: Chapter 21

West storms into the kitchen. Judging by the fine film of perspiration covering his toned chest and abs, he just finished his workout. My eyes are drawn to the V that disappears beneath his running shorts.

Snarling, he crosses the room in two strides and slaps his palms down on the counter. “Don’t ever fucking use me again, Zeke.”

My eyes narrow, confusion and annoyance prickling at my skin. “The fuck?”

His lips curl back over his teeth. “Don’t pretend like you don’t know what the hell I’m talking about.”

I stand up and mirror his stance, planting my own hands on the counter and leaning forward. “I have no fucking idea what you’re talking about.” My nostrils flare as I try to keep a lid on my temper. “I would never use you.”

His brow furrows. “No? So what the fuck was that last night?”

A cold wave of guilt hits me in the chest. “Last night?”

“You think I wouldn’t realize that you were testing Lily by fucking me in front of her?” His gray eyes smolder with indignation. “To see how she’d react to the two of us together?”

“Why are you only bringing this up now?” I ask, but I know why. He never would have said anything in front of her, and I got the hell out of there before he came down from the high of his climax. West might be a top, but he loves it when I fuck him.

“You know why, you fucker,” he shouts.

I suck in a breath and run a hand over my face. “It wasn’t just about that.” I stare into his eyes and drop my guard. My voice drops an octave. “You know it wasn’t.” He knows me better than anyone else on this entire fucking planet.

His jaw ticks. A vein in his neck pulses. “Don’t ever fucking do it again, Zeke. I’m not a pawn in your fucked-up mission to prove that Lily isn’t going to work out.”

That slow-rolling guilt grows and gnaws at my gut. “I never said she wouldn’t work out.”

“No, but you’re convinced she won’t, right? So convinced of it that even though you can’t take your fucking eyes off her, you’ve barely touched her since she moved in here over two weeks ago.”

Rage courses through my veins alongside the gnawing guilt. My chest tightens. “I told you, she sucked my fucking cock yesterday before you got home.” What more does he want from me?

He leans closer. “And you’ve barely spoken to her since. What the hell are you afraid of, Zeke?”

I slam my fist on the countertop. “Don’t, West.”

“Don’t what? Don’t ask why you refuse to fuck the woman you jerk off to in the shower every morning? When are you going to stop second-guessing everything and show her who you really are?”

A throat clears behind us. Motherfucker.

We both turn to where Lily stands in the doorway, a pained expression on her face. “I’m so sorry, but I really need some Tylenol.”

“Are you okay?” West asks, his voice laced with concern.

“Yeah, just some cramps.” She slips past us and heads to the medicine cabinet. “I’ll be out of your hair in a few seconds.”

Scrubbing my hands over my face, I sigh. “How much of that did you hear?”

She spins on her heel and arches one eyebrow. “Not much. Just that West thinks you should show me who you really are.”

I run a hand through my hair and mutter curse words.

She grabs the bottle of painkillers from the cupboard and takes two with a glass of water. When she’s done, she stands beside West at the kitchen island and studies me. “So who are you really, Zeke?”

Nope. Not going there. “You got your period?”

“Yup. Happens every month,” she replies, one corner of her mouth curling up. “Who are you?”

“You always get cramps?”

“Not always.” One eyebrow goes up. “So?”

West watches me, no doubt enjoying this.

I narrow my eyes. “You should probably go lay down or something.”

“It’s only period cramps. I’ll be fine. They usually go away with a couple Tylenol and a little heat. Do you guys have a heating pad?”

I look at West, and he shakes his head.

“That’s okay,” she muses, then sinks her perfect white teeth into the pillow of her bottom lip and releases it with a sharp inhale. “You know what else is good for period cramps?”

West dips his head, running his nose over her hair. “Orgasms.” She turns and smiles at him, but he gives her an apologetic look. “As much as I would love to help you out with that particular problem, princess, I have to shower and get to work.”

He kisses the top of her head, and with a final pointed glance in my direction, he leaves Lily and me alone in the kitchen.

“So, what about you, Zeke?” She manages a steady tone, but her body language portrays her nerves. Body language betrays everyone. She has no idea what she just walked into, but the fact that she’s still standing toe-to-toe with me is admirable.

