By the Horns

by Rachael Slate

  She ought to stop gawking at him, but they were stuck on this empty island with nothing for her to do except watch him work. Such a hardship.

  His biceps bulged, beads of glistening sweat formed like diamonds on his skin. The man was an expert with his hands. Sliding under the vessel, he went to work on the small helicopter like he’d done this a thousand times before. Methodical, thoughtful, and smooth.

  He was that way in bed. Yep, he’d—

  She groaned and jolted to her feet. Gawking at Kassian while he labored proved to be the worst of her ideas. She stripped off her clothes and stormed toward the beach. What she needed was cold water.

  A hell of a lot of cold water.

  ***

  Holy shit. One minute, Nat ogled him with desire-darkened eyes, the next, she stripped and bee-lined for the ocean.

  Hell. He stared at the wrench in his hand and tried to recall what the fuck he was going to do with it, but all he pictured was the curve of Nat’s luscious, nude ass. How was a man supposed to work in conditions like these? He slammed the wrench down on the pallet beside him and crawled out from beneath the helicopter’s belly.

  Shoving to his feet, he patted the side of the helicopter. He might have stretched the truth a tad when he’d said it would take him two days to repair it. A couple more hours would probably do the trick. He scraped his hand down his jaw. A pity the aircraft wasn’t in worse shape.

  After he grabbed some supplies from the shed, he attempted to distract himself by setting up a bed. He snorted. Because making a bed would take his mind of sleeping with Nat, right?

  Two days. He had that long to pull the truth from her. Whatever she planned, it sure as hell sounded like an endgame. She’d risked everything to sneak away. The Matchmaker might never forgive her for this. Lotus had rules, didn’t they? Disobedience would be more than frowned upon. Would Nat be punished? What would the penance be for breaking the rules? He’d bet the Matchmaker would come up with something nasty, because no one ever fucking broke her rules.

  Except Nat.

  Although, he was also at fault. A point he’d drive home. Argue, twist facts, he’d do anything for Nat. By becoming an accomplice in her schemes, he’d sealed his fate to hers.

  He exhaled, the air releasing from his chest and the burn building as his lungs protested. He seized the discomfort, using it to bring clarity to his mind, and grabbed another stack of crates.

  The consequences didn’t matter. The rest of his life. One year or one day. A single broken vow or every fucking one. From the moment she’d waltzed back into his life, his path had been set upon this course. Ox’s vision of Snake killing someone fueled his determination. If he couldn’t convince Nat to give up Snake, he’d make damn sure that future never came to pass. He’d watch over her, protect her, and stand by her side. For as long as she’d allow him to.

  He needed Nat. That had never changed and it never would. She was a light in his darkness. Even if the flame flickered from afar, the brilliance eased the abyss.

  He wiped the sweat from his forehead and assessed his project. Okay, so the bed didn’t resemble a picture from a resort brochure. No canopy with billowing white sheets or plush, colored pillows.

  Instead, it was a wooden platform constructed from four pallets with a two-inch air mattress tossed overtop. The blue sheets covering the mattress were clean, though. He’d piled six smaller crates in stacks of two along the back side to create a headboard. The palm trees’ intersecting branches overhead formed a green canopy. Sunlight peeked through the slits in the leaves.

  He shifted and focused on the beach. His gaze snagged on Nat swimming. He strode with purpose toward the shore as Nat headed in. Once her feet were planted on the bottom and she straightened, she caught sight of him. Her cocoa eyes widened and a crease formed in her forehead. She dismissed him, facing the ocean.

  He’d risked everything for her, and though she’d gotten rid of him once, she wouldn’t this time. As he trudged forward, the lapping waves slid up his feet. The water was warm against his hot skin. He waded deeper, until he was poised a few inches from Nat’s back. Her long, dark auburn hair was plastered against her skin in a sexy, swimsuit model fashion. Drops of water cascaded down her smooth skin, meandering over her curves like he craved to do.

  He stroked one droplet, his finger following its path across her shoulder and the length of her arm. She shivered and hissed.

