by Kaylea Cross
Kai stopped a foot away from him, uncaring that they had an audience. “You got a problem, cousin?” he asked in a hard voice.
Something flickered in Hani’s dark eyes, but it was gone before Kai could figure out what it was. “Maybe I do.”
Kai folded his arms across his chest. “Enlighten me.”
Hani’s jaw flexed. He looked away from Kai, his gaze pausing on the others all pretending not to be staring from across the fire pit, then coming back to his. “Not here.”
“Why not?”
“I need to talk to you in private.”
“Front yard private enough for you?”
“No.” He glanced down the path, where Abby had just reached the edge of the sand on her way to their tent. “You leaving here tomorrow?”
“Yeah.”
“What time?”
“Early.”
“Fine. I’ll talk to you then.” Without another word, Hani turned and walked off, leaving Kai staring after him. Stewing.
Like hell. Like fucking hell.
Kai stormed after him, determined to have this out and get to the bottom of whatever the hell was going on here. “Hani,” he barked.
Up ahead out front of the house, Hani drew up short, his back to Kai. “I said I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” he bit out, the sound of passing traffic coming from the highway at the end of the drive.
Fuck that. “Be a man, turn around and say what you gotta say,” he taunted.
Slowly, Hani turned to face him. It was dark here, so dark Kai could barely make out the set expression on his cousin’s face. “You want it here and now?”
Kai planted his feet, folded his arms across his chest. “Yeah. So start talking.”
Hani stared at him a long moment. “Fine, you asked for it. You—”
A loud bang reverberated through the air.
Hani ducked and whirled around, his hand going to the back of his waistband to pull out the pistol he’d hidden beneath his shirt. Kai reacted instinctively at his cousin’s response, tensing and glancing around.
But there was nothing. No movement. No threat that he could see.
He glanced back at his cousin.
Hani was still half-crouched in a defensive position, scanning the darkness around them as though he expected an ambush at any moment, the fear rolling off him so strong Kai could almost smell it.
A softer bang followed a moment later, coming from somewhere down the highway.
Not a gunshot. Just a car backfiring.
Hani slowly straightened and lowered his arm, his posture tense, pistol still in his grip.
“Jesus Christ, Hani,” Kai muttered, heartsick at the irrefutable evidence in front of him. “What the fuck have you gotten yourself into now?”
Hani spun around to glare at him. “Nothing. Leave me the hell alone.” He stalked to his truck.
Kai stood there while his cousin climbed inside the cab, started it and drove off down the long driveway, an oily sensation coating the pit of his stomach. What the hell was going on?
Something was off. Way off. Hani might be a punk sometimes, but he’d never disrespected Kai or been rude to a woman before. And Abby wasn’t just some woman, she was Kai’s lady. Then there was Hani’s reaction just now, as though he’d been afraid someone was shooting at him.
Maybe Hani was even deeper into the drug scene than Kai realized. Maybe he’d made some dangerous enemies, like the ones who had killed that dealer last week and dumped his body into the ocean.
Agitated, he turned and walked back to his chair by the fire. Everyone was watching him, not saying a word. He picked up his beer, took a sip, striving for calm. “Anyone know what the hell’s with him?”
Jonah shook his head. “Nah, brah. No idea.”
Kai didn’t want to bring his tutu into this, but he might have to if he couldn’t find out what the hell was going on. If Hani was in over his head the way Kai suspected he was, then he was going to need help. Big time help, from someone with connections that could offer him protection. Kai would do that for him, but only if Hani came clean and wanted out. If he didn’t…Kai couldn’t do anything for him.
He finished his beer, using the time to calm his thoughts. He and Hani would have this out at some point before Kai left, maybe even tomorrow if Hani was serious about coming back in the morning. He refused to allow his cousin to ruin what had been an otherwise awesome day, and the night stretching out ahead with Abby. Something he’d looked forward to for a long time now.
