Chapter 41

Her heated whisper rose to my ears and broke my resolve. I grabbed her hand and dragged her forward, refusing to slow my rapid stride. She tried to keep up as I weaved in and out of the crowds, down the hallway past the restrooms, and flung open the unmarked door that was the janitor’s closet. Shoving her inside, I closed the door and yanked her against me, my hands circling her hips. The bang of a mop or broom crashing to the floor barely registered. My heels brushed the edge of a bucket.

“You want to talk and make things all nice and polite with us?” I sneered. “Go ahead. I’m listening.”

The dark swallowed us up. The pounding of the music throbbed faintly in the background. Slowly, my sight adjusted until I could make out the outline of her face, full of feminine temper and a wanting she could never hide from me. “I hate the way you treat me,” she ground out. “If you were worried or had questions about Max, why didn’t you text or call me like a normal person?”

“Because it’s none of my damned business. I knew you’d go back to him anyway. I know exactly what our night together was about.”

“You’re wrong.” Her voice deepened and tempted, wrapped up with a sweet note of pleading. She leaned into me instead of fighting, and I tilted her chin up so I could peer into her eyes as she spoke. “Max begged to move forward so we can all still hang out in the group. We’re broken up and never getting back together. But the friendship we all have is too important to both of us—so we compromised. We’re being civil for the good of the group.”

“Is that why you told Max about getting the reality show and not me?”

She fell silent and I knew I was right. She was hiding her real feelings. She liked being with Max and what he brought her. I’d always be a dirty secret under the sheets. A beat up, scarred musician with a broken past and a lust for the dark. She belonged in the light, with a golden boy like Max.

I knew this truth but hated it. I knew, but wanted her to suffer like me.

“I’m sorry. I was going to talk to tonight, but you were acting like such a dick and ignoring me. Max happened to be there right after I got the phone call. That’s the only reason he knows.”

“I think there’s another reason you didn’t tell me.”

Her hesitation confirmed my suspicion. I wasn’t someone she wanted in her life on a daily basis. Just Friday or Saturday nights after work.

“Because you’ve always looked down on reality tv shows. I knew you’d question my decision and be disappointed, so I wasn’t ready to face all the objections. I wanted to enjoy being picked. It’s an awesome opportunity.”

She was right, but I still believed she wanted me cut out of her daily life. Landon was meant for more than a show aimed to tear apart her confidence and feed her piece by piece to the masses. She was vibrant and talented and a writer at heart. I may be the only one to see it. I also knew Max would never push her to be more. “Yeah? Tell me about the show. Convince me it’s a great move.”

Her voice came out a bit sulky, making me want to bite her lip in punishment; spank her bare ass for trying to lie to both of us when she knew deep down this show would destroy her. “It’s called Dumped . A bunch of random people go to a farm upstate and do tasks to try and save it from financial ruin. I’ll be in the spotlight with other influencers and well-known personalities. My name will finally be out there.”

I tried not to groan because the concept was so bad. “Are you cast with anyone I’d know? Any current reality stars?”

“No,” she said sharply. “But I haven’t met the full cast yet. I think there’s a big makeup influencer. Plus, a person who was on that show The Biggest Loser but she gained back a lot of the weight and thinks the physical labor will help. It’s going to be fun. We all share a house and vote out each other weekly. There’s prize money, of course.”

“So, they’ll dress you in heels and short dresses, shove you into the barn to shovel horse shit, and film you struggling.”

“I’m stronger than you think.”

“Not to mention all the infighting they’ll manipulate within the group. Add in alcoholic barn parties to lower your defenses. Oh, yeah, I’m sure you’ll say some really intelligent lines to boost your brand. I’m sure you’ll book a whole mess of important jobs from this stint. Are you fucking serious, Landon? Why would you even consider this? You’d sell out your self-respect just to get your face on camera?”

“Everyone agrees I should do it except you!”

“So, you told Max and now you feel better? Why am I surprised? This is both of your patterns. He tells you shit you want to hear, and you continue along doing the same stuff because it’s easy.”

Now, her temper roared to match mine. Good. I wanted her defenses down so she could finally be real with me. “It doesn’t matter because we’re not together! The conversation with Max meant nothing. God, I had no idea you’d be so jealous.”

“More like bored, princess. I’m bored with the same behavior over and over. I will never lie to you, Landon, whether you like it or not. If I think doing the show is a crappy decision, I’ll say so and why. If I think you’re playing it safe and running to Max because I scare the shit out of you, I’ll say so.”

She shook and bared her teeth, snarling like an animal. “Don’t pretend you’re better. You lied to me about Max cheating because it suited you. And you lie to yourself about feeling more for me than just a good fuck. I scare you, Adam, and you run away. How about that for truth?”

