Chapter 20 #2
He lifts my hand to his lips and presses a kiss to the back of it, his gray eyes holding mine. “Then this is just the start of what I’m going to give you.”
“I never took you for such a romantic.”
He just grins at me.
I laugh, because I can’t help it, and something in my chest loosens as if it’s been bracing for impact.
He reaches for one of the serving plates, sliding it closer to me. “Now eat. I’m starving, and I know you are too.”
He’s right. I’m famished.
We dig into the feast, and it’s even better than it looks. The cheeses are sharp and creamy and perfect. The strawberries burst with sweetness. The sliders are juicy, the sushi fresh, and the macarons melt in my mouth like they were made for this exact moment.
“Most of this is locally made,” Kai tells me between bites. “I wanted to support the town as much as I could.”
“That’s…” I shake my head, still a little overwhelmed by him, by the effort, by the way he watches me like my reactions matter. “That’s really thoughtful.”
“I have my moments,” he says, and the grin he gives me is pure trouble, like he’s already planning the next one.
We eat and talk and laugh, the fairy lights twinkling around us, the carousel music providing a gentle backdrop.
He tells me about growing up in Colorado, about his grandmother who taught him to ride a bike and about their Hawaiian heritage, about the first time he got on a bull and knew it was what he was meant to do.
I tell him about Honeyspur Meadow, falling in love with this town as a teenager, how I fought to stay here when my parents wanted me to leave. About the properties I’ve sold and the people I’ve helped find homes.
He listens like everything I say matters and as if I’m the most interesting person he’s ever met.
“I could get used to this,” I admit, accepting a grape he holds out to me. “You’re setting the bar very high.”
His smile is slow and warm, softening his sharp features. “That’s the plan.”
“What if the others can’t compete?”
“They’ll figure it out. We all will.” He feeds me another grape, his fingers brushing my lips. “Besides, I’m pretty sure Carter already claimed the poetry angle. And Seth will probably just grunt at you meaningfully until you fall for him.”
I burst out laughing. “That wouldn’t surprise me.”
“I know my pack.”
We’ve been grazing for a while now, the moon rising high overhead, when he says, “I was deciding between this and a picnic in a field somewhere. But honestly, the thought of Brutus breaking out and finding us in the middle of a romantic moment worried me.”
“Oh God.” I press a hand to my mouth, trying not to laugh. “Can you imagine?”
“I’d rather not. That bull already wants me dead. If he caught me with you under the stars?” He shakes his head. “Carnage.”
“Good call on the fair, then.”
“I thought so.”
He refills my glass with sparkling juice. “I wanted you clearheaded for the surprises,” he says with a wink, and we talk more. About everything. About nothing. The conversation flows easily, naturally, like we’ve known each other for years instead of days.
At some point, I realize I’m not nervous anymore. The anxiety that usually lives in my chest, that constant buzz of worry about saying the wrong thing or being too much or not enough, it’s quiet. Kai makes me feel like I can just… be.
When we’ve eaten our fill and have been just sitting here talking, he stands and offers me his hand.
“Follow me.”
I take it, letting him pull me to my feet. “I’m not sure how many more surprises I can handle without my heart giving out from all the swooning.”
He laughs, his arm sliding around my back. “This is a night all about you, doll. I’m just getting started.”
He leads me toward the carousel, and now that we’re closer, I can see every detail. The horses are painted in bright colors, white and gold and rose, with flowing manes and jeweled bridles. The mirrors on the center column catch the lights and scatter them like diamonds.
Kai guides me up onto the platform, and I grip one of the brass poles as he moves toward the center mechanism.
“Hold on,” he calls back.
I hear him fiddling with something, hear the grunt of machinery coming to life, and then the carousel starts to move.
Slowly at first, then picking up speed until we’re spinning at a gentle pace, the horses rising and falling on their poles, the music swelling around us. The fairy lights outside blur into streaks of gold, and I’m laughing, gripping the pole, feeling like a kid again.
“This is insane!” I shout over the music.
Kai reappears, grinning. “Pick your horse, my lady. Which one should we ride?”
“Us? Together?”
“Obviously.”
I tap my chin, pretending to consider, then start walking through the rows of horses.
They’re all beautiful, prancing stallions and gentle mares, each one unique.
But then I spot a carriage, tucked between two horses, designed for two passengers.
It’s going up and down with the rest of the ride, painted white with gold scrollwork.
