54. Aeris
Aeris
My back was pressed to something solid, an arm curling around to press a huge palm against my lower abdomen. I stiffened, unable to stop the reaction even as my stomach clenched. My eyes snapped open, taking a moment to recognise the room with its navy blues and dark woods.
I was in Caden’s room.
Which meant this heavy arm was his.
My pulse was still trying to claw its way out of my skin when I looked down and saw Caden’s tattooed arm wrapped possessively around my waist, holding me tight against his chest. I focused on the steady rise and fall of his breathing, letting the rhythm calm me, using the solid heat of his body to slowly thaw the cold, hollow pit that had taken root deep in my gut.
I’d never woken up next to a man before.
I’d always left in the dead of the night, when the men were either passed out and snoring or so distracted I could slip out without a commotion.
I was always put into vulnerable positions, would put myself at risk because I had no choice, and sleeping next to someone would leave me entirely helpless. But now …
“You’re thinking too hard,” came Caden’s deep rumble.
His fingers brushed lower until he cupped my pussy, his lips pressing softly against the curve where my neck met my shoulder. That earlier panic disappeared beneath a wave of heat, of this being Caden and not some random man I was forced to pleasure.
Pushing at his arm, he immediately released me, his eyes guarded as I sat up and he rolled fully onto his back. He watched me with that intense, unreadable stare like he was waiting for me to break.
Which was amusing, because I was already broken.
“Morning,” I whispered.
His lips quivered as though trying to keep back a smile. “Morning.”
Caden really was one of the most handsome men I’d ever seen.
And he was all mine.
Swinging my leg over his hips, I straddled him quickly. His hands came up to rest on my thighs beneath the T-shirt, thumbs stroking gently over my skin as he looked up at me with dark hunger and something softer underneath.
“Aeris,” he murmured, voice rough. “You were just—”
“Don’t worry, I’m not that fragile.” I leaned down, pressing my lips gently against his, dragging my nails down his arms until I came to his hands on my thighs. Lifting them, I raised them above his head. “Hold the headboard.”
Caden continued to watch me with that intense, burning gaze, but he obeyed. His fingers curled around the metal bars, the movement flexing and defining the powerful muscles in his arms and chest.
“Good boy,” I joked, and he finally smirked beneath me. But there was worry there, in the way his eyes kept dragging across my face, hesitation at the bruises and cuts.
Good thing I was an expert at turning my trauma into sex.
Taking a moment, I simply took him in: the strong lines of his body, the scars that mapped his violent life, and the way his cock was already thickening for me.
For once, I was entirely in control. And he was letting me have it.
“Take it off,” he demanded, glaring at the T-shirt like he could make it burst into flames.
Slowly, deliberately, I peeled the fabric up my body.
I took my time with it too, enjoying the way Caden’s patience frayed a little more with every inch of skin revealed.
There was something intoxicating about having this strong, powerful man flat on his back, forced to wait.
Forced to want. Completely at my mercy for once, and I liked that far more than I should have.
Liked knowing he wanted me badly enough for him to go against his own nature.
It was like each inch of skin I revealed made me feel more in control of my own body.
More powerful.
More alive.
Caden’s hands flexed, clearly fighting the urge to rip the shirt off me himself. His eyes devouring every new sliver of exposed skin with raw hunger.
“You going to come on my cock, Tempest?” he rumbled beneath me once I was finally naked.
“Maybe.” I rocked my hips slowly, dragging my wet heat along his thick length. Caden’s jaw was clenched so tightly I could see the muscle jumping, but he kept his hands on the headboard, letting me set the pace. “Or maybe I’ll just tease you for hours. Edge you until …”
Caden bucked his hips, and I fell forward, catching my palms on his chest.
I laughed, actual joy erupting from me at his impatience. The metal squeaked beneath his fingers, his cock heavy between my legs, and I was having fun. But then he pressed his cock against me, and that laugh turned into a moan because he managed to brush his head against my clit.
“That’s it,” he growled as I reached between us to position him. “Sit on my cock.”
Need pulsed low in my belly, overpowering the aches and pains, nulling the cut on my thigh that tugged and pulled beneath the clean bandage.
