Abyss (Elements of Rapture Book 4)

27. Kavi

KAVI

The sound of footsteps on the wooden floor has me glancing over my shoulder at the bare-chested man behind me, clad in dark gray sweatpants. His disheveled hair does nothing to make him look any less sexy. And as usual, his overt display of tattoos, bulging biceps, and stacked abs makes my brain malfunction, and I almost burn my wrist pulling out the tray of peppermint snacks from the oven.

I swear, he does it on purpose—parading around half-naked just to turn me into a fumbling idiot.

I spy the way his lips tip up arrogantly as I place the tray on the counter and close the oven. The bastard knows he looks good enough to cause a highway pileup. He shuffles over, pressing his chest to my back as he lifts his arm to get cups from the cupboard above my head.

Dipping his mouth to the shell of my ear, his salacious whisper sends goosebumps soaring over my skin. “Excuse me.”

I roll my eyes. He has two separate cupboards with cups in them, so there is no reason he needs the ones above me. I know he’s doing it on purpose to rile me up, and he’s succeeding—I just won’t admit it out loud.

Placing the two cups on the counter in front of me, he cages me in with his arms and chest. His mouth finds my exposed shoulder and neck, nipping and kissing all the way to my ear, making me gasp.

“I like you in my shirt.”

I’d pulled on the button-down shirt he threw on the floor last night and paired it with some tights. I turn my head to run my lips across his jaw. “I like smelling like you. It’s my favorite scent.”

Hudson grabs my hips and pulls me to him, grinding his hard-on against my ass. His lips find the side of my neck again, his voice raspy with need. “Your pussy is my favorite scent.”

I take in a shuddered breath, my body accustomed to being on the verge of an explosion whenever I’m around him.

“You were up early, though,” he mumbles against my skin. “Did I not work you out hard enough last night?”

I snort, stretching my neck for him to take as much as he wants. The question should be whether I even slept between the three times he woke me up, only to be buried inside me minutes later. At five AM, I decided to get my day started, trying to be as quiet as I could be in the kitchen.

It’s been like this between us for an entire week, minus the two days Hudson had to fly to Portland. We’re insatiable for one another—in the office, in his truck, and as soon as we get home. Yesterday, we even put up the privacy window in his chauffeured car and went at it in the back seat.

“Pretty sure I won’t be needing to go to the gym with all the workouts I’m getting all day and night.”

“You don’t need to go to the gym, anyway. You’re perfect exactly as you are.”

He detaches his mouth from my skin and I see the sincerity in his eyes. No, I see the way he sees me—wants me—and it leaves me speechless.

He tilts his head at the tray, unaware of the way he makes me swoon. “What have you been up to all morning?”

I wave a finger over the tray. “I made peppermint and rolled oats snacks for Kansas since I’ll be meeting her for the first time today. And,” I show him the dough under the plastic wrap I kneaded earlier this morning, “I’m making croissants for art therapy class today and to take to the office tomorrow.”

Hudson stills behind me, and I look over my shoulder to catch his gaze on my face.

“What?” I whisper, not able to interpret the look on his face.

He shakes his head, his eyes soft. “You made treats for my horse?”

“You said not to call her a horse,” I quip, smiling at him. “Anyway, I had most of the ingredients. I just had to go out for the peppermint and—”

“You went shopping this morning?” His brows pinch together, the crows’ feet at the corners of his eyes deepening. “Aaron doesn’t come into work until nine on Sundays. Why didn’t you wake me up?”

I turn around, wrapping my arms around his neck and rubbing out the furrow in the middle of his forehead with my index finger. “It wasn’t raining, so I thought I’d take a quick walk to the corner shop. And you’ve had a busy week; I wanted to let you sleep in.”

“Kav—”

I stop the rest of his argument by lifting up on my toes and pressing my lips to his. At first he resists, wanting to argue some more, but after my continued efforts with my fingernails traveling the course of his spine, he gives in.

Our kiss is sensual and deep, our tongues dancing against each other.

Hudson groans into my mouth, bringing my hips flush with his, his erection demanding attention. “You’re so fucking stubborn, you know that?”

I smile into our kiss, pressing my chest to his and opening my mouth so his tongue can explore further. He tastes like mint and smells like . . . like me. “You wouldn’t have me any other way.”

“I’d like to have you every way on this counter,” he murmurs, shoving the tray behind me so he can lift me onto the counter.

He scoots in between my legs, dragging his hands over my sides underneath my shirt. His thumbs brush the bottoms of my breasts and I moan into his mouth, feeling that familiar heat building up at my core.

But I have so much to get done today before we head to his farm, including finishing up the croissants, organizing a lesson plan, and getting some supplies together for class later.

I run my fingers through his hair, licking his bottom lip and kissing him until we’re both breathless, before pulling away. I peer into his smoldering eyes. “If I don’t get stuff done this morning, I’ll end up spending the entire day in bed with you.”

