AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What would you stab me with?” Kayde reaches out, his hands on my shirt as he tugs on it pointedly. I can only hesitate for a moment; I know this game well enough by now, after all. Lifting my arms feels so difficult though, and he doesn’t remark on how I tremble as he pulls my shirt over my head and throws it over with his.
“Anything.” I keep my voice hard and try not to let him know that my heart is beating rabbit-fast in my chest. “A screwdriver is on my mind tonight. Think it would hurt?”
“I think it would be positively agonizing.” Kayde is quick to agree, and to my surprise, he takes a step back. “Take off your clothes for me, Summer.”
Yet again, it isn’t a question. And it’s not a request, though I still hesitate. “Unless you don’t want to?” The words are soft, silky, and oh so gentle that it makes my teeth ache.
“I would just love to.” I would rather do anything but. I’d rather do anything but this, and we both know it. “Any preferences? Fast or slow? Up to down, or?—”
“Careful,” Kayde breaks in, chin lifting. “If you keep talking to me like that, I’m going to punish you for being such a brat, Summer.”
I look away quickly, chin whipping to the side way too fast to be anything but obvious as I try to hide just what that does to my insides. My stomach curls, warmth suffuses my body, but I still take a deep breath and try to look unaffected.
But of course, it doesn’t work.
Why would it?
Kayde grips my chin and jerks my face up to him, a smirk sitting wide on his mouth. “No.” He chuckles, obviously surprised. “Really? That’s what you are, sweetheart? That’s what finally gets a reaction from you? Calling you my spoiled little brat who can’t keep her sweet mouth shut?”
“Stop,” I whisper, reminding myself over and over that I am not into this and I do not like any part of what we’re doing. “I didn’t?—”
“Oh, but you do.” God he’s just so delighted that it should be illegal. “But what is it exactly that you like about this? Do you like being a brat just with me? Trying to prove some little bit of control and saying things you think will needle me for a reaction? No…” he trails off, looking me over thoughtfully before adding in a velvety tone, “That’s not it, is it?”
“I literally have no idea what you mean?—”
“You want to push me, yes. But you want me to push you back.” The grin that curls over his lips is every bit as feral as the growl he finishes the words in, and Kayde steps back with a look of absolute delight on his features.
Fuck.
“Then please, by all means, be as much of a brat as you want. I’ll indulge you.” I hate the way he says it. I hate his delight and his fucking arrogance. “I’ll show you every consequence for being a brat you’d never dare to dream about, baby girl. Even in your darkest fantasies.” I can’t tell if it’s an offer or a threat, but to be safe, I’m marking those words as an absolute threat.
But all I do is stare at him, sullen, before standing up enough to kick off my shoes and wiggle out of my shorts. His smile widens, and he steps forward before I can sit back down, running his knuckles over my cheek. “Such a brat,” he repeats affectionately. “Too bad you’re too afraid to be honest and go all out for me, hmm?” He tilts his head to the side, and the amusement in his eyes, the way he looks at me like he genuinely likes me, makes my stomach roll and twist.
“I knew I picked right when I decided you were mine. My final girl,” he teases. “And you just keep proving me right, over and over.” He reaches out to gently ghost his fingers over my hips. “Thought I told you to take your clothes off.”
“Well I would, if you would stop touching me for half a second,” I snap back, hating that even this is playing into his fantasies.
He doesn’t deign to reply this time. But he does step away, going to the nightstand and opening the top drawer to rummage around in it.
But I still hesitate, despite the bravado of my words about him just needing to stop touching me.
“You’d better be naked by the time I turn around, sweetheart.” His voice drifts softly through the dimly lit room, and I force myself to strip completely, my arms coming up to wrap around my chest, though he’s seen and touched it all before.
But that doesn’t matter.
I shift uncomfortably where I stand, thighs pressed together as tightly as I can manage and trying not to shiver. It isn’t cold in here, especially with the window closed, but gooseflesh still ripples over my skin, and I have to steel myself against the shakes that travel up my spine.
When Kayde turns, I can’t see what he’s holding. My eyes dip to his waist, trying to figure out what I’m seeing, but he’s smart enough to obscure the items with his body as he looks me over. “Oh, we’ve got to get you past this, don’t we?” he murmurs, setting whatever it is back down and reaching out to trail his fingers down my throat, to where my arms are clenched tight. “I’ve seen you, gorgeous. You don’t need to hide from me.”
“I’m not hiding,” I snap, fear making my voice higher than I want it to be. “Especially not from you.”
“Then drop your arms,” Kayde is quick to reply, his tone a challenge. “If you’re not afraid of me, if you aren’t hiding from me…” He tugs on my wrist. “Or do you need a little help?”
I have no idea what he means by that, unless he’s just going to pry my arms away from my body. But I give him what has to be a confusion filled look that only fuels the wolfish grin crossing his lips. “Yeah, that’s all right, Summer.” I hate how he’s crooning to me. I hate that it does something to my stomach that it really shouldn’t.
“I’ll always help my favorite, self-destructive sweetheart.” He guides me back to the bed, pushing me to sit down, and at his urging I end up near the head of the bed, sitting just under his pillows. “Lie down for me, okay?” he murmurs, and waits for me to do that, though I’m sure I look every bit as uncomfortable as I feel.
“Give me your hands.” I have to remind myself, over and over, that it’s not a request. That I don’t have a choice, even though he makes it seem like I do. My arms tremble, and I clench my hands into fist in a sad attempt of hiding it, before reaching up to him to give him my hands.
