Page 83 of Mariposa
His hot breath kisses my neck, and I shut my eyes, relishing his touch. He hums darkly. The sound almost feels like a plea for help…like he wants me to save him from himself.
“I can’t stay away from you anymore,” he admits as he kisses my neck again.
“Then don’t.”
Please don’t.
Another kiss on my collarbone.
He straightens, cupping my face with his massive, rough hands. He gets into my face, his beard ghosting my chin. The vein in his neck bulges in desire. His eyes soften as I stare at his emerald iris. I’m lost in his dilating pupils, wholly smitten by this older, more experienced special operator.
“There’s no happily ever after with me, Violet. I need you to know that before I fuck you. Don’t fall in love with me. I don’t believe in marriage. I’m done having kids. I can’t give you the life you deserve.”
Don’t fall in love with him?
“Already saying the L word with me, Kade?” I smirk.
“I’m serious.” His hooded eyes rake my face with tenacity. “You belong to me until I say this is over. You won’t scream anyone else’s name. If another man touches you, I’ll kill him. I don’t share what’s mine. I don’t give a fuck if that makes me crazy. I’m greedy. You need to know what happens when you give yourself over to a heartless, cruel, starving man.”
His possessive threat causes shivers to roll up my spine.
“So…” I gulp, almost afraid of this version of Kade. He’ll kill another man if he touches me? It seems a little over the top, but surely he doesn’t mean it literally. “Does this mean I have to cancel tomorrow’s date with the infantryman I met tonight?”
“Who the fuck?” he growls, picking me up from the floor. The air escapes my lungs once my ribs touch his shoulder. I’m upside down, staring at his perfectly sculpted ass.
“You make this too easy, Kade.” I burst out in giggles. He pulls down my pants as he stalks over to my bed. Once my skin is exposed, he smacks my ass hard with the palm of his hand.
“You’ll be punished for this, Little Mariposa.” His possessive tone makes my blood hot, like liquid fire. Every touch makes me crave him even more. “Act like a fucking brat, and I’ll fuck you so hard you’ll feel me inside your soul for the rest of your life and when you’re resting in your grave.”
He drops me onto my bed, my back hitting it first. He’s impatient, as am I, with every move and every glance. I claw the bedsheets and watch him tuck his hands at the bottom of his black shirt and lift it over his head. He throws it into the corner of my room as he pulls off his belt. My eyes trail from his thick six-pack towards a 3D, incredibly detailed skeleton engraved into his chest. My gaze traces the veins near his groin. I want to lick them.
I’ve never seen Kade without his shirt. There’s a scar on the right side of his stomach that resembles a deep gash. When he gives me his back to take out his phone and a pack of cigarettes,I’m met with realistic, detailed shadows with skulls and bullets. The shadows are long and spread, touching his shoulder and the nape of his neck. The way his back muscles move underneath the tattoo as he removes more of his clothing is doing all kinds of things to me. My mouth parts, and I drag my tongue across my bottom lip because wanting to touch him is making me feral.
“Jesus Christ,” I murmur sensually.
Kade snickers as he turns his head and lifts his scarred brow so I can only see one side of his face.
“It’s Kade or Beast,” he corrects with a billion-dollar smile. His sharp canine teeth dig into his bottom lip.
Standing from the bed, I rip off the rest of my uniform as fast as possible. My shirt and bra are off me in a split second. Bending down, I untie my boots and kick them off. My pants pool around my ankles, and before I can kick those off, too, Kade is pushing me onto my back.
He takes off his glasses and places them on the nightstand—the sound of a condom wrapper being torn by his teeth.
“No.” I shake my head. His brows pull together. “I want to feel all of you. I’m on the pill,” I whisper. Tracing my fingers against the scar on his brow down to his cheek, my heart beats faster, crazier. I’ve never felt this way.
“I’m clean,” I say.
“Me too.”
I know what this is at the end of the day—it’s lust. Still, it feels different. He closes his eyes, leaning into my fingers more, savoring how my fingers feel on his scar.
His hooded eyes look deep into mine as I spread myself wider as much as I can, with my ankles still bound together by my pants.
“I’ve never let anyone touch my scar before,” he says through a flexed jaw, dipping his head closer to mine. The tip of his nose brushes against mine gently. Every move he makes, there’spassion behind it. He shuts his eyes tightly, clearly fighting demons inside his head.
Is he going to change his mind? Or is there a deeper reason? I’ve gotten to know him well enough, and he’s not as monstrous as the military and our peers paint him to be. He’s an honorable man—he always puts his job, morals, and family before his own happiness. I see it in the way he tries to protect me. He tries to show up for Adam even when he can’t. He assigned me to North Carolina to be closer to my grandmother.
“I want you, Kade. Let yourself feel good. Be selfish for once. I’m not so bad...I don’t think.”
