Page 23

“Don’t do that again. I don’t want you handing me passes. You need to act like it’s real. I wouldn’t get a rest if it was real. The guy wouldn’t stop until he got what he wanted, would he?”

Denver’s jaw tightens.

“Exactly,” I huff. “He wouldn’t. So you’re not helping me by going easy on me. Besides, they wanted Monty, not me. They’re not going to be trying to assault me.”

“We can’t assume anything about these guys and the lengths they’ll go to. Attacks can escalate in their objective following a failed one. And it triggered you. You fought harder when you thought my MO was sexually motivated.”

“Because…” I search for the reason, but I can’t come up with anything. “It was just instinct. Once you started talking like that, I wanted to knock your lights out even more.”

“Good. Hold on to that feeling. Imagine that’s my goal.”

“Fine,” I snap.

Denver waits another minute while I walk around the edge of the mat, catching my breath. Then I nod at him that I’m ready to start again.

This time he spins me so my back is to his chest, one arm holding my arms down by my sides, the other clasping his hand over my mouth.

“Now think,” he says in my ear. “What can you do?”

I wriggle in his hold, making frustrated sounds that do nothing to help me.

He lets me go and I spin to glare at him.

“You can do better than that. You were trying to tear my hair out a few minutes ago.”

“Because you were being a bigger asshole before.”

He runs his tongue over his teeth as he studies me with his hands on his hips.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?” I snap.

He shakes his head, looking at the floor like he’s contemplating something.

“You respond to roleplay,” he says.

“What?”

“You fight harder when acting out a scene. Some people do. It’s because it feels more real. It helps them.”

“So let’s roleplay.” I rub my hands together, grounding my feet and setting my stance wider as I wait for him to advance toward me again.

His face is serious as he remains still.

“What? Come on,” I urge. “I’m ready.”

“It can get intense.” The dark note of warning in his tone has excitement bubbling in my gut.

“Good. I already want to kick your ass more. Let’s get to it.”

I move closer, but Denver doesn’t move, just holds my eyes beneath his creased brow.

“Come on.”

“You can trust me, Sinclair. I’ll never hurt you. But if we do this properly, then there might be moments where you question that. Seconds where you truly believe what we’re doing is real. Where you’re scared.”

I straighten up and hold his eyes.

“I can handle it.”

He stares back at me.

“Denver! I. Can. Handle. It.” I step closer until I’m toe to toe with him. “I’m going back to the city next week for my show whether you damn well like it or not. So you can either stand there looking like some serious statue, or you can train me in a way that I’ll get the most out of it. Okay?”

His nostrils flare. He’s still looking at me like he’s trying to decide whether I can deal with it or not.

“Okay?” I say again, waiting until he jerks his chin in a swift nod like he’s being forced into doing something that wasn’t his idea in the first place.

I pat his chest with my palm. “There’s a good boy.” I smile sweetly. “Now can we please get on with it?”

There’s a deep grunt from his chest as he spins me easily, like I’m a doll, putting me back into the same position he had me in before. I suck in deep breaths through my nose as his hand clamps over my mouth.

“You wanted to get on with it?” His breath is warm against my ear as he whispers in a hoarse voice. “How about I get on with you, baby?”

I freeze as his words seep into me. His grip on me remains steady as he waits for my reaction. Seconds pass until the heat of his lips so close to my ear snaps something inside me.

Everything happens fast. I drag the heel of my sneaker down his shin, scraping as hard as I can, then I seize the opportunity to bite his hand as it loosens its grip on my mouth.

He lets me go, and despite being sure it’s just to give me some confidence and he could have easily kept his grip on me, I’m grinning as I spin around to face him.

“Oh my god, you’re right! It’s working. Let’s go again. Make it worse this time. I want to feel the need to obliterate you running through me.”

I lunge toward him eagerly, but Denver moves back, holding his hands up in front of him.

“We should start slow.”

“Forget slow. Do your worst.” I move toward him again, but he moves back, and I huff. “Come on. I’m getting somewhere. Please, Denver. You want to help me, don’t you?”

His eyes hold mine and I blow out a small, frustrated scream. “What? You’re worried I can’t take it? Because I’m stronger than you think.”

“I know you’re strong,” he says, his eyes darkening.

“Then do it! Come for me. I’m ready.” I bounce on my toes, brimming with adrenaline as I picture the look on his face when I really manage to escape him, and not because he’s gone easy on me. “Don’t be a pussy,” I taunt.

