Saving Kenna Read online

  “Kenna—”

  “Don’t Sloan,” she said softly, placing two fingers over my mouth. “I don’t want to hear all the halfhearted reasons you have for not making love to me, or how we can’t be together. Not today. Not on my birthday.”

  She removed her fingers, replacing them with a sweet kiss. “I know, one day, Sloan Sullivan, that we will make love. Until then I’ll wait for you.”

  “Kenna—”

  “Don’t Sloan. Don’t ruin this moment.” She shook her head. “Sit on my bed with me and share my cake. I didn’t eat much of it after dinner, but I’m in the mood now.”

  Kenna pushed off my jacket, catching it before it hit the floor. Carefully, she placed it over the chair in the corner of the room. Then, she climbed on her cherry wood sleigh bed, patting the space next to her in invitation.

  I didn’t argue. I took off my shoes and joined her on the bed. We settled ourselves, resting our backs against the headboard while we shared a piece of her decadent chocolate cake.

  Kenna fed me bite after bite, following each forkful with a sweet kiss. I watched her every bite as she put the fork in her mouth, her eyes nearly rolling back with delight.

  A bit of chocolate remained on the corner of her mouth, and I swooped in and licked it off. My tongue slipped into her mouth hungrily tasting her and the chocolate birthday cake.

  We were in a full-blown make out session by the time the cake was finished. My body thrummed with need for her, but I couldn’t take her virginity with her parents only fifty feet away. That, however, didn’t stop me from exploring every inch of her body with hands, mouth, and tongue.

  My intrepid fingers found their way down her shorts, finding her clit, and rubbing circles with my thumb. I watched her closely, reverently, as her orgasm approached. A pinkish tint washed over her body, and her heavy-lidded eyes fluttered shut as I continued to work her clit.

  This was my first time bringing her to climax and watching her reaction was both erotic and beautiful.

  Kenna’s body rode my hand as her pleasure peaked. My own body pulsed with electricity and need for her, and I couldn’t help but think what it would feel like to have my cock buried deep inside while she rode me.

  Fuck, I almost came just thinking about it. This was beyond torture to me.

  Kenna’s head fell back, and her lips parted as if to vocalize the ecstasy of her orgasm, but I stopped her, covering her mouth with mine, in a silencing kiss.

  We kissed until she came down and her body stopped quivering.

  Of all the sexual experiences of my life, this had to be the most sensual thing I had ever experienced. My cock was rock hard in need of a release that would have to wait until later when I was alone with only fantasies of Kenna to get me through.

  We laid there for a while as she recovered, her gaze glassed over from her orgasm. My hands stroked her incredible body, and as always, we drove each other mad with a desire we couldn’t quench.

  Several times, I almost gave in to what we both wanted. But I stopped, and removed that gorgeous long leg thrown over me that kept our bodies tantalizingly close.

  “Sloan, please,” she begged. “My parent’s won’t hear. They don’t wake up for anything.”

  “Greedy little thing, aren’t you? No.” I sat up and shook off my sexual stupor, engaging the right head for a change.

  The sad look in her green gaze reminded me I was a fucking wanker. If I really loved Kenna, I would let her go so she could move on. But I couldn’t help myself, and I hated my weakness.

  “Happy Birthday, M’fhíorghrá,” I said and kissed her softly. Because I couldn’t tell her how I felt, couldn’t tell her that I loved her, I called her my true love in Gaelic, praying she didn’t know what it meant.

  Her eyes shot up to mine. In them, I saw hope followed, by disappointment. She grabbed her phone and snapped another picture of us together; another memory of us to join all the others.

  “Thank you,” she said and kissed me like she couldn’t get enough of me. “I love you, Sloan.”

  “I know.” I pulled her to me and held her as she fell asleep, my hand petting her hair.

  And as quietly as I’d slipped into the house, I slipped out.

  Later that night, my phone beeped with the message I had been waiting to arrive. I opened the text to the picture of Kenna and me on her bed. The smile on her face and in her eyes made me smile too.

