KASMINE.
The phone dangled between Kester’s fingers; the screen began to glow with the same name flashing persistently. Jake.
The way he held the phone, the way his jaw ticked beneath the dim sunset glow, the way his body coiled like a beast seconds away from striking-I knew I was in trouble.
Kester was a possessive man. Territorial to the point of madness. I had never tested his patience like this before. I’d danced around the edges of it, teased him with it, but now? Now, I had shoved a blade straight into the gut of his control.
“Where did you get that?” My voice came out hoarse, almost pathetic.
His lips twitched, but there was no amusement in his eyes. Only something terrifyingly dark. Something sharp enough to cut. “Where do you think, baby?”
I swallowed hard.
I had hidden it well. Or at least, I thought I had.
Kester hummed, tilting his head and running a thumb over the screen. “Funny thing about secrets, Mine,” he murmured. “They don’t stay buried for long.”
Then, right before my eyes, he turned and flung the phone into the water below.
Gone.
I gasped, my pulse spiking, my body jerking forward instinctively like I could somehow retrieve it, but Kester was faster. His arm wrapped around my waist, dragging me back against his chest and forcing me to feel every ripple of muscle and every ounce of heat burning through his skin.
He dipped his head, his lips brushing the shell of my ear. “I haven’t killed him, you know…”
My heart stopped.
“He’s just a boy,” Kester continued, his voice so low and terrifying in its softness. “A small, fucking boy who doesn’t even know what to do with a woman like you.” He exhaled slowly, his fingers gripping my hips. “And because his late mother was once friends with mine, I let him breathe.”
I trembled, my nails digging into the railing. “Kester-”
“But you,” he cut me off, his teeth grazing my ear. “You’re pushing me too hard, baby.”
He turned me in his arms so fast my breath hitched, his dark, bottomless eyes pinning me.
“You keep testing me,” he rasped, his thumb dragging along my throat. “Keep tempting me to be the man you know I can be.” His hand slipped lower, curling around my waist. “Do you want me to snap?”
I whimpered, my knees locking together as his fingers slid up my thigh, under my dress, his knuckles brushing the heat between my legs.
“Tell me, Kasmine.” His breath was a ghost against my lips, his body caging me in, owning me, consuming me. “Do you want me to remind you why no one else can have you?”
I hated how easily I melted for him.
How my body surrendered before my mind could even protest.
I should have been angry. I should have fought back. But instead, I ached.
His eyes dropped to my mouth, and in one swift move, he crushed his lips against mine.
It wasn’t a kiss.
It was destruction.
He swallowed my gasp, his hand fisting my hair as he kissed me like he wanted to mark me from the inside out. His tongue thrust into my mouth, demanding, taking, owning.
I moaned into him, my body arching, my hands clutching at his arms.
“You’re shaking,” he murmured, his breath hot against my ear. “Is it fear… or pleasure?”
A pulse of heat shot through me, and I whimpered as his hand wrapped around my throat, forcing me to meet his gaze.
“You will never fucking lie to me again,” he growled. “Do you hear me?”
I nodded breathlessly.
His grip tightened, “Say it.”
“I-I won’t lie to you,” I choked out.
A dark smirk touched his lips. “Good girl.”
Then he yanked my dress down, baring me to the cool evening air, to him.
Before I could even catch my breath, his mouth was on me again. His tongue lashed over my nipple, his teeth scraping just hard enough to make me gasp.
My head fell back, my hands digging into his hair as he moved lower, trailing wet kisses down my stomach, his fingers slipping beneath the waistband of my panties.
“Let me remind you, baby.” He hooked the fabric, dragging it down my legs slowly, “Let me remind you who you fucking belong to.”
He turned me harshly, pressing my back against him, my bare stomach leaning against the railing.
The height beneath me was dizzying-just one slip, and I’d be swallowed by the water and darkness beneath us.
But the risk made it intoxicating.
The way he easily pulled down his pants and freed his length made me shudder. And then, the next moment, he pushed inside my sore pussy. A yelp escaped my lips at the suddenness.
My body arched beneath him with a mixture of pain and pleasure, fear and desire, when he began to thrust into me.
He gripped my hips tightly, pulling me closer to him to give him a better angle for a deeper penetration.
“Ahh… Kester… Please…” I cried as he pushed me to the edge.
He moved his hand to my throat, his thumb rubbing against my pulse as he spoke, “You are mine. Only mine. Do you understand?” his voice was dark and dangerous. I nodded, my breath coming in ragged gasps. “Don’t make me kill anyone else because of you.”
My brain was too busy to even proceed what he had just said. I just nodded blindly, moaning like a slut.
“Don’t just stand there. Fucking fuck me back!” He rasped, smacking my bare ass, making me to yelp. I obeyed, moving my hips and waist to match his thrusts.
As he thrust deeper, I noticed a section of the railing, a splintered piece of wood, looking increasingly fragile. The force of his punishing thrusts was making it crack and splinter even more.
I tried to move, but his hand held my waist firmly, keeping me right in place.
My stomach clenched.
