by Amy Redwood
“Not easy,” he said, sounding thoughtful. “Starved. How come you’re so hungry for sex, Yankee? Was the fiancé not up to the task?”
She gasped, her eyes flying open. Simon was up to it all right, that wasn’t it. Heat rushed into her face and she struggled with a reply because he was pushing two fingers inside her and moved them slowly in an out of her pussy.
“Is he?” he asked again, fucking her faster with his fingers, his palm pressed hard against her clit.
“Yes, he’s up to the task,” she pressed through her teeth, because it was the truth.
“If you say so.” Amusement tinged his words.
She sucked in her breath as his fingers worked her faster, rougher. Fuck, she thought, as her hips bucked against his hand. She was this close to coming even though he really, really pissed her off right now. “You think you’re the first guy who can give me an orgasm?”
“I don’t know, Kat. You tell me.” His fingers slowed on her clit, which gave her a moment to gather her wits.
“No,” she said, “you are not the first by a long stretch.” She felt a ripple going through him, heard him take in a deep breath, and she decided to drive the point home. “I’ve had plenty of good fucks before you.”
“Hell, you really know how to piss me off.” His voice was a dark growl that had her hair rising at the nape of her neck.
“Then we’re even,” she said quietly. She wanted him, wanted him fast, wanted him as angry as she was. Why he’d felt the need to talk about Simon while his hand was between her legs was beyond her, but the longing to feel close to him was overpowering. “Want to know how they fucked me, how they made me come?”
Her heart jumped in her throat as he curled his hands around her shoulders, his fingers digging painfully hard into her flesh.
“Do you want me to tell you more, Trent?”
“Not one more word, I mean it.”
He jumped up and moved away from her back, shoved her to the side with more force than necessary. She landed flat on the sand, shaded her eyes against the sun to gaze up at him.
He towered over her, a vein standing out in his temple. His mouth was a tight, flat line, all traces of amusement drained from his face.
Mission accomplished, she thought.
She’d wanted him angry.
“Do you dig that?” she whispered. “Me, with other men?”
Exhaling harshly, he dropped to his knees, pulled his shirt over his head. It landed next to her head. Pulling it close to her face, she inhaled the scent that clung to the fabric. He worked his hands under her dress, leaned over her and jerked her panties down. “Spread your legs.”
She did, tugged her dress farther up, allowing him to see her spread wide open. No, he wasn’t the first guy, she thought, but the only one who made her lose her mind when he fucked her. The only who had her begging for more. And she was beginning to fear that he was the one she couldn’t be without. She propped herself up onto her elbows, feeling the warm sand against her bare ass, and watched how he zipped open his jeans, pulled out his erect cock and sheathed himself. His movements were quick, his fury simmering just underneath the surface. Her pussy clenched with need to feel him fill her up. “Fuck me, Trent. Fuck me hard.”
He loomed over her, guided himself between her legs and thrust his cock deep into her pussy in one hard shove. She made a low, keening sound in her throat, feeling the tight stretch his thick cock gave her. “Yes,” she whispered when he began pounding into her without the restraint he usually showed. She closed her eyes as his cock hammered into her cunt, over and over, unrelenting.
She wasn’t sure if he even cared if it gave her pleasure. His face was buried in the nape of her neck and his breath came ragged, loud, drowning out the sound of skin meeting skin. Hearing him, hearing the stark lust in his voice drove her closer to the edge. “More,” she whispered, her entire body surging up to meet his. “It feels so good when you fuck me.” Her breasts rubbed against the hairs on his chest, her nipples pressing against his muscles, and the warm sand underneath her was like a thousand warm pinpricks against her skin.
He fucked her hard, deep, angry, and she was loving each thrust he gave her with his cock. When she bucked underneath him, he shoved his hands underneath her ass to pull her tighter against his groin. Raking her nails up his spine, she thought about how fitting the tattoo of the wolf on his shoulder blade was. It was almost like a primal mating, the way he pounded into her flesh. His skin was slick with sweat and his thrusts were as brutal and urgent as if he wanted to forcefully merge with her by fucking her into oblivion. “Come for me, Trent.” She wrapped her legs around his hips and clung on to him with everything she had. “Take me,” she urged him on. “I want to feel you come inside me. Make me yours.”
