I giggle then frown, “Wait, you knew we were going?”
“You didn’t?” he chuckles, and I stop myself from punching him again, he bruises like a peach. “It’s in your contract.”
I purse my lips thinking that maybe I should have read it. “I have nothing to wear.”
He takes a step back and clasps his hands to his chest. “I’ve got you babe.” By the way he says it, and the way his eyes roam my body, I’m not so sure.
“Caleb.” I cringe.
“Trust me.”
And I do.
35
Wolf
I’ve been here for over two hours, watching the rooms fill up with London’s rich and infamous. Fortunes built on the misfortune of others stuffed in everyone’s faces. Dressed up, pompous peacocks all out to impress with feathers, when the meat underneath is rotten. I see a few familiar clients and we ignore each other. In this space, I don’t exist. I scan the room for the hundredth time, pretending I’m not waiting for her while inconsequential polite conversation, canapes, and wine woosh around me.
The ebb of conversation dims for a few seconds, then the room erupts in applause as Becca Oakridge makes an entrance followed by Caleb and Red.
Red.
The air in my lungs squeezes out in a sharp breath, and my heart staggers in my chest.
Her fingers are entwined together in front of her, and I know it’s to stop her from pulling at her scant dress. She’s all long legs in shiny, red heels and curves in a stunning, off the shoulder tight black number that makes my body crave hers and burn with heat.
I shuffle backwards into the shadows, watching her move and smile, watching the rich pricks roam her body with their eyes and taint her shoulders with lingering, uncomfortable touches. I see the way she steps out of them, keeping the fake smile firmly in place.
Every now and then, she scans the room like she’s looking for something, someone. I wonder where fuck face is and why he’s not wrapped around her. Truth be told, I don’t give a shit. I pull further into the darkness where I can watch her.
Only her.
Resigned to suffer in shadows.
When the auction starts, I swap with Dean. I stand by the glass backdoor- fresh air, sealed exit, and no Red anywhere to be seen. She’ll be inside somewhere, wearing that sexy stunning number that makes my indecision about her impossible. I’m so drawn to her that if I don’t touch her soon, my atoms will rip me apart from the inside.
I pace along the glass door. Light from inside piercing the lattice windows, throwing strange shapes on the ground, and that’s when I see a flicker of movement. A flash of colour catches my eye and when I look up, I see Red. She slips out of her bright red shoes and leaves them by the path, then she steals into the woods where the darkness swallows her whole.
36
Red
It’s hard to breathe in there, and I just need a minute to collect my thoughts. The excitement and pressure overwhelms me. Becca’s art all sold in the first forty minutes for ridiculous and exuberant sums. I know it’s mostly for charity and the rich out doing their rich friends; but the numbers are large and intimidating, and I’m increasingly aware how far I’ve fallen and how far I have to climb if I ever want to enjoy as much success as Becca.
After the sale, she flaunts me like I’m an accessory. I get assessed and passed around by all her rich friends and plaster a fake smile on my face as they all prod me with their questions and dirty looks. I’m somewhere between flattered and needing a long shower. Ethan is running late on the one night I really needed him to be around.
I just need to breathe.
There’s no sign of Hunter or Wolf or any of their boys, but I know they’re around. They must be blending into their environment. Becca will be pleased.
Although I don’t see him, I can feel his eyes on me wherever I go. I feel watched. My skin tingles like it’s aware of his presence. I can’t see him whenever I scan the room, but I can feel him. Everywhere.
I slip out of the manor and take off the high heels. My feet thank me instantly, and I curse myself for letting Caleb talk me out of my Doc Martens.
I follow the short path through the manicured lawn and steal into the woods. My feet follow the narrow strip of naked earth edged by giant gnarled roots which weave in and out of the ground.
I let my hands touch their husks as I pass, feeling their rough bark beneath my cooling fingers. The cold air bites at my flushed skin, and I fill my lungs with air. The tension leaking out of me.
