Chapter 18
eighteen
KAT
Callum continued rubbing my feet.
"We have a problem, Kitten." His voice was deceptively calm.
"What problem?" I didn't look at him.
"You think I don't want to fuck you as much as a bunch of little MMA fighters do."
Ah.
So he hadn't let that go.
It took a lot of effort to focus on the conversation as he dragged his thumb over the pad of my foot.
"Even if you do, you're too afraid to act on it, Callum."
"It takes everything I fucking have not to act on it." There was something in his voice. I couldn't tell what. Anger, maybe?
I opened my eyes, and found ice-cold fury in his.
"The way I want you is all-consuming. It's unrelenting. If the risk was anything less than it is, I'd be insatiable. You would be wrapped around my cock all day. I'd fuck you until you forgot your family, your name, and anything other than the feel of my body claiming yours."
I stared at him.
He stared back, his expression daring me to disagree.
He was pushing the limits, though. And if he was allowed to do that, so was I.
I plucked my feet out of his grasp unceremoniously, earning an even more chilling glare when I did.
He wasn't ready to let go.
I ignored the glare, lifting myself out of the water long enough to cover the remaining distance between us and sit down on Callum's lap.
His gaze immediately dipped to my breasts, which were still mostly covered by a thin film of bubbles, even though the majority of those bubbles had popped. "What are you doing?"
I moved so the length of his erection rested between my thighs, against my clit, for comfort's sake. I didn't want it stabbing me anywhere else.
"I just want to make you feel good." I put my hands on his chest.
His entire body tensed.
He had never experienced anyone else's touch without pain. Not even his own. Only mine.
"Kitten." His voice was deadly.
"Don't worry. I'll leave your cock alone."
He stayed completely and utterly still as I slid my hands over his pecs slowly.
The soft groan that escaped him was so erotic, it took effort not to clench my thighs.
I dragged my fingers down his torso, exploring the firm dips and rises of his chiseled abdomen. His erection throbbed like a heartbeat, and he lifted his arms to rest on the sides of the tub. His fingers dug into it, almost desperately, and ice crawled beneath them. The water chilled further.
"You're going to owe me after this." His voice was low and raspy.
"What do you want?"
"Your hands on my headboard while you sit on my face."
The flush that rolled through me was unreal.
Yes, please.
My hands slid back up his pecs, sliding over his shoulders and pressing into the muscles there that were always tense. "You know you have to let me get you off if you want me to agree to that."
"Fuuuck." He dragged the word out, melting into the back of the tub. "Forget I said anything."
I massaged the thick knots there for a few minutes. His emotions bled into me through the bond, so intense they took my breath away.
Desperate need.
Fierce possession.
Hot pleasure.
I abandoned the knots and ran my hands slowly down his arms, feeling the dips and swells where muscle began, continued, and ended. His erection still throbbed, even though there was nothing inherently sexual about what I was doing.
I traced the veins in his arms on my way back up to his shoulders. His head tipped further when I found the knots again, working them with as much pressure as I could manage.
"If you let me get you off, we could take this to the bed, and I could massage your entire back," I murmured. "I'd even agree to let you have your way with me afterward, if you wanted."
The way his need flared made it hard to breathe. "You know I can't agree to that." His voice strained even more than before.
"You've come with women before, without hurting them."
"It's more of a risk with you. I can't control myself when it feels this good."
"Too bad." I hid my disappointment as well as I could and continued working on his shoulders.
"Don't do that," he gritted out.
"Don't do what?"
"Be disappointed. I'm protecting you."
"I appreciate that you're trying to, but protecting me from something I don't want to be protected from isn't the flex you think it is."
He groaned as I pressed harder against the knots, and his cock throbbed so hard against my center that I had to bite my lip to hide a sound of my own.
I wondered if he would come, just like that, but he gritted his teeth and the throbbing slowed.
God, this was ridiculous.
He just needed to let me take care of him. He'd probably feel like a whole new person afterward.
"Why do you care about my pleasure so much?" he bit out.
"Why do you care about mine?" I countered.
"I don't know."
"Try."
"I… feel good when you touch me. You deserve to feel that way when I touch you too."
He was so fucking full of it.
Maybe that was part of it, but that wasn't everything. He wouldn't have called himself insatiable if that was the whole story.
He was still playing games, and he had no idea that I was even on the board.
I would win.
Eventually.
I just had to continue onward with my bitchy plan.
"It's only about reciprocation, for you," I said. "Not because you have any type of feelings for me."
He hesitated a beat before he answered. "Yes. Your turn."
"I care about getting you off because you have all of the power over me in this situation.
I have no power over you. If you get to call all of the shots, and you're always in complete control, we don't have a relationship or a mate bond.
You have a pretty little wolf on a leash.
At least I have my cafés to keep me company, though you could take those down too if you wanted. "
His fury blazed through the bond, though his expression barely changed.
He was on his feet and carrying me to our bed a moment later. Icy water dripped down our bodies, blissfully cold against my skin as he unintentionally froze it.
He set me down on the edge of the bed and flung his hands out at the sides of his chiseled body. "Do your worst, Kitten. Call your shots. Take your power."
I scoffed. "I'm not going fuck you when you've just told me you're only interested in touching me because I take your pain away. You're still trying to manipulate me."
I was also trying to manipulate him, but he didn't need to know that.
"This is what you wanted." He gestured violently to himself. "I'm offering myself up on a silver platter. This is as good as it's going to get. As good as I am going to get."
"Fuck you." I stood up, putting my hands on his chest and shoving him backward. We were both dripping wet, and he didn't flinch under my touch. I couldn't hurt him that way. Not after what he'd been through.
"I'm sorry I made the mistake of having emotions about our situation for five seconds, Your Highness. It won't happen again." I strode back into the bathroom long enough to unplug the drain and grab a towel.
"A run would be good," Sable said. "He needs to stew. I'll make it long."
"Why am I even trying?" I stalked toward the back door. "Is this ever going to work? He's still determined just to use me."
"He'll get there," Sable promised.
She couldn't guarantee it.
Callum was behind me, his steps much slower than mine as he followed me down the hall. The sudden pain setting in right after the pleasure of my touch was probably a lot for him. "What are you doing, Kat?"
He used my real name, so he obviously realized the precariousness of the situation. This was my plan, but I was still pissed.
"Leaving." I dropped my towel at the door and yanked it open, stepping out onto the porch and shifting.
"You have one hour," Callum growled into my mind as Sable launched into the trees.
"I have as long as I fucking want. Maybe I'll see you in the morning. Maybe I won't. You do not control me, and I don't owe you my loyalty."
His snarl in my mind rivaled a wolf's.