A rumbling growl from deep in his chest, he kissed her neck, her exposed shoulder. She shuddered as he gave her shoulder a flick of his tongue, and then he sank his teeth hard into her skin. The pain was sudden and sharp and entirely unexpected. She arched up against him, stars exploding behind her eyelids, the sensation of him biting her so strong she cried out. The pain on her neck left as quickly as it had come, and when he tilted his hips, his cock rubbing hard over her clit with each fast thrust, she forgot all about it when he kissed her. She came, shockingly fast, and screamed when he reached between them to flick his finger against her clit. The pleasure was so intense she feared she’d simply pass out if he did it again.
He tipped his head back, a hoarse shout in his throat—almost a howl. His cock thickened, pulsed inside her pussy. Helplessly, she climaxed again, her entire body shaking with each sharp convulsion. He pumped his cock inside her for a last, deep thrust, spurting his come. All but collapsing, he slumped down on her, breathing hard, his body giving last-minute twinges of pleasure, his forehead resting against her collarbone.
Enjoying how his weight pressed her deep into the sand, she closed her eyes, praying she wouldn’t cry, but already felt tears burning behind her lids.
“Damn you, woman,” he whispered. “Why did you make me do that?”
Woman? Startled, she blinked away the tears. “Why did I do what?”
“Fuck.” He rolled off her, away from her. A flick of his wrist and the used condom landed in the sand. She wasn’t sure if she should address environmental issues right now. His reaction puzzled her too much. Without meeting her eyes, he picked up her panties and thrust them into her hands. “Get dressed.”
Taken aback, she slipped into her panties, zipped up and smoothed down her dress. Sand clung to the back of her legs, her butt. With her fingers, she felt for the sore spot on her shoulder. She craned her neck but couldn’t see where his teeth had broken skin. Well, she thought, he’d gone a bit overboard with his love bite, but she’d survive.
She sought his gaze, but he faced the sea, his back turned to her. There was a rigidness in his posture she hadn’t seen before. She walked to him, placed her hand on his shoulder. “Can’t you just tell me what—”
“No, I can’t.” He shook her hand off his shoulder. “We have to head back.”
Struck speechless, she stared after him. The hurt that dug itself into her heart as he simply walked from her nearly undid her.
He suddenly stopped in his tracks. “Oh fuck,” he said, and starting running.
She had heard it too—a sharp whine and a pitiful bark from not very far away. She ran after him, stopped short a moment later when she saw Lucky collapsed in the sand. Her conscience kicked in and a sense of dread spread through her chest. This was how she repaid Ada’s kindness, she thought. By neglecting to watch her dog while she was busy getting busy.
Trent looked up, found her gaze. “We have to get him to a vet.”
———
Trent had placed Lucky on the truck’s backseat. Apart from muscles twitching heavily under his pelt, the dog appeared to be sleeping.
Katherine grabbed hold of her seat as Trent started the truck and drove up the narrow serpentine street. Inste
ad of slowing down, he sped up faster as they reached the straight, main road.
He pointed to the glove compartment in front of her knees. “My mobile,” he said, not looking away from the road.
“Your what?” She wished he would slow down. Nausea spread through her stomach, and she recognized the first signs of motion sickness.
“My cell phone, Yankee.”
She found the sleek silver phone, held it out for him and focused on a distant point outside the car.
“Look for Linda and call.”
Tearing her gaze away from the steady horizon, she switched on his phone, scrolled through his address book. Too many names, most of them female. She stopped when she had counted to thirty-six. She found Linda, called and held the phone to his ear when she heard a voice asking, “McGregor?”