I ground my teeth together until they hurt. She was the only woman in the world who made me lose control. My brain misted with frustration and fury, and I shoved her skirt up, using my hands to cup her ass and squeeze. Her forehead bashed against mine, lips twisting in a snarl as she grabbed my hair and twisted my ponytail hard, nails digging into my scalp. Breathing hard, I lifted her up, spreading her legs wide, and slammed her against the wall.

“I already know my truth and what I want.” I slipped my fingers under her panties and hit bare skin. She gasped against my mouth and helplessly arched. “I’m not the one playing games, bashing me and Max back and forth like a ball in a tennis match.” Her legs squeezed around my hips as I began to tease her soaked slit, slipping my index finger into her tight cunt, then pulling back. At the same time, I thrust my erection into the notch of her thighs and she began to wildly move to gain more pressure against her aching clit. “You’re no longer in charge. I am. And you get what I give you, no more, no less.”

With one brutal movement, I shoved three fingers inside her, curling just right so they hit her sweet spot.

A needy moan ripped from her lips and she began to buck. I captured her mouth with mine and swallowed the cry, drinking in her pleas as she fought for more. I kept a tight rein on my control, playing with ruthlessness as I forced her to rub her needy little clit against my jeans to get off, keeping a steady motion inside her fast enough to get her to edge, but shallow enough to keep her there.

“Adam, oh, God, please!”

My tongue drank in her spicy sweetness. Her ripe scent blossomed in the air. I reveled in her raw, hungry response to anything I gave, wanting to devour her alive. I sped up the rhythm of my fingers, swiping her clit gently with my thumb. She stiffened, ready to come.

I stopped.

She turned into an animal, writhing her hips and tugging me closer, while little mewls escaped her swollen lips. I bit down hard, tasting the dot of blood, and she shuddered with pleasure.

“What do you want?”

“I want to come. Please, Adam, I want you to make me come right now!”

“You’re so pretty when you beg, princess.” I slowly dragged my fingers through her weeping cunt and removed them from her panties. Her wide, stunned eyes fastened on mine. “Tell you what. I’ll let you come but you have to work for it. Fuck my leg. Give yourself an orgasm.”

She blinked as if in a fog. Her words were slurred. “You bastard. You dick. You?—”

I went to pluck her off my body and drop her to the ground but the moment I moved she yelped and hung on, twisting her limbs hard to cling. “No, I need it. Stay still.”

Easily holding her against the wall, I looked into her furious eyes, took in her flaming cheeks, and almost came in my pants.

“I’m waiting,” I drawled.

For one moment, our gazes clashed and I thought she’d walk. Not many were into humiliation and I figured Landon was nearing the edge. But then I saw something glint within her pupils, a needy, lustful light she’d hidden away and refused to accept.

I knew her soul because I owned the same kind. The need to play in the dirt, over the line, crossing into a place where the barrier between pain and pleasure was fragile and transparent.

Landon rode my leg without apology or hesitation. Throwing her head back, she rubbed her clit back and forth, clutching my shoulders to move me the way she craved, like I was nothing but a means to her pleasure. The witch used me as I used her, and God help me, I fell a little bit in love with her right then and there. I ached to strip her bare and fuck her proper, but I’d decided to torture both of us with my experiment and submit to the results.

Her teeth reached for her wounded lip. Her features tightened as she neared, and then she was there, her mouth making a little o as a satisfied scream emit. For the second time, I swallowed the sound whole, keeping my eyes open to drink in every flicker on her face, every ounce of pleasure she milked from me. I held her while she shuddered and shook with the force of her orgasm. Then she collapsed.

Our breathing settled. The sounds from the music thrummed through the door. Lemon disinfectant mixed with the scent of Landon’s pleasure. Slowly, she released her legs and I allowed her to slide down the wall until her shoes hit the floor.

I righted her when she swayed. She fixed her skirt, smoothing it down, gathering her composure. Then she tilted her chin, staring at me with haughty condescension.

“Thanks. I needed that.”

She opened the closet door and slammed it shut behind her.

I touched the wet spot on my leg and accepted the full force of pain that her words left behind.

I had no idea what would happen next.

I only knew that things between us weren’t over.

What will happen between Adam and Landon? What about Max and the rest of the group?

Find out next in

CRAVE…

I crave her…

The moment we broke the rules and she was in my arms, I became obsessed with making Landon mine. But no one knows, including Max, and time is running out. She’ll be going away to shoot a reality series and I’ll be off to LA. Max is playing games and our usual tight-knit group is splintering at the seams. I’ve sacrificed everything for my music, and all of my dreams are on the line, but I need Landon more…

I crave him…

Max may not think it’s over, but Adam has possessed my mind, and body, and heart. We’re on two different paths, and no one knows about our secret. Eventually, I’ll need to make a choice, but when things explode and our worlds burn down, will we be able to choose each other? Or is it already too late?