Chapter 12 #3
“Will that hurt your feelings? To know it wasn’t done how you wanted?
It was an accident, you know. Well, not an accident.
” I ponder the words, making a big deal out of tapping a finger to my lower lip.
“I was in a bit of a fugue state. That’s what my lawyer called it.
And he wanted…you know.” I tilt my head.
“Do you want to know what it felt like when I pressed my thumb into his eye until it burst like a grape? Too bad I didn’t record his screams—”
“Don’t,” he murmurs with his attention riveted on me like nothing else exists. “I’m warning you right now, silly girl—”
“Am I really so silly when I took what you apparently wanted oh so much? I’ve been living in your head for twelve years, not giving you any peace. But you?” My smile turns sweet, and I’m too far gone in my arrogance to give a thought to the way he shifts a little, like he’s getting ready to pounce.
“You’ve been obsessed with me without me even knowing your name or that you exist—” He moves so fast I don’t have a chance to respond.
With how close I’ve gotten, there’s nothing I can do except gasp when he suddenly grabs my throat and sweeps my legs out from under me.
A surprised cry leaves me when my back hits the rug, and my hands come up to grip his wrist, fingers digging into his skin.
A shocked gasp escapes my lips when he kisses me, his body pinning mine as he straddles my waist with his long legs. His other hand goes to my hair and he wrenches my head back, leaving my mouth before I can bite him so he can trail bites and kisses down my throat.
“Silly girl,” he purrs. “Silly, stupid girl. You think riling me up will get you what you want? You think it’ll get you the upper hand here?” He scoffs against my throat and bites down hard enough that I yelp.
“It’ll get you fucked on my floor while you cry and tell me it’s too much.” Without warning, Larkin grabs my hoodie, yanking it over my head along with my t-shirt to leave me in my plain black bra. I gasp out my protests, but with my arms held in his, there’s not much I can do.
“Fuck you!” I snarl, stupidly and a bit redundantly. His response is a snort and an eye roll before he lunges down and bites down on my lower lip again, his teeth sinking in until I taste blood. My cry goes unheeded, and he sinks down further until his body is pressed to mine.
“Tell me you don’t want this,” Larkin snarls, jerking off his own shirt.
It’s the first time I get to look at him like this, and my eyes travel over the myriad tattoos that cover his upper body.
Every inch of skin is part of a pattern, from where his jeans begin to the designs that climb his neck like ivy.
They’re beautifully done, and not one of them is worthy of being ink-shamed in any circle.
“Didn’t this hurt?” I find myself asking, worming one arm free to press my fingers over his sternum curiously. His skin is warmer than I expect, and I jerk my hand away, eyes narrowing as I look at him. “Why do you have them all?”
“Another time,” Larkin dismisses, though I can’t miss the flash of surprised approval in his eyes.
Did he not expect me to remark on them? Did he not expect me to notice?
He nips at my lower lip again and stands up suddenly, with me in his arms, though it’s only so he can whirl me around, making my head spin, and drop me onto the sectional against the wall.
His shit-eating grin returns as he crowds over me, a hand on my throat as he sits on my calves. “I’m a little busy right now, silly girl, in case you didn’t notice.” He jerks my leggings down my thighs suddenly, and my heart lurches in my chest, hand coming up to grab his arm.
I expect hesitation and fear to be the things that bubble up my throat. I’m ready to tell him to stop, to wait, or at least tell him that it’s really been a while and I’m not very experienced in this area.
But the moment he pins me with his dark, dark eyes and my hand finds his skin, something feral in me takes over. That same coldness spreads through me, but this time the murderous delight is replaced with need and desire.
Fuck, Larkin shouldn’t do this to me, when no one else ever has before. I can see him hesitating, waiting for me to tell him I don’t want this, but I surprise both of us by dragging him back down to me with my arms wrapped around his shoulders and my mouth seeking his.
He gives in after just a moment of resistance, his mouth finding mine hungrily. I huff against his lips, gasping for air that he takes greedily. His hands never stop, and before long I find myself with nothing on except my bra, my skin cold on the faux-leather of his couch.
When Larkin pulls back, my eyes snap open and I search his face, expecting him to stop or to tell me to get out.
My body tenses, but he just looks at me, his gaze hungry as it travels down my body, his hands trailing where he looks.
“My silly girl,” he purrs. “God, you’re going to be such a fucking problem for me, aren’t you?
Makes it hard to stay mad at you for what you did. ”
“I didn’t do—”