He took the phone. “Linda it’s me,” he said, paused and laughed. “No, not this time. Listen, Ada’s dog just collapsed at the beach. Can you come to your clinic and have a look?”
She glanced at him, struggling to stomach his address book on top of her urge to throw up. Was he fucking the entire female population of this island, or what?
“Thanks, Linda, see you shortly.” He gave her his phone back.
“Linda is a vet?”
“No, she’s a dentist.” His gaze was condescending. “Of course she’s a vet.”
“Friend of yours?” Damn, she was sounding jealous.
He laughed but didn’t sound amused. “Yes, she’s a friend. What else do you want to know? If I fuck her?”
“Do you?” Her stomach heaved. Why did she do that to herself?
He swore under his breath but didn’t answer her question. She put his phone back into the glove compartment, next to a brightly colored box.
“You have condoms in your truck?” she asked, and concentrated again on not throwing up.
“Damn, Katherine, I can’t deal with jealousy right now.”
That shut her up.
Fifteen silent minutes later, she saw the sign for the vet clinic even before he made a sharp left turn and switched off the engine. Trent carried Lucky to the entrance when the door opened from the inside.
“That was quick.”
Ah, so that’s Linda, she thought, staring at the petite woman who had opened the door for Trent. Her short, spiky black hair and the high cheekbones gave her the look of a cute, sexy pixie. Linda, she thought wryly, a new pain in her stomach. She saw why her number was in his phone, and she could almost not blame him. Almost.
Trent had disappeared inside the clinic, but Linda looked her up and down curiously.
“Well, hello, come in,” Linda said, and with a last glance, went inside.
She waited a minute on the doorstep to collect herself. When she walked inside the clinic, Linda was giving Lucky an injection.
“And did you see where he played?” Linda’s gaze turned to Katherine as she stepped into the room. “I mean, did he run over sand or was he in the water?”
Katherine returned Linda’s inquiring gaze uneasily and a flush crept into her face.
Linda’s eyebrows shot up, and she turned round to Trent again. “Well, did you see what happened?”
“No, we didn’t see how it happened. I reckon he came out of the water.”
“I see,” Linda said. “He might have been bitten by something poisonous—”
“Poisonous?” Katherine interrupted. “I was sure there were no poisonous animals here?”
“True, but you would be surprised what the sea sometimes washes up on the beach…jellyfishes, sea snakes…which beach did you go to anyway?”
“Karekare beach,” Trent said, a pained look on his face.
“I see,” Linda said, her gaze falling on Katherine again. “Well, leave him here for the night. I’ll run a blood test and call the Department of Conservation to check if there were any similar incidents reported.” Linda checked her watch. “Tomorrow. They’re closed today.”
“Thanks, Linda, you’re great,” said Trent, sighing. “Now I’ll have to bring Ada bad news.”
“Don’t worry. After all, his name is Lucky. Let’s put faith in that.”
Again Katherine felt Linda’s gaze sweep over her, from her bare feet to her surely tousled hair, then she zeroed in on a spot on her neck. Linda’s mouth parted, an expression of—what was it, Katherine thought, shock?—on her face.
“We haven’t met before, have we?” Linda asked slowly.
Trent’s head shot up. “Linda, this is Katherine Miles. She’s—”
“I’m on vacation,” Katherine interrupted coolly.
“On vacation, how nice. I’ve noticed your accent. Where’re you from?” Linda smiled innocently while Katherine noticed all the same that she was being interrogated.
“New York City.”
“You two met there?” Linda asked.
“No.”
“So you just met?”
“Yes.”
“And here I was thinking that you’re from the New York office. You have that lawyerly look about you.”
Katherine simply stared at her, even though curiosity was killing her. What the heck was Linda talking about?
“So,” Linda said, “what is it that you do when you’re not vacationing and McGregor isn’t showing you the scenery?”
“Linda, please stop being so—” Trent began, but Katherine interrupted him.
“I used to work in corporate litigation.”
“What?” Trent was staring at her with outright disbelief. “You got to be kidding me. You’re a lawyer?”
