An Act of Obsession (Acts of Honor Book 3)

by K. C. Lynn

  “You’re fucking perfect,” he growls, his hungry gaze fixated on my naked breasts. As he slides the straps down my arms, he moves in, brushing his lips across my cheek before bringing his mouth to my ear. “I’d never do anything to you that you didn’t want.”

  “I know,” I whisper.

  “Good, remember that.” A breath stalls in my throat when I feel him secure my hands to the steering wheel with my bra. Leaning back, he cups my cheek, the gentle gesture a contradiction to his fierce eyes. “Trust me to make you feel good.”

  I nod. As nervous as I am, I do trust him—with every fiber of my being. “How am I supposed to touch you?” I ask softly.

  “I’m the only one who will be touching. Otherwise, I won’t be able to control myself.”

  “Maybe I don’t want you to,” I say, surprising myself.

  He looks just as shocked by my confession. “Believe me, baby, you don’t want to see me lose control.” With that statement, his large hands cup the heavy weight of my breasts, sending a wave of heat to surge through me.

  My head falls back on a blissful moan, the top half of my body arching into his touch as his fingers torment my sensitive nipples.

  “Jesus, you’re a fucking sight right now,” he rasps, his voice tight with restraint. “Bound and open for my taking.” Leaning in, he closes his hot mouth over one stiff peak.

  “Oh god.” I whimper, my body racking with the most exquisite pleasure. He lashes the fiery tip while his fingers continue to work magic on my other. When his teeth lock down, pleasure and pain become one. I jerk against him, a harsh cry falling past my lips.

  “Easy, baby.” He blows on my aching bud, soothing the sting. “Do you have any idea the things I want to do to this sweet body of yours, Lia?”

  I shake my head, unable to form words with the desire thrumming through my veins.

  “That’s probably a good thing,” he mumbles, before moving to my other tortured nipple, giving it the same attention.

  “Kolan, please,” I plead, my hips thrusting against him, trying to seek some sort of relief.

  “What do you want, baby? Want me to touch your pussy? Take away your ache?”

  “God, yes.”

  Unsnapping my shorts, he slips his hand into my panties, gliding his fingers through my hot flesh. “Fucking soaked.”

  Shock waves of pleasure ripple through me, stealing my breath as he skims over my throbbing clit.

  “Bare and smooth, just like I imagined,” he murmurs, before slipping two fingers into my snug entrance. “And so damn tight.”

  “God, Kolan,” I wail, bucking against his hand as my body becomes enraptured by his skilled fingers.

  A groan vibrates from his chest. “Have you thought about this as much as I have, Lia?”

  “Yes,” I admit breathlessly, my lungs grasping greedily for air while his fingers inflict such exquisite torture.

  “Did you touch yourself while thinking about it?”

  My eyes snap open, locking with his dark ones. Heat invades my cheeks as I nod.

  “I’ll bet you were the prettiest sight, stroking this sweet pussy while thinking about me.”

  Another whimper pushes past my throat, his dirty words taking me to another level. My wrists tug against their confines as the need to touch him becomes overwhelming. “Kolan?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I want my hands free. I want to kiss you and be closer to you.”

  His fierce gaze softens, while darkness battles in its depths. I begin to think it’s not going to happen, but then he leans forward and releases me with his free hand. “Then come here, baby.”

  I close the remaining distance between us, my mouth fusing with his, but that’s where my control ends. With his free hand, he twines it in my hair and pulls my head back, ravishing my lips in a way that I’ll feel for days to come. He switches the position of his hand in my shorts, his fingers curling inside of me to stroke a place I’ve never known about.

  “Oh god.” My eyes roll into the back of my head as I become consumed with pleasure. I grind shamelessly against his touch, my hips moving in time with his fingers.

  “That a girl, fuck my hand like you would my cock.”

  His filthy words are my undoing. I cry out against his mouth, shattering into a million pieces. Ecstasy rushes through every vein in my body as I soar to a place I’ve never experienced before. A place I never want to come down from.

  I’ve never felt more alive than I do in this moment.

  Kolan is relentless; dragging out my orgasm for so long I thought it would last forever. He doesn’t let up until I’m completely limp and sated. When he slips his hand out, I fall against him, my breathing harsh as I fight my way back to reality. His strong arms hold me close, bringing me safety and comfort as I try to comprehend what just happened.

  “I don’t want tonight to ever end,” I whisper, emotion clogging my throat as I think about never feeling this again with him.

  He leans his seat back a little farther, hugging me closer. “We have time. I have nowhere else to be.”

  I curl into him, tucking my face into his neck and breathe in his incredible scent. His lips move to my temple as silent tears run down my cheeks, wondering how I will ever be able to go back to living my lonely existence.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Sophie

  I’m a bundle of nerves as I make my way to the gym. It’s been three days. Three days since I felt the most incredible touch I will ever experience in my life. By a man who has so masterfully captured my heart.

  That night, Kolan held me until the sun started to rise and we were no longer able to put off the inevitable. The way it felt to be in his arms is something I will cherish forever. We haven’t spoken since he dropped me off in the early hours that morning and set a date for our next lesson. I desperately wanted to call or text, but I wasn’t sure what to say. Our relationship shifted that night in a way I’m not sure we can come back from.