  “Kassian,” she whispered. “This… We can’t.” Her voice sounded pained, confirming she felt everything he did.

  The misalignment of their fates. The burning desire to say screw them and be together anyway.

  “I want to be with you, Natalie.” He brushed his fingers against hers, linking them. “I’m not a fool. I get that what we have is this moment. I’d rather have this with you than nothing. Than a life full of regret.”

  “Your vows—”

  “Are just vows. I made them because they felt right. This, here with you, this feels right.” Hell, he’d made them because of Natalie. He could unmake them because of her too. He squeezed her hand and closed the distance, molding his front to her back. “I want you.” Through his shorts, the hardness of his cock pressed against her lower back. He swept her hair to the side and feathered his lips across her neck. Her skin was warm, silky, and salty from the ocean. He’d love to part her thighs and sink deep inside her, fuck her from behind until she was breathless and screaming his name.

  This was her choice too. His rock hard erection jerked in protest, royally pissed off as he kicked away from her and dove under the surf.

  He swam a few strokes underwater, enough to wash the grime and sweat off his body, and popped up. As he slicked back his hair and cleared the water from his eyes, Nat regarded him, one arm crossed over her bare breasts.

  His gaze dipped to the apex between her thighs below the surface of the water. His mouth grew dry as he recalled her taste. He placed his hands on his hips, waiting for her decision.

  She tugged the corner of her lower lip into her mouth. “I don’t want to hurt you.” Through her lowered lashes, she stared at the sparkling turquoise water.

  “I’m already hurting. I have been since the day you left. Maybe we can’t have forever, but not being with you, Natalie, that would hurt more.”

  Nat exhaled a harsh breath at Kassian’s declaration. It was as close as he would come to telling her he loved her. She got that. Whatever this was, he feared defining it because, then, they’d lose something.

  What he proposed would make them gain something.

  After she’d sent that text, he hadn’t pined for her like a lost puppy. He’d rebelled like a wild teenager, then sank into the deep brooding of a man with darkness in his past.

  The waves crested around her, causing her to bob on the balls of her feet.

  Her decision? No wavering. She glided forward. Kassian didn’t wait for her to reach him. He charged forward, swept her against him, and claimed her mouth with his. Through his shorts, the steel ridge of him ground against her belly as he molded her to his hard body. One hand splayed across her ass; one wrapped around the back of her neck. The water slicked their bodies, creating a delicious, velvety friction between them.

  She returned his heated kisses, nipped his lips, and down his strong jaw. Her hands spanned his broad shoulders, across those firm muscles she’d craved to explore. Whether right or wrong, she didn’t care.

  Being without him ached.

  Being with him burned.

  She burned.

  His hands roamed her body with a possessiveness that disputed his one-moment claim. He fisted his hand in her hair, tugging her mouth back to his.

  Oh, he might like to believe he was in control, but she was the seductress.

  She raked her nails down his back, beneath the surface of the water and over the firm curve of his ass to draw down his shorts. Bringing one hand around to his front, she freed his thick erection. He groaned into her mouth.

  She inched backward,
coaxing him into shallower water, and dropped to her knees. His erection greeted her; its silken head already begging for her tongue to trace the thick vein. She curled one hand through his treasure trail to its base, cupping and squeezing his soft sac.

  “Nat,” he grunted.

  She lifted her lashes. He regarded her, his jaw clenched as though asking her to stop and desperate for her not to.

  She’d waited far too long to taste him. To bring him pleasure the way he had her. To see how far he was willing to go.

  Because she was ready for all the way.

  She flicked her tongue and licked the seam at the head of his cock, then sucked the tip in and pulled back. The briny flavor of the ocean mingled with his masculine, decadent taste. Her right hand firmly gripped the base as she stroked him with her left. His erection was already rock solid and his cock responded to her, pulsing in her hand. She’d bring him to the brink and let him decide whether to leap over.

  As she brought him back into her mouth, he brushed her locks aside and fisted his hands in her hair.

