“I thought you said your name was Brooke?”
“And yours is Cherry, right?” There’s a sliver of sarcasm, but I think she gets the point.
“How do you know Callum Ellis?”
Before I can even answer her, Cal stops me from talking by throwing me over his shoulder.
“Put me down,” I curse, slapping my hands to his back, and déjà vu hits me full force. I’ve done this a couple times.
“If you wanna act like a child, then you’ll get treated like one.”
He carries me across the room, grabbing the attention of everyone in our path. I look up and see Cherry watching us in shock. My shoulders shrug, and I mouth the words, “I’m sorry.”
“Give me the card, Bella.” Cal holds his hand up, expecting me to give it to him.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh. So it’s gonna be like that.” He slaps a hand to my ass. I shrill at the pain but crack a smile at his tenacity.
“Didn’t you learn your lesson about sneaking around during your stay at Cori Cove?”
“And didn’t you learn that I don’t take orders from anyone?”
“Like I said, Bella. You act like a child, you’ll get treated like one.”
“This is absurd. I’m fully capable of walking.” I’m no longer fighting to get down. The humiliation has passed and I know Cal, he won’t free me until I'm holed up in the suite again.
Cal slams his thumb into the elevator button and the doors open, letting a trio of men out. They stop, looking at me with questioning eyes, likely wondering if I’m okay. It has to be due to the pinched eyebrows and furious expression on Cal’s face.
“Mind your fucking business,” Cal barks at them, then steps into the elevator. “Let me ask you something, Bella. Do you have a death wish?”
“I mean, we’re all going to die sometime. Why not have it be in a place with live porn?” It’s what Cherry called it, after all.
“You think this is funny?”
“Yeah, Cal. I think it is. For the past couple months, everything has been so serious. Maybe I just wanted to have a little fun for a change?”
We reach the eighth floor and he still doesn’t set me down. For being hauled away over someone’s shoulder, I should be angrier, but I’m actually feeling pretty good right now. I’d say it’s attributed to the drinks I sucked down in a matter of minutes. I’m not a heavy drinker, and it doesn’t take long for the effects to go to my head.
“You want fun? I can give you fun. In the safety of our suite where you’re supposed to stay until we catch that son of a bitch.”
“Oh yeah? What kind of fun, Cal? You wanna play checkers, maybe some Go Fish?”
We’re halfway down the hall when my feet finally hit the ground. “Are you drunk?” Cal asks, eyebrows perched on his forehead and back stiff as a board.
“Maybe? Why? Will I get in trouble for that, too?”
He takes my hand, leading me to our suite, and I stumble over my feet with the first couple steps. “You shouldn’t be drinking. We’ve had unprotected sex and you could be carrying my baby.”
“Oh,” I blow out a heavy breath, “is that so? Is that part of your devious plan, Callum? Are you still trying to get me pregnant?”
He shrugs his shoulders. “Not trying, but anything is possible when you’re not protected.”
“Yeah.” I jerk my hand away from his. “Anything is possible because I probably still have those damn fertility pills circulating through my bloodstream and,” I quote, “stimulating my ovaries.”
Cal stops walking and I do the same. He looks me dead in the eye. “He told you about that, too?”
“Yeah. He did. At least someone is honest with me.” My feet start moving again, getting a few steps ahead of him. I still have the key card, so I pull it out of my pocket and swipe it through the pad.
I don’t bother holding the door for him, but he catches it before it latches. “Is this your new thing, Bella? Sneaking off to go to The Grotto?” My response is a smug grin as I drop down on the couch. “How often have you gone?”
He eats up the space between us, crouching down in front of me. “How often, Bella?”
Why does he keep saying my name like I don’t know it? Normally, I like the way it rolls off his tongue. Right now, it’s downright annoying.
“Twice, Callum.” I emphasize his name. “I’ve gone twice.”
“And…do you like it?”
I shrug my shoulders, almost embarrassed to admit that I do. “A little bit.”
To my surprise, a smile spreads across his face, though it feels condescending. “Why didn’t you just tell me?”
My hands fly up. “Because of this. Look at how you’re reacting.”
“It’s okay to enjoy that sort of thing. For a while, I did, too. Eventually it gets old, though.”
He’s piqued my curiosity, so I lean into the space between us, hands resting on my knees. “How often did you go?”
“For a while, every night. It sizzled down to a couple nights a week or check-ins with the staff. Once you came back into my life, never.”
“Are you mad that I…like it?”
His hands rest over mine, reassuringly. “I’d never judge you for your sexual fantasies. All I ask is that you let me be a part of them. Now,” he drawls, “if I find out one of those men touched you, then we have a problem.”
“No,” I spit out, “No one’s touched me and I’d never… I’d never do that to you. Or to us.”
“Good.” He pushes himself up, pressing his lips to mine and speaking into my mouth. “Now that that’s settled. It’s time for your punishment.”
My heart skips a beat, excitement pooling in my stomach. I must be out of my mind for wanting this. “Take it easy on me. 'Kay?”
His hands slap to my waist and he lifts me up, tossing me over his shoulder again. “Don’t count on it.”
My smile never leaves my face as he hauls me off to the bedroom, slamming the door closed behind us.
He tosses me onto the bed and we begin tearing each other’s clothes off like animals in heat. “Fuck me, Cal.” I moan into his mouth.
“I’m gonna fuck you when I’m good and ready. You just lie back and take whatever I give you.”
I’m not sure when I crossed the line from being vanilla to wanting all the dirty talk, while fulfilling sexual desires, I didn’t even know I had, but now that I have, I’m never going back. Cal is so aggressive in bed, in such a way that has my body sweltering. Any time we’ve had sex, he’s taken control. He’s punished me, degraded me, and called all the shots. Feeling pretty brave, thanks to the alcohol I’ve had, I think it’s time I turn that around.
My hands meet his chest, pushing him off me, lip curled and eyes burning into his. “Or, you take whatever I give to you.”
Once he’s on his back, I jump on top of him, straddling his chest and locking his hands over his head.
Too stunned to speak, he just lies there.
“You can move when I tell you to move, Mr. Ellis. Until then, lie down and keep your dirty mouth shut.”