Chapter Sixteen
Caius
R omy is a distraction.
I left her in the hotel room this morning, needing to escape and dig into the text Calista sent me. It was necessary to clear my head. I’d tried to reply back to Calista, but she went dark.
Worse yet, I couldn’t track down the location of the phone. I’d tried for hours while downstairs in the hotel lobby where I’d set up camp. The staff let me be while I sucked down coffee and scoured all my usual channels on my laptop.
Nothing.
I feel like that’s all I’ve been doing for over a decade. Searching for something that doesn’t exist. At least that’s what it feels like.
But she’s out there.
The texts she sent were proof.
There’s no way anyone else could’ve given me those details.
Dad could have…
As much as he’s the easy out, my gut tells me that’s not who’s sending me the texts. If Dad wanted to get at me, he’d be a lot more clever about it. Plus, he has no reason.
Unless he thinks you’re getting too wrapped up in Romy…
That still doesn’t make sense.
“Another one, babe?” the pretty bartender asks.
It’s been hours since I moved from the lobby to the bar. My laptop sits closed on the bar top and my glass is empty. I’m bleary-eyed and getting close to drunk. That certainly won’t help in my search efforts for Calista.
I glance at my watch, surprised to see it’s after eleven at night. I’ve been gone all day.
Is Romy still upset or did she get over it?
I need to get back. It’s not like I’m finding anything useful anyway.
“Nah,” I say regretfully. “Just charge my tab to my room.”
I pluck a hundred-dollar bill from my wallet and slide it over to her for a tip. She grins at me, a flirtatious one, but I’m not interested. Sure, she’s cute, but I have a girl already waiting in my bed. I sure as hell don’t need to add another one to the equation.
“You have a nice evening.”
If she’s disappointed at having been dismissed, she doesn’t let on. I tip my head in thanks as I snatch up my laptop. The room tilts a bit. It would have been wise to put food in my stomach before getting sloshed. A basket of mozzarella sticks hours into my drink fest hardly did the trick to soak up the alcohol.
I manage to make it up the elevator and to our suite. Dad texted me earlier to see what I was up to, but I blew him off. Until I figure out what to do about Calista, I would like to avoid him. I don’t need him getting inside my head when everything’s a fucking mess.
The suite is dark. Kaitlyn’s door is closed. The door to my room is also closed. After setting down my laptop as quietly as possible on an end table, I make my way into our room. Light from the bathroom shines into the room, but I can’t see the bed well. I kick off my shoes and stagger over to the bedside lamp.
“Dude, what the hell,” a deep voice grumbles.
I whip my head over to see Theo wrapped around my woman. He’s fully dressed, but she’s changed into her scant sleepwear—barely there shorts and the thinnest, tightest T-shirt I’ve ever seen her wear. The sight of them in bed together boils my blood.
“Get. The. Fuck. Out. Of. My. Bed.” I crack my neck, trying to loosen the sudden tension there. I stab a finger toward the door for emphasis. “Now.”
Theo glowers at me but wisely slides out of the bed. With his hand no longer on her hip, I can breathe easier. I don’t miss the fact he’s got a hard-on.
Did she feel it against her ass?
The urge to strangle him is strong. He must sense this because he doesn’t provoke me with words and stays out of my reach as he heads for the door. What he doesn’t hold back, though, is his clear displeasure with me.
I fucked up with Romy.
I can see it written all over his face.
So what? He’s ready to swoop in the first time I fuck up?
As soon as the door closes behind him, I strip down to my underwear and crawl into bed with Romy. Her puffy, red eyelids and splotchy cheeks are evidence she’s spent the day crying.
Because of me?
I feel like a total dick.
Before I can stop myself, I stroke her damp hair from her face and kiss her forehead. She smells of freshly shampooed hair and a sweetness that’s just her.
I should have been the one in bed with her, holding and comforting her, not Theo.
You’re here now, dumbass.
Sliding an arm beneath her, I pull her to me. As if on instinct, she reaches across my chest and hooks her leg with mine. I bring her closer to me so that her head rests on my shoulder and her breath tickles the side of my neck.
I like her right here, just like this.
As I toy with her wet hair, I attempt to figure out what my plans are with this girl. The longer I have her, the more I secretly want to keep her. It’s not something I’m proud of or would even admit aloud. I simply like having her around.
She’s sassy and sexy and smart as hell.
“Did you find anything about your sister?” she whispers, voice raspy from sleep. “You were gone all day. I’d hoped you found something.”
My heart warms. It could be from the alcohol or the fact that it feels nice to have someone to confide in about my sister. Romy knows about her and wants to help me find her.
“It seems like you were close to her like I was with Bastian growing up,” she continues in a sad tone. “It hurts losing someone you love. I’m upset with Bastian, but if I wanted, I could go see him. You don’t have that luxury.”
The crevice inside my chest where my sister lives feels more hollow than ever before. I rub at the skin over my heart in attempt to soothe the ache of loss there.