  A part of me wants to throw all caution out the window and take the chance to live again. But then I think about the repercussions and second-guess it all. And what if he doesn’t want that? Maybe he doesn’t share the same feelings I do. It’s no secret he has a past with women, maybe I was just another one to him? The thought leaves me feeling sick to my stomach.

  No. I can’t believe that. Not when he held me and touched me the way he did. Strong and commanding, yet gentle and caring. I may not have much experience with guys, but I know what happened with Kolan that night is something I will never again experience with anyone else.

  The only thing I regret was not getting to touch him, too. It’s all I’ve thought about. As nervous as I am, I want to see what he looks like when he loses control. I have a feeling he never has before. Maybe in his way, but not in the sense where he gives himself freely to someone else.

  My thoughts come to a screeching halt when I reach the gym and see the windows have been boarded up.

  What the heck?

  I swing open the door and enter to see Kolan storming out of the office, looking furious.

  “What happened?” I ask, pointing at the boarded windows.

  “What does it look like?”

  I stiffen, his harsh reply catching me off guard. “It looks like your windows were broken.”

  “There you go. That’s what happened,” he responds, not even bothering to look at me.

  “Do you know who did it?” I ask quietly, hurt by his cold reception.

  “I have a pretty good fucking idea since my truck was smashed in, too.”

  “Oh god, Kolan. I’m sorry.”

  He shrugs. “It’s not your fault.”

  “I know but—”

  “Look, let’s just warm up and get on with the lesson. I have shit to do.”

  I grind my teeth to ward off the pain pricking at my heart and swallow back my hurt feelings. “We can cancel, if you need.”

  “It’s fine,” he grumbles, turning his back on me.

 
; It clearly isn’t ‘fine,’ but I don’t have a chance to argue because he’s already over in the warm-up area, waiting for me. I reluctantly join him, even though every instinct I have is screaming for me to leave.

  Our warm up is silent and filled with angry tension. I’ve never seen him so cold and distant. It’s obvious he doesn’t want to be here right now and quite frankly, neither do I. Being with him like this just feels…wrong. If I didn’t know better, I would think he’s angry with me, but I have no idea why. I think about asking but then decide against it. I just want to get this over with and leave.

  We head over to the mats to work on different holds. When he moves up behind me to wrap an arm around my chest, his hand gets caught on my scarf. A heated curse flees him. “Would you just fucking get rid of this already?” He tries yanking his hand free, almost bringing my scarf with it.

  “Stop it!” I grab the material, wrapping it back in place, then spin around to face him. “What the hell is your problem?” I yell, choking back the sob wanting to break free.

  “Me? You’re the one with the fucking problem, hiding behind that goddamn scarf. I told you it’s a safety hazard but you refuse to take it off!”

  I gape at him, not even recognizing the man I’m staring back at. His furious eyes such a contradiction to the warm ones I’m used to seeing. He stares back at me like he hates me.

  “You know what, fuck you. I’m out of here. I don’t need this shit.” I rush out of the gym without bothering to grab my water bottle, not wanting him to see the burning tears slipping down my cheeks.

  My heart shatters into a million pieces as I walk home, wondering how I could be so wrong about someone. I made that mistake once before and after this, I’ll never make it again.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Kolan

  “Fuck!” I slam my fist into the heavy bag, relishing in the pain that shoots up my arm, but it does nothing to clench the fire in my chest. My jaw locks as I think about her eyes that were filled with tears before she ran out of here.

  I’m the biggest asshole and I know it. I’m pissed about my truck, pissed about the gym, but even more pissed for letting her own me. That night I spent holding her, touching her, listening to the sounds of her pleasure, I completely lost myself to her. Something I’ve always sworn to never do. Every day that passed without talking to her wreaked fucking havoc on me. I took my bad mood out on her when what I really wanted to do was kiss the hell out of her the moment she walked into the gym, and that just pissed me off even more. But now, I don’t feel anger, only guilt.

  “Shit.” I go grab my keys from the office, hoping I can catch her in time, but know it’s not likely since she doesn’t live far. She’s probably already home.

  After locking up the gym behind me, I climb into my rental truck, fury igniting in my veins all over again at the reminder of what happened to mine. Yesterday morning, I had walked out of my house to find my SUV destroyed, then found out the gym was in similar condition, every window smashed in. Cops think it was kids but I know better. It was personal, and I have no doubt that it was fucking Cortez.

  The bastard sealed his fate.

  When I turn down main street, something catches my eye in one of the store windows. Impulsively, I make a hard right, cutting off the guy behind me, then screech to a stop as I park in front of the shop. I exit the truck just as the store clerk flips the open sign to closed.

  “No, wait!” My feet pound the concrete as I charge up to the door, but the old lady quickly switches the lock in place, her eyes wide with fear. I take a nonthreatening step back and point at the window. “I need to buy that.”

  She glances at the item then back to me, her gaze shifting nervously as she tries to see if there is anyone else out here with me. There isn’t.

