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“Don’t push your luck.” She lowers her voice, emphasizing every word.
“Tsk tsk. Friendly, remember?”
Kenzie pinches her lips together and glares at me. She moves her hand below the table and rests it on my leg. My entire body heats at the simple gesture, but I pretend it doesn’t. Instead, her gaze intently focuses on my mouth.
Just as I’m about to speak, she slides it up farther, causing me to jump. I quickly reach for her hand, but she digs her nails in harder.
“Friendly enough?” she mutters.
The corner of my lips tilts up as my cock jerks. “Any friendlier, and I’ll be tempted to take you against the wall.”
Her fingers brush along my erection. She twists away but not before I notice her flushed cheeks.
“Can I walk you out?” I ask before she gets up. “As a friend, of course.”
Kenzie’s body freezes before she slides out of her chair. “Sure. I need all the practice not killing you I can get.”
Her unamused tone causes me to chuckle. She tries so hard to keep me at a distance, but I see the way her body reacts to mine—goose bumps along her skin, hardened nipples when I’m close, and hitched breathing. It’s not unnoticed, even if she tries to act unfazed.
After I clear my plate, we walk out, and I try to think of something to say, but she beats me to it.
“I need a favor,” she blurts when we make it to her SUV.
She faces me with tense features as if she hates asking for help.
“Sure. What’s up?”
“I’m planning a harvest festival charity event at the school next month, and I could really use an extra hand. I’m gonna need some of the ranch hands’ participation, and it’d be nice if I had help organizing some things,” she explains.
“Alright, shouldn’t be too hard to wrangle the guys. What do you need exactly?”
“Can you meet me at the school on Saturday at nine? I’ll give you a tour and show you exactly what I’m thinking. It’ll be easier than just telling you.”
“Sure, that shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll be there.”
Hopefully, Diesel will let me take a break for a bit, but it should be fine as long as I can make up my work. Even though getting up earlier or staying later sounds terrible, I can’t deny that spending time with her would be one-hundred-percent worth it.
“Great, thanks,” she says in a voice so genuine, I’m almost caught off guard.
I reach behind her and open the door. “Have a good day at work. I’ll see you tomorrow morning for another training session of being friendly.”
Kenzie climbs into her SUV. “And I’ll practice biting my tongue. No promises, though.”
Grinning, I say, “Wouldn’t expect anything less from you, sweetheart.”
After Kenzie leaves, I drive to the cattle barn, where my mind floods with thoughts of her. The more I think about her, the more inappropriate positions I dream about putting her in. I’ve always been attracted to Kenzie but knew I didn’t have a chance in hell. Since our truce agreement, I think I might actually be getting through her hard exterior.
“So when is your bachelor date with Kenzie?” Diesel asks as we walk through the barn.
“Next weekend,” I answer. “But we’re hanging out this Saturday.” Then I explain how she needs help and how I need a few hours off that morning.
“First y’all are eatin’ together, and now you’re planning events?” He cocks a brow. “Sounds a little sus.”
“It’s not. We’re just…being friends.” I purposely leave out the part about her going to my family reunion. As soon as I bring it up, there’ll be questions I don’t want to answer right now.
“Mm-hmm. I’ve heard that before.” He eyes me cautiously. “What’s really goin’ on between you two?”
“As I said, we formed a truce. She won me at the auction, and I won’t get her back for filling my truck with cow shit. What she had coming would’ve been ten times worse, which is why she agreed.”
“And let me guess, now that she’s not threatening to murder you in your sleep, you think you have a shot, right?” He chuckles at his own comment before I can respond. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Kenzie with a guy, not even when they hit on her relentlessly at the bar when she worked there. In fact, I figured men weren’t her preference.”
I burst out with amused laughter. “Maybe not her only preference, but when she was tying me up and straddling my hips, she was aroused as fuck. For whatever reason, she’s holding back…and I’m determined to find out why.”
Diesel shakes his head with a hesitant smirk. “After Rowan gave me the run around for years, I can confidently say it’s in the Bishop's genes not to take shit from anyone. They don’t need anyone to take care of them, but when they decide you’re it for them? You feel like The Chosen One. So if you think Kenzie really does have feelings for you, don’t let her slip away, man. She’ll make you work for it, that’s a given, but your persistence will pay off. If she didn’t like you, she wouldn’t even bother getting even or wasting her time on you.”
