Chapter 23
CROSS
She disappears into the trees, and I spare only a moment to shrug out of my sweatshirt. I toss it on the trunk of the car, crack my neck, then take off after her.
There’s a hint of a path through the underbrush. My feet slide on damp leaves and snow. The snow is nowhere near as thick under the cover of the forest. The branches overhead seem to lean in, blocking the little light we have left in the day.
I spot a flash of movement ahead and pick up speed.
What will I do when I catch her?
Adrenaline bursts through me, lending power to my sore muscles. She’s fast, but she’s no match for my long stride. She glances back at the sound of my footsteps and shoots forward.
I laugh. I can’t help it. I come so close I could grab her, but all I do is reach out and let my fingers graze the back of her neck.
She screams and swerves through the trees, losing me for a moment when I go around a thick trunk.
Okay, enough.
I sprint forward and reach. I grasp her coat, slowing her enough to spin her around. I propel her into a tree, and she lets out an oof when her back hits the bark. She glares up at me, but I’m right there.
Nowhere to go.
And, unfortunately, my dick is hard.
God damn it, why is she so alluring? Why can I not get her out of my head? And worse…why is she tempting me like this?
“What’s wrong, Cross?” she breathes. “Can’t handle the heat?”
I lean down and kiss her. My teeth catch her lower lip, and she moans. The sound goes straight through me, and I rock my hips into her. She can feel what she does to me–she can’t miss it.
But the thought of some asshole touching her without consent, taking that away from her, makes me hesitate.
I pull back an inch. My lips hover over hers, but I open my eyes and wait until she does the same.
“I can take you back to the car…or you can say yes to what happens next.”
She swallows, and a myriad of emotions flutters across her face. Her jaw sets, and she nods firmly. “I’m saying yes, Cross.”
She shifts her weight, and her knee suddenly connects with my inner thigh. I let out a hiss, my grasp on her weakening.
In a flash, she slips free. “But you’ll have to try harder!”
I groan. That was too close for comfort. She almost rendered me unable to speak. Still, the contact gives me a wicked Charlie horse, and I take a few staggered steps before I can actually pick up a jog.
Then a run.
I catch up to her and grab at her coat again, but she’s ready. It slips off her easily, and I drop it. Her laugh coasts on the air between us. She unwinds her scarf and lets it fall too. Her arms pump, and we fly through the forest.
Is her heart beating as fast as mine?
She reaches out and catches a tree, using it to swing her body in a sharp turn. She leaps over a fallen branch, but her breathing sounds strained even over our pounding footsteps. I follow her path and lengthen my stride.
And then I leap.
I tackle her, rolling mid-air to prevent her from falling face-first into the dirt.
We land on our sides, and she immediately kicks at me.
I catch her arms behind her back and crawl over her, using my weight to keep her pinned to the ground.
She flattens out on her belly, her exhale moving strands of hair out of her face.
Snow and leaves catch in her loose hair fanned around her head, and the dampness soaks into my knees where I straddle her thighs.
One-handed, I tug her pants down. She squirms, but as soon as the cold air touches her bare ass, she lets out a whimper.
A good one?
I lean back and get her shoe off, pulling her legging fully off the one side to get better access.
Once that’s done, I reach between her legs.
She’s slick with arousal and heat. She’s practically throbbing with it.
I push my sweatpants down and release her hands to grasp her hips.
I pull her ass up slightly and run my cock head along her sensitive center.
“God, you’re ready for it, aren’t you?” I murmur.
My heart pounds, and my ribs scream at the exertion, but I would not trade anything for this moment. She makes a noise of affirmation, and that’s all I need. I guide my dick to her entrance and slowly push in, but the agony of drawing it out is unbearable.
I lean forward and thrust into her. Her pussy squeezes me. I find her hands, covering them with mine and intertwining our fingers into the dirt. Both of us will walk out of here dirty–there’s no denying that.
I fuck her without restraint, like a fucking madman chasing a high. But it isn’t enough. I pull out and lean to the side, giving her room to roll over. And then I’m between her legs, sliding back home. Her gaze bores into mine.
“Touch yourself,” I breathe.
I push her shirt up and take a handful of her breast. I roll her nipple between my fingers. I’m inside her, and I’m not close enough. And yet, I watch as she slides her hand between us and plays with her clit.
“Better than last night?” I goad.
“Fuck, Cross.” She hooks her free arm around my neck. “Kiss me.”
With pleasure.
I claim her mouth again. Her tongue wars against mine, and her legs come up on either side of my hips. Her heels dig into my ass, and suddenly, her nails dig into my shoulder. She scratches along my neck. Heat races down my spine.
