Chapter Eleven #2
Happiness sparked in my heart for the first time in years as his laughter echoed behind me.
His laugh wasn’t rough or harsh, but rather a gentle, rhythmic melody—a sound I'd forgotten over the years.
My soul knew in this instant that I would do anything to hear him laugh like this every day for the rest of my life.
It was nothing short of a drug for me. The need for it stronger than anything I had ever known—the need for him to be happy.
He chased me around the island, once, twice, before his arm banded around my waist. I let out a yelp as he chuckled against my ear, hauling me back into the kitchen.
Then he spun me, backing me into a wall, his body an inch from mine, my body on fire.
My goosebumps returned, but for an entirely different reason.
The egg yolk had fallen off his shaved head, leaving a sticky residue in its wake.
I didn’t care. I touched him, needing to feel his skin on my fingers.
I placed my hand on his flour covered face, and he flinched but didn’t yank my hand away, the tips of my fingers humming with pleasure.
I smiled, placing my other hand on his bicep, giving it a gentle squeeze, trying desperately to ignore the lust pooling in my core.
He may be a demon, but he had the body of a god.
“There you are,” I whispered as I stared into his beautiful eyes, now warm for the first time.
My thumb stroked his strong cheekbone, slowly, savoring the touch as I marveled at him silently.
He was breathing hard, and with every breath, his massive chest came close to brushing against me.
My Col was back. I didn’t lose him. He had been here all along, hidden underneath dark ice.
Tears filled my eyes.
I sucked in a breath. “I missed you so much, Col. My sweet Col.” His hands were braced on either side of my head, and a pained look crossed his face.
“Karina,” he whispered. It was a warning, but my eyes dropped to his lips, not wanting this to end.
“Yes,” I murmured, standing up on my toes, our lips a mere inch apart.
This was it.
I had him.
The oven went off, and we both jumped.
He immediately stepped away from me, clearing his throat as conflict took over his features.
I smiled at him, unable to think about anything but his walls melting for me. “Cookies are done,” I told, giving his arm a squeeze, letting him know it was okay.
We were going to be okay.
I walked to the oven, slipping on a potholder before taking the tray out of the oven. The cookies were a perfect golden brown, speckled with cinnamon and sugar. Mama would be proud.
I turned around after setting them on the counter, fully ready to make him try one, but he was gone. A trail of white powder led into the living room and up the stairs in the wake of my demon.
My heart crumbled as my soul sighed in disappointment, the happiness I'd felt before evaporating into thin air.
I cried as I cleaned up the kitchen.
I cried when I took the cookies to Haley.
I cried until I fell asleep in her arms.
The cookies went untouched, my hunger forgotten.
“Just do it,” I said to the man behind the desk.
It was mid-morning, and I came straight to his office after I showered and dressed.
I found a light blue, thin cotton dress that fell just above my knees in that fancy ass closet.
I pulled my hair up into a high ponytail, praying for confidence.
My ponytails never failed me in the past, and this one wouldn’t fail me today.
I was pissed.
Last night was the last straw.
I was going to push him until I saw the true part of him. Until he snapped. Haley told me I was crazy and begged me not to, but she was stuck in a bed.
She couldn’t stop me even if she wanted to. I was too angry to care.
He was wearing black slacks and a deep red shirt, the color of blood, the sleeves rolled up, showing his tattooed skin. He had both hands braced on the table, his head bent as he studied the documents on the desk.
“Do what?” he snapped.
The man from last night was gone, and I ignored the pain in my chest, the whimper that came from my soul.
He was acting as if nothing happened, as if I didn’t make him laugh for the first time in years.
His real laugh. I was the only person with the power to do that.
He was fake with everyone but me…except for today.
“You know what,” I hissed as I made my way to him. He lifted his head just a fraction of an inch to watch me as I approached him. The ice walls had returned. I looked down to see a gun on the desk next to a glass of whiskey, surrounded by a mess of papers filled with numbers.
“I don’t have time for your bullshit today, Karina.”
“Then just do it!" I shouted, my fists at my sides, clutching the cotton of my dress.
Instantly, he snapped up to his full height, those eyes piercing mine, sending a chill down my spine as his lips thinned into a line of anger, his jaw tight.
I snatched the gun as I rounded the desk.
