Chapter 38 Some Hell
Some Hell
Storming through our bedroom door, I tossed Jaden’s soaking-wet ass onto the bed, smirking as she rolled with the momentum onto the other side and planted her feet on the floor.
“I’m suddenly in the mood for a little brat taming,” I announced as I stretched my neck, moving farther into the room.
Jaden’s eyes locked with mine, a look of unease draped across her pretty face as she watched me remove my guns from their holsters and place them on the nightstand, along with my conveniently waterproof phone.
But when her gaze followed my hands to unbutton my wet shirt, I knew her body was already preparing for all the things I planned to do to it.
After that little display by the lake, actually knocking me off the fucking dock the way she did, it was clear my little hellcat had returned much faster than I had anticipated. Either she was getting better at compartmentalizing her trauma or I was losing my touch.
Either way, I was suddenly eager to play.
The shirt stuck to my skin as I pulled it away and chucked it to the floor, droplets of water still clinging to my bare chest. Jaden’s hands were buried in the sheets of the bed for stability, her small frame locked in place as she waited for my next move.
But I wasn’t the type to rush these kinds of events, at least not with her. I wanted to drag them out for as long as possible, savoring every second of what I could draw from her, no matter what it was.
Moans, threats, punches, pleasure—I’d take it all and then some until she had nothing left to give.
“Come here,” I ordered.
And like a shift in the air, the wind changed course and Jaden’s entire mentality switched from the guarded queen to the prey I craved to hunt and conquer. It was like watching someone split between personalities right in front of you, utterly fascinating.
“No,” she clipped.
A savage grin morphed on my face. Noticing her limbs beginning to slacken, her muscles loosened in anticipation of my familiar brand of brutality headed her way. It had barely been over a week since the basement and her bravery had come back with a vengeance. She was such a damn good girl.
“You have until the count of three,” I informed her, slipping off my wet shoes and socks. “Before I fucking break you in half.”
She sucked in a deep breath, her shoulders rising with the motion, then rolling them back down before straightening and steeling her spine. Jaden had that adorable look of fierce determination shadowing her face, her gaze sharpening to a lethal edge I couldn’t wait to taste.
“One,” I said, rolling my own shoulders, letting my heated blood rush through me.
She didn’t move.
“Two.”
The single word punctured the air, a final warning that caused Jaden to flinch.
It brought a smile to my face as I stared her down, cracking my neck and expelling some of the built-up pressure.
Jaden opened her palms at her sides, stretching her fingers out wide, as if any of it would make one bit of a damn difference. She was fucked either way. Like always.
“Three.”
I moved faster than she could blink, barely granting her enough time to gasp as I clutched her wet hair and yanked her back to my chest. She twisted her body into me and lifted her knee to drive it up into my gut.
I took the repeated hit two more times before I laughed and reached for the hem of her dress that had risen up her thighs.
Shoving it up her torso, she swatted at my hand as she tried to back away, but with her hair wrapped in my fist, she wasn’t going anywhere. Growling, she grabbed at my arm holding her, using it for leverage to lift her entire body and shove her heel right under my jaw.
The kick was just enough for my grip to loosen, allowing her hair to slip through my fingers, the release causing her to drop to the floor. She recovered just as quickly as I did, back on her feet, adjusting her dress and grabbing at the first item she could reach.
“I still owe you some hell for that fucking sham of a charity gala!” she growled, throwing a small ceramic display bowl at my head. I dodged it easily, the bowl flying right over my shoulder and shattering against the wall as I charged for her.
Her eyes widened, and she bolted back, damn near leaping over the couch before I caught her around the waist mid-jump and hauled her back to me.
“Yes, you do,” I agreed, turning from the couch with her back tucked against my side. Jaden bucked and twisted until I positioned her to bend over the arm of the couch.
“What the hell was that? Why would you expose yourself like that and help fund your own opposition?” she hissed as she tried to push away from where I had her pinned under me.
Gripping the hem of her dress again, I pulled the wet material up until the perfect curves of her ass fell right into my hands, a lacy black thong peeking between her cheeks.
Despite the small round scar that lingered on one cheek, Jaden’s ass was still something to marvel at.
