Gold Shimmer (27 page)

“You recognized Beth from the EUC?” I ask, folding my hand over his.

“Instantly. I tried sneaking a look at Beth’s contacts over her shoulder while she scrolled through her phone to put my number in it at the party today. I’d hoped I could discover one of the guys behind EUC. The fighters never interact with management. They only ever see the security hired to run the events. That same security are also the ones who give us our cash payments after each bout. Unfortunately, Beth moved too fast, so I couldn’t see any names.”

“I know her boyfriend’s first name is Brent, but that’s all she said about him,” I tell him. “I didn’t even know she was dating anyone until we went to the fight tonight. I could try to find out more.”

“No.” Calder’s expression turns fierce. “I don’t want you to do anything. Stay away from this, Raven. Understood?”

I drop my gaze to his chest and trace my finger across his hard pectoral. “I’ll make a deal with you. I won’t get involved if you promise to call Sebastian. Talia says he’s worried about you.”

“She said something similar to me at the christening,” Calder snorts. “Man, she’s starting to sound like his wife.”

My gaze snaps to his. “Um, maybe that’s because she is.”

Calder’s eyes cloud over and hurt reflects briefly in his gaze before he shutters it. “They got married?”

I nod. “Don’t feel too bad. I wasn’t invited either. They quietly tied the knot. I’ve suggested they have a party to make it up to those of us who feel slighted for being left out of such an important day in their lives.”

“It’s his life,” Calder says with a shrug. “It’s not a choice I plan to make, but I wish him well.”

“You don’t believe in marriage?” I pose the question with my lips curved in amusement to hide the fact that my stomach suddenly feels like it’s sinking.

Calder pulls me fully on top of him until his mouth is almost touching mine. “You don’t have to have a piece of paper to have passion that doesn’t fade with time. We’ve proven that.”

In an instant, I’m flipped completely over on top of him. As I face the ceiling, he cups my breasts and kisses a path along my neck. I put my feet on the bed and arch into his hands, loving how he possesses me with cocky boldness. Calder doesn’t take the slow approach. Sex with him is instantly fierce, full of eroticism that burns white-hot. The moment an unbidden moan escapes my lips, he plops his pillows on my belly and rolls us both over.

“Lift your hips, angel,” he husks while grabbing the edges of the pillows under me.

When I push up slightly on my knees, he doubles the pillows over, elevating my hips even higher. I start to lift up on my hands, but he bends over my back, his warm chest completely covering mine. Taking my hands, he stretches them fully forward, commanding, “Leave them here and don’t move.”

My heart races, but I hold this incredibly vulnerable position, trusting him completely. I jump when a piece of ice slowly glides along my spine. “You have such a beautiful body,” he murmurs right before he nips at my right hip. When I gasp and arch, enthralled by this primitive side to him, he cups the ice over the sting, then moves his mouth to press a tender kiss to my left butt cheek.

I relax into the soft kiss, only to jerk once more when he bites down on the round flesh.
That’ll definitely leave a mark
. The moment he releases me, my body is already reacting to his erotic branding. A flood of sheer want pools between my legs, the throbbing sensation making me grind against the pillows.

Calder grabs my hips and lifts me back up. “Not yet, angel. I’m just getting started.” He chuckles darkly when the song “Need you Tonight” by INXS begins to thump seductively through the room.

The pulsing base in the music isn’t freaking helping my situation. “Put your mouth on me, Calder,” I beg, my fingers digging into the edge of the mattress.

He leans across my back, his hard muscles flexing against me. Just as he whispers in my ear, “I plan to,” he cups his hand firmly on my sex.

I squeal at the ice he’s holding against me and try to squirm away, but his powerful thighs and bigger body have me pinned. All I can do is pant and shiver…and want.

Just when I think I can’t stand it any longer, he lifts his body off me. I barely have a chance to miss his amazing smell and the warmth of his skin against mine before he grabs my ass and thrusts his hot tongue deep into my cold entrance. Moaning, I press shamelessly against him, loving the sensation of his groans of approval vibrating against me. Calder presses deep, sucking my juices at the same time he slides a hand under me to rub my clit.

I rock my hips and mewl against the bed, my breathing jacking.

He’s relentless in his technique with the ice. He touches different parts of my body with ice, then warms it with his hot mouth, ramping the intensity between us. Each time is the same, yet different enough to make me yelp again and again until my thighs are shaking and I’m sure I’m going to lose my mind.

“Just fuck me,” I demand, sounding like a woman possessed.

When Calder slides two fingers inside me, and I let out a moan of pleasure, tightening my body around them, he rasps, “Is this enough, angel?”

I buck back against him, needing release, but he just holds his hand still as he places his other hand on the bed beside me and leans close. “See how that’s just a tease, how it only feels half as good as it could? I’m not going to fuck your beautiful pussy without knowing your name.”

“What?” I tense and jerk my gaze to his. “Are you serious?”

His face hardens, his hips pressing against mine. “Very. You want me? You’re going to have to give it up, baby.”

“You said you would wait.” I attempt to negotiate while his fingers are still buried inside me.

