Page 20 of Cruel Tides

“No, no—it’s okay.” I pushed forward until our lips were back together, my hand landing on his chest. He gave a groan, and for a moment I wasn’t sure if it was from my mouth or my hand, until he placed the hand he was holding beside the one on his chest.

Well, okay then.

My fingers splayed over his skin as our kiss sank deeper; only this time his tongue moved slower, growing more cautious with each stroke, like he was restraining himself. He was clumsy, sure, but I was just as clumsy, if not worse. This was likely his first kiss, and he was trying his best not to hurt me. But, unlike him, I wasn’t afraid of feeling his teeth again. In fact, I wanted it. I’d felt them on my neck—that wonderfully strange bite he’d given me in the pool—and part of me hadn’t been able to shake that moment since.

Bites were supposed to hurt. I’d been bitten by numerous fish, as well as a stray cat or two, but when Kai’s teeth had locked on to my shoulder and the pain had mixed with that buzzing of need left from the water pulsing between my legs, it had almost unraveled me. Maybe it was a fluke. But what if it wasn’t? Either way, I was ready to find out.

He pulled back for a breath, and I struck, capturing his bottom lip between my teeth. The breath he took turned into a hiss as I tugged, giving him a playful nibble. I’d laid out the bait perfectly. The hold he had on the back of my neck weakened as I toyed with his lip, and he stilled, giving all control in the kiss over me. Then I nipped a little too hard, and his spine arched, his chest pressing into my hands. The heat in his groan morphed into genuine pain. I popped off his lip, pushing his chest back flat on the bed.

“You’re too hurt. I shouldn’t have tried to—” I stammered out between gasping breaths.

When his eyes blinked open, his pupils were blown, his bottom lip full and red from where my teeth had been. “Shhh, Claira.” His arms wrapped around me, drawing me in closer. “I like it.”

I gave him a stern look. “You’re in pain, Kai. I can tell your back is still healing.”

“There’s some pain I don’t mind,” he said with a smile, his breathing slowing along with mine as we both caught our breath. “Sometimes it’s worth it.”

I shook my head, and he bit back a grunt of discomfort as his spine stretched to fling the covers back, pulling them off of us.

“Wait,” I started, but he’d already pulled me on top of him, our stomachs pressed together.

His voice wrapped around me, low and warm. “You’re worth it.”

I pressed against Kai while propping myself up, my hair raining down over his face as I found my balance on top of him. I hadn’t expected him to throw the covers off, and Ireallyhadn’t expected him to pull me so close.

He broke his smile to blow a strand of my hair away from his mouth when a curious look crossed his face. “You’re wearing my shirt.”

Oh, damn, I was. “Yeah,” I panted, my head still reeling from the kiss we’d just shared. While preparing to explain myself, my mind slid to a naughty thought. I sat back, my hands popping to the shirt’s topmost button. “Do you want it back?”

The sound of him gulping sent my heart racing.

“Wow, Claira…”

I’d meant to tease him with my offer of returning his shirt, but he wasn’t even looking at where my fingers flirted with taking it off for him. His gaze sat just below where the fabric ended—where the covers would have been if he hadn’t just thrown them off the bed to pull me on top of him.

Where my underwearshould havebeen. “… Oh, right.”

My mind drifted to the bathroom, where I’d hung my panties up to dry next to the rest of my clothes across the curtain rod, when something hard pulsed beneath me, sending my spine into a shiver. I didn’t need to look down to know what it was, but I couldn’t stop myself, and my mouth fell open at the sight of the swollen head of Kai’s penis poking out from between my legs. I was straddling him—straddlingit—my bare center aligned with his.

“Yes,” he murmured, and my head snapped back up to face him.

“Yes?” I repeated.Yes, what?I was so flustered; I’d forgotten what we’d even been talking about. Had I asked him a question?

I must have looked confused because his hand joined mine at the top button of my borrowed shirt. Oh…Oh!I’d offered to give it back, but that was before I’d realized my legs were already spread for his viewing pleasure. Was he seriously okay with me taking it off?

“I’m not wearing anything underneath it,” I warned, and his eyebrows twitched, his mouth turning serious.

“I know.”

My stomach dipped and tumbled. Were we really doing this? Both of us were going to be naked?

… Well, he’d let me see all of him, so it was only fair, right?

Gulping, my hands slid away from the buttons, allowing him to take control and unfasten the top one for me. I’d only wanted to tease him a little, but now that his eyes were on me, I realized a part of me wanted him to see me, too.

Kai’s fingers trembled as they worked down the buttons, one by one, his eyes growing wider every time he moved to the next. When the last button popped free, I eased the shirt back over my shoulders, opening it up for him.

There was nothing disappointing about his reaction.

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