Chapter 20
keep running, baby
MIA
September
My throat tightens and heat pricks at the backs of my eyes, but I refuse to cry. “I was fourteen, Dominic. What kind of ideas could I have had about you?”
He clenches his jaw.
“I had a crush on you, that’s true, but I wasn’t stupid. I never thought you’d see me as anything but Matt’s little sister.”
“I’m not proud of what I did.” He lowers his head. “It was cruel, and you didn’t deserve it.”
“And yet you brought her home almost every night after our parents went to bed. Sure, the two of you weren’t yelling at the top of your lungs, but you knew I’d hear you.
” My phone buzzes in my purse, and I take it out, my hand shaking with anger.
“No wonder she was so hostile toward me when I got back. She probably thought I was stalking you.”
Chiara’s name flashes on the screen. I consider ignoring the call, but if we continue this conversation, I’m liable to punch Dominic in the face, so I swipe my thumb over the screen and bring the device to my ear.
“Are you out of your mind!?” she says before I can greet her.
“What are you talking about?”
“Your stories, Mia.”
Frowning, I look out over the city. My stories?
“If you’re supposed to be here with me, you can’t make it obvious you’re not in Monterey.”
“Fuck.” I put her on speaker then navigate to Instagram and delete the story. I don’t bother to check who saw it. I’ll think of an excuse if someone asks.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” She sighs. “I hope you posting without thinking means you’re having a good time.”
I peer at Dominic. His focus is fixed on me, his hazel eyes dark and intense.
“I was.”
“Um…when will you be back? I’ll wait for you.”
“In two hours.” I turn away from Dom and climb into the passenger seat. “See you.”
I end the call, put my phone away, and buckle up, keeping my focus on the skyline in front of me. His revelation made me sick to my stomach, and all I want is to go home. But he continues to stand there, arms folded over his chest, watching me through the windshield.
Then, with a shake of his head, he gets in.
He starts the engine and rests his hands on the steering wheel. “What I did was wrong,” he says. “I was a dumb fuck who didn’t think about the consequences of my actions or how they would affect you. I’m sorry about that. I really am. I’m not that guy anymore.”
I stare out the window, ignoring him and the sincerity in his tone. I need to take a moment to think before I respond.
He pulls back out onto the road in silence, but after a few miles, he turns on the music. A tune cuts through the suffocating silence, dampening my anger a little.
But not completely. Thoughts and questions still plague me. About his past. About Remi. About how cruel he was over an innocent little crush.
Why would Remi make such a big deal of it? I was only fourteen, and he was clearly not interested.
I turn and force myself to look at him. “I just don’t understand why she told you I had a crush on you. Why did it matter? Why didn’t you ignore her? Or, better yet, ignore me?”
His grip on the steering wheel tightens. “Because I was a dumbass who didn’t want to complicate my life, and I was worried Matt would find out about it.”
“You were worried he’d find out I had a silly crush on you?” I snort. “How the fuck would that have been your problem? Unless you can control minds and I never knew it?”
“Of course I can’t. She…” He sighs. “She kept pushing, kept talking about your crush on me…and I snapped. And I directed my irritation at you.”
“She’s manipulative. She probably did it because she wanted to stake her claim on you.”
His expression remains impassive. “No.”
Irritation ripples through me. “She is. She knows you feel like you owe her for her help, for being there for you after the accident, and she uses it. That’s why you don’t tell her to get lost.”
“You don’t know everything,” he grits out, “so please, stop making assumptions.”
My pulse quickens as I study him—the furrow of his brow, the muscle pulsing in his jaw. He’s flat out telling me I don’t have all the facts, but that doesn’t change the obvious. She manipulates him, taps into his guilt to get what she wants.
“You said you don’t love her. You never did, did you? You strung her along, letting her love you. That would make this indebted feeling make more sense.” I tilt my head to the side. “But what else? Because the guilt you’re feeling is—”
“Shut up,” he hisses, his grip tightening until his knuckles go white and the steering wheel creaks.