“A pussy?” One of his thick brows arches.

“You heard me.” I smirk. “A big muscly Brute like you, and you’re just a pussy really.”

His lips twitch and then he comes for me.

I forget to react for a heartbeat, momentarily stunned by how hot his hands are on my flesh as he curls them around my sides beneath my cropped workout vest. He lifts me off the floor, bringing me down onto my back on the mat.

I prepare to go for his hair and face again, but his eyes glint before he spins me onto my front, pinning me beneath him.

“I know what you’re thinking,” he rasps. “But you don’t want me going easy on you, remember? So let’s try a new position for you to get out of.”

“Fuck you,” I snarl, jerking my head back to try and hit him in the nose.

He pins my hands together at the base of my spine and uses a knee to knock my thighs wider. Then his body is back against mine, pressing down.

“You look good from this angle, baby ,” he rasps, running his nose up the side of my neck and making me shiver.

“I’m going to ruin you!” I yell as I struggle, thinking of what I can do to get some control back. I don’t have many options. He’s got my hands pinned, and now that my thighs are spread wide on either side of his legs, I can’t kick him. I just have my mouth. I need him close enough to bite.

His mouth presses against the shell of my ear and he inhales slowly like he’s savoring my scent. “The only thing that’s getting ruined here is you, baby.”

I turn my head fast, trying to knock his face, but he’s already moved his mouth to my other ear. His free hand finds my hip and squeezes, pulling my ass back against him.

“I’m going to ruin this pretty model pussy of yours real fucking good. Better than your boyfriend does.”

I suck in a breath, ready to fight back, to bite, spit, headbutt.

Then a deep heat spreads in my core as Denver presses his mouth to my neck in a kiss laced with menace. “You’ll go back to him with me dripping down your thighs.”

I throw my head back fast and there’s a satisfying smack as it connects with something.

“That’s it, baby. Fight back. It only makes me harder.”

My breathing quickens as Denver buries his face into my neck, groaning out the words, “Yes, b aby, you’re getting my dick so hard.” I struggle against him, bucking my ass up, trying to get some leverage, but he presses with more force, pinning me down.

“It’s so fucking small I can’t even feel it!” I spit back.

“You’ll feel every inch of it inside your cunt in a minute.”

He grabs at the waistband of my workout tights like he’s going to yank them down, over my ass cheeks.

I throw my head back again, but this time it’s useless. I try to shove my hips up instead. Maybe if I can hit him in the groin, I can make him let go of my hands. Something big is pushed between my ass cheeks as I buck.

“So eager for it, aren’t you?” he rasps.

I swallow thickly as his huge dick nestles itself against me. It’s almost as big as it felt when I touched his gun in my bed, and he pinned me to the mattress.

Only then it was hard… this time it’s soft.

“You feel how hard you make me?” he groans as he grinds his hips into me, pushing his soft dick against my ass.

My cheeks burn. Asshole.

This is roleplay. He’s playing his part so well. It’s time I did too.

My chest heaves as I force out a sob. I suck it back in, then cough out another, whining at the same time so it sounds like I’m crying.

“Stop,” I beg. “You’re scaring me.” I do a good job of making my voice shake as I splutter out another cry. “I want you to stop.”

He turns me so fast beneath him that I’m gazing up into concerned green eyes before I can blink.

“Sinclair?” A warm hand holds my cheek and his eyes dart all around my face like he’s checking me over.

I shove at his chest, and he moves back easily, slumping back onto his knees.

“I won that one,” I announce as I stand.

Denver looks up at me, his brows lowering as he continues to check me over.

“I’m fine! I won because you went easy on me. Again! I told you I could handle it,” I snap, more annoyed than I can put into words. I’m not sure why I’m suddenly so riled up. But Denver looking at me, his jaw stiff with concern, isn’t helping.

“You’re fine?”

“Yes!”

“Okay. I won’t check on you next time,” he says, still studying me.

“Thank you!” I snap.

We stare at one another for a few seconds before I shake my head. “Are we done for today?”

He runs a hand around his jaw, looking at me, puzzled. “Yeah, we’re done.”

“Thank fuck for that.”

I stomp down the hallway and up the stairs toward the guest room. I know I’m being a brat, but Denver isn’t doing me any favors by going easy on me. We were getting somewhere. The role play was helping. Him whispering all those things to me… it was helping.

I storm into my room and slam the door behind me.

We were getting somewhere.

Then his giant soft dick had to ruin it.