Hush - Fighting Fate #2

by Maree Green

  I studied Kaeli as she waltzed back in with Mia, Jace and Aiden, remembering the slightly glazed look she’d gotten in her eyes when she’d looked over my tatts the night before. That’s what Dean needed. Not Kaeli, but someone who’d look at him like that.

  That’s what every man needed. And I had it. I didn’t know how, but I was fucking taking it.

  Chapter 63

  Kaeli

  I was officially the happiest girl in the world. Well, I didn’t really have the papers to prove it, but I just knew it was true.

  The night had gone just like I’d always hoped my graduation night would. Great friends, good laughs, happy memories, and an amazing boyfriend. I knew the last part wasn’t exactly official either, but to me that’s exactly what he was.

  He’d been so good with my friends. He fit in just like he was supposed to be there, finding a place with the guys with no problem at all. Especially Matt for some reason.

  Corey had been a little funny when I’d introduced them, which unfortunately led to some questions being asked to me later where I had to tell Noah I’d kind of kissed Corey that night I’d gotten drunk. I didn’t think he’d been too pleased about that, and although he didn’t say anything, I did notice he made sure there was always a distance between me and wherever Corey was after that.

  Although he’d been more subdued at the party than he had been during our ride over to Mia’s, I could feel that same intensity slowly coming out again as we drove back to his apartment. It seemed to heat the air around us, making it crackle with electricity.

  Those words he’d spoken to me when he’d picked me up echoed in my head, taunting me. The thought of him taking me, possessing me, was driving me insane.

  He didn’t speak as he clasped my hand and led me towards the lift. He didn’t look at me either. I got the feeling that he was trying to hold himself back. As soon as we stepped into his apartment, I thought he’d turn all that locked up energy my way, but instead, he let go of my hand and moved towards the kitchen.

  I frowned, not really sure what was going on. He seemed a little uptight about something and I was beginning to think it was me. Following him, I stopped beside the counter and assessed him.

  “What’s going on?”

  He looked up at me then, surprise splashed across his features. “What do you mean?”

  I narrowed my eyes. “You’re avoiding me.”

  “No, I’m not. I brought you to my apartment didn’t I?”

  He looked genuinely confused, but I still knew what I was feeling from him. “Don’t bullshit me, Noah. Something’s going on and if you don’t tell me what it is, I’m going to get crabby.”

  His lips twitched a little, but the troubled darkness in his eyes remained.

  We stared at each other in silence for a long time, the air around us quickly starting to heat and spark, building with that deep intensity I’d been longing for all night.

  “Noah,” I said, not at all surprised by the sultry sound of my voice. “I want you.”

  Pain flashed through his eyes. “I can’t give you what you want right now, Kaeli. I’m too keyed up.”

  “It doesn’t matter. I want you. No matter what you are. It doesn’t always have to be romantic, Noah. I want it all.”

  His eyes narrowed and darkened, a calculating edge creeping into his gaze. “Are you sure about that?”

  I felt a flash of defiance sweep through me. “Yes. I want you to take me.”

  Noah growled. It was the hottest sound I’d ever heard. “Then you asked for it.”

  Before I took my next breath, he reached out and pulled me hard against him, claiming my mouth with an intensity that’d been building for way too long.

  He took his time, exploring me, but in no way was he gentle about it. And I didn’t want him to be. I was too far gone for soft and sweet. I needed him to consume me.

  His hands tightened on my hips, his tongue stroking against mine, forceful and demanding, licking and tasting. Then he firmly bit down on my bottom lip before sucking it between his and soothing it with his tongue.

  I moaned into his mouth, my hands clenching in his hair, tugging hard on the longer strands, encouraging him to go a little harder.

  Thankfully, he took the hint, and with rough hands he grabbed for the hem of my dress, yanking it up above my stomach, dragging his fingers across my bare skin, stroking me from the base of my back to the undersides of my breasts. Over and over again.

