Page 71 of Finding Kenna
He bent his head to kiss her right when the elevator dinged to let them know they’d arrived on his floor. “Later,” he muttered, more to himself than to her.
Kenna couldn’t get the smile off her face. She loved surprising this man. She didn’t think it happened very often.
He kept his arm around her shoulders as they walked down the hall toward his condo. He placed his palm on a bio-reader next to his door, and she shook her head in disbelief. “Really?” she asked.
“Yup,” he said. “It’s easier than having a key, especially when I go on missions. I don’t have to worry about losing or misplacing it.”
“You take your keys on a mission?” she asked, her brows shooting up in surprise.
He laughed. “No way. They stay back at the office.”
“Whew. I was just imagining some terrorist in the wilds of a desert somewhere finding a Jeep key in the sand and wondering how the hell it got there.”
Marshall grinned. “Exactly. Give me your hand.”
She did without hesitation. Kenna had a feeling she’d do whatever this man said without thinking about it.
He pushed a series of buttons on the bio-reader, then pressed her palm to the screen. “There, now you can get in whenever you come over.”
Blinking in surprise, Kenna stared at him. “Did you basically just give me a key to your place?”
Marshall shrugged. “Are you gonna come over and rob me?”
“No.”
“Then, yes.” Marshall turned to open his door, and Kenna did her best to get her reactions under control.
This man was nothing at all like she thought he’d be when she first hung out with him on the beach at Duke’s. He was so much…more.
Marshall led the way into his condo, and Kenna closed the door behind her. Her eyes widened as she took in her surroundings.
The place was so incredible, she didn’t know where to look first. From the kitchen—which had beautiful white cabinets, concrete countertops, and a refrigerator that was double the size of hers—to the bamboo floors, to the extremely comfortable—and expensive—looking couches and the huge TV…it was all overwhelming.
But she could also see Marshall’s touches here and there. This was no showroom. She saw a pair of boots lying on the floor near a hallway. There were a few dirty dishes in the sink and crumbs on the countertop. A bookcase against the wall had books haphazardly placed on the shelves. A half-filled glass of water sat on a table next to one of the couches. Accent pillows were tossed casually on the furniture.
Then there were the pictures. Kenna wanted to examine all of them, as they were strewn everywhere throughout the living area. He’d even enlarged and framed the picture of himself and his team that he’d shown her on the base, which hung on a wall near the television.
The place was fancy, yes. And expensive. But it looked lived in. Comfortable. Which made Kenna feel much more relaxed.
While she was looking around, Marshall had walked over to a wall to her left. He pulled the curtains back—and Kenna could only stare in disbelief at the view he’d exposed. She walked as if in a trance toward the balcony. She knew Marshall was grinning like a boy with his hand in a cookie jar, but she ignored him. He opened the door for her, and she walked outside.
There was a breeze blowing in from the ocean and it made her hair ripple as she gripped the railing. There were a few lounge chairs on the balcony, along with a table and six chairs. The space was huge, but Kenna turned her attention back to the ocean in front of her.
She felt Marshall come up behind her. He put his hands on the railing on either side of hers and leaned in close.
Kenna took a minute or so to study the view. She could see the beach where they’d spent the day, the umbrellas looking tiny from this vantage point. There were sailboats out on the water, and she could even see a large cargo ship in the distance. It was absolutely beautiful, and Kenna could suddenly understand the appeal of an ocean view. If she had a view like this at her place, she’d spend all her time on her balcony enjoying it.
“It’s amazing,” she said in awe.
“This is the main reason why I stopped fighting my parents about this place. It’s pretentious and over the top, and way too fucking expensive. But this is my favorite place to hang out with my friends, or after a hard mission. You should see it when a storm moves in. It’s like you’re in the middle of it.”
“I bet.”
“You want to see the rest of the condo?” he asked.
Kenna shook her head. “Nope. I’m staying right here. I think I’m moving in and I’ll sleep and eat and do everything out on the balcony.”
She felt more than heard him chuckle against her back. “It might be hard to waitress from here.”
