Page 32 of Redeemed (Redeemed #1)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Alexander

I t’s been a week since I picked Kennedy up from the hotel and I don’t want her to leave.

I know it’s too soon for these feelings, but there’s something about her presence that soothes me.

Since she’s been here, I’ve seen her come out of her shell and show more of her personality.

I’d like to think the attention and care I’m giving has helped with that, but she and Tori are becoming closer by the day.

While their bonding has come at the expense of my ego, it’s reassuring to see the two connect.

Kennedy was fully convinced I would reject her once she told me who her father was.

I could see it in her eyes the night I gave her the folder my team pulled.

I’ve never been more relieved that I didn’t crack that folder open.

We’ve both made decisions about how we chose to live our lives, and I believed that she deserved the chance to tell her truth.

There’s still more to learn, but I’m giving her the space to reveal what she wants when she’s comfortable enough to do so.

There’s a freedom that comes with coming clean and fully trusting a person enough to share your darkest secrets.

We showed each other our scars, and both decided to accept the past that can’t be changed.

Since that night, she moves around easier, like the pressure has been lifted from her shoulders.

No doubt there are things weighing on her mind, but the guard she had between us is slowly falling away.

I’m in the home gym for my morning workout, warming up with a set of quick jump rope combinations before my daily workout when Kennedy walks through the door. My mind was expecting to see Patrick, but I’m pleasantly surprised to find her conjured like an image from my dreams.

I continue skipping through my combos, but she pauses, leaning back into the door, no shame in her eyes as she takes in my naked torso. While her gaze is focused on my body, I pay the same respect to her. I examine her face, happy to see the scars her father left on her body have healed completely.

She’s wearing a hot pink workout set that looks illegal on her body.

I’ve hardly seen her wear colors as she tends to lean toward black, but the bright color contrasts beautifully on her brown skin.

The curves on this woman bring me to my knees.

By the time my eyes have made it back up to her face, she’s smirking at me.

I give her a full smile, halting my jumping and pulling my headphones off my ears.

“Kitten, what a surprise. Isn’t it a little early for you to be awake?”

She shrugs as she makes her way deeper into the gym, stopping when she reaches the treadmill. That view of her outfit from behind is going to get her bent over in this weight room.

“I wanted to work out some restless energy, especially since I’ve been off my game since staying with you.” She gives me a smirk.

Then she starts stretching and I know I need to turn away, but my eyes won’t allow it. She looks over to me with a wide smile while in a forward fold position, catching me drooling over her again.

I can feel the heat flush my cheeks. “If you want, I would be happy to spar with you and help you make up for slacking in the gym.”

She looks up from her stretch with an arched brow.

“You would spar with me?”

“Absolutely. I even promise to take it easy on you.” I taunt with a wink.

There’s a good chance I will regret that statement later.

Kennedy flashes me a predatory smile. She looks like she could devour me whole, and honestly, I would enjoy it.

“Let me work through my warm-up. I’ll let you know if I’m up to sparing.” The look she gives me is sinfully sexy.

My workout plan was to lift weights today, but I switch to cardio just so I can keep my eyes on her.

With her headphones in, she locks into her own world as she finishes out her stretching and hops on the treadmill.

Then, for forty-five minutes straight, she runs on the treadmill at alternating speeds—her stamina matching my own.

I can’t stop my mind from imagining what a night of marathon sex would be like with this woman.

“Okay, enough ogling me,” she says with a laugh as she slows down her machine. “I’m feeling good enough to spar.”

“Are you sure your legs can hold up after that workout?”

“Positive.” That little smirk is back, taunting me.

We both climb into the ring, and Kennedy drinks from her water before setting it to the side of the mat.

She windmills her arms, loosening up her shoulders before dipping into a fighting stance.

I simply watch as she transforms in front of my eyes to this fighter, ready to take down an opponent.

I get into my fighting stance and then we circle each other.

“There’s my kitten,” I tease, wanting to wind her up to watch her work. Kennedy immediately takes the offensive, throwing two quick slaps my way that I block easily. In return, I pull a combo that she blocks like she saw the hits coming. “That was cute.”

Before the words fully leave my mouth, she drops low, sweeping my feet from under me. I go down with a thud to the mat and she’s instantly on me, pinning my arms down.

“Which part was cute? When I blocked your hits, or when I took you to the mat?” She gives me a bright smile as she leans over me, her bodyweight fully pressing me down. Kennedy leans in closer, running her nose up the side of my face. “Mmm you feel good beneath me.”

I’m surrounded by her sweet vanilla scent. Goosebumps rise on my arm, and I feel a slight shiver move through her body. The little minx is turned on just as much as I am. I don’t want to move from this position, but I can’t help wanting the control.

I use the distraction of her body being pressed against mine to roll her over and pin her to the mat.

“I like you being on top too, but you strike me as someone who needs to relinquish some control.”

Our minds are flying down the same path as we both lean in to kiss each other. Her hips tilt up, brushing her core against my hardening length, causing us both to groan.

I slip my tongue between her lips, deepening the kiss as I feel Kennedy flex her arms, testing the hold I have on her.

Thinking of much more satisfying places my hands can go, I release her arms and move my hands down her body.

Her hands immediately go to my hair, pulling me into her as her legs spread wider.

I grind into her, and I’m rewarded with a little moan, a sound that is quickly becoming addictive.

This woman has me feeling like a teenage boy ready to explode from a few well-placed grinds of our hips.

I break away from her lips and begin kissing down her neck as one hand glides up her body.

Kennedy’s hands have left my hair to explore the dips and planes of my chest and stomach.

I have one leg pulled up over my hip, as my other hand squeezes her breast, and I feel like a king when she arches into my touch.

Behind us a throat clears, and Kennedy immediately freezes on the spot.

I know it’s Patrick without even looking.

I release her leg, allowing her to straighten it out as I look down at her with a heated gaze.

Her cheeks are flushed, whether from embarrassment or arousal, I’m not sure.

She bites her lip, holding back a smile, and all feels right in my world. I lean down and give her another kiss.

She giggles the cutest fucking sound in my world. “I don’t think Patrick will be happy with us picking up where we just left off.”

“I can kick him out, Kitten.” I place kisses on her neck, and she laughs again.

“Yeah, or you could just take it to your room,” Patrick says with a smirk as he walks by the sparring mat.

Kennedy laughs and I remove my body from hers before pulling her up and into my arms.

“I’m, uh, gonna go shower.” Her voice is adorably embarrassed.

I lean in, whispering in her ear, “I’m not finished with you. I fully plan to pick up where we left off.”

“We’ll see about that.” Kennedy gives me a devious smile before walking out of the gym.

“Down, boy.”

My head snaps over to Patrick and I watch him stack a bar with weights before he sits on the bench. He tilts his head as he looks over, studying me.

“You couldn’t have come back another time to get your work out in.”

“Nope. You know we both got shit to do today. Besides, you wouldn’t offer me the same curtesy if the roles were reversed.”

“Yeah, because it would be my sister you’d have pinned to the mat. Who wants to see that shit?”

He flips me off before pulling his headphones over his ears and starting his workout.

Patrick tends to shut down the conversation when it comes to Tori, but I can’t wait for the two of them to get through this stalemate and move forward together.

Unfortunately for me, they are both stubborn as hell, so who knows when that will be.

There’s no way I can go to my room if Kennedy is in there showering, so I move over to the weights lined up in front of the mirrors and decide to exhaust my body.