“We’ll discuss it later,” Kas states softly, knowing Raina isn’t wanting to talk about it in front of Erik, especially since he’s pretty sure she’s worried about his feelings of what occurred the last time she went undercover. Taking her hand, he pulls her towards him, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her forehead. The last thing he wants is for her to revisit the day he left her, the day he made the biggest mistake of his life. “I’ll see you in a few hours.” Pulling away, he studies her expression, making sure she’s alright. “I love you, Rain,” he tells her, his voice thick with the emotion.
“I love you, too.”
Erik shakes his head as Kas leaves, “It’s a good thing you’re so sweet and innocent. If Susanna could read me like that, I’d be a dead man.”
Kas watches as Raina moves her roast pork and potatoes around with her fork. Knowing what’s on her mind, he wishes his mind would cooperate better and stop jumping around between wanting to demand her not to go and telling her to go so she won’t think he doesn’t trust her. Pushing his own plate away, he reaches across the table and grabs Raina’s hand, “First of all, I want you to know how much I love you. Second, I have complete faith in you, darlin’, it’s important that you know that.”
Raina looks at him quietly for a few seconds, “Let me guess, your ‘thirdly’ is going to be something like, ‘but I don’t want you going, it’s too dangerous’.”
A smile curves his lips at her astuteness. A pang of guilt nags at him at how her tone was kind, void of any contempt, when she guessed what he was going to say next, even though he knows she wants to go. Looking at her, he shakes his head from the absolute knowledge that if this were about anything else, she would do what she feels she needs to do. She would be nice about it, but regardless of what he says, she would make up her own mind. Damn, I love that about you. “Go,” he tells her before changing his mind.
The surprise in her widened eyes makes him laugh. “You’re getting really good at undercover ops, and Lawson is as competent as he is fierce. He’s a pain in the ass, but he’s good at what he does, you’ll be in good hands. Besides, I love the fact that he already knows that if he does anything you don’t like, you’ll bust him in the mouth the first chance you get.”
Raina tries to suppress her laughter but fails miserably. “I didn’t mean to hit him, it was just a reaction,” she manages to get out between giggles.
Relieved that she’s able to put the dark reasoning of why she hit Lawson behind her and see the humorous side of her knocking the formidable agent on his butt and busting his lip, he chuckles before asking, “Who’s going to be the lead with you?”
“Scott.”
Kas nods his head in approval, “He has plenty of undercover experience.” Squeezing her hand he warns, “He’ll be tough on you in the field, Rain.”
“I don’t expect anything different.”
“When are they planning on leaving?”
“Monday.”
“Good, you won’t miss Seth.”
Excitement brightens her face, “I can’t wait until Friday.”
Kas fights the twinge of jealousy stinging him. He’s never mentioned anything to Raina, but he knows Seth has a crush on her. Seth’s feelings have never bothered him because he’s fairly confident that he would never divulge them to Raina; Seth wants her happy. Kas’ heart swells humbly with the fact that Seth knows that she’s happy with him. Standing up, he walks to her, pulls her from the chair and sits down, lowering her onto his lap. Burying his head in her hair, he nuzzles her neck, hiding his smile at how she is truly brilliant but completely ignorant when it comes to knowing when someone has a thing for her. Just another thing I love about you.
Si fu Shang shifts, expertly dodging Raina’s sidekick. She quickly follows with the butterfly kick he has been teaching her, making contact with his shoulder, and it knocks him a couple of steps back.
“I’m sorry,” she immediately apologizes.
“That was excellent, Raina, don’t apologize,” he laughs, “your execution is off, but that was a solid kick.”
Giving him a tight smile, she thanks him before getting back into position.
“Take a break, get some water,” he tells her, grabbing his bottle. Carefully studying her while she is sipping on her own water, he takes a deep breath, not wanting to push her but realizing she needs the push to get over her recent set-back.
Feeling like an ass, he reminds himself it’s for her own good, that it’s exactly what his father did to him when he had his butt kicked in his first match and was skittish. “Breaks over, get back on the mat,” he commands, noticing how she flinches at the unexpected stern tone.
