Brutally Beautiful(81)

“Join the f*cking club. We meet in the bar every Wednesday night at ten,” I said, stomping out of the room and grabbing my bag of clothes. I tore it open and shoved a shirt over my head and a pair of yoga pants on without wasting my time searching for any under garments. I growled out loud when I looked down and realized my shirt was on backwards. Screw it. I left it on anyway.

Kade was storming out of the bathroom, soaking wet pants, slicked against his skin and dripping all over his rug. “Don’t f*cking walk away from me. I’m doing what you wanted. I’ve been f*cking telling you everything!”

“BULLSHIT!” I screamed. “The lack of exposition from a f*cking award winning writer astounds me,” I yelled, barking out a hideous laugh at his expense. “You haven’t told me anything. I found out everything by reading about you online, and you know what? It still doesn’t scratch the surface, does it? Because an entire town of people hate you and fear you. That’s not what would normally happen when someone goes through a tragedy like that. You did something that scares the hell out of everybody so much that even your own brother is afraid to push you to live!” His expression looked ashen, repulsed by the words I was saying, “What, Kade? Just say it! Scream at me to get the f*ck out again! But don’t expect me to tell all of my secrets to a total stranger, no matter how good he is at making me come with his mouth.” I shot him a tight smile, and shoving my feet into my sneakers, I strode past him and out his bedroom door. I couldn’t believe I had just said that, but I needed him to let it go. I needed to keep him away from all my problems, because it was safer.

There was a small staircase at the end of the corridor that I didn’t remember Kade carrying me up when we first arrived, and I barreled down each step as the wood tapped and echoed my footfalls.

Kade caught me halfway down, grabbing my waist, “Samantha, stop. Please.”

My knees weakened hearing the name I loved, the name I missed so much, fall from his lips. It brought me right to the edge though, right to the edge of losing it, not certain if I’d scream more or lash out in tears, so I bit down on my tongue to stop myself.

He stepped ahead of me, pulling me down against the hard surface of the stairs causing me to slam down on the side of my cheek. It wasn’t painless, but it also didn’t warrant a cry, but I knew I’d be bruised in the morning. He fiercely cupped my face to make me focus on him. I closed my eyes.

“Don’t block me out.” He pressed my body against the wall of the stairs, my head lightly thudding against the handrail. His wet pants seeped a cold dampness into my skin. “I want to saw off my own hand, just so that I could let you go, let you go to keep you safe from my mind, from my issues. But you, you’re just like me, right? Something’s wrong inside you too.”

“Fuck you,” I spat, pushing him off me. “You’re still not saying anything to me, Kade. You are still regurgitating the same f*cking bullshit, just a little more poetically.”

Without effort, he lifted my body off the stairs, carrying me down the rest of the way into a darkened living area and tossed me on a large couch, pinning me down with his weight. The feel of him on top of me made me breathless and needy. Burying his face into the side of my neck, hot breath fanned against my skin, and open lips across my flesh.

“You’re adorable when you’re angry,” he whispered, breathing heavily.

“Oh, really? Then get the hell off me, because I’m about to get gorgeous all over your ass.”

His sudden kiss stunned me, and the heavy thundering of his heart against my chest made my lips open to him. Breathing in each other, lips drinking thirstily from each other, I couldn’t stop. My body wanted him too much.