“Ah, Kiki—”
“Don’t call me that,” Kendra growls through gritted teeth. I’ve never seen her this angry.
“But you used tolovemy pet names,” he drawlswith a wink.
“No. I always hated them. What do you want?” Anger flows off Kendra in waves, and I’m glad not to be on the receiving end of it.
“Ki—” he stops himself. “Kendra, can’t we be civil? We’re bound to keep running into each other, and what happened is water under the bridge. I’ve moved on.” He gestures towards me, his lip curling. “You’ve moved on. What’s there to still be angry about?”
Her body draws tight as if to pounce, and I instinctively pull her closer.
“Hey, buddy. Why don’t you just move along? The lady obviously doesn’t want to talk to you.”
Andre sneers at me, and I smirk back. If he were a cartoon, smoke would be coming out of his ears.
“I can talk to my wife any way I—”
“Your wife?” I cut in, moving Kendra behind me now. “Isn’t Kendra yourex-wife? Or are you talking about yourfuturewife, Julie? Where is she, by the way?”
Andre opens his mouth, but I interrupt before he can respond.
“I think,” I start, my smirk turning menacing, “you need to go ahead and move along before you cause a scene.”
I look around us at the surrounding guests, who are obviously eavesdropping, waiting to see what happens between Kendra’s ex and a man they think is her boyfriend. Andre looks around too.
“Move along,” I repeat, stepping into his space, “and next time Kendra’s at an event, make sure you’re not there.”
With another nervous glance at all the eyes on us, Andre backs down.
“Whatever. Enjoy my sloppy seconds,” he spits at me as he runs away like a coward. “And I do mean sloppy.”
Kendra gasps at his cold words. Or maybe from my fingers digging into her hip, trying desperately not to punch him. I quickly release her.
“I’m sorry if I hurt you,” I stammer, smoothing the fabric of the dress where I held her and avoiding her eyes. “Or if I overstepped with Andre.”
Her eyes are wild, and a deep flush covers her cheeks and neck.
“Take me home,” she demands. My heart sinks.
“Of course. I didn’t mean to—”
Kendra grabs my suit by the lapels and slams her lips onto mine, swallowing the rest of the sentence. The kiss is fierce and frantic…and quickly getting out of hand with a lot of eyes on us. Reluctantly, I pull away.
“Take me homenow.”
We might be making a mistake. We may even regret it tomorrow. But tonight, we’re both done fighting the inevitable.
Without hesitation, I take her hand and lead us to the exit.
Chapter twenty-one
Kendra
The ride home is interminable. With no privacy screen between the front and back seats, Damon and I are forced to sit a safe distance apart, sneaking sly glances at each other like teenagers on the way to a school dance. Niko, as astute as always, turns on soft music to fill the charged silence.
Move along before you cause a scene, Damon had said in a tone that left no room for argument. Then he’d pulled me behind him, his body primed for a fight. My pussy pulses at the memory, and I squirm in my seat.
The energy between us went from simmering to a rolling boil as soon as I spotted him in that hickory suit. It complemented my auburn dress as if we’d planned it, and molded perfectly to his frame, showcasing thick, muscular thighs and shoulders wide enough to make an action hero jealous.
