AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He released his hand and Kenzie dropped to the ground, gasping and fighting for air to return to her lungs. The cloudiness in her eyes began to clear as she heard the door to her shop open and then close. With each harsh breath she drew in, more tears rushed down her cheeks.
“Help,” she finally wheezed.
—
Porter took the final bite of his sandwich and pulled over to the curb in front of The Book Nook. Cora had told him that Kenzie lived in the apartment above the store, and he smiled as he cut the ignition and exited the car. The small store on the corner of the brown brick building was cute. It reminded him of something he’d find in a small town, not something off the Vegas strip. Obviously the store had been there awhile, with the wood along the windowsills weathered and the hanging sign above the door that read THE BOOK NOOK in fading paint. Porter thought the bookshop had charm.
He moved quickly onto the sidewalk and reached the door with the open sign hanging in the glass window. As he opened the door, he heard the chime of a bell that you didn’t hear in stores anymore. His smile widened, as he always knew Kenzie had charm herself, but he liked that she was fond of older times. Simpler times, where buildings weren’t huge and stores weren’t overcrowded.
The dusty aroma led him inside, and his smile instantly faded. Kenzie lay in a heap on the floor. He rushed forward, seeing her long hair hiding her eyes from him. “Jesus Christ, Kenzie, what’s wrong?”
Her head snapped up, and the cold fear registering in her eyes shook him to his core. Dropping to one knee in front of her, he reached out to touch her, but she cowered away from him. Worry engulfed him, as did deep concern for her. He slowly lowered his hands, observing her intently. “Talk to me. What’s happened?”
Her eyes held his, but it was as if she was looking right through him. “Sorry…” Her voice sounded rough. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I got dizzy and had to sit down.”
“Dizzy?” He didn’t believe that for a second.
Considering her carefully, he reached out for her again, and this time she allowed him to pick her up. He gathered her in his arms and helped her onto one of the big oversized chairs in the sitting area of her store. “Is there a kitchen here?”
“At the back,” she replied with a gruff voice.
He spun on his heel and hurried into the small kitchen with white cabinets. Then he took out a glass and filled it with water before returning to her. A thousand things rushed through his mind. Nor was he blind to the fact that his muscles were tense and a primal need to keep her safe overwhelmed him. He dropped down to his knee again, offering her the glass and noting that her hands were shaking. His concern multiplied. Never. Not once since meeting her had he ever seen Kenzie rattled. “Have you been sick?” he asked.
She took a sip of the water and he noted how it sloshed against her mouth. Rattled might be an understatement. He grabbed the glass and lifted it to her lips, not liking seeing her this way. He had sensed a need to protect Kenzie, especially from herself when she was getting into trouble, but quite possibly things had changed between them.
Now he only felt a desire to remove whatever problem she had, and to do so quickly. When she drew her mouth away, she said, “I didn’t eat this morning, clearly not the smartest of things to do.”
Porter frowned, and she hastily avoided his gaze. This wasn’t a sugar low, no matter that she wanted him to believe that. He felt more of a connection to her now, and he read right through her lie. He placed the glass on the end table and then took her hand. It wasn’t only her hand shaking; he could feel the tremble all the way through her arm. “Kenzie, we’re friends, you know this, yes?”
She stared at her knees. “Of course I know that.”
“Then what’s wrong, Kitten?”
“A sugar…” He narrowed his eyes and she sighed. “I’m fine, Porter.” She pushed his hand away and stood up, moving to the counter. “Everything’s fine.”
No, it wasn’t fine. He believed that deep in his soul. And he hated this ugly distance between them. Maybe it was partly offensive how little she trusted him, when gaining a woman’s trust had never been difficult before. He’d never given them a reason to distrust him. Even with Cora, he’d been nothing but gentle and caring. He had let her walk away from him because it made her happier, even if it broke his heart at the time. Though it also spoke to whatever was going on with Kenzie that made her distrust people so intensely.
It made him want to understand her more and find out what happened to her that caused her to shut down. Perhaps he even wanted to show her how amazing it was to trust someone and know they’d never hurt you. Porter could offer her that. He’d offered it to every girlfriend and submissive he’d ever had.
Staring into her beautiful eyes, he knew deep down that he wanted that with Kenzie. Not the Kenzie that she showed to everyone else. He wanted the Kenzie that, as it seemed, she showed only him. The one who needed him. The one who melted in his arms, accepted his trust, and trusted him back.
Her eyes searched his and she drew in a long deep breath, and he saw her expression close off. Yet the spark he was becoming fond of wasn’t there. Unable to stand the distance between them, he moved closer to her, placing both hands against the counter. He
witnessed her shudder as he moved to trap her. Yet it wasn’t arousal—no, she was flinching away from him. Every alarm inside him was blaring. He closed his body to hers and raised his hand, seeing her examining it as if it would hurt her. Not anything he’d ever seen from her before.
Kenzie loved rough hands—why not now?
He tucked her soft hair behind her ear, pleased that she leaned in to his touch and her eyes fluttered. Confused by her, he said, “If you agree that we are friends, then please share what’s happened. You’re not acting like yourself.”
“I…” She hesitated, and he thought for a second her mouth would open and she’d drop all her walls. But that distance she liked to keep soon settled in. Her emotions were very much in check. “All right, something is going on, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.”
He approved of that little show of trust. Porter knew, without a doubt, before he’d played with her she never would have told him anything and would have just sassed her way out of it. Maybe they were getting somewhere. He wanted to push the matter now. Christ, he found himself wanting to get right into her soul and own it. Though until she let him, he was utterly helpless, but that didn’t mean he’d stop trying.
He sighed, running his hands up and down her arms, pleased that she was beginning to relax and no longer tremble. “If it becomes something you can’t handle, you will tell me, yes?”
She averted her eyes. “Of course.”
Lie.
