Ignition

by Skye Callahan

  Granted, some of that inflation was due to my interest.

  “Wasn’t so bad until I tried to run,” she said. “He set his cop friends on me, set me up, and then came to my ‘rescue’ because he’s oh so kind.”

  “And since then, you’ve been under his thumb?”

  “Something like that,” she shrugged. “Guess it could’ve been worse—I could have been taken by a pimp.”

  She was trying to be funny, but I glared over my shoulder at her. It was a pathetic attempt at humor, but it showed in bold red colors how oblivious she was to his real intentions.

  “I didn’t want to know what was behind his closed doors,” she said quietly. Her eyes pooled with tears and she stared up at the lights. “I just wanted out.”

  “But you did see, and you realized that you were well on your way to finding out where the rest of his money comes from,” I said. The panic on her face had showed it as soon as she came running out of the back of the club.

  Her expression went flat and she grabbed at the wall for support.

  I grabbed her arm and dropped her into one of the sturdy oak dining chairs. “Don’t tell me you’re a fainter.”

  That would make things quite inconvenient.

  “Never before,” her voice was faint. “But we’re in uncharted territory here. I saw them in the office with Alex. Devlin caught me.”

  She lowered her head, letting her hair fall over her face. “They all grabbed at me, pawed at me”—she swallowed audibly—“They only stopped because someone said you dad was there.”

  My dad.... I scoffed.

  Peeking through the matted tendrils of hair, she whispered, “Devlin sent me back to the dressing room, and I ran.”

  When I was convinced that she was stable enough not to fall out of the chair and crack her head on the stone tile, I went back to the stove and poured us each out a bowl of soup. I’d wagered on Devlin to seal my deal with her, but now, I didn’t have anything to say. No explanations, no apologies.

  Had I completely lost the ability to feel anything? Or was it the drugs?

  Aubrey eyed me as I set a bowl and pack of crackers in front of her, but she was too lost in her own thoughts and regrets to annoy me with any more questions. Of course, that would happen the moment I didn’t want to deal with my own thoughts. When I didn’t want to think about the drugs coursing through my veins.

  She emptied her bowl and pushed it away.

  “More?” I asked.

  She shook her head and wrapped her arms around her stomach.

  “Then go get a shower,” I said. “And remember—”

  “No pleasuring myself,” she said dryly. “Got it.”

  I had a feeling she rolled her eyes as soon as she turned her back. This was going to be fun.

  Within seconds of her exiting the room, her steps turned to stomps and approached again. Stopping just short of the table, she tossed a manila folder onto the surface, and it slid into the side of my bowl.

  I raised my eyebrows and waited—curious to what barrage she could come up with.

  “You stole my medical records?”

  I shrugged and pushed the folder away. “You signed a release.”

  “Not for you to be able to get ahold of anything.”

  Leaning back in my chair, I crossed my arms. I almost wondered if I should have a closer look considering her reaction, but my only concern was that she didn’t have anything I might catch—the same things Devlin had been concerned about. I snorted. “Maybe you should ask where I got them.”

  She glanced at the folder, then back to me. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  I pressed my lips together. “Wrong question, darlin’.”

  She huffed and propped her hands on her hips. “Where did you get them?”

  I picked up my empty bowl and stood, leaning toward her ear as I whispered the answer. “Devlin.”

  Dropping her arms and slapping her hands against her thighs, she spun to keep an eye on me. “Why would he give—”

  “Ah,” I held a finger up to silence her. “He didn’t. He keeps them on all of his employees, and I figured since he’d already done the work, I’d just slip in and have a look.”

  Her jaw dropped open. God, I loved the shocked look on her face.

  “You happened to be distracting him in the dressing room at the time, I believe.”

  “You—” she stuttered and tripped over whatever she was about to say. “Fine. You have my records. What do I get?”

  “Birth control pills,” I mumbled. I sure as hell wasn’t having a kid on the loose. “I’m clean, and I don’t intend to go near you without a condom at least until the birth control has taken effect.”