  My whole body was aching. Aching for his touch. Aching for him to fill me. I stroked my tongue against his, loving the way the little metal ball felt as he licked and teased. Soft and hard.

  Noah growled against my mouth, the vibration traveling through me, making me crazy. One of his hands moved to grab my ass, thrusting me harder against him, then the other wrapped firmly around the long strands of my hair. With a firm pull, he leveraged my head back, breaking our kiss and exposing my neck to him.

  I gasped at the suddenness of it, then moaned, and he gripped my hair tighter. His breath was rough and ragged against my throat. I wanted his mouth there. I wanted him to make me his. Tilting my head back with his grasp, I silently begged him to take me.

  The second his teeth lightly grazed over my flesh, I cried out with relief, then shivered as he soothed it with his tongue and sucked.

  It was insane. So many sensations were charging through me I could hardly keep up. Soft. Hard. Pleasure. Pain. Combined, it sent my head spinning and my need for him way past breaking point.

  Noah must’ve reached the same place I had, because in the next moment, he grabbed my dress and ripped it over my head, too impatient to even tend to the zipper.

  Just as impatient, I grabbed for his shirt, but he pushed my hands away before I could get to it, reaching over his shoulder to tear it off himself. Then in one swift move, he picked me up and strode through the door to his bedroom, throwing me down on his bed.

  Crawling above me, he unclasped my bra, dragging it down my arms agonizingly slow and teasing, until my chest was bared to him. I writhed under his watchful gaze, panting and arching, pleading with my eyes for him to touch me.

  He didn’t.

  With hands firmly placed on the bed either side of me, he leaned forward, his mouth only a fraction of an inch from my straining nipples. I whimpered. He breathed.

  As the warmth of his breath caressed my skin, I moaned. “Oh god, Noah!”

  Noah growled. “Say it again,” he demanded, breathing on me again.

  Holy shit that was hot. “Noah! Please, Noah…”

  He grinned, and I realized this was just what he needed. Me. Begging. Screaming his name.

  Leaning forward, he very slowly ran the tip of his tongue over my nipple. A garbled, non-coherent noise erupted from me and I instinctively grabbed handfuls of his hair, needing to clutch him to me.

  He immediately pulled back out of my reach and shook his head at me before grabbing my hands and pulling them up over my head. With firm hands, he pushed them into the mattress near the bed head.

  “Your hands stay there,” he said, his voice gruff and oh so freaking sexy.

  My body was singing with sensation. It was achy and needy, and I wanted him to make it better. Still writhing and groaning from the sound of his voice, I felt him watching me. My hands inched downwards, needing to feel.

  He growled. “Kaeli. Hands.”

  My gaze snapped up, oh too willing to listen to that voice of authority, and I slowly slid my hands higher, threading my fingers around the slats of the bed frame.

  “Good girl.”

  Heat flared with his approval. Panting, I watched him slowly lower himself, his arms straining, and the hard cords of his muscles bulging and tightening. In one long stroke, he ran his tongue over my other nipple, breathing over the wetness, making it harden and beg for more.

  Then he did it again, and again, alternating between the two, until I was whimpering and writhing and crying out his name.

  My body had never felt s
o alive. Every single nerve ending felt like a live wire, tingling and pulsing, searching for something to find it and sooth it.

  He took my nipple again, but this time he sucked it into his mouth. Hard. Swirling his tongue around it, gently biting and laving before starting the process all over again.

  “Noah, please,” I begged. “I need you. Please…”

  I saw his gaze shoot up to where my hands were gripping the head board before he slowly started to move downward, leaving a trail of kisses all the way down to the little bow on my panties.

  When his mouth was level with the black lace edge, he paused, breathing hot and heavy against me. It was like pleasure and torture at the same time. Both my head and my body was in constant turmoil, loving this teasing, forceful, domineering side of Noah, but needing his touch at the same time

  I’d never actually thought about what it would be like to have sex with a dominant man before. Not that Noah was as dominant as some of my book boyfriends, but damn if I wasn’t loving every second of it.

