Compromising Kessen (28 page)

Nick saw he was out of options and screamed at the top of his lungs, “Abandon ship!”

Everyone in the yard perked up and began running into the house, leaving Duncan, still in his police uniform, and Nick out in the yard with Christian.

Duncan walked by Christian and dropped a map into his hands. “Have fun,” he said, and high-fived Nick as they walked back into the house and locked the doors.

Christian swore.

Then he looked at the map and swore again.

It had Kessen’s name on an X and a starting point of the yard with Christian’s name on it. He was going to kill them. He was going to rip their heads off. But not before he found Kessen. In fact, he was so pleased Kessen hadn’t been kidnapped after all, he started running in the direction of the tiny tree house cottage.

He ran the entire way and stopped at the base of the tree, clueless as to how to save her. Did he barge in? Was he supposed to call for her? Did she know it was a trick? Was she afraid?

He took a deep breath and climbed the ladder to the door.

****

Kessen thought she heard footsteps, but she couldn’t be sure. For precautionary reasons, she grabbed the closest thing to a weapon she could find, which was a small gardening shovel that had been left in the cottage.

She gathered it into her still-tied hands and waited. The sound of her own breathing was her only comfort. In and out she breathed until she saw the doorknob twist. Before she had time to think about who was behind the door, she threw the shovel, hitting the person square in the stomach.

It was Christian.

Did he kidnap her?

He was howling in pain. “Why’d you do that?”

“I was scared!” she cried in outrage. “You didn’t have to be so creepy, turning the doorknob as slow as you did!”

“I was trying to be quiet, in case you were sleeping!” he screamed.

“Sleeping? After being kidnapped! I think not!” She kicked in his general direction just to show how angry she was, but did nothing but lift dust off the floor.

He scooted towards her and began untying her wrists.

“I think it was Duncan and Nick.” Her teeth were clenched. They felt so tight with stress she thought they might fall out from being held so firmly against her jaw.

“It was them, and I have proof,” Christian mumbled. “I have no idea why they thought this was a good prank. I was nearly out of my mind with worry.”

Kessen pushed Christian’s hands away and settled into the corner. “Just leave me alone.” She swore at him. It hurt too much to know he was worried about her, to know he cared even a little, when he was to be with another woman.

“No!” he barked.

“Excuse me?”

“I said no, I’m not leaving you alone. Not now—not ever. Now get up!” He was standing over her.

“No!”

“Please?” His voice was still gruff, but she relented. She did want to get out of this place, if only so she could go and murder the two men who had put her in this mess.

Kessen pushed up onto wobbly legs then promptly swooned, for the first time in her life, into Christian’s strong arms.

In her mind she was screaming, trying to push away, but he held her tight against his chest.

“No,” he said softly.

She was still fighting when she heard more noise outside.

The door flew open, revealing Duncan and Nick with huge grins on their faces.

“Oh look! You’ve found Kessen!” Nick said, as if he had no idea where she had been the entire time.

“Kessen, how wonderful that Christian has saved you!” Duncan said, patting Christian on the back. “He must love you very much. You must marry at once!”

Kessen felt a tear slide down her cheek as she shook the memory of the previous night away from her consciousness. He didn’t love her; he would have said as much or at least tried to fight off Jenifer, or paid her off for that matter.

Nick nudged Duncan, who pushed Christian, who got down on one knee in front of Kessen and smiled. “I do.”

“You do what?” Kessen asked, still sniffling.

“I love you.” The words didn’t seem real—the moment didn’t seem real. Was he being serious? She looked into his piercing eyes and smiled.

“And if you don’t believe him, watch this!” Nick opened up a small video camera and showed Kessen what had taken place over the last few hours.

“What’s this?” she asked curiously.

Christian rolled his eyes. “Oh, just the fake press conference for your pretend kidnapping, where I made a very real speech about how I feel.”

He stopped talking as the video played.

His face said it all in the video. Even if he hadn’t said it with his words, his face had said it.

“You love me!” Kessen yelled, a little too loud for such a crowded space. Duncan swore and covered his ears with his hands.

