Cal ran faster, taking a running leap over a curve in the uneven terrain that cinched the distance closed between them. His arms looped around her waist, bringing her to a jerky halt that had her spilling over his forearm. She kicked out in surprise, throwing her ass against his hard cock.
“Caught you.” It came out as a harsh snarl. “Now you belong to me.”
Nadine’s breathing faltered as he palmed her breasts, her belly, letting his hand trail over her right thigh before toying with the fastenings of her jeans. “N-no,” she said. “Wait—”
“Nadine. Didn’t you hear me? I’m not letting you go.”
She made a ragged noise when he bit her ear, dragging her into the cold dark shadows of the buildings. So responsive. He opened her pants, using his wrist to slide the zipper down the track. The heat of her was an erotic shock. Cupping her mons, he slid his fingers into the warm, wet crease of her slit, rubbing slowly.
“You’re wet,” he breathed.
“Cal.” Nadine pushed against the bar of his arm weakly. “Please—”
“Not yet, little sparrow.” He ran his teeth along the outer shell of her ear as he teased at her entrance, pushing just hard enough that she backed herself up against his chest atthe sudden pressure of his fingers. “You don’t even know what you’re begging me for.”
“Not outside,” she pleaded.
“Why not? Are you going to scream?”
He pulled his fingers back, rolling her clit expertly beneath his thumb. She strained against his body, making him take another step back for better leverage. When he felt the rough grains of the brick wall against his back, he leaned back against it and, without relinquishing his hold in the slightest, he slid one knee between her trembling legs.
“That’s better.” He flexed his thigh to bump her legs further apart. “I told you I wanted us to be close—and I know you got my letters,” he added, just roughly enough that she shuddered. “So don’t even bother trying to lie to me.”
“I threw them away,” she said.
“I figured. I admire it, you know. Your persistence. The way you keep coming back again and again, no matter how many times you get burned.” She made a noise, tried to cover it. In response, he shoved his fingers back in, forcing a louder sound from her throat that was impossible to hide. “But I thought we had a real connection,” he whispered. “Do you know how rare those are?”
“You scared me,” she said, still defiant.
“You like being scared.” Cal bent forward, letting his pelvis press against her hip. “You’ve been asking for this all night.”
“I like romance,” she said, in a faltering voice. “Not whateverthisis.”
“That’s so sweet. I bet people call you sweet often, don’t they? And good.” He pushed his other hand under her snug top and encountered a thin lace bra. “I wonder, though, what they’dcall you, if they saw you with me right now. Spread over my knee.”
She growled at that, and when she opened her mouth to lay into him, he gave her nipple a hard tweak while pressing down on her clit.
“Love is cruel, Nadine,” he said, raising his voice to be heard over her soft cries. “Possessive. Unforgiving. If you open your heart to it, you’ll get it ripped out.” He paused, allowing the sound of his moving fingers to fill the silence. “I find it rather tragic that you romantics lay yourselves down in these honeyed traps, only to get eaten alive by what you claim to want the most.”
“Please,” she moaned, and the word splintered halfway out of her mouth.
Cal bent down and kissed her. She was upside-down at this angle, so he simply sealed his top lip over her bottom one and kissed her the way he’d been aching to, when he woke up from those damned dreams he couldn’t remember with his pulse kicking up in his throat like a wild horse.
“You’re a good person. I can tell.” Ghosting a final kiss over her swollen lips, he returned to her ear and whispered, “But love makes good people do bad things.”
She tensed as his fingers slid inside her, all the way up to the second joint. “W-what?”
“Yes, even you, my sweet sparrow. Rael’s loyal to me.” He bent to her shoulder and pulled at the straps of her top with his teeth as he began to fuck into her slowly with his fingers. “I suggest you remember that, the next time you try to use him to make me jealous.”
“Please—” She shuddered as he added a third finger, forcing her to stretch.
“Youdidwant to make me jealous?”
“Cal—”
“Answer me.”
“Yes.” She choked on the word like it was a blade. “Oh god.”
