Page 29 of Make Me Bleed
“You lost the right to tell me what to do a long time ago, Peris,” I say, brushing some of my pink hair back from my forehead as my heart batters my ribs, fighting for an escape.
“You need?—”
“I need to… What? Listen to you? Yeah,” I snort. “Fuck that.” Indignation burns in my gut. I can’t believe him. I turn on my heels to leave him again, and that’s when he stops me right in my tracks with words I never thought I’d hear leave his lips.
“How much?”
Ice floods my veins.No.
I turn slowly, my fingers twitching to clutch my necklace. “Excuse me?”
He drags his fingers through his hair and yanks harshly. “Come on, Abel. Don’t fuck around.” His voice gets louder, and my face starts to heat. “I know you cost a pretty penny, so how.Fucking. Much?”
I regard him for a minute. The hard set of his golden-green eyes. The blunt truth oozing from him.
My lips twist to the side in a devious smirk. Does he really wanna fucking play with me? He should know better by now… “Depends on what you want…”
Without missing a beat… “I want everything,” he blurts, and the muscle in my chest flips. “And I’ve got enough. So, let’s go.” He grabs my wrist and starts dragging me through the bar after clearing his tab—and mine—within minutes.
“You can’t just manhandle me,” I mutter, even though I fucking love it. I’ve missed this, but I’ll never admit it. Or maybe I will. Who knows what this night will bring.
He rolls his eyes. “Yeah, baby. I can. I just fucking paid to do whatever it is I wanna do.”
I snort and run my tongue along the fronts of my still-crooked teeth. “You haven’t paid shit yet.”
The insideof his room is similar to Harvey’s, just less ostentatious. The door closes with a click behind him, and my breath hitches at the sound. My nerves are shot, and my hands are fucking shaking.
What is wrong with me?
“You look nervous.” Breath ghosts across the back of my neck, and my shoulders hike up to my ears as I shiver, gooseflesh rushing downward like a flood. Each hair on my head prickles and stands on end.
“I’m never nervous,” I rasp, hating how obvious the lie is as I say it.
Peris, of course, calls me out on my bullshit. “Liar.” His breath smells of alcohol as it washes over me.
My eyes roll back as I say, “You don’t know who I am anymore.”
He gives a derisive snort as his fingers come up to play with the collar of my shirt, just a soft brush along the fabric—enough to drive me insane. “That may be true, but no one changes that much. I can still read your body…” And with that, he wraps his arm around my front and yanks me back against him.
I gasp, unable to help the sound when it’s pulled from the deepest recesses of my throat as my back is pressed entirely against his front, andfuck,does he feel good. Every ridge of muscle is lined up perfectly against me in all the right places.
His palm is pressed against my sternum, wide and possessive as he keeps me pinned against him. He dips his head down into the crook of my neck, and I shiver when his hair drags against my skin, rough and soft all at the same time.
Lips against my flesh murmur, “Told you.”
Air hitches in my throat feeling those lips against my skin once more. “What exactly did you tell me?”
“I can still read you. That hasn’t changed.”
For some reason, that irritates me. I don’t want him to know me so well. Not after so long apart.
“You can’t,” I argue fruitlessly.
This time, Peris snorts. “Baby…” he says softly, and I moan quietly, head falling back as he drags his lips against me. They’rechapped but still feel smooth against my skin. “You’re always such a fucking liar.”
“Compulsive,” I say on a breathless laugh, and surprisingly enough, Peris snorts. And then, his teeth nip at me, making me hiss.
“Ain’t that the fucking truth.” His other arm reaches down and around to my hip, holding me tight against his groin so his cock is nestled perfectly into the crack of my ass, and fuck, he’s so hard, and I’ve missed it.