My chest tightens, making it hard to take a deep breath.
“She knows how you feel, doesn’t she? And she stays because she knows you will never tell her to fuck off.”
“I swear, Mia, shut up.”
“You’re letting her fuck with your head, but God forbid I have something to say about it.” I chuckle. I’m pushing it, but I can’t find it in me to stop. “God forbid I had a stupid little crush on you when I was fourteen.”
He glares at me. “Now you’re fucking with my head. From what I remember, your crush wasn’t that little.”
“You didn’t even know about it until she told you, and that was only a couple weeks before I left for Phoenix.
Don’t forget, you said yourself you weren’t sure it was true.
” I bark out a humorless laugh. This whole situation is ridiculous.
“But Remi said I had a crush on you, and I immediately became some pathetic little girl who needed to be put in her place.”
“That’s not true.” His voice wavers. “I never said that.”
“You didn’t have to.” I lean over the console, so close, I can feel the anger radiating off him. “She was moaning and screaming your name while you fucked her all night. The message was clearer than any words you could’ve spoken.”
“You never stop, do you?” He jerks the wheel, pulling the car off the road.
I’m practically panting now, my heart hammering so loud, I can barely hear the music filtering through the speakers.
He parks the car and shoves his door open, slamming it so hard, the whole car rocks. Fire surging through my veins, I climb out as well.
I open my mouth, ready to continue our argument, but when he turns to face me, my stomach drops. There’s something dark and dangerous behind his irises. It’s primal, almost animalistic.
Without breaking eye contact, I take a step back, then another.
He stands still, hands deep in his pockets. “Don’t.”
Another step.
“Don’t you fucking dare,” he growls.
A zing of excitement works through me, my center throbbing. Another step, and my lips curl into a wicked smile. Silently, I dare him to stop me.
“Mia.” His voice is gruff.
With a quick inhale, I turn and bolt into the darkness. I don’t look back, darting between trees as I push forward.
His heavy steps follow me.
I smile, my heart racing. He’s pissed, and that only spurs me on.
“Keep running, baby,” he teases. “You know I’ll catch you.”
I stumble over a rock. For a moment, my stomach lurches, and I’m sure I’m going down, but I catch myself and pick up the pace.
It’s useless, though, because he’s already here.
Strong arms encircle me from behind, forcing a gasp from my lips. He lifts me off my feet and carries me farther into the wooded area, away from the road. I thrash against him, clawing at his arms, but he doesn’t let go.
Instead, he turns me around and slams my back into a thick tree. When he blankets my body with his, my clit throbs and my core tightens. I’m so worked up, a single brush of his fingers against that soft spot would set me off. He lifts my arms and pins them to the tree trunk above me with one hand.
“I told you,” he growls, his mouth at my ear, “don’t run from me.”
I smile defiantly. “I dunno… I think you liked chasing me.”
“I fucking did.” He crashes his mouth onto mine, claiming me, forcing his tongue between my lips, curling it around mine in hard, fast strokes.
I kiss him back, my skin on fire. I suck on his bottom lip and sink my teeth into it.
He leans away, and I begrudgingly let him go. Pulled back a few inches, he assesses me. I’m still fully dressed, but fuck, if I don’t feel naked. Then, he grabs me by my throat and tilts my chin up.
“Tell me you don’t want this, and I’ll stop.”
I keep quiet.
“Tell me.”
The desperation in his voice sends a shudder from my head to my toes as my desire skyrockets. His teasing is pure torture.
Jaw tight, I fist his tee in my hand. “Fuck you.”
He smirks. “Oh, don’t worry, baby. You will.”
Eyes locked on mine, he takes a step back. I don’t move, caught in his snare as he pulls his wallet out of his pocket and takes a condom out of it. Then, he pulls out his fat cock and rolls the condom over his shaft. The sight makes liquid heat pool low in my belly.
