Where the Sun Hides (Seasons of Betrayal #1) (23 page)

“What, then?”

“I’ve just … had a lot on my mind. I have dreams, and it’s
stu—”

“Not stupid,” he interjected before she could finish. “That
might explain part of the mumbling.”

Violet swallowed the lump growing in her throat, willing
Kaz to drop whatever he was thinking about saying before he went any farther.

He didn’t.

“Carmine is your brother, yes?”

Violet squeezed her eyes shut. “Yeah.”

“And … Olly?”

God.

“His dog,” she confessed.

Kaz cleared his throat, his hand skimming over her naked
hip and down to her thigh. Grabbing there, he pulled her closer into him again
until their bodies were molded together and her legs were tangled with his.

“I wouldn’t usually let a woman stay in my bed after she’s
mumbled another man’s name,” Kaz said.

“My brother’s, you mean?”

“No, I knew that’s who he was.”

Violet pressed the heel of her palms to her eyes. She knew
what he was getting around to saying. “Can you just … not do this right now?”

“If that’s what you want, sweetheart.”

The endearment rolled off his tongue far too easily for it
to be meant simply to placate her. It held too much affection, and strangely,
it hurt a little.

Before Violet could stop herself, she asked, “What else did
I say?”

Kaz sucked air in through his teeth. “Things.”

“Well, thank you. That explains everything.”

“I think you know exactly what you were mumbling on about
in your sleep, so I don’t see why you need me to repeat it back to you,
Violet.”

She wiped at her eyes again with her palms, keeping the
wetness at bay. It wasn’t the time and she didn’t want to cry, anyway.

“I fucked up,” she said. “Went beyond where I was supposed
to.”

She could feel Kaz’s frown press to the back of her neck.
“And you’re dreaming of it.”

It wasn’t even a question.

“A couple times.”

Kaz sighed. “I’m sorry.”

That was not what she expected him to say, but she
shouldn’t be too shocked. The man continued to surprise her.

“It doesn’t matter,” Violet said. “It’ll stop eventually.”

“It will,” he agreed.

She could hear the “but” he left unsaid.

“What, Kaz?”

“But it bothers me to feel you twisting and turning, and
going on like you were. Especially right now.”

“It always seems to be there when I sleep,” she said. “And
I just want to …
sleep
. Not dream. Sleep.”

Suddenly, Violet found herself spun around in the bed,
facing Kaz. He grabbed hold of her wrists, tugging her up onto him wordlessly.
Her thighs opened around his waist as her hands rested to his pecs.

“Sleep,” he repeated.

In the dark, she could only make out the outline of his
toned form and just a hint of his profile. Hair that she’d been pulling on
earlier in the night was smoothed slightly, like he’d run his fingers back
through it.

“I’d like to,” she said.

“Maybe your brain just isn’t tired enough to shut off
completely,” Kaz suggested.

He could feel the tremor rush through her at his words, her
hips shifting just enough to remind him he had her exactly where he wanted her.
Kaz could tell from the restlessness that had suddenly taken her over that she
knew what he was implying, but in case she didn’t …

“Sometimes it just takes a certain amount of exhaustion a
person needs to pass out,” Kaz commented, sweeping his hand up her stomach to
palm her breast. A thrill shot through him at the way her back arched and he
could almost see her lips part in the dull light of the moon. “Is that what you
need, Violet?”

Wrapping his hand in her hair, he tugged on the strands as
he sat up, keeping her steady.

He forced her gaze on him, could see the naked hunger he
felt reflected back in her eyes. “Do you want me to exhaust you?”

She let out a soft moan, but didn’t actually answer his
question, merely nodded as though that would be enough for him. No, he wanted
to hear it vocalized. He needed to hear
her
. He fucking thrived in the
noises he forced out of her.

“No, you know what I want to hear. Don’t make me ask
again,” he said, punctuating his words with a slap on her ass. Not hard enough
to hurt, he’d never hurt her that way, but enough to make her nails dig into
the skin of his chest. “You have about a second before I make the decision for
you, Violet.”

She tried to hide it from him, turning her face away, but
Kaz caught it before she did. He saw just the tiniest hint of a defiant smile,
and that was all he needed.

Fine, if that’s how she wanted it.

He shifted their positions, flipping her onto her stomach,
then bringing her up to her knees. A flush swept its way down her body before
his hand followed the same descent. She might not have said the words, but her
body did—the way she arched into his touch, the way her fingers clutched at his
sheets, and how even as her face was pressed against the pillows, he could
still hear the anticipation in each breath she took.