Raina sprints back to him, bowing before taking the Da Huang stance. The surprise flashes in her eyes when Si fu Shang comes at her fast, his moves relentless. Feverishly blocking him, she quickly breaks into a sweat, grunting breathlessly as he backs her into a corner.
“Don’t ever let your opponent put you in this position,” he warns calmly, backing away so she can join him back on the mat. The uncertainty in her eyes hurts him, but he pushes on, throwing a backfist that he has to pull at the last second due to her reaction being too slow to stop him.
Raina’s self-agitation is apparent.
“Again,” he gently commands.
Re-focusing herself, Raina delivers a snap kick, losing her balance when Si fu Shang grabs her leg.
Letting her leg go, he motions his fingers for her to come closer, “Again!”
Her breathing is labored as they continue the rigorous training. Her hair is damp from perspiration, and her knees feel weak, but she continues to administer kicks and punches, doing her best to block his advances. When she missteps, and he flips her, breaking her fall by pulling on her belt and grabbing her arm, a glancing look of fear passes through her eyes.
That is the emotion he was both waiting for and dreading. Gently balancing her, he takes her arms and pulls her closer, “I’ve pushed you beyond your level tonight for a reason, Raina. I needed your guard to be dropped, for you to stop masking your emotions so you can learn to control them. No harm will come to you here. With that said, focus on your fear, and learn to control it. If you lose control, you lose the fight.”
Without warning, he tugs at her, his smile showing he’s pleased when she doesn’t budge, instead adopting the Horse stance before administering an impressive crescent kick. “Very good, now stay focused.”
Raina twists to the side, barely dodging a blow, before she delivers one of her own. The sparring continues until her entire body is shaking from the exertion.
“Enough,” he calls out as he holds his hand up an hour later, wiping his brow with a towel, “no more training tonight, you did an excellent job.”
Raina bows respectfully before gulping her water and sliding down the wall, leaning her head against the cool bricks. “Thank you,” she barely manages, still out of breath.
Raina is showering when Kas arrives. Si fu Shang greets him as he walks through the door, “She’s going to need time to process her emotions tonight.”
“How did she handle it?” Kas asks, concern edging his voice over her first training session since what happened with Chris.
“Better than I expected,” he admits, “she’s definitely a fighter. I pushed her hard tonight, but she never backed down.”
“She doesn’t know how to,” Kas mutters, the ambivalent emotions that fact causes eating at him.
“You’ve said as much, and I’ve seen the proof. She’ll make it through this, coming out even stronger than before, Kas. You have yourself to thank for that, too, you know,” Si fu Shang pats him on the shoulder as they walk to his office.
“She’s the one fighting,” Kas counters.
“That’s true, but you’re the one giving her a reason to.”
The Kung Fu master’s words swirl in Kas’ head as Raina knocks on the office door before entering.
“Go home and soak in a hot tub, you’ll be sore tomorrow,” Si fu Shang te
lls her, smiling kindly, gently squeezing her arm. “That butterfly kick caught me off guard, and that’s not an easy thing to do,” he admits, his eyes shining proudly.
Kas wraps his jacket around her shoulders as they rush down the stairs into the cool night air. “Show off,” he teases, winking at her as he opens her door, “I didn’t even attempt that kick until I had been practicing for two years.”
“I’ve been watching you practice it at home,” Raina shrugs shyly.
“You watch me practice, huh?” he asks, already knowing that she does. The knowledge of her watching him from afar thrills him more than he realized it could.
Her reserved smile almost knocks him to his knees. After experiencing every part of his wife repeatedly, her shy innocence beguiles him in the most pleasing ways. Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he pulls her closer, kissing the top of her head and getting lost in her intoxicating scent. “C’mon, sweetheart, let’s feed you and get you home.”
The diner is greasy, loud, and smells of eggs, syrup, and coffee. It’s just what Raina wants right now. Slipping Kas’ jacket off her shoulders, she slides onto the booth next to him, snuggling closer for warmth, but mostly because she needs to feel his strength after tonight. She’s quiet for a few minutes after ordering, and Kas gives her time to sort her thoughts.
