“What’s wrong?” His eyes tightened, assessing me from head to toe. “Are your feet burning? Need me to carry you?” His lips twitched with a smug smirk. “I don’t mind carting you into the jungle. However, I can’t promise you won’t be fucked at some point along the way.” He ducked, nuzzling his nose into my neck and biting me gently. “It’s almost impossible to walk beside you and not press you against a palm tree to sink inside you.” Gathering me against his body, he pressed his erection against my belly. “I’m in fucking torture, Jinx. Last time I was this hard, you’d snuck elixir into my drink. This time…it’s because you’ve gifted me your heart.”
I shivered as he licked his way up my throat, tasting the salt on my skin and drinking up my tattered sigh. “Why did you tell me to stop?” he murmured, his tongue tracing my collarbone.
My core clenched. No underwear meant the wetness he conjured mingled with our already shared pleasure, making the insides of my thighs sticky. I really wanted to swim. I needed to be clean. So we could repeat everything all over again.
My mind went blank as he squeezed my breast, fingering my nipple and biting hard on the crux of my shoulder and neck.
“I…” I swallowed hard, doing my best to wrangle my sex-scattered thoughts into some sort of orderly fashion.
Sully pulled away, his eyebrows tugged low, searching my face as if the reason I’d pulled him to a halt was a bad one. That I’d woken up from whatever fugue he’d put me in and expected me to admit this was wrong. To announce that he wasn’t the man I wanted, after all.
The mix of fear and fury in his eyes punctured my heart.
Swooping up on my toes, I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him. Hard. Our lips bruised and tongues instantly sought each other’s.
Mouths open, DNA exchanged, slippery and sexy with hunger.
He groaned, crushing me in his arms as our kiss deepened until I forgot about the need to swim and begged for him to pluck me from my feet and do what he’d threatened: to push me against a tree and fuck me.
“Christ, Eleanor.” He growled as I dropped my hand and fisted his straining erection. He quaked in my hold, his hips shooting forward, pressing more of his hardness into my control.
He wasn’t lying.
He felt like a piece of scorching steel.
His mouth captured mine again, faster and deeper, determined to kill me with lust.
I pumped him all while his hand skated down my belly and cupped me through my dress. My body instantly reacted. My clit swollen and needy. My inner muscles desperate to come again.
All it would take was to spread my legs and unzip him.
But…he’d already taken me on a pathway. He’d had me on my knees and on my back and screaming out for mercy. Elixir had been the primary driving force for our first violent sexscapades.
But this afternoon…I wanted more.
Dropping my hand from his cock, I gently pushed his touch away from my pussy and plastered myself against him. My arms linked tight around his waist while I pressed my cheek over his heart and listened to the rampant chugging of his pulse.
He froze.
His back stiffened and muscles locked. “What are you—”
“I’m hugging you.” I squeezed him harder. “I stopped you because I wanted to hug you.”
He remained unyielding in my hold.
It took forever.
A painful forever that spoke so much of his past that he didn’t relax straight away. His body continued to hum with power that could switch to violence at any moment, almost as if a hug always came with consequences he had no strength to face.
Finally, a heart-breaking groan slipped from his lips as his spine went lax and his arms wrapped around me, squeezing me so damn tight.
He kissed the top of my head, all while squashing me into him. A hug that ought to be soft and sensual vibrated with savage severity. He hugged me as if I’d vanish at any moment.
My bones ached as we stayed clinging to each other, hidden by foliage and ferns, feeling things so awfully intense it crippled us from the inside out.
I’d never felt this way.
Ever.
About anyone.
I’d never been borderline tears just because he was alive. Never jealous of fictitious events that would take him away from me. Never afraid of losing this priceless treasure of togetherness.
The soft flutter of feathers announced we were no longer alone.
Pika landed on Sully’s head, and Skittles took up position on my shoulder. Two winged creatures who seemed unsurprised that we’d morphed into one person.