So much so, I’d almost forgotten she’d spoken.
“I can hardly call them my opposition when they’re so good at unwittingly eliminating all of my competitors,” I answered, squeezing those perfectly round globes.
“My donations fund their operations to unknowingly track down my competition. Multiple groups reveal all the new secrets and methods being used to find them.” I pressed myself into her, letting her feel my hardened cock between her cheeks.
“The latest tech and software, the most recent targets and raids, the preventive measures, all the connections to the deepest insights, police, judges, private investigators—it keeps me well informed and ahead of the game.”
Jaden pushed back against me, her frustration grating her voice. “That’s disgusting,” she barked, then jammed her sharp little elbow into my rib cage repeatedly until I grabbed her hair and shoved her face down into the cushions.
“Why? Because it puts me at an advantage?”
She turned her head to the side and snarled. “No. Because it makes you the one thing you told me you never were. A liar!”
With her feet dangling above the floor, Jaden was somehow able to pull her knees up and kicked her heels into my thighs, digging in hard enough for her to gain the leverage she needed.
With one foot still planted firmly against my leg, she used it to lift her body up and kicked me in the sternum with everything she had. The impact was hard enough to push me away, giving her the chance to flip herself over and somersault to the other side of the couch.
“A liar, huh?” I pressed, cocking a brow.
“Pretending to be something you’re not? Deliberately misleading those people for your own gain? Yeah, I’d call that a lie,” she snarled.
My muffled laughter filled the air. “Funny, I don’t recall ever being asked by any of them if I specifically engage in such a trade. Seems like an odd question to ask someone at a charity event.”
She growled, her beautiful face twisting into a cute little scowl. “A wolf in sheep’s clothing is still a lie!” she shouted.
I almost snorted at the ridiculous idiom.
“Keeping my business to myself is not a violation of my own code of ethics,” I said, moving around the couch to herd her away from it. “I am not beholden to your standards, my little wife. You are beholden to mine.”
Grabbing the frame, I shoved the couch to the side and out of my way, the action causing Jaden to kick at the coffee table between us, flipping it up to crash against my shins.
I barreled through it, kicking it out of my way with my harsh steps, my eyes tracking Jaden’s every move as she reached for a nearby glass figurine and launched it at me.
I could have dodged it, but I decided to catch it instead.
I didn’t want more glass covering the floor while she was still barefoot.
“No more glass,” I warned, dropping it on the chaise lounge. “I don’t want you cutting up your feet.” Jaden paused for a moment, arching a brow at me before releasing a short, sharp laugh. I shook my head as I lunged for her.
She instantly dropped to the floor, rolling into a tight somersault right under my arms, then rising back on her feet far behind me. Her hand instantly snaked out to snatch another goddamn figurine and lifted it over her head.
What the fuck…
I was going to kill whoever the fuck decorated this house with so much breakable shit.
“Don’t you fucking dare!” I roared. “What did I just say!” My patience for her disobedience was running thin. If she cut her feet, so help me God…
Jaden paused to lower the object and quickly knocked on it with her knuckles, glancing down as she did and then back up at me. “It’s plastic,” she assured, then chucked it across the room at me.
My chest rumbled with agitation as I barely twisted my torso to allow the “plastic” figurine to fly past me as I charged for her. She made it only a few steps before I tackled her to the nearby rug, tumbling so that she fell on top of me to cushion her blow to the floor.
Flipping us over, I pressed myself between her legs, taking the hem of her dress between my hands and ripping it up the side seam. “You’re such a little brat,” I snarled as I smacked the side of her bare ass hard enough to echo through the room.
Jaden yelped as she wrestled with my hands, trying to pry herself away from me.
When that didn’t work, she pulled her knees in and shoved them inward against my chest, pushing me back so that she could try to kick off into a backward somersault.
But her move failed when I grabbed her ankle and pulled her lower body back down.
She took the opportunity to wrap her leg around the back of my neck and then hooked the knee of her other leg around her shin, trapping my neck and arm between her legs.
Securing my stretched-out arm with her own, she squeezed her thighs tightly to lock in an impressive triangle choke, compromising my air supply and blood flow.