Tomorrow I’ll worry about the rest.
Chapter 5
I jolt awake to the creak of floorboards in the dark bedroom. Blinking sleep from my eyes, I scan the dim space and find the bed cold and empty beside me.
There’s a shadowy figure by the doorway, a sliver of moonlight glinting off his pale shoulders. Devon, trying to sneak out and break our deal.
With a snarl, I launch across the room and grab his slender arm, using his momentum to slam him against the wall.
He cries out, eyes wide and startled, his breath leaving him in a sudden whoosh.
Caging him in place with my body, I grasp his jaw tightly. He whimpers, tendons straining as he tries to jerk free. I force his face upward, our noses nearly touching. “Just where the hell do you think you’re going?”
“Get off me, bastard!” Thrashing wildly, he’s like a trapped animal, snarling and snapping. “I’m out. Whatever this warped deal was, it’s over.”
“Warped deal? If you think for one second anything about what went on here was warped, you and whoever told you such nonsense are ignorant assholes.”
His blue eyes shimmer like Arctic ice in the summer sun, so close to melting and shattering the deep-seated notion his words just made abundantly clear. Yet before the sun can fracture the ice, it refreezes. “Food for sex. That was the deal.”
“Nice try. The deal was food for the night of sex. We’re done when I say we’re done.” It’s just the kind of declarative statement Devon will hate, which is the point.
I like riling him up.
He leans in, then bites my lip viciously, and the coppery tang of blood floods my mouth. I slam him harder against the wall, fingers tightening around his throat.
His chest heaves, eyes burning with rage and defiance even as he struggles to breathe.
“Enough!” My voice is a guttural bark. “Since you want to act like an unruly brat, I’m going to treat you like one.”
He renews his struggles as I drag him to the bed. Pinning his flailing limbs in place with my leg and arm, I trap him facedown against the mattress.
My palm crashes down on his pale cheek in a stinging slap.
He jolts, cursing through gritted teeth. I spank him methodically, turning the pale flesh a heated pink. Between blows, I knead the tender skin, feeling him gradually cease fighting.
My gaze drifts toward the nightstand. Not sure why he didn’t go for my gun. My stomach summersaults. Going without a real connection for so long made me stupid.
Careless.
I shake my head then land another slap on his already pink ass. He could’ve killed me if he wanted. But something tells mewhatever he's struggling with in his head is the real reason he tried to sneak out.
If only he wasn’t such a defiant shit maybe he’d open up to me. Let me help.
Soon he lies pliant, accepting the punishment with soft whimpers. Only then do I stop the barrage and run a soothing hand over the sensitized flesh. “Are you ready to be my good boy?”
He’s silent, but gives a slight nod.
I maneuver his limp body farther up the bed. He lies on his stomach, face turned away.
“Look at me.” When his eyes meet mine, they hold an unyielding icy edge, but I wouldn’t expect less. “No more trying to run away.”
“Our deal was just for tonight.”
“The deal was you stay until morning. It’s not morning yet. You’re not going anywhere tonight. Understood?”
He glowers but gives a curt nod.
“Want to tell me what’s really bothering you?”