“You want me to help with your cramps?”

“That too much for a big guy like you to handle?” Her defiant glare makes my cock twitch with the need to be inside her. “If you’re worried about a little blood, I’m wearing a tampon and you only need to stay in the clitoral area. You do know where that is, right?”

Fucking brat. Slowly rolling my head on my shoulders, I fight the urge to grin. A thrill of anticipation travels straight to my balls. I stalk around the island and stop directly in front of her, inhaling her scent. So sweet and inviting. I curl a strand of her dark hair between my thumb and forefinger, and she cranes her neck to look up at me, a playful smile on her lips.

“You should be very careful talking like that around me, buttercup.”

“I think I can handle you, Ezekiel,” she says with a soft purr and a flutter of her eyelashes. “So are you going to help me out with my cramps or not?”

I search her face as she blinks up at me, her bright green eyes sparkling. She has no fucking idea what she’s letting herself in for. But this has to happen sometime, right? At some point she’ll see who I really am and run for the hills like all the others. Out of all of the women we’ve ever brought home, she’s the one who needs to realize what I am sooner rather than later. Before West and Fitch get more attached to her than they already are. I can’t live with them resenting me for pushing her away. Decision made, I grab hold of her wrist, and my bruising grip makes her gasp.

“Come with me.” Not giving her any other choice, I drag her toward my bedroom. She jogs to keep up with me, her breaths fluttering from her lips. Once the door closes behind us, her eyes dart toward the art adorning my walls, then her gaze falls on the super king-sized bed. She drags her bottom lip through her teeth and looks at me, wide-eyed and expectant.

I step forward, closing the gap between us. “Go take out your tampon.”

The shocked look on her pretty face has me fighting back a grin. “W-what? No. Why?”

“Because I fucking told you to, buttercup. Now go. Bathroom’s back there.” I nod toward the far side of the room.

The spot between her eyes pinches together. “I can’t do that. There’ll be blood. Lots and lots of blood.” She glances at the pristine white sheets on my bed.

I grip her jaw in my hand, squeezing hard until she focuses her horror-stricken gaze on me instead. Bending down, I bring my lips close to her ear, enjoying the way she shivers when my breath dusts over her skin. Her feminine scent fills my nose. I need her. Now. “I know how periods work, Lily. Now go take out your fucking tampon or I’ll pull it out myself.” Her breath hitches. “With my teeth.”

A pink flush creeps over her nose and cheeks, obscuring the tiny smattering of freckles she has there.

“Now,” I command, and she narrows her eyes, titling her chin in a show of defiance that makes my cock throb painfully.

“Fine, they’re your sheets,” she says with a sweet smile, before turning on her heel and storming into the bathroom. I’m pretty sure I hear her call me an asshole under her breath.

I take off my shirt and listen to the sound of the toilet flushing. A few moments later, Lily emerges from the bathroom, dressed exactly the same as before, in an oversized college jersey that stops at mid-thigh, but looking less bold than she did when she walked in there.

“Come here,” I order, resisting the urge to make her crawl to me—for now. “And remember that you asked for this when I’m done with you. Don’t go crying to West or Fitch.”

She glares at me, and my aching cock weeps for her. But first, I need to taste. “Take off your clothes.”

She doesn’t hesitate to peel off her jersey, letting it drop to the floor beside her feet. She’s not wearing a bra, and her nipples are already stiff peaks. I ball my hands into fists at my sides to stop myself from reaching out and squeezing the tempting buds. She hooks her fingers into the waistband of her black panties, and that’s when she falters and throws another nervous glance at the white cotton sheets.

“Yes, those too, buttercup.”

Her slender throat ripples as she peels her underwear down her legs and kicks them off. Sucking on my top lip, I allow myself a moment to take in every inch of her, to appreciate her lethal curves. I’ve seen her naked, but not like this—not just for me. She has a scar on her side, under her ribs. Another on the inside of her left thigh. Did someone put them there? Did someone mark her beautiful skin on purpose? Did she let them?

She squeezes her thighs together, and her voice is a hoarse whisper. “Zeke?”