“I’m turning in,” he announced, getting to his feet. He was anxious to see her, put the tension with Hani behind him and finally ease the relentless ache she’d created from the moment he’d held her that day in his apartment after Shelley walked out. “Night.”
His friends all wished him a good night, and it said a lot about the abrupt change of mood in the evening that none of them made a snide remark about him going to Abby. He wouldn’t have cared if they had. He didn’t care about much at that moment except Abby.
His lady was waiting for him in their tent. Kai intended to claim her, rock her world, and show her that she was his.
Chapter Eleven
Abby’s heartbeat quickened when she heard the footsteps in the sand outside the tent, hushed beneath the lap of the waves mere yards away.
Kai.
The entire time with him today had been foreplay. Hot, decadent foreplay. Her body ached for him, even the light brush of the sheet against her naked skin sending a rush of arousal through her.
His big shadow appeared behind the tent flap. He crouched, and the soft rasp of the zipper came as the two halves parted. Kai ducked inside, paused when he saw her lying there watching him, the moonlight illuminating one side of his face.
“Hi,” she whispered, pushing up on her elbows, the sheet and quilt revealing her bare shoulders.
“Hi.” He yanked the zipper back down, enclosing them in their private cocoon, then straightened.
Abby sat up and drew the covers off her, the soft, filtered light coming through the tent roof revealing her body to him without illuminating all the imperfections. She felt seductive. Beautiful, even.
Kai seemed to freeze for a moment as he stared at her naked body. A low, guttural sound came out of him and he reached for the hem of his shirt, peeling it over his head and tossing it aside as he moved toward her. Nearly six-and-a-half-feet of powerful, hungry male about to pounce.
Abby reached for him as he straddled her legs, sliding her hands into his hair as he took hold of her face and fused their mouths together. She made a sound of need and opened to the hot caress of his tongue, her heart pounding its way out of her chest. He kissed her hard and deep, as though he was starving for her and it had been weeks since he’d last seen her instead of mere minutes. Arousal burst into a raging fire that was both thrilling and terrifying in its intensity. She’d never wanted anyone this much, was afraid of getting addicted to him.
He leaned forward, one hand on the back of her head as he lowered her to the foam mattress. She groaned as he kissed his way to her jaw and neck, stretching that big, hard body out on top of her.
“I was gonna go so slow,” he rasped out against her skin, nipping the tender spot just beneath her ear. “Savor every last inch of you, but you’ve got me wound so tight I just wanna eat you up.”
Abby gripped the back of his head to hold him closer and slid her other hand over his back, savoring the warm, smooth skin and the hard muscles rippling beneath it.
Those big, gorgeous hands cupped the sides of her breasts and pushed them together. She had only a second to gasp in a breath and catch the intense expression on his face before he lowered his head and took one hard, aching nipple between his lips.
Her mewl of pleasure filled the tent. She parted her legs for him, lost in sensation as the hard length of his erection settled against her mound, his mouth sucking her sensitive flesh so tenderly.
Pleasure sizzled through her, the hot throb between her thighs intensifyin
g. Part of her couldn’t believe this was actually happening. Kai was her friend, and she was still a little worried about what would happen after this, but it was too damn good to hesitate or regret her decision now.
She tugged on his hair, bringing his lips back to hers for another deep, hungry kiss, then he nipped gently at her lower lip and turned his attention to her other breast. Abby squirmed beneath him, eyes closed, one hand in his hair and the other clutching his shoulder. His tongue flicked over her nipple then slid over the curve of her breast.
He shifted his hips, lifting the pressure of his erection from her, that wicked mouth moving lower and lower, over her belly. He curled his hands around her hips, darted his tongue into her belly button. One hand smoothed over the top of her thigh, his fingers gliding over the top of her mound in a light, seductive touch that made her shudder.
She bit her lip and tried to remember to breathe, in an agony of suspense as she awaited his next move. This was so much more intense than she’d bargained for.
He growled low in his throat when his teasing fingers met her drenched folds. “Gotta taste you, shortcake. Hold on tight.” He eased one of her legs over to give him room.
