Chapter Nineteen
DEE
“What the fuck, mate?” the stripper barks, startled.
I open my eyes in time to see Colt standing over him, rage radiating from every muscle. His fists are clenched, his jaw is tight, and his body is ready to launch.
“I’m just the stripper, man! I’m totally gay anyway,” the guy blurts out, backing away.
“I knew it!” Joseph hollers, cracking the tension.
Laughter erupts, but not from Colt.
His glare pins me in place. “Dee, seriously?” he snaps, voice sharp and demanding.
I start to rise from the chair, awkward with my hands cuffed behind my back. Kira rushes over and frees me.
“Colt, it’s all in good fun,” I say softly, stepping toward him and placing a hand on his chest, hoping to calm him.
He shakes his head, nostrils flaring, then grabs my wrist, not painfully, but firmly. Possessive.
“Like fuck it is. You had another man grinding all over you, Dee. What the hell were you thinking?” His voice booms through the room, making me wince.
Silence falls around us, all eyes on the scene unfolding.
“It’s harmless, Colt. Let it go,” Johnny offers from the side.
“Let it go?” Colt scoffs, eyes blazing. “Some half-naked guy is humping my fiancée, and I’m supposed to let it go? Not happening.” Then his gaze snaps to mine. “Upstairs. Now.”
Before I can respond, Colt’s dragging me by the arm, hauling me out of the kitchen and up the stairs.
I don’t resist.
Usually, I’d be furious at being manhandled. Normally, I’d fight back and tell him to shove his jealousy where the sun doesn’t shine.
But not tonight.
Tonight, I’ve missed this side of him too damn much to stop him now.
His raw energy, his alpha edge—it’s back.
And this shit has me burning.
My heart races. My thighs clench. I’m practically dragging him now, needing to get to our bedroom faster.
I don’t care that everyone, including my parents, just saw him lose it.
I don’t care what they’ll say about him later.
All I want is for him to slam me against the wall and take me like I’m his whole damn world.
Because I am.
He yanks open the bedroom door, shoves me inside, and slams it behind him. Before I can move, I spin and launch myself at him, kissing him like my life depends on it. He groans, kissing me back just as hard, holding me like he’s afraid I’ll disappear.
But I want more.
His hand fists in my hair, yanking my head back with a roughness that has me gasping. My lips tear from his, breath ragged.
“Why would you let another man do that to you?” he growls.
I stare up at him, matching his heat. “Apparently, it’s a rite of passage or something.”
His nostrils flare. “Did you plan this?”
“What?”
“The strippers. The timing. That text you sent me, saying you missed me. Were you trying to make me jealous?”
I blink.
Honestly? I had thought about it, but never imagined he’d actually show up.
I smirk before I can stop myself.
“Are you smirking at me?” His voice drops, lethal and quiet.
I bite my bottom lip, smirking again.
“Dee, be serious. Why are you trying to make me jealous?”
His tone softens slightly, and I feel it, the dominance flickering.
No. Not now.
“Yes,” I say. “That was the plan. To make you jealous. So you’d get mad and fuck some sense into me.”
His grip on my hair intensifies, pulling my head back further and exposing my throat to him. “You know I don’t like games, Dee.”
“Then punish me for being a bad girl,” I whisper, heart hammering, clit throbbing.
He groans and brings my face back in line with his. His eyes have shifted. They are no longer cold, but burning with heat and something else…
Love.
“Dee,” he breathes, kissing me softly. Ah, fuck it! Too softly.
“Fuck me, Colt,” I moan against his lips, trying to draw him deeper.
But then he pulls back, and I freeze.
“I’m not going to fuck you, Dee.”
The words slice through me like ice.
“What?” I ask, incredulously.
“If I gave you what you wanted, it wouldn’t be much of a punishment, would it?” he says, voice low but firm. “So instead, I’m going to make love to you. Slow. Deep. Torturous. No dominance. Just love. Nothing rough. Not until I know you’re ready for it again.”
He means it.
Every. Damn. Word.
And I hate how much I still want him, even if it’s not the way I crave.
But I’ll take this man however I can.
I reach behind me, flicking the lock on the bedroom door.
He releases my hair slowly, watching me closely.
I press against him, letting my fingers drag through his hair. “I’ll take you any way I can get you,” I whisper. “Plus, I’m drunk. And when I’m drunk around you, it always ends up in sex.”
He chuckles darkly, then lifts me with ease, and I squeal when he tosses me onto the bed.
“Your parents are downstairs,” he warns.
“Then you’d better be quiet,” I tease, hearing the music crank up louder.
“They’ll just assume we’re arguing again.”
“Which is probably worse,” I mutter, laughing.