“Lie on the bed.”

She bites down on her lip, eyes full of excitement and more than a hint of fear, which only makes me harder. She’s a woman full of sharp contrasts—compliant and defiant, confident but unsure, sweet but a little dangerous too. West might have been right—maybe she is perfect.

“Don’t make me ask a second time.”

She gets on the bed and scoots back until her head touches the pillows. Her cheeks are bright pink now, and that cute blush races down her neck and chest. So self-conscious about a little blood. I lick my lips. Soon she won’t care.

I climb onto the bed after her. Spreading her legs with my knees, I crawl between them and run my nose up her calf to her knee, then her inner thigh. Her entire body trembles with nervous energy. I inhale deeply, and my balls tighten at her scent. Liquid arousal drips out of her, and the heady mix of her cum laced with that distinctive coppery tang makes me feral. Looking up at her face, I lick my lips. Dark green eyes stare back at me, her tits heaving with each heavy breath.

I brush my thumbs along her pussy lips and spread her wide open. “You smell good enough to fucking devour whole.” I bite down on the inside of her thigh, making her whimper and moan and buck her hips.

She threads her slender fingers through my hair. “Z-Zeke.” My name shudders out of her mouth on a plea. Whether it’s to stop or keep going, I have no idea, but I suspect a little of both. I bite again, marking her this time, claiming her for my own. A sick thrill envelops me at the thought of how she’ll look at these marks later and know that I gave them to her. I could mark her forever.

I bite down harder, and she squirms. The scent of her arousal grows thicker and stronger, and I need to taste her. Her clit is perfect, swollen and slick and begging for me to take a bite. I rub the pad of my thumb over it first, gently teasing her with the slightest amount of pressure. A keening wail rips out of her chest, and her back arches off the bed. “So fucking beautiful, Lily.” I press more firmly. She writhes, lost in the moment, her earlier embarrassment about bleeding on my sheets forgotten.

“Oh. Oh, fuck.” She rocks her hips, chasing more contact, and I give it to her in the form of my tongue running the length of her slit. She cries out, her hips almost shooting off the bed, and I hold her down with my free hand, keeping her exactly where I want her while I swirl my tongue over her supple flesh.

Her fingernails dig into my head, making my scalp tingle. I drink her in, her scent and taste flooding my nose and mouth. My tongue joins my thumb, and I work her clit with both, applying firmer pressure. Tremors wrack her body, and her thighs clamp around my head. I push one thigh back down, giving me more room to feast on her cunt.

Breathy pleas tumble from her lips as I carry her closer to the edge. I want to feel her silky heat wrapped around my length, but I’m going to make her come like this first. A quick, easy orgasm before I make her work for the rest.

Her breaths grow increasingly short and fast. Her fingernails dig into my scalp. I breathe her in and suck her sensitive clit into my mouth, flooding my senses with all things Lily. The animal-like craving already coursing through my body snaps its teeth, ravenous to have some part of me inside her right now.

I slide two fingers into her tight cunt and graze her sensitive flesh with my teeth. She screams my name, her inner walls locking my hand in place. Her head falls back and her body goes still, trapped under the spell of her orgasm. Whimpering and moaning, she covers my fingers and wrist with her juices, stained red with her period. I lap them up until the taste of her has my heart ready to gallop out of my chest. My cock throbs, desperate to claim her. Slipping my fingers out of her wet center, I push up onto my knees and settle between her thighs.

I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand and blood streaks across my knuckles. Her eyelids flutter as her climax continues rippling through her body, but when I bracket her hips with my hands, her gaze lands on mine. “You’re an animal, Zeke.” The words leave her lips on a breathy moan. I rock my hips, coaxing every tremor from her as she comes down from her high, grinding against her soaking pussy and staining the gray fabric of my sweatpants with her blood and cum.

An animal? Not the first time I’ve been called that, but it is the first time anyone has said it the way she just did. Without judgment or revulsion. “You better fucking believe it, buttercup.”

Her body sags against the mattress. She pants for breath, her hands fisted in the sheets. Thighs trembling. Like she needs a few minutes to recover.

I’m not going to give them to her.