  She made a sound in her throat. “And why should I believe you?”

  “I don’t care if you do or don’t. I haven’t lied to you yet, and you weren’t worried about any of this until now.”

  “I had plenty of other things to worry about,” she yelled and threw her arms over her head as she paced in front of the doorway. “You just dragged me across town to steal a car, and you took heroin.”

  Her words felt like tiny annoying tap dancers parading through my brain reminding me of what I’d done. Of what was coming. “Tomorrow, I’ll have Jace run any test you want—within reason. Will that make you shut up and go take a shower?”

  Her nostrils flared, but she spun on her heels and left me. I leaned over the counter and closed my eyes. Every time I glanced at a clock, I recalculated how long I had left—like an insomniac watching the clock and knowing morning was coming, except I knew the pain was coming.

  How much different would it be after just one small hit? A tease. A reminder of how good it felt in the beginning. How many hours until the euphoria wore off and I felt stripped raw with the burning desire to find it again?

  The shower kicked on, pulling my attention away—reminding me of a beautiful distraction waiting for me under its stream. Foreplay was nearly over.

  I grinned and turned for the bathroom, but Isabella skidded into my path and sat down.

  “Sorry, girl,” I mumbled, scratching her head. She followed after me as I passed, until I kicked her favorite toy and she ran across the room to get it. I was surprised any of the furniture survived.

  With Isabella distracted and entertaining herself in the corner, I slipped into the bedroom and closed the door. Stripping off my shirt, I pulled an old travel bag out of the closet. I’d picked up a few travel packs of soap and shampoo from hotels when I needed a break from this town. I figured any of them would smell better on Aubrey than my body wash—a girl that smelled like a man simply wouldn’t do.

  Aubrey jumped as soon as I opened the door, but in the large walk-in shower, there was nowhere to hide.

  “I’ve already seen it all, darlin’. Get used to it.”

  She smacked at the wall, still using one hand to cover her breasts. “Can’t you just let me shower in peace?”

  I popped open the shower door and sat the bottles and bar of soap on the shelf, but she didn’t take her eyes off me as she reached to grab them. It was some citrus herb junk, but I could never let free amenities go to waste—eventually they came in handy.

  Leaning my shoulder into the wall, I watched and bided my time. As much as I wanted to touch her, to have my hands on her and be buried inside of her, some things were more fun to observe from a torturous distance. With a small shake of her head, she turned her back to me and massaged the shampoo through her hair.

  I popped the button open on my jeans and slid the zipper down painfully slow. I didn’t want her to notice until I was ready. Until my jeans and boxers had joined her clothes in a pile on the floor. The water streamed down her smooth back, over the arch of her ass, and down her legs. My tongue burned to lap it up—to replace the drugs in my veins with something more manageable.

  I didn’t need euphoria when I could have bittersweet pain.

  She jumped again at the sound of the door popping open, but this time
her eyes widened and fell straight to my engorged cock.

  “Um,” she mumbled and swallowed, grabbing for the bar across the back of the shower. She still hadn’t taken her gaze off my dick—and if not for the wall she would have taken a few steps back when I joined her in the shower and closed the door.

  “Are those—” she stuttered. “Safe for—they look painful.”

  I lifted my cock, grazing the ladder of frenum piercings down to the Prince Albert that hung from my head. “For me or you?”

  Her brow was tight and knitted into worry lines above her wide eyes. She definitely had not gone anywhere near my brother’s junk—not that I hadn’t believed her, but the shock was intoxicating to watch.

  “I—” Her mouth fell open and stayed that way.

  “Relax, darlin’. Your head is going to explode. I wouldn’t have guessed that genital piercings are big where you’re from, but it’s not that shocking.”

  “It is if you’re going to be shoving—” Her face turned red and she turned away without finishing.

  Bad move.

  Perfect for me, but it was always a stupid idea to turn away from a predator.

