Chapter 26
Iran my hands down to her ass, lifting her easily as she wrapped her arms around my neck. Her tongue stroked mine, tasting the remnants of lingering whiskey as she groaned against my mouth. She wound her hands through my hair, gripping tightly almost to the point of pain, but I did not mind.
Not when she rubbed her tight, wet heat against my aching cock.
I walked toward the bed without breaking contact, letting her fall to the mattress with a bounce. Calia’s hands skated down my body in a slow taunt, stopping at the waistband of my jeans. She bit her lip as she unfastened the button, mischievous green eyes taunting me from below.
“Do you want me, Rion?” she asked, voice breathy. Her fingers drew my zipper down, my arousal filling the space between us.
I nodded quickly, afraid she would walk away and leave me wanting if I did nothing. “More than anything.”
She leaned back, resting on her elbows and glanced down at her open jeans. Her seductive smile taunted me. “Then prove it,” she said, waving a hand down the length of her body.
I did not need to be told twice, launching myself at her and capturing her lips with mine once more. Her hands slipped inside the waistband of my briefs, moaning as her fingers found my cock.
“Fuck,” I groaned, pulling away to trail kisses down her neck. Her scent was too intoxicating, enticing my fangs to slip free and graze against her skin. She tilted her head, giving me complete access to explore. Her pulse thrummed beneath my lips, inviting me to bite, but I would not mark her once again without her permission.
No matter how much I ached to taste her.
Her hand tightened around my shaft, stroking roughly in a way that nearly tipped me over the edge. “Calia,” I panted, but she kissed me, biting my lower lip and drawing it out.
She had come so far from the shy woman who would hide her body from me during sex. Before, my touch alone was all it took to send her insecurities running wild. But the Calia in front of me knew what she wanted, unabashedly displaying herself for me to feast upon.
My gut twisted, momentarily listening to my mind as it warned us this would not last. She was drawing some sort of invisible line between what we once shared and the lust she felt now. But I did not dwell on those thoughts, telling myself it was enough to have her in my bed, even for a night.
It was a step, no matter how small.
I wanted to sink my teeth into her flesh. I wanted to cover her body in my marks for the whole fucking world to see. Then, if she tried to leave me, anyone who ever touched her would know she belonged to another.
She belonged to me.
“Stop thinking, Rion, or you’ll ruin this before it’s begun.” She pressed a kiss to my neck, pulling me forward.
“I want to ruin you,” I growled, pushing her back against the bed. I leaned down to press my lips to the soft skin above her waistband and dragged her jeans down her legs. My shoulders spread her thighs, luscious and creamy and mine.
“This doesn’t mean anything,” she warned, arching her back as I pressed an open-mouthed kiss to her pussy through the damp fabric.
I ran my nose along her slit, moving her underwear aside and pressing down on her clit with the pad of my tongue. “The way your cunt is soaked says otherwise. It says you want me, fucking need me.”
If she wanted to play this game, if she wanted to be in denial, I would let her.
I would be whatever she needed if she allowed me even a moment of her time.
“It’s just a physical reaction,” Calia panted, running her fingers through my hair. “It’s not my fault my mind”—she let out a sharp gasp—“and my body aren’t on the same page.”
I did not respond, slipping three fingers into her wet heat. The fit was tight, but I did not hesitate. Not as she tugged and tugged at my strands to the point of pain.
But I let the sensation guide me, biting down on her clit until the taste of copper spread across my tongue. I had not meant to draw blood, but it was too late to stop now. It drove me into a frenzy as I sucked, adding a fourth digit and fucking her thoroughly.
“Do you like that?” I asked, taunting her. She nodded, a gasp slipping from her lips as I showed her the blood coating my lips. “Does my needy little wife want to come?”
She looked down with wide eyes, and I curled my fingers inside of her. “Stop calling me that,” she breathed, trying to stave off her orgasm as long as possible—to no avail.
Like the beautiful, destructive bomb she was, she detonated, strangling my digits as I continued fucking her without slowing.
Calia screamed, her orgasm soaking my arm and the sheets beneath. I lowered my head, lapping at her release as though dying of thirst. She bucked off the bed, clawing at my shoulders and trapping my head between her supple thighs until I could barely breathe.
But if I was to die like this? Suffocated with her release on my tongue? Fuck… I would go happily.
Perhaps I should have cared that the whole house could hear the way I pleasured her and how much she enjoyed it. After all, her family was somewhere in the vicinity. But the twisted, possessive side of me loved the way she screamed, the way it told everyone she was mine and mine alone. I wanted Castor to hear that she still wanted me, still craved me, despite whatever vitriol he spewed her way.
“Please,” she begged. “I need to feel you inside of me.” I dragged my tongue along her slit, never taking my eyes from hers.
