Chapter 17 – Kenzie
Chapter Seventeen
Kenzie
The next morning, my doubts crept back in. Despite how amazing our night had been and how thoroughly Jensen had seen to my needs, I felt shy and unsure how to handle the morning after.
As I blinked my eyes open and sat up in bed, I registered the delicious soreness in my body, all those muscles I hadn’t used in so long. I yawned, rubbing away the grittiness of a deep sleep from my eyes as Jensen strode in.
He carried a tray of food in one hand and was balancing two mugs of coffee in his other.
“I can’t say I’ve ever had breakfast in bed,” I admitted shyly, clueless as to how to proceed with him. But the fact that he’d gone to all this trouble touched something in me.
“Glad to be your first.” He winked at me and offered an easy smile. Definitely different from before. “Now, I know I wowed you with those fajitas last night, but don’t hold your breath expecting anything too fancy here.”
I giggled and peered at the offering. Orange juice, check. Coffee, check. He’d even brought the creamer I liked.
Scrambled eggs on the plate, I recognized. But the other blob-looking thing ?
I glanced up at him, eyebrow raised.
“Believe it or not, those are blueberry pancakes.” He shrugged after setting the tray over my lap, then climbed into bed with me. “I’m not that artsy.”
I cleared my throat, cutting a bite. “Are they…done?”
He laughed, taking the other cup of coffee that was half drunk already. “Yeah. I taste-tested one. They’re ugly but edible.”
I dug in, relishing the novelty of it all. The hot man in bed with me. The delicious breakfast. Divine coffee. The chance to sleep in and not have to rush anywhere or worry?—
“Oh my God.” I looked over at the clock on the bedside table, almost choking on my sip of coffee and bite of pancake. “I’m late. You’re late. We’re late, Jensen!”
He furrowed his brow, watching me lazily.
“For work,” I added, which I knew was silly. He was the boss. That implied he would be the one to determine tardiness, but still. Susanna told me that he liked to make his own hours, but he seldom came in after ten. It was close to that now.
I set down my coffee cup and moved the tray aside. “We need to go.”
Before I could fully get up to collect my clothes, he slid his strong arm around my waist, trapping me in place.
“Jensen—”
He pulled me back, perching me on one knee. His tug on my midsection had me falling back on the warm, cozy bed I’d just tried to leave.
“Jensen, we?—”
He lowered slowly, kissing me until I was out of breath and we were both grinding against each other. By the time he let me go, I could hardly remember what I’d been trying to do in the first place.
“I asked Susanna to open the garage for me today.” He dipped down to give me another sweet, coffee-tasting kiss. “We can take our time.” Another kiss, longer than the others. “I’ve never had a woman stay here before, so I wanted plenty of time to figure out the best way to do the morning after.”
I smiled. I’d really been the first woman to stay over here at his place? I believed him—not only because I didn’t think he would lie to me, but because he had no reason to.
Who would actually believe that a man who looked like Jensen wouldn’t have brought women here? It was too preposterous not to be true.
Still… “Actually, that’s not quite true.” I poked him in the chest. “ I stayed here before.”
He threw back his head and laughed. God, how I loved the sound. He didn’t do it nearly often enough. “That doesn’t count since you slept here alone.”
“Either way, we have to go into work eventually.”
He gave me the most adorable pout, and we finished breakfast in an easy silence. I was glad we could tease and be comfortable with each other this morning. I wanted it again tomorrow morning.
And maybe every morning after that.
I nearly choked on the bite of my amorphous pancake at my thought. Every morning? That wasn’t in the cards.
“I have to go home and change, though,” I insisted after we got dressed and carried the breakfast dishes back into the kitchen. We’d taken a shower together, but I still needed to change. “You know Jude is going to want me to come look at the rest of those photos. I can’t be wearing the same clothes as yesterday. The Resting Warrior guys are too observant. They would notice.”
“Trying to hide me?”
“No. I mean…” I furrowed my brow as I tugged on my shoes. It wasn’t like I was embarrassed at being with Jensen at all. The opposite, in fact. “I just mean…”
He grabbed me and pulled me to him, smiling slowly. “I’m only kidding, City. I don’t mind taking you home so you can change.” We left his apartment, hand in hand. “But come straight to the garage after, okay?”
He’d returned my car to me yesterday after installing the parts that had arrived. He’d also installed a tracker and a dash camera so we’d know if anyone tried to tamper with the car again.
I gave him a goofy kiss goodbye when he dropped me off, and I headed inside to change so I could get to the garage as soon as possible. I wanted to hurry back to him as fast as I could.
