Page 41 of Ghosted in Arkadia
Fucked-up mentality from a life being mateless.
I decide on the only self-respectful move I have: fight to get free from his hold. It’s barely a struggle. He quickly grabs me by the waist even as I punch him in the shoulder. It hurts me more than it hurt him, but it doesn’t stop me from continuing to swing at him.
My body feels like fire, burning me from the inside out as I think of every time I wanted to cuss out my soulmate for leaving me to a life like this.Punch. Every message that I had sent.Punch. The ones he ignored.Punch. Punch. I’ve practically used my skin as a diary since I started in the police force in my early twenties. When I had finally accepted the fact that I was going to be alone for the rest of my life. My life hadn’t mattered because I didn’t have him.Punch.
With all the strength I can muster, I punch him one last time.
“I know you need it to hurt.”
“What?” I gasp, my chest heaving while my body sags into him.
“I know why you like to play these little games with me, kitten. You need it.” His tone is firm but void of the menacing quality that made me feel afraid. “The way your heart beats faster.”
A moment of silence stretches between us, and the pounding of my heart is the only sound I can hear. Ghost releases my hips and a moment later I feel his hands teasingly skim above my arms, working up my body.
“The hairs on your arms are standing. Just waiting for lightning to strike,” he whispers, ghosting his hands over myshoulders in a way that feels far more like torture than the rough touches we shared earlier. “Here I am, princess. The storm.”
I feel rather than see him deftly reach up and push the bottom of his mask up before crashing his lips against mine and unleashing the raging torrent he promised. Desperately I gasp, feeling like I have been reborn when my soulmate’s tongue slips between my parted lips to spell out every rough, dirty, and wicked thing he plans to do to me. Our tongues battle and dance. Playing a new game of dominance, I bite his bottom lip to establish my ranking early on.
The move turns Ghost feral; he grabs my chin to forcefully kiss me. His lips move with expertise, leading the dance and ending it at his own timing. He turns my head toward the pale moonlit window while his lips trail across my jaw. I feel a sharp pinch as he bites down on my earlobe, then warm wet as he sucks it between his lips and gives an enticing pull before letting it slip free.
“I’m going to need a safe word from you, kitten. You’ve already told me you say no when you really mean yes.” I feel the heat of his breath on my neck, and it makes me shiver.
“Alfredo,” I whisper, though my voice is tight caught in his grip.
“Alfredo,” he repeats, and I force a slight nod.
I strain my eyes to the side to get a better glimpse of him.
“Do you want to watch Kira?”
I force another nod, and he releases me. I turn to face him, my eyes squinting in the dim light, desperate to see every inch of his face not masked. Pale skin on a sculpted jawline houses a set of smirking lips that smile in a secret knowing.
“Can’t have you trying to see more,” Ghost says, and I watch his lips move. He grabs my arms, finding them easily despite the dark, and moves them behind my back. I hear the click of a set of cuffs followed by the feeling of cold steel pressing in tightly.“Hop off the counter for a minute, kitten. Unless you want me to rip them off you.” He runs a finger down the apex of my thighs, then takes a step back to give me space to get down.
I close my legs and move to the edge of the counter. I couldnotgo home without pants. The cuffs make it slightly more difficult than it should be, so I jump down with extra zest and land against Ghost’s chest. His strong hands grasp my shoulders, steadying me with surprising gentleness.
“Eager little kitten. You must really need this.”
I nod. Tears welling in my eyes. I’ve needed this for so long. I need him.
His arms wrap around me, the rough texture of his tactical vest scratching my cheek as he pulls me close. “You’re mine now.” His chest rumbles with a deep, resonant sound that sends shivers of excitement through my body when I take a deep breath, inhaling his intoxicating scent.
“You didn’t want me,” I say into his shirt, needing to air out some of my insecurity.
“It’s complicated.”
I peer up, feeling fire racing through me rather than finding comfort in his answer. “Then uncomplicate it.”
“I’m trying.”
He moves a hand to grab the metal links connecting the cuffs, pulling my arms backward and my shoulder with them to create space between the top halves of our bodies. His other hand presses against my lower back, keeping our hips locked together.
“I’m trying to be gentle with you,” he says, like it’s an explanation.
“What if I don’t want you to be gentle?”
“You don’t know what you’re asking for.” His fingers dig into my back, their pressure a surprising warmth as they bunch my shirt.