She dug her fingers in harder, taking his warning to heart. The heat of his breath against her most sensitive spot made her shiver. Then the smooth, warm stroke of his tongue followed, ripping a cry from her. Kai clamped his hands around her hip and thigh, holding her open as he licked and kissed and sucked.
Raw pleasure flowed through her, melting her bones at the same time as it drew all her muscles tight, her belly and thighs quivering. He focused on her pulsing clit for long moments, making her pant and moan, then thrust his tongue inside her.
Her hips came off the mattress, her body locking tight. God, oh, God, she was going to come if he—
He made another of those low, hungry sounds and withdrew to caress her clit. A slow, velvet glide that made the ache so sharp she whimpered, the breath halting in her throat. Oh, Jesus, she needed more. Craved him so much she could barely breathe.
“You close?” he murmured, licking softly. Expertly.
“Yes.” It came out tight, almost frantic, her muscles clenching. This wasn’t even remotely normal for her. He had complete control over her body.
He sat up. Abby bit back a cry of protest and sat up, reached out to help him as he stripped off his shorts and underwear. He turned back to her on his knees, ripping open a condom packet. She looked down the length of that gorgeous torso to where he gripped the base of his cock.
The shadows there were too dark for her to see much, but she wrapped her hand around him, reveled in his harsh groan as she closed her fingers around his girth. He was a big boy. All over. She couldn’t wait to feel him inside her, relieving the emptiness, taking away that gnawing ache.
Kai closed his hand around hers and guided her over his hot, rigid flesh for two slow, sensual strokes, then pushed hers away and rolled the condom on. “Down,” he said in a gruff voice, planting one hand on her sternum and pressing her backward.
The instant her back hit the mattress he took her thighs, opening them as he settled over her, belly to belly, his cock nestled between her folds. One hand holding the back of her head, his mouth came down on hers while he rocked forward, sliding the heated length of his erection over her clit. Abby moaned and grabbed his hip, the other curling around his nape to anchor herself.
He did it again, again, until she was writhing beneath him, desperate for penetration. “You want me in you?” he murmured against her lips.
“Yes,” she gasped. “Hurry.” She was dying for it. Because this was Kai.
Coming up on his forearms, still holding her head in one hand, he stared down into her face and shifted his hips. Heat and pressure registered between her legs for a moment, then the muscles beneath her grasping hand contracted and he pushed forward in a slow surge.
Abby’s eyes slammed shut. She sucked in a breath at the heavy, delicious stretch of him burying himself inside her. God, he was thick. And hard.
“Oh, fuck, you feel so good…” He withdrew a little and thrust forward again, her wetness making the motion effortless.
She squirmed beneath him, trying to get the contact she needed on her clit.
Instantly he seized her hip to still her. Bending down for a slow, deep kiss, he smothered her whimper of need.
Strong hands gripped her thighs, pushing them together. He settled his own outside hers, keeping her legs tight together, his cock still lodged deep inside her. Abby slid her arms around him and clung to his shoulders as he stretched out over top of her, instinctively wrapping her calves around his, wanting him closer. Deeper.
His mouth was at her ear now, the weight of his torso distributed along hers, pinning her to the mattress. Easing his hips back, he withdrew a little and stopped, his head resting above and to the side of hers, his warm breath stirring the top of her hair. “Tip your hips downward,” he commanded in a tight whisper.
She did. And he rocked forward, sliding the base of his cock directly over her clit.
Oh, Jesus…
Her ragged gasp filled the tent. Clutching him for dear life, she began moving without conscious thought, hips rolling with his, trying to find exactly the right angle to give her the stimulation she needed to send her over the edge.
“Slower,” he rasped out, his breaths coming faster now, the muscles in his shoulders and back bunched tight as he worked her with small, stroking motions of his hips.
Abby moaned and shuddered, sweat slicking her skin. She was so wet, so swollen, and he was hitting every one of her hot spots with each slow, sensual glide against her. Within a minute they’d found the right motion and rhythm, but she couldn’t hold it. It felt so good and she was too desperate to go slow now.
