CHAPTER 27
Aaron
I wanted to tell Kenzie more, but I couldn’t.
At least, not until I had a firm grip on what action I was going to take to get this behind me as soon as possible.
After the meeting with my legal team—all four of the best lawyers in New York plus a gaggle of paralegals—I felt more confident. Almost relaxed. As though there was nothing for me to worry about and I could enjoy my trip with the woman who made me hard every time I thought about her.
The weight of the world lifted from my shoulders as I sighed, slouching a bit in the hired car. The driver kept to himself, which was a relief. I wasn’t in the mood for conversation. Especially not after a meeting directly after a long flight. I only wanted to enjoy knowing that Reed wouldn’t win, after all. And he thought he was so smart.
He may be worth more than I was, but I still was a leg up on who was cleverer.
He might have gotten me once, but he wouldn’t again.
My legal troubles out of the way for the time being, I took the time to appreciate my surroundings. I remembered the awed expression on Kenzie’s face when we rode to the chalet. I hoped to see that look again and again as I showed her more of the world—I didn’t know until we arrived that I wanted to, but she was the sort of person who inspired the desire to be generous.
She appreciated things. She didn’t expect them. I’d detected a slight distance between us after I’d showed her the bedroom on the jet, but chalked it up to my distractedness. I could win her back over in no time.
And it all started now.
I tipped the driver before stepping out of the car, wanting nothing more than a shower and a long, luxurious screw. I felt triumphant again, on top of the world, and knew the only way to make it any better was to have Kenzie’s long legs wrapped around me.
I wanted to celebrate with Kenzie—in Kenzie.
I just made out the shape of her body from a distance as she lounged by the pool. My senses sharpened, my nose almost sniffing her out. All I smelled was the water, though, and the sweetness in the air.
It was paradise.
My paradise.
And I could do whatever I wanted.
First, to bathe. I didn’t want to go to her in yesterday’s clothes. I hurried through it, eager to be with her. To touch and taste her again. A pair of trunks waited in my closet, along with a linen shirt and sunglasses. The caretakers had followed my instructions perfectly. I made a mental note to double the already generous tip I left when staying here.
Kenzie was still stretched out by the pool when I made it outside, the blue water less enticing than her body. She wore a skimpy white bikini, accentuating the slight tan she’d already gained from a short time in the sun. Over her eyes were a pair of large sunglasses. She was so perfect, so lean and toned, and so chic. She could have been posing for a magazine spread.
Then I saw it.
The magazine, open beside her.
My name all over the page.
My heart damn near stopped beating when I realized the story had already gone to press. I hadn’t been fast enough. Reed had found me, even all the way out here. I’d have to wring the neck of whoever put that inside my chalet.
I paused to stand there and watch her for a second.
What did she think? How could I explain it? It would mean admitting the rivalry with Reed, which was the last thing I wanted to do. She’d think the only reason I offered her the job was to get back at him, when I knew that wasn’t the case. No, the real reason was because she was intelligent, amazing, great at her job, and had a deep desire to keep up with my eccentric tastes inside the bedroom.
The bastard. He couldn’t get away with it.
There I was, thinking my lawyers’ assurances that I’d done nothing illegal was enough to keep me out of trouble. The real damage would be done to my reputation, I realized. Probably what Reed wanted more than anything else—to slaughter me in the eyes of the public.
She didn’t move.
I waved a hand in front of her face, taking from her lack of reaction that she had to be sleeping.
I had to get her back on my side, and fast. I had to push all thoughts of the article out of her mind before she got too far ahead of herself.
I couldn’t resist the need to touch her, and my hand idly played with the strings of her bikini bottom. I untied one with a gentle tug, my tongue lapping across her skin in its place.
She squirmed, making a sleepy noise. I felt her hands on the back of my head, trying to pull me up and off her.
I couldn’t let her win. I had to have her. I had to distract her, too. I wasn’t sure which motive was stronger.
“Where were you?” she asked in a voice heavy with slumber.
I ignored the question, diving in like a starving man. She sighed. Her mind and body were fighting; I could hear it.
“I mean it,” she said, pulling my head from her body. “I want to know. Who were you with?”
“Funny, you don’t look like my mother.” I frowned, straightening up. I couldn’t believe she would be so impossible. I should’ve known, though, since she was normally so hell-bent on making life difficult for me.
I liked a challenge as much as the next man, but she was taking things too far for my comfort and forgetting who was the boss.
“Why is it so bad for me to ask who you were with? You told me you were going to meet with your legal team. Is that who you were with? Why are you so secretive?”
She didn’t come right out about the article, but I wondered how much of her inquisitive attitude had to do with it. Had she read it? She would have been blind to miss it.
I wouldn’t bring it up, though.
She changed topics quickly, but not completely. “What about tomorrow? Is there a meeting tomorrow?”
“Yeah, we’ll meet with a designer friend tomorrow.” My fingers were busy exploring her, teasing the both of us. She sighed again, louder than before. I was starting to break her down for good.
“When is it?” She moaned. “Where is it?” Her nipples peaked. “Should I prepare for it?”
I should’ve known she wouldn’t make it easy. It was always work with her. She never made anything easy. I’d have to change that.
“I’ll tell you all about it over dinner,” I said. “I promise. First, let’s talk about more important details.” I opened my mouth and kissed her neck.
“Oh.” She tipped her head back. “Like what?”
“Like this bikini, and the way it’s covering up way too much of you right now.”
She giggled, but still tried to push my hands away. She wouldn’t give up as easily as I needed her to, and the frustration started to build inside me.
A determined growl rumbled from deep within.
“What do you want me to say right now? There’s nothing to say but how much I want you.” I nipped at her hot skin. “How badly I need you. Don’t you know? Can’t you feel it?” I took her hand, pressing it to the raging hard-on fighting against the loose swim trunks. She groaned, smiling a little.
I tasted her, delighting in the way the sun warmed her skin. She sighed, running her fingers through my hair. All the while, I thought about ways to stall her. How would I manage to keep her occupied? That sharp mind of hers, sharpened by that article. She wouldn’t bring it up, but I was more convinced that she’d read it and was waiting for me to bring it up.
I wouldn’t.
Not until I knew what to say.
And I didn’t know what to say.
What would I do about Reed? How long would it be before the storm blew over? Now that a tabloid had their hands on the story, it would only be a matter of time before the rest of the scandal-hungry media got their hands on it.
I couldn’t stay in the Azores forever, no matter how much I wanted to. I’d have to go back and face the music. How long would it take? How long could I keep her dangling on a string?
My fingers brushed lightly over her belly and caused her to suck in a breath.
Distracting her with sex would only go so far, no matter how many earth-shattering orgasms I’d rain down upon her.
I licked along the lines of her bikini bottom, teasing her, building her up. She moaned, her back arching, hips flexing to show her arousal.
She wanted more.
I would give her more, and more after that.
Anything to satisfy my need for escape, and her need for answers.
“Come with me,” I said, taking her hand. I pulled her from the chair with a grin. “I want to show you something.”