Crimson Bound (Blood Oath #7)

5. Kade

5

KADE

A tlas returns an hour later—without Calla.

“Did you kill her already?” Lex asks after the garage door slams shut, turning down the volume on the show we were watching. Gabriel went to bed shortly after Atlas left, but I couldn’t miss the opportunity to see Calla when Atlas dragged her back here. So much for that.

Atlas looks from Lex to me, tossing me a keycard to the Four Seasons hotel. “You’ll pick her up there in the morning.”

I arch a brow, flipping the keycard over in my hand. “Oh?”

He walks through the room, heading for the hallway to the stairs without elaborating on what happened when he tracked Calla down.

“What the fuck was that?” Lex mutters.

I shake my head, turning back to the TV. “I have no idea. But if Calla was able to convince Atlas to let her stay away from us for the night, I think we’re in for a bigger challenge than we initially thought.”

Lex shoots me a shit-eating grin. “Excellent.”

The hotel hallway is quiet when I step off the elevator and find the suite Calla’s staying in. I let myself inside, closing the door quietly and walking further into the space. She’s asleep in the bedroom off to the side of the suite, her breaths steady and calm.

Inching closer, my gaze is locked on her face as her pulse ticks faster, her brows twitching in her sleep. I leave the bag with a fresh change of clothes at the end of the bed and slide in next to her, watching as her chest rises and falls. I lose track of the minutes as she sleeps. I could wake her up, toss her over my shoulder, and carry her down to the car, but besides that being a spectacle in the making, I find I’d rather stay here. So I don’t move. I don’t wake her. I just continue watching her sleep.

Calla makes a soft sound at the back of her throat, something akin to a whimper, and a moment later, she startles awake, sitting up in a flash.

“Good morning,” I murmur.

She chokes on a yelp, covering her mouth as she whips her head toward me. There’s a moment of confusion in her gaze before reality seems to hit her, and she scrambles off the bed, backing away.

I lean back against the headboard as I stretch my legs out in front of me, dragging my tongue over my bottom lip, and smirk at her.

“Kade.” Her voice shakes, and she clears her throat. “What are you doing here? What time is it?” She looks toward the window as if that’ll give her some indication.

While her attention is caught, I move from the bed to stand right behind her. I’ll never tire of using inhuman speed to my full advantage.

Calla stiffens, sensing me at her back. “Kade…”

I inhale slowly, relishing in the lingering sweetness of her shampoo and the decedent scent of the blood pumping through her veins. How easy it would be to sink my fangs into her throat at this very moment. “Turn around,” I order in a caramel-smooth voice, though I don’t inject any glamour into it; there’s no point when she’s facing away from me.

Calla hesitates before slowly turning to face me. Her gaze is stuck on my chest for a few moments before she tilts her head back until her eyes reach mine.

I offer her a faint grin. “Good morning.” Reaching toward her, I finger a rogue bit of her deep brown hair, tucking it behind her ear. Her breath catches halfway up her throat, but she doesn’t move away.

“Hi.”

“Hi,” I echo. “How did you sleep?”

“Does it matter?”

I frown at the bitter edge in her voice, surveying her face. “Of course. You’re exhausted.” I glance at the bed. “You should go back to sleep for a while.” There’s no rush to get back to the house, and I’m quite enjoying the time alone with her. She’s not on the offensive at this very moment, which is…interesting.

“I’m fine,” she says without missing a beat.

I hold her gaze. “Calla?—”

“Don’t,” she cuts in. “You came here to drag me back to that house. Let’s just go.” She goes to move toward the door, but I catch her wrist and pull her back easily. When she doesn’t immediately fight me, I dip my face and brush my lips over her cheek. Her skin is soft, warm. It makes me want to kiss her properly. Calla is undoubtedly beautiful—even more so when she’s running her mouth at me. That said, I enjoy her like this too. Barely awake and doe-eyed.

“What was that for?” she asks, her cheeks filled with a light blush.

I shrug. “I wanted to do that when I crawled into bed next to you an hour ago, but I figured it would be better to wait until you were awake.”

“Kidnapping is completely fine, but you draw the line at kissing while the other person is unconscious?” she remarks dryly. “Good to know.”

I chuckle, absently sliding my fingers through hers, tracing my thumb across the back of her hand. “Yes, I’d very much like for you to be awake while I ravish you.” I lick my lips, leaning closer as I think about all the ways I could get her screaming my name. “I think you’d like that too.”

Calla’s heart rate kicks up as she shakes her head, and I eat up her denial like sweet fucking candy.

“Say it,” I taunt. “Tell me you don’t want it.”

Her eyes narrow as she attempts to free herself from my grip to no avail. Not a chance in hell I’m letting her go now.

“Tell me, Calla,” I push.

“And if I don’t?”

The challenge in her tone makes my blood sing. I move swiftly, tugging her to my chest as I cup the side of her neck with my other hand, keeping her in place with my thumb against her jaw. “If you don’t, I’m going to make you come on my fingers. Then with my tongue. And then, if you’re a good girl, I might give you my cock.”

Calla’s eyes widen as she stares at me in disbelief, her pulse cranking up again.

My lips curve into a slow smirk as I enjoy every moment of her stunned silence. “Let me take care of you,” I say in a low, soft voice, grazing her nose with mine.

