Until I Break (10 page)

“What is your forte?” I ask quietly.

“I’d say something closer to aggression.”

My stomach squeezes around a knot of
excitement. Or is it fear? At the moment, it’s hard to tell the
difference.

Alec stands, cutting off any response I
might’ve made. “I’ll get some ice for your ankle.” He disappears
inside, leaving me to ponder him and the shroud of mystery that
surrounds him. A few minutes later, he returns with an ice pack, a
washcloth, a wide, stretchy black band, and a glass of water. “Can
you take ibuprofen?”

I nod and he hands me the glass and two small
pills folded against his palm. While I’m gulping down water, he’s
busy wrapping the washcloth and ice pack around my foot then
securing them with the elastic band.

“Well, that ought to keep the swelling from
getting much worse,” he declares as he stands. “I’ll get the—” A
muted ringing cuts short whatever he was going to say. Alec pulls
his cell phone out of his pocket, glances at the display and
frowns. “Will you be all right here for a few minutes? I really
need to take this.”

“I’ll be fine. Take your time.”

With a nod, Alec walks back into the house,
not answering until he’s out of earshot. I scoot back on the lounge
and lean my head back, enjoying the breathtaking view. I don’t know
how long Alec is on the phone, but by the time he returns, I’m
thoroughly relaxed and the pain in my ankle has lessened
dramatically.

“Sorry about that. How’s the ankle?”

“Much better,” I say, shielding my eyes to
look up at him.

“I hate that you got hurt. I could’ve
directed you toward a nest of sea turtles just past my walk, along
the dunes. Isn’t that what you said you were looking for?”

I nod. “Yeah, but we can come back another
time.”

“If you feel like sitting Galen a bit more, I
could run you down to see them before I take you home.”

I know I shouldn’t feel the little thrill of
anticipation that blossoms in my stomach. I know I shouldn’t be so
reluctant for my time with him to end. Or, at the very least, I
should try to resist. But I don’t. I’m not sure I’ll ever see him
again after today. With that in mind, it isn’t hard to convince
myself that this one short trip won’t hurt anything. “I’d like
that.”

“Just let me tell Javi,” he says, walking
back into the house.

Less than five minutes later, Alec comes
striding back through the door. He walks to my chair, but I stop
him before he can bend and pick me up. “I can walk.” I probably
can’t walk, actually. At least not comfortably. But I don’t want to
put him out, which is exactly what it seems to do when he has to
carry me.

He straightens and looks down at me, his
right brow shooting up in that way I love. Something in the air
between us thickens. It crackles with electricity. In the space of
one short breath, without saying a word, everything changes.

“Is there another…position you’d rather me
carry you in?” Alec’s tone is openly suggestive. I can see the
difference in his eyes, in the hunger on his face. In the growl of
his voice. We’re no longer pretending we don’t feel this, that we
don’t both know where it’s going.

And once again, just like that, right here,
on the deck, in the sunshine, we become two people I know better
than anyone. We are Daire and Mason.

“
Well, well, well. What have we here?”
Mason asks. I startle at his voice as his shadow falls over me. I
forget that he can come into the sun.

For an instant, I’m stunned. Humiliated by
what he must see—the breeze teasing my hair, the sun beating down
on my naked shoulders and the water bubbling around my bared
breasts, bringing my nipples to hard points.

I gasp, instinctively leaning up and
crossing my arms over my chest in modesty. I thought he’d gone for
the day or I would never have risked slipping into the tub without
my suit. Yet here he is, clad in nothing but a towel, obviously
intent on having his own dip in the Jacuzzi.

“
I’m so sorry. I didn’t…I thought…if I’d
known you were still here…” I stammer, beginning to stand, to go
indoors where I can hide for the rest of my life, before I think
better of it. I’m not exactly clothed for a dignified exit.

“
Don’t apologize. I like this kind of
surprise.” His eyes are warm and intense on me.

If he’d leave for just a minute, I’d get out
of his way. “Please, if you’ll give me a moment—”

“
No. I don’t think I will. I think I like
you better this way.”