  The way he devoured her with his intense gaze was sexy as hell. That he hadn’t been pleasured in forever made this moment much more profound. A smile tugged at her lips. Oh, yeah. She’d torment him until he exploded.

  He tilted his hips forward, demanding more of her mouth, more of her hands. By his panting grunts, she sensed he wouldn’t last much longer.

  He didn’t. “Fuck, Nat,” he hissed, his eyes sliding shut like he’d fallen deep into meditation. A tic worked his jaw as he shuddered and groaned deep. She waited for the salty taste of him to fill her mouth, but he didn’t ejaculate with his orgasm.

  Ah, he was one of those. Even out of practice, Kassian was apparently determined to follow the practice of keeping in his semen—his jīng energy—when he orgasmed. The jerking in his muscles and the throbbing of his cock stilled, but he remained hard inside her mouth, ready for round two.

  He didn’t waste a second. Kassian swept her into his powerful arms and wrapped her legs around his waist.

  He nipped at her lips and trailed a path of heated kisses across her skin. She gripped his waist with her legs; he used his free hands to cup both her breasts. Dipping his head, he caught one peaked nipple between his teeth. The gentle bite shot a jolt of pleasure through her core. She twisted her fingers into his hair at the back of his head—a silent plea for him to continue.

  He read her signals, read her body, like they’d made love a thousand times before. Usually, there was some fumbling. Slipping hands, misplaced kisses. A tickling stroke when firmer pressure was required.

  Not with Kassian. He caressed her in all the right places, in all the right ways. Like he’d read—and memorized—the manual to her body. He flicked his tongue across her nipple how she liked, clasping her breast in his large, warm hand.

  Electric, exquisite pressure built inside her, escalating with every caress of his masterful touch.

  She tossed her head back and let him have his way with her, nipping and kissing and fondling her body. Bearing her weight with ease in his strong arms, he carried her to the shore.

  Instead of setting her down on the sand, he hiked to his workbench and placed her atop the tarp-covered surface.

  He licked his fingers and maneuvered his large hand between them to the sweet spot where she craved him. His calloused thumb rubbed her clit, methodical circles that, at first, seemed too slow. She opened her mouth to complain, but the crest of her orgasm swept over her body. Crying out, she gripped her arms around his neck while her body shuddered and trembled. The ripples continued for endless minutes. Instead of being sated from her epic orgasm, she craved more.

  She moaned into his mouth between whispering his name. He responded by slipping a finger inside her.

  His shuddering groan was a wicked reward to her feminine senses. Her slick sheath clamped down on his finger and she rolled her hips, eager for more. He dipped another finger inside her and a third. She gasped at the stretching, but he had the right idea. She hadn’t had sex in a long time and, no matter how horny she was, he was big. They’d both enjoy this a lot more if he made her ready first.

  His thumb continued to massage her clit as his fingers thrust in and out. She rocked against him, matching his rhythm as he drove her to the brink of another orgasm.

  Suddenly, he withdrew his fingers and slid his hand around her neck to cradle the back of her head, leaning forward and enveloping her.

  He gazed into her eyes as he gripped his cock and grazed her opening with the tip. She opened her legs wider, fitting his massive frame in between her thighs. Urging him, welcoming him.

  He pressed the tip into her and paused. With him barely inside her, he traced the fingertips of his free hand along the side of her body.

  Everything slowed. His breaths. Hers. Time itself.

  This wouldn’t be a hard fucking that lasted two minutes. Kassian’s gaze roved over her with meticulous care, as though he memorized everything about her.

  He should, because it would have to last him the rest of his life.

  She should do the right thing and stop them.

  Yet this bright memory was hers to savor, too. She stroked the side of his face. Fingertips absorbing every detail of him. From the crisp stubble on his cheek to how the sunlight caught his eyes and made them twinkle.

  He didn’t have to speak. They’d already hashed out the words and this communication went deeper, further, like their souls connected.

  Making a promise or breaking one?

