Page 82 of Savage Little Lies

“That’s right. I’m the one making you scream. Only me,” I praise her, feeling her tense beneath me as the bliss builds. I feel like I’m burning up, teetering on the edge of a cliff and about to fall over, but I don’t topple yet. Not until she does.

Cara’s breathing quickens as her eyes squeeze shut. A cry of pleasure suddenly bursts from her as she shudders, her orgasm taking hold of her.

I don’t stop moving, drawing out the feeling of her clenching around me for as long as I can until I can’t hold back any longer. I start to pull out, but she tightens her grip on me, keeping me in place.

“I’m on the pill,” Cara breathes out as she gazes up at me. “Give me everything.”

I capture her lips in a deep kiss as I drive back into her, not stopping until I spill inside of her with a faint groan and gritted teeth. “Fuck!”

Cara trembles beneath me, catching her breath as she gently rubs my back. Her fingertips glance off the crescent-shaped indentations in my skin.

I rest my forehead against hers, my heart pounding as the intensity and heat lingers. “You’re dangerous.”

Cara frowns. “What do you mean?”

I lift my head to peer down at her. “You make me…irrational. I can hardly trust myself around you.”

Cara seems to shrink back, even though she can’t move. “I’m sorry?”

“Don’t be,” I tell her as I brush a stray strand of hair away from her face. “You can’t help how I feel.”

“I’m supposed to be here to make your life easier. Not harder,” Cara reminds me.

“You do,” I assure her, letting my fingertips stroke her flushed cheek. We’ve got food getting cold, and I should probably get up, but I don’t want to move right now. I feel…grounded.

“I’m just not used to trusting anyone like I trust you,” I admit. “I’ve been reminded time and time again why I shouldn’t trust people.”

Cara’s face softens. “You’ve been betrayed before?”

“You can call it betrayal. I see it as them confirming what I already suspected,” I murmur. “My father taught me everything. How to lead. How to do business. How to kill. Everything.”

Cara nods as she listens, not even flinching.

“But he didn’t protect me,” I tell her, feeling a heavy stone of pain and disappointment sink to the bottom of my stomach. “I always had some body part broken or bleeding. He berated me like it was the end of the world when I messed up, and he encouraged my uncles, other members of the family to teach me lessons, to ‘toughen me up.’”

Cara places her hand over mine. “I’m sorry, Dmitri.”

“Not all of them are bad people,” I say. “So many of them have dealt with what I have too. But no matter how badly they treated me, especially my father, I can’t help but want to make them proud. My father wanted me to take over and lead. So, I did. My family wanted me to strike a deal with the Suyunovs, and I was going to. But…”

“Everyone has a breaking point,” Cara tells me, her face hardening a little. “The ones you’re supposed to trust are the ones who push you there the fastest.”

She gets it. I don’t know exactly how, but she does. I can see it in her eyes.

“If my father were still alive and saw what I’ve just done, he would probably strangle me,” I admit.

“Good thing he isn’t,” Cara replies.

She’s right. He’s not here. And I’m better off.

I brush my thumb along her bottom lip then tell her, “I’m going to carry you to the shower, and then I’m going to bury my tongue inside of you to make you scream my name again.”

Cara smiles at me, and an unrelenting ache that I can’t identify fills my chest. It feels good and hurts at the same time. “What are you waiting for?”

Nothing at all. I’m done waiting and compromising and settling.

Now I’m taking whatever the fuck I want.

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