Knots (9 page)

“That’s a lot of promises.”

“Sir.”

“
What
?” Her forehead creased so tight it almost stung, and her head jolted back a little.

His grip tightened on her chin, and his other hand cupped the back of her neck. “You call me Sir, and it begins now.”

“But we’re going to Pono’s paren—”

“Kiss me, Jean. No more discussion right now.” He leaned in and swallowed up her bleating cry of protest.

Her arms immediately wrapped around his broad back. Before she knew it, he pulled her hands off him, had both her wrists clasped in one of his, thrust above her head and she was glued up against a wall.

Sweating? That was . . . She was on fire.

She whimpered when his erection pressed into her stomach. His tongue invaded her mouth, took over and his other hand ran softly down her side. The contrast between the rough and soft made her knees buckle.

She was slipping down the wall.

His hand went to her ribs, then moved down and wrapped around her waist. He pulled her hips into his and made this hungry, devouring moan. Her pussy clenched.

Shit. He was so hard and breathing like he was about to come undone.

“Do you know how much I want you? How long I’ve waited for this . . . Christ, Jean . . . You drive me absolutely fucking nuts for you.” He nipped at her neck, sucked at the curve and then his breath washed down her shirt. “So many times I thought about just throwing you over my shoulder and taking off with you—that’s how insane I am over you.”

Goose bumps flowed down her chest, and her nipples tightened.

Her words were tied up inside her, lost in the millions of knots he’d created inside her.

“Two weeks will never be enough with you,” he said, his voice husky and deep.

His tongue washed over the dip at her throat.

A split second later, he let go of her and she swayed in her spot.

“Fuck . . .” she breathed.

“Yeah, I want to, but we’ve gotta be somewhere.” He adjusted himself in his pants, and for the first time ever, she braved a long hard look at his crotch.

He was fucking gigantic.

She swallowed. And her throat, that had previously been dry, was now drowning in saliva.

What the hell was wrong with her? She was staring at Pono’s friend’s dick.

“Let’s go,” he said, voice raspy.

She was propelled forward by him, and it wasn’t until she was in his car, speeding away, that she realized this was insane.

She’d just agreed to be his, and they were going to her in-laws right now. He’d behave, right?

She glanced over at him, and his jaw was set tight, but there was a look of smugness in his eyes.

Shit. This was going to be . . . awkward? Amazing? The end of the Jeanine she’d always known and disliked?

Ah God, he’d already turned her life upside down.

Chapter 5

Jeanie was holding her breath.

“I’m actually glad to be here,” Mark said.

He pulled into Pono’s parents’ neighborhood, and she made a face when he parked the car.

“What’s wrong?” He turned the car off.

“It’s just . . . I’m sorry. Everything’s so different now. Every time Pono and I ever came here, he’d take five minutes to park the car. He couldn’t ever decide which spot would be the best.”

“Well, seeing as how you’re wearing heels, I didn’t want you to have to walk far. I can always move the car if his family needs me to.”

She smiled.

His heart lifted like the corners of his mouth.

“So beautiful,” he said. “I can’t stop looking at you.”

“Yeah, me too—I mean with you. You’re . . . Well, you’re very distracting with how good-looking you are,” she said and ducked her head down with a shy glance his way every few seconds.

He wanted to lean over and kiss her so badly, but there was no way he could do that here.

“Jeanie! Jeanie!” Marly screeched and flew at the car.

“Looks like the president of your fan club is here to greet you,” he said, grinning.

He got out of the car before Jeanie could make a comment back.

Marly jumped around behind him as he leaned in to help Jeanie out of the car.

Jeanie’s white summer dress was modest and had petite navy flowers all over the skirt, but something about it turned him on so much he wondered how he was going to get through this without a giant erection.

“Smell good, too,” he told Jeanie, leaning in right as he pulled her all the way up.

Another pink-cheeked look and innocent smile, and he was even harder.

He locked up the car and closed it up.

Jeanie glanced at him once more over her shoulder, eyes soft and seemingly captivated by him.

Jesus, fuck—she was killing him with those furtive looks of hers. How much did she think he could take before he’d snap and do that caveman shit where he chucked her onto his shoulder and took off, never to return?

He swallowed, watched Jeanie hug Marly and when they were done greeting each other the way women did with chirping voices and excited gestures, he expected her to leave him behind.

“Mark—this way. I wanna show you something,” Jeanie said, holding her hand out for him to take it.

His smile doubled in width, and he took it without even thinking about it.

Marly’s eyes narrowed for a second, then she smoothed out her expression.

“What does he need to see?” Marly asked, voice tight.

“The garden . . . I always loved your mama’s gardens. They’re so peaceful, and she grows things here I’ve never seen anywhere else.”

“Taro,” Marly said, clucking her tongue at the end and rolling her eyes.

“What’s wrong with taro?” he teased her.

“No one likes poi. That’s old people food. But Mama insists on making it anytime we have a gathering. I think she made some for you today. Bluck! I’m not eating it.” Marly loped away.

“Wow, she made me poi? That’s . . .” Jeanie put a hand over her throat.

“What’s the big deal? She’s made it for me before,” he replied.

She tugged him along toward the backyard. They entered through the side gate that was wide open.

“It’s considered a sacred, hallowed tradition. Pono told me I shouldn’t ever turn my nose up at poi when it was offered. It’s part of their culture from long ago, and if it was presented at a table, they thought of it as a way to bring in the spirit of Haloa.” She paused and inhaled sharply, her eyes glazing over as she stared at the ground, unseeing. “Oh God . . . They’re summoning Pono for me.” Her head dropped further. “Haloa is the spirit of their Hawaiian ancestors. Why would they do that? I wanna move forward, not wallow.”