I held myself as tall as I could and slowly sank down onto him. The stretch was intense, bordering on too much, but I kept going, savouring every thick inch as he filled me completely. Wanting it to hurt a little, to keep me in this moment.
Caden’s entire body tensed as if he was forcing himself back. Forcing himself to give me this.
“Fuck,” he groaned, the single word shooting effervescence through my bloodstream. “You’re perfect.”
I finally managed to seat myself fully, taking every thick, heavy inch of him until I was stretched to my limit. My head fell back with a broken moan as I paused there, just savouring the intense, burning stretch and the overwhelming feeling of being completely filled.
It was as if he had some dark, primal power over my body. The only man who had ever made me want him. Some feminine, instinctual part of me was helplessly drawn to his strength and darkness, to the dangerous way he looked at me like I was his.
But the rational part of me, the survivor and the strategist, screamed that this had to be a trick, that I should poison him before he could hurt me.
“Look at you,” he rasped beneath me, forcing me back into the moment. “So fucking beautiful taking my cock.”
I rocked my hips slowly, taking him deeper, chasing the sharp, addictive pleasure that only he seemed to give. Because no matter how loudly my mind screamed to run … my body clearly didn’t care.
Bracing my hands on his chest, I began moving faster. Chasing the orgasm that was already teetering on the edge. Caden’s eyes were locked on where we were joined, dark with hunger as he watched me ride him like my own personal sex toy.
The bed frame screeched, his grip so tight his muscles looked ready to snap.
My moans grew louder, unrestrained, as I lost myself in the feeling of him. Of the way he watched me, groaned, and let me use him to fill this hollow fucking space inside me.
“Eyes on me,” he growled, and as I met his gaze my orgasm finally fell over the edge. My pussy clenched, the wave cascading through me like lightning dancing over my skin.
Caden clearly had had enough, his hands releasing the headboard to clamp down on my hips. He rolled us, only to drop down to suck my clit between his lips so hard my first orgasm raced straight into the second.
“You’re so fucking wet, Tempest,” he growled against my folds, my fingers digging desperately into his scalp, nails scratching as the intensity became almost too much. He devoured me like I were his favourite dessert, and even when I tugged at him to stop, of course he didn’t.
He always pushed. Always took more, knowing I wouldn’t back down. Because this was still our twisted little game where he forced me to crave him.
“Caden …”
Anticipation slithered down my spine, my entire body covered in a fine layer of sweat as my hips rocked up against his tongue.
“Such a pretty slut,” he said, kissing up my stomach so softly it was a complete dichotomy to his words. “You’re going to come on my cock one more time, aren’t you Tempest?”
Jesus-fucking-Christ.
His rough hands shaped my body, stroking over the new bruises on my skin to claim them as his. Then he was in me, thrusting to the hilt to take what he wanted. Using me just like I used him.
And I revelled in it, because he forced me to be present. To not get lost in my head.
“Fuck, you feel incredible,” he groaned, moving with deep, punishing strokes. “This tight little cunt was made for me.”
Wrapping my legs around his waist, my nails dug into his back as he fucked me harder, claiming every inch of me with every thrust.
“Caden …” I groaned just as he rolled us again, pulling me back on top—though there was no mistaking who was really in control.
Sitting up, he gripped my hips and guided every movement, lifting me and bringing me down at the perfect angle that had me seeing stars.
“You going to be a good girl and come for me again?” he rasped, voice deep and commanding. “What a stupid question,” he continued, reaching between us to press his thumb against my clit. “Of course you are.”
My orgasm hit like a silent storm, my back bowing as I came so hard that I let out a choked, breathless cry.
My vision blurred, the intensity so overwhelming I thought I might pass out from the sheer force of it.
But Caden was still there, stroking me through it, his fingers on my skin and relentless cock pounding me to the edge of pain.
Like he was taking care of me.
Scratching my nails back through his scalp, I tugged his hair so I could kiss him. Not caring as my lips split, just savouring his groan as he finally came.
His fingers dug in, keeping me exactly where he wanted as he pulled back, only to press a surprisingly soft kiss to the top of my head.
My heart clenched as I collapsed against his chest, body trembling and wrecked. I fought the stupid tears burning in my eyes, because maybe, just maybe, I could finally be me.