Katherine returned his gaze, starting to feel insulted for real. Just how stupid did he think she was if he couldn’t believe that she held a normal day job?
Linda laughed. “Gosh, you two have a lot of catching up to do, but I was right,” she said, tapping her nose. “I’ve got a nose for that because I spend all my free time with my husband’s colleagues.” She slapped Trent on the back.
Katherine stared at Linda for a moment, letting her last words sink in. Husband? Colleague…New York office. She was married? Linda was still speaking and she shifted her attention back to her.
“Really, I envy you,” Linda said. “Manhattan must be a shopping heaven. I’ve never been out of Auckland. Tell you what, Katherine, why don’t you come to my party tonight? It’s a mix of family, friends and business associates, and women are strongly in the minority. I need you.” Linda laughed.
“Thanks for the invitation, but—”
“No buts. You’ll fit right in, I promise.” Linda grabbed a piece of paper, pressed it into Katherine’s hand. “Here, my address, phone number. Around nine’s fine. Please say yes.”
Katherine smiled, nodded. “Sure, why not.”
Linda clapped her hands. “Excellent. On second thought, McGregor, please bring her along, since you know the way. You already said you’d come, right?”
“Right,” he said quietly.
Damn, Katherine thought. Of course he was going. She shot him a glance. A stone would look positively alive compared to the frozen expression on his face.
———
Katherine was pleased that he wasn’t speeding as he drove back to Ada’s, but he hadn’t lost his cool expression. She found it difficult to remember that he had held her in his arms only a short while ago. What had she done that he almost seemed to hate her suddenly? She’d felt so close, so intimate to him. It hurt, hurt more with every word he didn’t say to her. The silence between them made her feel as if an ice cube was sliding down her back.
She turned in her seat, facing him. “Linda is married to one of your colleagues?”
He gave a curt nod.
“You’ve worked in New York?”
“What’s it to you?”
She gritted her teeth. “Fine, I’ve had it with you. Stop the truck. I prefer to walk back.”
“Bit touchy?”
“Really, it’s fine. Just stop there.” She pointed to a bus stop.
He sighed. �
�Yes, I have a license to work in the States too.”
She groaned. “You’re a lawyer?”
“What gave it away?”
“And you specialize in…?”
“Maritally challenged people.”
She let his words sink in a few seconds. “Divorce,” she said, her voice hollow.
“I couldn’t fool you, little miss litigator. I’m beginning to realize that you’re rather sharp. Jury’s still out about how you use your brain.”
He couldn’t have said it with more acid in his voice.
He was Simon all over again.
She’d flown to the other side of the world to end up in the bed of yet another cold-blooded, calculating, arrogant, heartless divorce lawyer. And he also worked in New York… A cold fist of fear settled into her stomach. “When we arrived in Auckland,” she said, “were you coming back from a work trip?”
“Yes.”
“Which firm?”
He snorted. “Do you want an internship?”
“Trent,” she said with a calm she wasn’t feeling, “just answer my question.”
“I’m a partner at Kingsley & Monhollon.”
She slapped her hand over her mouth. Her head was reeling and she felt her stomach turning. “Stop the truck,” she muffled through her fingers.
He shot one look at her, cursed, swerved to the side.
She opened the door and retched until her stomach was empty and her throat was raw.
“God, Katherine,” he said quietly, patting her rather awkwardly on the back. “Are you okay?”
She shook her head, straightened up and shut the door. “No, I can’t say that I am.” She took the napkin he gave her from the glove box and drained the half-full water bottle he retrieved from the backseat of the truck. The water was too warm from the day in the sun, but it helped to wash away the bitterness in her mouth.
“Can you drive me back now, please?”
He switched off the car. “What’s going on?”
If only she knew. “Please let Linda know that I won’t be able to make it tonight.”
“Look, there’s no need to be like that,” he said, sounding wary. “I’ll pick you up, drive you. As long as you don’t confuse it with a…with a date.”