“I love breakfast for dinner,” Raina proclaims after thanking the waitress when she puts her strawberry waffles and cheese eggs in front of her.
Kas laughs at the delighted expression on her face, still dumbfounded by how the littlest things make her so happy.
“It also makes me think of you,” she tells him, grinning, as she takes a bite.
“I’d have to agree that breakfast is my favorite meal, too, darlin’,” he winks, knowing she’s referring to most of their mornings spent side by side preparing the meal together before the chaos of the day begins.
Chewing on his country fried steak, Kas watches Raina while she eats, trying to figure out what’s going on in her pretty, complex head. He’s confused by her being quietly pensive for several minutes then rebounding back to her happy, easygoing self. It kills him not probing, but he heeds Si Fu Shang’s advice and doesn’t ask any questions.
As they sip their coffee and eat their hot apple-pie, Raina opens up more, talking about the algorithm she’s working on and telling him that she wants to spend a little time at the cabin with him soon.
“We can spend Christmas at the cabin if you want,” he suggests. “We’ll be at Aunt Lori’s for Christmas dinner since Thanksgiving is at our house this year, but, after that, we can go to the cabin for a few days.”
Her whole face beams, and he can’t help but kiss her.
Kas cranks up the heat when they get home with the temperature steadily dropping. Scooting closer to Kas in bed, Raina lays her head on his chest, listening to the calming rhythm of his heart as she runs her fingers up and down his toned torso. “I want to plant a garden.”
Kas lifts his head off the pillow and pulls Raina higher up the bed so her nose is almost touching his. Of all the possibilities that crossed his mind that she might be thinking about tonight, this wasn’t one of them, “You want to learn how to grow vegetables?”
“Yes,” she replies simply, her lips curving at the surprised gleam in his eyes.
“It’s been awhile since I’ve worked in a garden, but I’ll show you how. The backyard is big enough for a small one. We can start planting in late spring when it’s warm enough.” Kas shakes his head, laughing, “I’m going to have to fight Pops and Mamaw to keep you with me when they find out, they already want to adopt you and sneak you back to Tennessee.”
Grabbing her and, in one smooth motion, sliding her underneath him, he straddles her. Taking her wrists in his hand, he loosely holds them above her head as he gives her his blood boiling cocky grin, “There’s something that I want to plant right now, darlin’.”
Raina’s laughter sends delicious chills through the length of him as he lowers his mouth, squelching her beautiful giggles. His right hand keeps her steady while his left hand slides lower. Her breath hitches as he finds where he wants to be.
“Baby, I love how you respond to me,” Kas tells her as his grin becomes impossibly wider with a large dose of unashamed, hot as hell swagger.
“You seem to be responding to me pretty well right about now, too,” she counters, her salacious wink searing every inch of him as she presses against his impressive protrusion.
When she grazes her lip between her teeth, his mouth conquers her again, his teeth taking full control, teasing and nipping her full bottom lip mercilessly until she whimpers with need.
“My body responds just by thinking about you. This thing you have over me, whatever the hell it is that you do, don’t ever stop doing it,” he breathes, his voice thick, raspy, as his scorching kisses follow the soft line of her neck.
Her body rises, meeting his lips as he leaves a heated wake across her collarbone. A moan escapes as he makes her his, his slow, torturing rhythm leaving her writhing in a burning, licentious desire that threatens to completely consume her. Raina’s head thrashes as the momentum becomes faster, harder, until she can feel his possession radiating through every pore.
Lifting her hips to greet every hungry thrust, her fingers dig into his skin. Her tongue tastes his. Her mind is gone, unabashedly unhinged from his expert touch. Feeling herself hurtling towards the edge, she pushes away, wanting to hold on to this hedonic sensation for as long as possible. The fire in his eyes burns straight through her, and she basks in the glow of his flame.
Kas groans with anticipation when her fingers slowly trace the muscles on his chest, down his torso, over his hip, and across his powerful thigh to the imposing part of him she knows she owns. Giving her total control, he lays on his back, watching his beautiful wife savor every second of being in charge of delivering him captivating satisfaction.