“I’m sure it’s not what you think. I mean, they’re not even Hawaiian—they’re Tongan.”

“Yeah, but they lived in Hawaii for quite a while and adopted a lot of their customs. I thought you knew this . . .”

He cupped her chin, tipping her head up to him. His stomach flipped when she licked her lips like she was ready for a kiss. He glanced around, and when he saw there was no one around, he stole a quick one. “I was teasing you. I did already know that about them. But you taste good, too. Very distracting. Mmm . . .”

“Stop. You’re giving me a big head, Sir,” she said with a soft giggle.

“Yeah, I’ve got a similar problem right now.” He dropped his eyes to his groin.

She clapped a hand over her mouth and giggled a little louder. “You’re so bad.” She averted her gaze.

“Not for you I’m not,” he said, leaning in and whispering in her ear as he brushed her long, dark hair over her shoulders. “I’m very, very good for
you
.”

“That remains to be seen.” She sauntered off, leaving him behind.

He chased after her. “Always wanted to re-enact the Garden of Eden. Sounds like absolute Heaven to me to make love to my woman in a lush, green garden of sin.” His voice was low, gritty and completely filled with longing.

He brushed the back of his index finger down her arm.

Her jaw clenched for a second.

All right—he wasn’t that big of a dick. He needed to cut it out before he pissed her off, or worse—scared her away.

She jerked her head toward the garden. Was she hinting she wanted him to take the lead?

Well, fuck . . . Of course that was what he wanted.

He stepped forward, and she almost matched his stride, lagging just barely behind him.

A rush of adrenaline rippled through him as visions hit him of having her on a leash, following along this exact same way.

He took a deep breath, and they moved into the garden surrounded with berry bushes on all sides.

Reminded him of the story
Secret Garden
with how secluded it felt.

His arms flexed, begging him to hold her and kiss her again, but instead, he turned to her and said, “What do you like best about this place?”

“I like how I’m surrounded with a feeling of love and peace, like nothing else matters. Birds fly over, and sometimes they squawk. It even gets a little humid in here at times if I sit in here too long, but my mind is always clear in this place.” She moved toward a love swing at the far corner.

He caught up to her and set his palm on the middle of her back. Not overly intimate, but he needed this connection, the feel of her body on his skin somewhere, even if it was small.

He sat and guided her down to his side—their thighs brushing against each other’s.

“So, when your mind is clear, it’s much easier to make decisions. While I have you here and you’re in this state, tell me what you’re thinking about our little arrangement.”

She stiffened at his side. “I’m thinking two weeks isn’t going to be enough.”

He smiled. “I agree. What do you suggest we do about that?”

She turned to him, and he smirked.

“That’s not what I meant.” She sucked in some air, and her abs contracted. A moment later, she shifted away from him a little. “I’m feeling like I’m at a disadvantage, Sir. You’ve been finding out all sorts of things about me over the last few years, and I only know what I was able to find out in our brief, sporadic encounters, or if Pono shared something with me about you.”

“Ask me anything—I’m open about my life, especially with you.”

“I don’t want to do it this way,” she said, her lips trembling. Was she frightened? He took her hand and ran his thumb along the edge of it with soothing strokes. “I want a solid week of talking like this—of us getting to know each other in a natural way, organically, before I let you do whatever you want to me.”

“I would never just
do
what I want with you. It doesn’t work that way.”

“Okay . . .” She blew out a huff of air and stared up at the sky. “I’ll tell you my understanding of how this works, and you tell me if I’m right or not.”

“Go ahead.” His thumb kept caressing, and a hum tingled in his hand from the contact.

“I don’t know why, but for some reason I think of this lifestyle in terms of architecture.” He chuckled, and she continued on. “I envision myself as the designer of a home.” His insides warmed a little at the thought of her saying something as cozy and inviting as a home, instead of a building or something else a little more impersonal. She swallowed.

He nodded. “Okay, I’m with you so far. Keep going.”

“So, I set up the parameters and give the guidelines of what the home should look like after it’s built. You’re the contractor, and you get to build the scene or the home, with whatever materials and tools you choose. If I think it’ll mess up the outcome, then I can stop the building mid-process, and you’ll rebuild the scene another way.” She exhaled like she was exhausted and her shoulders slumped forward. “I know it’s dorky, but it’s all I got.”

He smiled, and his thumb trailed up to her wrist. “Not dorky at all. You’re a very perceptive little one—yet another thing I love about you.”

“It’s hard for me when you say that, because I almost get jealous.”

“Jealous of what?” His brows pushed together.

“That you have a head start on all of this. You’ve been trained, you know me, and I want to know everything about you and your world, but I’m so far behind I worry I’ll never catch up no matter how hard I try,” she said, her voice low and slightly scratchy.

“You don’t ever have to worry about that. I’ll carry you.”

She snorted. “I just don’t know who I am with you . . .”

“You’re the woman you’ve repressed for so long—she’s a stranger to you. Tell me this—when you were married and you sacrificed everything for his happiness, what kept you going?”

“I don’t know. I kept thinking someday I’d get it right, and it would all make sense.” She gave a half-shrug.

“You’re submissive all the way, deep down to the bone, so it’s in your nature to sabotage yourself at times by giving away too much of yourself. I’m going to make sure both our needs get met. That’s never going to happen to you again.”