Colt lowers himself over me, kissing me with slow, deliberate hunger. His body presses into mine, heat and weight and everything I’ve missed. My hands tangle in his hair, desperate for more. His hips grind against mine, his hard length undeniable.
The kiss deepens, his tongue dancing with mine, the bourbon on his breath turning me on even more. He grinds again, and I can’t stop the moan that slips out. He breaks away, his lips trailing down my neck, sucking hard. I know it’ll bruise, and I don’t care.
His hand cups my breast, squeezing firmly.
My body arches into his touch, craving it.
Then, suddenly, he sits up.
Confused, I blink up at him. But he doesn’t say a word, just grabs the hem of my dress, moving it slowly. I lift my hips, letting him pull it over my head.
He sits back, eyes raking over my body, now in nothing but black lace.
He shakes his head, smirking.
“What?” I ask, self-conscious, moving to cover myself.
He huffs, brushing my hands aside like he owns every single damn inch of me. His eyes linger, and I catch it, that unmistakable spark.
He’s so turned on.
Despite the scar that still makes me flinch, Colt’s gaze is molten. Reverent. Like I’m the most irresistible thing he’s ever seen.
“You are… fuck, Dee,” he mutters, wrapping an arm around me to unclasp my bra. “I can’t stand how gorgeous you are.”
My bra slips off and lands somewhere on the floor. I smile, warmth curling through me at the hunger in Colt’s eyes—the kind of look he used to give me before everything fell apart.
It’s back.
He’s back.
He kisses me quickly, then trails his lips down the center of my body, the stubble on his jaw igniting a delicious burn across my skin.
My body arches toward him without thinking.
When he reaches my panties, I swear my skin catches fire.
His hands hook into the sides and drag them down with practiced ease.
I lift my hips, helping him strip me bare.
Now I’m naked.
He’s fully clothed.
The power imbalance is enough to make me tremble.
He kisses my thigh, then runs his nose up the center of my pussy, inhaling deeply. “Fuck, baby… you smell so good.”
The moment his tongue touches my clit, I gasp, and heat explodes through me like a fuse lit too fast. I clutch the quilt beneath me, clenching my fists as he works me over with slow, torturous precision.
When he slides a finger inside me, I moan and buck against him.
The rhythm of his tongue and hand is merciless. Expert. I’m already on the edge.
“Harder, Colt,” I beg.
He chuckles against me, the vibration nearly shattering me on the spot. His finger plunges deeper, harder, faster.
I writhe. Pant. Sweat beads across my skin.
I know it’s coming.
That blinding, body-wrecking orgasm. I’m so close.
He sucks my clit hard and—
He stops.
His finger slips out of me.
His mouth disappears.
And I’m left gasping, stunned.
“Colt!” I snap, chest heaving. “I was right there! Why did you stop?”
He straightens, that smug, infuriating grin on his face. “I told you I was going to tease you, baby,” he says, brushing his hand over his jaw. “You didn’t think I’d just let you get away with that stripper, did you?”
My jaw drops. Rage mixes with arousal. “You’re seriously going to leave me like this?”
“Not for long,” he says. “But yeah. Right now? Consider it your reminder. No other man touches you. Not even a gay one.”
I glare at him, jaw tight. “You are such a fucking arsehole.”
He smirks, not the least bit ashamed. “You wanted dominant Colt. Don’t act surprised when you get him.” He turns toward the door.
“Colt… seriously?”
He pauses. “Touch yourself, and I’ll make the punishment last all night. Stay where you are. I’ll be back in five.” His hand pauses on the doorknob. “I’ll even bring a surprise,” he adds with a wink.
And then the cocky shit is gone.
I groan, grab the nearest pillow, and hurl it at the closed door.
“What an absolute bastard,” I mutter, flopping back against the bed in pure sexual frustration.
But I can’t even be mad properly.
Because this? This is what I’ve been craving. His control. His passion. His fucking attitude.
Be careful what you wish for, Dee.
I glance at the door, hands twitching to finish the job myself, but I know better. Whatever Colt’s planning, I don’t want to ruin it by being impatient.
So I lie here, clit throbbing, every nerve humming, trying to get my breathing under control.
Laughter and music float up from downstairs, and I wonder if anyone down there has a clue what’s happening up here.
Then I hear it—Colt’s voice just outside the door.
“No, I promise, she’s fine. It’s not for an injury. It’s for foreplay.”
I sit up straight, confused.
Who the hell is he talking to?
“As long as you’re sure?” That’s Anna. “I never thought you’d hurt her, Colt. It’s just that you were so angry before, and there’s alcohol involved—”
“You seriously think I’d hurt her?” Colt cuts in, sharp.
I frown.
What the hell?
“No, of course not,” Anna backpedals quickly. “It just looked bad, that’s all.”