Kai groaned and held his tempo, the weight and strength of his body keeping her safely anchored while she was about to fly apart. “You gonna come for me, Abby?” he coaxed, his mouth pressed tight to her hair.
She had no choice. It was like being caught in a powerful rip current, the elemental force of it too strong to pull herself free.
Loud, uncontrollable moans rolled from her throat and she didn’t care if anyone overheard her, all ability to think gone, the incredible building pleasure and frantic need for release driving her movements. She rubbed against him, each motion stimulating her clit and sliding the head of his cock against the secret spot inside her.
It was too much, yet not enough. She chased that elusive release with single-minded intent, and soon it was right there, a sweet, bright glow at the edge of her consciousness.
“That’s right, baby, rub your clit on my cock…”
The deep rumble of his voice, one more sweet glide, and she shattered. Her wild cries echoed in her ears as her body came apart beneath him, clenching around the length of his cock.
Panting, weak, she went limp against the mattress and held him to her, every muscle in her body quivering. He’d shaken her to her core with that masterful display of tender, skilled dominance.
As she lay there, her body recovering, her mind flashed back to what Shelley had said to her. You don’t know what he’s like. What it’s like to be with him.
Shit, Abby so got what she’d meant now. If this was any indication of what sex was like with Kai, and not just a one-off anomaly, then Abby could understand how he was capable of ruining a woman for anyone else.
And now I’m ruined too.
She swallowed, tried to stem the bubble of anxiety rising inside her chest. They’d agreed to take things one day at a time. But holy hell, what a difference a day could make. His attentiveness, his easy affection, the food he’d been spoiling her with, the mind-melting sex… God, how was she going to be able to let him go now? She hoped she wouldn’t have to.
Kai groaned and came up on his forearms, pulling her focus back to him. He was still hard inside her, had to be hurting. She wanted to give him as much pleasure as he’d given her.
She tu
rned her face toward him and kissed the edge of his jaw. He shifted to gently push her thighs open with his. His lips covered hers as he eased back and thrust forward, sliding deep once more. Meeting the caress of his tongue, Abby wrapped her arms around his broad back.
When he eased his hips back she put a hand on the side of his face, stopping him. She gazed up at him in the soft light, drinking in the lines of that gorgeous face, the tension in it, the stark need in his dark eyes. Need for her.
Holding his gaze, she settled her feet flat on the sheet and rolled her hips, sinking him deep inside her. Kai sucked in a sharp breath, nostrils flaring. His eyes slid shut, his big body shuddering all over before he gained control and opened his eyes to stare down at her. “Do it again.”
Wrapping her hand around his nape, she did, holding his gaze the entire time.
“Yeah, Abby, stroke me,” he groaned, his head dropping forward, eyes squeezing shut.
Sensual power softened with an aching tenderness flowed through her. A breathless, tension-laced silence filled the tent. She watched his face intently as she stroked him with her body, tracking every tiny nuance of his expression. And so she knew the moment he’d reached his limit.
His face tightened. He plunged one hand into her hair, his other arm coming around her hips, crushing her to him as he took over and thrust deep and fast.
Abby held him tight, squeezed her thighs around his hips, the guttural sounds he was making sending a thrill through her. His fist tightened in her hair and he drove deep, a harsh groan vibrating against her ear as his big body shuddered in the throes of his orgasm.
He was hot and heavy atop her, his twitching muscles slowly relaxing. She stroked his hair, the breadth of his shoulders and down his back, tracing every ridge and hollow, savoring every moment of the closeness.
With a soft moan he kissed the side of her jaw, her lips, then lifted his upper body off her and withdrew gently. He turned away from her for a moment to deal with the condom, and stretched out on his side facing her. Lifting a hand, he stroked her bangs from her damp forehead, trailed a fingertip down the bridge of her nose to her mouth, where she kissed it.