Where the Sun Hides (Seasons of Betrayal #1)

by Bethany-Kris

  Violet had been with men before—not a lot, as far as that went. More times than she cared to count, her beauty had been praised as an asset she should be proud of. It had never been admired—she had never been treated—like it was something that a man was proud to have.

  And it stunned her.

  The way Kaz watched her, his fingers sweeping her skin and exploring like they were, stunned her.

  “You’re doing it again,” she heard him say.

  Violet fell from her thoughts with a bang. “Doing what?”

  “Overthinking.”

  She didn’t think so.

  Not this time.

  Slowly, like he meant for her to feel every press and caress of his fingers, they came closer to the junction of her thighs until his knuckles grazed her center. She jerked at the light touch, feeling the shock it caused begin to spread from her sex to her middle.

  Heat pool when he stepped closer, fitting between her legs, and stroking her again.

  More the second time.

  Harder.

  Closer.

  Violet’s thoughts slipped away when two of his fingers glided over her slit, sinking into her pussy without him saying a single word. Her responding cry came out high and broken.

  Because fuck … he curled them on the first thrust and she couldn’t breathe.

  Kaz’s white teeth flashed in a sinful grin as he watched her, knowing. “There …”

  “Yeah.”

  Measured, but fast enough to make her shake, his fingers worked her sex. Violet’s mouth went dry as the sounds crawled from her throat without her permission. Her fingers curled against the counter, her nails biting into her palms. She was hot under his touch, mindless, and it was wonderful.

  “So wet,” he told her, bending down so that their noses touched and his lips swept hers as he spoke. “Tight and wet around me, Violet. Jesus.”

  She still couldn’t fucking breathe.

  “Oh, my God.”

  “Give it to me,” he demanded.

  His words came out clipped and dark—rough like his fingers that were digging into her inner thigh. That bite of pain was enough of a shock to make her gasp in a lungful of air.

  “Come on,” he urged.

  His fingers stroked faster, harder. Then his thumb flicked up, driving into her clit as his digits curled on the next thrust.

  Violet shattered. She was gone in a flash—suspended in a moment where she couldn’t feel anything at all, and she couldn’t hear the words Kaz was saying. Sensation started to hit, and it started from her center and swiftly worked its way through the rest of her body.

  Like a live wire, her nerves snapped from the intensity.

  “Kaz …”

  “Just like that,” he said. His voice was dark and heady in her ear as he kissed the spot under her ear. “My name, just like that, Violet.”

  She panted, letting her fingers uncurl from their tight fists. They literally ached from how hard she had pressed them into the counter. Tilting her head back to the mirror, she reveled in his soft lips as they moved over her neck with ghosts of kisses. Every so often, his tongue would strike out and taste her for just a second before his teeth nipped at the same spot.

  But it calmed her.

  Even as that heat started to build again, and his fingers left her body, a fire burned.

  Bright.

  Hot.

  So dangerous.

  Kaz Markovic could quickly become a complication for Violet. One she didn’t need.

  Like a fucking addiction she couldn’t kick, swimming through her veins.

  He might already be one.

  Violet admired the sight of the small wave rushing up on the beach from the floor-to-ceiling windows inside Kaz’s bedroom. Not a second after he had yanked her off the counter in the bathroom, a phone had started ringing somewhere outside of his bedroom, and after a quick internal struggle as to whether or not he was going to answer, he’d deposited her on his bed with a quick “Stay”, as though there was anywhere else she would rather be as he left to answer.

  She hadn’t followed his instruction, not really, choosing to go over to the windows and look out, wanting to see whatever he saw when he stood in the same spot.

  Stories had been told to her of Little Odessa, but from what she could see, it wasn’t anything like those. It was beautiful at night, the stars glinting off the water, waves crashing into the sand. Lights lit up the buildings outside of Kaz’s apartment, making her eyes stretch across the sprawling buildings, going on as far as the eye could see.

  No, Little Odessa was nothing like she had been told, but neither was Kaz.

  Pressing her hand against the glass, she leaned closer, looking everywhere she could, at least until she saw Kaz’s reflection suddenly walking toward her through it. She didn’t turn to look at him however, merely enjoyed the view.

  “Do you like what you see?” He asked, a rough hand sliding along her hip and around to rest on her stomach.

  “Yeah.” But not as much as she enjoyed the sight of him. There was no need to tell him that, though—his ego didn’t need it.

  She could see people walking along the boardwalk, some even on the beach despite the hour. For a moment, she wondered whether if they looked up, would they be able to see them standing there in front of the windows—her mostly naked, besides his shirt he had given her before leaving the room, and him in his pants.

  And even as the thought crossed her mind, she still didn’t move.

  “They could see you,” he said like he was reading her mind. “If the lights were on in here.”

  Violet raised a brow, musing over the people enjoying their evening. “Huh.”

  She shivered as Kaz’s hand slid lower, his fingertips tapping a gentle beat against her pubic bone.

  “I thought I told you to stay put,” he said in her ear.

  “And I didn’t.”

  Kaz stepped closer, his chest molding to Violet’s back. Again, his fingers danced lower until the tips were brushing the spot just above her clit.