“I fail to see the problem with that.” He nips my jaw, dragging his mouth all the way to my ear, making my center pulse hungrily. I feel like I’m being pulled under by waves, and for the life of me, I can’t find the will to resist.

Whimpering at the feel of him against me, I let him pull me into another kiss before he reluctantly leans back, brushing his thumb over my bee-stung lips. “Fine, to be continued later, then.” He glances at the dough I have set out for the croissants I was going to bake. “You think we can leave in an hour or so?”

“I’ll be ready.”

Earlier,I was gawking at the shirtless man with sweatpants in his kitchen. Now, I’m drooling over the same man wearing fitted dark jeans, distressed brown leather boots, and a button-down flannel shirt with rolled-up sleeves that make his forearms look so provocative they should come with a warning.

Tugging the neck of my old shirt that has Peel With Care written above a picture of a kiwi, I let the cool breeze caress my heated skin. I trail after him while blatantly checking out his incredible denim-clad ass.

As soon as we got out of his truck, Hudson placed a cream-colored Stetson hat over my head before pressing me against his truck and kissing me like he hadn’t just done so minutes before.

He’d gently pinched my chin, his piercing blue irises rimmed with thick dark lashes casting down at me with such intensity, it sent butterflies soaring in my stomach. “You’re fucking unexpected, Kav.”

But before I could ask him to clarify, he entangled our fingers and led me toward the stables behind his farmhouse.

Anticipation courses through me as the breeze picks up my hair. My boots leave prints on the damp ground, and once again, I note the serenity of the ranch.

Coming to a stop at the wide gates of the stables, I follow Hudson inside with my bag of treats. It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust to the dim lighting, revealing old, weathered beams and a few stalls lined against the wall. With the scent of leather, soil, and hay surrounding me, I feel like I’ve been transported into a completely different world full of rustic charm.

Noting the three empty stalls, I trail behind Hudson to one occupied by a majestic, sun-bleached, wheat-colored horse standing regally with her ears held high as she watches him—us—approach.

Walking up to the stall, Hudson kisses the air. “There’s my beautiful girl.” His voice is gentle and admiring, captivating me as he rubs her neck, letting her smell his hair and skin before kissing her cheek. I’m mesmerized watching the bond between them, and somewhere in my head the song, Dust in the Wind by the band named Kansas, echoes softly.

“Yeah, yeah, I missed you, too,” he coos, brushing his fingers through her mane.

His words and gentle touch seem to calm her while her deep brown eyes study me with curiosity and apprehension.

She’s stunning, with a large patch of white under her neck and ears that are tipped with black. Her nose twitches in anticipation, pulling a soft laugh from my lips. Someone knows there are treats in the bag for her.

Hudson extends his hand to me, intertwining our fingers and silently inviting me closer, and I do so, feeling the tension growing in the air.

“Reach out with the back of your hand so she can smell you,” he says to me as he continues to reassure her with more gentle words.

Kansas snuffles softly, her breath warm against my hand, making my smile stretch across my face. I want to stroke her velvety fur, but given what I know about her so far, I decide against it, waiting for her cue to tell me when she’s ready. When that will be, I’m not sure, but I gather she’s still unsure for now.

“You’ve had her twenty years?” I ask, remembering what he told me last week.

He nods, his expression affectionate as he strokes her neck. “I got her when she was nearly five. She was, and is, the most beautiful girl both Maddy and I had seen, and she came with this ranch we bought.”

I notice he stays away from the word “horse” as he speaks about her.

“She’s too old for anyone to be riding her regularly, but she’ll let me if she’s feeling up to it.”

“Do you have more?” I ask, hinting at other horses without explicitly saying the word.

Hudson looks out to the pasture through an opening on the other side. “Two more, Lottie and Whiskey. They’re both old, but not as old as this girl. They’re both retired racing horses that Maddy brought here when she heard they were looking for a new home. We thought they could keep this old girl company.” He chuckles, indicating Kansas. “But she’s so moody, she barely acknowledges their presence.”

Ah, like father like horse-daughter, I see.

I smile at the way he dotes on her, forgiving her for her grumpy personality, almost as if it’s endearing. And for reasons I never expected, that in itself makes me fall for him just a little more.

Kansas reaches out her neck to sniff the treats in my bag.

“Looks like she knows these treats are for her.” I laugh, looking to Hudson for guidance. “Do you think she’ll let me feed her?”

He takes a peppermint cookie from the box, showing me how to feed her, and I follow his lead cautiously. Kansas eagerly takes the treat into her mouth from my open palm before letting out a loud satisfied snuffle, making Hudson and me grin.

“You might have found a way to win her over,” he remarks with a chuckle. “I guarantee you’ll be best friends if you keep coming over with treats.”

