Page 20 of Hushed

He laughed and touched her nose. “Touche.”

She sat up and pulled the sheet around her chest. “Speaking of overthinking, you never did explain your theory.”

That was a straightforward question he could handle. He crawled over her on the bed and sat next to her, picking up her hand as he settled.

“Have you ever been assessed for ADHD?”

She frowned. “No? Why?”

“It may not be that. But some of the tactics for dealing with it might work for you. Sometimes you have to change your environment to work better for your brain in order to get things working in the pleasure department. A messy apartment that’s also the same place you work and live is going to offer more chances for you to get distracted than a dedicated space built for pleasure.”

“So, you’re saying I need a separate sex pad?” she teased.

He laughed. “Not exactly. But that could be one solution. You also need to try things that aren’t ordinary. I’ve known you for a long time, and I know you’re not ordinary. You like new and exciting things and that doesn’t exclude sex. So, when I pulled out the paddle and started a little role play, that did the trick, and it was different enough to keep your mind from wandering to things like whether you left the stove on.”

She shrugged. “I don’t cook, so I never have to worry about that.”

He laughed. “But you get my point, yeah?”

“Is that why you like BDSM clubs?”

Gage looked at her with surprise. “I guess, in a way it is. BDSM offers all kinds of new and interesting sensations for you to experience that will keep your mind the right kind of busy.”

“Will you take me sometime?”

Gage pulled his hand away from hers. “Absolutely not.”

She stuck her lip out in a pout. “But why not?”

“You’re still Reggie’s little sister. He’s going to haunt me for what we’ve done tonight as it is. If I take you to a sex club, he’ll get his ghost friends to haunt me, too.”

Kenzie fell into a fit of giggles until tears streamed down her face. “Because we all know if anyone can make friends in the afterlife it’s fucking Reggie,” she howled.

That sent Gage into a fit of laughter too and talk of sex and sleeping together was forgotten. At least for a little while.

Gage stayed close to Kenzie for the next two weeks but didn’t try to sleep with her again. Instead, he provided for her as best he knew how and walked her through all the arrangements that needed to be made for Reggie’s services at Arlington National Cemetery. They ate all their meals together, and he escorted her to two gigs with her best friend Maggie. Knowing she had a friend like her in the city gave him a sense of comfort that she wouldn’t be alone when it was time to leave. He had to admit, he enjoyed watching her DJ. She had genuine talent, and her taste for music was eclectic enough that her choices for each job were perfect. But she pushed herself, working until she could barely stay awake to get herself home, and he suspected she did it to keep from dwelling on thoughts of Reggie. Not that he blamed her.

When the time came, he escorted her to D.C. and held her hand until the funeral was over.

The next day, he brought her back to New York where he insisted on replacing her locks when she wouldn’t let him buy her a better apartment. Reggie had left her plenty of money to fix her legal issues, and he hoped she would change her living situation soon or he would force the issue. Right now, he understood the need for some sense of normalcy, and a new apartment would only be more disruption.

Now, he stood on her doorstep preparing to head back to D.C. but not wanting to leave her.

“Thank you, Gage. For everything.”

“You’ll be OK?”

She nodded. “I’ll be fine. Reggie left me plenty to take care of myself, and you’ve done so much. I won’t be hurting for money or anything. And I swear I’ll look at better apartments.”

He dragged a hand through his hair. He hated leaving her, but he couldn’t stay. His life was in D.C., and hers was here. Not to mention he wouldn’t be able to resist her if he stayed.

She surprised him by leaning up and kissing him deeply. “Bye, Gage Allard. Thanks for everything. If you ever change your mind about taking me to your little club, come pick me up. I’ll be waiting.”

He groaned. “Don’t wait for me, Kenz. Move on with your life and find someone who treats you right.”

With a heavy heart, he climbed in his truck—fuck the train—and he was overcome with a deep sense of loss as he drove away from her apartment that wasn’t only about losing Reggie.

How was he supposed to go back to his daily routine and pretend Kenzie never happened?

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