“Red,” I hear Wolf’s voice slice the darkness and my heart trips, “you are out of bounds, come back here.”
I don’t. I press my back against a tree and search the dark—which would have been absolute, save for the yellow flickers cast by the flaming torches in the garden, the flames ripple in the light breeze and shadows dance on the ground.
“Red,” he taunts me, “I’m not playing games.”
I stay silent, shutting my eyes and resting my head against the tree. The crunch of small rocks beneath his feet tell me he’s close.
Too close.
Time to move.
“Red,” he calls.
I shoot a glance over my shoulder and smirk before I step away from the path and into the woods. I know it’s out of bounds, but I just want to breathe a little easier, my dress feels too tight and the air too thin.
“Red,” his voice sharper this time as it travels through the darkness. My feet sink into the soft muddied earth and decomposing leaves that litter the woodland floor.
I scamper between the trees, my breath short and sharp.
“Red,” his voice is a silent snarl that cuts through the vast dimness of the wood. I giggle even though I know he’s somewhere behind me.
Closing in.
Fear and excitement trickles inside me in slow rivulets.
My heart kicks faster and adrenaline courses through my veins demanding I run.
I hug the rough bark of a tree. My hanging breath like a smoke signal.
All I see is darkness.
I run again, my pulse throbbing.
I round a corner, the cold evening air shocking my throat and lungs as I inhale deeper, faster.
He's coming and I can't stop him.
I don’t know that I want to.
“Red,” his harsh whisper carries by the light breeze, sounding sinister.
I hold my breath and search the shadows.
Shivers slither up my spine as I spot him.
Wolf stalks me. He takes small quiet steps and stops to listen. I know it's him by his large silhouette and by the way he makes no sound at all.
He's quieter than me.
He’s too close.
I dart from my hiding place. A twig snaps beneath me. I don’t turn to look, but I can feel him behind me.
He’s coming.
My thundering heart drowns out all other sound.
I see his shape scamper through the trees then vanish.
I find refuge behind a thick trunk and hold my breath. Every hair on my body stands to attention. Tension wracks up my spine.
I creep around the tree trunk, my cheek brushing along the firm bark.
But,
It’s,
Too,
Late.
A chill runs down my spine and his hot breath scalds my neck a second before his giant hand grabs my shoulder and spins me around. He pushes me into the giant oak and his hand closes around my throat. My pulse ticks against his palm.
“Don’t you know, little girls should not be out in the woods alone at night?” His menacing eyes glint with dark intentions. “Don’t you know there are dangerous things in these woods?”
“Like what?” My heart thrashes in my chest, my stomach unravels in a slow dragging roll.
“Like me.” His fingers trace my collarbone stealing my breath.
“I’m not afraid of you, Wolf.”
“You should be.”
I look away and his hand trails up my jaw, clasping ar
ound it and forcing my chin up to line up our faces. “Tell me, sweet Red, are you afraid I might hurt you?”
“You’ve already done that.” My heart stings with old memories.
His face falls for a second and a slow sly smirk replaces it, “Well, then maybe you’re afraid that I’m going to fuck you.”
“No,” I swallow hard as his grip loosens, “I’m afraid that you won’t.” Except that I am. Knowing how easily he can snap my heart in two.
His thumb swipes over my lips and my mouth falls open. I suck him into my mouth, and he groans as he slides out.
“I’m not a good man, Red.” There’s an ache in his rough voice that rips through me, but the delicate way his fingers trail my neck sparks a fierce need for me to claw at him.
“I don’t believe that,” I whisper as my hands creep to his waste.
“That’s where you’ve always gone wrong.”
His mouth smashes into mine in a brutal, bruising kiss that threatens to set the woods alight. His hand slides along my neck and closes around my nape as the other slithers around me and draws me into his hard body.
When his mouth leaves mine, I whimper into the dark night needing more.
