10

I have to go, I whisper when he takes my hand and pulls me over to the couch.
Stay. I promise I’ll take you home tomorrow.
I keep reminding myself that I’m a really stupid girl as I let him pull me over to the couch. He sits down, and I hesitate, not knowing what to do. He tugs on my wrist and sits me down next him.
What’s going on ? It’s like I’m stuck in a trance. A trance that’s making my heart beat fast and my skin hot. A trance that makes all of this seem okay.
I’m just as confused as you are, he admits, and for some reason, I know he’s being honest. But I’m going to have to start somewhere. I guess I made you mine. That’s what’s happening here.
His ? I don’t belong to anyone, certainly not him. Even though, maybe in another life, him saying this to me would be thrilling, I know that’s a fantasy and this is insanity. Guys like him don’t say that to girls like me. It’s obvious he isn’t from the same world I am.
I go to pull away, but he keeps hold of me. You’re crazy. I think my odds were better in your club fending off drunks.
He grimaces. Probably.
I’m being serious. This is crazy. Do you not think so ?
Yes. Of course, I think so, he argues. I don’t know what to say. This world is different than you think. I know I’ll have to eventually show you how different, so you can understand better, but not tonight. All you need to know is that I’m not going to hurt you, and no, I’m not normal.
There’s obviously something very wrong with me because I’m not hitting him and running away. I don’t want to know. I don’t want to know anything. I just want my normal back.
Why me ?
You think I picked you on purpose ? He looks at me for a long minute, and when I say nothing, he shakes his head. It’s not a choice. It wasn’t something I could control. And I have control. I have so much fucking control.
I don’t understand any of this. It makes no sense. I gaze into his dark brown eyes and heat flares deep inside of me. Most of all, how you make me feel.
His fingers brush my hair from my neck and my eyes flutter closed. He moves across my jawline, his finger soft and gentle, and when I open my eyes, his face is close. His breath fans my lips, causing my insides to spark.
Leaning forward, he puts his lips on mine, and before I know it, I’m falling and kissing him back.
Stop !
My eyes fly open and I realize my mistake. But he grabs his jacket I’m still wearing and pulls me back, our mouths crashing together again.
My insides clench when he pushes his tongue deep inside my mouth. My entire body shudders and I’m overcome with the need to touch him. I brush my thumbs against his cheekbones, his skin soft beneath my fingertips.
He pulls me on top of me and my dress rides high as I straddle him. His hands grip my waist and then rest on my bare thighs, the kiss getting deeper. Hotter.
Heat rolls through my body, and I’m burning. Burning. It’s too much.
Are you okay ? he asks as I break the kiss once again and gasp out a breath. After a moment, I breathe a laugh. I’m not okay. I want him badly, but I know it’s all wrong. Noticing how uncomfortable I am, he asks, What’s wrong ?
Too fast, I mutter, my face on fire. How do you tell someone like him that you have no experience ?
Until tonight, I didn’t know what being turned on felt like. I thought I did, but what I feel right now is nothing I’ve had in the past. I don’t want to feel stupid in front of him, and right now, I do.
He drops his hands from my waist and moves me off his lap. Then he stands and turns away, breathing out heavily. It’s probably best I show you to your room. It’s a guest bedroom.
I hear it in his voice. What he’s really trying to say. Nowhere near me.
I nod. It’s a good idea. I need space to think. Standing, I follow him out of the living room and up the staircase. Upstairs has a lot of doors and long corridors that veer off into unknown directions. He turns left and takes me down a narrow hallway, until we come to a large room with the door already open.
Right in the middle is a massive, luxury bed, the rest of the furniture matching.
Leaving me in the doorway, he makes his way over to another door that slides open. As I walk inside slowly, I realize it’s the biggest walk-in closet I’ve ever seen in my life. I stare at it with disbelief as he goes inside, grabbing a man’s t-shirt out of one of the drawers.
Is this his room ?
He comes back out and hands me the t-shirt. I take it from him and it open it up. It’s some baseball shirt that I can’t see him wearing.
You can change in there. He points to another door in his room. Then I’ll show you were you’re sleeping.
I don’t know why glance at his bed and then back at him in that moment. His eyes are still burning, his lips inviting and swollen from kissing me. Oh God. What the heck is wrong with me ? Why do I want him when I don’t know him ?
I quickly run into the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind me. Letting out a deep breath, I press my back against the door.
I’ve never done anything like his before. Ever. And I’m pissed at myself. That I’m kissing him like there aren’t serious problems happening.
As I struggle with my inner battle, I open my eyes and gasp at the ridiculous bathroom in front of me. Everything shines under the lights. The marble floors, the large sink, bathtub and modern toilet that I bet cleans itself.
Going over to the mirror, I pull a face when I see my eyeliner has smudged, my hair is tangled, and my cheeks are bright pink.
Sighing, I wet my hand under the tap and press my cool fingers against my face to cool myself.
Pushing my hair over my shoulder, I check out the bite and frown that it’s not as bad as I thought. There are four, deep puncture holes surrounded by red skin. The blood, that has dried up now, makes it look worse, but I can barely feel it.
Grabbing a piece of tissue, I clean the blood from it and let my hair fall back into place. Wanting to get this over with, I strip from my dress and put on the t-shirt he gave me. It’s embarrassing that it’s longer than my dress was, but I’m glad I’m wearing it.
Rolling my dress into a ball, I tuck it under my arm and rake my fingers through my hair anxiously.
Here we go.
When I go back inside, Colton is sitting on the edge of his bed, tapping on his phone. He looks up when he sees me, his eyes widening a fraction. After throwing his phone down on the bed, he gets up slowly. You look different.
Different ? I stiffen. He probably thinks I look terrible.
Better, he surprises me by saying. You look better. He looks at me seriously for a moment, and then sighs. I need to tell you something.
What ?
What I did will only get worse between us, and I’m… I’m not a good guy. He frowns as he says that. I’m possessive of what’s mine and I don’t know how bad this is going to get. All I know is that, if anyone were to mess with you, I’d kill them. And I’m not just saying that. I will. I swallow hard at how serious he’s being. I don’t know why this happened tonight, and honestly, I think I’m being punished.
What are you talking about ?
He shakes his head and laughs bitterly. Actually, I wonder why they’re punishing you.