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‘You didn’t sound very sure,’ Dominick mused.
‘I’m not going to deny that this situation is—difficult,’ she told him quietly.
‘How difficult?’ he challenged, standing up, his lithe nakedness visible in the soft light.
Kenzie stopped breathing, her eyes wide as she looked at him. This was not a good idea. Not a good idea at all.
‘Look, Dominick,’ she told him quickly. ‘I’m sure we could quite easily make love together, here and now—’
‘We could?’ he derided.
‘Yes,’ she bit out awkwardly. ‘Statistics show that the majority of married couples who have separated have sex together at least once after that separation before they actually divorce. It’s usually a disappointment to both parties, and only serves to reaffirm their decision—’
‘I’m not interested in statistics, Kenzie,’ he dismissed impatiently. ‘And you have never disappointed me in bed, any more than I believe I have ever disappointed you, either—’
‘You’re talking about sex again, Dominick,’ she cut in frustratedly.
He gave a shake of his head, moving until he sat on the edge of her bed. ‘And talking has never solved anything between us, has it?’ he acknowledged ruefully, one of his hands moving up to smooth the creamy contour of her cheek. ‘The truth is, I would much rather show you what you threw away four months ago than talk about it!’ His head lowered before his lips captured hers.
Kenzie fought against the desire that quickly rose within her, pushing at the bareness of his chest as she wrenched her mouth from his. ‘No—’
‘Yes, Kenzie!’ he insisted gruffly. ‘Neither of us is going to find a moment’s rest until we get this out of the way!’
‘But it won’t solve anything—’
‘It will prove that you still want me!’ he grated. ‘Because you do still want me, don’t you, Kenzie?’ he encouraged huskily as his fingers trailed down her neck to the hollows of her throat.
Kenzie quivered with an awareness she was unable to hide. ‘You’re just trying to punish me, Dominick. Wreak some sort of revenge because I dared to leave you—’
‘Oh, no, Kenzie, a brief time together at the home of your parents isn’t going to be nearly enough recompense for that,’ he assured her grimly. ‘But a little down payment might not be a bad idea in the circumstances. And you do owe me, remember …?’
Oh, she remembered, all right. She also had a pretty good idea now of exactly what he was going to want in ‘payment’ for being here with her this weekend!
‘Dominick—’
‘Not now, Kenzie,’ he dismissed, his hand moving down to cup her breast, his thumbtip caressing the hardened tip as he bent his head to reclaim her lips.
Kenzie felt the heat in her body, wanting to continue fighting him, but knowing that her body betrayed her. She melted through her enjoyment of the feel of Dominick’s lips on hers as he began to kiss her, and found she was unable to stop herself from reaching up to entangle her fingers in his hair as she tasted him in return.
His hands moved restlessly across her back, moulding her body to his, and crushing her breasts against the hardness of his chest as they continued to kiss hungrily.
Kenzie groaned low in her throat as Dominick sat back slightly to push the gaping neckline of her top to one side, one hand finding her naked breast, while the other moved to unfasten the buttons down the front of the silky garment.
She felt the cool air on her bare flesh as Dominick cleared the material from her body, his lips leaving hers now so that he could feel the thrust of her breast with his mouth. As he drew the aching nipple into the heated moisture between his lips, the pad of his thumb moving across its twin, Kenzie dropped weakly back onto the pillow as she arched in pleasure.
She could feel his arousal pressed against her, an ache between her own thighs matching that need.
Her fingers tightened in his hair as she pulled him even closer, feeling the rasp of his tongue now, circling and flicking the tip of her breast, before drawing it into his mouth to suck rhythmically.
The heat was rapidly building inside her as she reached out to touch him, her fingers closing about him, revelling in the wild pulsing. She moved her hand along the length of the hardened shaft, knowing, as she always had, how to pleasure him.
He lifted his head, his eyes glittering in the darkness. ‘Do you want me to take you, Kenzie?’ he asked. ‘Do you want me inside you?’
‘Yes! Oh, God, yes!’ she groaned, completely, mindlessly, aroused.
‘How much do you want me, Kenzie?’ His hand lightly touched her breast. ‘Tell me how much!’
‘Dominick …?’ She looked up at him, feeling dazed.
‘How much, Kenzie?’ His voice hardened slightly.
‘Dominick, what do you want from me?’ she moaned, the desire he had aroused completely confusing her.
