Page 127 of Wanna Play A Game?
My door opens, and Cali storms out. “What the hell?” She stops short, seeing me and the box.
I raise my hands. “Hey.”
Cali glares at me, her eyes spitting fire. Jesus. What the hell went down?
Another meow comes from the box. Cali flicks her gaze down. “What is that?”
I take a step back and motion at the box. She freezes, then slowly kneels down. She goes to open it, then glances back up at me like she doesn’t trust me. That look hits me like a punch inthe gut. As if I would ever let anything near her that would hurt her.
She opens one of the flaps and gasps. Her entire body freezes. She doesn’t make a sound for a while. A black cat head pokes out of the box. Cali jumps into motion and gasps, reaching in and grabbing the cat. She clutches it to her body, rocking. “Weiner! Oh my god, Weiner, it’s you. Oh my god.” She holds the cat back out to take another look. The animal struggles, wriggling to get away.
Weiner? I frown.
She clutches it again, turning to look at me from the floor. Tears glisten in her eyes, all traces of the previous anger gone. Her eyes are pits of watery blue. She breathes, “Thank you.”
I swallow. Fuck, she looks so beautiful right now. “Cali. I didn’t–”
“How did you find him?” she cuts me off. Her look is so adoring that I completely stall out. I’ve never seen this look on her before. Fuck. I thought her fire was hot? This is the hottest thing I’ve ever seen. And I don’t ever want it to go away.
Cali waits for an answer. I swallow again. I can’t bear the thought of her stopping that look she’s giving me. I do something I know I’ll hate myself for and grit, “Lucky find, I guess.”
She stands up, still clutching the writhing animal. “Seriously. I can’t thank you enough.”
The words pop out before I can stop them, “You can give me a kiss.”
A smile covers Cali’s watery face. I want to freeze this moment forever. I never want us to leave. Cali goes up on tiptoe and still can’t reach me. I lean down, my breath ghosting across her lips. I don’t kiss her, though. I want her to kiss me.
And she does. She presses her soft, full lips to mine and claims my mouth with hers. All my nerves tingle, and I open my mouth. She immediately licks out at my tongue. I grab the backof her neck and smash her mouth to mine, deepening the kiss and soaking in her essence. God, I want her all over me, in me, everything. We’ve stolen her body, and now I need her soul. And I’ll get it. I need it like my next breath.
The cat struggles between us.
Cali breaks off the kiss, laughing breathlessly. I frown, hating that she’s gone.
Suddenly, she seems to get uncomfortable and she squares herself away. “Sorry, uh, thanks.”
I hate her sudden change in behavior. I reach out and grab her chin, turning her to face me. “Don’t apologize, Cali. Ever.”
After a small pause, a little smirk crosses her face. “Even if I told you I stole the last of your clean shirts?”
I laugh. As if I would ever be mad about that. I don’t think anything this woman could do would make me truly mad. Even if she tried to run. I’d hunt her down, but I don’t think I could be mad. She has a reason to run. We stole her. Well, Sawyer did. But now I’m complicit. She’s just doing what she needs to do to survive. And I’m doing what I need to do to make us an intricate part of her survival.
My phone dings.
Sawyer: Bring her down here. Ryder too. He’ll enjoy this immensely.
Chapter 63
Sawyer
Iwipe my blade off slowly in front of Ben. He’s awake, thanks to the adrenaline I shot into his IV. Thank Satan for Miles’ past military training because the man shouldn’t be alive. But he is. Which means more fun for me.
I feel alive. Like I shot myself up with adrenaline, even though I didn’t.
Ben trembles.
“Cali talked to me about you.” I catch a glimpse of myself in the blade. “I know you did something to her. She won’t talk about it because she’s way too good to you, but I know you did something.”
I trail the knife down Ben’s side and cut into his clothes, baring his body.
