Chapter 19 #2
“You can’t just—” Her voice cracks. “You brought me here. You can’t just abandon me in the car while you go off and do whatever with whoever.”
The distress in her voice fills me with secret delight. She’s jealous. Actually jealous.
“Why not?” I turn back to her, studying her face. “It’s not like you’re my girlfriend.”
“Of course, not,” she bites. “You have Chelsea for that.”
“I wouldn’t touch Chelsea with someone else’s cock.” My words pour forth, unfiltered, laced with disgust. “She’d never come to a place like this.”
Ophelia’s jaw works, her hands twisting in her lap. “What about diseases? STIs? You don’t know where these people have been.”
“Aw, sweet. You’re concerned for my welfare.”
“I’m concerned for mine.”
My laugh sounds harsh in the enclosed space. “We’ve already fucked without protection.” I lean closer, watching her pupils dilate. “Besides, you’re killing yourself in a few weeks. What’s a little touch of chlamydia compared to that?”
She flinches, and for a moment I think I’ve pushed too far. Then her chin lifts, that stubborn defiance I’m growing addicted to sparkling in her eyes.
“I’ll do it.”
“Do what?”
“Have sex with you.” The words tumble out rushed, desperate. “Right now. Just… don’t go find someone else.”
Victory surges through me, sharp and sweet. I force myself to lean back, to play it cool even as my cock hardens at her offer.
“Very generous, but we had an agreement. No sex tonight.”
“Then change the agreement.”
“And use up one of my three remaining encounters?” I click my tongue. “Seems wasteful.”
Her fingers find mine in the dark, gripping tight. “It doesn’t count towards the total. This is… separate.”
“Is it now?” I thread our fingers together, bringing her knuckles to my lips. “Say it clearly, Ophelia. Tell me exactly what you’re offering.”
She swallows hard, her throat working. “I want you to have sex with me. Right now. And it doesn’t count towards our total.”
The words hit me better than any drug, flooding my system. I pull her across the centre console into my lap, her thighs straddling mine, the dress riding up around her hips.
“Good girl.” I kiss her hard, swallowing her gasp, my hips bucking until my cock is seated hard against her.
She reaches between us, her fingers fumbling at my fly, but I thread my fingers through hers, pulling them away. I have a better idea. “No, we’re not doing it in the car.”
I manoeuvre us both out, holding her hand tightly as I lead her towards the tree line. The pine forest swallows us whole, darkness pressing in from all sides.
“Tonight, let’s pretend I’m not the boy who sits next to you in class.”
“Who are you, then?” Her voice wavers with uncertainty.
My lips press a kiss against her cold cheek, then slide along her cheekbone, whispering into the shell of her ear. “A monster.” I snap my teeth, and she jumps, giving a nervous laugh. “I’m your worst nightmare. Better run fast, my little ghost.”
“What?”
“Run, Snowflake.” I release her and step back. “Give those new glasses of yours a proper workout. I’ll be generous and give you a ten second head start.”
For a moment she just stands there, frozen. Then understanding dawns across her face—fear mixed with something darker, more primal—and she bolts.
I count down in my head, shifting my weight on the uneven forest floor, every cell alive with anticipation. This is what I need. This is what’s been building all night. Hell, all month.
The dance and conversation were nice, the protective hovering had its charm, but right here, right now. This is honest.
I’m a predator and she’s prey and we both know it.
Her ten seconds are up.
I move.
She’s fast but clumsy even with her improved vision, crashing through underbrush, her pale hair a beacon in the darkness. I could catch her in moments but hold back, letting her run, letting the fear and anticipation build.
Her breathing is ragged, punctuated by small sounds of distress as branches catch at the dress, at her skin.
When I finally close the distance, tackling her to the forest floor, she screams. The sound cuts off as I flip her onto her back, pinning her wrists above her head with one hand.
“Caught you.”
Her chest heaves against mine, her pupils blown wide. “You’re insane.”
“Yes.” I lower my mouth to her throat, teeth scraping skin. “But you knew that already.”
I work my way down her body, shoving the dress up to her ribs. Her panties are soaked through and I tear them away, the fabric giving with a satisfying rip. She tries to close her legs, but I force them open, settling my face between her thighs.
“Damien—”
“Shh.” I blow cool air across her centre and she whimpers. “You offered yourself to me, remember? Now lie still and take what I give you.”
My tongue finds her clit, and she bucks against my face, a strangled moan escaping her throat. I work her methodically, alternating between broad strokes and focused attention, learning what makes her gasp, what makes her fingers claw at the forest floor.
When I slide two fingers inside her, she comes apart, her release pulsing against my hand as she cries out into the darkness.
I don’t give her time to recover. I’m already undoing my belt, positioning my pulsing cock at her entrance. She’s still trembling from her orgasm when I thrust inside, filling her completely.
“Fuck.” The word punches out of me. She’s tight and wet and perfect, her body gripping me like it was made for this.
I set a brutal pace, one hand fisted in her hair, the other gripping her hip hard enough to bruise. The dress is ruined, dirt-stained and torn, but I don’t care. All that matters is the heat of her, the sounds she makes, the way she wraps her legs around my waist and pulls me deeper.
“Mine,” I growl against her ear. “Say it.”
“You’re mine.” Resisting, teasing. But her voice breaks, and the depth of feeling makes my head spin. “Mine.”
The unexpected claim destroys what little control I have left. I slam into her harder, chasing the building pressure at the base of my spine until it crests and breaks, my release pulsing inside her until I’m drained, pleasure flooding me in waves.
I collapse against her, both of us panting hard, my heart racing. The forest is quiet around us, just the whisper of wind through pine needles and our ragged breathing.
Ophelia’s fingers trace patterns on my back, her touch gentle now, almost tender. A deep, unfamiliar warmth spread through my chest, tight and possessive.
“We should go,” she murmurs eventually. “Before the police actually show up.”
“In a minute.” I nuzzle into her neck, breathing her in. “Let me have this for a minute.”
She doesn’t protest, just holds me while the chemicals in my brain slowly normalise. Until I can lift her into my arms and make the long trek back to the car. Her weight against my chest is a solid warmth that seeps into my bones, replacing the restless energy.
For once, all the static in my head is quiet. Even tucking her into the passenger seat brings a rush.
I pull into the road, taking the longest route back into the city because I want this night to last forever.
All it will take is one wrong move with Chelsea, with the school, with my father, and the future I’ve envisioned will be obliterated.
At best, exiled to some forgotten office in bumfuck, nowhere. At worst, he’ll send me to prison just like he threatened. A place I doubt I can find my way back out of, not with my temperament, and now Vincent’s threat lies alongside that.
Dangerous. This is so fucking dangerous.
But my hand finds hers, clutching it tightly in the cold dawn air.