Chapter 27
Twenty-seven
Kenzie trembled beneath Ewan’s hands, setting off an equally intense reaction inside him. She was beautiful. He hadn’t expected to find her dressed only in a towel, her shapely thighs teasing him beneath its hem, her breasts pushed together beneath a precariously tucked knot.
He’d been replaying their previous kiss over and over in his mind ever since it happened and last night had dreamed a dream so vivid and erotic that he’d woken up unsure at first if it had actually happened.
But the bed beside him had been untouched and the realisation had been almost crushing.
He’d decided to go for a run in an attempt to rid himself of all this pent-up …
whatever the hell it was. But one look at her—one touch—and he was gone again.
At her small moan, his body instantly reacted.
He savoured the softness of her skin beneath his fingertips, moving her backwards into the bathroom without lifting his head and kicking the door shut with his foot.
Impatiently, she plucked at his clothing, and when she gave a frustrated growl, he moved her fingers away and took over, pulling his shirt up over his head, and shucking off his pants and shoes.
His fingers moved to the front of her towel, and it fell to the floor and lay in a pile at her feet.
Her skin was golden brown, except for the paler shades in the shape of a bathing suit, testament to her coastal lifestyle. As he leaned in to kiss her once more, the heady scent of coconut shampoo and woman hit his senses like a Mack truck.
‘That was not how I saw this happening,’ Ewan said in a rush of breath as he stepped out from the shower. He worked on drying himself before wrapping the towel around his waist.
Kenzie swallowed as her gaze followed the movement, quickly raising her eyes to his and forcing herself to stop her mind wandering. ‘How did you see it happening?’ she asked nervously.
‘Not in a wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am, up-against-the-bathroom-wall kind of way,’ he muttered, sounding slightly disgusted with himself.
She’d never had bathroom sex before, and she’d like to say she was offended and worthy of something far more civilised, but she hadn’t exactly hated it.
‘I’m sorry, Kenzie. It shouldn’t have happened like that.’
‘I wasn’t complaining,’ she heard herself say, and wondered if she was somehow having some kind of out-of-body experience. Who was this hussy?
Ewan’s small frown slowly melted. ‘Neither was I. But I’d like to think I have a little more finesse and self-control … usually. At least enough to get to a bed.’
She shrugged. ‘Beds are overrated.’ She turned away quickly, her cheeks burning. What was she saying?
‘Is that so?’ He sounded intrigued.
‘Well … sometimes.’ Apparently, full-of-bravado Kenzie was done for the morning. ‘I have to go and get ready. Your mother and Poppy are spending the morning in the garden, so I’m going to get a bit of work done.’
‘Sure,’ he said lightly, thankfully not pursuing her inappropriate line of conversation. ‘I guess I kind of held you up.’
An image instantly flashed before her, him holding her hips steadily, literally the only thing keeping her upright when her knees had felt like jelly.
She cleared her throat quickly. ‘No, it’s fine.’
Fine? It wasn’t like he’d called her on the phone, on her way out the door to work. He’d interrupted her morning with mind-blowing bathroom sex!
‘Okay. Well … uh … thank you,’ she said awkwardly, clutching the towel around her as she backed out the door. Oh God, she’d just thanked him.
A teasing grin tugged at the corners of his mouth as he watched her bump into the door, fumble behind herself for the handle and push it open, almost losing hold of the towel in the process.
Back in her room, Kenzie dressed and bowed her head as she stood in front of the mirror.
Focus, Knight. She couldn’t afford to waste time analysing what had just happened.
She didn’t even know where to start analysing.
It was just sex. A perfectly natural human function, except that had not been your normal, run-of-the-mill sex.
That had been … instinctive. One minute, they’d been kissing, the next it had become a raging inferno.
She couldn’t remember the last time any man had even come close to having that kind of effect on her before …
Oh.
Okay, so clearly that one-night stand had also been the result of some pretty intense electricity between them, and it was still there.
At least she didn’t have to worry about any unexpected surprises this time around. Never one to make the same mistake twice, she’d had an implant inserted, and made sure she was never caught out again.
‘Can we have dinner in the fancy room again?’ Poppy asked after they’d taken their seats around the smaller dining table on the other side of the kitchen, where they’d taken to eating evening meals. It was definitely less formal but more homey.
‘Poppy,’ Kenzie said quietly.
Vera gave a small laugh. ‘Of course we can,’ she said. ‘How about tomorrow night?’