  She didn’t know, but one thing was for sure. Giving up Kassian would be the hardest mission she’d ever have to fulfill.

  She trailed her fingertips to his full, firm lips and leaned forward to sample them.

  One look. One taste. That’s what this had started as.

  Now, she knew.

  One would never be enough.

  ***

  Kassian shoved his hips forward; Nat pressed her lips against his. Swallowing her gasp, he thrust his cock inside her, burying it to the base. He was rough and swift, but she was ready for him. Fuck, was she ever ready for him. Her hot pussy gripped him bloody tightly, but she was so wet it created friction, not resistance.

  While he’d planned to pause and give her a moment to adjust, she rolled her hips, riding him from below.

  Well, damn.

  He gripped her hips and jerked her body to the edge of the table, angling her to hit the sweet spot inside her.

  She moaned as he rocked his hips back and brought them forward, crashing into her. Bracing her hands on either side of the table, she closed her eyes and moaned.

  “Oh, hell no,” he growled and her eyes popped open. “You’re going to watch me, Nat. You’re going to watch every second of this as I fuck you long and hard.”

  Her sexy mouth parted on a gasp like she hadn’t expected the dirty talk from him. Hell, just because he was celibate didn’t mean he didn’t remember what to do, what to say.

  That he’d forgotten how intimacy felt.

  Damn, sex had never felt this good. That wasn’t the abstinence talking. He gripped the back of her neck and dragged her forward to sample her soft lips again. The electric chemistry between them sparked life into his repressed libido. He’d gone far too long without this, without the touch of another. Not any person, but one he cared about.

  Their connection flowed deeper than maybe either of them was prepared for.

  He paused a second to stare into her half-lidded eyes. The sheer beauty of Nat giving herself to him struck him. The trust was there, mostly.

  She twined her hands around the back of his neck and urged his mouth on top of hers again. This time, the sensual thrusts of her tongue hastened. She pressed the heels of her feet against the edge of the worktable for leverage and slid her sheath along his length.

  Damn, she was a feisty one. She’d be insatiable, he’d wager.

  A bet he accepted. Kassian pressed his hands under her bottom and gave her a forceful boost wi
th each slamming joining of their bodies. She shoved his shoulders to twist him around.

  Oh, she wanted to ride him, did she? Well, he’d give her the ride of her life.

  Gripping her, he flipped them over, the edge of the workbench cutting into the top of his ass. Nat straddled him and he didn’t fucking care if the wood sliced into his flesh. The slivers would be worth it.

  A victorious curve tugged at her mouth.

  Control was as hard for Nat to give up as it was for him. In his past, he hadn’t let the woman be on top. He didn’t like his pleasure to be at the mercy of another. But, fuck. Nat tugged her bottom lip into her mouth and rolled her hips so she curled toward him, riding his cock.

  The way she swayed her graceful, curvy and, hell, flexible body was like a tantalizing seduction. Though mindless fucking had been his specialty, with Nat, nope. His brain flooded with images of the different ways he wanted to bend her, the sexy moans she made in the back of her throat, how her hair cascaded in a shimmering halo framing her face.

  Shit, he’d gone all poetic. She was beautiful to him in every way. Looking at her, he’d never have guessed how tough her interior was. How lethal her abilities. How clever her mind.

  She could be anyone to anyone.

  He needed her to be Nat to him.

  Her sweet pussy gripped him tight as she rocked her hips, pumping up and down. She paused to capture his mouth with hers, flicking her silky tongue against his. He took advantage of her distraction, dug his hands into her ass, and lifted her off him.

  She pulled back with a questioning murmur.

  “You’ve had plenty of fun.” He hauled her over his shoulder before he could determine how pissed she was.

  “Kassian.” Her voice trembled with warning.

  “Ah, trust me.” He gave her lush ass a slap and carted her to the bed he’d constructed. Setting her on her feet, he spun her to face the crates.

  “When?” she questioned over her shoulder, but he tilted her head back, sliding his hands down her arms and pressing kisses along her suntanned skin. Warm and salty with a hint of coconut.