The pressure on the back of my neck disappears and is replaced by Wolf’s soft lips. Like a slow melting glacier, he leans in and peppers kisses on my neck and shoulders, his teeth skate along my skin leaving lasting echoes of his touch.
His free hand creeps up my torso till his fingers edge the neckline of my dress, they tickle my skin, and slither to my collar bone then curl around the fabric and tear it away unceremoniously. His hands close around my breasts and steal the air from my lungs as he groans into my neck. His cheek nuzzles my own, harsh whiskers scratch my skin. His fingers tease and pinch and roll and he whispers into my ear, “Red…” like he’s praying to some unseen god. But I am the one being worshiped. His body pulses and presses against me in waves as he teases and kisses so agonisingly soft, I think I might break.
His hand leaves my aching breast which misses his touch, and heat as it slithers down my belly, he yanks up my skirt and pulls down my underwear. Cold and heat pour into me as his fingers glide along my wetness. I shiver and he lets out a tortured aching sound that threatens to wreck my insides.
His mouth finds a nipple as his fingers delicately tease me. He is everywhere and still he’s not enough; I cry for more with each of my anguished moans.
Heat builds inside me, a need so severe, I ache all over. I need to be unleashed, undone, shattered, and yet he restrains his desire, fighting to remain in control when all I want is to be an animal following my instincts—savage and carnal till they devour us both.
My body tenses and sweet, fierce heat grows between my legs, the all-consuming nothing that explodes into divine sensation just out of reach as he rips his hands away and for a moment I am left unhinged, like a slave without a master. The snick of his zipper slices the night air and then just as quickly his touch is back, but this time his cock is no longer imprisoned by layers of fabric. Its big head slides along my wetness and a feral sound falls from Wolf’s mouth as he plunges into me without warning.
His nails bite into my skin as his brutal hands close around me. My head whips back into the tree and I dig my fingers into his shoulders. We are nothing but a collection of hot sensations that collide in the darkness. His battering hips smash against me, again and again. His harsh pants burn my skin, and my desperate moans tear the silence. His hard body crushes mine into the harder bark and everything hurts so good.
With each thrust, he buries himself deeper and my body bends to meet him, bowing to his will until I erupt in exquisite sensation—a shattering wave of ecstasy—while Wolf growls and grunts and pumps, then savagely grips me so hard I cry as he pushes so deep it sparks intolerable pleasure everywhere.
My heart remembers its rhythm and my lungs learn to breathe again, as bit by agonising bit, we fall from the precipice and down to earth where Wolf isn’t a good guy, and this is going to be nothing more than a notch in some invisible belt he hangs above his bed. The thought cripples my struggling heart as he releases me and I hang onto the tree, afraid to let go in case I might fall apart. And even with the ache inside, my mouth envies the rest of my glistening body, for it craves him like rain in the desert.
He pulls up his pants and zip and then an unbearable silence that stings more than the forming bruises on my body cloaks us.
“Fuck, Red,” he finally chokes out, and the fractured pieces of my heart begins to crumble.
I say nothing.
“Just don’t tell anyone.” He looks around.
I search his face, but the passion from moments ago seems to fizzle into regret and a broken sound rips from my mouth. I swallow another harsh pill.
His eyes dart to mine, but I’m trying to get the dress fitted back onto my body. while fighting this heartbreak. A chaotic soup of emotions he feeds me through a straw in slow, agonising portions, till I choke on the bitterness.
“It’s ripped.” He swears and pulls off his jacket wrapping it around me like a substitute. “Let me get you inside to… clean up.” He clears his throat. He sounds lost, like suddenly I am the predator and he is the one I hunted down.
I nod because I’m dazed—and hurt and elated—and I’m sinking in a pool of uncertain emotions.
He leads me to the edge of the woods where I grab my shoes, my muddied feet need to be washed like our dirty deed.
Wolf mumbles into the radio and nods into the night.
“This way.”
He leads me around the back where a locked door flies open, and Rob stands stone faced as we walk through and Wolf leads me to a bathroom.
