"What?" I ask innocently, lowering my cell once more. "I thought you knew this was all a game. And guess what." She continues to stare at me in disbelief. "I'm going to fucking win."
Without a second thought, I rip my eyes away from her and pull the door open, storming through it and not giving a thought to anyone who could be outside until it's too late.
16
Mia
I barely sleep a wink. My skin burns with Bexley’s marks.
He branded me.
That asshole marked me, knowing Cade would see.
And I let him.
Gah. I really shouldn’t have done that. But the second he moved closer and touched me, I knew how it would end. I just hadn’t anticipated him discarding me so easily.
It hurt.
It hurt a lot, but I knew he was only pissed because Cade has the one thing Bexley wants more than anything.
Me.
God, it felt so good when he went down on me, kissing and licking my pussy. I’ve never let anyone touch me like that, and now I know how good it can be with Bexley, I don’t want to let anyone else.
Especially not Cade.
Crap, Cade.
He’s on his way over right now.
After being MIA all day yesterday, he finally texted me late last night telling me he would see me this morning for breakfast.
“Dammit.” I throw down the broken necklace and let out an exasperated breath.
I’ve been trying to fix the clasp for the last thirty minutes, but it’s no use. Bexley wrenched it too hard and the dainty mechanism is beyond repair.
A loud knock at my door startles me, and I cuss Cade out under my breath. He couldn’t have been late on the one morning I’m covered in love bites with my Electi pendant necklace in tatters.
Then a thought hits me. I scramble off the chair and hurry over to my dresser, rummaging through the ornate jewelry box located there.
“Bingo.” I fish out an old necklace my mom gave me. The chain is slightly tarnished, but it’s better than nothing. Making quick work of switching the pendants, I secure it around my neck and stuff the broken one in the box.
“Just a second,” I call when Cade knocks again. I can practically sense his impatience.
King Cade waits for no one.
I open the door just as he’s raising his fist to knock again.
“Are you always this impatient?” I ask.
“Only when it’s you.” He smirks, frowning at my turtleneck sweater. “Interesting choice.”
“What?” Heat sears me inside out as I shrug. “It’s cute.”
It has capped sleeves and a cropped hemline, so isn’t entirely inappropriate for a warm day.
He studies me for a moment, letting his dark eyes drift down my body in a lazy perusal. When they lift back to mine, his smirk is even more wolfish. “You’re right, it is cute.” Cade leans in and kisses my cheek. “I missed you yesterday.”
Rolling my eyes, I brush him off. “Of course you did. Where were you?”
“Electi stuff,” he replies cryptically. “Tomorrow is the next test.”
“Oh.”
“Oh? That’s all you have to say? You disappoint me, babe. Especially after how concerned you seemed about Bexley the other night.”
“I would have been concerned about whoever was in the pit with you.” I school my expression.
“You’re a terrible liar, Mia. But it doesn’t matter. You’re my prosapia, my girl.” He steps forward, putting us chest to chest, and plucks one of my curls between his fingers. “Your pussy is mine.”
“Do you speak to all your whores like this, or am I special?”
“Oh babe, you’re as special as they come.” He pulls sharply, sending a bolt of pain through my skull. My eyes burn but I refuse to cry, swallowing down the rush of anger.
“We should go.”
“Or we could stay and fool around…”
“Cade.” My throat dries. This cannot be happening. He cannot choose today of all days to try to progress our relationship. If he so much as sees even a glimpse of my chest or thighs, he’ll know my secret. And he’ll use it to destroy Bexley even more than he has already.
“You want to please me, don’t you, Mia?” His fingers trail down my cheek and lightly grip my jaw. “I could make you feel so fucking good.”
“There are rules.”
“Fuck the rules. You’re mine to do what I want with. And if I want to ruin your good girl image, I will.” His hand slips to my throat, making my breath catch. “Scared, prosapia?”
His deadly words caress my face.
“Of you? Never.” My eyes narrow, anger licking at my spine. Everything inside screams at me to fight back. To knee him in the balls and run. But I know it’ll only make things worse. Besides, my father always taught me that the best defense is a good offense. I need to bide my time and figure out my play.
“Ash is right.” Amusement glitters in Cade’s dark gaze. “Kitty has claws.”
I press my lips together, refusing to play this game with him. The back and forth. The cat and mouse chase.
Instead, I give him a taste of his own medicine. Leaning up on my tiptoes, I let my lips hover dangerously close to Cade’s. He goes deathly still as I linger there. “If we want to make breakfast, we should go.” I make sure my lips skate across his before turning away to grab my backpack.
But when I turn back around, his eyes are firmly on my chest. “Your necklace,” he says thinly. “What happened?”
“It got tangled up in my hair, and when I tried to pull it free, the clasp broke.” The lie rolls off my tongue with ease. “I found another chain to wear instead until I get it fixed.”
His eyes narrow a fraction, but then his expression softens. “So long as you’re wearing the pendant, it’s all good.”
“So Neanderthal.” I roll my eyes and step to move around him, but Cade grabs my hips and shoves me up against the wall.
“Don’t ever forget who you belong to, Mia.” He all but growls the words. “This, me and you, it’s