  As he slowly peeled the panties from my body, I had to focus on keeping my hands still or I was going to reach for him. It was like a compulsion. I loved the feel of his skin under my hands. It did things to my insides.

  Secretly, I wondered what he would do if I disobeyed. Would he cuff me? Strangely, the thought excited me. Maybe I would ask him if he could one day.

  All thoughts slipped from my mind and his hot breath tingled over the insides of my thighs. I was dying to know what that piercing would feel like against me. It was driving me crazy.

  The second his tongue slid over my clit, a shudder travelled all the way through my veins. It was like my whole body exhaled in a glorious breath of ecstasy.

  Gripping the headboard tighter, I arched my back, moving against his tongue.

  “Oh, Noah…” I breathed, knowing he loved hearing the sound of his name on my lips.

  If I was to be honest, after having to bite my tongue to stop myself from saying his fake name, and then not knowing his real name at all, I loved saying it. A lot.

  His fingers gripped my hips tighter in response, almost making me smile. Almost. But not really, because that piercing against my clit was somehow altering my mind, making one thought quickly flicker to another before it even had a chance to manifest itself.

  He twirled his tongue again and again, circling over my clit in a steady rhythmic beat.

  I strained against my imaginary restraints, pushing my hips higher, my body coiling, tightening, building a tension so crushing I was starting to think I might not survive the fall.

  But then it was too late, and I was falling, with no way of stopping and no idea how I was going to survive.

  I screamed, lost in sensations and emotions, confused and disorientated. But then rough hands were grabbing me and I found myself being flipped onto my stomach.

  “Don’t move your hands,” Noah barked.

  I readjusted my grip so my wrists weren’t twisted, gasping when Noah grabbed my hips, lifting me up so my chest was pressed against the mattress and my ass was sticking in the air. I felt him shift behind me. Heard the sound of rustling clothes. Then he was forcing his thigh between mine, pushing my legs apart.

  I panted heavily as a hand was pressed to my lower back, and then in one hard thrust, he filled me.

  The suddenness of it took my breath away. My head swirled and I swore I saw stars.

  Noah grunted. “Fuck!”

  His hands gripped my hips, his fingers digging into my flesh as he pulled out and slammed back into me. Holy mother of mercy! I had no idea if it was his piercing, the depth, or the angle he was stroking, but holy freaking shitballs I was so freaking turned on I thought I might actually combust.

  “Kaeli!” Noah choked out. “Fuck-”

  The sound of his arousal was more than I could handle. Pushing back against him, I urged him harder. His fingers tightened even more, leaving no doubt in my mind I’d have bruises the next day, but I needed it just as much as he did.

  His rhythm turned frantic, a fast, heavy pounding that drove me further and further up the bed, until I had to use my hands to stop myself from being driven into the headboard.

  I was so close to climaxing. It throbbed inside me, so close to the surface I wanted to scream. I clenched my muscles around him, begging it to come. Noah roared and pumped even harder. Then releasing one hand, he reached around and pressed his fingers to my clit.

  Fireworks exploded inside my body. I think I screamed, or cried, or both. I was too far gone to really know. Somewhere in the distance I heard Noah call out my name as he found his own release, then I collapsed, all energy gone.

  Chapter 64

  Noah

  The instant Kaeli’s body slid down on the bed, I knew I’d fucked up. I couldn’t believe someone as beautiful as she was had given me a chance and I’d just thrown it away by acting like a fucking animal.

  I had no idea what the fuck had come over me. It was the same as when I’d picked her up. I just wanted to brand her. Make her mine. I’d acted like Mitch, and he wasn’t anywhere near deserving of her.

  And it seemed neither was I.

  Forcing myself to release her instead of hold her close to me like I desperately wanted to do, I rolled to the edge of the bed and hung my head.

  Fucking Mitch!

  Why couldn’t he just go the fuck away? Was this job going to fucking curse me until the day I died?

  “Fuck!”