“Kester-”
His hand shot up to my throat, fingers curling around it, cutting off my words before they could spill.
“Not a word.” He warned, his voice dripping with so much control it made my skin burn. “Just take it.”
A whimper caught in my throat as he drove into me harder, with each thrust rocking me forward, pushing me toward the very edge I was trying to avoid.
Panic licked at the edges of my pleasure. The railing wasn’t built for this. I gripped the wood, my nails biting into the smooth surface, but it only seemed to worsen the break. If he didn’t stop-if he kept driving into me with this recklessness, one particularly hard thrust, the rail might give way entirely.
“Kester, the rail…” I managed, but his fingers dug into the skin of my throat.
“I said take it,” He gritted his teeth.
My heart slammed against my ribs. Every inch of my body screamed for survival, but another, deeper part of me-one far more dangerous-thrived in the threat.
Kester’s grip on my throat tightened. “You love it, don’t you?”
I did. Goddess help me, I did.
The fear. The pleasure. The way his cock kept me tethered even as the world beneath us threatened to crumble.
Suddenly, the rail gave a sickening lurch. My body jolted forward, only to be wrenched back by Kester’s grip. He growled low in his throat, dragging me against him.
“Stay with me,” he commanded, his breath ragged against my ear. “I’ve got you.”
But did he? The rail screamed beneath us, giving another warning that it couldn’t take much more.
Then-
No, no, no-
A final snap.
The rail shifted.
I gasped, but Kester was faster. His arms locked around my waist, yanking me against his chest just as the wood beneath us creaked its last protest.
A second later, he was inside me again-holding me up, with his arm wrapped across my neck, fucking me through the chaos like nothing had just happened.
His other hand, which held my hips, began to slide up and down my clit, drawing out what remnant of pleasure there was.
His other hand wrapped around my throat again, pulling my head up to meet his towering gaze from behind me. He smirked when he saw the tear that escaped my eyes.
All I could do was whimper at that point and pray my body could go on much longer.
Kester pulled out of me with a wet sound, his muscles still tense from holding me upright.
He made me face him and lifted me effortlessly, my legs wrapping around his waist on instinct, my slick heat rubbing against the hardness of his abdomen.
He didn’t give me a moment to recover. His mouth latched onto my breast, and his hot, wet tongue swirled around the stiff peak before he bit down just enough to make me gasp.
“Kester-”
A sharp slap landed on my ass, the sting rippling through my body, sending a fresh wave of heat between my thighs.
“Shh, baby,” he husked against my skin. He licked over the spot where his teeth had just been, soothing the burn before delivering another firm spank. “Fuck. I want to own every fucking part of you.”
I whimpered, my fingers diving into his hair, tugging him closer. He walked us inside. The dim glow of the room highlighted the hunger in his gaze as he carried me toward the couch.
I barely had time to process before he dropped onto the couch with me straddling his lap.
But he didn’t move.
Instead, he just looked at me. I was a panting mess.
His dark eyes roamed over my face, drinking me in like I was the only thing keeping him breathing.
I swallowed as I stared back at him, wondering what was going on in his mind. His intense stare always made my cheeks burn. I would never get used to Kester’s intense stare. It did things to me that I was so ashamed to admit.
He sucked in air and placed his forehead against mine briefly before pulling away and gazing into my eyes.
Then, so softly I almost didn’t hear it, he whispered, “I love you.”
My lungs constricted, and I suddenly forgot how to speak.
Gods. The tenderness in his eyes was a discovery.
His fingers tightened on my hips, his jaw flexing as he closed his eyes for a brief moment before opening them again. “I fucking love you, Kasmine.”
I parted my lips, but nothing came out.
His eyes darkened, searching mine for an answer.
“Say it back,” he murmured, almost pleading. “Tell me you love me, baby.”
I froze.
His fingers twitched against my skin, his brows furrowing ever so slightly. “You’ve never said it before.” His voice was quieter now, “Not once.”
I shook my head slowly, not able to break his gaze.
His breathing changed.
“Kasmine…”
My lips parted, but I still couldn’t say it. I couldn’t let those words slip free.
Because saying them would mean accepting everything Kester was. Everything he had done. Everything he would do for me. And everything we were not meant to be.
Those words would sign my fate.
He exhaled harshly, his fingers sliding up my back, tangling in my hair. “Say it.”
I swallowed and shook my head.
His jaw clenched, his grip tightening. His control was slipping, that dangerous edge creeping back into his voice. “Say it, baby. Just once.”
“I… I can’t, Kes…” I whispered, moisture gathering in my eyes at the raw emotion I saw in his eyes.
His eyes flashed with something dark that I feared. “Kasmine-” His voice broke along with my heart. “Please.”
I just stared at him before doing the one thing I knew would drive him mad.
I leaned in and kissed him soft, slow, and deep-pouring everything I felt into it and wishing he’d feel it too.
But he pulled back just an inch. His hand wrapped around my throat while his eyes burned into mine.
“You will say it, Kasmine,” he vowed, “Even if I have to fucking break you to hear it. One day, you will.”
And I knew that he meant every word he just said.