“Hurry back?” I asked myself as I entered the foyer. I wasn’t clingy by nature, but I was already missing Jensen.
Last night had been amazing. I couldn’t keep a smile off my face even if I tried. I threw my purse down on the kitchen table and kicked off my shoes. I didn’t want to waste any time not being with Jensen—no matter how unreasonable that was in the long run—so I hurried to change.
Who would’ve thought that I would ever be in a hurry to get back to a garage where I was working on someone else’s online presence? And that I would love it so.
Yeah, this town was growing on me.
I got dressed, shaking my head at myself as I took more care than usual, choosing the jeans that particularly complimented my… ass ets and a dark blazer that I knew was both attractive and casual.
I went into the bathroom and closed the door to check what necklace I wanted to wear. My apartment had a nice pair of hooks on the back of the bathroom door, and I’d used them to drape my jewelry organizers.
With this top, all I needed was a simple chain to draw attention to my?—
I stilled, my fingers reaching for a thin silver necklace. What had I just heard? I wasn’t shaking and rustling my jewelry around. I strained to listen, but there was just silence. Rolling my eyes at my overzealous imagination, I turned back to select a necklace.
But a distinct jingling sound came again.
“What the…” I narrowed my eyes, realizing the sound came from behind me.
Was there a problem in a pipe somewhere? I hoped I wasn’t about to have some sort of leak. That was the last thing I needed. I left the necklaces alone and turned toward the bathtub. The sound was definitely coming from there.
As I slid back the plastic curtain on the rungs, I found the source of the noise.
A snake.
A rattlesnake .
I froze in sheer terror.
It sat coiled in the tub, its head up and bobbing like it was testing the air. A thin tongue speared out before slithering back in. The snake did it again. The rattling increased.
Oh no.
It shook its tail as I took a step back. One foot, then another. Fear suddenly gave way, and adrenaline kicked in. Fight or flight…I was flighting . I spun to run to the door, holding my breath.
Oh shit.
Oh shit.
Oh—
The second I touched the doorknob, the room went dark. A faint hum stopped as the power went out, and the bathroom fan that was attached to the room’s light cut off.
What the actual hell?
I blinked, desperately listening for rattling as I wrapped my fingers around the doorknob, yanking hard over my labored breathing.
Nothing.
I jiggled it, pulled again, still nothing .
I couldn’t breathe, pressure building up in my throat until dizziness assailed me. My heart threw itself against my ribs.
Behind me, I heard the rattle.
That actually reassured me the slightest bit. At least the snake was still in the bathtub.
For now.
“What the hell?” My throat felt tight, and my mouth went dry.A faint thread of light glowed from the thin crack at the bottom of the door. Again, I frantically tried the knob. It didn’t budge.
I was trapped in here. Alone with a rattlesnake. Cold sweat broke out along my spine. I took a deep breath and tried to hold myself together.
Think, Kenzie. Just think.
Stay calm and think!
The utter silence scared me. I blinked, straining to listen and resisting the urge to whimper. Calling out might startle the snake. No one would hear me anyway. And my phone. I patted at my pockets again, confirming that I didn’t have it. I’d left it in my purse on the kitchen table.
No way to call for help. No way to get out. I licked my lips, daring to spin and face the direction of the tub. My eyes were getting used to the darkness now, and I could make out the vague shape of the tub. I didn’t want to creep closer, but I had to do something to protect myself. I had no weapons, no shields. But the shower rod captured my attention.
I couldn’t just stand there and hope the snake dismissed me. I eyed the shower rod, then the tub to check that the snake was still there and not on the move. I’d see it, I realized. It was a darker color than the off-white of the tub.
Eyes wide and not blinking and my heart pounding, I held my breath and crept closer to grip the rod. It was a heavy one, made of a metal that seemed sturdier than aluminum. It’d be a decent stick to beat at the snake for defense.
As I stretched to unhook the brackets from it, I realized that I’d underestimated its bulk. I stumbled, off-balance from the weight of the long length. It swung down, taking the plastic curtain with it.
The rod landed with a thud on the rim of the tub. Falling and floating after it, the curtain drifted down over the tub space.
The sound of the snake’s rattle filled the room. It was no longer quiet, angered by the noise and entrapment.
I didn’t know what to do.
Picking up my curling iron I’d forgotten was out on the counter, I stepped back slowly, hoisting myself up onto the counter, keeping my back to the wall. As long as I could hear the rattle, it was okay.
It was the silence that would be deadly.