Unwanted Heat

She gets off the elevator at her floor while I ride the rest of the way alone to my apartment. When the doors open I’m greeted by silence which is no surprise. Typically Carter doesn’t come out of his apartment until closer to five and Julie not until six when we are due back from our morning run. I quickly take a shower and change into a pair of jeans and a casual shirt before heading to Kenzie’s apartment. When I approach her door, I’m immediately reminded of standing here last night when things were still a little awkward between us after her confession in the car.

I remember her looking up at me and me seeing nothing but pain in her eyes. I didn’t know what to do but once again I found myself overwhelmed with the sudden need to comfort her. She is the only person I’ve ever felt such a strong protectiveness for, well, outside of my family, of course. I didn’t know how to comfort her last night, so I did the only thing that came natural to me. I kissed her. For the first time since her nightmare, I kissed her on the lips. And it felt… it left me needing a very cold shower when I finally got back to my apartment. All I really wanted to do was take her into her apartment and fuck her senseless until she forgot everything that that bastard did to her. Thankfully I realized how that would only fuck things up royally and just end up hurting her more, which is why I walked away.

I’m surprised to find myself standing outside her door again, surprised that she invited me to breakfast and more surprised that I said yes. My response came without hesitation or thought, a rarity for me. I could have easily declined her invitation, returned to my apartment and began preparing for my day ahead. Instead, I’m once again standing outside the door to her apartment. I take a deep breath and knock on the door.

“Nicholas, come in. Breakfast is just about ready. Would you like a cup of coffee?” Kenzie greets me a few seconds later.

“Yes, thank you.”

I follow her into the kitchen area where she hands me a cup of hot coffee and encourages me to sit at the table in the dining room. I look around the apartment as this is the first time I’ve been here since she moved in. In fact, I don’t think I’ve been in here since before Alex and Ella came here. Looking around though, I realize the apartment looks exactly same as it did the last time I was here. The walls a bare except for a few landscape pictures that I had Melody order for the space in an effort to make it feel more comfortable to the employees who stayed here while they looked for a new place to live. The kitchen counters are bare, even the fridge is free of magnets or papers hanging up. It doesn’t seem like Kenzie has done very much with the space since she moved in at all.

“I hope you like blueberry pancakes,” Kenzie puts a plate of hot pancakes in front of me.

“I do, thank you.”

She takes a seat across from me with her plate and cup of coffee. We eat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before my curiosity gets the better of me.

“You know you can redecorate or paint in here if you wanted to,” I suggest.

“Nah, it’s fine just the way it is. Actually I’m starting to look for

my own place so-”

“What?” I’m really hoping I didn’t just hear her correctly.

“I… I’ve begun the process of looking for an apartment. I have a few places that I’m hoping to look at in the next couple of weeks-”

“Kenzie, if you don’t like something about this apartment-”

“No! Gosh no, Nicholas, this place is perfect!”

“Then what is it? Why do you want to move out?”

“Nicholas… this is your apartment, not mine. This move was temporary, it was never a permanent arrangement for me. I could never afford to live in a million dollar condo like this.”

Two million, but I don’t correct her.

“Kenzie, before I moved into The Accord, I looked at a number of different places. This condo has the highest level of security available; every other building you look at will fall short.”

“I don’t doubt that,” she shrugs and sighs. “The reality is I can’t afford even a studio apartment in this building, and that’s okay. I won’t be going back to where I used to live that’s for sure. I’m hoping to find a place with decent security-”

“You won’t. That’s what I’m trying to tell you; nothing you look at will compare.”

“I know that. What I find won’t be The Accord, but it will be safer than where I was before here.”

“Why do you want to move? If there is something you don’t like about this apartment we can change it-”

“Nicholas, you don’t get it,” she shakes her head as if I’m missing something obvious. “This is your apartment, not mine.”

“It’s yours for as long as you need it.”

“I needed this place after my last apartment was broken into; I can afford my own place so I no longer need this apartment.”

