KASMINE.
I was about to live my best life. Just a few days from now, I’d be in the Maldives.
The Maldives.
For years, I’d dreamed of it-soft white sand slipping between my toes, an endless stretch of blue water meeting the sky, the kind of place where freedom felt special and within reach.
It always seemed so Impossible, like a fantasy for someone else, because no matter how much I longed for it, Kester always had the final say.
And he always said no.
Until now.
Excitement bubbled inside me, so strong it made my fingers tremble as I gripped the glass of orange juice.
Even though I was being given this freedom by the same person who had withheld it, it was still thrilling. And even though I had dreamt of going with Claire… It was still okay. I believe it should still mean as much to me with Kester by my side.
I should have been frustrated. I should have been resentful. But all I could feel was this dizzy, guilty sort of gratitude.
Even if the strings were still there and I could feel them wrapping tighter around me, I wanted this. I wanted to step onto that plane. I wanted to see what it was like to exist outside the bubble he had built around me, even if he was still the one holding my leash.
The water was warm, but his touch burned hotter as strong arms wrapped around my waist from behind, pulling me into the solid heat of his bare chest. I gasped, my body jolting at the contrast of wet skin against wet skin, but Kester only tightened his grip, holding me against him like I belonged there.
“Thinking about me?” His voice was low and teasing, right beside my ear. His breath, so warm against the cool evening air, sent a shiver down my spine.
Before I could respond, he turned me to face him.
His dark, wet hair slicked against his forehead, water clinging to his tanned skin like glistening jewels. Droplets ran in slow, lazy paths down the sharp angles of his jaw, his collarbones, and the ridges of his chest.
His eyes… Those eyes that kept holding me captive-deep green, hungry, and locked onto me like I was the only thing worth looking at.
A slow smile curved his lips.
“Kasmine…” He said my name like a prayer… Like it was sacred.
“Hey…” I wrapped my arms around his neck while he pulled me closer, holding my waist firmly as if to keep me from sinking into the depths of the pool. Or maybe into him.
“You’re shivering,” he murmured, his fingers tracing a slow, intentional path down my spine.
“I-I’m not… I’m not cold.” I managed.
Liar.
I wasn’t cold, yes, but I was trembling. From the heat in his gaze. From the way his fingers curled around my hips, pressing me against him, making sure I felt every inch of him beneath the water.
Kester’s smirk deepened. He knew.
“You weren’t too excited about this at first,” he mused, his hand sliding up my side, his thumb grazing the curve of my ribcage.
I swallowed hard. “I didn’t have a choice.”
“You never do,” he murmured, dipping his head slightly.
A fresh wave of heat pooled in my stomach at the way he said it-low, dark, unapologetic.
No, I never did have a choice. Kester didn’t ask. He decided. And I obeyed. Whether I liked it or not.
He had invited me to the pool with him. He wanted us to relax and enjoy the evening swim together in each other’s arms. And as weird as it sounded at first to me, this was Kester. There was no saying no to him. No matter how weird I think they are, I would have to get used to these things.
His nose brushed against mine, and his touch felt like a warning and a promise all in one.
“Kasmine.” He tilted my chin up with one finger, his lips hovering over mine. So close. Too close.
We stood at the edge of the pool with my back resting against the cold tiles.
His other hand slid lower, fingers grazing my thigh beneath the water, parting them before guiding my left leg to rest on his waist. “Ever fucked in a pool before?” He whispered, and I was certain I spilled my juices in the pool.
I was too shy to hold his gaze, but I did. “No…” I answered timidly, even though I knew the question didn’t need an answer.
“Then let me do the honors,” he smirked as his fingers found my clit, “Always keep your eyes on me, Kasmine,” He commanded when I tried to close my eyes in pleasure.
A moan escaped my lips as I tried to keep my gaze locked on his sinful ones. I didn’t know what was getting me wetter his god-like handsomeness or the painfully slow strokes his fingers were administering across my clit.
I looked down, and all I could see was a sea of blue. I wished I could see the tattoo on the base of his length. I always liked seeing it on him. It did something to me… It aroused me. Not because my name was inscribed on it even though that added icing to the cake but because, gods, I loved men with tattoos!
The water bubbled and frothed between us, making it even more erotic. You know the feeling of knowing that you’re deriving an unseen pleasure? That’s what I felt, and it was dizzying, intoxicating, and utterly satisfying.
I pushed closer to him, crushing my lips on his as a tidal wave of pleasure erupted within me. I let out small whimpers when he sunk his two fingers into my weeping vagina, pumping slow and steady.
Kester’s fingers fucked me like he was exploring my insides. He stilled when he touched a certain spot that made me moan louder this time.
He smiled into the kiss like he had just won the lottery before parting his two fingers around that spot. Using a scissor-like motion, he lightly gripped the flesh around the spot and began sliding up and down in a steady motion.
I was losing my mind. “Kester…” I moaned out his name like a lyric when his lips left mine, trailing wet kisses along my cheek, jaw, and neck. He bit down on my shoulder while his tongue nibbled on the spot where he bit, creating the most pleasurable sensation I’d ever felt.
