My breath caught in my throat as recognition kicked in, the sound almost as agonizing as the whimper she’d issued before.
Her eyelids fluttered open, but both eyes were dilated. When she smiled, I was certain the reason was involuntary. Then she murmured before brushing her hand across my arm, “Stephen.”
She was just about the only person now who called me by my real name.
As quickly as she’d awakened, she fell back into a restless sleep while I remained stunned.
I knew her. Every soft curve. Every inch of beautiful porcelain skin.
The one girl I’d craved so long ago, the same one I could never touch. That was a rule and loyalty I’d almost broken and had regretted.
All for a single taste that had haunted me for years.
“Kenzie.”
CHAPTER 4
Kenzie
“Then just kiss me. Or are you afraid?” I folded my arms, cocking one hip as I stared him down, daring him to take some action for a change.
“Kenzie. Give me a break. You know I’m not afraid of anything.”
“Then prove it.”
When his gaze fell to my waist then down further, I yawned on purpose, patting my glossy lips. He glanced over his shoulder, acting as if he was going to ignore me. “You shouldn’t go around dressed like that.”
“Like what? This?” I brushed my hand down my side while bending my knee and shoving my pointed toe into the ground. As I shifted my leg back and forth, I dragged the tip of my tongue across my bottom lip. “I thought this is what you prefer. Slutty girls.”
“Damn it, Palomino Girl. You’re not a slutty girl so stop that shit.”
“Just like I thought. You’re all bark and no action. What a pity.” I pushed him away, taking long strides away from him.
“Come back here.”
“I don’t follow your orders, rodeo boy.” I waved him off, stomping away.
Then he snagged my arm, yanking me backward and against the tree. With a frustrated look on his face, he yanked one arm over my head then the other, pinning both against the rough bark with one muscular hand. “You are not going to run away from me. You are so infuriating. Gah.” His entire face was pinched, his chest rising and falling.
With his jaw clenched and since he hadn’t shaved in a couple of days, I thought he was the most handsome boy I’d ever seen. But to him, I was nothing but a little girl. That’s all I’d ever be.
“Let go of me,” I demanded. I certainly wasn’t going to cry. Not around him.
He shook his head several times, shoving my arms against the tree again as I jutted out my breasts. His entire body stiffened as he dropped his gaze. So did I.
Excitement tore through me from seeing the thick bulge between his legs.
“Jesus, Kenzie.”
“Let go!”
“That’s not going to happen, doll face, and you know why?”
“Why?” I threw out, keeping my tone as haughty as possible all while butterflies swarmed my tummy.
“Because I’m a man who takes what he wants.”
As he crushed his lips down on mine, the world around us faded away. This was everything I’d wanted. He was everything I’d ever craved.