  Teasing, she knew.

  “But since they can’t see me,” she started to say, grinning, “I think I like it here.”

  Kaz hummed a deep, lovely melody that rocked Violet straight from her toes to her fingertips. And all the fucking spots in between. When his hand tangled in the hair at the nape of her neck, she tilted her head as he tugged lightly. His lips grazed the back of her neck, peppering the side of her throat and the part of her shoulder where his shirt had fallen down with kisses.

  Violet let out a soft sigh.

  “I was right, you know,” he told her.

  “About what?”

  “You do taste sweet elsewhere.”

  Violet laughed, feeling out of air already. “You’re too good at this.”

  “Hmm,” he replied, the sound vibrating against her pulse point, “Only if the effort is worth it.”

  She met his gaze in the reflection of the glass. “Was it?”

  “You tell me.”

  Violet opened her mouth to respond, but the words melted into a quiet moan when his hand dipped between her thighs. Softer, and less insistent than on the bathroom counter, he stroked her pussy until she was shaking and gasping, but not quite on the edge where she might find that sweet bliss again. No, he took his time, like he wanted to learn her body with just his fingers alone, and hear all her sounds as he did.

  Dark and husky whispers crawled over her skin, his words soaking through her nervous system like a drug.

  So soft and Like that, yes?

  Dirtier and harsher when her legs began to shake and her hands found the glass, wanting purchase on something.

  Ride my fingers and Fucking come, Violet.

  She did … all over again. It wasn’t as fast and unrelenting as that first time. It built up slower, clawed through her deeper, and she felt every single second of it.

  Violet barely heard the rustle of clothing behind her as she desperately tried to come back down
from yet another high. It was only the crackle of foil that made her turn around. Kaz, condom in hand, was just stepping out of his pants, and shoving his black boxer-briefs down at the same time.

  A sound—some crazy cross between a squeak and a groan—died on her lips when his gaze snapped up and landed on her. She couldn’t help but look down again, finding his hand circling his erection and palming the length with slow strokes. Even in the dimness of the bedroom, she could still see the thick vein on the underside of his cock pulse with each tug.

  It made her throat tight.

  Her stomach clenched.

  “Yes,” she said as he took a step forward.

  Kaz chuckled. “I didn’t ask anything.”

  “You were going to. Yes, I like what I see.”

  The sexiest grin bloomed on his face, reminding Violet yet again that regardless of who Kaz was, he was still just a man underneath it all.

  A man that, right then, wanted her.

  A man she wanted.

  What was so wrong with that?

  Violet’s back met the cold glass of the window as Kaz stepped out of his boxer-briefs. She stayed silent and still, thoroughly enjoying the sight of him naked.

  Because he was a sight—something to admire.

  Kaz make quick work of tearing the foil packet open, and sliding the latex condom down his length. All the while, his eyes never left her. She was still stuck watching his hand closing back around his shaft, and the way his thumb swept the head of his cock every time he came to the tip.

  His hard body pressed to her softer figure, and she swore she could feel his heartbeat thrumming with the pulse in his shaft as it rested against her skin.

  Violet blew out a slow breath when Kaz’s hand caught her under the chin, and urged her face upward.

  “If you like it here—the window—we can stay right here,” he said.

  She nodded.

  At that point, she didn’t think she was capable of much else.

  Violet straightened a little when Kaz’s free hand slid along the small of her back, down over her ass, and then grabbed firmly to her thigh. He bent down a little, just enough to hold onto her, and lift her up effortlessly. Like earlier, it seemed she weighed nothing to him. Her legs tightened around his hips, holding him there. Her one hand found his shoulder, while the fingers of her other wrapped into the hair at the nape of his neck. His mouth replaced his hand on her chin as he kissed up her jaw, across her cheek, and then nipped at her bottom lip.

  Between her thighs, his cock slid against her pussy with every movement, spreading her silky wetness through her folds and rubbing along her clit.

  “Breathe,” she heard him whisper along the seam of her lips.

  Violet took that breath when he demanded it, feeling his free hand slide between their bodies. It was just the movement of his hand, the slight shift of his hips, and he was there …

  His length pressing against her entrance, the thick width filling her full as her body stretched open to take him in. There was no resistance when he flexed his hips again, and she was filled entirely.

  Too full, even.

  But it was fucking glorious.

  Even the slight sting from him entering her as fast as he did was quickly replaced with a deep, burrowing need digging its way through her bloodstream.

  She heard his sharp exhale muffled into her ear.

  Time stopped—just like that.

  A heavy relief, not quite as cloying as her release had been, but no less intense, settled into her bones at just the feeling of him inside her, her walls flexing and fluttering around his cock with each jostle of their bodies.

  “Shit,” he breathed.

  Violet’s fingers tightened in his hair. His forehead hit her shoulder a second before his cock was withdrawing from her sex, and then slamming right back in again. Her shoulders hit the glass—hard.

  Over and over.

  Each thrust drove her closer to the precipice again.

  His teeth embedded into her shoulder while a shudder racked over his entire back.

  Violet arched into his rhythm, wanting his fingers squeezing her even harder, his bite stinging her even sharper, and his cock fucking her even deeper.

