Hale on Earth (Arrangement Series Book 2)

by Francesca Penn

  “Put the lady down, now.”

  I snort at his so-called authority. “Get the fuck out of my way before I knock you out.”

  He squares up like he’s about to challenge me, but his eyes flick right then left. I don’t have to turn around to know I’d find at least one of Ainslee’s men. Johnny Bravo’s cousin backs down, then moves. I guess he knows how to recognize actual killers.

  “Really, guys?” Karessa grumbles on our way out.

  The driver scrambles to open the door when he sees me charging to the car like a bull that just fucked up the china shop. The tension is thick in the car and we don’t speak on the way to the villa, we’re both mad for different reasons. Once we arrive, I grab her wrist and get out with her in tow. She’s mistaken if she thinks she’s going back without changing.

  Karessa rips her arm away when she gains her footing.

  “What’s with you trying to control what I wear? I’m an adult! I have a dad!”

  “Who gave you to me! You’re mine to protect or whatever the fuck those vows said. They don’t have the right to touch you, but some men don’t understand that if you’re wearing less. Hell, some don’t get it if you’re covered from head to toe, but then I’d have fewer dumbasses to worry about. Change if you want to go back.”

  “Oran. I’m thirty-one, I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time…”

  “On the island where people know you and your status. Feel free to wear it there,” I challenge her knowing she has worn nothing that revealing at home. I press on when she continues to glare at me. “People know you’re mine on the island, here they don’t know us or care. I really don’t want to have to knock someone out for touching you!”

  Karessa’s in my face, staring up at me with her hands planted firmly on her hips.

  “Touch me then!”

  My laugh holds no humor. “Is this what this is about? Your pussy is starved for attention?”

  “No! To… to prove you can’t tell me what to wear.”

  I grab her chin, bending a little to get in her face. “How did that work for you?”

  I pull her into a harsh kiss to further stake my claim. The sharp bite of her teeth followed by the copper tinged taste of my blood. Amuses me and makes my dick harder. Retreating, I lick my bruised bottom lip and push her to the outside wall by her neck.

  Then I’m back in her face. “You want to fight. Kitten. Bare your little claws. Think you can’t beat me?”

  “Fuck you!” she seethes.

  Damn, she’s sexy when she’s mad.

  “That’s what you want? For me to be the bad guy and give you what you want so you can blame me if it goes south?”

  The sweet yet clean scent of her perfume mixing with her natural scent is clouding my judgment. Her hair falls in waves, tickling my wrist as the wind blows. Her more sultry than usual makeup that enhances the green of her eyes inspires wet daydreams. I trace her red lips as I admire how they look perfectly drawn. Wrapped up in lust and love, I eliminate part of our argument.

  Karessa pushes and claws at me as I rip away her excuse for a dress, leaving her simple black underwear behind.

  “Problem solved.”

  “You asshole! You’re buying me a new one.”

  She smacks my chest but I hardly feel it. I love when she’s flustered and has a wild look in her eyes.

  “Make me.”

  I knew the slap was coming, but I allowed it this once so she can get it out of her system.

  “Finished?” Pulling back her head, I lean down until we’re nose to nose. “Never slap me again. Your nudity is for me. It’s mine. I don’t want to share it. I’m selfish like that.”

  “I’m supposed to be on display, I’m a trophy! Remember?”

  Now I know she’s aiming to piss me off.

  “My trophy! Not for the public! Are you okay with me walking around with no shirt on, thin pants, and no underwear with my dick print on display?” The thought infuriates her. Good. Now she can be on my level. “Do you want that? Do you want other women to see what you’re not getting?”

  I suck her lip on her gasp and taste her surprise. It’s delicious, and my dick loves being pressed against her. She fights my kiss until her body gives in, moaning its appreciation of my tongue tasting her mouth. Her hands that were balling up my shirt at my chest relax and slide up my body then wrap around my neck. Her whimpers are non-verbal pleas for more. Releasing her neck, my hand roams the naked skin her dress once covered before I turned it into a useless rag.

