her. If that meant taking her up there with a couple of her girls from work, I was okay with that. I would have agreed to anything.

  “Tomorrow we would leave and then it takes about four hours to drive up there from here. So most likely we would get a hotel for the night and then go back in the afternoon some time. I want to give her some time with her parents and then make our way back before Monday morning. I know it is a lot to ask and I am sure you have plenty of things to do, but I figured I would ask anyways. I don’t know who el
se to call.”

  “Of course I can help you Kendra. I am here for you in all ways.”

  She didn’t miss the innuendo. I could hear it in her voice. But she didn’t really respond to it either. I wanted to go to her and be inside of her, but I held off. I didn’t want to mess up the chance. Kendra was acting like a little bird and I didn’t want to scare her away.

  “Well I just need help with this right now Dennis. Are you sure you don’t mind? I am sure that you have a million things to do. I can’t imagine how busy a guy like you is.”

  “It’s fine, really. I am the boss so I don’t have to ask permission. I will move a few things around and I will be there in the morning to pick you up.”

  She breathed out a sigh of relief. It was the least I could do when I considered the fact that it was my fault her regular partner wasn’t speaking to her. I kind of felt bad, but at the end of the day, I was far more worried about taking his place.

  “Thanks Dennis, you don’t know what this means to me. I wasn’t going to call, but I didn’t know who else to call.”

  “It’s fine Kendra. I am glad you thought of me. Are you sure you don’t want any company tonight? I could bring over some pasta and wine.”

  I waited for her to answer, but the answer was no. I should have known, figured it was, but I held out hope. If not tonight, I was going to make it happen tomorrow night. If I had learned nothing else, face to face with my hands on her body always seemed to produce better results.

  Hanging up with Kendra, I had to call Peggy at home. She wasn’t too happy about it, but didn’t reveal it too much in her voice. When she asked why I wanted to cancel everything, I told her that I was going to be helping out a friend.

  “Uh huh.”

  She made me question my actions, but it wasn’t going to change anything. I would have moved mountains to see Kendra again. This was no different.

  “Just push everything that you can to Monday. Say that I had a family emergency or something like that.”

  “But you don’t have much family Dennis and if anything happened to your father it would be on the news.”

  I sighed. Peggy was right. “Well they don’t know that, but say whatever you think will work best. I trust your judgment on that.”

  “Will do Sir. Anything else?”

  “Can you call the pilot and see if we can get him for tomorrow morning and Sunday?”

  “Of course, where to?”

  “Upstate, so not too far away.”

  Peggy agreed and I hung up with her. I knew that she wouldn’t like it, but she would take care of everything, she always did. I don’t know what I would have done without her half of the time and this was one of them. I made a mental note to myself to pick her up something while I was gone. A gift always seemed to unruffled feathers when needed.

  I went into my room and packed an overnight bag. I didn’t need much. All I needed was Kendra. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but as long as I was with Kendra, nothing could go wrong.

  ***

  I got up the next morning feeling better than I had all week. I knew that it was going to be a good day and I called Kendra to make sure she was up and around. She sounded a little sleepy, so I offered to bring her some coffee on my way over.

  When I got there she was still waking up and hadn’t even made it to the shower yet. “Why don’t I help you? I can wash your back.”

  Kendra laughed and shook her head, sipping the mocha I brought her. It was her favorite, something I still remembered from long ago. The smile on her face was one that I wanted to see more of.

  “No, I don’t think I need that kind of help Dennis. If we get in the shower, there is no way we are going to get out of it in under an hour. You think I don’t know what you have in mind?”

  “You know that it is always on my mind. It used to always be on yours as well.”

  She sighed and shook her head. “I didn’t say that it wasn’t Dennis, but we have things to do today and the drive up there takes forever.”

  “I figured that we could just take the plane and fly up there. We will be there in less than an hour.”

  Kendra smiled in that way that I loved so much. “Really?”

  “Yeah, does that work for you?” Here I was thinking that we were talking about the shower and not the flight.

  “That would be great Dennis. I haven’t been on a plane in a couple of years. Which airport are we going to?”

  “My plane is on a private strip. No waiting, no lines, no pat-downs.”

  “You have your own plane?” Kendra just shook her head in disbelief. “Of course you do. Why wouldn’t you? I have to admit that no lines does sounds really good right now.”

  “How about a pat-down?”

  Kendra rolled her eyes. “Down boy. We have things to do, remember?”