  Thank you for my bracelet. I love it. And thank you for the other thing too. :D

  I barked out a laugh and put my phone on the table by the bed. Once again, I fell asleep without Kenna by my side.

  Chapter Eight

  Kenna

  Present Day

  I HUDDLED TIGHTER in the corner, squeezing my knees to my chest as the commotion continued on the other side of the door. I didn’t have a clue what the hell was going on, but I had a bad feeling it didn’t bode well for me.

  Marcus hadn’t returned since my day in his room of pain. I think a day had passed, but I couldn’t be sure. Time became another enemy I didn’t have a defense against. It moved on, taking with it small increments of my life I’d never get back.

  I did my best to keep my mind occupied so I wouldn’t go crazy. Often, I let my mind fantasize about a life with Sloan when this nightmare ended.

  If it ended.

  Once or twice, a woman with ebony hair and piercing blue eyes had come in the room and seen to my wounds. By all accounts, she was one of the most beautiful women I’d ever seen, and only the nasty scar on her jawline marred her beauty. There was something familiar about her, but I couldn’t put my finger on.

  Though she never said a word to me, her touch was delicate and caring; the only brightness in my dark, dank world.

  But I hadn’t seen her recently, and even if she came in now, there was little chance she would tell me what was happening.

  I jumped when the door unlocked and flew open, causing my still-healing wounds from Marcus’ punishment to pull painfully.

  The man I now knew to be Joe Franklin—a name I knew all too well from Irelyn’s recounting the brutal story of Zolt’s injury—appeared in the door with a lusty expression in his ugly brown eyes.

  Slamming the door behind him, his fat form stalked toward me like a predator moving in for the kill. His tongue darted out, licking his chubby lips as he took in my nearly-naked body.

  I drew into myself, trying to cover up as much as possible, but the nasty, too-small T-shirt did little to cover me.

  “What’s going on?” I asked tentatively, wishing my trembling voice didn’t betray my growing fear.

  “I’m supposed to move you. Seems as though Zolt Hamil has your friend and now Marcus is pissed. Like ready-to-kill pissed.”

  Relief flooded me that Irelyn had been freed, but when I glanced into Joe’s lewd expression, all the blood drained from my face. Irelyn’s freedom had set in motion a chain of events that spelled my demise.

  “See,” he said, rubbing his crotch and making me choke on my own bile. “I figure this may be my only chance to fuck you, and I’m not going to miss it.”

  “Marcus won’t like that.” I made my voice strong and commanding.

  “Marcus won’t find out because you aren’t going to tell him.” Before I could cover my face, Joe’s fist connected with my cheek, and stars danced before my eyes.

  “You’ll keep your fucking mouth shut and do as I say. Too bad you already tried to escape, causing me to punch you, right?” He yanked me by my hair, pulling me out of the corner. “Right?”

  “Yes,” I whimpered, holding my face as tears ran down my cheeks.

  “Take off your panties and get on your knees now! This has to be fast.” Joe took a few steps back, allowing me to do as he directed. Behind me, I heard his pants unzip and fall to the floor.

  “I normally don’t fuck without a rubber, but I’m making an exception for your sweet ass,” he grunted as he positioned himself behind me.

  I pushed his words out of
my mind, knowing later I would replay them and acknowledge the implications of being raped without a condom, and what that would mean for me.

  On my hands and knees, I squeezed my eyes shut and commanded my body to relax though every fiber of my being—and the martial artist in me—demanded I fight!

  Don’t let him take what isn’t his! my mind screamed.

  But the more sane part of my brain said stay alive. Survive this and live another day. In order to do that, I needed to force myself to relax. But God, he smelled disgusting—a mix of day-old sweat and onion, or maybe garlic, and too many cigarettes. I didn’t want to puke, but I didn’t think I would be able to stop it. The only saving grace was that he was behind me and I didn’t have to see his face while he raped me.

  I bit my lip and silently whimpered as he slammed into me, grunting and groaning like a rutting beast. His fat fingers dug into the flesh of my hips as he violently ripped through and into me.

  Screams rose and died in my throat, and the metallic taste of blood flooded my mouth from biting the inside of my cheek. This was torture beyond anything I could ever imagine.