Sully chuckled in my ear as Pika squeaked and fossicked around in Sully’s strands. Skittles had more decorum, giving us space to finish our hug in relative peace.
Sully was the one to break our brutal connection. With a rough cough, he cleared his throat and pulled away from me. Our hands linked once again, neither of us wanting to cease total contact.
Laughing under his breath, Sully went cross-eyed looking at Pika as the green fiend hung upside down from his hair, nipping and chirping at Sully’s nose. “Fuck, you’re a rascal.” He laughed again as Pika continued his rumbustious chatter, almost as if he was jealous and scolded his master, demanding equal attention.
Sharing Sully with other people made me envious. Sharing him with Pika made me swoon.
“He’s very possessive of you,” I said, laughing as Pika pecked Sully’s forehead before scrambling his way back on top of his head.
“He always has been.” Sully grinned. “But he’s worse now that I’ve fallen for you.”
I reached to stroke Pika’s tiny cheek. The little parrot eyeballed my fingers as if contemplating biting me or accepting my olive branch. “I won’t take him from you, Pika.”
He squawked.
Sully murmured, “Don’t lie to him, Jinx. He’s a flying lie detector.”
“I’m not lying.” I dropped my hand. “I would never take you from him.”
“You already did.”
“No.” I shook my head. “I’m happy to share.”
“I’m not.” Sully ducked and kissed me. “You’re all mine, Eleanor Grace.”
“I think Skittles might have something to say about that.” I blushed as my own adoptee twittered like a disgruntled neighbour offended by displays of public affection.
I scratched under her chin, still awed by the soft plumage of her outer feathers compared to the stiff quills beneath.
Sully’s expression darkened a little. “She was my downfall. Watching her trust you. Watching her choose you over anyone.” He shrugged. “I didn’t stand a goddamn chance after that.”
I blushed again as Skittles tweeted softly, scooting her feathered warm body against my neck and puffing up in contentment. “I’m just lucky.”
“No.” Sully placed his knuckles under my chin, forcing me to look up. “She’s just a good judge of character.”
Electricity crackled. Power ignited. No matter how many times we touched or kissed or fucked, the raw velocity between us never faded. If anything…it grew stronger each time. So strong my entire body tingled with micro-lightning bolts.
Dropping his hand, he pulled me into a walk. “Come on. Let’s go for a swim.”
I fell into step with him, smiling. “We’re going to Nirvana, aren’t we?”
He nodded. “The one place where I can guarantee we’ll be alone.” Throwing me a sly smirk, he added, “We need somewhere no one will hear us because if you think I’ve had my fill of you, Jinx, you’re sadly fucking mistaken.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
SHE WAS PUT ON this planet to fucking torture me to death.
Karma’s plan to destroy me breath by breath, orgasm by orgasm.
“Get in the goddamn water, Jinx.” I stood on the pebbly bottom of my waterfall. Fresh, cool liquid lapped around my thighs. Every instinct told me to dive under. To rinse away the stress, the sweat, the mix of Euphoria oil that had smeared from Eleanor to me while we’d fucke
d on the floor of the VR room.
But I couldn’t.
Not yet.
Not until she obeyed me.
The humidity levels were unbearable today, even while walking the distance here, shirtless with just my suit trousers on, I’d begged for refreshing water to lower my body temperature.
I didn’t know if I ran hotter because of her.
That’s a lie.
I knew that was why.
I mean…fucking look at her.
She stood on the shore, absolutely fucking naked. She’d slipped her dress off when I’d yanked off my trousers and walked bare assed into the crystal blue pool at the bottom of Nirvana. The white noise of water tumbling from the moss-covered rocks drowned out any hint that anyone else lived on my shores.
It was just me and her.
Alone.
Tiny rainbows danced in the pockets of sunlight, catching droplets and waterfall spritz. Jewelled dragonflies darted around my legs, snacking on microscopic bugs disrupted by my wading. An iridescent purple kingfisher sat on the flax bush, eyeing up the dragonflies.
