“Please! Calum, please stop!” I beg. “Calum!”
At some point, my begging seems to work, because Calum just stops cold. He leans down over Jack, spitting on him.
“I told you not to talk to her like that,” Calum hisses through clenched teeth. I scurry forward and pull at his arm.
When he looks down at me, his pupils are as big as dinner plates. He shudders for just a second. I wrap my hands around one of his bloodied fists and tug him back. He falters for a second, then relents.
He turns away, half dragged by me.
Jack is blotting at his nose, which is bleeding profusely. He manages to leverage himself to his feet and shout after us.
“I’m never selling my company to you fucking bastards!”
Calum pauses, his muscles tensing for a fight.
“Please,” I whisper, looking at Calum. “Please don’t.”
Calum looks at me, his sapphire eyes glinting. He looks back. For a second, I think I’ve lost him.
Then he just sneers and jerks his head toward the ballroom door. “Let’s go,” he grits out.
I hustle him out of the hotel and downstairs into the icy cold night. The thought occurs to me that our coats are still upstairs.
But that’s not important right now.
I look up at Calum, hesitatingly reaching up a hand to touch his cheek. He looks down at me, still breathing hard.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
His face contorts for a moment. “I’m supposed to ask you that.”
I squint at him. “I’m not the one who just got into a fistfight, Calum,” I say softly.
He brings his hand up to his face, covering mine briefly. For just a second, he closes his eyes and leans into my touch.
My heart starts beating a tattoo in my ears. I can see that he’s going through something, but I have no idea where to even begin. I mean, Calum and I are basically strangers, when it comes down to it.
He kisses my palm and steps away from my touch, reaching in his pocket. “Let me call my driver.”
Calum starts scrolling through his screen, his expression blank. He puts his free arm around my waist as he dials, looking around.
Consciously or not, he’s still in protective mode.
Calum sweeps me along to the street. I watch his face, trying to gauge his mood.
But I can’t tell what the hell is going on with him. Especially once the limo pulls up and Calum yanks the door wide.
I get inside with a gulp, unsure what happens now.
24
Calum
The elevator door dings. Kaia glances nervously up at me as I pause, letting the concierge walk out before us. I stare at her, telling her with my gaze all the things I’m about to do to her.
She shivers and places her hand in mine. I lumber out of the elevator, keeping her by my side.
The concierge smiles at both of us as he walks ahead, sweeping the door open.
“Our most grand suite,” he announces.
I walk in, feeling Kaia’s small waist against my large hand. I glance around for about three seconds and see everything I need to see: great wall to ceiling views on on side, a lavish sunken living area right ahead of me, a hallway leading off to my right.
The concierge beams. “Will you two require any other—“
I toss my entire money clip at him. “No.”
I hear Kaia’s tiny intake of breath, watch her hands close and open. Before the man is even out of the suite, I sweep her up and throw her over my shoulder.
“Calum!” she protests. The sound of her voice is muffled by my broad shoulder.
“Get used to calling my name,” I rumble. Shouldering my way through the doorway and into the darkened bedroom, I don’t stop until I tumble her to the mattress.
She flexes her hips into mine, leaning up to twine her arms around my neck. I allow myself to be pulled down by her weight. Burying my face in her collarbone, I grab her neckline with both hands and rip her blue dress down to the waist. I expect her to protest again, but she just encourages me, flicking her hips against mine and letting out a needy gasp.
I find her lips with my own, kissing her as hard and as passionately as I can without drawing blood. My cock is pressed between our bodies and one of her hands slides down my neck and over my ribs, making its way toward my zipper.
I growl and grab her hands, pulling them up over her head. In this position, Kaia is under my control, at the mercy of my hungry mouth, my heavy weight on top of her body, my cock throbbing with need. I pin both her wrists with one of my large hands, my mouth ravishing hers, my kiss beyond punishing.
I trail my free hand down her curves to her outer thigh. Gentleness isn’t a factor here; I ruck her dress up as hard as I can, loving how she gasps in response. I press her wrists into the mattress, pulling back so I can look down at her gorgeous face.
Her blonde hair is in disarray, her cheeks are pink, her tempting little breasts in their see through lace bra are heaving. God, she looks so perfect right now, a wet dream come to life.
“Don’t move your hands,” I grit out. “Tell me you heard me, beauty.”
She licks her lips, a quick swipe of her tongue, and nods. “Yes, Calum.”
I give her a satisfied smirk, standing up. I pull off my jacket and discard my bowtie, then step out of my shoes. As an afterthought, I pull her heels off and unbutton the top few buttons of my shirt.
She squirms a little as I kneel between her legs, looking down at her tattered dress and the parts of her body I’ve exposed.
Looking her in the eye, I shred the last bit of her dress and undo the front clasp of her bra. Her breasts are freed and I take a moment to admire them, reaching down and feeling the weight of them in my hands. Kaia arches up into my touch and I reward her by lowering my mouth to her nipple, teasingly kissing my way around it before scraping it with my teeth.
She moans, her hands coming down to bury themselves in my hair. I release her nipple and nip the side of her breast hard. Her whole body shudders as she says, “ow!”
“Put your hands back up over your head,” I tell her.
Kaia blinks a couple times and then bites her lip, slowly lifting her hands above her head. I drop a kiss in between her breasts, groaning a little.
“Good girl,” I whisper against her overheated skin.
My cock throbs as I slide my body down, hooking my fingers in the waistband of her tiny thong. I skim her panties down her thighs, pressing my nose into the warm heat of her legs, just below her pussy. She’s already wet; I can tell from the stain on her panties and the way the earthy but sharp scent of her pussy rises to my nose.
She whimpers when I pull away. When she pleads with me, her whisper is pure need. “Calum…”
I smirk down at her, unbuttoning my shirt the rest of the way and slipping it off. Kaia squirms again, her hazel eyes darkened with lust.
I grip her hips with my hands, leaning down to kiss her lips again. “What is it, beauty?” I whisper against her warm lips.
Her hips dig into mine as she thrusts. “I need more.”
Hearing her innocent plea makes me want to unzip my pants and bury my cock so deep inside her pussy that I make never find my way out again. But I’m trying to take it slow, so I just kiss her hard, working my tongue against hers.
When she moans and writhes against me, I pull back, scanning her face. “I’m going to take my time with you, beauty. The longer you wait for me to fuck you for the first time, the more explosive it will be. And I have all the time in the world… so I’m not going to pop your cherry tonight. I’m going to make you wait a little longer before I pluck your petals, beauty.”