Run From Me (Barbed Wire Hearts #2)

9. Xander

NINE

xander

I looked down into her glazed eyes. What the ever-loving cock tease was that?

“Here I was, trying to be a gentleman,” I said. My cock still buried inside her tight little pussy should have sent some kind of warning bells. Why wasn’t I just nutting and leaving? Aside from the fact we were in my car?

Shit.

I’d never taken a girl in my baby before, let alone let her fuck me. And yet here I was, zero regrets given two times later. I’d never been pushed like she had done.

“Thanks for the orgasm. What else does a gentleman do?”

My brain should have been unpacking why I was sitting here buried inside her, looking down at those beautiful green eyes thinking that that damn rainbow hair would look amazing spread over my sheets?

“Orgasm? I would have sworn I gave you more than one. I’ll have to try harder next time.”

A slow smile spread over her lips.

“So there will be a next time?”

Aww fuck. Would there?

I shrugged and shifted, pulling out this time. I’d fucked up on a few thousand levels.

“You think the Vipers are going to be fine with you fucking one of the Spectors?”

I shifted more to work myself back in my jeans.

She stayed there for a few seconds, watching my come glistening along her pussy.

“Panties wouldn’t do you much good now but try not to make a mess on my seat.”

She huffed at me as she pulled down the dress, shifting to grab something off the floor. She pulled something up that I hadn’t noticed before, or maybe I was too busy watching her ass in this poor excuse of a dress.

“What’s in there?”

She started to pull something out.

“Scrubs. For the morgue. I couldn’t go to work in this, now could I?”

Was it bad that I just smiled and she reached out and smacked my arm.

“I doubt the dead care what you wear, Sparky.”

She rolled her eyes but shifted herself as she put on the scrub bottoms.

“You’re changing now? I kind of like that dress.”

She stopped and deadpanned me.

“You just said not to get your seat full of cum. What do you suggest I do, since it wasn’t like you were offering to lick it up, Prince Charming?”

Fuck if licking her right now didn’t sound like the best way to end my night, except the realization of exactly where we were was a cold slap of reality.

The alley I’d turned off into was quiet. I’d be honest. There had been so little going on in my head that I didn’t pay much attention to where I had pulled over. I looked around.

“Isn’t this Viper territory?” I asked her. There were roads that ran through that couldn’t be avoided. The point was to not stop.

She had just stripped off the dress and froze with the scrub shirt in her hands.

“I- I don’t actually know. I don’t really deal with any of that crap,” Calliope said, and looked out into the empty alley. “Maybe we go?”

I watched her. This wasn’t exactly the right spot for me to stop, but if she was willingly working with them, there shouldn’t have been a reaction from her, or at least not one of fear. She’d practically jumped when I’d mentioned where we were.

Interesting.

“Yeah. Sure,” I said and put the car into reverse. There was a dead end ahead of us. Again, I hadn’t been thinking with my brain. Something moved in the shadows, and it wasn’t much concern to me as long as they didn’t block us in here. Cali though? Her hand rested on my forearm, but her grip said she was not so easy going. I gunned the engine.

“I don’t actually like them much,” she admitted.

I watched the figure in the back cross over the alley entrance but not enter.

“Probably just someone selling. Assuming we pulled over to find a fix.”

I said that and still watched the review mirror. The Vipers weren’t known for their organizational abilities, but maybe they were better about noticing who stopped on their turf. Even so, this was a one-time deal.

“Next time you want to take advantage of me, wait until we are in neutral zones or Spector territory,” I said.

She hadn’t spoken and her shirt was still balled up in her hands for a few more breaths. The hospital came into view, and that seemed to wake her up.

“Next time? What makes you think there will be a next time?”

I shrugged.

“You asked a few minutes ago, or is that history already? I had a few seconds to think about it and figured we had some chemistry. Who am I to deny a woman her needs?”

I couldn’t exactly see her face, but it sure as shit felt like she was burning a hole in the side of mine, and then she punched my arm.

“What was that for?” I asked.

“Me? What about you? You didn’t seem to be complaining when I licked your dick like it was dessert.”

I chuckled as I turned into the parking lot.

“Oh, Sparky. I was not complaining. Hence, why I said next time.”

I said next time because I was going to tell myself she could be a fun little fuck for a while. Everyone needed that. Except if that was the case, why hadn’t I just pushed her up against the wall and buried my cock balls deep into her at the reception?

Why did it feel like my car was never going to be the same and I really didn’t mind?

“Right. Next time. We’ll see, I guess. It’s not like I don’t have plenty of guys offering to fuck me in dark corners.”

The car stopped with a jolt, and her shirt landed on the floor when she reached for the dash as I slammed on the breaks.

I grabbed her arm to move her closer, forcing her chin up so she looked at me. She was far too surprised to protest as I slid her body toward me.