I climb in quickly, the momentum making me slightly unsteady, and I flop onto the padded bench with a laugh.
Kai is there in seconds, sliding in beside me. It’s a tight fit, as he’s a big man, all broad shoulders and long legs, and we end up pressed together, his thigh against mine, his arm brushing my shoulder.
I turn to face him, to give him more room, and suddenly his hand is on my jaw, tilting my face up.
“You have no idea what you do to me, June.” His voice is rough, low, barely audible over the carousel music.
“Maybe I have some idea,” I breathe. “Considering what you do to me.”
He kisses me.
Not gently. Not tentatively. He kisses me like he’s been starving for it, as if he’s been holding himself back for days and finally can’t anymore. His mouth claims mine with a need that steals my breath, his hand fisting in my hair, angling my head exactly where he wants me.
The carousel carries us up and down, the motion making us bump against each other, but neither of us cares. I grab on to his shirt, pulling him closer, and he groans against my lips, a sound that vibrates through my entire body.
He tastes like strawberries. His tongue sweeps into my mouth, claiming, tasting, demanding, and I give him everything. Every hesitation I’ve been clinging to, every wall I’ve built, they crumble under the passion of his kiss.
We’re moving with the ride now, rising and falling, and somehow that makes it better. More urgent. Like we’re suspended in our own world where nothing else exists.
He breaks the kiss just long enough to shift us, his hands gripping my hips and lifting me like I weigh nothing. Suddenly I’m on his lap, my legs between his spread thighs, and he pulls me flush against him, feeling him hard and thick against my hip, and I’m gasping for air.
“Better,” he murmurs, and then his mouth is on mine again.
This kiss is different. Deeper, more desperate. His hands are everywhere—sliding up my back, gripping my waist, tangling in my hair. I’m drowning in him, in his scent and the solid heat of his body against me.
The carousel keeps spinning, the music keeps playing, and I stop thinking entirely.
When his mouth finally leaves mine, it’s only to trail down my neck, teeth grazing my skin. I cling to his shoulders, my head falling back, and a moan escapes me that I couldn’t stop if I tried.
“Fuck,” he breathes against my skin. “The sounds you make. I’ve been imagining them for days.”
“Kai…”
His hand slides up my thigh where my skirt has ridden up. “Do you know how hard it’s been? Lying next to you last night, breathing you in, knowing you were right there and I couldn’t touch you how I wanted to?”
“Yes.” My voice is shaky.
“I could smell how much you wanted us.” His hand inches higher, slipping under the hem of my skirt. “Could feel it when Carter marked you, when you came for him. You have no idea what that did to me.”
I shiver, his words twisting my insides. “Then show me.”
Something shifts in his expression. It’s darker, more intense, bleeding through the playful charm, and his grip on my thigh tightens.
“Stand up for me,” he says quietly.
My heart stutters. “Oh?”
“On your feet in front of me, doll.”
I don’t know why I obey. Maybe it’s the command in his voice, the Alpha authority bleeding through. Maybe it’s the desperate need building between my legs, demanding satisfaction.
I climb off his lap on shaky legs and stand before him, gripping the brass poles on either side of the carriage for balance. The carousel is still moving, making me sway slightly, and Kai stares up at me with eyes gone dark as storm clouds.
His gaze travels down my body. My breath is coming too fast, my skin flushed. He sits back on the carousel carriage, all relaxed confidence, while I stand there in front of him, pretending I’m not one inhale away from losing my mind.
His hand lifts, knuckles brushing the front of my shirt.
“Let me,” he murmurs, and it isn’t a question.
He undoes my top button with maddening patience, then the next, tugging the fabric open more and more to show him what he wants.
Cool air slips in. Heat explodes everywhere else.
I suck in a breath, and my whole body reacts as though it’s been waiting for permission.
His gaze fixes on the skin he’s exposed, the lace bra, and the look on his face turns feral. He leans forward and cups my breasts through the fabric. I moan before I can stop it, and his mouth curves.
“So damn gorgeous,” he says softly as he peels down the lace of my bra, completely exposing my breasts while I’m holding on to the poles.
He drags his thumbs over my erect nipples, teasing just enough to make my breath hitch again, then he looks up at me through his lashes, completely focused. “Look at you,” he murmurs, voice rough. “Absolutely fucking beautiful.”
Then his hands are on my thighs again.
They slide up, pushing my skirt higher as they go. I suck in a breath when his fingers find the waistband of my panties.