Kala stood, Cooper beside her as everyone seemed to understand the conference was over. “You got this, sis, or should I take out the trash? I told you I thought you needed to make yourself plain. Canada there can be thick headed.”
Kenzie stood as well. It was time to have a chat with her very confused crush.
Chapter Ten
Staying away from her had likely been a mistake, but he’d needed space.
The fact that Kenzie’s father still wouldn’t listen to him when it came to Huisman rankled in a way it shouldn’t.
And then that English fucker flirted with her like he had some kind of right.
The door closed behind Kala, who had given him a look that could freeze fire. Lucy Brooke had done the same before walking away.
If they united against him, would it be a miracle or the beginning of the apocalypse?
He turned and stared at her. Kenzie looked tired. Gorgeous. She was always the most stunning woman in any room, but there was a weariness to her that pulled at him. “You’re still tired. Let’s go back to our room and you can take a nap.”
Her head shook. “I’m not sharing a room with you, Ben. You’ve made yourself plain over the last twenty-four hours. I understand. I’m not going to argue with you or try to sway you. I think it would be best if we worked separately. I have some pretty big feelings when it comes to you, and I need some time to process and start letting go.”
He had no fucking intention of being let go. “What is thatsupposed to mean?”
She didn’t control this.
“It means you’re not ready to have a relationship with me, and maybe I’m not ready either.” Her voice was a quiet monotone. “I think I’ve made this more than it really is. My sisters and friends are all getting married and you’re the first man I’ve ever been…intense about.”
“I doubt that.” She was an intense person. She was weird and emotional, and he was trying to figure out how to handle her.
Because it was important to handle her. He’d needed some space and he was still angry with her, but he couldn’t stand the thought of her walking away. She wasn’t going to walk away from him. He wouldn’t allow it. He realized suddenly that he would take her away if he had to.
She made him volatile. Vulnerable.
“Well, I’m a liar, right? It’s what I do.”
He was confused. He stared at her across the table. He’d moved when he’d taken that British ass down. “What is this about?”
A brow rose over her eyes. “You haven’t been avoiding me? You didn’t ask me to sit with you on the plane. I would have, you know.”
He had avoided her because he needed a plan. He needed space. And if she gave it to him, he would hate it. He would reject it. “Kenzie, I wanted to talk to your dad. I’m afraid I’m not an experienced top and I’m trying to figure out how to handle you.”
“You don’t have to handle me. You can talk to me. You could ask me, but instead you chose to ignore me.”
He could never ignore her. The whole time they were in the air, he’d been deeply aware of where she was. “I didn’t ignore you. I needed space.”
Her eyes closed, and he saw her fists clench. She took a deep breath.
He wanted so much to know what she was thinking.
She told him to ask.
“What’s going through your brain right now? I don’t think I would like it.”
Her eyes came open and her chin tilted up as she stood. “I am attempting to not play to my baser instincts, Benjamin Parker. They tell me I should tell you to take all the space you like and storm out and go down to the dungeon tonight and find a hot Dom to play with.”
He moved quickly, getting into her space and making sure she didn’t follow through on those bad instincts. If she walked out, he wasn’t sure he wouldn’t follow, throw her over his shoulder and take her right out of this glorious building that had been built for work and more importantly, for pleasure. It didn’t matter that she’d lied or maybe it did. Maybe some of this was pure revenge.
It didn’t feel like revenge.
It felt necessary. Like if she walked away, he wouldn’t be able to breathe.