A circle of life where predator and prey lived in paradise.
I’d become a predator if Eleanor didn’t get into the goddamn water.
I was rock fucking hard.
My balls ached to release. My stomach couldn’t stop clenching. My heart thundered in tune to the heavy waterfall.
I fisted myself, groaning loudly. “You’ve got two seconds to get your ass in here. Otherwise, I’m coming to get you, and I won’t be gentle.”
Her grey eyes flashed as my voice tugged her forward. A leash of words, imprisoning us together with the promise of what would happen the moment she joined me in the pool.
“I saw a Komodo dragon slip in there when you passed out after elixir.” She shuddered. “It was giant, Sully.”
“It also has shark-like teeth with venom that can kill a person within hours of a bite.” I pinched the tip of my cock, staving off the rampaging lust in my blood. “Get in the water, Jinx.”
She backed up. “You expect me to swim after telling me that? Swim with something that can kill me?”
“It won’t kill you.”
“How do you know?”
I rolled my eyes, doing my best not to laugh. I understood her fear. It stemmed from a biological need to manage risk. However, she should know me enough by now to understand that when it came to animals…they weren’t what they seemed.
I had an agreement with them.
A binding contract that they entered into when I welcomed them on my shores. It took a hell of a lot of strength, but I stopped playing with myself and held out my hand. “There isn’t just one dragon that lives around this waterfall. There are four…that I know of. There might be more now if they’ve paired up and bred.”
She blanched, scowling at my open hand, waiting for her to take it. “That’s not helping.”
I softened my tone. “Each one is well fed. They never go hungry. The two I rescued are disabled…not that that prevents them from anything. One is missing a leg, the other half a tail. Both hurt by fishing trawlers just off my coast. The other two are wild but have learned through the other’s actions that I am off-limits. That you are off-limits. That it makes no sense to attack the hand that feeds them.”
I strode through the water, wincing as my cock throbbed with each step. “The only danger you’re in, Eleanor, is from me. I can promise they won’t bite and maul you, but I can’t say the same for me.”
Water splashed around my legs as I climbed onto the shore and snatched her around the middle. Not giving her any warning, I scooped her off her feet and into my arms, bridal style. Her breasts jiggled as she clung to my shoulders. Her sticky flesh was a fucking aphrodisiac to my already out of control desire.
Holding her tight, I sought her lips and kissed her. I held nothing back. I bit her bottom lip; I stuck my tongue in her mouth. I plunged inside her, wishing it was my cock and not just my tongue.
She moaned, swept away by my urgent need for her, completely oblivious as I waded back into the waterfall and sank beneath the surface.
Her mouth opened wide as water crashed over our heads, submerging us mid-kiss. I held her tight as she squirmed for air, keeping her in the quiet serenity of liquid for another swipe of my tongue, sharing oxygen, life, lust.
Pushing off from the bottom, I held her head above the water, laughing as she swatted hair from her eyes and spluttered dramatically.
“You’re acting as if I drowned you.”
She glowered. “A little warning would’ve been nice.”
“I did give you warning.” I kissed the tip of her nose. “I told you to get your ass in the water. Otherwise—”
“You’re a pain in my ass.” She slapped my chest, sending water splashing. Her lips twitched, fighting off a smile.
I laughed harder, relishing in the freedom such a sound brought. Despite my shock that I was capable of such a thing, I was still uncomfortable with the sickly sweet sensation of happiness gushing through my veins.
Instinct told me to run from it. That within the sparkling brightness of joy, I would find the worst pain I’d ever been subjected to. But the other part of me…the risk taker and suicidal idiot just begging for a mate said fuck it.
I wanted to laugh.
I wanted to be free.
I want her and I’m fucking keeping her.
“I can be a pain in your ass.” I smirked. “Or…I can give you pleasure…depending on what you deserve.”
“I deserve a vow in writing that a damn Komodo dragon isn’t about to nibble on my toes.”
