Page 24 of Wrecked
A little giggle bubbled up as she wrapped her arms around my neck. Man, it felt amazing. I hugged her closer to my chest as I took the stairs to my one-bedroom apartment two at a time. I'm not going to lie; I was nervous as hell walking through my front door.
Kenzie and I had been dating for just over six months, and she had yet to spend the night at my place, or vice versa. Although, her daddy would probably shoot me dead if I ever spent the night with her under his roof. That man did not care for me at all.
Unfortunately for him, his daughter was my world. She was so different from the other girls I'd dated; I wanted to take things slow with her.
I kicked the door shut, and Kenzie snuggled deeper into my neck for a second before her head whipped up, and she announced, "I want a puppy."
Her eyes drew me in, and all I could think was how anyone could refuse this woman anything? According to her, her parents had never allowed her to have pets of any kind while she was growing up, and seeing as she still lived under their roof, she still couldn't. But, boy did her heart ache for a puppy.
My hold on her tightened, and I silently vowed that one day, in the near future, I'd get her a puppy.
"Why are we spinning?" she whined. I bit the inside of my cheek to stop my grin from spreading. My girlfriend was stupid drunk, and all I could think was how damn cute she looked with her brows pulled together and that stubborn pout on her lips.
I placed her on the couch and moved to the kitchen to get her some water. When I came back, she was sitting with her legs tucked beneath her and looking at me funny. Handing her the water, I parked my ass on the coffee table.
Kenzie gulped down the water at an alarming pace. "Slow down, Sweetheart," I warned. "You're gonna make yourself sick." Her blue eyes sparkled with mirth as she plonked the glass down and reached forward to run her fingers up my thigh.
This time, I didn't hide my smile as she bit into her lip and batted her lashes. Turned out alcohol set the seductress in Kenzie free. Unfortunately for us both, I wasn't about to go down that route. As I said, things with her were different; I didn't want the first time we made love to be in a haze of drunkenness.
Call me whatever you want, but I loved this girl, and I was determined to do right by her. She leaned in but instead of kissing me, she threw up. Her hand flew to her mouth as she jumped up and sprinted for the bathroom
Not even caring that I was covered in sick, I stripped out of my dirty shirt and dropped it in the laundry basket as I entered the bathroom where Kenzie was heaving into the toilet. Running my hand up and down her back, I gathered as much of her hair as I could in the other.
This wasn't the most romantic setting, in fact, it was as far from romantic as you could get. But for me, this was what my future looked like: Me taking care of my girl.
When her stomach was done dispelling its contents, I pushed to my feet and turned on the faucet in the shower. As soon as the water was warm enough, I pulled Kenzie in with me—clothes and all.
Her eyes were big and filled with so many emotions. With both of my hands, I pushed her wet strands out of her face before pressing my lips to her forehead. I then took part in a true test of willpower when I began to remove the fabric that clung to her body like a second skin. Piece by piece my resolve was tested.
Now, right up until the day she died, my momma raised a gentleman. But this gentleman was still a red-blooded man, and when Kenzie stood before me wearing nothing but the skin she was born in, I couldn't not look.
She was glorious and perfect; I couldn't wait to explore every inch of creamy skin. My fingers already tingled in anticipation of feeling her silkiness beneath them and my mouth longed to commit her taste to memory.
All of that would have to wait though.
I turned off the shower, stepped out and grabbed a towel from the rack. After I wrapped Kenzie up in it, I carried her to the bedroom where I pulled one of my shirts over her head. I replaced my own wet clothes with a pair of boxer shorts before I climbed onto the bed with Kenzie.
First, I propped myself up against the headboard then I gathered her into my arms, her head resting on my chest. I drifted off to sleep feeling on top of the world.
I rubbed my chest willing the ache inside to go away. I'd much rather endure a slap to the balls than this gnawing pain that just wouldn't let up. What I needed was breathing space and no walls caging me in. I moved to get off the bed, but Kenzie murmuring my name stopped me short.
Glancing over my shoulder, I found her eyes focused on me. The tears that threatened to roll down her cheeks, giving her blue irises so much more depth. I swallowed down the urge to lunge forward and kiss both our pain away.
"Brett," she repeated, and for some reason, I held my breath. "I'm sorry I made you hate me."
Chapter 12
"Hi."
I slowly parted my lids to find Kenzie's beautiful face a few inches from mine. My lips stretched into an easy smile, "Hi." My heart expanded as unadulterated happiness lit up her features. I tried to push myself further up the bed, and when I had difficulty moving, I realized Kenzie was straddling me.
The slightest blush stole her cheeks while she pulled her fingers through her hair. "I used your toothbrush."
My palms ran up her arms and down again. "Sweetheart, I don't mind. What's mine is yours." The sound of her laughter brought with it peace equivalent to listening to the birds' morning song. Wrapping my arms around her, I pulled her to my chest and maneuvered into a seated position. "What's so funny, mmm?" I asked against her neck.
Her breath hitched, and I did nothing to hide my smile. She let out a little squeal when my teeth gently grazed her skin. "That's something married people say." Her words stopped me abruptly, not because they scared me. I pulled back so I could look into her eyes; search for something to tell me it was wrong to feel this strong about her, about us.
I found nothing.
