Chapter 12
Kennedy
When Dae stops in front of my apartment building, I feel a pit in my stomach. While I hate to admit it, I don’t want our day together to end. I’m tempted to ask him to blow off whatever work meeting he has tonight and come up to my place.
I keep the words in, though. Just barely.
“Have you looked into Blackmon’s finances?” Dae asks as he turns to me.
For a second, I’m transfixed. I simply stare into his dark eyes. They’re mesmerizing. I want to stare into them as I ask him a million and one questions. Not about Blackmon or about anything work related but about him.
What’s his story? What makes him tick? Why?
Above all, how could anyone not want him?
The question I asked him during our picnic. How could anyone look at this man and not want to dive into him and stay forever?
“What?” I ask, finally raising myself out of my reverie.
His pink lips spread in that beautiful smile of his. It doesn’t look as devilish as the first few times we met.
He moves a hand to my knee and squeezes. The gesture is possessive. What’s strange is that I don’t want him to move it. And he doesn’t.
“Blackmon. His finances. Have you checked into his?”
“Oh … Um.” I pause and work hard to push away the memory of his mouth on me. It’s clouding my ability to think.
I cock my head to the side. “Do you know something?”
“No more than you. I know there’s always a money trail, and it’s the surest bet to find whatever you’re looking for.” He blinks, his expression darkening ever so slightly.
That look, it’s intimidating and maybe even a little scary. I don’t even think he intends it to be. It’s a natural expression. Yet, a normal person would find it intimidating, maybe even run away from it.
Me? I find myself leaning into him. I want to know more. What’s more frightening is that this want may be turning into more of a need—a need to know more about Dae Kim.
“What are your secrets?” I say in a low tone without thinking.
I don’t even realize I’ve said my true thoughts out loud until Dae cups my face with one of his hands and replies, “Are you ready to know my secrets, little warrior?”
Am I?
“Why do you call me that?”
“Because that’s exactly what you are?”
“How do you know? We just met a few weeks ago.”
Something flashes in his gaze, but it”s gone in the blink of an eye. Did I imagine it?
“I’ve known you a lot longer than that.” His voice is so low that I can barely make out the words.
“You’re a little warrior because of how you fight for others. Even those who’ve given up on themselves. Like the girl who killed herself. Her own mother isn’t as invested as you are in getting to the truth.
“The series you wrote on that credit union that was overcharging its minority clients is another example of you fighting for the ‘little person’.”
“You read those articles?”
A few years back, I stumbled across a credit union based here in Williamsport that was charging exorbitant fees to its Black and Brown clients.
“I didn’t work on that investigation alone,” I add. It was a team effort involving three investigative reporters.
“Your name is on it. It’s your investigation,” he says defensively. It feels like he’s defending me to me.
A smile curls the corners of my mouth.
“I’ve read every article you’ve ever written.”
My eyes widen because while he can’t be serious, his tone doesn’t hint at playfulness.
I drop my head, shaking it because I know he’s kidding. He has to be because no one could’ve read every article I’ve written.
“You must have a lot of time on your hands,” I joke.
Dae’s gaze on me remains as intense as ever, though. “When it comes to you, I do.”
His words are too much. I pull back. After clearing my throat, I reply, “This is just us spending time together because it’s the only way you’ll give me information on Blackmon.”
He cocks his head to the side.
“Don’t lie to me, Kennedy. Not while the taste of your pussy still lingers on my lips.”
I suck in a breath as he moves closer, placing his face only inches from mine.
“Let’s not bullshit one another. You’re here because you want to be. As much as I want you here. Your body tells me the truth. The vein in your neck that beats faster whenever I get within a few inches of your body. The way your nipples are getting hard right now because of my nearness.
“And the way the smell of your pussy is starting to fill up the space in this car because you”re getting wet from the words coming out of my mouth. You want to be here, little warrior. And very soon, you’ll admit to being mine.”
I start to tell him I don’t belong to anybody. I’ve never told any guy I’ve dated that I was his. Told myself I never would.
I never wanted a man to own me. To possess me like I’m a piece of property.