I swallow and give Kansas another cookie, wondering how to interpret Hudson’s words. Keep coming over . . .

Did he forget that I’ll only be here for another four weeks, or did he mean for the short time I’m here?

A few minutes later, Hudson takes Kansas out of the stall, listening to her cues before placing a saddle over her. He pulls her lead as I follow them both, watching her long brown tail swish as she takes slow strides toward the pasture.

Leaving her in one spot, he opens the gates of the closed-in pasture, placing another saddle on an almost all-chocolate-colored horse named Whiskey.

I fiddle the ring on my thumb anxiously when Hudson comes back toward me with Whiskey striding behind him. “I don’t know, Hudson . . . I’ve never been horse riding before.”

His hands cradle my face, making me look up at him from under my hat. “I promise, with Whiskey, you won’t have to do much. Just hold his reins and let him do the work. He knows the path and will follow Kansas and me.”

I nod and he takes my hat off and replaces it with a helmet he finds in a bin inside the stalls. I love the way he focuses on buckling it, making sure it’s secure on my head.

I take out another treat from my pocket, offering it to Whiskey, and giggle as the other horse, Lottie, comes galloping all the way to the fence, hoping for the same thing. Thankfully, I’d taken a couple more from the box I’d left inside the stable.

After giving Lottie and Whiskey another treat, Hudson helps me straddle the large chocolate horse.

My heart hammers inside my chest as my thighs clasp the saddle, and Hudson gives me some basic instructions on how to ensure Whiskey follows my direction and what to do if he decides to trot and I want him to go slower.

Five minutes later, Whiskey and I follow Hudson and Kansas on a path around Hudson’s property while he points out landmarks in the distance. The soft breeze, laden with the scent of grass and flowers, lifts pieces of my hair from under my helmet.

It takes me a good fifteen minutes to get comfortable riding Whiskey, but I now understand what Hudson meant. The beautiful horse is so mellow and gentle that I relax as we both get to know each other. He does like to munch on the long stems of grass from time to time, so I have to divert his attention back to following Hudson and Kansas again.

We stop at an overlook above a large field where I see a quilt flanked with pots of wildflowers on the ground and a picnic basket sitting on the edge.

I look over at Hudson with my mouth agape as he dismounts Kansas, tying her reins to a nearby tree before reaching up to pull me off Whiskey. “Hudson . . .”

He doesn’t respond, leading Whiskey to another tree and tying him there before jogging back to me.

I look down at the picnic with complete surprise. “When did you do all this?”

He unbuckles my helmet, taking it off my head and placing it on the ground before clasping my hand and leading me to sit with him on the blanket. “I didn’t.” He grins, his eyes gleaming, and I notice—not for the first time—how incredibly beautiful his rare smiles are. “My property manager, Levi, did it for me.”

I chuckle softly. “Well then, I suppose Levi should be the one I should thank with a kiss . . .”

Hudson leans into me, gently laying me down on the quilt under the cloudy blue sky as he hovers over me. “What have I told you about my rules on sharing?”

“Hmm.” I twist my mouth. “I can’t seem to recall. You do have so many rules, Mr. Case.”

He nips my bottom lip. “And you seem to like breaking them.”

“Maybe I just like seeing you worked up.”

“I’ve been nothing but worked up since you waltzed over to my table that fateful day.”

“Ah, yes.” I giggle. “That fateful day when you fired me from my first restaurant gig.”

He groans. “You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?”

I chuckle, dragging my fingers through his hair. “You did have a rather large goose egg on your forehead from where that cork hit you, so I suppose I should let it go.”

He tickles my stomach and I giggle and squirm under him. “I did not have a goose egg, but it hurt like a bitch.”

I laugh. “Thank God for your thick headedness.”

That earns me another tickle and his mouth over my neck.

Our soft laughter turns into something else entirely as Hudson’s mouth drags up to my lips and he kisses me hungrily. He untucks my shirt from the waist of my pants, his hand making its way up my stomach and over my breast.

We continue moaning into each other’s mouths as Hudson pulls down the cup of my bra, brushing his thumb over my pebbled nipple. My core tightens as he rolls it between his thumb and index finger, pinching until I gasp against his lips.

“Please,” I beg.

His eyes focus on me. “Please what, baby girl? Tell me what you need.”

“More,” I breathe.

“More of what, Kavi? Be specific.”

I grasp his hand, dragging it to the waistline of my jeans before unbuckling them. Wiggling them off, letting the wind flutter over my heated skin, I press his hand into my underwear.

I look up at him, my chest rising and falling in time with the pulsing need at my wet center. “I want your fingers inside me and your mouth all over me.”

His jaw works as his hand slides deeper into my awaiting folds. “Just my fingers?”

I lick my lips, shaking my head. “Your fingers, your tongue, and your cock.”

A satisfied grin finds his face before his voice turns gruff. “Lay back so I can get started.”