Chapter 9 This Little Game #4
I chuckled thinking of all the ways I’d messed up plans while on missions or done my best to save lives. More people had died by unknown friendly fire when I was around when they attempted to commit war crimes.
“Of chaos. Of reckoning. But there are always things that we’ve done that were necessary. It might not have been pretty.”
“On that we can both agree, Agent Nakoa.”
“My dick has been inside of you, Asha. We’re about to get married so I think it’s not too much of a stretch to call me by my first name. It’s only three letters, you can’t really mess it up.”
I knew why she did it. I was getting too close.
I was making her feel or think or something and she hated it.
I wasn’t sure what the hell it was I was doing with her but I didn’t have a way to stop it.
She’d gotten under my skin months ago and now here we were, living and working together as though it was the natural order of how life was supposed to be.
I was still kicking myself for the housewarming gift I’d gotten her.
I’d wanted it to be a casual surprise that she discovered on her own.
That way she could see that I’d done something nice but be too proud to ask me about it.
I’d been banking on it. Instead of her finding it, I’d hidden it feeling too exposed and pissed with myself for being too weak to show her I’d thought of her.
I’d followed her out here to check on her.
The idea of caring about her was something that made my stomach ache.
Caring meant vulnerability. It meant having a weakness that could be exploited by your enemies.
The idea of having someone who was my responsibility was stressful but that’s what having a wife meant.
Even if it was in name only, someone coming after her in any way was reason enough for me to put them in the dirt.
The realization that I would kill for her without a second thought didn’t scare me.
She was silent for a moment, almost introspective, before she responded.
“That was an experiment. Apparently, for both of us. You showed amazing restraint. How much did it take out of you not to dominate how you normally do? I swear that night had to have been set up by the cosmos to see how two polar opposites would get on with one another.”
I couldn’t help but smile despite how awkward that shit felt. “The chauvinist and the misandrist.”
Something in her eyes lit up before she schooled her features to hide her pleasure. It wasn’t a childish joy but it was more like elation at someone respecting her opinion, her knowledge. “Correct.”
“Only thing is Ka’iulani, I never said I was a chauvinist. It was an assumption on your part. You based it on my physical attributes instead of discussing me with me. Starting an experiment with prejudice doesn’t make for the most reliable of outcomes does it?”
Our eyes locked and I could see her battling whether she was going to engage in another battle of wits or let my comment slide. Something flickered between the two of us, ignited and sparked before she remembered herself and withdrew again.
“It was based on near-empirical evidence.”
“Near empirical evidence doesn’t make it empirical. Especially when the evidence is tainted with prejudice. I thought you would know better than that. What with being a doctor and all.”
She pursed her lips together but her smile still broke through. My stomach clenched at the action; the rocking of the horse soothed me more than I’d expected.
“Hmmm. And you’re with whom I’m supposed to live. ’Til death do us part?”
“Yes.”
A smile broke over her beautiful face and I knew within a few seconds she was going to bolt.
“It’s a damn good thing I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty.”
She barely had to move before the horse darted away from me like this escape measure was one that she’d practiced for years.
For a few seconds, I simply watched her.
Her long black hair billowed out behind her as her braid unraveled as she raced away from me.
It was too bad for her that she didn’t realize a man like me craved a chase.
And she wasn’t the type of woman who would ever stop challenging me.
I wasn’t going to put emotions onto anything but she was going to be mine.
And for far deeper reasons than this situation with her father.
I squeezed the horse that had been provided and headed in the direction she was racing. The horse seemed eager to have its head even with someone as big as me on its back. I didn’t hesitate to allow it to run as fast as it felt comfortable.
Which was pretty fucking fast.
I was trained in horse riding since I was a kid.
We had them on the island and I’d known the skill would be needed depending on what role I was sent out to play for the job.
My ability to conform to any situation meant I had to have a wide range of skills.
From more brutal practices like hand to hand combat and inventive ways to kill someone to the finer things in life like how to set a damn table and proper etiquette.
Riding a horse was on the list of accomplishments that had aided me in my life of spy work and now apparently with wooing my future wife.
Are we trying to woo her?
I shook off the question and simply enjoyed the wind slapping me in the face.
It was dangerous to want to draw closer to her because her having feelings meant that she was going to be attached and I would eventually disappoint her.
That was inevitable. And then what would our life look like if I were closed out and she were heartbroken?
Rational thought ceased to concern me as I was within a stride of catching her.
She looked over her shoulder almost surprised at how quickly I’d eaten up the distance.
I could tell she was weighing her options.
A fence line was up ahead and I could tell that the horse she had was one that could easily make the jump.
That wasn’t what concerned her. She was wondering if I could make it and the ramifications of my continued pursuit.
Or maybe she was concerned that I was going to get hurt.
Does she care?
“Don’t!”
My voice carried despite its depth, caution infused into my words because her recklessness and desire to win might make her do something rash. The wind whipped at my face, the smell of grass and nature dulled as my senses honed in on her.
At the last second, she eased up forcing her horse to run parallel to the fence instead of taking the jump. The horses slowed down to a walk and within seconds I slid out of the saddle, doing my best to stay calm.
I stalked over to her horse, trampling the tall grass and wildflowers, leading mine toward hers unbothered by the way she looked sitting on top of her horse.
She had the bearing of a queen with her head lifted, eyes boldly defiant.
The irritation on her face showed she didn’t appreciate my interference even if it might have saved her life.
My heart was racing, a state I normally didn’t feel.
Fear.
Thinking of her hurdling over the fence and not making it shook me.
This is why responsibilities are a bad thing.
I took the reins of her horse pulling them toward the fence and tying both hers and mine to a post.
“Must you be so high-handed?”
“I need you to shut the fuck up right now.”
Eyes widened, jaws dropped and fingers tightened on the reins. “I beg your pardon?”
I walked around the horse and she had already removed her foot from the stirrup and swung her thigh over the saddle. By the time I was at her side, the other had been removed and she looked ready to hop down or tackle me to the ground.
I didn’t give her the chance.
I reached up grabbed her by her waist and yanked her down. There was barely enough room for her between my body and her beast but I didn’t care.
She opened her mouth to scream at me, eyes wide with anger looking gloriously furious.
My hand went deep into her hair gripping the back of her head and pulling her to me. I expected to be hit. For her to flail about under my aggression. But she didn’t.
She yielded.
Her lips went pliant before attacking mine with as much fury as mine did hers. Asha’s hands were at my waist the slender digits warming my skin against the gentle spring breeze as our lips punished one another.
She was pressed against me so tightly that I didn’t know if she could breathe.
My hands went to her back pulling her closer to me as my hands palmed each firm round globe of her ass. Her fingers brushed against my bare abs and I was so lost in her I didn’t realize that she’d pushed up my shirt.
“Let me taste you.”
“What? We’re outside.” She glanced around nervously but I didn’t care who might have been around.
There had been very few people at the barn while we were there and the likelihood of them coming this way was slim.
There were cameras all around the trails but I knew there were none aimed at this spot of the fields since this was the border of the paddock.
It was my job to know these types of things and even if it was, I’d simply hack into the system and have it deleted before we left.
“You need a release. I’m more equipped to provide it for you. You came out here to use a four-legged beast when you have a two-legged one who has more than proven himself to you. Does Mistress need a reminder?”
Her eyes sparkled as I sank to my knees and I knew she wouldn’t be able to resist watching me submit to her.
“Attempt to convince me.”