Page 43 of The Casella King

To me, there is only one.

I lean against the door. “I know you’re in there, sweetheart,” I say, and I hear shuffling behind the door. “You have two choices—you can either let me in, or I can break this fucking door down.” I wait a few moments before watching her shadow move closer to the door.

“Leave me alone.” Her small voice floats through the door.

“Not a chance, baby.” I take a few steps back, preparing to fly into the door with my shoulder when it creaks open, revealing her bloodshot eyes. I stalk through the door, and she moves back as I close the door behind me. I watch her wrap her arms around herself and notice an ocean of uncertainty in her eyes.

“Why did you run?” I ask, not making a move toward her.

“Are you kidding me?” She huffs, her hands flying out, running through her hair. “You’re really standing there, asking me that?”

I knew she wouldn’t take kindly to me torturing her perfect ex-fiancé, but I didn’t foresee her bolting because of it. The darkness is buried so deep inside her that she doesn’t see it herself. Or maybe she does, and she wants to keep it buried.

“Let me make this easy for you to understand.” I take a step toward her. “I am not the good guy.” I watch as her eyes land on mine. “I am not your Prince Charming, and I can never be.” I reach her, our bodies now an inch apart, and I feel her release a breath. “What I am is powerful, loyal, and fucking crazy about you.” My hand reaches up to caress her cheek. “I see darkness in you baby, the same darkness that ignites me from within. I watch how you choose when to let it roam free and when to snuff it out.” My lips brush hers gently. “That night you fucked me, covered in blood, I saw it in your eyes, and I felt it everywhere within you, drawing me in like a beacon.”

She closes her eyes, taking a shaky breath. “No—I…”

“You liked it,” I whisper onto her lips. “You liked the way it made you feel. You liked the fact that the man who could kill in cold blood could fuck you like you mean the world to him. You love when my world overthrows yours, and most of all, you love just how much you can make me weak at the knees, when nothing or no one else can.” My tongue flies out to lick her bottom lip, and she looks up at me. “You love the power, sweetheart, just like me.” I step toward her again, our bodies now flush, her eyes staring at my lips, practically begging me to kiss her, but I won’t.

It’s her turn.

Her turn to admit to herself who she truly is.

Who shewantsto be.

“You love the rush you get, knowing you are the only person who can take my power.” I wait, watching her internal debate through her decadent chocolate-brown eyes. My eyes graze down to her near-to-nothing pyjamas, and my cock immediately hardens beneath my jeans. “I want you to admit it.”

“I’m not admitting shit.” She finally speaks, that familiar fire sparking in her eyes.

I feel the corner of my mouth curl at her words.

“If you think I’m leaving, think again.” I press her against the wall behind her, my hands on either side of her head. “The more you resist, the more it turns me on, so be careful with this little game you’re playing, sweetheart.”

“Or what?” There her mouth goes again, making my dick jerk, straining against my jeans.

“Or I might just have tomakeyou see what I see.” I growl in warning and her breath hitches as she feels me press my cock against her stomach.

“H-how?” she stutters, biting her bottom lip.

A smirk plays on my lips as her eyes fill with lust. “By breaking you,” I whisper in her ear. “Now, you either get in the car, and we go home with your dignity intact, or I throw you over my shoulder, spank you, and take you home regardless.”

Her nose tips up in defiance, and without wasting another second, I throw her over my shoulder, and my hand lands on her ass hard, her scream bellowing through the room.

“Put me down!” she yells as I open the motel door and walk through, straight to my Porsche, not giving a fuck who’s watching this commotion. My hand lands down on her ass again, and she whacks her hands on my back, squeezing her thighs together.

I chuckle. “Is this turning you on, baby?”

She wriggles in my hold, and I put her down beside the passenger door. My fingers dig into her hips as I press her intothe car. Her hand flies up between us, and a sting arises where her hand had landed on the side of my face. Excitement surfaces under my skin, a smile creeping onto my lips as I taste the familiar metallic taste of blood in my mouth.

“You’re fucking crazy!” she yells.

I pull out the switchblade I have hidden inside my belt loop. Flicking it open, I hold the blade on the flushed skin of her neck and her eyes grow wide, tears brimming on at their edges. I lick from her chin, slowly up the side of her face, now tasting her salty tears running freely from her eyes. I lean in close and inhale her scent.

“Do you want me to show you how alike we are?” I whisper into her ear.

Her body feels warm against mine, her pretty pink lips slightly apart. My eyes meet hers, her chest rising and falling beneath my arm.

“I want you to let me go.” Her lips move, but her body betrays her as her hips buck into me.

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