  The memory of her strutting in on fuck-me heels in a see-through dress that hugs every curve just right makes my dick twitch and renews my frustration with our situation. Karessa bucks against me when I squeeze her ass. The heel of her stiletto digs into my lower back when she tries to climb me. Helping, I wrap her legs around me. Ignoring the scrapes of the stone, I brace myself on the wall, grinding where we both want to be. I don’t care that we’re outside and the guys could return at any moment. I want to fuck my wife and not being able to kills me. Her hands found their way into my shirt. Her soft palms electrify me as my skin feels her in ways it haven’t. This is too much, I want to send her away for the next few months but can’t stand to be away from her. Damn that prenup.

  “Karessa, we have to stop,” I whisper, reluctantly pulling her hands out of my shirt.

  I push away from the wall, but she clings to me. Too tired to fight with her, I lie back in the chaise lounge with her on top of me. This ongoing cycle of raging hormones going nowhere is tiring.

  Karessa cups the back of my head and rests her forehead on mine. Her eyes are squeezed shut like she’s trying her best to work out a problem. Her other hand cups my check, her thumb caresses my beard.

  Once her eyes are visible again, the mossy orbs are beseeching.

  “Promise me, Oran.”

  “Promise you what?”

  Her thumb slides across my lips as if she’s trying to memorize my features.

  “That this is real.”

  “This is real,” I assure her.

  “Just to be clear. You’re saying you really went from Hell to the husband of my dreams with no motivation?”

  Everything clicks. I know what she’s asking. What she needs.

  “No. Making you happy is my motivation.” I wrap my arms around her waist before finishing my thought. “I told you, you’re stuck with me. I would not allow you to be miserable.”

  “I still don’t know why you changed your mind and married me, but I’m willing to overlook it if you give me verbal confirmation that you understand my terms and conditions.”

  “And they are?” Even if I were thinking about my dad, I wouldn’t kill the mood with his delusions.

  “It’s more of an understanding. If I give you all my trust and you betray me, it’ll break my heart.” Her face scrunches in pain, and her eyes water. The hurt she displays from the thought of me hurting her ensures it’ll never happen. I refuse to be the person to hurt her like that. “Tell me you understand.” The next part comes out as a broken plea. “Please don’t break my heart, Oran.”

  Now, I’m awash with enough emotion to make my chest hurt. Flustered, I blurt out my thoughts without filtering them in my head first.

  “I love you too much to break your heart, Karessa.”

  Her surprise pushes her into an upright position so she can stare at me properly. Hope and confusion are combined in her expression. I’m just as surprised as she is, but now that it’s out there, I refuse to take it back. Instead, I make sure she knows I mean it.

  “You love me?” she asks, her voice soft and dazed,

  “Why do you think I still call you Trophy?”

  “Habit?”

  “No. You are the most valuable thing I have. I haven’t worried about the prenup beyond how it makes you feel because I’d lose either way.” Both hands now cup my face. I wrap my fingers around one of her delicate wrists and kiss her palm before resuming eye contact. “To gain your assets, I’d have
to lose you. That, Trophy, is the bigger loss.”

  “Oh, Oran…”

  The tears that threatened before spill, marking a trail down her cheeks. I kiss her nose as I collect them with my thumb. Our lips touch in the softest and sweetest kiss we’ve ever shared. I love having her body on mine. Her warmth reminds me she’s real. I take a slow and thorough taste of her mouth, sliding my tongue along hers, etching the moment in my memory as our first in love kiss.

  Quickly, Karessa’s soft hums of pleasure as she presses her near naked body harder to mine has me switching the focus of our kiss. She matches my passion without missing a beat but stops to claw at my clothes.

  “I’m sick of all the clothes, Oran. I want to touch your skin, not your version of a nun’s habit,” she grumbles as her impatient fingers pull at my shirt while unbuttoning it.

  Her comment pulls a surprised laugh out of me.