“You know,” he said conversationally, “we’re going to have
to work on this. When I ask something, I want an answer. Simple. But if you
want, I can teach you. Right here, right now.”

Maybe she was still playing at defiance.

Maybe she was overwhelmed by it all.

But either way, the game was starting.

He traced his fingers up her spine, feeling each groove
before he reached the nape of her neck and her hair there. Wrapping the strands
around his fist, he pulled, turning her face so that she was facing the
windows, but he had a clear view of her face.

“What was my question, Violet?” he asked, letting his other
hand rest on the curve of her backside. “And to give you a bit of incentive …”
He lifted and brought his hand down fast, and hard, eliciting a cry from her
that made his blood run hot. “Now answer me—me fucking you depends on it.”

Violet shuddered, her voice leaving her in a rush as she
mumbled something unintelligible, but that wasn’t good enough for him. He spanked
her again, this time aiming for the spot where the curve of her ass met her
inner thigh.

“Try again,
krasivaya
.”

“E-Exhaust me,” she said on a broken whisper.

That was enough for now. “And how do you want me to do
that? Because I could do this—” he reached between her thighs, sliding his
fingers down her wet center before coming back up again, using two digits to
rub at her clit. “But in your state, I could get you off in three minutes, and
where would the fun be in that? I, at least, want to draw it out.”

He was playing a dangerous game, Kaz knew. It might have
been her getting teased, but the wetter she got under his touch, and if his
name fell from her lips in another breathy sigh, he didn’t know how much more
he
could take before his control snapped.

Even now he was struggling with himself to keep her right
where she was, and not beneath him.

“Give me your words,” Kaz said suddenly, pushing two
fingers inside of her and curling them up. God, it was fucking thrilling
learning her body, finding the secret places that made her react violently, a
keening sound scraping its way out of her throat. “Shit, Violet, I
need
them.”

“Fuck me, Kaz. P-Please, I need—”

He didn’t let her finish the plea before he was moving
behind her, forcing her legs wider. Rational thought fled as he stroked his
cock once, twice, then positioned the head at her entrance. He had fully
intended on easing his way in, reveling in the feel of how tight she was, but
he hadn’t made it an inch before he was thrusting harder than he meant to.

But the second he was balls-deep in her, he couldn’t fight
himself any longer, not when he couldn’t get enough of the way she felt, or how
she was pressing back into him asking for more.

Pulling out, he thrust back in almost immediately, starting
a pace that had her crying out loudly. It was enough to pull at the jagged
edges of his sanity.

One hand was still fisted in her hair, but he loosened his
hold, drawing his hand around the curve of her shoulder and to her throat,
feeling the muscles there working as she drew in a ragged breath. Pulling her
up, he kept his hand there, tightening his grip just slightly to make a hitch
in her breath.

He wouldn’t leave marks, not where anyone could see. There
was nothing he wanted more than to see the evidence of their fucking, and see
the lust they had fallen into. But he knew, even in his state, that wouldn’t go
well for her.

So the one hand he kept at her throat, her heartbeat
vibrating off his fingertips, he kept gentle enough. But the other he had at
her hip, forcing her back to meet his thrusts, he gripped harder, knowing by
morning he would see his fingerprints embedded there.

A secret for them both.

She would feel it when she undressed, and when her fingers
wandered there.

He might not have been able to claim her out there, but in
his bedroom, where it was just the two of them, he made his ownership clear.

“
God
.”

He pressed her back further until his lips were at her ear,
and he could hear every little sound she made even as she bit her lip to stifle
them. “God? God, what?”

A
please
and a
don’t stop
tumbled from her
lips, the words jumbling over each other in her need. He didn’t answer, he
didn’t have to.

Soon, he could see it, the light tremor that hadn’t let up,
and the way her moans had gone sharp and high. It told him that she was about
to come. Shit, even he could feel it racing down his spine, making him bite
down onto her shoulder, nearly losing his mind, but it wasn’t helping—it only
made it worse.

“I need you to come, Violet.
Fuck
.”

His next words were harsh, a command for her to come on his
cock, but they came out in Russian, his need too great for him to even realize,
but it didn’t seem to matter to Violet as she erupted almost violently. A sharp
whine forced its way out of her with the harsh thrusts he made.

Almost to the second she started coming, he finally let go,
holding her tight against him as he gave another brutal thrust, then two, and
finally on the third, he went back on his haunches, holding them there.

They were both sweating, both fighting for breath, and he
knew in that moment, he was never going to be able to let her go.