“Um, Kessen?” Nick whispered. “How do you feel about Christian now that he has declared his love?”

Kessen beamed. “He’s okay.”

Christian’s eyes widened into saucers while Duncan and Nick roared with laughter.

Kessen reached up to Christian’s face and pulled him into a long-awaited kiss. The only sound in her ears now was that of Nick and Duncan making gagging noises as they watched the free show.

Christian and Kessen walked hand-in-hand back to the house, both constantly stealing glances at one another as if stunned that this was now their reality.

They reached the house within a few minutes. Kessen outwardly groaned when she smelled the food. Apparently the Newberry employees were having a barbecue at their boss’s house. How nice.

It wasn’t until a few hours later that Kessen was able to be alone with Christian. He cornered her in the hallway as she was coming out of her room. There was no turning back.

“Where are you off to?” he asked, closing the distance between them with rapid speed.

Kessen gulped. “I was going to go downstairs.”

“To do what?”

Kessen thought about lying, then realized Christian could help her. Smiling sweetly, she touched his arm. “I was just going to find some paintball guns and do a bit of—hunting.”

“Hunting?” His eyebrows lifted in interest. “And what, dear girl, would you be hunting at this time of night?”

“Men.”

“Two of them?”

“Exactly two, no more, no less.” She leaned in towards his face. “You in?”

“They won’t know what hit them.” He grabbed her hand, and they were off.

It took less than ten minutes to locate weapons and less than five for them to put on enough camouflage to be able to hide in the brush outside.

They told Lady Newberry their plan. She was so excited to be involved she asked to help. It was simple; all they needed was for Duncan and Nick to be led out towards the garden where they would be sitting ducks.

Lady Newberry obliged; she told them to sit tight and went off on her way.

Kessen shifted uncomfortably on the grass while Christian moved next to her. They waited for about five minutes before they heard the boys approaching.

“All I’m saying, Lady Newberry, is it was a brilliant plan!” Nick threw his hands into the air. “We almost pulled it off.”

“You should be a screenwriter or an author or something,” Duncan said seriously. They shook hands as to congratulate one another and walked right in front of where Christian and Kessen were waiting.

Lady Newberry suddenly gasped. “Oh dear, I forgot my glasses. Will you two just wait for me right there? I do love to look at the garden in the evening! Especially with two attractive young gentlemen.” She winked and shuffled off.

Nick laughed.

Duncan snorted, “She meant me, not you.”

“Are you saying I’m not as attractive as you are?” Nick sounded shocked.

“I think any woman would think so.” Duncan pushed Nick back a little.

Nick laughed loudly. “Please. This coming from a man who can’t even drink coffee!”

“Oh, so it’s about tea and coffee again?” Duncan pushed him again. “Is that the only argument you have?”

“It’s the only argument there is! Coffee prevents cancer!”

“Tea has more antioxidants!” Duncan yelled.

Nick kicked dirt into the air. “Tea ruins people’s teeth way more than coffee does!”

Christian chuckled beside Kessen then whispered, “How long should we let this go on?”

Kessen pushed her lips together to keep from laughing. “Now seems like a good time, don’t you think?”

Christian nodded his head. “Brilliant.”

Kessen counted. “Okay, ready in one, two, three, go!”

They shot up from the ground and began pounding paintballs out as if it was their job to destroy their enemy.

Surges of yelps and swear words resounded throughout the yard as Duncan and Nick ran back into the house. Kessen and Christian had successfully pelted their legs and stomachs at point-blank range.

Laughing, Kessen grabbed Christian’s hand and pulled him to the ground again, just in case Nick and Duncan found guns and decided to fight them like men.

Christian appeared to trip and rather than land next to Kessen he landed on top of her, but braced himself above her so he wouldn’t crush her.

“Was that on purpose?” she asked breathlessly.

He leaned in, “What do you think?”

“I think your moves need work, my lord.”

Christian moved closer until his lips were only an inch from hers. “Practice does make perfect, my lady.”

To this day they still argue over who went in for the kiss first.

