Page 51 of Locked Out

She entered her room and started to close the door behind her when Cash appeared and muscled his way in.

“What?” she asked. “Come to make sure I’ll toe the line and not call the cops? Don’t worry. I won’t bother. I’m sure you’ve already gotten rid of Vanessa’s body anyway. What will you do with it? Fake a car accident somewhere and pay off the coroner to say that’s how she died? Maybe a boating accident since it’s Venice. Whatever.”

She’d been pacing across her room. Cash was leaning against her door with his arms folded across his chest. “Vanessa will be discovered to have had a car accident later today. It’s well known that she liked to drive fast. She went out drinking last night and shouldn’t have been behind the wheel. These things happen.”

“You people disgust me.” Riss couldn’t believe she was mixed up in this. She wasn’t like these people, not at all. She knew right from wrong and had no interest in blurring the lines.

Cash stepped in front of her and caught her chin in his grip, forcing her to look up at him. “Don’t think you’re above all this. You’re one of us now. You made that choice?—”

“Some fucking choice. Join or die?” Her voice cracked on the last word.

“This is how the Society operates. Embrace it or don’t, but don’t fight it. You got away with challenging Archer once. He won’t stand for that kind of insubordination again.”

She snorted. “Archer can kiss my ass. I’m not doing this. I want to go home. I’ll keep your damn secrets but as soon as it’s possible I’m out of here. I’m not like you at all.”

“You keep telling yourself that, Larissa. Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

She raised her hand to slap him, Cash caught it and then swung her around to trap her between his hard body and the wall. He held her hands above her head by the wrists. “Don’t pretend that you didn’t want to be safe but being safe has a cost and now you have to pay.” He swooped down and kissed her hard on the mouth.

She squirmed underneath his assault, but it just made things worse. Her lips melded against his, cutting off any argument. She wanted to rail him. To tell him she didn’t agree but his tongue in her mouth was too aggressive, too erotic, too powerful, and soon she didn’t want to stop. She wanted more. She kissed him back, pushing her body against his. She needed this. Craved his touch. Anything to ground her and make this all real. The craziness made it all seem like a nightmare. Tired of being angry or numb, she wanted to feel something else.

He could do that for her. Make her feel.

She deepened the kiss and let out a soft moan. His hands roamed over her unlocking a deep fear-fueled need. She’d wanted to feel but she wasn’t ready for the mix of emotions swirling within her. The sensation of his strong hands gripping her wrists, keeping her in place, only heightened her desire for him. The struggle against submission was intoxicating, making her lose sight of what was right or wrong. Was he right? Was she like them? She’d run to him for help for sure, but had she known the price beforehand would she have walked away, or would she have still asked for his help? She knew the answer and she wasn’t proud of it.

His lips trailed down her neck, leaving a trail of fire in their wake. She moaned softly, offering no resistance as he continued his descent. With each kiss, each touch, she felt herself slipping deeper into his world. A world that was dark and scary and so much harsher than she’d anticipated. But she felt powerless to escape it now.

He was right. She was part of it. She wouldn’t call the cops or say a word. She would get what she needed from it, from him, and then leave the moment she was able. Wasn’t that what people like this did? Used each other?

He released her hands and recaptured her mouth, and she was lost in the rhythm of their bodies. Their breaths mingled, ragged as they succumbed to their primal desires. She knew there were consequences to their actions, but the lust coursing through her veins was too potent to ignore.

She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, tangling her fingers in his hair as she deepened the kiss. Her body pressed against his, rolling her hips and feeling the heat of his arousal against her. He scooped her up effortlessly, and she wrapped her legs around him, clinging to him as he carried her to the bed. He laid her down gently, covering her body with his own.

She moved her hands under his sweater feeling every hard ridge of muscle as her hands traced over his chest, sending shivers through her body. When he pulled off her sweater and bra, exposing one breast for him to suckle, she arched into him with desire.

“Cash,” she breathed out his name as he devoured her nipple with his mouth. The sensation was both intense and incredible.

Planting little bites along the side of her neck, he pushed her pendant out of the way and kissed his way down her chest. He licked between her breasts, eliciting a moan from her lips as she clutched at his sweater. With one hand, he jerked it over his head and dropped it to the floor before lowering himself onto her once again. She ran her hands over his chest and along his arms and back. He had tattoos, lots of them. They’d been hidden under his sleeves. They were so damn sexy. She ran her hands down to his belt. She started to undo it.

“Slow down,” he whispered in between bites. “I need to hear you say your mine first.” He mouthed her nipple again and then grabbed her wrists and held her hands above her head once more. Keeping his voice low he commanded, “Say it, Riss.” He licked the sensitive peak of her nipple. “Say you’re mine.”

His lips found hers again in a heated kiss while she struggled against his grip. He wasn’t hurting her, but he wasn’t letting go either. He kissed and nipped along her jaw, then down the front of her throat, laving his tongue in the hollow at the base. As soon as his lips brushed over one of her nipples, she moaned in pleasure.

“God, that’s so good,” she whispered into his ear. “Let me touch you, Cash. Let me make you moan.”

He pulled back and held her gaze. The words were uttered in a soft voice but there was no mistaking he was serious. “Say it, Riss. Say you’re mine. We both know it’s true. Just say it and I’ll make you come hard.” To prove his point, he rocked his hips hard against her center. Taking control of the kiss once again, he used his tongue to leave her breathless. He moved slowly down from her lips to trail kisses over her neck and then to each of her nipples, tugging lightly at them until she gasped for air. “Say it.”

She was wet and ready, and he hadn’t even taken her pants off yet. God, she wanted him, but she also wanted to punish him for dragging her into this. If he’d left her alone…she’d be dead. Damn him.

She struggled against his hold, but he maintained a tight grip. He whispered in her ear, “Don't fight me or I'll have to get rough, and you won't like it.”

“Are you sure about that?” she challenged.

He groaned, and playfully nipped at her breast, causing her to let out a yelp. Then he rolled her onto her stomach and held her hands above her head as he alternated kisses and bites down her neck and her back. His arousal pressed against the curve of her backside, and it only added to the intense heat coursing through her body. A moan escaped her lips, but he clamped a hand over her mouth. “You have to stay silent,” he commanded. She nodded.

Moving his hand around to the front, he found the apex of her legs and began massaging her through the fabric of her jeans.

“Take them off,” she whispered, thrusting her hips upward.

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