Chapter 32

Chapter Thirty-Two

Landon

Listen to One Last Night

by Vaults

I looked around his place curiously, taking in the cramped space. It was basic but filled with music and books, making it feel more interesting than a bigger place with cold décor. The faint scent of Chinese food drifted in the air, along with the masculine scent that was all Adam.

Spice. Soap. Smoke.

My body lit to life as he shut the door behind him, then leaned against the wall. Boredom etched his features. “What do you want?”

Nerves sprung up in my belly, along with resentment. Really? He wanted to play it this way after everything that had happened? “I want to talk.”

He stared at me with cold detachment. An invisible wall shimmered around him, and I realized he really didn’t want me here. I swallowed past the lump in my throat, feeling horribly vulnerable. Still in my work clothes, fresh from the disaster with Max, I’d come on instinct, sensing he was the only one who could help me. But watching him now, I teetered on the brink of running away. Had I made a horrible mistake?

“About what?”

“Max and I broke up.”

His expression never changed. “Gabby told me. Heard you had a rough night at work.”

“It was awful.”

“Sucks.”

I almost choked on the anger that whipped through me. This was old Adam—cold, sarcastic, detached. This wasn’t the man who’d stared at me with longing and lust; who’d kissed me like I was his world; who spoke to me about his crappy father to help with my own pain.

There was nothing for me here. Adam had moved on and he wanted nothing to do with me. As much as that ripped out my insides, I was driven to make him feel something; to admit there were real emotions between us and not this bullshit persona he was playing. I thought of him protecting Max, kissing me while he knew about the video and the cheating, and welcomed the building rage. It was so much better than the pain.

“You were away with Max in Long Beach. You knew about the video this whole time.”

His gaze narrowed. “Gonna try to blame this mess on me, princess?” he drawled.

“I want all the facts now that I got a front row seat to the porn movie. Someone wanted me to know about it in detail. I wonder why.”

A half shrug. “Don’t know. Couldn’t tell you.”

“Convenient.”

The air between us sizzled with unspoken tension. I’d come for protection from the storm of my emotion. To escape the ugliness of betrayal. But there was no safety for me here with him. In fact, the opposite was true.

Adam would destroy whatever I had left. I just needed to decide if I’d let him.

I became desperate to make him feel the way I did right now. The accusation flew out of my mouth. “Did you send it?”

He regarded me for a long while. I stood still under his examination, my hands tucked under my arms in a form of protection.

I’d known the answer, but needed to get his confirmation; needed him to say the words aloud. “No.”

Another surge of fury rocketed through me. “But you never thought to tell me? Never felt guilty about keeping his secret?”

His face was impassive. Not even a flicker of emotion broke through. “No.”

I clenched my fists and trembled. It took all my willpower not to launch myself at him, punch and kick and hurt, like they’d both hurt me. It was like an awful darkness inside of me was drowning out the light, and I didn’t know how to fight it. “Was this some type of joke? Did you like humiliating me? Did you both laugh behind my back while I bought all of the bullshit?”

This time, I caught a flicker of regret in his dark eyes. His voice was soft yet firm. “No.”

His final no made me lose control. I went at him like a wild thing, launching myself across the room and hitting his chest; pushing at his rock solid body that wouldn’t budge. He only trapped me against him and held me tight while I writhed and raged. I didn’t even realize tears were streaming down my face until I tasted the salt on my lips. “I hate you. I hate you both.”

“It wasn’t my secret to tell, Landon. Did I think it was right? Fuck, no. But it’s your relationship, and I refused to get involved. If I had, you wouldn’t have listened anyway. Hell, you would’ve ended up blaming me!”

“You didn’t care if I got hurt as long as you protected your precious buddy! You make me sick.”

He pushed me against the wall as I tried to hit him again. I sunk my nails into his shoulders deep but he never flinched. His face was inches from mine. His gaze was finally hot with emotion, a mixture of anger and lust and something else, something I wanted to dive into and bathe in; a wanting I’d craved since the beginning. “You think it didn’t make me sick that you chose him?” he grit out, mouth inches from mine. His breath struck my lips and I shuddered. “You’re not putting this all on me, princess. You’re as much to blame here but you don’t want to face it. I think you knew the truth. It just wasn’t a truth you wanted to face because then you’d have to make a choice.”

