Chapter Thirteen
Jody held her breath and reached deeper, determined not to lose her momentum. The senseless part was true because part of her brain really had turned off. Her filters had shut down a while ago, and whatever she felt, she said.
Like, I was thinking about giving you the blow job of your life. Or saying, just wait until I get payback while licking her lips.
But, heck. She wasn’t exaggerating. She was just feeling a little, er…bold. Not just bold as in, assertive around a guy, because that had never been a problem. Rather, bold as in assertive around this guy, who could probably kill a tiger with his bare hands.
The pouring rain might have contributed to her mood — seeing, hearing, feeling a tropical storm had a way of doing that to a girl. That, and she had come twice already — another excuse for why her tongue had loosened so much. But the second she closed her hands around his cock, she clammed up for a few seconds because, wow. Maybe he wouldn’t fit inside her. Not that she wasn’t going to give it her best shot.
Cruz’s eyelids drifted shut as she slid her fist up and down. His breath hitched, and he shifted his hips to get closer.
“Um, help?” she murmured, struggling to remove his rain-soaked pants.
His eyes snapped open as if he’d popped out of a dream. “Here I was thinking you could do anything.”
“Almost anything. But these pants…”
Together, they worked them down, and Cruz kicked them to the floor.
“Now you’re the sloppy one,” she pointed out.
“Don’t care.” He shifted into position above her in a way that didn’t broker any doubts. His face was a mask of seriousness, as if making love to her was something he had to get exactly, precisely right.
Slowly, she dragged her hand down his length — a long, mouthwatering ride. When she pulled back up, the return trip seemed twice as long, his cock twice as hard. She circled her fingers down for a little variety and tugged on the foreskin just enough to make Cruz groan.
“Minx.”
“You love it, mister. Now hush.”
He snuck his hand between their bodies to cover hers, helping her set the perfect pace. Slow on the upstroke, faster on the downstroke. Their eyes locked while their hands moved, and she felt drawn in. Connected. Part of him, almost.
Cruz’s throat bobbed with a gulp. Did he feel the same thing? For all that they’d already shared, it felt like the most blissfully erotic moment of her life.
Note to self, she thought. Keep eyes open during sex.
As soon as she settled into the perfect pace, Cruz reached lower, making her groan.
“Shh,” he murmured. “Soon.”
It was crazy, how badly her body needed his. He touched her, drawing a line down her folds at the same pace she moved over him. And damn, that was even better. Slow in one direction, a little faster in the other, with a little circling motion that she mimicked at the tip of his cock. She tipped her head and watched for a moment, unconsciously licking her lips.
Which might have been the catalyst for Cruz to suddenly reach for the dresser drawer and grab a condom. He had it on in a flash, then pushed her legs wider with one knee. With one hand, he pulled her arms over her head, pinning them firmly to the mattress.
She pulled in a rattly breath. This was going to be so good.
I swear it will be, his eyes said. His glowing eyes, which just went to show how out of her mind she was.
When Cruz dragged his cock along her body in long, deliberate strokes, she gasped. And when he stopped at her entrance, she held her breath.
“You’re good, right?” He tilted his head, giving her one final way out.
She gave a curt nod instead of making a pathetic mess of herself by begging, Please, yes, please, and wrapped both legs around his waist.
Then she moaned — almost howled — as he slid in with one smooth stroke.
“Yes,” she cried a second later, hovering on the razor’s edge of pleasure and pain.
He inhaled so deeply, she could hear it over the sound of pouring rain. He withdrew slowly, then slid forward again. Her head flopped back — so much for eye contact. But the burn was overwhelming, and if she didn’t block out some sensory input — like the woodsy smell of the thatched roof above, the splash of rain over leaves outside, or the look of total concentration on Cruz’s face — she’d lose what little composure she had left.
So she let her head tip back and gasped with each successive thrust. And when Cruz dropped lower to kiss and nip her neck, she angled her head, silently begging for more.
“So perfect. So beautiful,” Cruz murmured. Not so much to her as to himself — or maybe to that alter ego he seemed to have muted conversations with from time to time. He found the perfect spot at the curve of her neck and suckled while he drove into her at the same relentless pace.
Jody pulled her legs higher around his waist and clenched hard, making him groan. A drop of rain — or sweat? — landed on her chest.
“So good…”
She arched and bucked against him, driving the inner tension higher.
His teeth were bared, his brow furrowed.
“Harder…” She arched into him, meeting every thrust, straining for more.
He took both her hands in one of his and lowered the other to her breast, making little black spots dance in her eyes. Two hard strokes later, he dropped his hand to her clit, making her buck.
“Yes… Yes…”
She clenched her inner muscles and hugged his body with her legs. Her breath came in raspy rushes in time to Cruz’s thrusts, and his was hot and heavy by her ear. Every muscle in his body flexed as he reared higher, locking eyes with her again.
Look at me, his expression demanded. Watch as I drive you totally over the edge. Like I promised — I am going to fuck you senseless until we both come undone.
The longer she gazed into those golden eyes, the more the nuance became clear to her. Cruz wanted her to watch him come undone. He wanted to share that with her, to open up that much more of his soul.
“Yes,” she whispered, urging him on.