  “Please, it’s for a friend.” When all she does is stare at me, I try another tactic. “I’ll pay you triple for it.”

  Her eyes narrow suspiciously. “How do I know you’re not gonna rob me?”

  I refrain from rolling my eyes like a fucking chick.

  What robber asks to buy something?

  “I don’t want to rob you, lady. I just want to buy what’s in the window.”

  It’s clear she doesn’t believe me and isn’t going to. With a frustrated breath, I head back to my truck when I hear the lock unlatch. I spin around but she slams the door closed and points at me through the glass. “I’m warning you, mister, I have a gun and know how to use it. Try anything funny and I’ll blow you to smithereens, got it?”

  In other circumstances the threat would amuse me, but right now there’s nothing funny about my situation. I just want to get to Lia. “How about I pass you my credit card and wait here? You can ring it up and bring it back for me to sign.”

  She thinks about it but ends up shaking her head and opens the door. “No, it’s all right, you can come in.”

  I make sure to enter slowly and keep my distance from her as she grabs the item from the window. The last thing I want to do is cause her to have a heart attack. With my fucking luck it would happen. I don’t come any closer until I need to hand her my credit card. She stares down at my name for a long moment before swiping it.

  “Sorry about earlier. I’m fairly new here and don’t know many people. You’re also a big fella and a little intimidating.”

  It’s a good thing she doesn’t know who I am, because then she really wouldn’t have opened the door.

  “It’s fine. You’re right to be cautious.”

  “That’s what my grandson always tells me.” She slowly begins wrapping the gift in pink paper. I glance down at my watch, wishing she would move a little faster. “For someone special?”

  “Yeah…” Lia is so much more than that, but I don’t think there are any words to describe how special she is.

  “Well, it’s a good choice. A beautiful color for summer,” she comments, putting the gift in a bag. “I was actually just telling my grandson the other day about this one and told him he should buy it for his girlfriend. She loves scarves,” she adds with a smile.

  I nod, not really giving a shit but don’t want to be rude.

  When she finally hands me the bag, I try to take it but she doesn’t let go. “Now, tell her to wash it in cold water and hang to dry.”

  “Okay, thanks.” I turn to leave but her fingers keep a tight grip.

  “And maybe tell her to add a wee bit of baking soda. It’s something my mother always taught me. It helps keep the color bright and rich.”

  With a nod, I try to leave again. Only she still won’t fucking let go.

  “And tell her if she likes this, we have more colors coming in next week. Even a beautiful sunshine yellow and…”

  I reach for patience as she rambles, trying to figure out how to get the hell out of here without being an asshole. When she finishes telling me about all the fucking colors coming in, I pull a little harder, prying the gift from her fingers and move for the door in a hurry. “Thanks again.”

  “You’re welcome, young man, come back anytime,” she calls out.

  Probably not, but I give her a brief wave as I head out of the store. When I reach Lia’s place a few minutes later, I walk up her front steps, feeling my palms sweat like a goddamn teenager. After a few raps on the door, I wait for her to answer and hear the light sound of footsteps then…nothing.

  “Lia, open up.”

  “Go away, Kolan.”

  My guilt escalates at the sadness in her voice. “Please open the door. I need to see you.”

  “Well, I don’t want to see you.”

  “Just give me a minute. That’s all I’m asking for. Then I promise to leave if that’s what you want.”

  There’s a long stretch of silence before she unlocks the door and swings it open. Pain infiltrates my chest at the sight of her red puffy eyes and wounded expression. I get the urge to pull her against me but know it won’t be welcomed.

  Her chin lifts stubbornly, arms crossing over her chest. “What do y
ou want?”

  “To tell you how sorry I am.”

  “You should be. You were an asshole.”

  “I know.”

  She presses her lips together, trying to rein in her emotions but a tear manages to slip free. Unable to hold back a second longer, I pull her against me, engulfing her slender body in my arms.

  “You really hurt me,” she cries.

  Jesus, I didn’t think I could feel worse than I already did, but I was so wrong. “I know, and you’ll never know how sorry I am for it. It’s been a shitty few days, but I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”

  Eventually, she returns my embrace, giving me a spark of hope that she might accept my apology.

  Cupping her face, I bring her sad eyes to mine. “Do you forgive me?”

  She nods. “Yeah. Just don’t do that to me again.”

  “Never. I promise.” I repress the urge to drop a kiss on her pretty lips, and decide now would be a good time to give her the gift. “Here.”

  She wipes the remainder of her tears before accepting it. “What’s this for?”

  “It was my backup plan if you didn’t accept my apology.”

  I’m rewarded with a small smile. “You didn’t have to do that.”

  “I know, but I wanted to.”

  “Do you want to come in for a little while?” she asks, shifting nervously on her feet. “I was just about to have my evening tea.”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  She closes the door then leads me into the small living room. “Can I get you something to drink?”

  “No thanks, I’m good.” I take a seat on the couch and wait for her to join me. She ends up sitting on the other end, much too far away for my liking.

  Silence fills the air as she pulls the gift from the bag and begins opening the pink paper, unveiling the aqua blue scarf. The soft material drapes in her hands as she stares down at it. “It’s beautiful.”