V
iolet added a bit more
milk to the bowl of whipped eggs, lightening the yellowish color to a softer
cream when she ran a fork through the mixture with fast strokes. Pouring the
mixture into a hot pan, she let it settle and waited for the bubbling to begin.

The throat clearing behind her didn’t startle her. She’d
been working in the kitchen for a good thirty minutes, exploring the cupboards
and fridge to find what she needed. And even though her companion hadn’t made a
noise, she knew that Kaz had been watching her for the last five minutes.

She was up early—for once. Put his shower to use, heaven
that it was, and decided to cook something to eat since she had the time to
actually do so with no worries about a call that would send her running again.

What was the harm, right?

She had heard the movement coming from the bedroom not long
after she left, but she was already preoccupied by her work in the kitchen.

“What are you doing?” Kaz asked.

Violet shot him a look over her shoulder. “Take a guess.”

“Cooking.”

“Good guess,” she teased.

Kaz stayed leaning against the wall, watching her in that
way of his while she worked, and saying nothing. Violet wasn’t so unnerved by
his presence as she was his silence.

“Something on your mind?” she dared to ask.

“A bit.”

Two could play that game, so Violet decided to ease him
into whatever he was chewing on.

“Are you hungry?”

“Starved,” he admitted.

“Find a seat.”

“I like where I’m standing.”

Violet gave him another look. “Why is that?”

“I’m enjoying the view. It isn’t often my kitchen gets put
to good use, never mind a woman that isn’t my sister cooking in it.”

Ah.

“Interesting,” Violet murmured, turning back to her work.

She didn’t even hear him move until he was right behind
her. A fingertip pressed against the back of her neck, and then slowly traveled
lower until it stopped at mid-spine. Having little else to wear but what she’d
come in, Violet had opted to grab the dress shirt Kaz had discarded the night
before. Anything to keep her decent—her panties—were a lost fucking cause.

“You look good in my clothes,” he said, the words
whispering against the side of her neck.

Violet grinned, keeping her attention focused on not
burning the scrambled eggs. “Do I?”

“Very. And standing here doing …
this
.”

“I like cooking.”

“It’s very domestic,” Kaz said.

Something in the lilt of his tone caught her attention. “Is
that a problem? Did you want me to skip out of here before you woke up or
something? I mean, I’m pretty sure I could still go on ahead and do that, but
you’d be left to cook and eat the food yourself.”

“No.”

“No?”

“Stay,” he urged quietly, moving closer to her until his
chest was molded to her back and a hand landed firmly on her hip.

Violet nodded, content where she was for the moment. “I have
some time, anyway. Safe time.”

“Sure.”

His other hand tangled into the damp strands of her hair,
moving it over her shoulder, but nothing else. “Tell me there’s more than just
eggs, yes?”

She laughed, and took a step back. He followed the
movement. Opening up the oven, she waved for him to take a look inside. Eggs
and toast were the last thing to be cooked because they were the fastest.
Inside the oven, bacon, hash browns, and toast sat in different dishes, staying
warm.

“No worries,” she told him. “I know how to cook a
breakfast.”

“I won’t underestimate you again.”

“Thanks.”

Violet turned the burner down for the eggs just enough to
keep them from burning as she ran her fork throughout the pan, keeping it all
from sticking to the bottom. Kaz finally managed to surprise her just a bit
when she felt his lips press to the back of her neck softly. Just as fast, he
stepped away.

Domestic, he’d said.

She didn’t think he meant it quite the same way as she took
the word.

Once she was finished at the stove, and had a fair spread
sitting over the island to choose from, Violet shoved a plate across the
counter for Kaz to take. He did, offering her one of those smooth smiles that
caught her off guard every single time.

Violet fixed her plate, and sat atop a stool when Kaz
brought one around the other side of the island for her to use. He sat across
from her, attention drifting between the food and her.

It wasn’t awkward.

But she knew, just by the way he kept quiet, he was
thinking about things. Her, maybe. The night before, likely.

“I considered taking off this morning,” Violet said softly.

Kaz barely reacted to that, but he did lift a brow and
stared at her over the fork he was lifting to his mouth. “I would have been
severely pissed off, had you done that.”

“Oh?”

“Very.”

“Well, I didn’t, so no need for that.”

“But you thought about it,” he pressed.

“Wouldn’t it have been easier?” she asked.

Kaz tipped his head to the side slightly, asking, “Easier
for whom?”

“This.”

“And this is … what?”

Violet pursed her lips. “You don’t have to make everything
difficult, Kaz.”

“I’m not making it difficult. I’m asking a question,
Violet. You should answer it.”

Fair enough.