“Okay, need was the wrong word. This place is yours for as long as you want it, Kenzie. Stay here; the building is secure, you don’t need to worry about someone breaking in or the press bothering you and you have access to all the amenities that it has to offer.”

“For how long, Nicholas? Any way you look at it, this apartment is temporary.”

“For as long as you want to stay Kenzie! I don’t need the apartment

-”

“And what happens when you do? What happens when you hire someone who needs a place to stay while they relocate?”

“We have other condos that PFS owns, so that’s the least of my concerns. I want to keep you safe, to keep the press away from you, and here I can do that.”

“And what happens when this,” she waves her hands between us, “ends? I’ll have nowhere to go; I will have no place of my own. I’ll have to settle for whatever I can find at that moment which will probably mean I’ll end up in a hotel for a little while until I find a place. I won’t do that again. If I find my own place now, then when this ends I’ll still have my own place.”

“Is that what you’re worried about? Do you really think I would just kick you out when this arrangement ends?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugs and avoids looking at me which answers my question more than her words do. I’m completely taken back that she would think I would just kick her out when we’re done.

“Kenzie…” I sigh and run my hands through my hair, trying to figure out how to convince her that would never happen. Hell, I’d fucking give her the apartment if I thought that was what she wanted but I learned my lesson the last time I tried to offer her money.

“Look, I get it… you need something of your own; you don’t want to be completely dependent on me.”

“Yeah,” she whispers but still doesn’t look at me.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“I would hope that by now you would know me well enough to know that I wouldn’t put you on the street just because our arrangement ended; I know part of you knows that.” She attempts to interrupt but I don’t let her. “But I also know because of your past, you have doubts. What if we put together a legal contract that gives you the right to stay here if we ended things? You would have a place to stay that is safe while we’re in this arrangement together but when it ends you would have the time you needed to find a place of your own?”

“You would do that?” She finally makes eye contact with me and I immediately feel relieved.

“Of course, Kenzie. I’ll have my legal team draw up a contract that says if our relationship is ended by either party that you have the right to remain in the condo for up to six months following the termination of our relationship. I want you to be safe and here is the best security possible. The press hasn’t bothered you too much yet but that could change at any time. Will you consider staying?”

“I’ll think about it,” she agrees.

Thank God. I don’t know what I would have done if she had insisted on moving out. Short of buying her a house somewhere outside of the city, no one can offer the security that The Accord Towers has. That was the reason I choose to live here after leaving her. I knew I needed top security to ensure she couldn’t access my apartment ever again. The Accord guaranteed that. Having Kenzie here means I can guarantee the press won’t bother her but also that there is no chance of anyone from her past getting to her.

“I’ve got to get going; I have an early meeting that I need to prepare for,” I realize that my meeting starts in thirty minutes and I’m not even dressed yet for the office.

“Thank you for having breakfast with me, Nicholas.”

“Please think about what I’ve said. Can I email you the contract my legal department draws up?”

“Yes, that would be fine.”

“I’ll see you later this week?”

“Yes, for dinner.”

I lean down and kiss her softly on the cheek before leaving her apartment and heading back upstairs. When the elevator doors open, Carter immediately walks into the foyer but doesn’t say anything. I have no doubt that he knew where I was since he didn’t call my phone.

“Will you need breakfast sir?” he asks.

“No, I’ll be ready to leave in ten minutes,” I confirm.

“You may want to check your email when you have a moment.”

“Any email in particular I should focus on? I’m sure I have dozens right now.”

“From me, sir; it contains a link to something Asher found online about you this morning.”

Is Seattle’s infamous playboy single again?

It’s been more than three weeks since Nicholas Parker and

Mackenzie Rose were seen together; has their time together ended already? Did she run like all the other women in his life? Did she find out the dirty secret that he tries to hide from everyone? Once again, we have to wonder if Nicholas Parker can’t keep one woman happy, how on earth can he keep hundreds of employees and clients happy? How much longer will PFS be successful at this rate?