Page 14

I swallowed. “That was only a couple times, and if you remember, I was at your house because you had promised to teach me to drive. How the hell was I supposed to know you’d have company?”

“Ri, it wasn’t that you used to show up at my place,” he said, my body in tune with every shift he made on the leather couch. “It was that you didn’t look away when you caught me with another woman … just like you couldn’t look away when you watched me with Poppy at my club the other day.”

I wanted to clear the nerves from my throat, but suddenly, I couldn’t figure out how before I professed, “It was hypnotizing. I enjoyed studying the way your body reacted to pleasure, and how even back then, you seemed to know how to please a woman.”

“I ain’t have shit responsibilities, so perfecting the art of fuckin’ was my focus.

I was young, horny, and unable to control myself around you, which was a huge fuckin’ problem with the amount of times my dick was hard around your family.

You weren’t ready for everything I was tryin’ to do to destroy your innocent body back then.

” His eyes dipped lower to the rise and fall of my chest. “Not even sure you’re ready now. ”

Oh, I am! I so am! The words were at the tip of my tongue. Heat flamed beneath the surface of his brown eyes, but there was something else there, too. Restraint . And shit, just like he’d told me, I didn’t want him to hold back either.

Whatever was developing between us had been waiting, festering in the shadows of our grief, biding its time.

I shifted closer.

And that’s all it took.

His hand slid along my jaw, his rough fingers tilting my face up to his to get me where he wanted me. The first touch of his lips was soft, like he was testing the waters to see how I would react. Little did he realize, I didn’t need testing.

I didn’t need careful.

I damn sho’ didn’t need him to go slow.

All I needed was him. So I kissed him back, deeper, harder.

One hand tightly gripped my shoulder-length hair, while the other grabbed my thigh, pulling me in closer even though he already had.

My pulse was rapid, his breath hot against my lips as his fingers moved to my ass and dug into my cheeks like he was staking his claim and had been waiting far too long to do so.

Our kiss was deep and nasty, our tongues joining together in a rough explosion, as years of holding back burned up in seconds. Everything about it was deep, desperate, and devouring.

A low growl rumbled in his chest as his tongue slid against mine, teeth scraping over my bottom lip while his hands moved, roamed, and explored me over my clothes, like he was unable to keep them in one place.

His hands eventually moved under my shirt, grunting when he discovered that I wasn’t wearing a bra. As his fingers traced the edge of my waistband, it caused me to shiver when his palms reached my bare skin. I pressed closer to him, craving so much more.

But then?—

A sharp, gut-twisting pain shot through my stomach, causing me to gasp as I pulled back from him.

Cruz froze. “What’s wrong?”

I groaned, shifting on his lap as the ache intensified. “It’s not you. My cramps just kicked in, so I’m pretty sure my period just started.”

His brows drew together as realization flickered through his eyes and his gaze lowered, making me self-conscious. Or at least, it would have if he hadn’t been lookin’ at me with this predatory expression on his face.

“Oh, yo’ cramps hit like that, huh?” he asked, his fingers flicking against my ass.

“My period always has the worst timing,” I admitted. “And when it starts, the cramping hits me full force. I probably should go to the bathroom and handle this.”

When I went to get up from his lap, he kept me pinned down, his expert fingers making quick work to undo the buttons of my lounge shirt.

“What are you doin’?” I asked breathlessly.

“Takin’ shit a step further since you’re too nervous to ask.”

My stomach was doing summersaults, my bare breasts exposed to his ravenous gaze in a way that made me shiver with desire.

Cruz wasn’t asking for my permission. He was taking what he wanted and daring me to challenge him.

“I know the perfect cure for that.”

“For what?” I asked, goosebumps developing everywhere.

“Cramps,” he answered, his head tilting to the left in observation.

I arched an eyebrow. “If you say something insensitive, I swear to?—”

He cut me off when his palm reached out and grazed one of my nipples, before tugging at it. Not too hard, but with just enough pressure that caused my breath to hitch when he let it go with a pop.

“You ever notice how good pain and pleasure mix?” he asked.

A shudder rolled through me, his sly smirk deepening and proving that he felt it.