Just when I think she’s going to pull away, she leans in. Our lips touch briefly a couple of times before she presses her mouth fully to mine. I bury my fingers in her hair, freeing it from the tie at the back of her head, and deepen the kiss as she grabs the front of my shirt. I use my other hand to slide into her robe, nearly hissing against her lips when I find her completely naked beneath it. This woman is testing my self-control.

Teasing the soft skin above her navel, my fingers inch lower until Calla gasps against my lips, then I trail them upward between her breasts, letting her robe fall open as I push my tongue into her mouth. The kiss swiftly turns feverish as I cup her breast, pinching her nipple into a hard bud and making her groan my name. The breathy sound goes straight to my cock, and I fight the urge to forget all of the fun I want to have with her so I can bury myself between her thighs.

I pull my mouth from hers, giving her nipple a playful pinch as I lean back to look at her face. Her eyes are wide, her pupils blown as her heart hammers in her chest. I trail my hand toward her stomach, but don’t stop there. Calla’s breath catches as I move lower, skimming the apex of her thighs. I lean in once more, pressing my lips to the side of her neck, where her pulse pounds against my tongue.

I’m immediately torn between slowing down and getting right to fucking any lingering resistance out of her.

I remind myself we’re in no rush to get back to the house and slowly trace the opening at her core before sliding a finger inside.

“Fuck,” I growl against the racing pulse at her throat. “I want to drive my cock into you so hard you won’t be able to walk.” I clamp down on her neck without my fangs. A subtle warning. “But I’m going to take it slow and enjoy how fucking amazing you feel against my fingers.” I find her clit with my thumb, circling it as I push my finger inside her again.

“Oh my god,” she breathes, catching herself on my shoulder so she doesn’t fall over. Not that I’d let her.

“You’re already so wet for me.” I trail my lips along her neck and jaw, kissing her mouth once more.

“Shut up,” she pants as if she’s embarrassed by it, to which I respond by adding a second finger and applying pressure to her clit to drive her wild. My own pulse thrums faster as I grab her hand and press it against my erection.

“It’s only fair, considering you’ve got me rock solid.”

Calla sighs into my mouth, kissing me harder as she palms the front of my pants. Evidently, pleasure has burned away any remnant of embarrassment.

A growl rumbles through me, and I lose my grip on control. I grab Calla, lifting her off the floor and carrying her back to the bed and laying her down as gently as I can, which deserves noting, considering I want nothing more than to throw her down and fuck her with everything I’ve got.

Crawling over her, I continue thrusting my fingers deep inside her pussy until she’s writhing beneath me. My fangs pop free as I lean in, and I tease the delicate skin of her throat, making her heart trip over itself. When I curl my fingers in her pussy, her hips shoot off the mattress, and I pull back to smirk at her before pinning her to the bed. She rolls her hips, and I take the cue to pick up my pace, pumping my fingers in and out of her until her eyes roll back and she white-knuckles the sheets.

“Keep going,” she pants, the sheer determination on her face the hottest fucking thing I’ve seen in a long time.

I close my mouth around her neck, nipping and sucking playfully as I swirl my tongue against her heated skin. Shock ripples through the lust-filled haze when she tilts her head to the side—a dangerous invitation, to the wrong person.

“Kade.” Her voice is thick, mingled with desire and a spark of fear.

I curl my fingers again, hitting a deeper spot that has her whimpering and lifting her hips as much as I’ll let her to meet my thrusts.

“Oh fuck,” she moans.

“Come for me,” I murmur against her neck, circling the bundle of nerves at her core.

Calla clenches around my fingers, making a deep sound of pleasure at the back of her throat.

“That’s it,” I praise her, sliding my hand between her breasts until I can wrap my fingers around her throat. “Ride my fingers.”

She rolls her hips as I hold my fingers still inside her, making her take the orgasm she’s so desperate for. And she fucking does.

“Good girl,” I purr, stealing her lips once more as she rides the aftershocks. She shivers as I pull my fingers out, flicking her clit with a grin when she jumps. Her eyes pop wide as I lift my fingers to my mouth and lick them clean, holding her gaze so she can see how fucking much I love her taste.

I give her a few minutes to catch her breath, dropping onto the bed beside her. Once she sits up and runs her fingers through her hair, I peer over at her.

“Would you care to get dressed? I personally don’t mind you coming home with me like that, but people in the lobby downstairs might be slightly concerned.”

She presses her lips together briefly. “Yeah, they might think I was being taken against my will or something.”

The corner of my mouth kicks up. “The sounds you were making while I had my fingers buried inside you would beg to differ.”

Calla rolls her eyes, then grabs a pillow and throws it at me, muttering, “So fucking arrogant.”

I laugh deeply. “Hmm, is it being arrogant though if my skills measure up?”

She stares back at me, unamused. “Yes.”

Shrugging, I lean back against the mountain of pillows, watching her. “Anytime you’re ready.” I nod to the bag at the end of the bed. “Brought you something clean to wear.”

Her gaze falls, and she exhales a sigh. Whatever bubble we’d been in once she decided to give in to her body’s desires has burst. And that shouldn’t bother me as much as the pit in my gut tells me it does.