AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She stops and faces me. “I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself, and I’m not so foolish as to think that you and I are friends, or can ever be friends. I know what this is, Byron. I’m a puzzle, and you can’t stand not being able to solve me. The bottom line is I’m not worth solving. You’d find all of this very anticlimactic in the end,” she says with a fake laugh.
She resumes walking, and it takes a moment to catch up to her. “I understand you’re capable of taking care of yourself, but Iaminvolved now, and if you think I’m one of these new weak men you’re sadly mistaken. When I want something, I get it.” I take her arm to keep her from entering the building when we reach the front door.
“Sometimes you have to accept that the world isn’t always in the palm of your hand,” she tells me. “You don’t get to know my secrets, and you don’t get to control me. I’m not yours to manipulate.”
I’m done with words. Frustration bubbles inside me, and I know of only one way to release this tension. Before she has time to blink, I pull her into my arms with the intention of plundering her mouth. That will keep her from arguing. One hand slides behind her neck and the other around her back as I tug her close to me, demanding immediate surrender. She doesn’t disappoint.
Our mouths connect and passion ignites. This is how we communicate best. This is where the two of us should always be. My body ignites and she sighs against my lips, her carefully controlled armor slipping as she presses against me. More. I need more. A car driving past backfires, and she springs from my arms, her breathing heavy, her eyes bright with desire. Dammit!
“Let’s finish this in private,” I practically beg.
She takes another step back. “That’s not going to happen,” she whispers, and I can barely hear her above the noises of the city.
“We need this, McKenzie. Quit fighting it.” I’m not normally a man to beg, but right now I’m willing to drop to my knees if that’s what it takes to get her to come home with me.
“It doesn’t matter, Byron. I’m used to denying myself,” she says, a sad smile on her lips.
“You can only deny yourself for so long before you fade away.”
“I think I’ll take the risk,” she replies as I move toward her. But she backs up, turns toward the parking garage next to the building, and makes her escape.
I could chase her down and probably kiss her into submission long enough to get us both satisfaction, possibly on the hood of her car, but for some reason I don’t go after her. She said no. As much as I don’t want to, I need to respect that... for now.
I enter the Astor building with heavy feet. If I’m not going to get laid, I’ll work until my eyes hurt, and if that doesn’t do the trick —bad thought, bad thought— I’ll leave and beat myself up in my home gym.
I want to bed McKenzie, but surprisingly, I don’t want to destroy her anymore. Why not? It can’t possibly be because I’m growing attached to her. I refuse to attach myself to anyone. Especially to a woman who has secrets. That would be nothing but trouble.
Chapter Fourteen
Byron
I take a deep breath as I pull up to the office building where Bill Berkshire has a modest setup. The man formally retired years ago, but he needs something to do in order to keep from going insane after the death of his wife.
The old codger is a royal pain in the butt for me and my brothers because he won’t let us take care of him. The worst of it is he insists on living in a run-down house, and we have to fight him every step of the way to keep it maintained.
Bill was a friend of our grandfather, also a wonderful man, and when our parents died, Bill and Vivian were the ones to step up and take care of my brothers and me. I know for a fact the old man has at least a few million dollars sitting in his bank account from that time so long ago — money designated to him for acting as our guardian — but the man refuses to touch the cash, saying it’s tainted. He didn’t want anything coming from our parents after what those two had put us through.
As much as I love Bill, I’m not looking forward to this particular visit. Bill hasn’t told me why he’s summoned me, but I’m no fool. My damn brother must’ve called Bill and told him about McKenzie. That’s the only interpretation I can put on the stern tone Bill used when he’d demanded I come and talk with him immediately.
I could’ve said I’m a busy man and could’t come by, but I’d never do that. Bill’s one of the few souls on this earth for whom I — hell, all of us brothers — will drop everything, no questions asked. Even if that means suffering through a lecture.
Once inside the ten-story building, I head toward the elevator. I’ve been to Bill’s office many times before. But several businesses lease space in the building, and before I get far, a woman stops me.
“May I help you?” she asks, and I wonder if she’s supposed to be security.
“I’m here to see a friend,” I say as I attempt to walk past her.
“You haven’t been here in the last sixty days...” she begins, but when my intense gaze zeroes in on her, she chokes on her words.
“What does when I have or haven’t been here have to do with anything?” I ask, trying to hide my irritation. By the rounding of her eyes, it doesn’t appear that I’m doing a very good job of that.
“Um... it’s just that... we... um... have new security protocols. Everyone has to check in at the...” Her cheeks flush.
“Front desk?” I ask with as little sarcasm as I can manage.
“Yes, I’m sorry. I’m not usually so... I don’t know... at a loss for words,” she gulps, her shoulders going back as she tries to regain her composure.
“Fine. I’ll check in,” I say. I’m not happy about it, but, it’s the same at my building.