‘Right now?’ he considered as he sat up to move away from her. ‘Nothing else for now,’ he murmured with satisfaction. ‘When I next take you to bed, Kenzie—and I am going to take you to bed—it’s going to be on my terms, and when I choose. Tonight was just to see if you’re as immune to me as you claimed to be when you walked out on me.’ His teeth gleamed in the moonlight as he smiled. ‘You aren’t immune at all, Kenzie,’ he taunted.
No, she wasn’t. But this wasn’t the way. This would never be the way …
‘Please don’t do this, Dominick,’ she warned breathlessly. ‘Don’t destroy what feelings of respect we have left for each other—’
‘Me destroy those feelings?’ He surged to his feet to stand darkly forbidding beside the bed as he looked down at her with hard, glittering eyes. ‘You did that when you walked out the door four months ago!’
Yes, she had walked out—and, although Dominick might not believe it, it had almost killed her to do it.
Did Dominick really imagine that it had been easy for her to leave, to give up on the hope that he would one day love her as she loved him? Because if he really thought that—
‘Straight into Jerome Carlton’s arms and bed!’ he added harshly.
Jerome Carlton again.
It always came back to Jerome.
Kenzie had no idea why Dominick was so convinced she’d had an affair with the other man.
All that Jerome had done was offer her a contract with his company, and had been there for her when she’d sat beside him on the plane to America, still slightly shell-shocked from the last argument with Dominick. Jerome had obviously not known exactly why she was so unhappy, but he had been there for her anyway, and he had continued to be attentive during the weeks she’d spent in America when she had seemed so unhappy.
He had asked nothing in return.
But Dominick wouldn’t understand that. He didn’t understand that there could be just friendship between a man and a woman. He didn’t understand love between a man and a woman, so how could he possibly understand friendship?
‘Please, don’t do anything that is going to make me hate you, Dominick,’ she pleaded forcefully, not sure she would be able to bear that when she loved him so much.
He gave a humourless laugh. ‘Why not? They say that hate is akin to love! Either emotion has to be an improvement on that coolness you showed me for the month before you ended the torture of our marriage. It has to be better than the distant politeness with which you’ve been treating me all evening!’
But that distant politeness was her protection, Kenzie thought. It was the only thing she had to stop this man from making her suffer more than he was already.
She couldn’t let Dominick hurt her all over again; she had barely survived the first time!
‘Get some sleep, Kenzie,’ he advised harshly as he began to pull on his clothes.
‘Where are you going?’ She frowned.
‘I have no idea,’ he grated after pulling his tee shirt on over his head. ‘But don’t worry, Kenzie, I’m not leaving.’ He paused to look down at her. ‘I don’t like weddings, but I’ve said I’ll fulfil my half of the bargain, and so I will. Just be prepared, when the time comes, to fulfil yours!’
CHAPTER SIX
KENZIE had no idea where Dominick had spent the night, only knowing that he hadn’t come back to the bedroom they should have shared.
She knew he hadn’t returned because she had spent most of the night awake, too troubled, and too disturbed by what had happened, to be able to fall asleep.
A fact that the bathroom mirror had all too readily confirmed when she went through to shower and dress this morning, dark circles under her eyes, and her face pale.
A great glowing bridesmaid she was going to make, she thought as she put on enough make-up to cover up her pallor.
Just the thought of facing Dominick again, after the intimacies they had shared during the night, wasn’t something she relished.
Although she knew it was something she wasn’t going to have a choice about. Dominick had said he wouldn’t leave, and she knew him well enough by now to know that when he said something he meant it. He intended staying for the wedding.
If only so that he could collect on his half of their bargain.
Exactly what sort of revenge did Dominick intend exacting?
Although after what he had said last night, and the way he had so deliberately kissed and caressed her, she didn’t really need to ask that!
But could he really want to take her like that, to make love to her and know that she hated every minute of it?
Except she so obviously wouldn’t …!
After her response last night Dominick couldn’t be in any doubts about that, either.
His revenge, she was sure, would be to make love to her and show her exactly how little will-power she really had where he was concerned. He wanted to prove that she still wanted him, in spite of herself.
When and where he intended this to take place, she had no idea, but she knew that it wasn’t going to be here.
It was like waiting for the other shoe to drop, although it was a little hard to place the vengeful Dominick she’d seen last night in the man she discovered in the kitchen a few minutes later. He was with her mother, trying on the bow-tie that matched the deep green colour of the bridesmaid dresses that he was expected to wear as her partner at the wedding.
It was a little unnerving to hear Dominick’s throaty laughter and her mother’s girlish chuckles when Kenzie had been steeling herself to face her arrogant and demanding husband of last night.