The refusal sticks in my throat, though. I can’t push it up and past my lips. Not when he’s so close, sucking up all of the space between our bodies. His hand is still on my knee. His lips hovering just above mine.
And he’s right. My nipples are almost painfully hard beneath the padding of my bra and my panties are wet from how turned on I am.
Still, I manage to shake my head.
My refusal only causes him to grin. He doesn’t say anything. Instead, he leans in and captures my lips. The moan that escapes my throat is of its own accord.
“This Wednesday,” he says against my lips when he pulls back.
“Wednesday?”
“Our next date.”
I blink a few times, clearing my mind of the fuzziness from the kiss. “Wednesday,” I start to nod but then remember. “I can’t. I’m having dinner with my family.”
The fact that I give him an explanation is further evidence of what he’d just said. I’ll have to examine that later on. Once I’m out of his presence and can think clearly.
“Thursday then,” he quickly replies.
The ‘yes’ that spills out of my lips is too quick. It’s as if my body is speaking for me before my brain can catch up. Yet the way my answer brings a broader smile to his face makes it feel worthwhile.
“I have to go,” I say as an excuse. Honestly, I don’t have anywhere I need to be now. He’s the one who has to work this evening.
Dae is up and out of the car in seconds. The next thing I know, he pulls the passenger door open and holds his hand out for me to take. As soon as I’m standing, he intertwines our fingers instead of releasing my hand, tugging me to him.
“Thursday,” he says against my lips. The strain in his voice pulls at something in my chest. His voice is pained. As if it hurts to wait that long to see one another again.
“Thursday,” I confirm.
When I do, he places a kiss on the corner of my mouth. I almost moan again, but the sounds around us remind me that we’re in public.
“Thank you for today,” I say. “It’s been too long since I spent time outdoors, horseback riding.”
He strokes my cheek. “We’ll have to do it again then,” he says as if it’s a promise.
I start for the front door of my building. Despite my better judgment, I turn to look at him, and yes, he’s watching. I toss him a wave, and he returns it but doesn’t move. He’ll watch me until I disappear from his sight.
I wish I could say that turned me off.
It doesn’t. A giddy chill runs down my spine, knowing he’s watching me. That feeling lasts until I get on the elevator.
When I reach my condo, I can’t wipe the smile from my face. As I heel-toe my shoes off at the door, I question why I’m so hung up on this guy.
“Physical,” I murmur to myself as I change my clothes. It has to be because he’s so damn hot. It’s been a while since I’ve been with anyone else. That must be the reason. A natural physical response to hot stimulation.
“Nothing more,” I mutter as I head to my reading nook.
Technically, it’s my home office, so it’s more than a nook, but that’s what I like to call it. I grab my laptop off my desk to sit in the reading corner connected to the window.
The cut-out window gives me enough space for several fluffy pillows and a blanket while I read, research, or even nap.
Though I have a desk and chair for working, I prefer to sit with my laptop on my knees and glance out now and again at the Williamsport skyline. As I do, I again am grateful for the decision I made to move back to my home city after college.
Despite the challenges and my desire for independence, I wouldn’t want to live in any other city.
I open my laptop to research Blackmon’s finances as Dae suggested, but a prickly feeling runs down my spine.
It’s similar to the feeling I got when walking away from Dae when I knew he watched me. I glance out of the window, down toward the street. Cars and pedestrians pass by, going about their business. Not to mention, no one can see into my window from where I’m seated. I have the inside curtains drawn.
That way, I feel free to sit and read or work here for hours without wondering if someone can see my home directly.
Yet, the feeling persists. Like I’m being watched. It’s a familiar feeling. Something that’s happened off and on for years, though nothing ever materialized from it. I don’t have a secret stalker or something.
It”s probably just a byproduct of my somewhat overactive imagination.
I shake the feeling off as I flip my laptop open. Pushing thoughts of my growing relationship with Dae Kim or thoughts of someone watching me away, I take his advice. I delve into Blackmon’s finances to find out if there’s anything relevant to my investigation.
Focusing on work is the one thing that can lead me to stop thinking about Dae Kim or, more importantly, curb the anticipation of our next date.