“Nobody should disrespect you by fucking you in dark corners, Calliope. Nobody should be fucking touching you. Not until this, whatever the fuck this is, is done.”

Her eyes danced over my face.

“Done? What is this? Are we dating or something? Otherwise I don’t see how you get to call exclusivity.”

The muscle in my jaw twitched as frustration beat alive inside me like a newfound organ.

Fuck. Not frustration. Jealousy. What the hell was wrong with me?

“Sweetheart, I don’t date.” That was the truth most of the time, but the way her face fell and a shadow flashed over her eyes, I knew that might have also been a very wrong thing to say.

“Oh really? Okay then. So you don’t date. Then you don’t get to call dibs on whose dick I choose to suck.”

She tried to yank away from me, but I had my hand wrapped around her upper arm like a vice.

“Calliope, it wouldn’t matter what you think I do or don’t do, I will make sure that I ruin you for all other men. I will fuck you so good you won’t want anyone else. You will crave the salty taste of my come as it slides down your throat. You will crave the way my cock fits your tight little cunt, pushing you to your limits. Because, Calliope, I don’t share.”

That was a load of bullshit. I, in general, wasn’t all that worried about where a woman laid her head after I was done with her. I didn’t have time to care. I didn’t have the ability to feel more than the easy release that a quick fuck would give.

But the idea of anyone touching Calliope? Rage boiled. She owned me, and somehow I was sitting here claiming my damn territory.

“We need to talk about the Vipers,” I threw out there.

I cleared my throat and let her go. She didn’t move. We just sat there breathing. A calm, comfortable silence in a car now filled with the scent of sex.

She turned away from me and broke the strange peaceful war that was brewing.

“You don’t share? But let me guess, I’m supposed to?”

She pushed away from me and never had this car felt so large.

“What? No? I don’t fucking have time to deal with anyone else right now. I need you to help me with the mayor. You’re the job right now.”

The second those words came out of my mouth, I realized I’d fucked up. I reached for her, but she was a step ahead with her dress and her bag clutched in one hand as she reached the handle and yanked the door open.

“Great. At least we’re clear. Thanks for the fuck. I’ll just go find a ride back from here. Maybe I’ll call the Vipers.”

Hell if the way she glanced back over her shoulder wasn’t a giant fuck-you dare.

And damn did I love games.

We were already in the hospital parking lot, so throwing the car into park was the only delay I had between her and me. I ran after her, catching up without even a kick in my pulse.

Rylee would probably be pissed at me later for saying all the wrong shit to her friend, but unless Cas came after me for it, I could at least make the best with what I had.

“Look, you’ve got to at least talk to me about the Vipers. I need you to share information, or I can’t help you.”

I’d never tried to actually keep someone in my life. Was I even trying to keep Calliope? I rubbed at my chest as the thought invaded my mind about the possibility of just letting her do whatever it was she did. Thinking about Ripple or any other Viper putting their hands on her though?

She wasn’t answering me. She wasn’t turning to look at me.

“Slow the fuck down, Sparky.”

Her feet were still bare, I realized, and she was staring to slow down because of the cracked and broken asphalt.

“Cali, stop. That’s not what I meant. I didn’t mean I was just here because you were the job. To be fair though, you are the one that forced my hand. I wasn’t going to fuck you because I believe in keeping the lines of business and pleasure very clear.”

That was actually a new line, but she didn’t need to know that.

I could hear the little huff and the insane single laugh. It spiked my intuition, telling me she didn’t believe me.

“So this is all my fault? And this thing? This chemistry is all one sided?” she asked in an almost hysterical tone. Her hand pointed from her to me and back to her from the side, still not stopping. A few more steps, and she slowed and finally turned to glance at me.

“Not what I meant. And you know it,” I said trying to reach for her, but she was always a single step away.

Right. Fine. I pulled out a new toothpick from my pocket and slipped it in between my teeth. I needed something, and I guessed kissing her might have been out of the question at the moment.

Her eyes sparkled in the dim safety lights. Maybe she was pissed, but that was something I could work with. I wasn’t going to ever know how to be all sweet and cuddly. That was Zeid. Or at least I teased him for being a lot more heart than demon.

Moving a step closer, I lowered my voice, making this whole thing a more even playing field. Something told me her dark little secrets weren’t too far from my own, and I just needed her to find them. Maybe then she could break free of the fucking Vipers.

“Fine. Maybe you don’t know those words aren’t really what I meant. At least help me with the wedding present. You seem like a woman who enjoys a little revenge.” I winked at her as I moved ahead and turned to walk backward. She slowed, trying not to run into me.

“I’m listening,” she said.

And that might have been the moment my heart decided to beat again after being frozen and broken since I was a kid.