One fuck is not going to be enough to get her out of my system.
Such a number might not exist.
And that’s how I know I’m in trouble.
I drag my mouth from hers, down her jaw, to her neck. She makes another noise, her pussy tensing, and I smile. I lightly nip her skin. Her whole body jerks.
“That hurt,” she snaps. “Before.”
“Don’t disassociate when I’m inside you, and we’ll be fine,” I say in her ear.
“Ass.”
“I’ll take that next, if you’re offering.”
She pinches my shoulder.
I bite her, not as hard as before but enough to make her go still, except her pussy is definitely wetter.
She likes a chase, and she likes a bit of pain–my kinky girl. I chuckle.
A buzzing sound makes me pause. I pull back to look at Scarlett, whose expression seems caught between lust and confusion. She seems to register the noise before me, and she fumbles for her phone, trapped in the pocket of her leggings.
She flashes me the screen. “It’s my dad. I already ducked his call once today–” Her thumb hovers over the red button to decline the call.
Where’s the fun in that?
I pull out and slowly thrust back into her. It takes everything in me to stop moving.
“Answer it,” I say in a low voice.
She clenches involuntarily around me and seems to debate it. But when I stay still, she makes a face and accepts the call.
“Hi, Dad,” she greets him. Her eyes focus on my face but not in the haze of pleasure and lust like before. This time a bit more…reserved. Sharp. “Yeah, Cross and I are getting along okay.”
I smirk and grasp her hips. I shift, pushing the tiniest fraction deeper into her.
Her eyes widen. “...uh-huh. No, the classes are different to Yale, but–”
I draw out and push back in slowly. My muscles tremble, but it’s Scarlett’s legs around me that tense and shake. Her heels dig into the backs of my thighs, and she puts her hand on my chest. Her arm straightens, as if that would keep me away from her.
“You’re coming to Shadow Valley?”
I ignore her arm and run my hand up under her shirt. My fingers find her bralette–nothing more than scraps of lace, from the feel of it. I pinch her nipple through the fabric. Her back arches, her lips parting, but her glare only eggs me on.
“W-when?”
I move a little faster. My hips, my hand exploring under her shirt.
She shoves at my arm, but I just silently laugh at her.
I pull out and slam into her hard enough that she slides in the leaves.
She’s going to be picking out bits of leaves and dirt from her hair for ages when we get back.
The rough-and-tumble lifestyle will do that to a girl.
“Of course we’d go to d-dinner,” her voice wobbles. “No, I’m fine, just on the treadmill.”
I snicker. That’s a great euphemism for our little run.
I withdraw my hand from her shirt and spread her legs open wider. I rock back and look down at us. My dick spears her open. She’s so fucking wet I could drown down there.
Instead, I touch her clit. Her body tenses, and she tries to snap her knees closed, but I block her legs. I run my finger over the sensitive button, tuning out her conversation. The words still flow–or stutter–out of her, but I want to make her come.
Preferably in the next thirty seconds.
I redouble my efforts, my fingers now moving faster and harder on her clit. Her pussy is throbbing around my cock, but we’re not there.
“I gotta go, Dad,” she bites out. “Yes, we’ll see you tomorrow.”
She hangs up and throws the phone aside right as her orgasm hits her.
She squirms under me, her eyes squeezing shut.
I am going to memorize this expression and replay it when I need a dose of serotonin.
Her tightness and the way she reacts tips me over the edge.
I pick up speed, pounding into her as I chase my own high.
My balls tighten, and I come. Tingling bliss zips up my spine, and I bow forward over her. I stay still, the silent knowledge that my cum now fills her pussy–that we didn’t use protection–radiates through me along with the caveman instinct to stay still to keep it inside her.
Finally, Scarlett’s eyes open, and the realization of what I did dawns on her.
“You asshole,” she bites out.
“Obviously. But an asshole who can make you come.” I lean over her. “Did you see stars?”
She grimaces.
“That’s that, then.”
“Get off.” She pushes at my shoulder.
“I just did, thanks.”
She pauses and rolls her eyes.
With a sigh, I withdraw and rock back on my heels. I stare down at her open legs another moment longer then hop to my feet and drag my sweatpants back into place. Then, to occupy myself, I go find her missing shoe. When I return, she’s balanced on one foot, her leggings back on.
“Your coat and scarf are a ways back,” I tell her.
I hand her the shoe and hold her elbow while she slips it on. Her arms come around her waist.
“Good,” she murmurs. “I’m freezing.”
I dip my head. She leads the way back through the forest.
“So, interesting phone call?”
She elbows me, and I can’t stop the smile that spreads across my face. Guess I’ll find out tomorrow at dinner.