“I don’t have a problem and I don’t care.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and started tapping my foot, watching as he flipped the canvas back and reached into the bed of the truck.
“I didn’t. Sleep with him, that is.”
He didn’t acknowledge that I had said anything but a tick appeared in his jaw. He rummaged in the truck bed, ignoring me. It made my rage triple. It always had. It drove me crazy and made me insane with a weird kind of desire. God, I was a mess. I wanted to punish him and push him until he lost control.
And I knew exactly how to do it.
“You want to know the truth?” I retorted, following him as he further moved down the truck. “I almost did. I was drunk out of my mind and he was there, dancing with me. I didn’t know his name. All I knew was that he wasn’t you.”
When he didn’t say anything, I kept talking. I wanted a reaction out of him. I wanted to make him mad. The words tumbled out of my mouth faster.
“He asked if I wanted to go somewhere private and I agreed, even though all I could think about was you. So we went to a bathroom and he started kissing me then—”
“Shut up.”
I paused. Cash was gripping the edge of the truck bed with both hands, his arms straight out in front of him, his knuckles white. His jaw was clenched and one of his legs was bent, tension in every line of his body. He stared straight ahead, looking ready to explode.
I felt a little tingle of warning but ignored it. It’s what I wanted, wasn’t it? My lips turned up in a smug smile and I continued.
“He lifted me on the counter. Sound familiar, cowboy? And he started trying to get his hand down my pants. That’s when—”
Cash let out an animalistic growl and lunged at me. Holy shit! I jumped away but he was faster. He grabbed my arms and hauled me back against the truck.
“Shut up, Cat. Just shut the fuck up,” he growled, blazing down at me from beneath his hat. His hands rested on either side of me, locking me in. Pinning me against the rusted, old truck.
I met his stare and jutted my chin out. “Why should I? You said you didn’t care.”
His eyes turned a dark shade of gray. The one that indicated that he was mad.
“Yeah, I did say that didn’t I,” he said, his voice deceptively aloof.
It hurt but I covered it up in the only way I knew how – lashing out, acting up, and being the girl I used to be.
I stood up straighter then took a step closer.
“If you don’t care, I’ll just go back in there and pick up where I left off with him. Maybe I’ll even sleep with him this time so I can forget about you.” I shoved his arm out of the way and started past him, proud of myself for being so damn brave.
“Goodbye, cowboy,” I said, walking away.
My heart breaking.
My soul shattered.
My world crushed.
But I should have known I was playing with fire.
He grabbed my arm and swung me back around. My breath hitched as he shoved me up against the truck again.
“You just made a big mistake, Cat.”
I shivered from the predatory, lethal look in his eyes. I was vulnerable. Susceptible. Fragile standing before him. It scared me tenfold. But I stuck my chin up and met his stern gaze anyway.
“If you get out of my way, I’ll go make another one.”
He let out a low growl. “No one touches you but me.”
I snorted. “Ha. Try again, cowboy. You have no power over me.”
“We’ll see about that.”
One minute I’m standing on my feet and the next, his arm was around my waist like a strong vise. I cried out with alarm as he picked me up.
Oh, hell. I had just made an epic mistake.
Chapter Nineteen
Cash
I was so fucking mad, I couldn’t see straight. First, I walked into the cabin and saw that stranger touching Cat. Shit, I would rather be dead and sitting by Lucifer himself than have to sit back and watch her with another man.
Second, I had to stand there and listen to Cat talk about the soldier. Fury and possessiveness rippled through me. My teeth were gritted so hard, I wanted to roar. She was mine and no one was going to have her. I would make sure of it.
Third, she said I had no power over her. It was true – I didn’t. The girl was a spoiled brat. It was her that had the power over me and that made me mad. Time to change things.
Her ass hit my crotch and the back of her head hit my chest as I lifted her up.
“Let me go!” she shouted, kicking my shin with the heel of her boot. “You have no right to do this!”
“Oh, I have every right,” I said in a cold voice. “Let me just show you how much.”
I headed toward the old barn.
“Ugh! Put. Me. Down!” Cat shrieked, beating on my arm.
I paid no attention to her screams but, shit, she was beating the crap out of my shins with her boot heels and close to tearing my shirtsleeve to shreds with her fingers.
“Stop it,” I growled in a low grumble, tightening my arm around her waist to prove I meant business.
“I’ll behave when you put me down!” she screeched, hitting my forearm with her fists.
I snorted. “You don’t know what the word behave means.”
She let out a frustrated cry and hit me again. I struggled to maintain some self-control as her little round ass bounced against my dick again and again as I carried her to the barn.
Before I had got very far, David and Tate appeared around the corner of the cabin, both of them carrying guns and looking worried.
“What’s going on?” Tate asked. His eyes grew round when he saw Cat struggling in my arms.
David lowered his gun, his beard twitching. “Lover’s spat, son. Leave ’em be.”
I gave David an evil look but didn’t say anything.
“You need help, sis?” Tate asked, looking uncertain, his hair hanging in his eyes.
