Chapter 6 #2
Looking at her standing barefoot, her wet hair clinging to her face, I was reminded of the fact she’d come damn close to losing her life.
I’d seen hurt in her eyes when I’d barked like a dog before.
Her expression of being wounded lingered but was slowly being edged out by her determination to hate me.
I’d seen that look before as well. Just seconds before she’d slapped my face, called me a worthless human being she never wanted to lay eyes on again, and had walked away and out of my life.
The craziest thing was at the time I thought I was doing the right thing.
She’d left for school after that and while I’d known she’d been in town a few times over the years, I’d made certain I hadn’t accidentally run into her. Now I knew I’d done the right thing. Why? Because I couldn’t keep my sinful thoughts in a dark cave.
“I’m sorry, Kenzie. That was shitty of me. I’m not used to having people around right now.”
“Yes, it was. I guess I was right all those years before about you. When do you think I can get out of here? There must be a way. A helicopter? A plane? I’ll climb down the mountain if I need to.”
Her determination to get the hell away from me brought a smirk to my face. I also noticed the way she looked in my sweatpants and tee shirt and it was impossible not to feel a sense of concern as well as hunger.
“I’d kind of like to see you try.” My words brought a roll of her eyes.
She stared out the picture window in the kitchen, narrowing her eyes as if searching for a way out. When I moved toward her, she heard the noise and backed away. “Trust me. I’ll be happy to get out of your space as soon as possible. I just… don’t have a way by myself. And I hate that.”
Stopping a few feet from her, I nodded to the glass held white-knuckled in her hand.
“I call a truce. Would you like another drink?” I held my hand out for her glass, lifting my eyebrows and allowing her to make the choice.
If I’d learned anything about her from our youthful days, it was that no one told Kenzie Sterling what to do.
At least without a tongue lashing.
“Sure. I mean yes, I would. Thank you.” With her grip still firm, she lifted her arm.
While I’d like to say I hadn’t meant for our fingers to touch, I’d be lying even to myself.
I longed to feel the softness of her skin against mine even if it was only with the use of our fingers.
What I hadn’t anticipated was the spark of chemistry that could only be described as razor-sharp electricity.
She felt it as I did at the exact same second, only she pulled her hand away as if burned. That was a telling statement. The resentment she’d felt eight years before continued to stand firm. Maybe her feelings had grown even stronger. Could I blame her?
With a heavy exhale, I returned to the bottle, refilling the glass.
“Why the name Axe?”
“The guys on the team made fun of the way I used an axe to clear brush. They started calling me the axe man then it was shortened. Kinda prefer it. Stephen was somebody else.” I waited before turning around, hating the fact my hands were clammy.
“I didn’t know you were injured with the rodeo.”
“I’m surprised your father hadn’t thrown a huge party celebrating the ending of my career.”
“If he did, he certainly didn’t tell me. You were something special,” she said, quickly glancing away. “I remember by the time you turned nineteen, you’d won ten Challenger Series events. Didn’t you finish number two that year?”
I was surprised she remembered my stats let alone the year. “The old glory days.” After that, I’d had a few rough years, namely because my mother had fallen ill and we thought we were going to lose her.
“It was great to see you had a comeback. When were you injured?”
“A couple years after you left. Washed up at twenty-five. Not where I thought I’d be.”
She shoved hair behind her ear and took a step away. We’d always had an awkwardness between us. First, just because she’d been much younger, although now four years seemed like nothing. When she brought the glass to her lips, I could tell she was using it as a prop.
“What about you? I heard you were some big flashy attorney in LA or something?” Wade had told me she’d gotten a fancy-dancy job in Billings after she’d graduated, now working for some big-time firm, the kind where guilt meant nothing if you had money and power.
Two things I hated the most.
She rolled her eyes, allowing an emotion to surface I couldn’t quite place. Contempt? Anger? Disappointment?
“I had a job offer there, but I chose to take the one in Billings. For a little while I had a career I loved in a firm who apparently didn’t love me. There’s no more to be said about that.”
“Alright, so why are you here?”
“Trust me, I’ve been asking myself that very question since I crossed the Missoula city limits.” She dropped her gaze to the floor, studying my bare feet the way I’d been doing with her.
“So catch a flight back.”
“And leave what’s left of my poor truck here?”
“Sure. Why not?” I chided, half laughing. “You’re only going to find it in pieces, Palomino Girl.” Wow. The nickname slipped from my lips. She seemed surprised.
“Great. Just fucking great.” She dropped her head into her hand and I’d be damned if the woman wasn’t swaying as if prepared to faint. “Ugh. Could these last few days get any worse?”
“Well, you got me to keep you company.”
“That’s not helping.” When she swayed again, I shook my head.
“Let’s get you off your feet.”
“Don’t tell me what to do.”
Something snapped in me and in two long strides I was by her side. I snagged her with one arm, lifting her off the floor.
Kenzie pressed her fisted hand against my chest, fighting me just as she’d done before.
Just like she’d done immediately after the kiss.
Only this time, I had no intention of kissing her. She simply needed to be off her feet before she fell to the floor.
“Let me go!” Her hiss was another reminder of the last time I’d seen her. I usually wasn’t a man who spent time lamenting over the past, but she was bringing one too many unwanted memories into focus.
“You need to rest and that’s what you’re going to do whether you like it or not.
” Well, damn it. The same feeling of desire washed through me like I’d been hit by a truck.
The ache in my gut was tremendous. I sensed she knew exactly the predicament I was in, including and especially since I had her crushed against me with the full weight of my body.
And what was wrong with that? Nothing, other than that I had a full hard-on.
Her eyes opened wide, her lips twisting from being pursed. She even licked them and that was just about all I could take.
My little palomino was the girl I’d always wanted and the one that even now was off limits.
“Just let go of me,” she insisted again, demanding as always.
Driving me even crazier.
Before I knew it, I’d dropped my head by a few inches while she clung to me with one hand. When our lips were dangerously close, I heard a slight moan escaping from her throat. I could almost taste her sweet mouth. The thirst for her was intense, too much to handle, but I couldn’t let go.
No, I didn’t want to.
This was crazy.
This was not possible.
No, this was very wrong.
Years of intense longing broke free, enough that I was blinded by the desire.
“That’s not going to happen, doll face, and you know why?”
“Why?” she threw out, her tone as haughty as possible.
“Because I’m a man who takes what he wants.”