Page 21 of Such a Bad Girl (Hot Creeps #5)

HENRY

Rebecca sat at a table with her friends in Beans & Co, laughing in that sunny way I wished she reserved only for me.

Not that I begrudged her the time with them. From what she’d told me, in the few hours we’d stolen together since she’d released me, she hadn't had many friends growing up.

No matter how much time I spent with the fiery blonde, it wasn’t enough. I always ached for more.

How we’d survive years of this, I had no idea.

Rebecca Benson was worth the suffering. Each stolen moment with her was a blindingly bright spark in an otherwise dull life.

I should have gone home hours ago. Yet still I lingered to snatch even a few moments with her .

The cold bit at my fingers, making them ache where I clung to the edge of the champagne bottle. Bex had mentioned she’d never had any, and I was eager to see the way those devilish eyes lit up again.

Some time later, I tailed her as she walked home with her friends, chatter bubbling between them. The joy of student days was that, between academic pressures, there were so many moments of perfection. Time with friends who had no better place to be. Discussions of hopes and dreams and the future.

I lived primarily for the present. Sure, some hopes still loitered on the periphery of my subconscious. But my day-to-day was far more about the now. Paying the bills. Making appointments. Marking assignments.

Until her.

She hugged her friends before splitting off, and I quickened my pace, following her along the narrow path that led to her apartment block.

A shiver of excitement set my pulse racing as I closed the space between us.

Did she sense me? A glance over her shoulder told me she did.

The most glorious smile spread over her face. Her friends were far enough away that I dared to plant a kiss on her warm lips as I caught up with her .

‘My darling,’ I sighed, feeling relief flood every crevice of my Bex-obsessed body.

‘Darling already?’ she asked. She wore dark eye makeup, which made her look even more devilish.

‘I’ll give you any name you desire.’ I’d become a terrible simp for her, but relished my role of obsessive, possessive secret paramour.

‘How about your surname?’ The way her teeth grazed her bottom lip after posing the loaded question made my chest swell.

‘Are you demanding we marry, Ms Benson?’

Taking my hand, she pulled me off the walkway and into the woods, dragging me behind her to one of the crumbling old fountains. Water still flowed, but in meandering spurts.

Sitting on the edge, she leaned against me. I used my empty arm to gather her up as the dark blue sky stretched above us. Too early for stars, too late for light.

Finally, she answered my question.

‘One day,’ she said, ‘we’ll marry. And we’ll stay in a charming home where we don’t have to hide who we are.’

‘One day is too far away,’ I sighed. Logically, I barely knew her.

I knew her body, yes, but not the other parts of her I hoped to discover.

Yet, I knew she bore the other jagged half of me, where all our flaws and quirks fit together just so.

And if it didn’t fit perfectly, I’d shape myself to belong to her.

‘So you haven’t grown tired of me yet?’ Bex asked, smiling as she drew little shapes on my thigh with the tip of one finger.

‘Never. But what will I do in the years I can’t have you?’ I asked.

Bex turned to face me, twisting her fingers into my hair until I winced.

‘You’ll taunt me,’ she said, close enough to kiss me but holding back. ‘Tease me.’ Her tongue darted over her lips, and I nearly dropped the bottle I still held. ‘Chase me.’

I swallowed hard. Her dark-eyed stare pushed me to the verge of madness.

‘Fuck me,’ she whispered, drawing closer until her lips grazed mine. ‘Own me.’

My pulse thundered.

’And what will you do?’ I whispered, opening my mouth to taste her.

‘The same, Sir.’

‘Don’t you want to try a normal relationship?’ I wanted so badly to call her mine. Job or no job.

She yanked harder, forcing my head back as she knelt over me.

‘Fuck. No.’ Her voice lowered, becoming raspy. ‘I want possession, Henry. A battle for top place. I want you to force me to submit to you. I will force you to submit to me. Why settle for a breeze when you can have a fucking tornado?’

God fucking damn.

This woman.

‘Why indeed?’ I said, lifting the champagne bottle. ‘I brought a gift.’

‘I love it!’

‘Wanna taste?’ I taunted her, lifting a brow.

‘Always,’ she said, before kissing me in that slow, decadent way that made my toes fucking curl.

She released me long enough to pop the cork before taking the dripping bottle from my hand. Enraptured, I watched her tip a glug of the golden liquid into her mouth. Bex groaned as she swallowed, her throat bobbing. I grazed my lips over the soft skin below her chin.

‘Want some?’ She asked.

‘Yes,’ I said, licking my way over her pulse until she jerked my chin upward.

‘Open up, Sir.’ She swigged from the bottle before positioning her mouth above mine and dribbling the effervescent drink between us.

My dirty, dirty girl.

‘So, I’m not allowed to date you, but can I take you for pizza sometime?’

Bex licked the champagne from my lips before answering.

‘I can do pizza.’