Page 31 of Let Me
“You were ready for me, weren’t you?” I ask her, slipping my finger lazily in and out. She’s so goddamn wet. For me. She whimpers again, and I relax my hold on her throat because I want to hear her.
I take my finger from her and spin her around, so she’s facing me, her eyes bright even in the dark.
“Once upon a time, Riley, I thought you were too good for this.” I put my arms around her, pinning her own to her sides. I can feel her breathe beneath me. I can feel her fear. Her desire. “Once upon a time, I thought you deserved the world.” My lips graze her temple and she trembles in my arms.
“You’re scared of me?”
She shakes her head. “Let me go, Caden.”
I only grip her tighter. Those words hurt. I want her to know what that pain feels like. I want her to know what it felt like waiting all those months for her, knowing my brother still enjoyed her. The taste of her lips. The touch of her skin. Then watching the moment I could have her shatter with that one phone call.
“I’ve realized something over the past three years, baby girl.”
She tries to move her arms, tries to push against me. Her eyes gleam in the darkness of the forest.
“I’ve realized that you don’t deserve much of anything. That taking you up against this tree might even be too good for you.”
I know her knees are trembling, because I have to squeeze her even tighter to hold her up. I wish she’d fight back harder.
I skim my teeth along her jaw. “Isn’t that right?”
“You don’t get it, do you?” she says angrily. There it is. Her entire body is tense in my arms. “You don’t fucking—”
I cover her mouth with my hand. “You say such terrible things, Riley. That mouth is too pretty for those words.”
Then both of us hear footsteps.
I know she does because she stops resisting, going still in my arms instead.
“Quiet, baby girl.” I drag my hand over her mouth and down her throat. “There are worse monsters than me in this forest.”
I feel her swallow as she tries to twist her head around beneath my hand. As if she’ll see anything in the darkness.
The steps grow louder. Closer. She breathes harder beneath me, and her eyes find mine. I smile coldly at her.
I like this fear in her face. I like that she’s terrified. Trembling. Vulnerable. Maybe she’ll feel a fraction of what my brother felt in his last moments. Maybe she’ll understand why I can’t stand the sight of her anymore.
Why I’m about to do what comes next.
I release her, back away.
The steps slow. Stop.
It seems to take her a second to realize I’m not holding her anymore.
“Caden—”
I see her chest rise and fall, and she tries to back further into the tree, her bare heels scrambling against the base of it. Her shoes are gone. I hope my dad didn’t pay a fortune for them.
Who the fuck am I kidding.
I hope he did.
“Caden.” This time when she says it, she’s glaring at me. “Is this some sort of sick joke?”
I see him. But I don’t meet his gaze. I don’t give her any indication he’s there, behind her.
“A joke?” I echo. “No, baby girl. This is definitely not a joke.”
