Page 316 of Hate Mates

"You are going to ruin me. I know it." Sliding my oversized sweater down my shoulder, his lips trace a line down to my breasts. I wrap my fingers in his hair and arch into his touch. His teeth scrape over my nipple through my bra, and the sounds that fall from my mouth are anything but decent. Later, this could be embarrassing, but for now, I just need the feel of his skin against mine. I need it more than baking, more than oxygen. I may lose my mind if I don't feel him.

"Please." I'm begging, and all Adam does is chuckle, before popping the button on his jeans.

"Anything for you, princess." Tugging his shirt off with one hand, his other slips down into the waistband of my leggings, one long rough finger sliding along my slit, and circling my clit.

"Tabarnac!" My back bows off the floor of the loft, and I can't keep my hips from rocking back and forth.

"You're so very wet for me. Fuck. I love it." Adam teases my clit at a relentless pace, stopping only to remove his own clothes. When his body covers mine again, I can feel him, hot and hard against my core. "Let's get rid of these now." My leggings are tugged off and thrown across the loft. "I want to take my time. I want to ruin you, like I know you're going to destroy me, but if I don't get inside you soon, princess, I may lose my mind."

"Yes. That. Do that.Now."

I shouldn't want this. God help me; Ishouldn'twant this.

Adam has been nothing but surly, mean, and impossible, since I set foot in Willow Glen. Every conversation is a battle, every glance a challenge, every word sharpened to cut.

And yet,tabarnac, Istillwant him.

It's infuriating. Maddening. Completely illogical.

And it iseverything.

His body presses against mine, heat and strength coiling around me, grounding me, even as he drives me to the edge of oblivion. The first push of him steals my breath, a delicious stretch that borders on too much, too good. A sharp gasp escapes my lips, swallowed by the rough, reverent groan he lets out as he sinks deeper.

"Christiane," he breathes, voice wrecked, like he's barely holding on.

He draws back, teasing, testing, before sliding in again, slow at first, deliberate, then settling into a rhythm that is anything but gentle. Every thrust sends fire licking up my spine, pleasure curling low in my belly.

"Beautiful girl,marvelousgirl," he mutters against my skin, voice rough with need. His lips brush my shoulder, his hands gripping my hips, keeping me exactly where he wants me. "You feel so damn perfect around me."

A strangled moan slips from me, as he moves harder, deeper, like he's determined to meld us into one person.

"God," he groans, "you've been driving mecrazyon purpose for months, haven't you?" His teeth scrape my shoulder, before he soothes the mark with a kiss. "Look at you now. So sweet. So fuckingmine."

That word—mine—shatters me.

Pleasure crashes over me, in a wave so intense I can't do anything but fall. My body clenches around him, a cry filling the air as I come undone beneath him.

Adam curses, his rhythm faltering as he follows, burying himself deep with a final, uneven groan. For a moment, the only sound is our breath, ragged and uneven, tangled together like the rest of us.

I should regret this. I should push him away, and tell him this was a mistake.

But as he presses a slow, lingering kiss to my shoulder, his hands still gripping my waist like he's not ready to let go…

I know without a doubt that I can’t.

EIGHT

Adam

Ihear Eli's voice before I see him. He's calling my name, loud and insistent, breaking the silence between us.

"Adam!"

I pull away from Christiane, my breath still ragged, the heat between us not yet entirely dissipated. She shifts beneath me, the quiet tension settling in the space between us, making breathing more challenging than before. For a moment, I forget about Eli, about everything else; just her, justthis, the way we're tangled together, skin against skin.

But then, Eli calls again, and the world crashes back in.

I move off her slowly, regret and frustration twisting in my chest. I want more of her now, but I can't have it. Not like this. Not with everything still hanging between us.

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