Kessen sighed as Christian claimed her mouth with his own. She felt the pressure of his tongue as it slid into her mouth and teased her mercilessly until she was without any logical thought.

She twisted so she could get on top of him and began tugging at his clothes. He seemed just as eager to remove any barriers from between their bodies, as he began tearing at hers with equal force and vigor.

Unfortunately, in all their excitement they had forgotten they were still outside. That is, until Lady Newberry walked up and gasped.

“Do you know,” she said, putting her hands on her hips, “I have caught you two in some of the most compromising situations I have ever seen?”

Kessen froze. Christian hid behind her head while she mouthed traitor to him.

Lady Newberry groaned. “It’s a good thing you’re getting married this weekend, a darn good thing.” And she walked off.

“Maybe we should…” Christian started to say.

“Yeah, we should go inside before…” Kessen was also without words.

“Before I destroy you!” A voice boomed behind the tree. They both turned to see Duncan with a helmet, two paintball guns and at least four sets of clothing on.

“Run!” Christian yelled, pulling Kessen to her feet. Frantically they grabbed their outer clothes and made a beeline for the house.

Kessen, remembering she merely needed to run faster than Christian, tried to open the back door. It was locked. She watched as Christian, arms over his head, shouted for her to run to the front of the house. They split up, each going around one side on their own.

When they reached the front of the house cameras began flashing.

“And here we have the happy couple now.”

“We are so glad to have the wedding in just a day here at the Vandenbrook country home,” the duke said excitedly.

Kessen froze in her tracks and sent a searing glance towards Christian.

He appeared to be swearing as he put on his coat and smoothed his hair. Lucky for them, it appeared they were being chased, not rolling around in the grass, mauling each other without a care for propriety.

What looked like a lot of media personnel ended up being only one news channel. The only one allowed to cover the wedding.

The next three hours consisted of tireless questions and lots of walking. The crew wanted to be shown everything. The bridal gown, the location, the flowers.

It was enough to give Kessen the sudden urge to elope.

After her little tryst with Christian in the grass, elopement was sounding better and better idea by the second. She hardly noticed when, after giving the news team a tour of the garden, he walked by and slipped a folded note in her hand.

Tonight, ten.
My room.
Don‘t let anyone see you.

She could hardly hide her smile, which threatened to take over her face.

Ten couldn't come fast enough. By the time the clock had struck a quarter till ten, Kessen gave up and promptly knocked on Christian’s door.

No answer.

She knocked again, this time a bit louder.

She looked down the hall to see if anyone was coming, just as the door swung open and Christian pulled her in.

“Lock it,” she said breathlessly, but his hand was already turning the latch.

Moaning her name, he carried her to the fireplace and set her on a large blanket. Next to the blanket was a plate of chocolate-covered fruit and champagne. Next to the champagne was the book he had started reading to her the night before. Tonight they weren't going to chance any interruptions.

He lowered the lights in his room and motioned for her to scoot closer to him. She scooted, but apparently not fast enough for him. In one giant swoop, he gathered her off the floor and placed her in his lap; his arms went around her as he began alternating between massaging and kissing her neck.

“I'm getting you out of this,” he grumbled, tugging at her sweatshirt.

Either she was done trying or her morals had gone straight out the window, because rather than fight him about being proper, Kessen fully compromised herself by lifting her hands so he could slip it off her easier.

“I'm not going to seduce you,” he whispered huskily into her ear. “Yet.”

Her toes tingled with delight.

“But,” he said, “I'm going to continue with this wooing business if it kills me. “ He slipped the sweatshirt effortlessly from her and stared at her athletic form. She had nothing but a tank top and shorts on, making her feel naked and exposed sitting there.

He began expertly running his fingers across her shoulders in smooth motions. His hands ran down her arms slowly as if to savor every moment his hands were touching her skin. Kessen watched, afraid any noise might break the spell.

Christian wasn't even watching her face; he was too focused on her arms, legs, and every part of her that screamed for his attention. He kissed down her arm to the sensitive part inside her wrist. She shuddered with delight as he brought her other wrist to his lips and caressed it with his tongue.