Cruel Surrender by Terri Anne Browning

Bain

From where I was sitting,I could see that every eye on the beach was trained on Ciana. The bikini she was wearing left nothing to the imagination. Fuck, barely three pieces of cloth covered her nipples and her bare pussy, held in place by the thinnest strings I’d ever seen.

It took every ounce of willpower I possessed to stay on my lounger, pretending to enjoy the sun and not planning how I would kill every motherfucker eye-fucking what was mine.

Even with the distance separating us, I heard Ciana sigh as she pushed her sunglasses up on top of her head before turning over. Showing the world her perfect ass. That damn bikini didn’t even cover anything back there. Just a fucking string between her ass cheeks. From several feet away, I heard not one but a handful of groans as my beauty shifted to get comfortable, her ass jiggling ever so slightly.

The sound of something cracking reminded me that I had my phone in my hand. I’d been texting Declan about a situation that had popped up the night before, but for the past ten minutes, I’d been so consumed by watching Ciana that I’d clocked out on him. My second wasn’t the most patient of men, so it wasn’t surprising when my phone vibrated.

Seeing his name—and the crack now around the edges of my screen—I swallowed a curse and lifted the phone to my ear while keeping my eyes glued to Ciana. “Yeah?”

At the sound of my voice, she turned her head, her gaze narrowing when she noticed I was on my phone.

“Don’t shoot me, but…” I clenched my jaw as I listened. I’d known since the first call the night before that I was going to have to cut my trip short, but I was hoping to be proven wrong for once.

“I’ll let you know when to be at the airport. Don’t let anyone know I’m coming.” I was already on my feet.

“Cori has also demanded I ask you if you prefer a red or a white rosebud boutonniere,” he said with a muffled laugh.

“Feck off, mate,” I grumbled as I passed Ciana.

“Figured you would say that,” my best friend and second-in-command chuckled.

In response, I hung up, irritated by his amusement. Upstairs, I started tossing a few things into my case. This would only take a few days. I’d deal with the issue and then be back right before the end of Ciana’s stay.

Finding one of her hair ties on the nightstand, I used it to pull my hair out of my face just as I heard her on the balcony. Turning, I found her with her favorite kimono-style wrap covering the barely there bikini.

“Is something wrong?” she asked quietly.

I grimaced. “Something came up at work that only I can handle,” I explained. “I have to fly back to deal with it.”

“Oh,” she muttered, wrapping her arms around herself as she stood there looking at my open suitcase.

The uncertainty on her face stopped me as I was about to toss in a folded shirt. “I will be back in time for us to go home together, mo chroí.”

Some of the clouds left her eyes, and she smiled up at me. “Or I could come with you now.”

“No,” I said with a shake of my head, walking over to pull her into my arms. She melted against me, making me want to eat my next words, but I couldn’t take her with me yet. “I want you to enjoy the rest of your holiday.” I stroked my hands down her back before slapping them against her ass. “But promise not to wear this bikini while I’m away.”

A mischievous smile teased at her lips. “Oh, I don’t know. I think it will make you want to come back to me sooner if you imagine me wearing my favorite bathing suit.”

With a growl, I lifted her, and she instantly wrapped her legs around my waist. “Ciana.”

“Yes, moye solntse?” she asked innocently.

“Please,” I gritted out, the word foreign to me.

Her eyes softened as she stroked her fingers down the back of my neck. “I promise not to wear it while you are away.” Leaning in, she skimmed her nose over mine playfully. “Don’t be gone long.”

I clenched my hands on her ass. “Will you miss me, my beauty?”

“Yes,” she said with sincerity, her eyes glazing over with emotion. “I want to go with you.”

I tightened my hold on her. “I don’t want to bore you. I just need to take care of something very quickly, and then I will be right back here. Stay, enjoy the last of your fun in the sun, and when I return, we will fly straight to Dublin.”

Her bottom lip pouted out, making me want to suck it into my mouth. “But I won’t be able to have any fun without you. I just want to be with you, Torin. I promise not to get in the way.”

I gritted my teeth, wanting to take her with me now but knowing it wasn’t wise. If Sheena found out too soon that I had plans of my own, she would ruin them before I could convince Ciana of the truth. “How will you explain it to your bodyguards? Weren’t you the one who said we had to play this carefully so your parents didn’t cause trouble for us?”

