My eyes slid closed on a calming inhale before I raised my face to the breeze. The last image of the view was set in my mind leading me to connect it with the lulling sounds of nature floating into my ears.
This was the kind of contented peace you took your time enjoying and relished with appreciation. The atmosphere was brimming with a special level of magic I had never encountered before, like Khane.
I glanced at him in time to see his eyes slide across my body like the touch of a slow hand. The need in his strained expression was a reflection of my own: impulsive and blazing with hot desires. Nipples tight, pussy quivering, body buzzing, and drool on the tip of my tongue. Jesus. The man had me stalk naked with all my clothes on.
It was with great difficulty that I turned away, and found that not even the spectacular surroundings helped to ease the tight hold Khane had on me.
I shuffled to the patio couch and plopped down onto the comfortable cushions. On a deep exhale, I rested my head back and allowed the sun to bath me in its energizing warmth. I was at a loss as to how to overcome the depth of my attraction, the length of my desire, or the enormity of the consuming needs I had developed for Khane.
There was something embedded in his spirit that had latched onto mine, and I didn’t have the answer or the key to turn it off. I didn’t want to. He lit a vibrant spark that had me bustling with emotions that I wanted to share with him.
He was the only man I wanted to crowd, to cling to, touch, hold, and kiss. Usually, I settled for mediocre sex and half-hearted companionship to put a band-aid on my desires. Khane made me want to fall at his feet and beg him to sleep with me, and something in my spirit knew it would be better than what I’d had with anyone else.
Although I could read reluctance and uncertainty hindering his stride, he decided to join me on the cushioned bench. His looming shadow lingered over me, standing right between my legs and giving me a tease of where I wanted him. A few feet of space sat between us after he’d rested near the thick wooden arm of the bench.
I feasted on him. The way his clothes fit his built body, gave me a teasing glimpse of his ripped physique. I zoomed in on every roll of muscle, and I noticed every careful movement he made to stay clear of me.
He was having as much difficulty staying away from me as I was him, the idea giving me a thrill when it should have been a deterrent for me to keep my distance. I drummed my fingers against my thigh as I reigned in my dangerous thoughts, and contemplated my next move.
“So, what’s your love life like since you live way out here? Do you invite women over? Am I blocking you from anything?”
He glared like my question was the most ridiculous one he had ever heard. Based on his cocked gaze, he knew I was being nosey.
“What?” I lifted my hands. “I’m just curious.” His eyes had caught the, BElieve in YOUrself, tattoo I had on the inside of my left wrist when I had raised my arm.
“I don’t date,” he finally answered. “We meet, we fuck, and we go our separate ways.”
My cocked gaze sat on his unreadable one. “Just like that. Wham, bam, thank you, ma’am?”
Our gazes remained locked. “Yep, I prefer it that way.”
“You’re a hot guy, Khane. I’d have something to say about it if you fucked me once and never wanted to see me again.”
His glare widened at my words. Oh. My. God. Was he blushing? Had I made Khane ‘The Kannibal’ Vallin blush? He turned his head away, releasing a low chuckle. “You think I’m hot?”
I hadn’t missed that he had put stress on the word, you. Was he insinuating that my opinion held more weight than any other woman’s?
“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m openly flirting with you when I’m engaged to your brother. That fact alone speaks to your hotness.”
There it was again. He was blushing, his cheeks flaming from my words. It was the cutest thing I had ever seen. He was as human as the rest of us, not this big man-eating beast that the world had made him out to be.
As far as rumors went, he was the physical representation of the grim reaper. However, and in the short time that I had known him, I had learned that he was so much more. Engaging, patient, a protector, creative, and smart, though he tried to downplay it all.
“Has no one ever told you that you are hot, sexy, and tempting in a way that makes it hard for a girl to keep her hands to herself?”
“Yes, but not in the way that you do, and I never cared what they thought.” There it was again. Was he saying that my opinion mattered more than others, or was I reading more into his words than what was there?
“Why would you say that? Are you teasing me?” His perplexed expression made me aware that he was still processing my comment.
The man was clueless as to the level of male sexiness he possessed. He had no idea that he dragged need and want from every part of me. He had to know by now that he had me so open for him that it was straddling a dangerous line I’d been fighting not to cross.
“Khane, look at me.” He lifted his gaze, his eyes heavy and searching mine. “I’m being honest with you. I said what I said because…” I sat my hand atop his. He began to pull it away, but decided against it, leaving our infusing connection intact.
“You take care of your appearance, it shows, and that in itself is attractive. You obviously invest time in taking care of your body. I love your height. What woman in her right mind doesn’t want to touch and caress the hard planes of muscles of a toned and firm male body?” I said, while glancing at him to gauge his reaction to my bold words.
“I’m finding it difficult to explain how you make me feel. You have something special about you that connects with something in me. I could talk your ear off, and you’d still listen to all my nonstop chatter, not to mention the level of patience you’ve shown me since I’ve been here. I’m also impressed with your exquisite taste in art and your creative insight. You are interesting and so much more than people’s perception of you, but your reputation is all you allow others to see. I love what’s hidden behind the reputation.”
He appeared awed by my words, his expression paused and his lips parted on a stalled word as his gaze searched mine for the truth. I shrugged. “What can I say? I’m human. We like what we like, and we want what we want.”