Page 16

CHAPTER 16

ZAIDEN

W hen I dropped Ariella into the passenger seat of her car, she was passed out, but that lasted exactly two minutes.

"It's so fucking hot in here?" She whined, wiggling in her seat. I rolled my eyes. It wasn't hot, not even a little bit. "Why is it so hot?"

"It's not hot." I kept my eyes locked on the road, my jaw clenched against the urge to look at her again. "Here," I switched hands on the steering wheel before I pulled my bottle of water out of the cup holder and shoved it in her chest. "drink this." Drugs weren't my thing, but I knew this was a side effect of the drug she was given.

"I can't drink this." Her voice hitched, fingers fumbling with the bottle cap. Sweat beaded along her hairline despite the cool air. "It's hot, and I'm too hot. I need air."

"Then take off your clothes." My words were laced with annoyance. I tightened my grip on the wheel until my knuckles whitened. "But drink the fucking water."

The last thing I needed was for her to end up in the hospital for dehydration.

She shifted in her seat, and I quickly glanced out the corner of my eyes as she pulled her shirt over her head, tossing it to the floor. A smile tugged at the corner of my lips. I wasn't serious about the 'take your clothes off' part, but I wasn't mad either. She popped the button of her jeans open before wiggling out of them, drawing my full attention. I'd seen her naked a dozen times, but that didn't mean I didn't want to see her again.

I hated her, but her body was fire. My gaze raked over her feminine curves as her hands traced over her sensitive skin. She was horny—another side effect of the drug. If what they gave her was ecstasy, every nerve ending in her body was electrified with the slightest touch.

Her head fell back, and her eyes closed as she trailed her fingertips up her inner thigh, spreading her legs wider. A whimper escaped her parted lips, and I let out a shuddering breath as my gaze followed her hand that disappeared between her thighs, making my body awaken with new life.

I was well aware that sober Ariella would never do this, not willingly with me anyway, but I didn't care.

A horn blew, snapping my attention back to the road in time to jerk the car back into my lane. My gaze flashed to Ariella. She hadn't even noticed we'd almost died. There was no way I could focus on the road and driving when she was topless and making the most erotic sounds I thought I'd ever heard. There was also no way I was stopping her.

My knuckles whitened against the steering wheel as I spotted the turnoff ahead. I swerved down the isolated dirt road, tires crunching over gravel and fallen branches. The car jolted as we bumped over the old railroad tracks, and I eased to a stop, positioning us between the heavy tree line and the abandoned rails.

When I killed the engine, the sudden silence pressed against my ears. Not a single car light broke the darkness. Not a single sound besides our breathing disturbed the night. No one used this road anymore, which was exactly why I'd chosen it.

I hit the door lock button, but only my door locked. Ariella drove a Toyota Corolla that was older than she was and had almost a hundred thousand miles on it. Nothing worked, and this was an area where door locks were necessary.

Lifting out of my seat, I reached across the center console and over Ariella, brushing my skin against hers as I reached to lock the door. Her body arched into my touch, and I groaned.

"Touch me." Her whisper contradicted the forcefulness of her grip as she seized my wrist, guiding my hand to her thigh. Her eyes remained closed, head tilted back as she spread her legs wider, begging for the touch of my hand between them. "Please."

It wasn't my touch that she was craving. She was high. She'd be begging anyone around her right now to chase that feeling.

My hand slid slowly up her inner thigh, lightly brushing my fingertips over her heated skin, over her bare pussy, and up to her lower stomach. I wanted to watch her come. Shifting in my seat, I hooked an arm around her waist and jerked her across the seat, over the center console, and onto my lap. She settled quickly, immediately grinding herself against my cock over my pants.

I lifted my back off the seat, pressing my body into hers and sliding my hand into her hair. My grip tightened, jerking her head back as I pressed my lips to her throat.

"Ride my lap, baby, like you're gonna—" The words caught in my throat as she shifted position. My control, already hanging by a thread, began to unravel completely. I forced myself to take a breath to regain some semblance of composure. "Like you're gonna ride my cock real soon," I finally managed, the growl in my voice barely recognizable as my own.

I wanted to pull out my cock and slide it into her. To feel her wet heat wrapped around me and use her body to forget all of my rage, at least temporarily. "I want to watch you ride me until you come."

I nipped at her throat and then kissed that now tender spot. "I want you to soak my lap. Do you understand me?"

Silence answered me, broken only by her shallow breathing. Her eyes glazed over, lost in sensation. I waited one beat, two, before tightening my grip in her hair—just enough to bring her back to me.

The sound she made—half surprised pleasure, half surrender—vibrated through my palm where it pressed against her throat.

"I said, do you understand me?"

"Yes." The word escaped on a breath, barely audible over the pounding in my ears. She swallowed, her throat working beneath my gaze. "Yes."

I wondered, briefly, if she'd even remember saying it tomorrow.

I released my hold on her hair, dropped my back to the reclined car seat, and watched her ride me. My mouth watered, watching her naked body grind against me, and my hands trembled as they eased down the curve of her waist before curling around her hips. I guided her over my length and lifted my hips so every stroke hit her clit.

Ariella had always been sexy as fuck. Her perky tits were small but the perfect handful, her stomach was toned and tanned, and her pussy was bare and glistening from her arousal. I'd had a crush on her from a young age, but it wasn't until high school that I made my first move. She'd played hard to get, and then Kacie died, and that changed everything.

Now, I wanted to use her body like I should have done to begin with.

"Oh, fuck." She caught her bottom lip between her teeth, trying to contain the sounds I drew from her.

I watched the muscles of her stomach contract and felt the tremor building where our bodies met. I could read her approaching release like a book I'd memorized but never truly understood.

I rose slowly off the back of the seat, each inch bringing me closer to her heat. The air between us seemed to crackle with electricity. When I finally pressed against her, the contact sent a jolt down my spine that nearly undid me.

My hand traced the curve of her back, feeling each knob of her spine, before sliding up to tangle in her hair. The strands wrapped around my fingers like silk ropes. I tightened my grip, not enough to hurt, just enough to control, and guided her head down until her mouth angled over mine and our eyes locked. Her pupils were blown wide, leaving only a thin ring of color. In the moonlight, I could see my reflection in them, and for a second, I didn't recognize the man staring back.

My chest rose and fell with deep, ragged breaths as she ground herself hard against me. Her lips parted on a whimpering moan, and the heat of her breath fanned across my lips.

"Ride my lap until that pretty little pussy is so wet and messy it's covering me."

With her eyes locked on mine, her body tensed, her lips parted into an O, and her breath hitched so tightly she wasn't breathing as she exploded in ecstasy.

Her body relaxed, and her breath released in a whoosh of air.

"Fuck, that was hot." I uncurled my fingers from her hair, one by one, savoring the way she melted against me, boneless and exhausted.

I traced the curve of her spine with my fingertips, collecting the beads of sweat that had gathered there.

"The next time you do that," I whispered against the shell of her ear, "I'll bury my cock deep inside that sweet pussy." Minus the drugs, though. "Too bad you probably won't remember most of this in the morning."

My gaze shifted to my phone, sitting in the dash holder I'd set up before we pulled out of the driveway, and it was still recording. I had a crazy feeling she'd do something wild that could be used against her later.

"But don't worry, princess." Moonlight caught on the screen of my phone, and the recording was still running. I reached out, angling it to better capture her face, peaceful in a way she never was when fully conscious around me. My thumb hovered over the stop button. "I'll be happy to remind you."