“I am already inside you, love,” I said, wiggling my fingers. “Is this not what you want?”
She shook her head, biting her lip to keep from crying out. “No, I need your cock.”
I hummed against her pussy. “Do you think you have earned my cock?”
Calia sat up on her elbows. “Fuck you,” she snarled, trying to pull away, but I did not let her.
My fingers splayed across her stomach, pinning her against the bed. “Is that not what you just asked me to do?” She stilled, watching my other hand free my length. “Do you want my cock, Calia? Do you want me to fuck you until you cannot breathe?”
I saw the momentary hesitation, her eyes glazing over, switching between my face and my length. But then she nodded feverishly. “Yes.”
I slid the tip along her sensitive clit, playing with her. Selfishly, I dragged it out, knowing it would be over once I came. She would walk away and leave me lying in a mess of my own making.
“Rion…” My name was a warning and a plea I could no longer deny. I slowly slid inside of her, wrapping her legs around my waist so I could angle myself deeper. Nothing and no one could compare to this, to the feeling of her needy and wanton.
Perspiration beaded between our bodies, slicking our skin. I began moving my hips at a torturously slow pace, enjoying the way she gripped me each time I pulled out. And it was intoxicating, watching her eyes roll back each time I bottomed out. Her nails dug into my arms, drawing blood and leaving behind claw marks that I would wear proudly.
“Faster,” she begged. I slipped my hand between us, rubbing her clit in unhurried circles. I enjoyed taking my time far more than I should, especially as breathy moans escaped her lips.
I leaned forward, wrapping my hand around her throat and gently squeezing it. As she tightened around me, I could not help but groan. “You have ruined me,” I whispered, timing each word with a punishing thrust.
“Yes,” she exhaled, unabashedly admitting she knew her hold on me. “You deserve ruination.”
The world halted, even if my mind did not. Her eyes were brimming with finality, knowing her words cut me just as she intended. And I could no longer pretend I was okay with this—with nothing more than the leftover scraps she thought she could afford to give me.
I rolled off of her, tucking my cock back into my briefs and zipping my pants. She lay there, legs spread, pussy glistening, looking at me as though she did not understand what had happened.
And if I was being honest with myself, I did not understand it either. I wanted her, needed her, more than I could breathe, more than I could think, yet hearing her say she would never forgive me was a line I was unwilling to cross.
I could not—would not—fuck her for the sake of feeling her tight pussy come around me. While she may be able to sleep at night knowing she used me, I could not do the same.
And I would not be used.
I knew I would regret this when she walked out the door, but at least my conscience would be clear.
“What the hell, Rion?” she asked, closing her legs and sitting up.
My fists clenched at my side, nails biting into my skin until I bled. “I cannot…” I trailed off, attempting to find the words.
Calia cut me off before I could speak again, hopping off the bed and pulling up her jeans. “You say you want me?—”
“I do!” I yelled, stepping in her path and gripping her chin. “I fucking do, and you know it, but I want all of you. Your heart, your mind, your body, and your soul. It is mine, Calia. You are mine.”
“Then maybe you should have thought of that before you destroyed us, Rion!” She ripped out of my hold but did not move. She stood her ground, unafraid and unapologetic. “You chose to keep things from me when there was every opportunity for honesty. And I can’t trust you not to do that again. I can’t place my heart in the hands of a man who nearly destroyed it.”
“But you are content to fuck him?” I asked, stepping forward to eliminate the space between us. “That is a dangerous game, love.”
“I don’t have to love you to fuck you. And while it may be a dangerous game for you, I don’t share your sentiment.”
“I cannot fuck you while it is clear you find me abhorrent. This, us…” I paused, trying to find the words and coming up empty. The realization of our newfound reality was akin to death by a thousand small, sharp cuts. “I do not know how many times I can apologize, but in the end, it will never be enough, will it? You will always find a reason to hate me,” I said, furrowing my brows.
Her eyes burned with cold fury as she clenched her jaw. “Yes,” she said, not breaking eye contact. “I will.”
“It is not simply a fuck for me, Calia,” I said sadly. “And I cannot, will not, pretend it is.”
She shifted on her feet, uncomfortable with my words. I saw how she momentarily chewed on her lip and opened and closed her mouth, deciding which words to say. It was silent as I waited, hoping she would assuage my fears. “Well, that’s all it can ever be for me.”
It was a point-blank shot to my chest, and I wondered if she would leave me bleeding out while she walked away unscathed.
I stepped aside, forcing myself to look anywhere but her. “Then go,” I said, voice hollow and lacking conviction. “I will not stop you.”
She hesitated, only for a moment, before storming out of the room. The door slammed shut behind her, and I sank to the floor, resting against my bed frame.
I did not know what was worse: believing she was dead but might offer me a chance at redemption or knowing she was alive and did not want me.