Chapter 32 #2
I melt into it for a moment before I remember I'm mad at him.
"Sure. Disgust."
He laughs. "Try again."
"Lust."
"Now you're just rhyming."
He grips my chin and leans in close.
"Trust." The word came out of my mouth without thinking.
And that word seems to stop him in his tracks. "You trust me?"
"I let you drag me in here and tie me up. Of course I trust you."
"You let plenty of people tie you up." He inches closer. "But you never let anyone hang you from their ceiling. And you don't let everyone kiss you."
My head is screaming at me to pull back, but I can't. I want him so badly. He leans in and presses his lips to mine. An act that I denied him for several weeks because of some stupid rule I made up in my head. In this moment, I can't remember what that rule was or the logic behind it.
The sweet taste of his lips is something I've been trying not to think about for the past couple of months.
As well as the feel of his skin on mine.
A moan escapes my lips again, and I realize that he's touching me with more than just his lips.
One of his hands is cupping my breast through his thin shirt I'm wearing.
His fingers pluck at my nipple, sending a chill across my chest.
"That was for answering my question honestly," he whispers against my lips.
I groan in frustration at the absence of his hand between my thighs. The way the corners of his lips turn up makes me want to kiss him again and smack that smug look off his face all at the same time.
"Ready for the next question?"
"Do I have a choice?" I tug at my wrists and flash him my palms as best as I'm able.
When he leans in, my mouth starts to water. "You always have a choice, Blake. You know that."
I do. But I don't give him the satisfaction of getting a response out of me.
"What are you so afraid of?"
"You already asked me that."
The bed creaks as he shifts his weight back onto it, resting one of his feet on the rungs at the bottom of my chair. "No, I asked why you're not letting yourself feel something for me."
"Isn't that the same question?"
"Only if you're admitting that it's because you're afraid."
"Semantics."
"Precisely. So what are you so afraid of, Blake? Are you afraid I'll get bored with you and leave you high and dry?"
"No."
"Lie."
Okay, now I'm mad. "It's not a lie! I think you're too obsessed with me to leave."
I was expecting a sarcastic retort, not the laughter that comes from him. His head shakes, and he rubs his hand across the back of his neck. The way the muscles in his arms flex as he does it grabs my attention, making me bite my lower lip.
His voice draws my attention back to his eyes that are fixated on me. "You're probably right about that."
I can't help but smile at his admission.
Don't get me wrong, I love when people are obsessed with me, especially men.
It makes me feel powerful. But usually, they get the hint when I'm done with them and blow them off.
I've never had anyone be this persistent.
To be fair, I've also never had anyone who felt this way about me other than Harlen, as far as I know. I successfully scare everyone else off.
"I'm not afraid that you'll leave me..."
I pause, struggling to finish my thought, my body completely rejecting the sentiment. Kass sits up a little straighter, his face relaxing as he listens intently. My heart is racing, and I can't force the words out. That is, until Kass's hands gently cover my eyes.
"What are you doing?"
His voice is calm and gentle, tender even. "I thought it might be easier for you to say it if you didn't have to look at me."
"Kass..." His name comes out as a sigh.
How is it that the girl who always has something to say and isn't afraid to say how she feels is struggling with just that? I pull my head back and turn it to the side, so his hands slip away from my face. I look back at him, heart pounding out of my chest.
"I'm not afraid of you leaving me." Inhale. Exhale. "I'm afraid that you'll be taken from me." And then I'd be ruined. My voice cracks, and my bottom lip starts trembling.
Fuck no. I am not about to start crying, tied up to a chair in the basement of the first guy I've loved since Harlen.
As I tilt my face up to stop the tears from falling, realization hits me. Did I just admit to myself that I love Kass? No. That's obviously not what I meant. Those are just his words in my head now. Goddamnit, how does this man make me so fucking crazy?
My head is pulled back down by his large hands on either side of my face. Luckily, I successfully sucked back all the tears, so there are none left to fall. He's so close to me right now. His thumb rubs my bottom lip that I'm pretty sure is still trembling.
The moment is broken by the buzzing of my phone on the nightstand. Both of us turn our heads at the same time. I try to crane my neck to see who the hell is calling me this late, but it's too far away. Kass's hand, no longer on my face, reaches over and grabs it.
"Hello?"
"Kass, you can't just answer my—" I whisper-yell at him before he cuts me off by holding up a large, tatted finger in my face.
"Yeah, it's Kass. She's at my place."
I lean forward and try to bite his finger.
"Hey! You promised no biting," he barks at me. Going back to the phone, he says, "Sorry, Fia, Blake was just being a bit of a menace."
I try to listen closely, but I can barely make out her voice. "Fia? What does she want?"
Kass pulls the bottom of the phone away from his mouth for a moment. "Your roommate is worried that you didn't come home or text her."
Shit. I completely forgot. I'm sure she checked in with Bear and Iris, but they didn't know I was staying here. For all they know, I called a ride. Iris has probably texted me several times to check in on me. I've been so distracted I didn't even think to text her, or Fia, for that matter.
"She's going to stay here. Could you cover for her?"
"Cover for me?"
Oh no. My flight. Work. I got so caught up in the Clover drama that I also forgot about my work trip I'm supposed to be going on tomorrow.
It's the only reason I didn't drink more than I did and go home with some random guy to help myself forget about the man who is holding me hostage in his basement.
The man I accidentally admitted to myself that I love.
This night is fucking crazy, and I need it to be over.
"Okay, great. Thanks, Fia. Goodnight." He hangs up the phone and places it back on the nightstand.
"What the fuck was that all about? Didn't feel like including me in that conversation?"
"It wasn't necessary. I told her you were safe, and we figured out an arrangement for your work trip tomorrow. Fia's going to cover for you."
"Kass! You can't just ask Fia to cover for me. That's my job. I need to go on that trip. You should have asked me." I flex my leg to try to kick him, getting frustrated when I remember that it's tied to the chair.
"Relax. Fia said it's not a big deal."
It probably will be fine, but that doesn't make what he just did any less annoying. "You can't make decisions like that for me."
"Tell me you want to leave then."
I'm completely speechless.
"Tell me to untie you, and you can call a ride, go home, and make it on your flight tomorrow."
I should. But I don't.
"I think you want to be here almost as much as I need you here."
I scoff. "Need me?"
"Yes, Blake." His hands resume their positions on my jaw. "I need you here. I can't let you walk away. I won't let you walk away. Unless that's really what you want."
"I don't know what I want."
It's an honest answer. I know he knows it is too, because he rewards me with a kiss. A soft, slow kiss that threatens to make me melt right out of these bindings.
I pull back for a second. "Can you untie me?"
"Are you going to run?"
"Not in just my underwear, I'm not."
I can feel his smile against my lips. "Well, in that case, I’d better remove the rest of your clothes. Just to be safe."
I lean forward to press my lips into his again, but I'm too slow.
He's already backed away and ducked down to start untying my ankles.
He does it so reverently, running his hand up and down my legs as he does so.
Next, he undoes the rope around my wrists.
He inspects each one to make sure there's no rope burns and kisses the inside of each of my wrists.
When he's done, I almost wish I was still tied to the chair. At least then I didn't have to make the decision of what to do next. Sitting here now, I find myself frozen.
"Kass..."
"Yeah, Blake?" He looks up at me from his knees. He looks at me like I’m a piece of priceless art he can’t buy. Like he can only enjoy my presence for a finite amount of time, so he’s going to milk every second of it.
I run my hands through his hair. "I need you to fuck me right now."