  Pushing myself to my feet, I stalked to the other side of the room, shoving my hands through my hair. I knew I needed to apologize to her, but I was fucking scared of looking at her right now. If I saw one ounce of fear or disappointment in her eyes I was going to lose it. But I knew it would be there. How could it not?

  Jerking around to pace to the other side of the room, I grabbed at the back of my head. “Jesus. Kaeli…I’m so fucking sorry…”

  Rubbing my hands over my face, I tried to force myself to look at her, but I just couldn’t. I was a fucking coward.

  But then she was in front of me, naked, wrapped in my sheet, concern and worry etched on her face.

  “Noah. Stop,” she said, her voice slightly uncertain. “You’re scaring me.”

  “I’m so sorry,” I said again. And I’d keep saying it until it was ever enough.

  She grabbed my wrists, holding firmly. “I don’t understand why you’re sorry. Tell me what’s going on.”

  I shook my head. I was so fucking angry with myself. “I can’t believe I did that to you. You deserve so much more than that.”

  Her brow creased and her gaze flickered from one of my eyes to the next in rapid succession. “Noah, you’re not making any sense. Are you saying you regret what we just did?”

  “Kaeli, that was fucked up. I took you like a fucking animal. I took you like Mitch! I thought that part of my life was gone, but obviously it’s not. And I don’t know if it ever will be. It’s…fucking scarred me or something. I’m no good for you. You need to get far away from me. Find someone who can treat you the way you deserve to be treated.”

  She blinked up at me, her lips slightly parted as I panted with panicked breaths.

  Slowly, she licked her lips and inhaled, still clutching the sheet to her chest. “Let me get this straight. You think you’re bad for me because of what we just did.”

  “What I just did,” I said harshly. There was no way I was going to let her take any of the blame for what I just did.

  Her eyes narrowed like she was growing angry. Good. She should be fucking angry.

  “Noah…if you think you’re horrible for taking me the way you did, what does it make me for liking it?”

  My mind went blank for a minute. I didn’t understand the words she was saying. “What do you mean you liked it?”

  She sighed. “Noah, you’re never going to get rid of Mitch, if that’s what you’re thinking. He’s a part of you.”

  “I know! That’s what I’m saying. That’s why you should leave
me, Kaeli. I’m bad for you!”

  “No,” she said steadily. “That’s not what I mean. I mean that Mitch is a part of you. That he’s probably always been a part of you. Like an alter ego. Everyone has different personalities that come out to help them cope with different situations. Mitch is strong, hard, protective, and knows exactly what he needs to do to get results. He was the perfect choice for you to make when choosing who you needed to be to get through your time in the Den. If you think back before you went undercover, you’ll probably find he was there a lot.”

  I stared at her. Why did that make sense? But, no…I couldn’t. Mitch was bad. He’d done bad things while I’d been undercover. I shook my head. I couldn’t let her confuse me. I was right. She needed to be free of me.

  Her expression hardened. “Where’s your cell?”

  What? My cell? Why was she asking that?

  “Where’s your cell, Noah?” Without waiting for me to give her an answer, she spun, searching the room, finding it on the floor beside my discarded jeans.

  Before I could figure out what she was doing with it, she was pushing buttons and the sound of ringing came through the loud speaker.

  “Noah?”

  I blinked at the sound of Adam’s voice. Why was she ringing Adam?

  “Adam?” she said, placing the cell on the dresser. “It’s Kaeli. Noah’s fine. I just wanted to ask you a question if that’s alright?”

  “Uh…you do know it’s like one o’clock in the morning, don’t you?”

  Kaeli flinched a little, but she looked determined. “I’m sorry, but it’s important.”

  “Okay. What do you need to know?”

  “Would you agree with me that Noah has more than one particular type of personality?” she said, her eyes never leaving mine.

  “Uh…of course,” Adam said, clearly confused. “Kaeli, what’s this all about?”

  “I know it’s probably confusing, but I need you to bear with me for a second, okay?”