CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
LUNA
I took a few minutes by myself in the washroom to decompress. What the hell just happened? One moment I was slapping Casper for bringing me Tony’s finger. The next I was on the bed beneath him, having my mind utterly blown.
After getting cleaned up, I washed my hands and splashed some water on my face.
Studying my reflection in the mirror, I found bruises beginning to form on my throat in the shape of his fingers.
Along with a mark from him sucking and biting at my skin.
A quick inspection of the rest of my body showed more random bruises and handprints.
Casper’s possessive intensity scared the crap out of me. At the same time, it made me giddy in a ridiculously smitten way. I felt safe with him. Maybe that’s what scared me. Because I knew what he was capable of and the things that he’d done. And still, I went to pieces in his arms.
I was proud of myself for understanding the sign language better now. Even though it was only simple sentences so far. I’d been spending every spare minute online doing lessons. More than ever I felt determined to learn.
Before leaving the bathroom, I paused with my hand on the door knob. There was a dead man’s finger on my desk. A gift from the man who’d claimed me as his to protect.
I’d been stunned to unwrap the plastic to find a bloody finger inside. Casper’s idea of a gift had triggered an emotional response. I didn’t mean to slap him. My reaction had been automatic. Driven by shock.
The thought of Casper going after Tony, hurting him for what he’d done to me, it made me feel both sick and safe at the same time. What was wrong with me? Why did I still feel so drawn to Casper even as I tried to push him away?
Since I didn’t want him to wonder what was taking me so long, I opened the door, returning to the bed. Casper had made himself comfortable. He looked hilarious in the tiny twin bed with its fluffy purple blanket. He held up the blanket, motioning for me to join him.
I laughed. “How are we supposed to fit in that bed side-by-side? It’s so small.”
He patted the mattress beside him, scooting over toward the wall as much as possible. I climbed in next to him, somehow managing to press close enough that I wasn’t hanging off the edge of the bed. Casper’s warmth was inviting, making it all too easy to cuddle in against him.
His arms went around me, his lips brushing my shoulder as we laid there together.
For the first time in a long time, I felt content with a man.
Most of my hookups were just that. A brief encounter that lacked any real connection.
I certainly never took the time to cuddle with them after nor did they express interest in that either.
Casper made it feel like he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world.
We laid there in comfortable silence for a while before I heard myself say, “Why are you so obsessed with protecting me, Casper? We don’t even know each other that well yet. What is it about me?”
Casper pulled his hands out from beneath the blanket, signing his response. He made an effort to keep it simple so I would understand. “You are mine. You were almost hurt because of me. Never again.”
Something about the simple yet powerful explanation seized hold of my heart.
Even though I knew I shouldn’t feel this way toward someone like Casper, I couldn’t help but melt.
I wasn’t naive enough to believe he was Prince Charming come to sweep me off my feet and whisk me away to a fantasy life.
Casper was a killer. Still, I struggled to hold that against him.
I didn’t say anything. I didn’t know what to say. When several minutes had passed, Casper asked, “Do you want me to leave?”
When I didn’t fully comprehend the first time, he motioned to himself and then to the door. I shook my head, clutching his hand in mine. “I want you to stay. If you think you can handle a night in such a tiny bed.”
His shoulders shook with silent laughter. Wrapping me in his arms again, he kissed me. Gentle with the promise of power behind it. His bottom lip was bruised and cut where I’d bitten him. The faintest smear of blood still stained his skin.
We’d crossed so many lines tonight. I’d tasted his blood.
What the hell had I been thinking? Caught up in the moment, I’d found myself responding to the fierceness within him.
Casper fucked with a predatory intensity.
Like a rabid animal may burst out of him at any moment.
Something inside him had drawn something out of me.
Something primal I didn’t know I possessed.
Even though I was on birth control, it felt concerning that I’d let him finish inside me after tasting his blood. This reckless inner piece of me wanted all of him. I liked it. I liked him. Maybe too much.
I reached over to turn off the lamp, plunging the room into darkness. No more thoughts. Not tonight. All I wanted was to sink into Casper’s embrace, leaving everything else behind.
Falling asleep in his arms was far too easy. Feeling safe and secure, I easily drifted off. Sleeping better than I had since Jace started calling me. Knowing that Casper was there brought with it a peace that I’d been missing.
The foggy sensation of having my legs pushed apart broke through my dream haze, bringing me back to consciousness. Momentarily disoriented, it was the touch of Casper’s tongue against my clit that brought me fully awake.
I let out a little gasp, my eyelids fluttering as my eyes opened. Threads of arousal stretched through me, making me warm all over. My body reacted immediately. Flooding me with desire. Wetness gathering between my thighs. Casper dipped his tongue inside me, tasting how much I wanted him.