“This,” she repeated, waving a hand between them. “We
hooked up once, and then again—”

“Hooking up is a one-time thing. When you start seeking the
same person out to fuck again, it no longer falls into that category.”

He’d said a similar thing the night before. And he had a
good point.

Violet wasn’t exactly able to say with confidence that it
wouldn’t happen again between them, because honestly, she was already wondering
how she could get him back into his bedroom after he was done eating. She
didn’t think she would have much trouble convincing him, but she was still
thinking about it.

And that in itself said a lot.

“My point was that I thought about taking off and just …
letting it be what it was,” she said.

Kaz stopped eating entirely, discarding his fork to the
side and picking up a napkin to wipe at his mouth. He didn’t look pleased at
all over her statement, and for the first time all morning, he wouldn’t look at
her. “Is that what you want to do, then?”

She was there, wasn’t she?

“I didn’t leave,” Violet settled on saying.

Kaz nodded once. “About last night, when you woke up.”

Violet frowned, not wanting to go into specifics about why
she’d woken up. It was enough that he had been able to pull details from her
mumblings to make a story and go with it. She didn’t have to confirm it.

“Let’s not go there,” she said.

“I have to.”

“I don’t want to talk about the dreams again, Kaz.”

He chuckled, but the sound came off entirely dry and not
the least bit amused. “No, not that.”

“Then what?”

“I didn’t grab a condom, and—”

Oh.

Violet’s wide eyes and growing smile was enough to quiet
him. “It’s fine.”

“Is it? Because I’m not sure that it is.”

“Worried about making some illegitimate babies with a woman
your father doesn’t approve of?” she asked, smirking just enough to tell him
she was teasing.

Kaz scoffed. “Babies, yes. My father, not in the least.”

Violet didn’t entirely believe that. “You sure?”

“Partly,” he said, shrugging. “For someone else, it
probably wouldn’t be an issue to my father, as long as shit was handled. But
since it’s you … Yeah.”

“Huh.”

“Wouldn’t be different for your father, no?”

Violet’s smile melted away instantly. “Point taken.”

“I thought so.”

“Still, it’s fine. I have regular shots to take care of
that, so no illegitimate babies to worry about. My father overlooks men in my
life as long as I don’t … ‘shame him’, as he says.”

Kaz’s expression remained aloof and impassive as he watched
her from across the island. “Shame is an interesting word to use between a
father and his daughter.”

“My life in a nutshell?” she offered.

It was truer than she wanted to admit.

And she could tell, just by the flashing disapproval in
Kaz’s gray eyes, that he didn’t like it at all.

She didn’t know what else to tell him.

“That’s not my only concern,” Kaz said quietly.

“The birth control shot?”

“Yes, that and more.”

Violet didn’t know what else there was. “Table’s open, so
to speak.”

“Are you seeing someone else?”

She damn near choked on the sip of coffee she had just
taken in as he asked the question. Putting the cup down to the island, she
cleared her throat. “I beg your pardon?”

“Someone else. I want to know if you are fucking someone
else,” he clarified calmly.

“And if I was?”

“That would be a problem.”

Violet steeled her spine, irritated in a blink. “We’re not
an item, Kaz, or a couple. You don’t get a say in any other relationship I may
or may not have, just because we had sex.”

His tongue peeked out to wet his lips, and he laughed a
husky sound. “You’re right, I don’t.”

“Then don’t ask if you know.”

“But I intend to,” Kaz said just as fast, his gaze cutting
to hers. “Us, and this. I intend to be something with you, and I think, based
on the fact you keep coming back and also last night, that’s exactly what you
want, too. And so, no, I won’t have other men to compete with or concern myself
over that you might be seeing.”

Violet swallowed hard, but she appreciated his candor.
“What I said still stands, though. We’re not something. You don’t get to ask.”

“And I still want an answer.”  

“Kaz.”

He cocked a brow at her, never wavering. “An answer.”

“What if I asked you the same thing,” Violet shot back.

“I would answer.”

“What would it be?”

“One that would please you,” Kaz said simply, still
unbothered and watching her. “And probably surprise you.”

Violet sighed. “What are you trying to say here?”

“Exactly what I already told you. You’re going to keep
coming back here. I’m going to keep letting you. And that makes us something.
Answer me, please.”

“There’s no one else,” she said, letting the confession
slip out before she could think better of it.

Kaz straightened on the stool, his smug grin firmly back in
place. “Good.”

“Good?”

“Perfect,” he said.

She didn’t quite know what to think as he picked up his
fork and began eating again. But she couldn’t deny that his intentions were
entirely too appealing.