“Stay here.” He closes the door behind him as he leaves.
The mirror isn’t kind. She tells me the truth that’s painted on my face. The smudged lipstick and wild hair, the limp dress and the hollow eyes staring back at me, full of unanswered questions. Long finger marks along my shoulder and harsh reddening marks that will be bruises in the morning.
I wash away the mud from my feet and wipe away the stains his brutal lips dragged across my face. Then sweep fingers through my hair. But I can’t hide everything and my skin stings with reminders of him.
A soft knock on the door followed by, “It’s me.”
I unlock it for him, and he steps inside. His eyes slice to me then dart away, “Here.”
He hands me a long red cloak with a hood.
“It’s the only thing I could find that will cover everything…” he clears his throat again like he’s stuck.
“Thank you.” I take it from him and drape it around me.
“I, eh…” he drags a hand across his chin, “I have to go back to work, and you should get back to your party.”
“Sure…”
I grab the door handle.
“You deserve better.” He says it almost like an afterthought, and I can’t help but scoff.
“Really? That’s what you’re going with?”
“Red…”
“Save it. You’re a coward and a liar, and you’re never going to change. You’ll only ever be good at one thing … breaking my heart.”
I let the door close behind me and re-join the party, knowing it will drag on forever, and I will ache and crave him till I get to go home and try to forget another night of broken promises and stupid mistakes.
As I step out of the bathroom, a pair of hands come from behind me and warp around my waste, “Sorry I’m late,” Ethan whispers in my ear.
But I feel fragile, ruined, strained. I can’t be held, not by him, not by anyone or I might fall apart.
“Hi.” I push away from him and try for a smile, but it feels like a grimace. He takes a step back, creases mar his forehead as he examines me.
“Are you ok?”’
“Yeah, it’s just been a really … stressful night.”
“Well I’m here now, I can help with that.”
Doubt it. It's too late.
&nbs
p; Wolf
The door clicks closed behind her and I stare at myself in the mirror, gripping the basin so tightly my knuckles blanch.
Anger sweeps inside me and I know it’s just masking the terror that’s trying to grip me.
I’m afraid because, now that I’ve finally had Red, I’ve eradicated any doubts. I don’t feel that safe indifference I usually do with other women. That certain confidence that whoever I shared myself with always wanted me more than I wanted her. Instead, I felt a want, a need so deep and strong I know it can easily grow into obsession, one that will ensure I’ll take desperate measures to make her mine.
I barely make it through the rest of my shift. My body can't untangle itself from the feel of hers. Her smell is all over my jacket and drives hard nails of insanity into my heart. Like she’s trying to embed her place inside it.
But I can’t.
We can’t, and I need to erase her before I submit to my desires.
I shrug off the jacket and throw it on the backseat. I can’t go home, not when I know she’ll be there. Not when all that separates us is a thin wall that I could break through. I throw Hunter some excuse about needing to think, and he smirks at me knowing what that usually means. I drive off leaving him to deal with the rest of the guys and paperwork.
The club is nearly empty at this late hour. The manager lets me in without any questions, and I sit at the bar nursing a cold beer, maybe the taste could wash away traces of Red. I spot the girl on the dance floor, cinnamon skin and glistening lips. She dances to the music.
I watch her. The way her hips ripple and move like water. She’s fluid and I wonder how she might move when she’s above me.
She watches me watch her, and I can tell she’s dancing just for me. I wink at her and she throws me a shy smile that makes my body sizzle. She’s exactly what I need to erase any part of Red, just fuck her out of my system. I suck the rest of the beer down and stand up, giving the dancer a long look.
She gives me a timid smile and walks away coming back a minute later with a jacket and purse. I turn to leave, and we walk out into the night air. I let her into my car, and we drive to The Royal. They charge by the hour and know me well.
Wolf (A Little Red Riding Hood Retelling) (Brother's best friend romance) Page 15