Page 22 of Fragile (Cedar Lakes University #2)
Chapter twenty-one
Quinn
Miles drags me away from the party, and I’m not usually one for the caveman effect. But this might be an exception. Seeing him all riled up over little old me, well, that gave me enough satisfaction to last a week, at least.
I’m trying so hard not to giggle at whatever just happened. “What was all that back there?”
His nostrils flare as he pushes the door to the hallway open, the gush of cooler air hitting us both in the face. But he doesn’t reply, his frustration evident in his purposeful strides as we pass my room and head to the stairwell.
The door slams against the wall with an echo in the empty space. He drops my hand and paces back and forth for a few seconds before I can’t take it anymore. “You looked mad when you came over to us.”
“I was, and I still am,” he says, his body halting before spinning around, eyes wild as they lock onto mine.
“Why?” I ask breathlessly, my skin rippling with goosebumps from the shift in the air. His presence feels thicker, more deadly tonight, like he might want to eat me alive. And I’d let him.
“Why do you think?” he huffs with an empty laugh as he stalks toward me. I step back instinctively and quickly realize I’m being backed into a corner.
My breath stutters, belly flipping at the look in his eyes. We’re mostly hidden in this part of the stairwell, but the thought of being caught thunders in my blood like a volcano ready to erupt. He takes another step closer, completely blocking my escape, the shadow of his broad body blanketing me.
Yet the notion that I’ve made Miles Cooper jealous still makes me want to giggle so much I have to roll my lips between my teeth to stop a noise from coming out.
“Something funny, Queenie?” His voice rumbles deep, reverberating through my core as we stand this close. My lips slip free from my teeth, but I bite the bottom one between them again as I catch my breath. Blinking up at his towering frame, I nod slowly, unable to hide the reaction.
His hand lifts, thumb tugging my lip free with a deliberate slowness. He trails the dampness down to my chin, and my eyes flutter involuntarily. God, that shouldn’t be hot—but it is. He lingers for a moment, grazing my skin with a heat that makes my pulse quicken. The smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth is almost smug, like he knows exactly what he’s doing to me.
“You don’t like it, do you?” I whisper, more a challenge than a question. “Seeing me with someone else.”
His thumb stills on my jaw, and for a second, I think I’ve crossed a line. But then he smiles, slow and dangerous, his eyes darkening.
“Let me spell it out for you.” He moves even closer, brushing his nose against my cheek as he presses me against the wall behind. His hot breath skates over my neck, before I feel a nip at the shell of my ear. I shiver at the contact, my nerve endings spark to life. I can’t help the way my body arches closer, craving more, even though my mind scrambles to catch up. “I didn’t want him touching you. I didn’t want him near you. I definitely didn’t want him thinking he could have you.” His voice is so rough, so deep, that it sends a thrill I’ve never known through my body.
A fluttering sensation erupts in my chest, traveling to my throat as I nearly groan. “W-why can’t he have me?”
He laughs softly, so softly the only sensation I feel is a puff of air hitting my fiery skin. Pulling back, he rests his thumb under my chin, tilting my head to face his. “Tell me, whose hands would you rather have on you, and be honest. Mine or Alex’s?”
I swallow past the lump wedged in my throat and blink a few times, just to let him believe I’m thinking about it, when really, I’m trying not to explode, trying to remain somewhat composed. Now I really have Miles’s attention, I’m glowing from the inside. “Well, that’s tough to decide…” I begin, just as I hear a growl deep in his throat and his jaw tics once. I can’t help the sadistic smirk that pulls at my lips. “I guess I’d pick yours.”
He lets out a low, dissatisfied sound at my answer, his long, rough fingers trailing along my jawline. The contrast between the calloused edges and my soft skin sends a sharp rush of heat racing down my spine. His hand moves to the nape of my neck, sliding through my hair, and I can feel every tug as he leans in, his breath grazing my opposite ear.
I fight to suppress the tremble building inside me, but it breaks free, and I realize I’m helpless to stop the reactions he’s pulling out of my body because this is everything I’ve wanted. And right now, I’m going to grab it with two hands.
“You guess?” he murmurs, his voice a hushed rumble that vibrates against my skin.
“Uh-huh,” I croak. My knees tremble beneath me, and if he wasn’t anchoring my head in his palm, I’m not sure how much longer I’d be upright. The multi layers of what’s happening all swirl in front of me like ingredients of a cake. Miles was jealous tonight. He wasn’t being protective in his usual way; he was pissed someone else was touching me and it wasn’t him.
“Maybe I need to show you what my hands can do, hm?”
Yes, please. He pushes his hips into mine, and I feel something much harder against me. Something I very much want to see, taste, feel. “Miles,” I breathe.
His lips ghost across the delicate skin of my collarbone. This time, I can’t stop the moans. “Yes, Queenie?”
“I-I…” I don’t know what I’m trying to say as a flood of desire overwhelms my senses.