He licked me with an obvious hunger. Like he needed it.
There was no denying that I was wide awake when he dragged his tongue down to my ass.
Teasing it with several flicks, making me moan softly.
After all the noise I had made last night, I was wary of being too loud so early in the morning.
The walls were relatively thin. My neighbors were going to hate me.
It didn’t take long for him to make me come. Licking me from top to bottom and back again repeatedly, Casper quickly brought me to another mind bending orgasm. Maybe if he wasn’t so damn perfect in every way, it would be easier to resist him.
I didn’t really want to resist him though. It just felt like the right thing to do. We were so different. We lived in two entirely different worlds. How could we ever be together without it blowing up in our faces?
Codie and Storm momentarily flitted through my mind. They made it work. Did I dare hope?
Casper rose up over me, peering down at me in the dark.
I was able to make out his silhouette. The details of his face were obscured, making him even more of a mystery.
He coaxed a surprised yelp from me by slapping my pussy.
Gathering me up in his arms, he sat down on the bed, leaning against the wall, placing me on his lap.
I didn’t need any encouragement. I gladly slid down his hard cock, still surprised at the way it stretched me inside. Forcing me to accommodate him. Being so full momentarily stole my breath.
Casper caught the back of my head, holding it with his large hand.
Bringing me in for a kiss that made me taste myself on his lips.
Bracing myself atop him, I moved in a steady rhythm.
Trying to set a pace that felt good for us both.
Not content to sit there and take it, Casper gripped my hips hard enough to bruise, pulling me down onto his cock.
Every downward stroke left me reeling. Our position felt powerfully intimate.
Despite the lack of light, I felt him watching me.
Studying me in the dark. Every now and then he would jerk me down especially hard, thrusting his cock up into me.
Hitting depths I hadn’t known were possible. Almost painful yet so fucking good.
My hands were all over him, needing to feel the hard planes of his body.
Drifting over his shoulders and down his chest. Casper felt like a work of art.
His body was free of ink aside from his left arm, which was covered from neck to wrist. So many colorful swirls that I’d done my best to memorize in the light.
I gasped when Casper clutched a handful of my hair, yanking my head back as he leaned in to bite my throat. His teeth bit into my skin, causing me to cry out despite my effort to hold back. Immediately the touch of his lips and tongue followed as he kissed the pain away.
Never before had I known a lover so involved. So deeply connected. There was something more between us than the physical act we engaged in. Something else was happening. I knew in that moment that I would never escape him.
I didn’t even want to. I wanted everything Casper had to offer me. Even the sinister parts. The trauma and the pain that had stolen his voice. I wanted all of him. And it scared the shit out of me.
When Casper wrapped both arms around me, pressing us closer together, I was certain this would end badly.
Only because it felt so damn good. So right.
I’d always been hopeful that I would one day find my perfect match.
The man that would be more than a fling.
More than a hookup. Still, I’d kept my focus on myself.
Building my life and working toward my future.
Not letting the search for love get in the way.
I hadn’t been searching. It may have found me anyway.
I slid an arm around his neck, my breaths coming harder and faster. Pressing his forehead to mine, Casper made a small sound. Like a low groan that simply wouldn’t be withheld. That sound set me off like a firework.
I came with his name trapped in my throat. He timed his own release with perfection, waiting until I tipped over the edge to join me. He thrust harder. Deeper. Still, I needed more. Every piece of me craved him. I really had no idea what I was getting into with this man.
Casper held me there on his lap for several long minutes. Not ready to let me go. I sank against him, sweaty and breathless. His hands played in my hair. Stroking through my tousled locks. Twisting the strands around his fingers before giving it a tug.
When the first rays of daylight made their way through the cracks in the blinds, I said, “I guess that’s our cue to get ready for class, huh?”
There was just enough light for me to see his face now. The disappointment he wore at the coming of day. Casper nodded.
Grudgingly, I climbed off him. He would need to go home to get ready for his day on campus. I needed a shower and a gallon of coffee. My favorite herbal tea from the café downstairs wouldn’t cut it this time.
I wrapped myself in my bathrobe while Casper dressed. This was the part where I wondered what came next. Although I didn’t dare ask.
When he was ready to leave, Casper pulled me in for the ultimate goodbye kiss. An exploratory sweep of my mouth with his tongue. One that momentarily turned the room upside down. How did he manage to be so enigmatic with only a kiss?
He paused at the door, his hands moving as he signed, “See you later, flower.”
I’d already learned see you later since it was a basic phrase. After he called me flower previously, I made a point of looking it up. My cheeks warmed with an unbidden blush.
Rising up on my tiptoes, I kissed him again, reluctant to watch him walk out the door. “Count on it. And please, get that finger out of here.”