Admittedly Dominick did look slightly ridiculous with the bow-tie around his neck above the black tee shirt, but Kenzie didn’t think it was funny enough for this amount of hilarity …
She stood in the kitchen doorway simply staring at the two of them, marvelling at this slightly softer Dominick, and wondering if he was actually aware of how relaxed he looked. Probably not.
Dominick didn’t let his guard down often. And last night he had made it pretty plain that with her he didn’t intend letting his barriers down at all.
Nevertheless, it was still a little unnerving to see Dominick so relaxed and at ease with her mother. Unless it was all an act? Was this all an effort on his part to show he was keeping to his side of their bargain?
That was probably nearer the truth!
‘Am I interrupting something?’ Kenzie finally murmured.
Dominick’s laughter faded quickly, his expression mockingly questioning as he turned to look at her.
Confirming to Kenzie that he really was just continuing the act, and that he intended giving her no reason whatsoever to complain about his behaviour in front of her family.
Her mother continued to smile. ‘Dominick and I were just thinking he looks like one of those male strippers—just before he whips his clothes off and leaves on only the bow-tie.’
Kenzie deliberately didn’t look at Dominick again as her dark brows raised towards her mother. ‘And when did you last see a male stripper?’
The last time Kenzie had seen Dominick, he had actually been naked so there was no way she could meet his gaze at the moment!
‘Never.’ Her mother gave an exaggerated sigh of disappointment.
‘Mother!’ Kenzie chuckled affectionately.
Nancy shook her head ruefully as she gave a smile that encompassed Dominick as well as Kenzie. ‘That’s the trouble with you youngsters—you think you were the first to discover the attractions of the naked body!’
‘Not me,’ Dominick drawled, having discovered this morning that, in spite of his usual reticence, he actually liked this older version of Kenzie. He was finding it very hard to remain aloof from the happiness this family felt on the day of the youngest daughter’s wedding. ‘It’s obvious that you and Donald discovered it at least four times in the last thirty years!’ he teased.
Nancy gave a becoming blush. ‘I guess I deserved that one!’ She grinned. ‘Kenzie, I have to go and telephone the florist and find out why the flowers haven’t arrived yet, so I’ll leave you to get Dominick some breakfast.’ She gave her daughter an affectionate pat on the cheek as she moved to the door. ‘Don’t forget we’re leaving for the hairdresser’s in half an hour,’ she reminded her before going to make her call.
Now Dominick and Kenzie were alone in the kitchen, although it was obvious from the closing of doors overhead, and the sound of loud voices, that they were far from the only people in the house.
Dominick reached up and unfastened the bow-tie from around his neck to hold it loosely between his fingers as he looked across at Kenzie.
She looked about sixteen this morning, dressed in those jeans and a fitted green tee shirt the colour of her eyes, the silky length of her hair secured in a band.
She raised her long dark lashes and met his gaze, memories of their time together last night deep in their depths.
They were the same memories that had haunted Dominick for the rest of the night as he’d sat down here in the kitchen drinking coffee. Half of him had wanted to go back upstairs and finish what they had started, but the other half of him had known this wasn’t the time or the place. What happened between him and Kenzie in the future had to be on his terms. Anything else was unacceptable.
Kenzie had walked out on him, and he didn’t intend letting her get away from him again until he had exacted his pound of flesh in payment for that.
Literally!
In the meantime he was determined to keep strictly to his side of the bargain, giving Kenzie no way out of fulfilling her side. None at all. However unacceptable to her his terms turned out to be …
‘Your mother mentioned something about breakfast,’ he reminded her abruptly, more for something to say than any real appetite. Although he had so much coffee in his system it probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to eat something.
Kenzie drew in a ragged breath. Whatever she had been expecting Dominick to say it certainly hadn’t been something as prosaic as requesting breakfast.
Although the alternative, discussing what had happened last night, wasn’t a good idea, either!
‘Of course.’ She moved to search through one of the cupboards. ‘I’m afraid we’re more geared to the wedding today than—ah, toast or cereal, or both?’
‘Cereal will be fine,’ he assured her dismissively. ‘What are you having done to your hair?’ he questioned as he got the milk from the fridge and carried it over to the table.
‘It’s going to be styled into curls with peach-coloured flowers entwined,’ she answered, her thoughts elsewhere as she carried over a couple of boxes of cereal and two bowls to the table, placing them down before sitting opposite him. ‘Dominick—’
‘I had no idea there was so much planning and organization involved in a wedding,’ he cut in determinedly, knowing by the frown on her face that he wasn’t going to like what she’d been about to say. ‘Ah,’ he murmured, looking at the two cereal boxes, ‘Flakes or flakes!’