“
But I—”

“
No buts. And don’t pretend like this
isn’t exactly where you want to be.”

How does he do that? See into my mind? Into
my deepest thoughts and wildest imaginations?

“
I don’t know what you mean,” I
deny.

“
Yes, you do. You know precisely what I
mean. I know you watch me...”

My heart is hammering against my ribs as I
think of all the times I
have
watched him—by himself, with
women, in the shower, in the bed. And I’ve always wondered what it
would be like to have all that attention focused on me. Just
me.

Now, I do.

And I don’t think I can bring myself to
stop before I find out what the rest feels like. What
he
feels like.

Back in reality, with
my
Mason, Alec
doesn’t wait for me to answer. He simply bends and scoops me up
into his arms. “Give me time,” he says softly. “I’ll show you just
how many answers there are to that question.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN- Alec

With the deck steps nearby, Samantha was able
to mount Galen with little assistance from me. She scooted back for
me to sit in front of her this time. Not my first choice, of course
but I can bide my time.

I
did
put my hand on her ass to steady
her as she mounted. I knew it would get her flustered. I love that
innocence about her. I love it so much I’m going to enjoy watching
it melt away when she sees what pleasures the world has to offer. I
get hard just thinking about it.

As if sensing the direction of my thoughts,
Samantha tightens her arms around my waist. I flex my fingers
around the reins, letting my mind wander for a minute. I can
picture Samantha’s hands bound with these very leather straps, her
hair fanned out on a pillow, her lips red and swollen from sucking
my cock. I grit my teeth against where the fantasy goes next. This
time is going to be sweeter than ever. It’s been so long…

The ride to the dune where I saw the sea
turtle nest doesn’t take very long, which is fine with me. This
slow, date-like beginning is strictly for Samantha’s benefit. I
should probably warn her that it won’t last long. I don’t have the
patience to drag this phase out to its normal length. As much as
I’d like to, I can’t skip it altogether, though. There has to be a
certain level of trust established, and it happens during this
period. I know this from past experience. I’ve just never been this
anxious before. It
really has
been too long.

For a couple of years now, I’ve limited
myself to just watching when I go to my favorite…establishments. I
found that it keeps me from getting that cold-turkey withdrawal
sensation. But watching is nothing like
doing
.

I slow Galen and guide him more inland,
toward the dunes. I stop him when we reach the hardly-noticeable
trail in the sand. I dismount and drop the reins at the base of the
dune, effectively tethering Galen to the spot, before I help
Samantha down.

“They’re here?” she asks, putting her hands
on my shoulders and leaning in as I ease her off the horse and let
her slide slowly down my body.

I peer down into her face. It must make her
nervous because she licks her lips. The sight of her pink tongue
sneaking out to wet them makes me think of my earlier fantasy.
“Don’t you trust me?” I ask the question knowing that, no matter
what answer she gives, she doesn’t trust me. But what she
does
trust is that I can give her something she’s never had
before. And that’s what she can’t resist. I know it as surely as
I’m standing here in the sun with her.

“Of course. I didn’t mean…I just…”

I tip my head toward the streak in the sand.
I see her eyes flicker to it and widen. “Is that what I think it
is?”

“Depends on what you think it is.”

“A momma’s trail.”

“Then yes, it is what you think it is.” Her
face lights up with innocent delight, making me ache again. I pick
her up and carry her through the sand, following the barely
discernible trail.

“How did you find this? Do they nest here
every year?”

“I don’t know. I just happened to notice it
when I rode yesterday.”

“You ride every day?”

“No. Only when I’ve got something under my
skin.”

She looks up at me. I know she’d like to ask
what—or who—but she doesn’t. And I’m glad. I’d rather she wonder
about it. I watch her steadily until she turns her attention toward
the sand as I continue on to the nest.

I follow the path, made by the sea turtle’s
body and flippers, to where the eggs are buried. “I’ve lived in
Charleston most of my life and I’ve only ever seen one nest. And
I’ve never seen the hatchlings running for the water,” she informs
me.