He slowed down his motion, changing both rhythm, pace, and thrusts. His middle and index fingers began making a “come here” motion inside me, gently raking his fingers over my sensitive spot, his thumb never stopping the gentle strokes on my clit.
My legs convulsed, clamping hard around his waist, while my hips jerked to meet his thrusts.
“Oh, Selene… Kester…” My eyes watered from the immense pleasure, and I felt like my heart would stop at any moment.
I felt his hard dick pressing hard against my wet center while his fingers did unthinkable things to my poor vagina.
“Look at me while I fuck you, Kasmine,” He growled, and my eyes snapped open, taking in his dark, cloudy ones. He was high on arousal, and I could tell he couldn’t wait to sink himself inside me.
Tears of unchecked pleasure rolled down my cheeks, and he bit down on his lower lip at the sight of it.
“Fuck… I love it when I make you cry just like this,” he said in a hoarse voice, and I almost shattered. My walls clenched tightly, and I could feel my release building up rapidly when he stilled and pulled out his fingers immediately, “You don’t get to cum until I say so,” A wicked smile curled on his lips, and I whimpered in frustration.
“Please, Kes…” I whispered. At that point, I’d do anything just to get that delicious release that was just building up. “Please,” my voice shook with desperation as I searched his eyes, but he was slowly pulling away with a loom of malicious intent gleaming in his eyes.
I tightened my leg around his waist, refusing to let go, “Please let me cum,” I sounded so desperate that I should feel ashamed, but I didn’t.
“What price are you willing to pay to get that release, Kasmine?”
I was totally lost. Why do I need to pay a price? Why… “I’ll do anything, Kester,” I almost screamed when I felt him pulling away, “Anything, but, please, just let me…” My hand instinctively disappeared into the water in an attempt to touch myself, to ease the ache and emptiness his fingers created.
“Touch yourself, and you’ll be sorry, Mine,” He said, his fingers caressing my cheek softly, and I wondered how he wasn’t feeling affected by this. Wasn’t he as hard and aroused as I was needy? “You said you’d do anything, huh?” He asked, and I nodded eagerly, my hand shamelessly reaching for his hard length. I couldn’t even wrap my fingers around his girth. It was big, long and hard.
The imagination of having him inside me fueled my desperation. “Yes. I’ll do anything. Please.” I pressed forward, trying to grind my vagina onto his hard length, but he slightly pulled away.
“All you have to do is say you are mine, Kasmine,” He breathed into my ear while his tongue trailed wet paths around my earlobe.
My curious eyes locked with his in shock.
What? What the hell did he mean by that?
There was no way in hell I’d sell my soul to the devil.
He was slowly killing me and making sure I had no choice but to die in his arms. I hesitated, a moan and a whimper crawling out of my throat.
“Say it, Kasmine,” He urged, his fingers finding my wet hole again, sliding over it slowly… So painfully slowly that it drew a shudder out of me.
“I… I can’t, Kester,” I sobbed, my arms still wrapped around his neck. I buried my face in the crook of his neck as I let the tears fall.
He slid his two fingers in again, deep, long, and slow, before pulling out again, “Say it, Mine… And I’ll make sure you don’t regret it.”
Why? Why was it so important to him?
I was beginning to feel a certain kind of warmth I shouldn’t be feeling toward him, and I’ve been doing my best to fight it… And now, committing to this? It was just like signing a death sentence.
“It doesn’t take a thing to be mine, Kasmine…” He said, pumping back in and sliding out again, making me moan out his name, “You already belong to me. I just want to hear you say it,” he bit down on my right nipple, his tongue dragging slow, wet circles around the stinging pain his bite caused.
“Don’t do this, Kes…” I begged in tears, clenching my walls around his fingers when they slid in again in a desperate attempt to keep them in there.
This was torture.
“You hold more power over me than you know, Mine… You can make me burn down the world for you with just a word,” He thrust his hips forward, brushing his cock against my entrance, “Just. Say. The. Fucking. Word!” He said through clenched jaws, obviously looking his patience.
“I… I am yours, Kester…” I said, almost screaming, desperate to stop this torment, “I am yours… You own me…”
His body went rigid instantly as he slowly lifted his face from my breasts, which he was assaulting to look into my face.
My eyes were closed… I regretted those words instantly, but I had already said them and couldn’t take them back.
His thumb brushed lightly against the side of my face, and I could feel his hand trembling as he touched me, “Open your eyes, Mine…” He whispered, and I could swear I had heard his voice quiver.
I slowly dragged my lashes open, my gaze resting on his own. The depths of his eyes held something that almost made me not regret my words… Gratitude, disbelief, happiness… All at the same time.
“Say it again, Mine,” He said, his eyes searching mine, “Please…”
I whimpered, “I am yours, Kester.”
He let out a short, breathy chuckle of disbelief, and just like pouring gasoline into an already burning fire, he pulled me close in a motion that elicited a gasp from me as he wrapped my other leg around his waist with my weight resting on his strong hands.
“You won’t regret this, I promise,” He said, and that was all it took for him to plunge into me like a wounded lion.
Slow. Deep. Hard.