Page 45 of Beautiful Fiend

“I’m saying I want to make you come again. Hopefully, now that you’ve given in once, there won’t be so much resistance next time.”

“You’re sick. You’re actually. Fucking. Sick. I did not give in.”

“Oh…” He leans back, hitting the softness behind him, and shakes his head. “What were those noises you were making, then? Cries for help? They sounded a lot like moans to me.”

“Stop it,” I rage. “You had a knife to my th—”

“Hiya, my name is Cleo. I’ll be your server today. Can I get you any hot drinks?” The lazy voice of the waitress, who clearly wishes she was anywhere else but here, brightens when she looks up from her notepad and sees Caden. “Oh my god, Caden. Hi!”

It takes me a moment to understand why they know each other. When I notice the hickeys on her jaw and how she’s turned a dark shade of red, I want to jump and strangle her.

Ignoring the way she is currently melting for him, Caden keeps his eyes on me. “Can I have a black coffee, and Billie here will have…” They both look at me expectantly.

“Just a water. No ice,” I push past my rage.

“I’ll also have the blueberry pancakes with maple syrup and some strawberries, please.”

“Alright.” She writes it down. “Anything else?”

“A baptism to clean my entire soul,” I mumble as I put my menu in front of my face so I don’t have to see her anymore.

Caden snorts and dismisses his great friend Cleo. As soon as she’s out of earshot, I slam my menu on the table.

“I cannot believe you. Did you break into my house right after you left hers, or did you have a little sleep before coming over?”

He licks his lips and smiles, clearly loving this. “I will shout to this entire diner that you are my girlfriend and I will never touch any other girl if you admit that you wanted me earlier. That you wanted me to sink my cock into your tight pussy and fuck the living soul out of you until you meet God and realize it was me all along.”

A rush of heat courses through my body at his words. I undo my ponytail and redo it to buy myself some time while I try to get my brain to come up with a response.

I fail.

“Well,” he shrugs. “In that case, I don’t think you get to be jealous. Although just to reassure you, I fucked Cleo last week. The hickeys just last a while.” He smiles as if this isn’t totally fucked.

“As long as you stop touching me, I don’t care what you do.”

“Ah, no. See, that’s just not possible.”

“Why?” It comes out as a genuine, soft question before I can try and make it sound violent.

“Because I want to make you mine,” he says in simple honesty. “I don’t know why. It took me by surprise, because I had completely forgotten about you these last two years. Then you just showed up in our backyard like a gift from the divinities, and I haven’t been able to get you out of my head since.”

“It’s been two weeks,” I whisper. “You don’t even know me. You can’t just stake your claim—”

“But I am. I’m fucking telling you you’re mine, and you’ll come around to understanding it too.”

I can see him getting heated. His hand is now on the table, and he’s leaning over so closely I can feel his warmth.

“You just keep fighting back, Billie. I’ll make you cave, eventually.”

“Is that how you convince girls to be your girlfriends?”

“No,” he snorts. “I don’t do girlfriends. But I’ll make an exception for you.”

“You’re Kings crew, Caden. And I’m NSC. I’m doing this job because I have to. Don’t mistake my compliance for genuine interest because I have none toward you. I think you’re violent and cruel. You take what you’re not given because you’re entitled. And to be totally honest, I don’t think you’re capable of affection. Let alone love.”

A shadow of danger crosses his green eyes as the air around us seems to drop a few degrees. He runs his tongue against his teeth and clenches his jaw.

“You’re gonna regret this,” he simply says. The waitress brings our drinks and his food and I use this occasion to excuse myself. I undo Murder’s leash from the table and don’t even look at Caden when I say, “I’ll wait for you outside.”

---