His hands tightened around hers. He pumped harder. Harder. Faster. Muttering under his breath as the steady pace became a sprint. His jaw jutted, and his eyes blazed.
“Oh… Yes…” Jody cried, keeping her eyes open and her legs wrapped tight.
His thick cock stretched her, pistoning into her again and again. He rolled his hips, finding a whole new spot to push against, then rocked harder, slamming into her at an angle guaranteed to drive her over the edge.
“Yes—”
Her yes cut off in her throat when Cruz buried himself deep and groaned with his release. Her high hit half a breath later, and she clawed at the air. Everything blurred and exploded in her mind. It was like flying off the edge of the biggest, craziest wave she’d ever ridden and getting swirled around in its foamy wake. Like hanging on by the skin of her teeth, refusing to miss one second of wild pleasure before submitting to the lull after the wave.
Then she went as boneless as a clump of seaweed tossed up on the beach. Cruz lowered himself onto her body, distributing his weight carefully so as not to crush her. She reached around his shoulders and locked him into a hug. Her legs hugged him, too, and he hugged her back. He let his hands drift over her hair and skin as he whispered words she could barely hear. Low and garbled but happy. Undeniably happy.
She grinned. Cruz Khala — tough guy extraordinaire — had a lot more heart than he let on. Maybe even a sensitive soul.
She chuckled and spoke softly. “So, tigers don’t purr, huh?”
He stiffened a little as if on guard against what she might say next.
“What about tough guy bodyguards?” she went on. “Are they allowed to purr? Because I’m pretty sure that’s what I’m hearing.”
He exhaled and let his muscles go loose again. “I think that’s Keiki.”
She laughed, and he did, too. “Right. Keiki. Sure.” The calico was nowhere in sight, but she’d let Cruz have his excuse.
She was a mess, as was the bed, and she was afraid Cruz would roll away and end this quiet bliss. But instead of rolling, he slid sideways, dropped the condom beside the bed, and came face-to-face with her. He blinked once, twice, then started nuzzling her with his cheeks and chin. The world’s most thorough nuzzle that rubbed his scent into her skin.
Jody rubbed back like a bird in a timeless mating ritual. Or maybe even like two mighty felines who nuzzled and growled their devotion to each other before settling back and lording over their shared domain.
She was sticky. Wet. Her hair, a matted mess. But she’d never felt this good.
Cruz broke off slowly and held her snugly against his chest.
“Hey,” she whispered, kissing his skin.
“Hey,” he replied softly.
She closed her eyes and imagined waking up this way every morning.
He tightened his hug. Was he imagining the same thing?
She sighed and wiggled closer, determined to enjoy the present. The soft play of his hands over her shoulders, the puff of his breath on her hair. The background music of an island awash in cleansing rain.
Minutes passed. She could have rested there a full hour. Days, even.
“I love it here,” she cooed. “So peaceful.”
“It was until you arrived,” he joked.
She popped up to look at him. “Until you brought me here, you mean. I think this was all part of your master plan.”
He laughed outright. “I wish I were smart enough to have that as my master plan. I’m improvising, honey.”
She kissed him, and the snappy remark on the tip of her tongue vanished from her mind.
“Whoa,” she said a few minutes later. “You really are purring.”
Cruz laughed. “That’s Keiki. Really. Look.”
A soft thump sounded as Keiki jumped into view and trotted over to Cruz, who scratched her under the chin. Keiki plucked at the sheets with her tiny claws and purred louder.
“Aren’t you a cutie?” Jody said, coming up on one elbow. She waited a second then delivered the punch line. “And the kitten’s not half bad either.”
Cruz swatted her with a pillow, then chased her across the mattress and pinned her under his body again. “Who are you calling cute, lady?”
He tried to look menacing, but it didn’t work. Especially not when Keiki jumped on his shoulder and looked down at her, too.
“You,” she giggled, flailing with no hope of getting free. Not that she wanted to budge. “And you’re cute, too,” she assured Keiki.
The kitten purred, kneading Cruz’s muscled shoulder like a rug.
Cruz shrugged Keiki aside and flopped down beside Jody, spooning her to his chest — really holding her like he didn’t want to let go. Keiki, meanwhile, pranced over and peered at the two of them from up close.
“You’re the queen of this place, aren’t you?” She chuckled, scratching the kitten under the chin.
“That, she is.”
Jody laughed. “I think I’ve figured you and Silas out. Especially you and your thing for cats.”
Cruz went still. Very still.
“Yep,” she breezed on. “Some crazy old widow died and left the estate to her cats, and you and Silas are the caretakers. So the cats are actually the ones in charge.” She laughed. “What do you think of my theory?”
Cruz let out a long exhale and kissed the top of her head. “I think your theory is as crazy as you are. Now, be quiet and listen.” He gestured toward the pouring rain outside.
She closed her eyes and tuned in — not so much to the relentless drumming of rain but to the beat of his heart. Keiki curled into the space by her stomach, purring and plucking at the sheets as Jody petted her head.
“Pretty perfect,” she sighed.
Cruz ran his fingers down her arm, getting her all heated up again. It truly felt perfect, especially now that she was a free woman again. She had the rest of the afternoon and all night to do whatever she wanted. Whatever she and Cruz wanted to do, that was.
“Pretty perfect,” Cruz agreed, tickling the side of her breast.