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“You know, there are a lot of things in these mountains that eat kitties for an appetizer.” Saying that made my mind go to a very different place. I wanted to be the hunter, the stalker of my prey, to feast on her.

I stopped, feeling her near, a hum in my body, a certainty in my gut.

“Kitty-Kat?” Her silence made me laugh. “Think you’re hiding from me?” I scoffed. “That I don’t know exactly where you are? That I can’t find you like before? You can’t run or hide from me, Katrina. Not anymore.”

Her energy buzzed my skin, hardening my cock.

Motion came from behind. My blade was yanked from my belt, digging into the side of my neck. I didn’t resist, a smile curving my mouth, filled with cruelty. With malice. For all the hell her existence had put me through.

“How many times do I have to remind you?” Adrenaline pulsed in my ears, the tip of the blade breaking my skin. “You had your chance.” I started to twist at the same time she shoved me back. My feet stumbled, catching my balance, my spine cracking against a tree, her father’s blade kissing my neck.

“This is getting kind of old.” My lashes lowered to the weapon.

“It is,” she hissed, her green and yellow eyes glowing bright. Angry. Scared. Frantic. I could feel it all coming off her. “Thisneeds to stop.”

“What does?” I knew what she was talking about, but I wanted her to say it. To confirm it first.

“This!” She wagged her head between us. “You. Me.This feeling…” Her free hand rolled into her stomach. “This sensation…” Her shoulders wiggled. “Like you’re everywhere. All the time. Crawling over my skin, burrowing into my bones. I want it gone. I want to cut it out of me. I don’t want to feel this!” She pushed the blade in deeper, my dick rock hard, my need to take my own anger out on her making me dizzy. The need to fuck her until I didn’t feel anymore, to free myself of her.

“You don’t think I feel the same?” I snarled back, tapping into my anger, turning to anything which kept me from touching her. “I don’t want this either!” I gestured between us.

“Then make it stop!” she demanded of me, like it was all my doing.

“You make it stop!” I yelled back. “You’re the one who cursed me… afflicted my life.”

“Me?” Her mouth parted. “You blame me for your own failings? You were the one who destroyedmylife.”

Rage surged up my spine, burning away any decency, any guard rails. Adrenaline pushed me forward, and I went into survival mode, the actions embedded in my muscle memory. When I hit her elbow, the hand with the knife dipped. I knocked the blade from her hand, dropping it to the ground. Clutching her neck, I twisted her around, shoving her up against the same trunk.

The shirt she was wearing of mine caught on the wood, tugging up as she slid back down to her feet, showing me her pussy, letting me feel the warmth of her need.

Rage and desire came to a pinpoint, a knife’s edge. The one drop that would burst the dam.

I wanted her to feel my pain, to experience my loss, to go through everything from that day.

My free hand moved between her thighs, parting her folds.

“My ship sank…because of you.” I slipped my fingers through her wetness, my thumb grazing her clit.

“What?” A gasp hitched from her throat. Confusion furrowed her brow as her hips widened for me, feeling the same contradictory emotions I was.

Good.

“My crew died…because of you.” I sunk two fingers inside her, slowly pumping them in and out.

“Oh gods…” A deep moan arched her back while her head shook against my claim.

“I lost my money, my livelihood, and my reputation…because of you.” I added another finger, thrusting in harder, the sound of her desire overtaking the crickets.

“No.” She dared to defy me. “You did that yourself.”

I huffed, leaning over her until I was a breath away from her lips, my tongue sliding over my bottom lip as my thumb pressed down on her clit, causing her to gasp again. “I fucked my first mate’s daughter like a fiend…because of you.” I was so close to undoing my trousers, sinking into her again, my dick craving her more than I needed air.

“Well, guess what?” She kept her face right at mine, her lips brushing mine. “Ifuckedmy father’s best friend, the one he trusted with his life…because of you.”

Her words, her raspy voice, almost undid me, my balls so tight and heavy they became cement, my pre-cum soaking my pants. I knew she wanted me to fuck her. I could feel her need wrap around my cock, her moans slipping from her throat, begging me to thrust into her, seeking more. Seeking release.

Seeking peace.