Grabbing her hips, I dropped down to my knees like a sinner seeking reparation. My atonement could only come if she bestowed it upon me. “Change your mind yet, sweetheart?”
In a move that leftmeastonished and even more aroused, Ella stole my gun and cocked it against my jaw. “Every cent?”
Fucking hell, she was going to be my end.
“Every. Single. Cent.” Impatient hands molded down her thighs, urging her to spread her legs. Or call off this bluff. My cock couldn’t handle this much teasing. It was straining in the confinements of my briefs.
Ifelther sinful smile down to my balls. “What’s the pin?”
“Eight, nine, nine, six.”
Ella couldn’t hide her shock. When we were together, I had a different pin.
Now it was her birthday.
“Mm.” Digging my gun’s barrel into my jaw, Ella’s nails grazed my cheek before her thumb snagged over my bottom lip, pulling gently. “Is that so—”
The sentence hung in the air.
Her eyes flared at my new tattoo. My favourite one yet.
ELLAwas inked in the inside skin of my bottom lip.
The love of my life stared at my tattoo with a speechlessness that had my heart drumming a fast rhythm against my ribcage.
“What else do you want?” I urged now that she had my gun and access to my riches. “My Ferrari? My book collection? Maybe another bouquet of orange lollipops?”
At the mention of orange lollipops, the hand holding my gun faltered.
Ella had an affinity for orange. The colour, the taste, the scent. Every month, I’d make her a bouquet of orange lollipops because they were her favourites and gift them to her with a handwritten letter. It was a small offering but perhaps the most meaningful one to her.
I wondered how she’d react to knowing I still carried orange lollipops in my pocket whenever I left the house. Sometimes it was for myself—a treat for whenever I missed her. Other times it was on the off-chance that I ran into her and…I didn’t even want to finish that thought. It birthed too much hope and I had to thread carefully for the sake of my own heart.
Ella removed her thumb from my lip and tried to compose herself. It was too late. I saw all the repressed emotions bubbling beneath her surface. Anger. Desire. Fear…of falling for me again.
“Oh, Cade,” Ella started with a saccharine sweet tone—the total opposite of her deviant nature—and cocked the gun at my jaw once more. For a second, I thought she’d actually pull the trigger. “While you look great on your knees, you should know that no amount of money or grovelling can make me change my mind. Once I throw trash out the door, I never look back.” She patted my cheek condescendingly. “Hold onto your dreams because that’s the only time you’ll ever be with me again.”
Trash. Out the door. Never look back.
My hands fell away from her thighs like I’d been burned. Goddamn, that hurt like a motherfucker. So much so that it robbed me of breath.
Ella used my stillness to push away from the wall and dart towards the dormitories.
It took me a few seconds to cool off before I got to my feet and ran after her. I wouldn’t be deterred by her rudeness. I prepared myself for this version of her tonight.
Ella was a fast runner.
But I was faster.
The predator in me thrived on the chase. It caused the blood running through my veins to pump vigorously.
And Ella was well aware that I’d chase her until the ends of the Earth. Come high or hell water. I made a promise ages ago that I would never let her go.
When I caught up to her, I grabbed her waist and hauled her over my shoulder fireman style, ignoring her squeals. “Where do you think you’re going, huh?” I growled.
“Away from you!” she growled back, kicking her legs out like a brat throwing a tantrum. “I’m going to win this game without your help. I don’t fucking need you!”
I carried her the short distance towards Balthazar Building’s indoor entrance. “Yeah, right. Without me, you’ll be stuck here till dawn trying to solve the riddles. You need me. Whether you like it or not.”