  “Baby, my thoughts are too dirty to even sit next to a nun.” I rub my thumb over the only piece of fabric she’s wearing to tease her clit. Karessa bites her bottom lip and squirms for more friction. “I can write a book about all the things I want to do to your pussy. I can’t be naked, it’s very detrimental to your goal. I. Won’t. Stop.” Karessa inhales sharply when I bypass her underwear and stick two fingers inside of her. My dick is at full mast after the first few pumps of my fingers. “I’m addicted to your moans and orgasms. Like a true addict, I’ll do everything I can to get them.”

  “Give it to me, Oran.”

  “Give you what?”

  “Your virginity.”

  Karessa antics amuse me. “You’re about twenty years too late for that request.”

  We both know there aren’t any virgins present, but her jealous pout is adorable.

  “But,” I supply. “You will be my most important, memorable, and last when the time comes.”

  Karessa stares at me with desire so bright her eyes look almost emerald.

  “Now, Oran.”

  Chapter 32

  Karessa

  Oran’s eyes buck with surprise and he blinks a few times as if wondering if he’d heard me correctly. I’ve seen the pain of abstaining from sex on his face. I’ve felt the pain. We’re still five months away and it feels like five years. At this rate, I must deal with the consequences if they occur.

  I run my fingers through the hair on his now exposed chest. It’s soft and is just the right amount. Circling one of his nipples,I follow the hair as it tapers over his abs and into a line that disappears into his pants.

  Oran lies back on the chaise lounge and tucks his arms behind his head.

  “Did you hear me?” I ask him with a tug at his belt.

  His smile is brilliant yet predatory when he flashes his pretty teeth.

  He’s so damn attractive. Especially when he’s the carefree man he used to be.

  “Yes. I’m giving you access. Your decision, your move.”

  It’s my turn to stare. My raging hormones are slowing down my brain activity.

  “Huh?”

  Oran’s hands cup my breasts, and his fingers tease my nipples.

  “I’m all yours. Drop your pussy on me and claim me as your husband.”

  His legs move underneath me, and the thud of each shoe hitting the concrete ring out in rapid succession.

  This is really happening!

  The excitement of finally fulfilling my fantasy of having Oran love me and penetrating his tough exterior to become his actual wife in every way, has my hands trembling as I unbuckle his belt. His erection pressing against his zipper strengthens my purpose. My brain melted this morning seeing him naked and damp from the shower. I’d done my best to avoid staring temptation in its face, but I don’t regret seeing it and touching the very part of him I’m revealing now. My mouth waters - just like it did this morning - when his dick jumps out to greet me, falling onto his stomach with a solid plop.

  “I want to touch it, taste it, and put it inside of me,” I confess without taking my eyes off it.

  “I’m not stopping you.”

  Sliding down his body, I take his pants, underwear, and socks with me. I’m tired of his clothes, I want him completely nude.

  The soft light from the villa mingles with the moonlight to give the ridges and valleys of his muscular body a mysterious glow. My wetness has my panties sticking to me, reminding me they’re in the way. Oran is still silent, but his eyes caress my body until they reach the only material between us. The heat in his gaze silently orders me to remove them. Oran doesn’t fool me, he hasn’t relinquished control on a damn thing. Although his lips haven’t moved, he’s still telling me what he wants. I slip my finger in my band, tugging slowly as I watch him. He’s seen all of me before, but this unhurried reveal builds anticipation for what’s coming. His tongue slides along his lips, making my clit throb just as the wind blows along my hard nipples like Oran manipulated it to tease me.

  I shudder as goosebumps glitter across my body, and my juices slide down my thigh. Returning to the chaise and climbing up his body thrills my skin from the contact. We watch each other’s reaction to the way our warm skin touches for the first time delights each other. The sparks in his gray pools and his jaw clenching are his only tells.

  “Do you have a condom?”

  The soft puff of air Oran emits from his lips kills the inquiry.

  That’s right, my husband.

  I would think I’d have second thoughts or wonder if I’m doing the right thing, but the openness that radiates off his body, the lust I feel, and the love he confessed is enough to erase my doubts. My finger traces a vein up his shaft until I grab his dick, rub my palm over its dripping head, then stroke it a few times until Oran’s biceps flex with restraint.