Once he’s sheathed, he lifts my leg and guides it around his hip, and with his eyes still locked with mine, he slips his fingers into my pussy.
The smile that graces his features is so fucking sinful, I melt.
“You’re so wet for me.” He pushes my panties aside and positions himself. “So ready.”
As he slides inside me, I grip his shoulders, my mouth desperate for his.
Swallowing my moans, he takes me against the tree, fucking me hard, his pace unrelenting.
“You feel so fucking good, baby.”
He nips at my jaw and down my neck, sucking on my skin, marking me.
I dig my nails into his back, crying out his name each time he bottoms out inside me. “I’m so full…” I moan, throwing my head back. “You’re gonna ruin me.”
“Ruin you for all other men? Maybe.” With a hand on my ass, his fingers digging into my soft skin, he guides my other leg around his hip. “You’re taking me so well, baby. Your greedy pussy was made for me.”
His rhythm falters, his movements turning erratic, and his breath hitches in my ear as he rests his head on my shoulder.
The roughness of his grip turns my brain into a fucking marshmallow.
There’s nothing in the world except him and the magic he’s creating with our bodies, the slapping of skin, the pleasurable pain as he wrecks me.
“You feel like mine.” He sucks on my neck, drawing a long moan from me.
I whimper, teetering on the edge of orgasm, my body shaking, unraveling, ready to explode.
“I’m not yours,” I taunt him, and when his grip tightens in response, my internal muscles flutter around him.
He pounds into me rougher, his lips and tongue on my skin, devouring, claiming. “You are,” he insists. “Admit it.”
My orgasm slams into me at full force, toe-curling, world-shuttering. My center pulses, my body trembling.
I cling to him, eyes shut, and whisper, “I’m yours.”
He groans against my skin, his voice wrecked. “Damn right you are.” His hips stutter, and he comes on a groan, thickening and pulsing inside me. He lets me ride out my orgasm, moving inside me, pressing gentle kisses to my neck. I fell apart in his arms, and now, he’s putting me back together.
When my body goes limp, he presses his forehead to mine and exhales loudly.
“I’m sorry for what I did, for how I made you feel. You didn’t deserve it,” he whispers.
“Thank you.” I nuzzle into his neck, inhaling his scent.
“I can’t give you all the details about what Remi and I had because they aren’t all mine to share.” He leans away, studying me. “The only thing that matters is that I don’t love her. I don’t want to be with her. And I haven’t touched her since we broke up.”
Despite how boneless he’s made me, tension creeps in. “You shouldn’t keep her around.”
“I tell her we’re over every time I see her. She never listens.” He sighs. “She thinks I’m the one, that we’re destined to be together, and now, she’s waiting for me to realize it too.”
“Then make her listen,” I tell him firmly. “I won’t fight for space in your life. If you want me, really want me, as you just claimed, you’ll make space for me. And there won’t be any blurred lines between you and Remi.”
“You want to be with me,” he states, and there’s a hint of hopefulness in his expression.
“I want to try, if you’re in. But it won’t be easy, considering…everything.”
I let that thought linger. My mom, his dad, Matt. Hell, everyone we know will probably have something to say. If we’re going to take that risk, I have to be sure there isn’t anyone standing between us.
“I’m in, but let’s not tell our family right away. No need to stir shit up when we don’t know where this is going.”
“Agreed.” I lick my lips, and his gaze drops to my mouth. “And maybe we should take things slowly. There’s no reason to rush into anything.”
He slides his hand down to my ass and pinches my bare skin. “I just fucked you against a tree twenty feet from the road. I think we’re past the point of slow.” The corners of his mouth tip up.
“Okay then.” Cupping his face, I make him look me in the eyes. “I belong to you, you know that—but you belong to me now too. And I don’t fucking share.”
He stares at me, the moonlight reflecting in his eyes. Then, he hovers his mouth over mine and whispers, “I’d expect nothing less, Little Mayhem.”