Tamed by Stacey Kennedy Page A

about it—she had no answers to give. She had never felt unsure in her steps, where nothing made sense. Her personal life was falling apart. Her memories were returning to haunt her. Her professional life was even more disconcerting. And she wasn’t safe, not in any part of her life, and the biggest danger of all was that Porter was hunting her heart.
    —
    Porter inhaled the hot evening air and fastened the strap holding the paintballs around his waist. The theme tonight at the paintball field was the zombie apocalypse. Their team was made up of himself, Dmitri, Aidan, Kyler, Sawyer, and Miles. Located at the base of the mountains, the field on the desert floor was spread out like training grounds for the military. Sandbags were placed along the dirt floor, with fences and small buildings to provide shelter. They had all pitched in money to rent the facility tonight for Kyler’s bachelor party, and they planned to go for beers later.
    Though Porter’s mind was off zombies and completely focused on Kenzie. He’d never met a more difficult woman in his life. He’d never thought of himself as the forceful type, but the flickers of annoyance rushing like hot lava through his veins were making him wonder if that’s exactly what he needed to be. But that was just his pride talking. His heart wanted Kenzie to share because she wanted to, not because he gave her no other choice.
    He fastened his vest as Dmitri asked, “Everything all right? You’re quiet.”
    Porter had mixed feelings about sharing what had happened with Kenzie, yet he also didn’t think he had much choice. The frightened state he’d seen her in still remained heavy on his mind. “It’s Kenzie.”
    Aidan settled in beside Dmitri. “Is she giving you a hard time as always?”
    “Actually, not exactly,” Porter replied.
    Dmitri and Aidan stopped doing up their vests and looked at Porter in surprise. Dmitri finally asked, “What’s the problem, then?”
    If only Kenzie was being her classic bratty self, then everything would be fine. But she was being the exact opposite. It was fucking with his head. Porter hadn’t expected to get so wrapped up in her, yet he’d also never seen that beautiful side of her. The side he felt compelled to protect. “I’m pretty sure she’s in trouble.”
    “What kind of trouble?” Sawyer asked, stepping in next to Aidan. “Emotional?”
    Porter hesitated, considered, and then shrugged. “I’m certain there is some of that, but this is something else. I think she might be in some type of danger.”
    “I can’t imagine a bookstore owner being in danger,” Kyler said, siding up to Sawyer, holding his paintball gun in his hand. “Why do think that?”
    Porter did up the other strap of his vest. “I went to her book shop yesterday and found her completely scared shitless.”
    Surprise lighted Aidan’s eyes. “A scared Kenzie certainly doesn’t sound like her.” He cocked his head, curiosity drifting across his features. “I wonder if that’s why Kenzie has asked to stay at our place tonight.”
    “She has?” Porter asked, alarmed.
    Aidan gave a quick nod. “Cora texted me a couple minutes ago to say that she wanted to warn me that it was very likely a drunk Kenzie was coming home with her tonight.”
    Concern rushed through Porter’s mind, but what he noticed most was the hot jealousy that Kenzie hadn’t wanted to stay with him, which was ridiculous thinking, he knew that. It also confirmed to him that something was terribly wrong with her. The only reason she wouldn’t stay at her house was if she’d been threatened there. “I’ll keep an eye on it,” he said to the group. “If anything develops, I’ll let you know.”
    “Please do,” Kyler replied, resting the barrel of the gun on the ground. “Those girls are ours to protect, aren’t they?”
    “Nah,” Porter said, without really thinking about it. “That girl is mine to protect.”
    Stunned faces met his, and Porter realized in that