“Roughly two months from now, you could
probably catch them if you put in the time to stalk the nest.”

“Have you ever seen them?”

“No. I’m more fascinated by other…natural
phenomena.”

Again, she looks up at me, shyly, from
beneath her lashes. I wonder if she feels like prey. She
should.
If she doesn’t, she really doesn’t know what she’s
getting herself into.

“I’m not surprised. I can’t imagine you’re
the patient type.”

“You’d be surprised by how patient I can be,
especially when it’s something I really want.”

“I thought your forte was aggression,” she
says, referring to my earlier comment.

“Oh it is, but sometimes there must
be…preparation for the aggression. That’s where the patience comes
in.”

“Are your efforts ever wasted? Do you ever
find yourself disappointed?”

Although she’s trying to hide it, I can see
that she’s very interested in my answer.

I meet her soft gray eyes, holding her gaze.
“Never. I always get what I want.”

I set her down near the nest when we reach
the head of the trail. There’s not much to see at this point. Just
some disturbed sand and the remnants of the female’s departure. The
eggs themselves are covered. But I’m not interested in this anyway.
For the moment, it’s Samantha that has my undivided attention.

There’s a place I’d love to take her, but I
know she’s not ready. It makes me wish I didn’t have to work
tonight. After a day like today, I could make some significant
progress. Move her along in the right direction. But tonight can’t
happen, which means I need to capitalize on today.

“How’s the foot?” I ask.

“It’s feeling much better. I don’t think I
hurt it too badly.”

“We still need to get you off it. I should
take you back and get you home, where you can put it up.”

She nods, but says nothing.

So sweet and shy.

She turns away from the nest and starts to
hobble forward. Once again, I bend and take her into my arms.
Carrying her back to the horse means I can mount the horse and
place her in front of me. Just where I want her.

So I do. I carry her to Galen and climb atop
him, much like I did earlier, placing her between my legs. She
doesn’t argue.

I reach around her to take the reins, my face
getting caught in the wild tangle of her hair. The fragrant mass
tickles my nose.

“Have I ever told you that I love your hair?”
I whisper near her ear as I ease Galen back down toward the
hard-packed sand near the surf. She doesn’t respond, so I continue.
“It’s like wildfire. Hot and untamed.”

I feel her breathing pick up. I know how my
close proximity affects her and, of course, I’m going to use that
to my advantage.

“Don’t you ever want to be like that? Hot and
untamed? Wild? Don’t you ever want to let go and just feel?”

Her fingers dig into my thighs where she’s
holding on and I imagine liquid heat starting to bubble in her
stomach.

I urge Galen into a faster gait. “I want to
see you let go like that, be wild. Free. I want to make you forget
about the rest of the world for a while. I wonder if you’d let
me…”

Still she says nothing, but I know she’s
listening. Her lips are parted and her face is turned slightly
toward me, putting her ear closer to my mouth so she can better
hear me.

“Since this beach is private, I wonder if
you’d let me put my hand under the edge of your skirt. Would you
stop me? Or would you let me go even further? Would you let me move
your bikini bottoms to the side? You’re wearing a bathing suit
under this skirt, aren’t you?” As I ask the question, I move my
hand to her stomach, flattening my palm and spreading my fingers so
that my little finger grazes the elastic band of her bottoms,
confirming my suspicion.

She nods to answer my question. But I don’t
want her to nod. I want to hear her voice. I want to hear how
breathless she is, I want to hear her pant how much she wants me to
do wicked things to her.

“Answer,” I command.

“Yes,” she breathes, her voice just a little
above a whisper.

“Would you let me do that? Would you let me
push them to the side and put my fingers inside you? Would you ride
them to the rhythm of Galen as he runs across the sand? Would you
pour that sweet juice all over my hand when you say my name, over
and over again? Would you let me?” I inch my hand lower, just a
fraction. “Or do you want me to make you?” I feel her tense. She’s
under my spell. I know she is. I’ve done this enough to know,
enough to be able to read women perfectly. But there’s something
stopping her, something more than just inexperience.