“Yes!” Cat piped up with relief. “This jackass here thinks—”
“She doesn’t need help,” I said between clenched teeth. “What she needs is a good—”
“Don’t you say it, Cash!” she screeched, digging her nails further into my jacket sleeve. “Put. Me.—”
“Just give us some privacy,” I told David and Tate like it was every day I carried a screaming girl around. “Someone needs a timeout.”
“Timeout! Let me go, butthole!” she screamed, smacking me hard on the arm.
Okay, that was a new one for name-calling. This was getting amusing.
Tate stared at us, his eyes growing wider and wider. David grinned. I could care less. The preacher could think whatever he wanted. He might need to go say a prayer for my soul because I was going to hell for what I was about to do to Cat.
The barn was an old timber structure. Its roof was covered with leaves and dead branches. Weeds reached up the sides, camouflaging the building and taking it over. The corral side had collapsed but the rest of the barn was still standing. I had checked it out when we got here. It was small but big enough for what I planned.
“Put me down, Cash! Now!” Cat shrieked for the hundredth time, giving me a good, swift kick in the shin.
I sucked in a sharp breath at the sharp pain but kept a tight hold on her.
“Do that again, princess, and you’ll regret it,” I warned, flipping the latch on the barn door with my free hand.
“Are you really threatening me? Because if you are, you can kiss my…” She drew her leg as if she was going to kick me again.
I tightened my arm around her waist and shifted so she couldn’t. Big mistake. My cock hit the middle of her ass, right in the cleft of her bottom like it was seeking entrance. Damn. It sent electricity through me.
She stiffened and I held back a moan.
“Told you,” I whispered, sliding the barn door open. “You’ll regret it.”
She blew out a frustrated breath and quieted down as I carried her into the dark interior.
r /> It was warmer inside. The smell of hay and old leather filled every corner of the barn. Loose straw covered the wooden floor. Beams of sunlight peeked between the slats of the walls, throwing light across the interior. The place hadn’t been used for a while. The musty smell and the layers of dust and cobwebs proved it.
I slid the door closed, plunging us in shadowy darkness.
“You’ve made your point! You’re a caveman. Now put me down!” Cat demanded, elbowing me in the side.
I grunted but didn’t let her go. Her tone didn’t have as much gumption as it did before and I noticed that she had kind of gone still. If she were afraid, she would never admit it. The girl was a powerhouse of bravery despite everything she had been through. Jesus, I loved her just for that alone.
The thought made me angry. I wasn’t supposed to love her. It almost got her killed. No, I was only supposed to make her hate me.
Carrying her against my body, I strode to the tack room in the corner of the barn. It held old saddles and reins and also had a door and four walls. Just what I needed to teach the little hellcat what happens when she plays with me.
I kicked the door open. It swung open on rusted hinges. Particles of dust drifted on the air lazily as my boots churned up dirt and hay. A dusty stool sat in one corner, the oak stain long gone. Reins and ropes hung from numerous pegs on the walls and two old saddles had been thrown on the floor. A farm and ranch calendar from three years ago had been stapled on the wall to my right, the corners curled up and brittle.
Someone had spent a lot of time out there, taking care of horses and the gear that went along with them. But now it was mine to take care of something else.
I lowered Cat down. She tried to take off as soon as her feet hit the ground, but I wasn’t letting her go that easily.
“I don’t think so, sweetheart.”
I spun her around and shoved her back against the wall.
She looked up at me, trapped against the wooden slats. Her nostrils flared. She curved one lip up in a snarl meant to look aggressive but only ended up looking sexy.
“What are you going to do, cowboy? Remind me again why I should never have fallen in love with you?” she spit with sarcasm.
I leaned closer, going nose to nose with her. The brim of my hat almost touched her head.
“No,” I said, my warm breath mixing with hers. “I’m going to remind you why you’re mine and just how much power I do have over you.”
I grabbed her waist and flipped her around to face the wall. Her hands hit the warped boards on either side of her. A gasp escaped past her lips.
“Wha…what are you doing, Cash?” she asked in a whispery voice, wiggling against my palm on her hip and not sounding so high and mighty anymore.
I took off my hat and tossed it on the ground.
“I’m teaching you a lesson,” I fumed. She thought she could play with me, talking about Adam, threatening to finish what they started? Well, I’ll show her who could play with whom.
I spread my legs on either side of hers, caging her in. Grabbing both of her wrists, I forced them above her head and reached for some reins hanging nearby.
“Don’t you dare!” she exclaimed, struggling to get away when she saw what I was going to do.
I tightened my grip on her wrists and leaned closer, my mouth going near her ear. “Oh, I’ll do this and a whole lot more, Beauty Queen. Watch and learn.”
I started wrapping the reins around her wrists, circling the delicate bones with the old leather.
She bucked against me, slamming her hip into my crotch. Trying to get away. I hissed with pain but recovered quickly and forced her back against the stall, pinning her body with mine.
She inhaled sharply when my cock nudged her ass again. Good. Maybe that would teach her to behave.
I pushed into her more. God, she felt good.
She stilled, afraid to move with me so close. I continued wrapping the reins around her wrists, taking my time. Going achingly slow. I wanted her to sweat. To grow nervous, wondering what I was going to do.
“You said we were over,” she whispered, her voice shaky. “You told me to stop loving you.”