  I did, but I didn’t want to. I thought we had time, but maybe she was right. I wanted to take my time with her. I didn’t want to be rushed.

  “Okay Kendra. I will wait out here then.”

  Kendra giggled. “Don’t look so sad Dennis. There will be plenty of time when we get up there.”

  That made me smile as she walked into the bathroom. It was just the shred of hope that I needed to hear.

  Chapter 15

  Kendra

  “Dennis?”

  “Yeah?”

  I poked my head out of the steaming bathroom. “Can you grab me a towel from that basket by my bed? I haven’t had a chance to put anything away yet.”

  For a moment he looked like he wasn’t going to, but then thought against it and agreed, telling me that he would be right back.

  “You are a bit of a devil Kendra and I think you know it.”

  “I wouldn’t say that Dennis. I just really need a towel. I am dripping wet all over the place. You are the one being mean by making me wait.”

  “And then you say things like that. We have plenty of time. Why don’t you let me come in there and dry you off?”

  I sighed and looked at him through the crack in the door. He had a look of mischief in his eyes that I loved and remembered well. It hadn’t been too long ago that I would have loved to see that look on his face.

  “Is that the only way that I am going to be able to get the towel?” I was making suggestions because I wanted him to come into the bathroom. I wanted to put it in his head and then I wanted to mess with it just a little bit. I wanted to test myself and see how far I could go before I couldn’t take anymore. I think that I could go further than he thought. I hoped anyways.

  “What if I said yes?”

  “You don’t sound so sure of yourself Dennis. Why is that?”

  “Because you make me feel nervous as hell, especially knowing that you are wet and naked on the other side of the door, just feet from me. All I would have to do is move just a few steps and you could be in my arms.”

  I stopped for a moment, my body trembling with his words and I was rethinking my whole plan. It wasn’t going to work if I couldn’t find a way to turn him down. I had done it before, but not when he was right here and I was, as he said, naked and wet. It seemed like a deadly combination all of a sudden, one that I wasn’t sure I wanted to deal with. Or if I would be able to.

  “Well I need to get dry one way or another. So if that is the only way it is going to happen, hurry up and get in here before all of the cold air gets out.”

  I swung the door wide and ignored the air conditioned air blowing in at me. My nipples got painfully hard almost immediately, but I wasn’t paying attention to that. I was paying attention to the man on the other side. His eyes were drawn to mine and turning a dark forest green in no time at all.

  “Kendra.”

  “I am cold, hurry up.”

  I ignored the look and moved back a little bit so that he could come into the bathroom with me. He wouldn’t take his eyes off of me and he seemed to have forgotten what he was doing.

  “Close the door please. It is cold. I think I mentioned that.” I
was proud of myself for not sounding like I was losing my cool. I was, inside I was shaking like a leaf, but I still appeared to not be losing my shit.

  “Oh sorry. You um, kind of…”

  I couldn’t help the giggle that came out of me. I walked to the sink and waited for him to start. I watched him move towards me slowly, his eyes taking it all in, while I watched him. I don’t know why it was so much better than before. I don’t know why I was dying for him to touch me, literally felt like I would die if he didn’t soon.

  Our eyes met in the mirror and I groaned inwardly. He was already devouring me by the way he looked and so help me I wanted him to do just that to me. I needed it.

  “Are you going to start or do I need to?”

  It was an innocent question that didn’t get an answer. Instead Dennis took his jacket off and moved towards me. The jacket was tossed on the bar on the shower and then he started to unbutton his shirt.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I don’t want to have to change and I have a feeling that I am going to get wet.”

  I told him that I wouldn’t get him wet, but he still took it off anyways. I had to close my eyes to the hard lines that I could still feel pressed against my body from the other night. It was a feeling that I don’t think I was going to ever get rid of. The memories were burned into my brain and I didn’t have to see him, to see him behind me. I held my breath, sure that it would give away how wrecked he had me.

  “Put your arms out Kendra, so that I can do this properly.”

  Doing as he asked, I was almost immediately bombarded with his touch. The towel was warm and soft against my skin, a sharp contrast to the slickness of his hands. Every so often his hand would slip and he would rub my skin for a moment before he ‘realized’ what he was doing. Then it would be back to the warm towel and I was made to wait for it him to do it again. I did wait for it, with every breath in my being. I couldn’t help myself, no matter how hard I tried to stop the anticipation that was going to ruin it all.