He chuckles, finally putting pressure to my scalding skin with his mouth. “So soft,” he purrs just as his free hand moves toward my chest and my nipples pucker beneath the material. I couldn’t wear a bra today because the back of the dress was so low, but I’m not overly busty so it wasn’t that obvious anyway. But now, with Miles having such easy access, I feel like I need the protection of a bra because I’m about to cut through this dress with my nipples. “Do you need my hands here?” He brushes over my aching breast, and I whimper as he moves over to the other one, tweaking my nipple between his fingers. “Or here?”
I lick my lips, my mouth dry as I heave for air. “Everywhere. Anywhere. Please.”
He growls deep in his throat, cursing as he lifts me so I’m straddling his leg, the hem of my dress riding so high my whole ass is practically out. Instinctively, I grind my hips, needing friction, needing something. “You think I can deny you?” His hand frees from my hair and my breast, drifting down my sides as he palms my hips, dragging me forward, the pressure intense as I gasp for air. “You think I want another guy touching my girl?”
I bite down hard, swallowing a heady moan. My girl. The way he says it feels like a brand, searing itself into my mind. And god, I love the sound of it.
“I know I said we’d take it slow, but I don’t think I can do that. Not with you.” He continues relentlessly. The intense pressure from the angle he has me in, his jeans rubbing against my core, makes me gasp. My hands shoot out to his shoulders to steady myself, and I’m not ashamed of the way my hips begin to rock back and forth of their own accord too. “Not when I need to show you that you’re mine.”
The weight of “mine” hits me like a punch to the gut, sucking the air from my lungs. I’m overwhelmed and so, so close, focusing on all the things he’s never said before. My girl. Mine. God, I need this. I need release. I need him. Heat coils inside me, the beginnings of my orgasm whispering on the periphery, but it’s just out of reach.
“Fuck, look at you,” he rasps, his voice low. “There isn’t anything I want more than to make you come right now.” Licking from my collarbone to my earlobe, he bites down gently. “You want to come?”
“Yes, Miles, yes.” I nod furiously, digging my fingers into his shoulders, holding on for dear life. “Oh my god,” I pant, moving faster on his thigh, the friction of his jeans against my thin panties sending waves of lust rippling through my body. Each movement sends a burst of pleasure that spirals me higher and higher, the pressure building like a storm.
“Love the sound of my name on your lips,” he says gruffly. “Ride my leg, Queenie. Show me how much you need it.” I can barely catch my breath as the world around us blurs. My skin flushes, heart races, and just when I think I can’t take any more, I feel that sweet peak approaching, the crest of the wave taking me under.
My mouth falls open in a silent gasp, and then he pulls me to him, his lips crashing against mine. He captures my moans with his mouth, swallowing each sound as they escape me. It feels primal, raw. God knows he’s earned every single one.
I melt into him, surrendering to the rush. Surrendering to him, letting myself believe that this is actually happening.
My body hums with complete and utter satisfaction as he continues to kiss, nibble, and devour me.
It’s only when I finally sag against him, my limbs heavy with exhaustion, that reality sets in. We’re still in the stairwell of my building.
“So…that happened,” I manage, my voice shaky.
He stiffens slightly, his grip tightening. “Are you okay? Shit, I should’ve thought about where we are. We could’ve been caught—”
I cut him off by placing my hand over his mouth, those deep brown eyes consuming me.
“It was…amazing.” A post-orgasm thrill makes me shiver again as I release his mouth and press my lips to his. “So hot,” I mutter.
“Yeah?” he asks, with a boyish tilt to his head that makes me swoon.
I giggle as he deepens the kiss, threading those perfectly thick fingers into my hair, taking what he wants from me.
Eventually, Miles moves his leg, lowering me to the floor once again. My feet feel like clouds as I stand in my heels, trying to keep my balance. Two big hands smooth down my dress, covering my body, as I fix my hair, then swipe my thumb over his lips, removing the remnants of my lip gloss too.
“As good as you look with shiny lips, I think it’d be obvious if we walked back in there wearing the same shade.”
He laughs, light and carefree. “I’d walk back in there with my head held high because it means I was the one kissing you.”
His words send another flutter through my chest, such a damn peacock. But then, it hits me—our friends, my brother—they’re all at the party. They’ll see my flushed cheeks, the kiss-swollen lips, and it’ll be impossible to hide what just happened. I’m not ready for them to know. Not yet. I want to keep this moment, keep him, to myself a little longer.
“I need to go freshen up first. Meet you back in there?” I say in a rush, needing to just give myself a second to clean up and process what that was.
He eyes me warily. “I can wait.”
I wave him off. “No, it’s fine, go back to the party. It’ll look less suspicious if we go back in separately.”
Nodding, he steps closer, pinching the tip of my chin between his thumb and index finger before pressing a kiss to my lips, then another. “I’d like to come with you because I don’t want you to freak out. I’ll wait like a good boy on your bed, keep my hands to myself, then take you back to your party. We can arrive separately if you want. But one thing I’m not going to do is make you come, and then disappear. It’s not happening, Queenie.”
Swallowing hard, I take in the serious expression on his face. “Well,” I breathe, feeling tingly all over. “Let’s go then.”