Page 22 of Where the Wind Whispers

“Want to tell me what you’re doing?” he asked.

“I’m packing,” she snapped, getting to her knees to shove clothes inside without any attempt at order. “What does it look like?”

Violet rarely got pissed at him, not like this, but he was starting to realize that this wasn’t like those times. There was a chance, if this didn’t pan out the way he’d hoped, that she wouldn’t forgive him.

As he stepped further into the room, however, his gaze drifting down to the way her lace shorts rode up. Giving him a tantalizing view of tan skin, he wasn’t concerned about her anger. Not anymore.

“Are you taking the door with you? You seem intent on taking it off its fucking hinges.”

One minute, he was staring at her ass, and the next minute, she was spinning around and getting to her feet, crossing the floor until she could get a hand on his chest and push.

“Fuck off, Kaz.”

He almost smiled. “Let’s not say things we don’t mean.”

Kaz caught her hand before she could push him again, holding tight as she tried to jerk free. “Trust me. I mean it.”

“It could only be a matter of days, Violet. There’s no need—”

“Or it could be weeks,” she said cutting him off. “Months. You don’t know.”

“But I do know in that time, I won’t have to worry about anything happening to you.”

Violet rolled her eyes, this time successfully pulling her hand free. “Maybe not physically.”

“Yes,” he said reaching for her, wanting her to understand. “But anything else I can fix. Because if Vasily gets his hands on you, Violet, he’s not going to let you live. And that, I can’t fix.”

“Anywhere. Anywhere but there.”

Tugging her forward, he pressed a quick kiss to her forehead before saying, “I’ll give you anything but that.”

There was sadness in her eyes as she turned back to what she was doing. Kaz hated that fucking look. He wanted to wipe it from her expression the moment he saw it, but how could he?

Despite her feelings on the matter, it was the best thing for the both of them, and he was sticking to that.

He was moving before he even thought it through, wrapping an arm around Violet’s waist and yanking her up off the floor. She gave a slight cry of surprise as he dropped her on the bed, fingers wrapping around her calves to drag her back down.

“It’s happening whether you like it or not, Violet,” he said softly, even as he tugged at the straps of the outfit she wore. “But I can help you forget—if only for this night.”

“Kaz, that won’t—”

He shut her up with a kiss, lightly stroking the seam of her lips with his tongue. All too quickly, she stopped resisting in his hold, her hands coming up to cradle his face. But he didn’t let her get comfortable, pulling away after a moment to finish dragging the material down her body then over his shoulder.

A quick tap on her leg had her spreading her thighs the way he liked, showing him exactly where he longed to be. Despite her willingness to open herself to him, she wasn’t giving in, not yet. He still saw the fight in her eyes.

Getting to his feet, Kaz yanked at the knot in his tie until he got the thing loose, letting it drop to the floor as he started on the buttons of his shirt. Her eyes dropped to his chest, and that aggression shifted to lust.

Now, that was a look he didn’t mind.

By the time his shirt was at his feet, his gaze had traveled the length of her body then back up again. When he started for his belt, she moved to get up, intent on helping him, but he gave a sharp shake of his head.

“If you want something to touch, touch your pussy for me.”

A shuddering exhale left her as she settled back on the bed, fingers diving between her legs to do as he asked. She wasn’t shy, never had been—and Kaz was glad for it. Once he got his pants off, he climbed up onto the bed opposite her where he had ample view of what she was doing.

Violet’s eyes widened as he drew closer, that plump bottom lip of hers disappearing between her teeth. But the moment he got his cock free of the restricting cotton of his boxer-briefs, her gaze dropped and stayed there.

He could see his hunger reflected in her expression, the way her fingers sped up a bit as they rubbed her clit. Grasping his length and dragging his fist up and down, that familiar adrenaline raced through him, but he didn’t give in to that need to just fuck her until nothing was left of either of them.