All I could think about was what would happen if I gave one of the ends of that material a nice tug. Then there was the skirt. The bottom disappeared below her desk, so it had to go to her knees, but it was one of those deals that cut in, hugging her ass and thighs in a way that had all sorts of images flying through my brain. Fantasies the woman in front of me would surely deck me for.
“Crosby.” Pink hit Kenna’s cheeks. “What are you doing here?”
I swallowed hard, willing myself to get it together. “We’re going on our first adventure.”
She glanced at her watch. “It’s already after six, and I still have a few things to finish up here.”
“It was quitting time over an hour ago. Don’t think I don’t know you get here an hour, sometimes two before everyone else. You can finish up whatever this is tomorrow.”
The glare I loved so much swept across Kenna’s face, the one that seemed to make her amber eyes glow. “Some of us take our jobs seriously. We can’t just come and go whenever the mood strikes us.”
I grinned. “Come on, Brown Eyes. Live dangerously.”
It was the challenge in my voice that did it. The tone that asked, “Are you chicken?”
“Fine.” She bent to open the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet, and I nearly groaned when the fabric of her skirt pulled tight across her ass. She straightened, purse in hand, and grabbed her blazer from the hanger.
“You won’t need that where we’re going.”
She arched a brow. “And where is that, pray tell?”
“I love it when you get all pretentious with me.” I held out a hand. Kenna ignored it and scowled in my direction instead. “Relax, we’re going to The Catch.”
“That’s not an adventure, Crosby. I go there five days a week, at least.”
I wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She fit so perfectly there, seemed to melt right into my side. “It’s not an adventure the way you do it, but just wait until you see what I have in store.”
Kenna groaned. “I have no desire to drink endless disgusting dark beer and talk rock climbing with Ford.”
“Bite your tongue. Guinness is the drink of the gods.”
“Maybe the gods of hell. That stuff is nasty.”
Kenna slipped out from under my arm as she walked out of her office. I felt the loss of her instantly, her warmth, the pressure of her body against mine. The chemistry flowing between us was throwing me for a loop. Kenna nodded at Chris, who glared in our direction, and waved to the receptionist, who was packing up.
I grabbed hold of Kenna’s hand as soon as we were out the front door, tugging her away from her practical sedan and towards my truck. “I’ll drop you back at your car when we’re done.”
Kenna gave a pull of resistance. “That’s just one extra stop you need to make. It makes no sense.”
I leaned in close. “Sometimes, a nonsensical life is just more fun. And maybe I want more time with you. Or I could just want to feel what’s under that skirt.”
My hand skimmed the curve of her ass, and Kenna swatted it away. “You’ll keep your hands to yourself while we’re driving and in front of anyone we know.”
I reared back. “Why would I do that?”
“So we don’t get in a car wreck.”
“And the other?”
Kenna stiffened her spine. “Because this is temporary. I don’t want our friends thinking it’s something it’s not.”
My back teeth ground together. “Our friends are grownups. They can deal with us having something casual.” I was practically pouting. I wanted my hands on Kenna as much as possible, and this rule would really cramp that.
“You’ve met Caelyn, right? You know, the hopeless romantic who loves Disney movies just as much as her elementary-aged sisters? There is nothing we could say that would convince her that this isn’t some love story fated in the stars. And usually, Bell has her head on straight, but she just got engaged. The sappy hormones have overtaken her brain.”
I burst out laughing and tugged Kenna into a tight hug. “Okay, I’ll try to refrain from sticking my tongue down your throat at the bar.”
I could feel Kenna’s grimace against my chest. “I don’t want you to stick your tongue down my throat ever. Gross.”
“Come on…You know the idea gets you all hot and bothered.”
“If you want to play tonsil hockey, you might want to take a time machine back to high school.”
I released her, a grin stretching my face. “Only if you’re there. I’d love to see what high school Kenna looked like.” I bet fifteen-year-old me would’ve followed her around like a lost puppy.
Kenna’s expression shuttered for a brief moment before smoothing. I stepped closer. “Are you okay?”
She laughed, but it was forced. “Just thinking about you seeing me in braces and my awkward high school fashion. Come on, let’s go to The Catch.”
I watched her head towards my truck, wondering why the thought of high school created shadows in Kenna’s eyes.
14
Kenna
I stared down at the line of ten drinks on the glossy bar top, then threw an irritated glance at Crosby. I had no desire to be hugging the toilet at the end of tonight’s festivities.
Crosby squeezed my shoulders like a coach getting ready to send his boxer into the ring. “Just take a sip of each. I’m not trying to get you drunk, I just want you to try something other than your boring-as-hell vodka soda.”
“There’s nothing wrong with a vodka soda. Just because it’s simple doesn’t mean it’s boring.” Crosby began massaging the muscles between my shoulder blades that had stiffened at his words. My drink choice was like the rest of my life, at least according to Crosby: boring and predictable.
Bell half-heartedly muffled a laugh. “Did you lose a bet or something?”
“Pretty much,” I grumbled. How could I explain to my best friend that I’d made a deal with the devil? Forced, new life experiences in exchange for the high of sex with Crosby. What terrified me was that it wasn’t just the sex that had helped. The numbness and dull pain had begun to slip over me as the day progressed, but when Crosby showed up in the office this evening…suddenly, everything was in technicolor again. Sure, a lot of that color was the fire of my annoyance at him, but it was so much better than the feeling of nothingness.
Ford wrapped his arms around Bell, pressing his lips to her neck. I ignored the flare of jealousy at the tender ease they shared. He drew her closer against him. “Well, I would’ve paid good money to see this, so thanks for making it happen for free.”
Ford held out a fist to Crosby, who bumped it. I growled at both of them. “I’ll dump the remnants of these drinks on your head if you’re not careful.”
Ford held up both hands as he backed up. “Been there, done that, no desire to do it again.”
Bell blushed. “Sorry about that. Again.”
I snorted. The man had deserved it. Sure, he’d made up for the pain he’d caused in the months that followed his return to Anchor, but in my book, Ford still deserved a few more dunkings. Maybe I was just the person to do it.