I ground my teeth, shoving the fear away, and pointed the end of the barrel to my stomach, the metal digging into the fabric of my dress.
“Just fucking kill me already,” I spat, looking up at my demon. “Just get it over with so you can be done with me!”
Something flashed behind those cold eyes as he slowly turned to face me fully.
His free hand snapped to the back of my head, his fingers gripping my hair to the point of pain as I pressed the barrel of the gun farther into my stomach.
Fear leaned over my shoulder, sporting a wicked smile, the Grim Reaper lingering outside the windows, ready to collect my soul the moment my demon pulled the trigger.
I reached out quickly, grabbing one of his tattooed hands and putting it on the handle of the gun.
He was in control now, my life in his hands.
“Is that what you want?” he growled, his voice sending chills down my spine.
My gut twisted.
No, I didn’t want this.
In a perfect world, he wouldn’t be evil. He would just be sweet and kind Collin, a guy who would take me out to the drive-in movie on Saturday night and to brunch at the Pancake House on Sunday. He would kiss me, make love to me and protect me, better than anyone else could.
“Answer me,” he growled.
I swallowed the lump on my throat and tilted my chin higher. “Do it.”
In that next moment, he shocked me to my core with one little word.
“Never,” he seethed.
Before I could process what had just happened, his lips were on mine.
The world stopped.
God, this kiss.
Harsh and rough, unrelenting—just like him.
Call me insane, call me stupid, but I let him in.
I parted my lips, an open invitation he accepted with a growl, the sound going straight to my core as something primal awakened inside me.
The need for him to claim me roared inside me along with the joyous sounds my heart was shouting.
His tongue invaded my mouth, and I let out a moan at his taste. Mint with a hint of smoke.
God, it was like the world’s best drug, I couldn’t get enough.
I wanted more. I put my hands on his shoulders to steady myself, rising higher on my feet, kissing him with the same hunger he showed me.
The gun was pulled away from me, and my eyes opened at the sound of him unloading it.
To my right, the pieces of the gun fell on the desk, his lips never leaving mine.
My eyes closed once more as that free hand pressed against my lower back, forcing my body against his. Jesus. He felt so good against me. He was so cold and harsh, but his body was on fire.
“Fuck,” he growled against my lips before pushing me away. I stared up at him as he wiped his bottom lip with the pad of his thumb. “You taste...”
My lips felt swollen and abused, and I fucking loved it. My hands snaked up to wrap around his neck, my breasts pressed against his chest.
“You ever pull that shit again, so help me God, Karina, I will spank your ass until you can’t fucking walk for a week. You won’t be able to sit down.”
Wha—
Suddenly, my back was on the desk, the skirt of my dress bunched at my waist, my knees apart. He stared down, his cold eyes holding me captive. “Do you honestly think I would let you leave this Earth without getting to taste you?” he deadpanned.
“What…what I—I…” I was at a loss for words.
Without breaking eye contact with me, his fingers hooked underneath my panties, and I felt cold metal against my skin.
The sound of fabric ripping traveled between us.
Then he pulled the cream fabric up from between my legs, holding them with a finger.
He looked at them and then to me, the ice in his eyes shimmering with lust.
“You aren’t allowed to wear these anymore,” he ordered, his voice husky.
Holy shit.
My breath hitched as I felt my cheeks growing warm.
Then, that cold metal emerged in his other hand—a knife— and he sliced the fabric of my dress open from bottom to top, the blade resting on the curve of my right breast. He quickly eyed my bra just before he looked into my eyes again.
He made a tsk sound before cutting it down the middle and pulling the fabric away from my skin.
Now, I laid completely bare to the man I'd a crush on for nearly nine years. He slammed the blade into the table beside my head, causing me to let out a small scream.
His eyes never left mine as he shoved his hands into his slacks and tilted his head to the side.
Here I was, naked, flushed and yearning for this man, and he wouldn’t even look at my body.
He was the only man I wanted to see my body.
The only man who got my body to react the way it was supposed to after…
Tears started to form, and I bit the inside of my cheek as I silently cursed myself for being so stupid.
“You’re crying,” he stated.
I remained silent and focused on the wall behind him. I cursed myself even more when my bottom lip started to tremble. Jesus, Kay. As I sucked in a shaky breath, my hands forming into fists by my bare thighs.