Page 19 of Catalyst

“This is your home, too. You’re allowed to be here.” Jace sang as he focused entirely on Callie. “That being said… Kane here is about to get fucked. You can either take your pants off or give us twenty minutes.” His smirk widened as his gaze flicked down her body as if that alone were enough to devour her. “And I’mreallyhoping it’s the latter.”

Callie slowly looked back at us, her breathing stuttering as she took in the sight in front of her. She looked down before winding her fingers in the hem of her shirt as she bit her lower lip.

“I…” She held the word as if it had four syllables, twisting the fabric of her shirt as she thought. “I’m not wearing pants.”

Her shirt lifted just enough to reveal the curve of her stomach, the orange fabric of her underwear peeking out. While I’d like to say that alone did absolutely nothing for me, that would have been a fucking lie.

I’d seen Callie all but naked. The only difference is I’d been fucking her from behind.

I was an ass man—sue me. So, while I knew Callie had a bump, I hadn’t seen it, not like this. And the sight ignited something in me—something primal, something that turned my already protective instincts up to eleven.

But, while my mouth ran dry as I battled the urge to ram my cock into Callie, Jace barked out a laugh. The all too genuine kind that ended with him clapping his hands.

“Fuck yeah! Three-way.” He cheered, cupping his hands around his mouth as he did. “Come and get your pretty ass over here. I want you—”

“Callie’s not allowed to join,” I said firmly.

Both sets of jewel-toned eyes pinned on me as if I’d kicked a kitten. This type of silent overreaction was common from Jace; honestly, he acted like I was some type of dictator every time I told him no. But I hadn’t expected to see anything like that from Callie.

“You didn’t eat at all yesterday,” I explained, pointing directly at Callie. “I’m notrewardingbad behavior.”

“I—what?” She instantly dropped the hem of my shirt, her eyes dropping to her beautifully soft curves.

“You heard me. You didn’t eat yesterday. So if you want fun, you’re shit out of luck.”

Her golden lashes fluttered as she looked between Jace and me. She was either surprised or offended. Either was fine; I knew she wasn’t exactly confident in her new body. That’s why I’d been so generous in my praise recently. I’d caught her trying to skip meals before and I wasn’t sure if yesterday was intentional or not. I just knew for a fucking fact it wasn’t happening again.

“Seriously, Kane?” Jace scoffed as he gave her a hungry once over. “It was one day. She’ll eat after; why punish her?”

But I shook my head. After the comment he made about her body yesterday, I didn’t trust him with her. Not yet, anyway.

“You and I can fool around. She’s eating the breakfast I made,” I said firmly, leaving Jace’s side to put Callie’s breakfast on the table. “Juice or water?”

Jace let out an exaggerated groan as he stomped his foot, and I shot him a look. One that told him if he didn’t quit, he’d be left alone with his hand.

“Water, please. Thank you,” Callie said, the sadness in her voice pulled at my heart.

Why the fuck was I the bad guy for taking care of her? Was she like this with Sulien? Or did she know better than to be a brat with him?

Whatever, I couldn’t be bothered with that right now. I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, opening it before putting it in front of her.

“…If I eat fast enough, can I join?” She asked hopefully, but I shook my head.

“The point of punishment is to make you regret misbehaving,” I said calmly. “Eat slowly; I don’t want to see you choke.”

I wasn’t as sadistic as Sul. There’d be no leashes, collars, or soap gags in Callie’s future. But I’d learned from the last few months of domming Jace that I needed to follow through with what I said.

She sighed before picking up her fork and thanking me as she cut into her eggs. I didn’t miss the ways her eyes lit up as she took her first bite, even if she tried to hide it. A slow burn of pleasure coiled in my stomach. There was something about Callie enjoying the simple things in life that drove me crazy. Especially because I knew the little freak had a dirty little kink, one I was waiting for the right moment to tell Jace.

Callie was a good girl who followed the rules to a T. But beneath that golden girl exterior was a brat, one who liked playing games and pushing limits even if she’d never admit it.

Jace leaned back against the linoleum countertop, his fingers impatiently drumming on the top as he watched her.

I arched a brow as I cast him an annoyed look. “What?”

“Nothing, I just realized that, apparently, I’m into chubby chasers.” Jace scoffed.

“Excuse me?” I challenged.

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