Page 30 of Kings of Decay
"No," Pearce said. His arms tightened around me, pulling me in for another deep kiss that set my body on fire. We stumbled backward, our bodies tangled together as we tripped over roots and rocks along the forest floor.
My back hit a tree, but I barely felt the pain through the fog of desire that had overtaken me.
Pearce pinned me under him, his strong body pressing me into the hard trunk. I hadn't realized until now just how much I needed this - someone to take control, to make me forget about the awful fight with my father.
I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the tree, letting out a soft moan as Pearce kissed down the curve of my neck. The cool air on my exposed skin was almost too much to bear, my body on fire.
Pearce trailed soft kisses across my collarbone, and I couldn't help myself. My fingers roamed his strong shoulders, tugging at his shirt. I needed to feel skin against skin, to become one with him in this moment.
"Pearce," I breathed between soft moans, closing my eyes.
"Willow," someone said.
It wasn't Pearce.
"Willow!"
With a violent tug, Pearce disappeared, and the forest was gone in a flash.
"Willow!" It was a woman's voice.
"Rose?" I muttered.
I opened myeyes and was jolted back to reality. Pearce was nowhere to be found. I was in the back of Rose's truck, wrapped in a blanket, with the heat on full blast.
"What the hell?" I gasped. "What's going on?"
"I should be asking you that," Rose said. "I was taking Scout for a walk, and I found you face down in the snow."
"Wh-what?" I glanced around.
We were in Rose's old green truck, driving through the back roads. Her three-legged Basset hound was panting in the front seat.
"What the hell were you thinking walking outside like that?" she asked with a click of her tongue. "Do you have a death wish, girl?"
I took a long look out the window and sighed, fogging the glass with my breath. "Maybe I do."
Chapter twenty-one
Pearce
Twenty thousand dollars worth of damage.Thankfully, the sprinklers kicked on, and the cabin wasn’t lost. Just a lot of smoke and water damage, thanks to some idiot who dumped a hot ashtray in the trash.
I sat sideways on the leather recliner as my father paced around his office, fuming.
“Twenty thousand isn’t so bad,” I said.
My father glared at me. “I don’t care about the money. You know that. I care about what could have happened to you right before the election, no less!”
My heart fluttered unexpectedly. Hecaredabout me?
“I need my boys ready to smash heads. Not in the ICU.”
The flutter was gone. Right. We were his wolves. He needed us to keep the peace.
To maintain his status in the town. To ensure that the rumors of the Winston Brother's dark games didn't reach him.
After the fire had put itself out, the state troopers arrived, and everyone was sent home. Of course, Sergeant Reed was with them, which would only lead to more questions.