Her teeth sank into her bottom lip, but after a moment, she gave a resigned nod. “Yeah. I have to get Nova to help me convince Ryan I haven’t lost my mind. If Ryan is on board with us, then it will be easy to get everyone to accept our relationship as well.” Releasing a heavy sigh, she wiggled free. Reluctantly, I placed her on her feet, and she gave me a tiny smile. “Okay, I’ll stay. But don’t be long. It would be so embarrassing if the man I love ditched me.”

I cupped both sides of her face. “Never,” I rasped, brushing my lips over hers. “I swear, mo chroí. I will be back as soon as I can. Just the thought of leaving without you is making my skin feel too tight. I want to take you with me, desperately, but it will be better all around if you finish your holiday.”

Swallowing hard, she gave me another forced smile. “Yeah, okay.”

Groaning, I kissed her. I couldn’t take that sad look in her pretty brown eyes. Fuck it. Whatever happened, I would deal with it. I couldn’t leave her behind when she was obviously upset. “Go back to your room and pack. We have time. The helicopter that’s taking me to the mainland can wait.” My jet was on the mainland since the airport on the island was so small. It was just quicker for me to go by helicopter while my pilot got my jet ready than to wait for him.

“No,” she said with a shake of her head, her smile a little more genuine. “You’re right. I’ll soak up the sun for a few more days and figure out what I’m going to say to Nova to get her to use her magic on Ryan.”

“Don’t be sad,” I pleaded, hugging her to me. “I’ll bring you a present when I come back.”

She slapped a hand against my chest, but her fingers bunched in the material of my shirt, clutching me to her. “Shut up. I don’t want any more presents. You’ve already given me so many things that I’m going to need an extra suitcase to take them home with us.”

“But I like to spoil you,” I murmured, skimming my lips down her neck. “I want to see you dripping in diamonds and silk, knowing I provided them for you.”

Her nostrils flared with irritation. “I have plenty of diamonds and silk, thank you very much. All I want is you.”

“And all I want is to spoil you,” I countered, nipping at her soft skin. “Scratch that. I also want you to be good while I’m gone.”

Her amused snort made me laugh. “I’ll try my best.”

“Be a good girl now, and let me have a taste before I leave.” I lifted her and placed her on the bed, but before I could follow her down, she rolled and jumped to her feet on the other side, wagging her finger at me.

“No, no, no, Mr. Kennedy. I think you will be more productive if you have to wait for a taste until you return.” Winking, she walked toward the door. “See you soon.”

With a grunt, I grabbed her before she reached the door. Squealing, she wrapped her legs around my waist as I pressed her back against the wall. With just that small piece of cloth covering her, I could easily feel how hot and wet her pussy was for me. It wouldn’t take much to push down my board shorts and nudge that little piece of material out of my way with my cockhead.

“That is not how you tell your love goodbye, mo chroí.”

She tilted her head to the side in consideration. “I’ve never had to tell my love goodbye, so excuse me for not knowing the proper etiquette.”

“I like that I get to teach you how, then.” Lowering my head, I brushed my lips over hers, teasing her mouth open until I was licking hungrily at her plump bottom lip. “There will be times when I can’t take you with me for work, Ciana. They will be few and far between, I promise. But when I do have to leave you, I want you to be able to feel me inside you the entire time we are apart.”

“Torin,” she whined, wiggling against my rock-hard cock.

“No.” I nipped her lip just hard enough to sting, punishing her for using that name. “What do you call me?”

“Moye solntse,” she breathed, and even though I’d just had her that morning, I nearly erupted in my shorts then and there. “Please. I-I want to feel you while you’re gone. Imprint yourself inside me. Maybe the ache in my pussy will distract me from the ache in my heart while we are apart.”

My knees nearly buckled at her words. If just the thought of us being away from each other for a short time hurt her, did that mean she finally felt for me what I felt for her? Fuck, I could only hope that was true.

“Shh, my beautiful Ciana. I’ll take care of you.” Pushing down my shorts until my cock sprang free, I shifted her bikini bottoms aside and plowed into her, causing her to release a loud whine that had my balls drawing up, threatening to spill within seconds. “The door is open,” I growled close to her ear. “Don’t cry out and give those bastards below a show. I don’t want them to know what you sound like when you cream on my cock.”