I hardened my heart and finished tying her wrists. “We might be over, sweetheart, but we’re far from done.”
Her pulse beat strong and rapid under my thumb. The scent of her – something sweet and clean – filled my nostrils, almost making me groan.
She shuddered when I nudged her again with my cock, tying the reins off on a loose board near her head.
“This is not you, Cash,” she murmured. “What happened to you?”
I ran my hand down her arm to her hip. “You happened to me.”
She whimpered when I ran my hand under her shirt. My fingers traveled along her ribcage, feeling every contour and curve. I memorized every inch of her the first night we were together but I would never grow tired of touching the perfection that she was.
“Am I hurting you?” I asked, always mindful of her wound.
“No,” she breathed.
“Good.”
My fingers trailed over her skin, moving slowly to her waistband. She squirmed against my crotch, her cheeks flushing.
I ran my other hand up to cup the back of her head, tangling my fingers in the silky strands. I liked her like that – tied up and vulnerable. Just waiting for me to do what I wanted with her. People always thought I was a quiet, laidback kind of guy but I had a dark side that came out in the bedroom. Cat just seemed to bring it out even more.
“Cash,” she said in a breathless whisper, wiggling against me.
But I wanted her writhing.
I swept my hand down and popped open the buttons on the front of her jeans. She pushed back, straining her bound wrists and pulling at the leather. I let go of the back of her head to run my hand up her arm.
“Don’t move,” I commanded in a low voice, easing her against the wall again.
She gave a small nod and licked her bottom lip.
Satisfied, I unbuttoned the last button on her jeans. The feel of it slipping through the hole under my finger made my mouth water. She was so damn enticing that I wanted to lick every single inch of her, making her wiggle and squirm with intense need. That asshole, Adam, had tried to get a hand down her pants. Well, I’d show her who was the only one allowed to do that.
Her breathing increased. I felt her battling to stay still. With her jeans finally unfastened, I eased my fingers down, my motions slow and torturous.
“Oh god,” she murmured.
“Shhh,” I instructed, moving my fingers lower.
She was wet and ready. I was desperate and barely hanging on. I made a slow circle around her clit then slipped my finger into her, sliding it in deep, her body welcoming me.
She threw her head back and whimpered. I loved that sound. I could listen to it every day for the rest of my life. It showed me how, with just a touch of my fingers, she would come apart for me.
With my cock right in line with her ass, I ran my other hand under her shirt as I worked my finger in and out of her tightness. She moaned and arched when my thumb grazed the underside of her breast, urging me to take it in my palm.
I did, unable to resist. But cupping it wasn’t enough. I was too greedy when it came to her. I gave her breast a firm squeeze then rolled her nipple between my thumb and forefinger. It puckered to a more profound point, needing my lips around it.
Cat inhaled sharply but I wanted more. Much, much more.
I increased the rhythm of my finger plunging in and out of her. The wetter she became, the deeper I went.
She leaned her forehead against the wall and bit her lip to stifle the small whimpers escaping her. But I could hear them. Desperate. Needy. The sound of them made it very hard to keep my cock from busting.
She was close to coming – I could tell by the way her body clamped around my fingers and her breathing increased. But this was about power and I wanted all the control.
“Who do you belong
to?” I asked, my mouth near her ear, my middle finger going deep inside her.
“You,” she answered breathlessly. “Only you.”
“And who gets to touch you like this?”
“You. No one else.”
I ran my hand to her other breast, brushing my fingers over her nipple, causing her to jerk and hiss.
“Mmm. No one touches you. No one has you. But who gets to love you, Beauty Queen? Tell me,” I demanded.
I heard her pant and saw her lick her lips.
“You. You’re the one. The only one.”
Her words caused a kind of warmth to flow through me.
“I’m the one?” I asked, my middle finger easing out of her then sliding back in.
She nodded, her breaths coming faster, her crotch grinding against my hand. Her arms pulled on the reins, going taut. I glanced at her wrists, making sure the leather wasn’t cutting into her. Time to see just how much power I had.
I wrapped my arm around her, keeping her still while my hand worked between her legs.
“And you’d do anything for me?” I whispered, slipping my fingers out of her and running them over her clit.
“Yes,” she said in a sultry voice, moving against my hand. “Shit, don’t stop.”
It was just the reaction I wanted. I drove my fingers into her hard, going as deep as I could as I held her up with my arm around her ribcage.
She bucked and rode my hand, so close to orgasm that I felt her insides quiver.
Just as she started to come – as her body started to clench at my fingers and her back arched – I slid my fingers out of her, leaving her wet and aching. Taking her to the edge and not letting her finish. The worse kind of torture and the best kind of control.
When she realized I had stopped, her eyes flew open and she looked over her shoulder at me. I took a step back. I wanted to swing her around and rip her shirt open. Take her nipple into my mouth and suck deep while I thrust up into her.
Instead, I pulled the slipknot I had tied, letting the reins fall away from her wrists. She lowered her arms as the leather fell away. Turning, she looked at me with confusion.
I blocked any feelings I had and gazed down at her coldly.
“Get on your knees, Beauty Queen.”