“I deserved to know!”

He spit out a vicious curse and held me tight against the wall when I tried to squirm. “You think life owes you fair, little girl? Grow up. You wanted the golden boy and you got him. Now you gotta pay.”

I let out a frustrated scream and tried to butt my head against him, but he only laughed, catching my wrists and pinning them over my head. My breath came in great gulps as my breasts pressed tight to his chest. His thighs bracketed mine and I felt him grow hard against me. My nipples tightened and I grew wet. His eyes darkened. “Is this what you came for?” he muttered against my ear. “You want me to take you rough and dirty like you fantasized? You want to go slumming now that you’ve had the king?”

I shook helplessly under his grip as the fire ripped through me, weakening my resolve to hate him. I rallied and threw my chin up, glaring at him with loathing. “What’s the matter, music man? Wanna know what it feels like to fuck a queen?” He stiffened and I gave a smug smile, my lips pursing in a pout. “Wanna know how it feels to steal something Max had?”

His grip tightened and glee rose within as I saw him fight for control. I’d gotten to him and now we were playing on the same level, with no holding back. His voice went whisper soft. “I can’t steal anything he never owned in the first place. You were always too wild for him. A little slut trapped inside her princess tower. Did he make love to you and whisper sweet words?” His ankle shoved my legs apart and he slowly thrust against me, making me dizzy with need. “Did he give you nice, neat orgasms that barely satisfied your hunger?”

“Think you can do better? I’d like to see you try,” I challenged, arching up to meet his thrusts, my panties already soaked.

He laughed and licked my ear, his breath hot with warning. “Spoiled little girl. Do you really think you can make me lose control so easy? We play by my rules now. And if you want something, you’ll need to learn to ask.” He bit hard at my lobe, then soothed with his tongue. My knees gave out and I practically sagged against the wall. “If you have the guts.”

When his seething gaze locked with mine, I knew he was going to push me to the edge. He wasn’t going to carry me to the bed and force me to take all that delicious pleasure. No, Adam was the devil, and he’d make me beg for my desecration first, like the villain he was. I’d stepped into the deep end of the pool and there were no swimming lessons.

I’d need to learn on my own.

I stopped fighting and let my body relax against his, inviting him close. Surprise glittered in his eyes and I seized the moment, leaning in to press my mouth against his. God, his lips were soft and firm, and I allowed myself to play, brushing my lips across his, allowing only a whisper of breath to rush over his mouth. I kept my eyes open, daring him to look away, and a mad glitter of lust glimmered in those dark pupils in almost a warning.

“Don’t pretend you don’t want this, too,” I whispered back. “Unless you want to be a liar like Max.”

His grip tightened around my wrists and he gave a short yank so I was up on my tiptoes. The thrill of being vulnerable before him, my body on display for his gaze, sent waves of pleasure chopping through me. He studied me thoroughly, as if sensing how much it turned me on.

“Don’t pretend you’re not here just to get revenge,” he said shortly. It was then I saw the disgust; the self-revulsion on his features.

“Do you really believe that?” I asked quietly.

For a few precious seconds, he let down his guard and I caught a flare of pain mixed with regret, but he was quickly back in control and I didn’t have time to process.

His snarl came roaring back. “Don’t worry, princess. It’s not gonna stop me from giving you what we both want. It’s all part of the fun.”

I closed my eyes and shook my head. No. I couldn’t let him think this was a plot or manipulation to get back at Max. He had to know the truth before we started this, or it would begin with another lie.

My feelings for Adam had nothing to do with Max.

I opened my mouth to tell him the truth; to come clean about what I really needed from him without the insults and rage and games.

But it was already too late.

He stepped back, releasing my wrists, his gaze ripping through mine with an intensity that stole my breath.

Then smiled nastily.

“Get on your knees.”