“Cruz,” I whispered, breathless when he leaned to me and his mouth found my ear.

“Mmm,” he mumbled, his voice offering nothing but dark, sinful pleasure. “Don’t think, Ri. Let me take care of you.”

I nodded, not even knowing what he meant, but wanting it regardless. His fingers dipped beneath the waistband of my thin cotton shorts, tracing the edges so slow, I couldn’t stand it.

What is he thinking? “Did you forget that?—”

“You’re on your period?” he asked, licking the side of my neck. “I ain’t forget shit.”

A soft gasp escaped me, my hips trembling on his lap before pushing into his hands like I was begging without using my words. This is insane. I wouldn’t say I’d only had vanilla interactions before, but an encounter like this? Never.

I should feel uncomfortable.

In a way, I did.

Yet, I was also aroused and clearly Cruz knew that as he chuckled smugly in my ear, all throaty and possessive.

“Oh, you need it that bad, huh?” he teased.

“Shut up,” I spat, hoping those two words didn’t sound like a moan in his ears like it did mine.

“Nah, I need you to say it, Ri.” He kissed the corner of my mouth, his hand going lower until his fingers rested at the top of my pussy. “Say you want it dirty.”

“I want …” My words trailed off when he circled my clit, my brain short-circuiting to find the right word. “I want it filthy,” I muttered, knowing the word dirty wasn’t enough.

“Ah, I knew it,” he grumbled. “Innocent Santari likes her shit filthy.” He inhaled my neck like my scent was the best thing he’d ever smelled. “How many years have you thought about tossin’ dis pussy my way but chickened out?”

So many times, but he didn’t actually need my answer, right?

“How. Many. Goddamn. Times?” he demanded, his voice unhinged in a way that I fuckin’ loved.

“More times than I can count,” I admitted, breaking at his words. “Which is probably why I was never satisfied with anyone I dated. They were boys, but you, Storm, and Titan were men.”

Cruz slowed his thumb and whispered, “So you thought about all three of us fuckin’ you, huh, my filthy girl?”

My eyes shot open, not that I even remembered closing them. Oh crap. I was hoping I didn’t just admit that not only did I think about Cruz that way but had Titan and Storm, too.

“I won’t make you say it,” he taunted, pressing against my clit this time, causing a sharp and helpless moan to slip past my lips. “But I can’t lie. The shit that turns me on is the fact that you’ve probably fantasized about being filled with three dicks at once.”

My emotions intertwined with the beautiful friction he was causing, made my head fall back as the heat of my desire swallowed me whole.

Cruz cursed under his breath, his other hand gripping my hip, as he guided me to rock my body against his thumb.

“That’s it,” he muttered, his lips brushing against my throat. “Let me make you feel good, baby.”

I whimpered, my hands digging into his shoulders as my body trembled under his touch. When he dipped two fingers inside of me, pushing them deep and bringing me to the edge before dragging me over it, I couldn’t contain the moan that escaped my mouth.

My legs were shaking, my thighs squeezing his as my pussy clenched around his hand and pleasure hit me in slow, rolling waves.

“Fuckin’ beautiful,” he muttered, the rasp in his voice forcing my eyes to meet his even if I could barely keep them open.

When he reached to the circular table beside the couch with his free hand, picked up his keys from the tray, and flicked open his Swiss army knife, I was pretty sure I stopped breathing.

He ran the cool tip of the blade beneath the edge of my shorts and flicked upwards, making a small cut. Before I could comprehend what he was doing, he tugged at the material, only removing his hand from my pussy so that he could rip off my torn shorts.

“Ah, little Ri is a little rebellious, huh?” he teased, running his fingers over the tattoo on my left thigh.

“It’s a Chinese phrase,” I explained. “It means ‘To go with fate. To return to the truth.’”

Cruz licked his lips, my eyes on his tongue when he said, “I think fate is on my side that you’re bleeding right now.” He tilted his head to the side. “And the truth is, I’ve never seen you look more beautiful.”

My eyes dropped to my legs that were spread open, turned on by everything he did, but a little self-conscious, too.