“They’re pretty delicious-looking toes.”
“Oh, please don’t tell me you have a foot fetish.”
“I have a you fetish.”
She blushed. “I think I broke you. I don’t recognise this Sully.”
“That’s ’cause you killed the old one.” I nuzzled her wet hair. “It’s okay, though. He was a cunt anyway.”
“Yet I fell in love with him, despite his cunty behaviour.”
“You poor, unfortunate soul.”
“Yep.” She nodded sagely. “I’m doomed.”
“Doomed for life.”
“Purgatory with a beast.”
“A beast who will nibble on your toes.” I laughed, drowning in this newfound sarcasm between us. Sarcasm not dripping in peril and foreboding but light-hearted fun.
Shit.
I’m…having fun.
My smile fell at the wonder of it. My laughter stopped at the shock of it.
I never thought I’d be happy.
That I could switch from the blackness of my everyday world and somehow find so much light just because of her.
All playfulness and teasing bled out of me, leaving the quaking need to fill her. To plunge my body into hers and never fucking let her go.
She gasped as I opened my arms, relinquishing her to the water’s embrace. “Come with me.” I struck off into a crawl, slicing through the refreshing coolness, heading directly toward the splashing, crashing waterfall.
I didn’t look back.
She’d follow.
She had to.
Her refusal would be unthinkable at this point.
My hard-on made it difficult to swim, the gush of water taunting me to find a different kind of wetness. A wetness I’d find the moment I fucked Eleanor.
Snatching a quick breath, I duck-dived under the heavy pound of water, buffeted by the torrent of currents and eddies, kicking my way to the small cave hidden behind the falls.
Breaking the surface, I swam to the small rock ledge about half a metre underwater and waited for her.
She didn’t disappoint me.
Her head popped up a few moments later, the shape of her face highlighted thanks to wet hair plastered to her sun-kissed shoulders. Her eyes seemed bigger, her lashes thicker, her lips redder. I couldn’t tell anymore if she was the most stunning human alive or a true immortal goddess sent to slay me.
She already had my heart in her keeping. If anything happened to her, it would kill me through sheer rules of biology. I couldn’t survive without a heart. I would die.
She can’t ever leave.
I would do whatever it took to provide her with every wish and desire, so that she never asked for her freedom. Because if I granted her her freedom, it would be like locking me in a cage all over again.
I can’t do it.
Not now she’d shown me what was possible between us.
I didn’t speak as she swam toward me, her small hands landing on my thighs under the water, keeping her in place from the swirling water around us.
My eyes snapped shut as her fingers trailed up my legs, wrapping around my cock with no pretence or shyness. Just like I knew she belonged to me, she knew I belonged to her.
There were no games, no lies.
My cock was hers.
She could touch it whenever she goddamn wanted. She could have it any way she wanted. Just like her pussy was mine.
Wrapping my fingers over hers on my erection, making her squeeze me painfully tight, I growled, “Are you wet?”
Her eyes flashed. “Is that a trick question?”
“I need to know if I’m going to hurt you. Has the swim washed away—”
“I’m wet, Sully.” Her cheeks pinked. “I’m always wet around you.”
“In that case.” Shoving her away from me, I slipped off the ledge and pressed her belly against it. The second her fingernails dug into the slippery stone, I spread her legs and slotted myself behind her. “I’m going to fuck you now.”
I speared up, ruthless and true with my aim.
She screamed as I filled her in one slick impale.
The waterfall swallowed her cry, keeping us hidden, granting us privacy to be whatever we wanted.
Gripping her by the nape, I thrust into her. My legs kicked with power, driving her belly up and onto the rock. Her body lay prone on an unmovable surface, holding her firm for my taking.
She screamed again as I didn’t hold back.
I drove every inch into her. My balls pressed against her clit. My weight pressed her flat onto the rock. There’d been time for playfulness and now…this was sobriety to that drunken joy. A grave reminder that I needed both.
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