Compromising Kessen (Vandenbrook #1)(54)

Kessen’s teeth were chattering. “It’s for interrupting every single time we—”

Nick stood his ground. “Every single time you what, Kessen? I’m curious.”

“Ahhhh! Just show us how to get down!”

“After you,” Nick said, holding his hands out in front of him. Kessen, head held high—bless her heart—nearly tripped, she was so eager to make her way down the mountain.

Christian followed, all the while trying to contemplate ways he could steal the camera in Duncan’s hand without breaking anything of importance on his friend’s body.





Chapter Twenty-Three


Kessen was shaken, and it wasn’t because she had spent the last two hours climbing a death rock. No, it was because every time she was in Christian’s infuriating presence, she felt like her body was a live wire.

They had no restraint.

Not that either of them was doing a particularly good job of trying to restrain themselves. It was unnerving to know how much power he had over her and vice versa. Granted, it would be nice to have such passion in a marriage, but what happened when passion was no longer enough? What happened when Kessen was stuck in a marriage where she feared she would be the only one in love?

She mocked women in books who complained about unrequited love, but now that it was staring her in the face, it was the most terrifying thing she had ever experienced. How did one recover from the fact that for the rest of their lives they would be in a one-ended relationship where the other party cared nothing for your heart, only for your body?

In Christian’s defense, he hadn’t actually said as much. But then again, it was impossible and painfully embarrassing to ask someone if they loved you after only knowing them a few days. She let her thoughts frustrate her as she walked along the path.

What took her two hours to climb, took her ten minutes to walk, making her more and more convinced that Nick and Duncan needed to be shot.

By the time she reached the house, she had pulled ahead of the rest of the group. She ran upstairs to shower and get changed. It was too much to ask of her to even put on nice clothes, especially since the ball would be the following night, so she put on her pink sweats and went into the dining room.

Christian was already sitting at the table with hot coffee waiting for her. He had it in front of him though; she could tell by the smell it was strong.

She wanted it, possibly more than she had wanted Christian earlier, which was saying something. She had never felt more passionate in her life than when he was holding her in the small pool.

“Ah, so you’ve seen the peace offering.” His eyes crinkled into a smile. He was beautiful and obviously tired, since he was wearing a warm-up outfit. Lucky for him, he still looked like a Greek god.

“Where are Nick and Duncan?” she asked suspiciously, looking around the room. “I’m half expecting them to pop out of the corner with that stupid video camera.”

Christian chuckled. “Oh, I sent them on an errand.”

“An errand?” she asked raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, it will be quite a while before they return. It’s possible it will take all night.”

She sat down, leaning in towards his face. “What did you do?”

The corners of his mouth broke out into a large grin. “Oh, I just told them you forgot your dress back in town, and they needed to fetch it along with matching shoes, a purse, and a new swimsuit.”

“Oh, that’s all then?”

“I bet even your metro-sexual friend will struggle with that tall of an order.”

“Ah yes, Nick does have issues with shopping, though it pains him to admit it considering he adores fashion. He can’t help that he’s colorblind.” She shrugged thoughtfully.

“Or that he and Duncan both forgot their wallets.” Christian held up two leather wallets and shrugged. “They’ll have to go to the bank, and it closes in exactly one hour. They will just barely miss it. Naturally, they’ll need to spend the night.”

Kessen couldn’t help but laugh. “I really like you right now.”

He winked.

It’s possible she nearly fell out of her chair. The man could be charming when he put his mind to it.

“So,” he said, scooting the coffee closer to her. “They still have the trivia game set up. I thought you and I could cook some dinner and spend some time together.”

Kessen felt more excited than a girl her age should feel about spending a night indoors rather than out on the town. “It sounds perfect.”

Christian suddenly seemed nervous, “Kessen, I—”

“Here we go again,” she muttered under her breath. He had a tendency to stutter when he got serious.

“Excuse me?” he said, amused.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t think you could hear me. It’s just your speech usually takes a hit whenever you try to have serious talks with me.”

Christian looked embarrassed. “It’s not something I’m proud of.”

“I don’t recall saying you should be proud,” she clarified.

“Fair enough.” He looked wounded. “It’s just I feel bad. I honestly don’t know what’s wrong with me.” He put his hand over her mouth. “And you’re crazy if you think I’m going to stop there and leave it wide open for you to insult me.”