Where the Sun Hides (Seasons of Betrayal #1)(67)

The dreams—nightmares, more like it—were persistent little bastards that wouldn’t let up.

His lips stopped moving against her neck.

“Stop,” he whispered.

Violet stilled. “Pardon?”

“Tensing like that. Was it me?”

“No,” she said quickly.

“What, then?”

“I’ve just … had a lot on my mind. I have dreams, and it’s stu—”

“Not stupid,” he interjected before she could finish. “That might explain part of the mumbling.”

Violet swallowed the lump growing in her throat, willing Kaz to drop whatever he was thinking about saying before he went any farther.

He didn’t.

“Carmine is your brother, yes?”

Violet squeezed her eyes shut. “Yeah.”

“And … Olly?”

God.

“His dog,” she confessed.

Kaz cleared his throat, his hand skimming over her naked hip and down to her thigh. Grabbing there, he pulled her closer into him again until their bodies were molded together and her legs were tangled with his.

“I wouldn’t usually let a woman stay in my bed after she’s mumbled another man’s name,” Kaz said.

“My brother’s, you mean?”

“No, I knew that’s who he was.”

Violet pressed the heel of her palms to her eyes. She knew what he was getting around to saying. “Can you just … not do this right now?”

“If that’s what you want, sweetheart.”

The endearment rolled off his tongue far too easily for it to be meant simply to placate her. It held too much affection, and strangely, it hurt a little.

Before Violet could stop herself, she asked, “What else did I say?”

Kaz sucked air in through his teeth. “Things.”

“Well, thank you. That explains everything.”

“I think you know exactly what you were mumbling on about in your sleep, so I don’t see why you need me to repeat it back to you, Violet.”

She wiped at her eyes again with her palms, keeping the wetness at bay. It wasn’t the time and she didn’t want to cry, anyway.

“I f*cked up,” she said. “Went beyond where I was supposed to.”

She could feel Kaz’s frown press to the back of her neck. “And you’re dreaming of it.”

It wasn’t even a question.

“A couple times.”

Kaz sighed. “I’m sorry.”

That was not what she expected him to say, but she shouldn’t be too shocked. The man continued to surprise her.

“It doesn’t matter,” Violet said. “It’ll stop eventually.”

“It will,” he agreed.

She could hear the “but” he left unsaid.

“What, Kaz?”

“But it bothers me to feel you twisting and turning, and going on like you were. Especially right now.”

“It always seems to be there when I sleep,” she said. “And I just want to … sleep. Not dream. Sleep.”

Suddenly, Violet found herself spun around in the bed, facing Kaz. He grabbed hold of her wrists, tugging her up onto him wordlessly. Her thighs opened around his waist as her hands rested to his pecs.

“Sleep,” he repeated.

In the dark, she could only make out the outline of his toned form and just a hint of his profile. Hair that she’d been pulling on earlier in the night was smoothed slightly, like he’d run his fingers back through it.

“I’d like to,” she said.

“Maybe your brain just isn’t tired enough to shut off completely,” Kaz suggested.





He could feel the tremor rush through her at his words, her hips shifting just enough to remind him he had her exactly where he wanted her. Kaz could tell from the restlessness that had suddenly taken her over that she knew what he was implying, but in case she didn’t …

“Sometimes it just takes a certain amount of exhaustion a person needs to pass out,” Kaz commented, sweeping his hand up her stomach to palm her breast. A thrill shot through him at the way her back arched and he could almost see her lips part in the dull light of the moon. “Is that what you need, Violet?”

Wrapping his hand in her hair, he tugged on the strands as he sat up, keeping her steady.

He forced her gaze on him, could see the naked hunger he felt reflected back in her eyes. “Do you want me to exhaust you?”

She let out a soft moan, but didn’t actually answer his question, merely nodded as though that would be enough for him. No, he wanted to hear it vocalized. He needed to hear her. He f*cking thrived in the noises he forced out of her.

“No, you know what I want to hear. Don’t make me ask again,” he said, punctuating his words with a slap on her ass. Not hard enough to hurt, he’d never hurt her that way, but enough to make her nails dig into the skin of his chest. “You have about a second before I make the decision for you, Violet.”

She tried to hide it from him, turning her face away, but Kaz caught it before she did. He saw just the tiniest hint of a defiant smile, and that was all he needed.

Fine, if that’s how she wanted it.

He shifted their positions, flipping her onto her stomach, then bringing her up to her knees. A flush swept its way down her body before his hand followed the same descent. She might not have said the words, but her body did—the way she arched into his touch, the way her fingers clutched at his sheets, and how even as her face was pressed against the pillows, he could still hear the anticipation in each breath she took.