Once You’re Mine: Chapter 11

Calista gives me her address.

I’m not sure whether to be disappointed or not.

I slide my gaze to her. The woman infuriates me just as much as she arouses me. I don’t think my cock has ever been this hard. And certainly not for this long.

My need for sexual relief only increases with each passing moment I’m around Calista. No, that’s not true. It continues to grow even when I’m not around her because she’s always in my thoughts, taunting me, tempting me with her beauty.

I want her more than I’ve wanted any other woman.

I’d be lying to myself if I didn’t recognize there’s more to it than that. My life would certainly be less complicated right now if all I wanted was to fuck her. I could do that and move on.

But with Calista, I’m not sure I can ever let go. Not with how my curiosity has deepened into a full-blown obsession. She’s not only gotten under my skin but inside my blood. A person can’t survive without it, without that life force.

She is mine.

My reason for feeling alive.

My reason for feeling enraged.

My reason for feeling anything at all.

The moment I stepped into T&A after her, I knew the night would end this way. In violence, at my hands. I’d hoped to avoid any confrontations by speaking to the manager, but Jim decided to ignore my instructions. All it took was Zack tapping into the man’s cell phone to confirm my suspicions. Not only did he text the assistant manager about Calista, but Jim told the guy he was planning on fucking her.

He signed his own death warrant with that simple text.

I’ll deal with him, but she comes first. I need to get her home and behind a locked door. Where she should’ve been all along.

Her safety concerns me, even though there are times when I want to hurt her for making my life chaotic. I value control, the need for order and clarity. Yet with her, nothing I do is logical.

All of my actions are fueled by dark emotions.

Fury like I’ve never known swelled in my chest when she first walked into the room wearing that skirt and low-cut shirt. Every single man in the place looked at her. These weren’t mere glances. They watched her with lust in their eyes, wanting to fuck her.

The fury morphed into an all-consuming rage when that man touched her hair. If Calista had not been present, along with numerous witnesses, I might’ve killed him right then. Instead, I fucked up his hand. Not nearly to my satisfaction, but enough to sate the bloodlust running through me.

When Calista looked at me with fear in her eyes, I knew I’d gone far enough. For her, not me. If I ever see that man again, I’ll kill him. Without hesitation.

Just thinking about the entire ordeal has my blood boiling.

I park the car as close as I can to her residence and turn in my seat to look at Calista. She has her head bowed, hands in her lap with her hair draped over her shoulders and my coat. I enjoy seeing her in it.

It’s a small way of possessing her.

The first of many.

“Are you going to cooperate with me?” I ask.

She slides her gaze to me. The hazel within flares with her inner fire. The woman is more stubborn than I could’ve imagined. I find it exasperating at times, but mostly I want to bend her to my will. Her submission would be all the sweeter if she fights me at first.

“Mr. Bennett—”

“Hayden,” I correct.

She eyes me warily before licking her lips. My cock twitches in my pants, and I grit my teeth to keep from grabbing her and fucking her mouth.

“Hayden,” she says, each syllable like a stroke to my cock. “I think it’d be best if we part ways,” she says. “I’m grateful for what you did tonight, but I…”

“You what?”

“I don’t feel comfortable extending our association. I’m sure you understand.”

I scoff. “I’m sure I don’t.”

“Hayden, please.”

Hearing her say my name in that sultry voice of hers nearly undoes me. But hearing her beg me whilst saying my name? Fuck. Me.

I told myself to stay in control of my attraction to her, to stifle it while getting the information I needed, both about her past and the reason why I’m drawn to her. Now, I believe I was a fool. How could I ever think I’d be able to keep my lust for Calista from overriding my original goal?

“Listen, if you answer one question, you’ll never have to see me again,” I lie.

Her arched brows snap together. “What is it?”

“That picture in your file, the one of you bruised. What really happened that night?”

I keep my gaze locked on her face, which is why I catch it paling, becoming like the moon just outside. Calista’s lips part, and she sucks in a breath. It causes her breasts to rise, nearly spilling over the neckline of her shirt. Although it steals my attention, whets my appetite, I don’t look away from her crestfallen expression.

“There’s something to that,” I say. She startles at the sound of my voice, her eyes widening more than they already were, the hazel all but disappearing. “That event is significant. Tell me why.”

She ducks her head and brings a trembling hand to the button to release her seatbelt. Her fingers are shaking so badly she’s unsuccessful. I lean over and place my hand on top of hers, stilling her movements. She jerks up her head to look at me, and the emotion in her gaze has my chest tightening.

If I thought I knew what fear looked like, this is something worse. Something disturbing.

I’m half a second from grabbing her and… what? Comforting her? The idea repels me but also calls to me. I suppress the conflicting urges.

“Callie, tell me what happened.”

“I—I can’t. Please let me go.”

There’s something in her voice that stabs me, going past my defenses and straight into my soul. It bleeds black. An oil spill that stains everything it comes into contact with. She’ll be no different, ruined like me, but that won’t stop me.

“I’m not going to do that,” I say.

Calista must see the determination in my gaze and hear the ironclad will behind it because she stiffens. “You might think you can use your money and influence to get what you want, but you can’t buy my secrets any more than you can force them from me.”

“Is that a challenge?”

I run my gaze over her face, letting it trail along the slope of her cheek, across her full lips, and down her slender neck. She doesn’t move, but her pulse ratchets up, flickering wildly underneath her delicate skin. I reach out and drag a finger over the spot, enjoying her heart’s uneven cadence.

“I really hope so.”

“Goodnight, Mr. Bennett.”

Calista clicks the button to release her seatbelt and pushes my arm away. After lifting her chin, she begins to remove my coat.

“Keep it,” I say. “There’s no need to draw attention to yourself when you walk inside. You’ve done enough of that for one evening.”

She opens her mouth, most likely to argue, but snaps it shut when I raise a brow in warning. Then she gives me a curt nod and opens her door. I keep my gaze locked on her as she walks to her apartment building and disappears inside. Then I wait until I see her silhouette through her bedroom window.

Except tonight, it’s not enough.