‘You don’t have to,’ Kenzie protested, mortified that her child had no qualms about asking to rearrange the household.
‘I think it’s a lovely idea. We rarely use the dining room anymore, and it’s a shame,’ Vera continued.
For a moment, she had a faraway look in her eye.
‘Do you remember when we used to host dinner parties and birthdays in there all the time?’ she asked, looking at her husband and son.
Callum grunted and Ewan gave a curt nod before concentrating on his meal.
Kenzie saw Vera’s smile wobble slightly before she quickly plastered it back on and turned her attention back to Kenzie and Poppy.
‘You’ll have to see it at Christmas. I like to go all-out with decorations in the house, and Laire-Mor is renowned for our Christmas lights. ’
‘Mum has a Christmas open day every year,’ Ewan explained.
‘Really?’ Kenzie remarked, already imagining how amazing the old house must look decked out in Christmas lights and garlands.
‘It’s just a little something we do for the local community.’ ‘A little something,’ Ewan scoffed. ‘It’s a full-on production. Kids’ carnival rides set up throughout the gardens, markets, music, food vans.’
‘And don’t forget the best bit—a visit from Santa,’ Vera added conspiratorially.
Poppy’s eyes almost fell out of her little head. ‘Santa?’
‘Santa.’ Vera nodded eagerly.
‘Can we come and see Santa, Mummy?’ she asked, turning her big eyes up at Kenzie.
‘Well, I don’t know,’ Kenzie stammered, feeling completely put on the spot.
‘Oh, you have to come down here for Christmas,’ Vera said, placing her hands together in excitement.
Kenzie’s gaze went to Ewan’s who seemed to be watching her with a hard-to-read expression.
‘It’s still a long time away yet,’ Kenzie said weakly.
‘Please, Mummy?’ Poppy joined in with the begging. Christmas? They still had to get through whatever the hell this visit was.
‘Your mum’s right, Christmas is still a long way away,’ Ewan said calmly, although she suspected he was picking up on her inward anxiety.
‘We’ll see,’ Kenzie finally managed. How was she supposed to be thinking that far ahead?
Besides, they always had Christmas at her parents’ farm.
The thought of Poppy not being there hit her square in the chest, and almost made her gasp out loud.
The sudden emptiness was as real as any physical blow: Poppy had a father now, a family who would want to do the special holidays with her too.
The urge to stand up and scream that they couldn’t have her was so real, she almost feared she’d said it out loud, but she managed to carefully put her cutlery down beside her plate and take a slow breath in.
She noticed her hands were shaking a little and placed them in her lap until she had them under control once more.
She watched Poppy happily chatting to her grandmother as she speared her fork into her food. This had all been a terrible mistake. She was losing her daughter.
The moment the words formed, she felt terrible. She hated that she felt that way, but she couldn’t help it. Nothing was ever going to be the same. It would never just be the two of them again.
She swallowed over a lump in her throat, and the steak she’d eaten formed a heavy lump in the pit of her belly.
Later, as she tucked Poppy into bed and listened to her natter on about all the things she’d done that day and all the adventures she was yet to have, Kenzie had to admit that, as far as outcomes went, this was a pretty damn good one.
Poppy was happy. Vera in particular seemed absolutely smitten with her.
Callum kept a polite distance though, she noticed.
He wasn’t as demonstrative towards his grandsons as his wife was, either, but he did ask them questions and make small talk.
So far, he hadn’t done any of that with Poppy, and with what he’d said to Kenzie in his den, she didn’t expect him to warm up any time soon.
But what he lacked, Poppy’s two older cousins, Aunty Floss and Uncle Joe more than made up for.
Then there was Ewan. He’d stepped up from day one and hadn’t faltered. As far as surprise families went, Poppy had pretty much hit the jackpot with the Campbells. It could have been so much worse if they’d rejected or dismissed her outright.
Still, while Kenzie knew she should be happy, part of her was mourning the loss of the way things had been before, life BE—Before Ewan.
‘Mummy?’ Poppy asked as Kenzie was about to stand up. ‘Do you think it’s okay if I start calling Ewan Daddy now? Cause that’s what he is, right? My daddy?’
Kenzie swallowed hard for a moment gathering herself after the question that in all honesty she’d been half expecting to arise but had still managed to catch her off guard. ‘If you want to call him that, I think that would be okay.’
‘It took forever,’ she said, rolling her eyes as she lay back on her pillow.