Page 29 of Fire Fight

My finger grazes against the outside of her panties and her breath catches, cheeks flushed like she’s been running. “Do you want to know what’s really in my imagination, Cadence?”

I let my fingers brush against the skimpy fabric of her underwear again and instead of pushing me, her hands grasp at my shirt, clutching like she’s about to fall, pupils blown until there’s only a tiny sliver of green iris around the black.

“What I picture is returning your pills, knowing they’ll knock you out so thoroughly you’ll never know when I sneak into your room, draw back the covers, and tug down those ridiculous little shorts you wear.” My head nuzzles into the side of her neck, my mouth watering at the scent of her skin. “Is that what you want, too? To be helpless, incapacitated, waiting for me to take you any way I desire?”

A shuddering breath vibrates against my chest.

“Who else are you grooming that sweet little pussy for, Cadence? Hm? If you’re not fucking the boys at school, who are you fucking?”

Her shoulders curl, head drooping. “I’m not fucking anybody,” she whispers like admitting a shameful secret. “I’m a virgin.”

“A virgin with birth control in her medicine cabinet.” Even as I scoff, the thick denim of my jeans thins to tissue paper. I arch my body into hers, feeling her muscles jump and twitch against my thigh.

Blood surges in my ears, the same rhythmic roar as the ocean.

Blood surges into my cock.

“It’s for cramps. Not that it’s any of your business.”

There’s no trace of guile in her voice. A surge of possessive power hums through my veins until I’m desperate to lay claim to her. I pull back a little, just enough to watch as a sheen of sweat gathers atop the dainty spray of freckles either side of her nose.

Saliva pools in my mouth, head spinning until my control frays around the edges. It’s like falling under a spell.

With a jolt of shock, I step back. Unsure what I’m doing or how I got here.

My confusion only goes unnoticed because Cadence is more flustered than me as I twist aside, freeing the path to her door.

She darts forward, fumbling at the handle, and I can’t resist a final tease as my body pulses with need. “You looked awfully thirsty, just now. Be careful Gretchen doesn’t catch you looking at me like that or she mightn’t be as friendly.”

I can’t stayin the house. My body is restless, craving release, but I’m too appalled at my reactions to give in to the desire, pacing my room instead until it becomes unbearable, and I head outside.

Once I’m in my car, I drive up the hill, tonight preferring to stare at the wide expanse of water rather than driving to the public jetty where I usually park.

I need the distance.

A further aggravation today came when my regular supplier wasn’t in class, and a referral sent me halfway across the city. The reprobate took one look at the car and immediately tripled the price.

Dad likes to keep me asset rich but cash poor. The guy cleaned out my wallet.

Any other day and I’d have said fuck it and moved on, but I needsomethingto keep thoughts of this girl from invading my mind.

I’m a hypocrite, smoking a substance I could get a prescription for if that process didn’t price it well outside my reach. A similar situation to Cadence with her pills.

But I don’t mind the cognitive dissonance; not when the anger feels so good.

I’m well used to my head and heart and prick sending completely different messages when it comes to her.

When my heart slows to a normal rhythm, I smoke and wait for the haze to blow through my mind, carrying the savage impulses away. On my phone, I access the house security system, navigating to the live feeds from the cameras installed in every room in the house.

The only time I’ve known Arnold to check the monitors was when a pair of eighteen carat gold cufflinks went missing. He discovered they’d slipped down the back of his dresser, letting me and Emily off the hook.

Cracking the password was a neat trick I picked up in boot camp. Like learning how to do spots on a camp stove, or how to unlock an individual prisoner transport cage using a paperclip.

I also learned how seldom criminals get caught. A piece of knowledge that made me bold.

While my mood mellows, I watch Cadence and her mother in the living room, eating on the couch, laughing and talking, touching and hugging.

There’s a visceral twinge of envy in my gut. Since Mum died, I’ve been touch-starved; first at boot camp, later by Arnold since our relationship is too strained for physical displays.

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