  I pushed her shoulder forward, so she had to brace herself against the shower wall. Beneath her soft skin, muscles tightened and shook under my touch. My cock pressed its way between her legs as I held her hips firmly against my hips.

  “I’d recommend holding onto something,” I whispered in her ear.

  “Colt, please.” She squirmed and bucked, but couldn’t get any firm footing against the wet shower.

  I pulled the shower head off of its hook and stretched it down between her legs where I could angle it up at her sex.

  She squealed and jumped, like a determined rabbit trying to skitter away, only to realize it had already been caught in the trap. Every twitch and flick of her body against mine tightened my erection and tugged at the long buried strings of my desire.

  Her fingers dug into the wall, and for the first time I noticed she was missing three of her acrylic nails. Maybe we could shoot for more.

  I pressed a button on the back of the shower head, changing the water to a hot pulsing stream.

  Aubrey’s squeals turned to moans and coos as she tried to catch her breath and regain control of her feelings. I bit her neck and pressed my hips against her, trapping my cock against her skin where it pulsed for release.

  Not so fast.

  I pulled back, but Aubrey’s hips rocked against me. Her self-control lost to physical sensation. Taking her nipple in my free hand, I alternated between pinches and soft caresses until I had assaulted every inch of sensitive skin on her right breast. Her breath came in quick gasps, then escaped in a long moan as I sucked her earlobe into my mouth and bit down.

  She fisted her hands against the shower wall, pulling away from me one second only to give into the pleasure the next. Her stomach tensed and the stiffness spread throughout her body. She was so close, and with her head thrown back, resting against my shoulder she didn’t have the strength to fight anymore.

  I reached around her and turned off the water.

  Aubrey cried out and smacked the shower wall.

  “Problem, darlin’?” I asked, rubbing her back.

  “You,” she growled. Digging her fingers into the tile wall until two more nails popped off. She leaned forward and pressed her face to the tile, but that still left her ass for my pleasure.

  I smacked her right cheek and she cried out, scrambling for the door, but I pressed my knee between her legs and pushed her forward again. Left cheek, right cheek. Aubrey squealed and pulled away with every blow, reaching around and trying to block, but I pinned her arms behind her back and I kept up the invigorating pattern until her ass was hot and pink.

  She moaned and huddled against the wall when I finished. I had to hand it to her—she’d managed to hold off crying this long.

  I pushed open the shower door and waved her toward it, but she didn’t trust me at all.

  “Get dried off, darlin’.”

  She edged around me, keeping an eye on me and her back to the wall as she grabbed a towel.

  I watched every movement, the jiggle of her breasts as she rubbed the towel over her hair, her body as she twisted and turned to dry every inch—all without taking her gaze off of me.

  Her breath still came in sharp pants, and her pink cheeks nearly matched the decoration I’d given her ass.

  All of it furthered my desire and made my cock pain for release—as I was sure she pained too.

  Chapter 10

  My ass stung, but that sensation was easily overcome by the pulsing and throbbing between my legs—the need exaggerated by every movement. I wanted to be back on stage. To have the façade of untouchability. Knowing that Colt could do anything he pleased at any moment... it should have made me uncomfortable, but instead it quickened my pulse and heightened my awareness. It excited me and damned me to more torment.

  Something had to be better than this. Damn it, a homeless shelter had to be better than this, but I wasn’t so stupid that I hadn’t considered all of those options. No matter where I ran, Devlin would swoop in and ruin my life again.

  Holding the towel around my vulnerable body, I watched as he finished drying off, but I didn’t dare let my gaze fall to his cock again. It was sizable, yes, but that I could deal with. The protruding metal on the other hand, was another story. Instead, I concentrated on the tattoos that covered his shoulder and left arm. Thick black lines twisted over his muscular form and a tire pattern circled his forearm, leading to stars and more black lines that drew to points near his wrist.

