Page 29 of Ly to Me

“Is that so?” His other arm snaked around my waist as he started walking us out of the water.

“Yes.”

“You sure you want to know how fucked you’re going to be?” The water slipped lower, but my toes never hit the ground as he glued my back to his front. More air met my cooled skin, and I tried to wriggle free, which granted me a chuckle from him. “You keep doin’ that and you’re going to find out real quick what you agreed to.”

“What—” He jerked my body, the tops of my feet still touching the water as my stomach slammed into the mud. “Get off me, asshole!”

“You mispronounced ‘husband.’” His voice was gritty as he shifted, then that air I thought had felt like freedom minutes before turned to poison. “So, let me remind you who I am.” His legs moved between my thighs right before his fingers plunged inside me.

I bucked my hips back against his hold, which only made him pull back and thrust in deeper. Again and again with jerky movements, he fucked me with his fingers like he did with his tongue in the bathroom, only this time, he didn’t have to remove or shift any clothing. Why the fuck hadn’t I thrown on one of the lingerie pieces?

“Look at you, actin’ like you missed me.” I tried to swing my arms back, but he gathered both my wrists with one hand and secured them behind my back, making my chest lift from the ground.

“I’ve hated you every day of my life for ten years.”

“Nice to know I was on your mind,” he drawled.

“Only while fucking the guys who left me the most disappointed.”

His nails dug into my wrists as he slowed his torment. Another roll of thunder boomed above us, matching Car’s tone. “Which was every man after me.”

“Not even close—” I bit down on my tongue to stifle a moan as he removed his fingers and pinched my clit, then went right back to my entrance.

He tsked. “Your mouth says one thing, but I know you, Lyra.”Thrust. “This pussy is mine.”Thrust.“This ass”—he pulled his fingers free and smacked my ass, then shoved his fingers right back in with brute force—“is mine.” I whimpered, and let my forehead fall to the mud. “Any part of you that you gave to anyone else is mine, too. Every inch of you has always been mine, whether you want to admit it or not.”

“Fuck. You.” Even as I said it, I ground against his hand. Fire licked across my skin as he bent down and bit my shoulder.

“I will. But not yet.”

My eyes rolled back as he picked up the pace. “What makes you think I’ll let you?”

“Lethas nothin’ to do with us, sweetheart. Never has, never will.” He leaned in closer, whispering, “You haven’t even begged me to stop.”

“Car—” An orgasm began to ripple through my anger, feeding it more.

Abruptly, he pulled his fingers free and gripped the back of my neck, slamming my cheek to the mud. “I told you not to call me that.”

“Or, what? You’ll fuck me over and over until I want you again?”

“Ly—”

“No. Fuck you, Carver.” Mud splattered in front of my lips as I spit the words. “You want who I used to be, well guess what? You buriedher, too.” My hips swayed, making my inner thighs rub against his soaked jeans. “You want my body? Fine. Take it. My body is easy to give. In fact, it means nothin’ to me at all.” I tucked my chin to my shoulder and watched his features twist with fury. “So, go ahead, then. Fuck me. Use me. But you won’t ever actually havemeagain.”

His fingers flexed around my neck, where a strong pulse thrummed like a hammer on a nail as he glared at one of the trees in the distance. “Go get washed up and put that set on. You have one hour.” Rain finally crashed down as he stood and dropped a ring of keys in the mud, right by my cheek. My brows furrowed as my shaky hand reached for it. “My truck is about half a kilometer that way.” He pointed, and without another word, he gave me his back and left through the woods.

TEN YEARS AGO

“You trust me?”

I rolled my eyes over to Car and squeezed his hand. “You’re the only one who’s ever seen my house.”

He flicked his nose with his thumb and slid his gaze to me. “So, that’s a yes?”

“Why are you askin’?”

He stopped walking and pulled me to him. “’Cause I wanna take you somewhere.” He tucked his chin, kissing the top of my forehead. It was either the heat or his touch, but ever since he kissed me the first time hours ago, I’d felt like I had butterflies in my stomach that wouldn’t settle. “So, you trust me?” The corner of his lips lifted, and those fluttering wings burst into a frenzy all over again.

My nails eased on my backpack strap as I sighed. “Yeah. Course I do.” I wrinkled my nose as I looked around. “Where are we, anyway?”