Seeing her impending release, he intensifies the sensations, plunging into her, his body fulfilling her every erotic thought that has passed through her complicated, bewitching mind. When she cries out, he buries himself inside of her, diving off the same edge right along with her.
The dance club is loud, filled beyond capacity, and permeated with feral, sweating bodies pulsating to the electric beat. Raina can feel the carefree energy invade her from two steps inside the door. The mood of the crowd is contagious, and she finds herself moving to the music, her hips swiveling against Kas as they are practically melded together making their way to the bar.
“Darlin’, if you don’t stop that I’m throwing you over my shoulder and taking you home right now,” Kas informs her, giving her his silk liquid heat inducing grin, “I don’t know how you talked me into to going dancing anyway.”
“Aw, you love it, don’t deny it,” she winks.
“I love you, I can’t deny that, which is why I let you drag me here,” he returns the wink, intensifying the heat between her thighs even more.
“Whatareya drinking, honey?” the bartender asks hurriedly, her long, impeccably straight blond hair falling over her shoulder as she leans towards Kas, shaking a mixed drink in her left hand, causing her perky breasts to bounce robustly with the motion.
“A mojito, water, and whatever you have on draft,” Kas gives his order before stepping aside so Chase, Seth, and Sara can give theirs.
Raina takes a long sip of the water, already parched by the body heat in the crowded club. Sara grabs her hand and Seth’s arm, dragging them onto the dance floor.
“I thought you wouldn’t be caught dead dancing with Seth,” Raina teases.
“Hey!” Seth complains.
“I’ve missed you too much. I guess I’ll reduce myself to your gyrations just this once.”
“Gee, thanks,” he grumbles playfully.
Kas leans back against the bar, watching his wife laughing and having a good time, finally acting her young age. He loves her maturity, but seeing her so vibrant and carefree lightens his so
ul.
“You had to let them talk you into dancing?” Chase chastises Kas, “I was counting on you being the bad guy and saying no.”
“Don’t blame me because you’re whipped and caved the second Sara suggested it,” Kas jabs, laughing.
“Looks like you’re whipped, too, bro. I don’t recall you putting your foot down when Raina turned those doe eyes on you.”
Glancing back at his girl, Kas has no problem admitting that he’d do anything for her. The bartender hands them the rest of their drinks, giving them both a second glance before an appreciative smile curves her lips and she turns to the next person shouting out his drink order. Taking a few minutes to find a table, their drinks aren’t quite as full when they sit from being bumped repeatedly making a path through the crowd.
They have a vantage point of view of the three friends reacquainting themselves on the dance floor. Kas catches the look in Chase’s eyes as he watches Sara and bursts out laughing.
“What?” Chase asks, taking a sip of his beer.
“When you gonna ask her?”
“Ask who what?”
Kas punches him in the arm, making his beer slosh, “C’mon, you know exactly what I’m talking about.”
Chase puts the beer glass to his lips, trying to hide his huge grin. “I’m thinking about asking her dad when we visit them next month.”
“Congratulations, man. Really, I’m happy for you, Sara’s a great girl.”
“I’m happy, too,” Chase admits, the slaphappy grin spread across his handsome face giving solid proof to his words.
Kas returns his attention back to his wife, shaking his head amusedly at Seth’s lack of rhythm. Raina catches his gaze and flashes a bright smile, winking at him, making him want to have her, badly. Feeling remorse, he wonders if he should have told Raina about Seth’s feelings. Seeing him dance with the girls, his confliction, and how he respectfully holds back from getting too close to Raina, eats at him. Seth’s very good at hiding his feelings, only he and Chase have caught the indications, but the brief flash of pain in Seth’s eyes when Raina keeps adoringly glancing her husband’s way while she dances with Seth and Sara tugs at him. Seeing Raina so happy with her friends, he stands by his decision of not telling her. He doesn’t want to take anything away from her; she’s already lost so much in her life, and he won’t risk her losing Seth, knowing that his friendship means too much to her.
After the Rain Page 6