Flint

I DON'T GET FAR, OF course.

Since I'm not in the habit of running for my life, it only takes a couple of minutes before my stamina literally becomes my downfall, and I'm face-first in the snow.

Oh God.

I barely manage to scramble up when he tackles me from behind.

"Let me go!"

I thrash wildly against his hold, but it's as if I'm striking my fists against a solid wall, and tears of humiliation prick my eyes as he carries me over his shoulder and dumps me back into the passenger seat.

Telltale clicks pierce my hearing, and my stomach plunges in dread. The tables have turned, and it's my wrist that's now cuffed to the steering wheel.

My gaze flies to his, but his violet eyes reveal nothing.

"Just tell me the truth," I demand tightly. "You're actually working with Migs, aren't—-" My words stutter to a stop at the anger that flashes over his hardened features.

"Dantes killed my brother six years ago."

My throat locks up as the reality of his words hits me.

"Unfortunately, we didn't have enough evidence to put him behind bars...until about four months ago. He found out shortly after that we were on the move to have him arrested, and he's gone into hiding ever since. "

Culo's erratic behavior in the past months finally makes sense, along with his sudden obsession with moving to Mexico. It was why my roommate had broken up with him...which somehow led to Culo turning his attention to me.

"You were the last person he was seen with in public."

He doesn't have to tell me what's obvious. It's not just my name he knows. He probably knows everything else...since I'm a possible accomplice in his eyes.

"I...I get why you think I might be working with him—-"

"Are you?"

I can't shake my head fast enough. "He was my roommate's boyfriend. That's the only connection I have to him, I swear."

"Do you know anything about where he could be hiding?"

His jaw clenches when I give him another shake of my head.

"I'm sorry. I wish I could be of help to you, but I don't really know him. And I...I'm so, so sorry about your brother."

"He was the only family I had," he acknowledges curtly. "And Dante killed him to get to me."

My heart breaks at what I'm hearing. "I'm so, so sorry."

"I was the lead agent assigned to his case—-"

"Y-You're FBI?"

"You can call the agency hotline if you want added confirmation."

I bite my lip. Perhaps...

His gaze narrows. "Were you this distrustful of Culo when you first met him?"

My eyes widen. "I—-"

His lip curls. "So it's just me that you don't distrust for some reason."

I think...it's time to change the subject, and I blurt out the first thing that pops into my mind.

"You never told me your name."

It's a perfectly honest question...or so I think until I see his lips tightening anew.

What did I do wrong this time?

"Why bother to ask if you won't believe anything I say?"

I stare at him in bafflement. Has my inability to trust him completely hurt his pride that much?

"Forget it," he mutters under his breath. "Just call me whatever—-"

"I'd really like to know your name."

The words come tumbling out of nowhere.

"Please."

His gaze narrows. "Why?"

"Because I...want to know...what to call you." I end up mumbling the words out as embarrassment threatens to swallow me whole. Why do I feel like I've suddenly asked for something inappropria—- mmph!

His mouth is suddenly against mine.

"You really know how to get under my skin, angel."

I vaguely hear a clicking sound as he mutters the words against my lips, and... oh!

By the time I realize he's unlocked my cuffs, it's already too late, and all I can do is whimper in shock when I find myself straddling his lap on the driver's seat.

" ."

He's sucking on my lower lip as he says this, and pleasure makes me unable to think.

"Say it, angel."

He growls the words against my lips, and that's the only time I realize what he's revealed.

He pulls away and cups my face. Our gazes meet, and oh, it's those violet eyes of his doing its magic again. Just having him stare at me like this makes me forget everything, and before I know it, my lips are already unconsciously forming his name.

"..."

The last thing I see is desire blazing in his eyes.

And then everything else melts away as his mouth conquers mine, and he starts sucking on my tongue. Thoughts of resistance don't even cross my mind, and it's the opposite instead that my body craves. My hands have curved over his shoulders, my nails digging into his powerful back as the kiss deepens.

His tongue strokes against mine in invitation, and pleasure emboldens me to do something I never thought I'd do. I start sucking on his tongue, and his strong body shudders against mine.

"Elizabeth..."

My body bursts into flames at the way he says my name. I suck on his tongue harder, but he suddenly pulls away, and I cry out in protest.

Why did he—-aaaaah.

My back hits the steering wheel as his lips trail down the side of my neck, and I arch helplessly when he starts sucking on a particularly sensitive spot. It seems crazy to have all of my firsts with a man I once held hostage, but when I think of all of this coming to an end—-

No, no, no.

I want this to go on forever. I can't get enough of the way he's making me feel, and... oh!

He's squeezing and kneading my breasts while suckling on my neck, and wetness builds between my legs. I can't remember feeling my breasts swell and ache like this—-

" Shit ."

The sudden expletive makes my eyes fly open.

"You're not wearing a bra."

"I was in a h-hurry," I stammer, "when M-Migs—-"

Oh no.

The moment I see 's jaw harden, I remember too late that I was supposed to call Migs 'Culo'.

"I'm sor—-" The rest of my words end in a shocked gasp when he suddenly pinches my nipple between his fingers.

"I don't want to hear you saying that bastard's name again."

"I p-pro—- aaah." He's pulling on my nipples like they're fruits to pluck, and the mix of pain and pleasure is enough to have all of my senses spiral.

"And this is the last time you'll ever leave your house without a bra," grits out. "Understand?"

"I u-under—- !"

All I can do is cry his name out as his head suddenly lowers, and he's biting my lip through the soft, knitted fabric of my sweater.

My heart thuds against my chest when I feel his hands start moving, and oooh. It's exactly what I fear and hope for at the same time. He's pushing my top up until my breasts are completely bare to his gaze, and I can feel myself turning pink under the heat of his stare.

"I want to taste you, angel. Can I?"

I never thought I'd hear anyone ask me such a thing, and oh, to hear such words from someone as hot as —-

"Y-Yes..."

His mouth has already latched to my breast even before I'm able to gasp the word out, and I grip his head unthinkingly when he starts suckling on my nipple.

My entire body writhes at the pleasure he's giving me. I can't remember feeling this sensitive, this dizzy, this... aaaaah.

only sucks harder when he feels me start to buckle, and all I can do is whimper as I have my first-ever orgasm in his arms.

I can't believe this is happening.

But I also realize I want it to keep happening.

This has to be the craziest thing ever, but...

My eyes slowly flutter open as finally releases my nipple from the scorching cage of his lips. My breath catches as our gazes meet, and my heart starts to pound.

Surely, oh, surely...

Surely what happened between us means something to him, too.

Surely this changes everything—-

"Two more payments and I promise you'll have Sunlight back."

—-or nothing at all.

A painful lump forms in my throat, but I swallow past it. "—-"

"I want you, angel."

The words should have made me happy, but it's the way he says them that breaks my heart.

"And you want me back."

"W-What exactly are you saying?"

"Don't play dumb."

Tears prick my eyes, but all all he does is stare back at me, calm and unflinching.

Because for , everything about us is nothing more than a transaction.