“Damn, look at the mess you’re making, Ri.” His words mixed with the sight of my blood dripping onto his jogging pants caused aftershocks from my orgasm to ripple through me, my body weak and wrecked by what he was doin’ to me.

I draped my body over Cruz like I had no bones left, his fingers tracing slow circles on my thigh, while his other hand still pressed firm against my stomach, like he wasn’t ready to let me go just yet.

When his fingers slid between my thighs again, his breath hitched, and his eyes sparked with intensity as he felt what he was looking for. He pulled back slightly, just enough for our eyes to meet, and that’s when his pupils grew wide, dark, and ravenous.

My gut twisted in pleasure this time and not from the cramps that had suddenly disappeared after my orgasm.

“Cruz,” I murmured, in awe of … everything.

When he pulled his fingers out of my pussy, he lifted his hand between us, his fingers slick and painted red with my blood and juices all over them.

My breath stilled, the moment seeming to stretch too long as his lips parted, and his tongue flicked out … tasting it with the silver barbell of his tongue ring, teasing me before he briefly closed his eyes and let the taste linger in his mouth.

His tongue flicked out again slowly, and my eyes were unable to stop staring at his tongue ring while he sucked even more of my blood off his fingers, like he wanted to savor every last drop. A shudder rolled through my body, equal parts of thrill and terror.

Because I wasn’t pulling away.

I was watching … intently, obsessively.

“Cruz,” I whispered, my voice shaky as I swallowed the heated air between us. “That’s?—”

“Beautiful,” he answered, cutting me off.

I froze, his eyes holding me hostage, the glint in them daring me to run, if for no other reason than for him to be able to catch me.

The intensity of his stare was wild and burning when he asked in a different way this time, “Do you ever wonder why pain and pleasure feel so similar?”

I swallowed hard, my pulse pounding so loud, even my ears burned from the sound. “Why?”

“Because pleasure and pain releases opioids in the same region of your brain. They both can cause tears and leave you on your knees begging for less … and more.” He leaned in, brushing his lips against my ear, his voice raw and maddened when he said, “I like blood. I like the way it looks. The way it feels so warm and slick on my hands. How strongly it elevates fuckin’. ”

A shiver rippled down my spine. “Why?”

He dragged a finger up and down my pussy, and it took all of my effort to listen to him and not grind into his hand.

“Because mixing my cum with your blood means there is no way you can deny that a part of you belongs to me when we share you.”

My stomach plummeted. “Sh-Share?” I stammered.

“Share,” he repeated. “Just like you alluded to earlier when you admitted to having dirty thoughts about Titan and Storm.”

His lips curled, but there was nothing soft in his expression. Hunger? Possession? Obsession? With Cruz, it was probably all of ‘em combined.

“You ever think about that, baby?” His fingers dipped inside of my pussy again in dangerously teasing strokes. “How blood is the one thing a body will never stop making? How it never runs out? You could lose a little, or a lot, and still, you’d make more for me.”

For him? I moaned and my breath caught when he bent his fingers, hitting a new spot, before pulling them out.

“Cruz—” I stopped myself, not sure if I was demanding he insert his fingers again, or asking him for something else.

“You wanna know another reason why I’m obsessed with blood?

” He tilted his head, his eyes gleaming like a predator who just caught his prey.

“Because blood is proof that you’re alive.

Proof that you’re real.” He lifted a hand to my neck, the tip of his blood-covered thumb pressing against my pulse.

“And when I see it, when I feel it, when I taste it,” he exhaled, long and slow, “I know you’re mine …

ours . Every inch of you, even down to what runs under your skin and through your veins. ”

Ours… It was crazy how perfect that sounded.

I physically trembled on his lap at his words, wondering how I had gone most of my life without ever discovering this side of him.

When he licked my throat, I already knew he was licking the blood he’d placed there.

His teeth scraped against my skin, sending a sharp bolt of pleasure straight through me and directly to my pussy.

“You scared, baby?” He adjusted us on the couch as he asked the question, but I couldn’t pay attention to what he was doing while his eyes held so much danger. His voice daring me to tell him yes. And truthfully, I probably should have been scared.

But I wasn’t.

Not of him.

Not of his kink.

Not of how he made me feel in this moment.