  But beyond the physical pain was the emotional, and the heartbreaking knowledge I no longer belonged to Sloan—that I would never again be just his. In this moment, I fucking hated Joe Franklin.

  My only reprieve came from within, reminding myself this was just physical, and in all the ways that really mattered I still belonged to Sloan.

  With that in mind, I found a way to survive the nightmare. I left my body and returned to the day when Sloan and I first made love, two months ago.

  “God, I love Cabo at spring break,” Irelyn said as she linked one arm with Rachel’s and her other with mine.

  I smiled at her as we strolled down the beach. It was the first time since her brother, Chris’ death I’d seen her happy. Of course, the many margaritas we’d consumed surely helped, but I liked to think she might finally be moving past her grief. Chris’ death had been beyond horrific. I couldn’t imagine how Irelyn dealt with the memories of finding him at their grandfather’s ranch, lying dead, in a pool of his own blood.

  We’d all been affected by it. Chris and I had a relationship no one knew about. He’d been the one to turn me on to Tae Kwon Do, and we’d gone to the same dojang for years. As a black belt himself, Chris had participated in my red belt testing before his death. He’d been so proud of me that day….

  Chris had always thought it funny I didn’t want my friends knowing about my love of martial arts. But like all the important things in my life, I kept it private. Maybe my clandestine relationship with Sloan colored the rest of my life. It drove my instructor, Charlie, crazy I refused to do tournaments, but I didn’t want to bring attention to myself.

  “You’re having fun, right?” Irelyn asked, squeezing my arm.

  “Yeah. You?”

  “Sure.” Her wide grin was a welcome sight.

  “Good.” I squeezed her arm back.

  As we continued down the beach, cat calls followed behind us. The two women with me were beautiful, tall, blonde, and model-like. Irelyn had the most intense brown eyes I’d ever seen, and Rachel had curves to die for.

  Me? Well, I was a tall, freckle-faced girl with hair that bordered on more red than blonde. I tended to burn and freckle more while Rachel and Irelyn turned a sexy bronze color. I looked far more Irish than Irelyn did, though we both were half. In the looks department, I was the ugly duckling, but I really didn’t care.

  Right now, what mattered was we seemed to be moving past the shadow of Chris’ death. We’d lost one of us; someone we had known all our lives. And I’d lost someone who really got me. Beside Sloan, Chris understood how private I was, and he never tried to make me different.

  While Irelyn and Rachel put up with my solitary ways, they sometimes looked at me like I had sprouted a third eye or something. Rachel, in particular, continually tried to make me more gregarious.

  At least, Irelyn understood the appeal of curling up with a good book. Rachel, on the other hand, would party every night given the chance. Luckily, Cory, her boyfriend and my brother, had tamed her some.

  But this weekend was different. We were three girls on our own, living it up in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Irelyn and Rachel had left their boyfriends behind so we could enjoy a girl’s getaway. Personally, I was happy to see Irelyn away from her boyfriend, Marcus Xavier. That man gave me the creeps, and both Rachel and I wished she would dump him. The man was as different from her as salt was from pepper. But unlike salt compliments pepper, Irelyn and Marcus just looked wrong together. He had at least ten years on her, though that wasn’t the issue. The way he treated her like she was his dog disturbed me the most.

  If Irelyn loved him, then fine, I could accept that; but she didn’t. In fact, I was fairly certain she hated him. Somehow in the midst of losing Chris, she had inherited his friend Marcus, and now she couldn’t get rid of him. Her father, Jacob had taken to Marcus for some unknown reason, and Irelyn felt trapped by their relationship.

  At least this weekend, she’d left the relationship and the gold, collar-like necklace with the diamond encrusted X at home. The damn thing only reinforced that Irelyn was more Marcus’ pet than his girlfriend.

  “So, Kenna,” Rachel began with a wicked grin on her pretty face. “There are a ton of gorgeous men to choose from. How about we find you a hot dick to finally do you? You know, time to put that bitch of a V card to rest once and for all? What do you say, girlfriend? Don’t you think it’s time?”