“I just want her back,” I admit in a whisper.
“I know you do.”
Silence falls over us and I wonder if she fell asleep. Her hand then skates up my chest and covers mine.
“I’m sorry,” I blurt out. “I was a total dick earlier. It just shocked me getting a text from my missing sister.”
She sits up on her elbow and frowns at me. “How long has she been missing? Did someone kidnap her?”
Her concern for me is thoughtful, but I’m too distracted by her swollen lips. Did Theo kiss her again? The sudden urge to erase him from her body has me lifting up to kiss her. She smiles against my kiss before gently pushing me back.
“As much as I like you like this, we’re in the middle of a conversation, Caius.”
Since she’s avoiding my kiss, I press my lips to her neck and suck the flesh into my mouth. I make sure to pull fast and hard, sure to make another visible mark.
“Caius,” she murmurs, relaxing onto the bed. “You’re avoiding talking about this.”
“Talk later,” I rasp against her neck. “I need inside you, love.”
She whimpers and doesn’t push me away when I kiss her again on the mouth. I roll my body onto hers, enjoying the fact her body is pinned and at my mercy. My hand slips beneath her shirt, easily finding one of her perfect tits.
“You taste like alcohol,” she says between kisses. “Are you drunk?”
“On you.”
She giggles and I can’t help but grin too. My entire life has been serious. With her, there are lighter, playful moments. Is that how normal people behave?
“The bartender wanted me,” I admit, wondering if it’ll make her jealous. “I could have had her.”
She smacks the side of my arm. “Seriously? Get off me.”
I bite at her bottom lip and tug before releasing it. My eyes bore into hers. “All I could think about was you. I don’t want her. I want to be here. You’re the only one who knows how to drive me crazy.”
The contented sigh that rushes from her makes me smile again. Her eyes dart all over my face as if to catalogue the expression in her mind. While she’s getting her fill, I start pulling off her T-shirt. Once I’ve tossed it away, I sit up on my knees so I can remove her shorts as well.
She’s now naked and waiting for me.
“You’re so fucking hot,” I murmur as I rip off my boxers. “Drives me insane.”
Her long legs wrap around me, pulling me closer to her. I crash my mouth to hers, kissing her with unveiled passion. My cock, hard and leaking pre-cum, is nestled against her pussy, just waiting for entry. Rather than getting right to it, we continue to kiss deeply, our hands running over each other’s flesh as we get to know one another’s bodies.
When she starts squirming, I know she wants to escalate what we’re doing.
“Want me to lick your pussy?” I ask, mouth hovering over hers.
“Yes, but later. Right now, I need to feel connected to you again. I love that feeling.”
I reach between us to grip my cock and then tease her slick hole. She sucks in a sharp breath when I press into her. Though she’s aroused and wet, it’s still an effort to push into her tight body. It takes a few shallow strokes to get my cock slicked up before I’m able to fully thrust into her.
“This feeling,” she rasps out, shuddering in pleasure. “It’s so…intense.”
I nip at her lip and then jaw. “You fucking love it.”
When she nods, I start thrusting hard. The need to come is overwhelming. I’m not sure if I can get her to come just from fucking her, so I slide my fingers over her clit, rubbing furiously. This seems to set her body on fire. She claws at my shoulders and makes strangled sounds of pleasure.
“It hurts,” she reveals, panting. “But it also feels good. I can’t explain it.”
I pinch her clit and she lets out a yelp. “I get it. Stop talking and orgasm. I’m not going to last. You feel too damn good to keep from coming.”
She thrashes beneath me, the pleasure of my touch grabbing hold of her. I continue to thrust hard enough into her the lampshade on the bedside table wobbles in tandem with each buck of my hips.
A keening sound tears from her, signaling her release. Each muscle in her body tightens before she erupts in full-bodied trembles. As she quivers wildly and her pussy milks my cock, I lose all control of my own pleasure.
My nuts tighten and then bliss rushes down my spine. Hot cum spurts out of me, gushing into her shaking body. Not pulling out and filling her up instead feels nearly as good as the orgasm itself. I have my brain yelling at me to pull out and come all over her taut stomach, but the primal, all male part of me keeps bucking until every last drop has spilled out of me.
Last time, I bolted because I was afraid of my feelings for her.
This time, I stay.
I stare at her puffy eyes and swollen lips, admiring how damn pretty she is. The alcohol may’ve dropped my inhibitions this time and I’m taking full advantage of it. My cock turns flaccid, but I’m in no rush to pull out of her.
I flash her a lazy smile. “I could fall asleep like this.”
“We made a mess. You can’t sleep like that.”
My body relaxes on top of hers. I rest my head on the pillow next to her but make no moves of pulling out of her. “Want to make a bet?”
Within seconds, I’m asleep.
Sometime later, my cock rouses me awake, and it’s in a highly convenient position to pick back up where we left off.