  I don’t think I’ve ever taken the lead. Nervous excitement flutters in my belly as I position myself. Oran’s tip spreads me - causing warmth to flood my body and peak at my nipples - as I ease down as much as I can.

  Oh, thank god.

  “Don’t bring him into this. He’s busy,” Oran teases, then sits up, bringing his face closer.

  I didn’t realize I’d said it out loud.

  “Oh,” I moan at his fiery mouth engulfing my nipple while squeezing the other. I’m dripping down his dick - which isn’t all the way in yet - when he finishes with the other.

  Strong hands grip my hips as he holds my gaze steady.

  “Accept it,” he grits.

  “Accept what?”

  “You will be sore in the morning.”

  Oran pumps upwards while slamming down, giving me all of him at once.

  “Oran!” My cry is a broken whimper, the surprise took my breath. The second thrust steals my soul. My body shudders as I fall apart. “Oh, g-”

  “No, no,” he cuts me off. “What did I tell you? I’m the only one here.” His breath is hot on my ear as he teases it with his teeth and tongue as my body continues to spasm. “I’m the lord of your pussy, Trophy.”

  His gigantic hands grip my ass just as I’m coming down from my high. I’m stunned, it’s just started and I could go to sleep satisfied. Oran continues to thrust from below, using my ass to manipulate my body until I’m riding him the way he wants. I let go, giving into his lead and refusing to hold back my vocal appreciation of what he’s doing to me. Oran owns my body. He lies back without changing the pace. I brace myself on his chest, his heart pumps beneath my palm. My head falls back, taking in the stars glittering in the inky night as the soundtrack of my rapture plays out in my huffing moans, his primal grunts, and our smacking skin echoing in the night.

  Oran is right, this isn’t like any sex I’ve ever experienced before. I’ve never been so in tune, so enthralled, so in love.

  “Look at me.” Oran’s voice pulls my attention back to him.

  Can a command also be a plea?

  Our eyes meet and it’s as if we’re seeing each other for the first time. Both of us shedding all the bullshit before leaving both of us so exposed, so vulnerable, and so raw. T
he pleasure builds inside. My emotions choke me as my eyes blur.

  “I love you,” I confess.

  Oran lets me go, my body is trained to continue what he likes. Both hands cup my face, and he pulls me in until our noses almost touch.

  “Say it again.”

  “I love you.”

  “Again,” his request is almost breathless.

  “I love you, Oran.”

  The last declaration ends on a moan as an intense yet emotional orgasm rips through me. Oran follows, warming my insides as his jerking dick enhances my pleasure.

  I collapse on his chest, taking shuddering breaths as he wipes away my tears.

  Oran kisses my hair and hugs me tight as we both return to earth. I’ll never be the same.

  Chapter 33

  Oran

  We must have dozed off. My foot tingles from hanging off the chaise, but Karessa’s naked body, still straddling me while she sleeps, is beyond everything I’ve ever wanted. I run my fingers along her velvet soft back to rouse her.

  “Karessa, wake up. We’re still outside.”

  She jumps up, disoriented, and looks around as her brain processes. I miss her heat the moment she rolls off. My body is more than ready to go again and the red pumps that are still attached to her feet doesn’t help.

  “Hi,” she whispers once she’s fully awake. Her soft smile is almost shy.

  I pull her close to shower her with kisses, not caring that we’re outside nude. She loves me enough to risk it all and look beyond the bullshit our dad’s dealt us. I’m thankful for her being pushed into my life. Even with our rocky beginning, I wouldn’t change a thing.

  “Come on,” I tell her. Entwining our fingers, I pull her inside the villa.

  “Our clothes,” she protests.

  “Leave them.” I pat her ass as she passes me on the stairs but my dick quickly takes over, since he now has a say. “Don’t move, Trophy.”

  Karessa halts mid-step. “What?”

  I move up the step, placing myself directly behind her. She shivers when I brush her hair off her shoulder and replace it with my mouth. My fingers tracing down her spine pulls a low hum out of her.