Page 62 of Freedom Mine
Normally, she’d enjoy drawing out that engaging smile of his, especially as she had been imagining what it would be like to sleep with him. She detested every time a man touched her, but thinking of Kayo had her thrumming with the need to touch him and to have him touch her. But not knowing how she’d ended up in his bed earlier, naked, weighed on her.
“Keep your leg raised and stay off of it,” she said as she rushed toward the door.
“Alli?” The need in his voice pulled at her. “Are you afraid to be in my bedroom with me?” he asked.
“I woke up here, naked,” she said, keeping her back to him.
“Look at me, Alli,” Kayo demanded. Slowly, she turned to face him, not sure what she’d see. His face held concern, and it made her feel guilty she’d ever doubted him.
He slid off the bed, rising to his full height, though he favored his injured leg. He could be intimidating, even when he didn’t intend to be, but he could also be sweet and endearing, which is why she hadn’t fled. She trusted this man.
“I’d never put you at risk,” he said, all mirth gone from his voice. “Or use you.”
“I’ve been drugged before and woken up in beds not my own.” She hated how her voice wavered or that she had trouble looking him in the eyes. Waking up naked in his bed—without knowing how she’d gotten there or what had happened to her—bothered her, and she wouldn’t apologize for that. He couldn’t understand that.
With a single finger under her chin, he tipped her head up. “I undressed you so you’d be clean and dry, nothing more. If there had been another woman here, I’d have asked her to take care of you. But there wasn’t, so it fell to me. I wasn’t going to leave you in clothing covered in dirt, sweat, and blood. I didn’t look, except as needed.”
“Not Jace or Ranth?” She swallowed, her body shaking slightly. “Bawson?”
Anger filled his eyes at the mention of the other men. No, he hadn’t let anyone else touch her. For that, she was grateful.
She leaned in against his chest. His rough shirt scratched her cheek, irritating the bruise, but the way his arms encircled her, holding her secure let all the tension drain from her.
Alli rose on her toes and laced her fingers behind his neck.
“Alli,” he growled, creating a need in her she’d never had for anyone before.
It was a scary thought, the desire to be with him in a way that had never been pleasant for her. Yet, somehow she imagined sex would be different with Kayo or at least not so bad. The way he had touched her, filling her body with need in the kitchen. . . perhaps with him, it would be different. At the very least, he wouldn’t demean her. And if being with him pleased him, well, then she would find pleasure in that.
She pressed her lips to his and slid her tongue along the seam of his lips, until he opened for her. He was hiding from her, his tongue holding back as she nipped and teased him as he’d done to her a few days ago.
Suddenly, Kayo’s hands held either side of her head as his tongue swept her mouth. He moaned as he deepened the kiss. One hand slid down her back to cup her ass. His possession of her felt too good, too right to question. As he squeezed her bottom, his body pressed against her, sending desire to her core.
He pulled away and stared into her face as he drew a single finger along her jaw to her lips. What would it be like to feel him enter her, if he’d be slow and gentle as she imagined, not rough and demanding as. . . No, she wouldn’t think of them now. This was Kayo, and she had to remember that no matter what he did, he wasn’t one of them, he wasn’t using her.
Mocco had always told her to relax so her body would take a man more easily. There’d be less pain, maybe some pleasure. Mocco had been wrong. There’d never been pleasure, but she could never relax either.
In the beginning, she’d fought, but that always made her situation worse. In time she found that letting her mind wander until they were done was the best escape. But she’d never relaxed and certainly never enjoyed sex.
With Kayo, her body moved to him as if he were a magnet. Wetness in her new panties startled her at first until she remembered Mocco’s teachings.
Alli wanted Kayo’s lips on her, his hands exploring her. Every part of her, from her breasts to her core, felt primed and in need of a release. Her body wanted him, and the thought was both exhilarating and frightening. She needed Kayo. ShewantedKayo.
“Are you sure, Alli?” he asked, his eyes filled with trepidation. “You drifted away there for a minute.”
“Old memories.”
He started to pull away until she caught his hand and put it back on her hip.
“This has to be because you want it, not because I want it or because you want to please me.”
“But I do want to please you, Kayo,” she said, eager to have his hands resume their caresses.
His forehead touched hers and remained there. Her breath caught at the closeness, at the gentleness with which he touched her.
“You do please me, Alli, every time you stand up to me.” Kayo gave a chaste kiss to her forehead and limped out of the bedroom.
Alli sank to the bed, stunned. She couldn’t believe he’d done it again. He’d made her body crave him, only to walk away.
