Dmitri exchanged a long look with Aidan and then asked, “Now, why would you have to pay that amount of money to keep her safe?”
Porter knew this was not any of their business, but he also knew that sometimes a Dom needed to lean on his friends, as he had told Kenzie to lean on others, too. Porter pressed his back against the mirror and gave them the rundown on what had happened with Kenzie and her store.
By the time he finished, Dmitri was on his feet, his eyes blazing. “Is this all settled now?”
Porter nodded. “It is.”
“What’s the trouble, then?” Aidan asked. “Go to her and make her yours. Simple.”
“I suppose for some it would be that simple, but Kenzie is not a simple woman,” Porter retorted, feeling weighed down. “If I push the issue, will that only push her away? It’s taken a month for me to gain her trust. I don’t want to go and fuck it up.”
Dmitri sighed and said, “Kenzie is one of the strongest submissives I know. You can’t and won’t break her, but when playing with matters of the heart, I understand your hesitation.” He rubbed his chin and then began to smile. “Though that doesn’t mean you can’t test the waters to see where her emotions lay, so to speak.”
“By that you mean?” Porter asked.
Dmitri’s smile became dark and calculating. “You started out with a test; perhaps you finish with one.”
—
Kenzie had spent the morning grocery shopping and visiting her bookstore for a few minutes when Cora called and said she was dropping by for a visit. She’d arrived fifteen minutes later, and Kenzie had set to making them both tea. Once she finished, she headed into her living room as Cora dropped down onto the couch.
Kenzie joined her, offering Cora her mug, and after Cora took a sip, she said, “Okay, girl, we’re going to talk. I’m going to tell it to you straight, and don’t get all huffy at me. I know you don’t like talking about anything, but the time to shoot the shit is now. If you don’t want to talk, say nothing and just listen. All right?”
Kenzie studied Cora, never having seen her seem so serious. It spiked her curiosity. “Okay.” Then she took a sip of her tea.
“Do you love Porter?”
Kenzie nearly spit out her tea, not expecting this conversation. Cora had dated Porter, so it was beyond weird. “Umm…that is a complicated discussion. One I’m not sure I should be having with you.”
“Of course you should be talking about it with me,” Cora said, a little gruffly. “I know Porter better than anyone, and he is, and always has been, a close friend.”
Kenzie knew all of that was true and that there weren’t romantic feelings between Porter and Cora anymore. Still, Kenzie wasn’t even sure she had an answer to give. “It’s confusing.”
“I think it’s pretty clear-cut.” Cora’s eyes narrowed in focus. “Listen, I know you have stuff going on with you. I know that there is something that has happened in your past that makes you hurt. And I know that being with Porter has eased some of that pain. He makes you smile. He makes you light up. When he touches you we all can see how it affects you.” She placed her mug on the coffee table and leaned in closer. “The past is the past, and you need to leave it there. You need to see what is standing right in front of you. Life is too short to be so blinded by pain. Wishing and wanting for a different beginning.”
Cora never beat around the bush, and Kenzie always appreciated that about her. Kenzie figured that was some of Cora’s schooling as a social worker that made her so aware. Maybe the fact that Cora did know Porter so well eased Kenzie some. If anyone understood the power that Porter had, Cora was one of them. She took another sip of her tea and then admitted, “It worries me what he could do to me if things don’t work out between us.”
“Scared is fine, but no one got anywhere being scared all the time,” Cora retorted with a gentle voice. “You’re an amazing woman, so strong, so funny, and so spunky. We all love you and like those traits in you. If we didn’t, you wouldn’t be in our circle of friends. But it’s time for you to be happy and to stop punishing yourself for things you can’t control.”
Kenzie knew that was true; God, did she know that. She admitted a truth to Cora she hadn’t admitted to anyone but Porter. “I’m trying, okay. All of this with him hasn’t been easy for me, but I’m taking baby steps forward.”
Cora shook her head. “That’s not good enough. It’s time to take the final leap of faith and land into the arms of the one man who would do anything to protect you.”
So much awareness lay in Cora’s eyes that it made suspicion rush through Kenzie. “How can you be so sure he truly cares for me? That if I open myself up to him it will all work out?”
“I can’t tell you that it will work out, but that is where faith comes in. If you never allow yourself to just go for it, you’ll never know what is waiting for you on that other side.” Cora drew in a long, deep breath. “As for his feelings for you, I think I know more than you do about that.” Her expression darkened, shame reflecting in her features. “I’m going to break a promise that I made to Aidan. I hope you realize the cost to me by doing this, and I would ask that you keep this between us, but I think this is something you need to hear.”
Kenzie shifted on the couch, unease creeping through her. “Of course, it’ll stay between us. What is it?”
Cora turned sideways, facing Kenzie. “Porter talked to Aidan and Dmitri this afternoon at the tattoo parlor.”
“About what?”
“You.”
Kenzie swallowed, twining her hands in her lap, unsure if she wanted to know the answer. But she realized she couldn’t stay in the dark. “What did he say?”
“You know those pictures that saved your store?” Kenzie nodded at Cora, surprised that Cora even knew about that, but her shock only intensified when Cora added, “Porter paid half a million dollars to get them.”