  In a split second, Colt went from drying himself off to charging toward me. Before I could think, I found myself tossed over his shoulder again. One hand held my leg across his chest and the other opened me up and rested on my sensitive sex. Every tiny movement sent piercing fire through my nerves.

  I’d never wanted to come so badly, but I bit the inside of my lip. Maybe if I just let him finish he’d stop tormenting me.

  And in the end, you’ll beg for it.

  I wouldn’t stoop to that, so I concentrated on the pain in my lip, the taste of blood in my mouth—even the stinging pain on my ass, but that brought me back to Colt.

  In front of the bed, he sat me on my feet and ripped away the towel, letting it fall to the floor. Then, he shoved me face first into the mattress. I heard a drawer open, then a vibrator dropped to the bed a few feet from my head.

  No, I couldn’t take anymore.

  Then, something rustled behind me, and his cock pressed at my entrance. I felt swollen as he entered me. I waited for some kind of splitting pain, but he’d worked me up so much over the course of the day that the head of his cock slid in without resistance, followed by the raised lumps of the piercings that ran along the underside of his cock.

  I fisted the blanket, snapping off yet another acrylic—at this point it didn’t even hurt and I was increasingly glad to be rid of them. I moaned into the blanket as he filled and stretched me. The piercings didn’t hurt, but with every thrust, they stimulated nerves that I didn’t realize existed.

  The burning tension twisted through my muscles and pulsed through my nerves until it all concentrated in my lower stomach. My hips bucked, allowing him deeper access, and I screamed into the mattress and clawed at the blankets. The building wave broke free, and Colt pulled out, leaving me empty to squirm with the remainder of my orgasm.

  Before I could catch my breath, he picked up the vibrator.

  “No,” I muttered, trying to push myself up, but he knocked my legs out from under me and twisted both arms behind my back holding them with one hand against me while he switched on the vibrator.

  “Come on, baby,” he growled. “All of that build up. Give me one more.”

  He pressed the vibrator to my clit, and I twisted to get away. It hurt, yet felt like ecstasy. The brutal duality between pleasure and pain. I wanted to get away, but I wanted more. It was all too much.
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br />   My body writhed against his hot damp skin and my throat burned, but I couldn’t hold back the guttural noises that escaped as he filled me again and continued ripping me apart from behind.

  I pressed my toes into the floor, lifting my ass higher in the air. His cock hit even deeper, harder, faster. And in this position, the texture of the piercings bumped against my g-spot with every thrust.

  The pain shattered my senses and then the pleasure flooded through in its wake. The room exploded into nothingness. My body shook so hard he had to grab my hips to hold me steady as he continued pumping with erratic motions. He no longer mattered as I sailed down from the turbulent ride until I smacked back into reality and opened my eyes.

  I couldn’t feel Colt around me anymore.

  I was cold, shivering, and still bent over his bed.

  I pushed myself up, grabbed my towel from the floor, and wrapped it around myself, it was still wet and cold as well, but it gave me some comfort.

  Colt was standing just a few feet away. Watching. Waiting for something.

  To see how I’d react?

  I didn’t even know how to respond. My thought process was gone. When I pressed my legs together, I could still feel him there, but now I didn’t know whether to run and hide, shield my blushing face, or curl up under the blankets and pass out.

  Did he not expect me to get off again?

  What if I’d ruined our deal?

  He licked his lips and closed his eyes for a second and smirked. With two steps, he was on top of me again. He reached for my cheek, but I arched my back and pulled away, so he grabbed my hair instead and clasped his mouth over mine. His tongue flicked at my lips, but I pressed them tightly closed until his hand slid under the towel and I gasped. I had half a mind to bite his tongue as he filled my mouth, assaulting me with his taste.

  Even then, I knew I’d never forget his taste or touch for as long as I lived.

  I was a whore—a very expensive, and comparatively speaking, well—cared for whore, but that was the reality nonetheless.

  “Please,” I whispered when he broke away.

  “Please, what?” He traced my swollen lips with his thumb.