Campfire Chaos (Hood River Hoodlums Book 3), стр. 28
“Did you ask your mom about Campfire Chaos?”
“We didn’t exactly talk about it,” I admit, studying his handsome face. “Are you okay? You seem off today. We didn’t speak in class this morning…” I trail off when his features twist cruelly.
“I’m not okay, loser,” he spits out. “I have to deal with you when I’d rather be up there with T.”
I straighten my spine and lift my chin. “No one asked you to take me home. And that doesn’t explain this morning.”
“Just pissy,” he grunts. “Get in. I have papers to grade. Kids to fail. Parents to threaten. You know, usual teacher stuff.”
“You’re really not going to tell me,” I hiss in disbelief.
“Nope. Get in before I throw your ass in.”
“Get in before I throw your ass in,” Ryan bellows, yanking on my hair.
“Please, baby, stop,” I beg. “You’re hurting me.”
“No,” he grinds out. “This is hurting you.”
His hand slaps my face hard, causing me to see stars. I burst into tears at the sudden onslaught of pain. There’s no remorse in his glare. Only cruelty.
“Charlie girl, look at me.”
I blink away my daze, shuddering at the horrid memory. Cal’s no longer glaring daggers at me. No, his green eyes have softened with worry. His hands are gentle as he cups both of my cheeks.
“What happened?” he demands.
“I just…what you said…” I swallow down a ball of emotion. “It reminded me of him. That night.”
His green eyes crackle with intensity as he swipes away a rogue tear from my cheek with his thumb. “Listen to me carefully,” he rumbles. “I am not like that sonofabitch. Sure, I’m a bossy asshole and I’m so pissed at you, I see red. But I would never ever in a million fucking years hurt you the way he’s done.”
“But you said—”
“I dish out what you can handle because Hoodlums aren’t made of soft stuff. No, we’re poked and provoked until we’re hard as nails. You’re going to be sharp and steely because you’re a Hoodlum now too, remember?”
His words wash over me like a calming breeze.
“I wasn’t always this scared,” I tell him, needing him to know I’m more than what Ryan reduced me to.
He studies my face up close. I crave to run my fingertips along his scruffy jaw. To loosen the knot of the tie he still wears. I want to kiss the strong column of muscle along his throat.
“Come to Campfire Chaos.” His green eyes flash with need that has my entire body trembling. “It’ll be fun.”
“You just want to punish me,” I remind him, but no longer afraid.
His grin stretches across his handsome face, wolfish and devious. “I do, English. But my kind of punishment is the kind you’ll enjoy.”
I arch a brow. “Is that so? In case you didn’t notice, I’m not mentally equipped for any more psychological or physical torment in this lifetime.”
He rubs his thumb—still wet from my tear—across my bottom lip, tugging it aside and exposing my teeth. “What about sexual torment?” he taunts. “Are you mentally equipped for that?”
With Ryan, fuck no.
With Cal…
Warmth spreads down my spine and pools in my pelvis. I can’t stop myself from gripping his tie, drawing him nearer to me.
“What would that entail?” I whisper against his lips.
“A safe word, for one,” he growls, stepping closer so that his body is flush with mine. One of his hands leaves my face to cup my ass through my jeans. “Probably a lot of orgasm denial too.”
“Cruel bastard,” I tease.
“I might even spank this.” His cock jolts against my stomach when he squeezes my ass. “I always wanted to spank a cheerleader.”
I scoff. “Ex-cheerleader.”
“Whatever, you’re still hot.”
A smile creeps across my face. “I am?”
“Stop fishing for compliments, Charlie girl. You already have a big enough head.”
At this, I laugh. “I do not.”
“Don’t worry, mine’s big too.” He rotates his hips, letting me feel just how big that head is.
“What’s with the whole Charlie girl thing anyway?”
His lips press together as though he doesn’t want to explain. After a huff, he rattles out something that feels like a lie. “Sounds nicer than loser, loser.”
Hmmm.
“Since when are you nice, Cal?”
A growl rumbles in his throat. “I told you you’re only allowed to call me Cal if you’re riding on my dick.”
“There’s the mean boy I know,” I tease. “And maybe I was about to go for that ride.”
His lips crash to mine—hot and violently. It’s a good kind of cruelty, though. A vicious lashing of his tongue against mine, claiming and addictive. I can’t hide the moan that escapes me. He tastes sinful and heavenly all at once. A dichotomy of good and evil. A devilish hero. My moan is eager and drips with desperation. After all the horrors I’ve faced in the boyfriend department, it’s nice to be consumed with such fiery want. Cal, ever the bad boy player, slides his hand up under the hem of my shirt, grazing the skin on my lower back with his fingertips. I suck in a sharp breath. He pulls from our kiss, his glowing green eyes pinning me in place.
“Safe word.”
“I don’t need a safe—”
“Fucking hell, Charlotte. Just give me a safe word. You make me crazy, goddammit, and I need a leash. I need something for you to yank on when I lose control with you.”
It’s spoken like a threat, but alights every single one of my nerve endings with need.
“Chaos.”
He smirks, his lips quirking up on one side. “I’m still going to make your life a living hell. This thing between us is just a part of that deal.”
The deal I made with the devil?
“But you’re a Hoodlum now,” he says with a deviant grin that melts my insides. “And you’ll like every single filthy second of it.”
I should be afraid of what someone like Cal