  She wanted all of that, but she couldn’t get the words out to voice it.

  The only sounds she made where a mixture of moans and whimpers that matched his thrusts. Apparently, she didn’t have to say anything, because he just knew.

  Like he always seemed to.

  His fingers on her thigh dug in, pushing her legs open more and making her muscles burn. On the next thrust, he took her hard enough for it to hurt, but in the best fucking way.

  “Oh,” she mumbled.

  Kaz’s hand left her waist and slid from her stomach up to her throat. Violet gulped hard as his fingers curled around her throat, and he finally lifted his head.

  Gray eyes found her green ones. His jaw, tight and hard, ticked under her palm. She thought he was beautiful like this—more so than any other time. A little raw, maybe. Wild, even.

  Colored dark around his edges as he chased a high with her.

  So beautiful.

  “Harder,” Violet told him.

  Kaz bared his teeth, his grimace mixed heavily with pleasure. “Come and I will.”

  “I want it harder.”

  “Come,” he growled.

  Violet whined, feeling his fingertips bite into her throat a little rougher than before. Her lips parted with a high cry, his name following right behind. That seemed to do the trick for Kaz, before he leaned close enough to lick her jaw before his teeth embedded into the same spot.

  She came.

  So hard.

  Violet didn’t even feel the cold glass leave her back as Kaz pulled her away from the window.

  But her knees felt the messy bedsheets when he tossed her onto it. He wasn’t done with her it seemed.

  Not even close.

  Deft, calloused fingers danced over Violet’s naked side, tracing the curve in her waist, skipping down along her hip, and then back to the small of her spine. She shivered, holding back giggles at the slight tickling sensation running over her skin.

  “Stop moving,” she heard muttered above her.

  Violet tried not to squirm, but as Kaz’s fingertips grazed over the crease of her knee, she couldn’t help but move.

  “You make a terrible bedfellow what with all your jittering and giggling,” he said.

  “Stop tickling me.”

  “Not tickling. Learning.”

  Violet pressed her lips together, amused and confused at the same time. “Learning?”

  “You,” Kaz said, his voice thick with sleep. “I’m learning you.”

  Oh.

  She hadn’t expected him to say that. Suddenly, the exploration of his fingers on her skin as they laid close to one another under sheets in the dark didn’t feel quite the same as it had. The ticklish sensations gave way to a much more contented, deep-thrumming need with every slide and caress of his fingers.

  She stopped moving.

  Her giggles ceased.

  Tilting her head up, Violet found Kaz with his eyes closed and a lax, lazy smile curving his lips upwards at the edge. He looked so relaxed, like there was no other place he wanted to be right then.

  “Better,” he whispered. “Sleep.”

  Violet knew it would probably be a good idea to go home right then, and not wait until morning when she was more likely to be caught in Little Odessa—never mind with Kaz. But strangely, she didn’t want to say a thing, and she really didn’t want to move an inch. She liked the feeling of his arm resting over her side, his fingers grazing her skin, and the comforting familiarity that was seeping into her consciousness the longer she spent time with Kaz.

  Somehow, a simple hookup had turned into them tangled up close to one another in his bed, and what should have been over as quickly as it started, was looking like it would end up continuing well into the morning.

  Violet still didn�
�t care.

  She let his wandering fingers soothe her to sleep.

  Violet liked the sun. It was hot and bright and pretty. Her father liked to say that she was a lot like the sun—lighting up people’s days. She didn’t understand what he meant.

  He also said she asked a lot of questions.

  She didn’t think she asked a lot of questions.

  When the sun was out, she could play all day and never get cold, wet, or sad. She couldn’t be sad when the sun was high and shining down.

  Lifting her head up and closing her eyes, Violet felt the sun warm her cheeks. She knew it wouldn’t be very long before the cold came, because the leaves were already turning different colors.

  Reds. Browns. Yellows. Oranges.

  All sorts of colors.

  But as quickly as the sun had peeked out from behind the clouds, it was gone. The wind picked up, cooling her warm face.

  Sighing, Violet opened her eyes again.

  She glanced over at her new friend—Kaz, he said.

  Kazimir.

  He didn’t like Kazimir.

  He liked Kaz.

  His glasses hid his eyes, but she knew he was watching her, waiting.

  “Well?” he asked.

  “It’s gone again.”

  “But didn’t you see it before it went?”

  Violet kicked her white sneakers to and fro, rocking the bench she was sitting on with Kaz. “Nope.”

  Kaz laughed. “You’re supposed to be watching, Violet.”

  “Can’t you try?”

  “No,” Kaz said.

  “Because your eyes hurt, right?”

  Kaz nodded. “A lot.”

  Violet frowned. “Will they always hurt?”

  “I hope not,” he muttered.

  Violet glanced around the quiet place. She really didn’t understand what it was, but she remembered being at a place like this once a few months ago when her Grandmama got sick, went to sleep, and didn’t wake back up. They put her Grandmama in a big, shiny black box with latches and bars on the side, and then put her in the ground. Lots of people came and they cried.

  She hadn’t seen her Grandmama since, and her Grandpapa was always sad now.