I drop my ass down on the edge beside her, taking her joint when she passes it to me without bothering to look my way. She keeps her eyes on the ocean and necks a shot straight from the bottle, barely wincing at the burn.
“Rachel said this place is off limits.”
“And yet here you are.”
She shrugs, swallowing another shot. “Sorry.”
I raise a brow at that, eyeing her. “Are you?”
“Nope.”
I laugh lightly, shaking my head at myself more than her because if she were anyone else, I'd already be dragging her little punk ass down to the beach and teaching her a lesson for all to see.
I don't do that.
I should, but I don't.
“You like heights.”
She fights a grin, tipping her head back to look up at the stars. “Nothing gets past you, big brother.”
“Why?”
“Why do I like heights?”
I nod, licking my lips when she finally slides her hazel eyes to mine. “I like the danger. The fear of falling. It makes me feel alive.”
I search her face, not missing the hidden meaning. That feeling when her heart races in her chest and adrenaline runs hot through her veins? That's the only time she feels alive. It's why she likes when I'm near.
I grab her without warning, snatching her waist and twisting like a rag doll until she’s straddling my thighs. She screams and grips my shoulders to keep herself steady, pulling a long hit of air into her lungs when I scoot further to the edge.
“Damon..”
I smirk, keeping one hand on her back while I slide the other one up her spine to wrap her hair around my fist. I yank her head back and she whimpers before she can stop it, squirming on my lap in a lame ass attempt to free herself.
“Let me go.”
“No.”
She growls but her body gives her away. She doesn't want me to let her go, not even a little bit. I can tell by the way her nails dig into my shoulders and her thighs clench around my hips, practically begging me to fill her.
I move in and tease her lip ring with my mouth, planning on taking it between my teeth before the night’s out. “You still mad at me?”
She glares, shifting on my lap a little. “I told you I don't give a shit-”
“Liar.” I whisper, pulling her ass further into me to give her the friction she's craving. “I asked you a question. Answer it.”
“I’m not mad.” She rasps, shivering but it's got nothing to do with the cold. “I get it. You and your boys don't trust me and that's fine. I don't expect or need your trust.”
“That's not it.”
“It’s not?” She raises a brow, laughing lightly. “Now who's the liar?”
I ignore that. “You really think I'd send you off with her alone and risk her hurting you if she figured out you were on to her?” I glare, yanking her head back when she tries to look away. “She kills people who stand in her way, Callie, and there's not a fuckin’ chance I'm about to let that happen to you.”
Her brows pull in and she searches my eyes a moment, probably wondering why I care. It's fucked up she thinks that way, honest to god struggles to understand why anyone would ever care about her and her life, but I'm guessing she hasn't come across many people who have, if any.
“There's more.” She guesses, inhaling a hit of her joint. “You wouldn't have been sneaky about it if it was all about keeping me safe.”