  I sighed and forced a smile to my face. The V card convo was inevitable especially around Rachel. Before Cory, she was unabashedly easy—almost embarrassingly so. The girl loved sex and wasn’t afraid to tell you about it. Thank God my brother had banned her from talking about their sex life when he was around, but that didn’t stop her when he wasn’t. Unfortunately, I now knew more about my brother’s sex life than any sister should.

  Regardless, I loved her and Cory together. They were good for each other. I suspected that, not too soon in the distant future, Cory would pop the question. Just thinking about it brought a smile to my face.

  “Well?” Rachel prompted, brushing her blonde waves from her face.

  “Well what? Not going to happen, Rachel,” I shrugged her off and kicked at the sand.

  There was only one man I could imagine giving my virginity to, and he wasn’t here. But holy hell, if he was, yeah, I’d give it to him without hesitation.

  Sloan. I held back the sigh that threatened to escape my lips.

  As much as we both wanted it, he always pulled away. Being patient with him sucked, but what choice did I have? This was the price of keeping his secret. In doing so, I needed to give him space no matter how much it hurt me to do so.

  God, just thinking about the way his Irish brogue caressed my name, or the way his lips felt on mine made me shiver.

  “Yo! Earth to Kenna. Where the hell did you just go? You have the most peculiar look on your face.” Rach unhooked her arm from mine and splashed water at me.

  Both Irelyn and I jumped back to avoid getting wet, though to be honest, I could use a good dousing to cool me off.

  “Nowhere,” I lied. “Just thinking about the book I read last night.”

  “Whatever bookworm.” Rach rolled her eyes. “Hey, let’s go back to the hotel, refill our margaritas, and hangout at the pool?”

  “I’m down,” Irelyn said. “Kenna?”

  “Sure.” I shrugged again. I really did care what we did as long as Rachel quit going on about my virginity.

  When we got back to the hotel, Rachel and Irelyn turned in the direction of our rooms, but I went in the direction of the gift shop in search of ibuprofen. Tequila always gave me a headache and I had forgotten to pack some.

  “Where you going?” Irelyn asked.

  “Pit stop at the gift shop. I need ibuprofen. Meet you at the pool in a bit.”

  “Sure thing,” she answered and strode off with Rachel.

&nbs
p; In the gift shop, I searched the shelves, looking for a bottle of ibuprofen. That’s when I heard the voice of the man that always made my toes curl every time he touched me.

  “Cheers, love,” he said to the cashier, then walked out of the shop.

  I popped up from behind the shelf and quickly abandoned my search to follow after him like a lost puppy.

  What the hell was Sloan doing in Cabo?

  My mind began to spin with the possibilities. There was no way this could be coincidence. Either Irelyn’s parents had paid him to come here and watch over her.

  Or…

  It was the or that made my heart race in my chest.

  Did he come here to be with me?

  I shook that thought from my head. I couldn’t let silly romantic notions cloud reality.

  With stealthy movements, I followed Sloan to his room, watching as he went inside and shut the door.

  “Holy shit,” I said under my breath. I couldn’t believe I had just been thinking about Sloan and he had appeared as if I had conjured him with my thoughts alone.

  The idea was beyond ludicrous, of course, but I smiled nonetheless.

  This was it. This was our chance to be together. I knew it like I knew lime and tequila made a mighty fine pairing.

  If I didn’t take advantage of this gift the universe had offered, I never would. Even if Sloan turned me away, I had to try.

  I dug my phone out of my bag and texted Irelyn.

  Me: Hey I, I’m not feeling so hot. Too much sun and tequila. I’m going to go back to my room and have a nap.

  I held my breath while I waited for her to respond. Thank God we weren’t all sharing a room.

  Irelyn: K. Feel better. Shall we check on you for dinner?

  Me: No. I’ll probably just order in. Have fun and don’t let Rach get too trashed.

  Irelyn: LOL. Sure thing. Let me know if you need anything. <3

  I threw my phone back in my bag, glad Irelyn understood my need for alone time and wouldn’t question my decision to stay in my room.