Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 104869 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 350(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104869 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 350(@300wpm)
Kenna ignored the baby’s hair pulling and appeared to be in the middle of an earnest conversation with Clara.
To Smith’s delight, she picked up a little plastic teacup and took a sip and then winced and lift a hand to fan her tongue. Clara went off into gales of laughter and then exaggeratedly showed Kenna how to blow over the cup to cool down the imaginary tea. He had never seen her around small children before, but had always assumed she would be awkward as hell. Instead, she appeared to be genuinely enjoying herself.
She looked up unexpectedly, a smile on her face, laughter in her eyes, and caught him watching. Her smile transformed into a naughty grin and then she shocked the hell out of him when she playfully crossed her eyes, sucked in her cheeks, and puckered her lips.
Smith couldn’t contain a sharp, surprised chuckle, and then had to beat back bitter disappointment when Piper wriggled in her arms and distracted her from him.
Seeing her like this, so relaxed, clearly happy, enjoying every moment without reservation or trace of self-consciousness, was immensely gratifying. And it only brought home how truly tense, sad, likely depressed, and closed-off she’d been during their marriage.
Yes, Kenna wasn’t all sunshine and laughter all the time, and Smith was realistic enough to know that the quiet reserve would always be a huge part of her personality. She would need moments of introspection, moments when she’d rather be alone with her thoughts.
But there was also this side of her. The side she showed only when she felt comfortable and safe. Smith decided it was his job to ensure that she always felt free to be herself.
Reticent, uncommunicative, withdrawn, goofy, sweet, warm, adorable, and absolutely perfect Kenna.
Every part of her was singular and beautiful and Smith wouldn’t have her any other way.
“Those potatoes aren’t going to peel themselves, Smith,” Harris’s unwelcome voice intruded right in his ear and Smith whipped his head around to pin his friend with a dark stare.
Harris grinned unrepentantly and shoved the loathsome potato peeler into Smith’s hand.
“Back to work, bud.”
Chapter
Twenty-Three
“I can’t believe this,” Kenny moaned, burying her face in Smith’s chest as they lay in bed together later that night. They were watching yet another reaction video to their kiss.
Some unknown woman in a beanie, with a septum piercing and a teardrop tattoo below her eye, swooned dramatically when Smith swooped Kenny up into his arms.
Smith had rather nervously told Kenny about the so-called “kiss cam” footage after an intensely satisfying lovemaking session.
Alarmed but nowhere near as upset as Smith appeared to be, Kenny had insisted he show her.
The original clip had spawned countless copies, many of them stupid reaction videos like this one. There were people rhapsodizing about how romantic it was, others who were irrationally pissed off about the fact that Smith had picked her up—something about normalizing the insidious and chronic infantilization of women in mainstream entertainment today. One inexplicably angry man had ranted about everything being AI these days. He very helpfully circled the “clearly fake” portions of the video in bright red.
Most unsettling were the comments. People demanding to know who they were. Where they were. How they knew each other. Wanting to know every detail of their lives and relationship. It was a little terrifying how something like this made people feel like they somehow owned a piece of another person.
They’d been identified very quickly, which was to be expected when they were both from prominent families. A concerned Smith had vowed to speak with Sam Brand in the morning about security. Just in case.
Kenny wasn’t particularly concerned about her safety. She’d lived in a security bubble for most of her life. Publicity wasn’t anything new to her.
She didn’t really care that their kiss had been made so very public. She was mostly fascinated at the uproar that their very private moment had created.
But one thing did bother her…
“Oh my God,” she whispered, aghast. “Millions of people have seen my nipples, Smith! Why didn’t you tell me that dress was so transparent?”
Her lament brought a rumbling chuckle from him and his arms tightened around her.
“Honestly? I was enjoying the view too much myself,” he admitted, then surprised her by clamping his mouth over one of said nipples, scraping his teeth over the hardening nub before soothing the sting with the flat of his tongue.
She gasped, then moaned.
He lifted his head, to stare down at the wet, erect peak of her breast, practically oozing self-satisfaction.
He lay his head down on her breast, his mouth so close to her nipple, she could feel his warm breath washing over the sensitive skin.
She idly ran her fingers through his thick mane of hair as she continued to scroll through the outrageous reaction posts to their kiss.
Seeing the kiss itself was revelatory. So much hunger, desire, pain, yearning and heat in one embrace. She could see why it had instantly appealed to so many people. If it had been a couple of random strangers, Kenny would have envied their passion and the very evident depth of feeling they appeared to share for each other.