His eyes darken and he pushes deeper, turning his hand and rubbing on that spot that drives me nuts. “The thing about giving your word, sweet Raven, it should only be as strong as your trust in the person you give it to. When I come inside you, I want it as real as it gets, which should start with knowing your goddamn name.”

I turn away, blinking back tears. I want it to be as-real-as-it-gets too. So much. Celeste and her stupid, fucking ultimatums.

Calder moves his hips, pressing his erection against my butt, which forces his hand deeper inside me. I moan and counter, rocking my hips.
When did he take off his pants?
God, he had me so wrapped up, I didn’t even notice, but the sensation of his engorged cock so close is driving me crazy. I roll my hips in a seductive move that takes full advantage of him pressing against me.

“Fucking hell,” he mutters, yanking his hips back. Breathing heavily, he demands, “At least tell me your first name, damn it!”

I squeeze my eyes shut. I’ve done everything Celeste asked. Went above and beyond.

“Angel, please...trust me.” Calder lays fully on top of me, his hard body tense, hips pinning me still. Sliding his hands along my wrists, he twines our fingers together. His hold tight, he whispers in my ear, “There’s nothing I want more than to fuck your sweet pussy into the most satisfying release.”

I feel empty without him touching me between my legs. My body craves the ultimate connection he’s promising. Only with him. My trust in Calder is instinctual and strong. Far more than anyone else. He has my trust. “It’s Cass Rockwell,” I breathe out, feeling a twinge of guilt for not keeping my word. But he’s wrong about one thing…it’s not always about whether the recipient deserves it. Sometimes your word is all you have, and without it you’re nothing. I know that better than anyone.

“Cass,” Calder murmurs, testing my name out and drawing me back under his spell. Kissing my shoulder, he says it once more as he eases back.

When the head of his cock slips inside my entrance and he slowly pushes forward, I let out a soft cry of want, then freeze. “Condom?”

“Always,” he confirms as he slides a hand down my back. Anchoring his other hand on my hip, he tenses, pausing his forward movement. “Christ, if you don’t let go of that grip a little, Cass, we’re not going to make it past round one.”

I take a deep breath and try to relax.

“That’s my girl.” He presses deeper, then grits out, “Fuck…I can’t…” right before he rams deep.

When I yelp, he clasps my hips and stills. “Are you okay?”

I nod and flex around his thickness, letting him know I’m fine.

“Don’t do that. Not yet,” he says before he slowly exhales and his hands tighten on my hips

He’s still not moving and that’s all I want to do, but I force myself to remain perfectly still and wait for him to make the first move.

Several calming breaths later, Calder pulls almost completely out of me and eases halfway back inside.

My belly flutters and I rock my hips, my actions rubbing the tip of his cock along an amazing pleasure center. Calder lets out a low, wicked chuckle and lifts up higher, then applies pressure with counter thrusts.

Skin tingling, I pant and babble out incoherent gasps among chants of his name and pleas for more.

He grips my pelvis and tilts me, arching my back. Whenever I move, I’m in pre-orgasmic heaven. Shaking and quivering all over, I’m just on the edge. And I can’t believe now is when I realize I haven’t felt the darkness that normally surrounds me during sex. Calder is so distracting, so consuming, I don’t have time to think. Just feel…and it’s so amazing I never want it to end.

Bending close, he slides his hand along my belly until he reaches my clit. Stroking with a knowing touch, he demands in his low bass, “Come, Cass. Give me the best damn orgasm, angel.”

He tweaks my clit once more and I tumble over the edge as fiery passion flares through me. Clawing at the sheets, I jut back against Calder, grinding on his cock like a cat in heat. The sounds of his breathing spiking and his knowing hands moving over me while my own pulse
whooshes
in my ears only adds to my feverish climax.

The second my gasps slow, Calder begins to move in and out of me in steadily harder strokes. My body reacts to his erotic rhythm and hard friction, my core soaking once more, building for another release.

When I lift up on my hands to better counter his movements, Calder leans over and pulls me to my knees like him. Wrapping an arm around my waist, he nudges us forward, gruffly commanding, “Use the headboard for leverage.”

As soon as I grip the smooth, curved wood, I cry out in shock when Calder lowers his dog tags over my head. I instantly shiver at the ice-frigid metal beads searing into my flushed skin and his tags resting between my breasts. The contrast is so arousing, I clench Calder hard enough to draw a pained grunt. Gripping my waist, he jerks his hips forward, burrowing deeper and growling his own fierce response. I gasp at the fullness possessing my body and press back against him, loving his aggressiveness.

Calder’s movements are so hard and fierce, I pant in building excitement, each time feeling like a deeper possession. Before I realize it, my breasts are pressed against the headboard and the rhythmic rubbing of my nipples against the polished wood, combined with the cool metal against my skin, hikes my adrenaline to a fever pitch.

As a powerful orgasm rips a scream from me, Calder rams deep once more, then groans through his own release. We’re both still panting when he captures my neck and hauls me back against his hard chest, the fine sheen of sweat between us fusing our bodies even more. Feathering his fingers down my throat, he touches the edge of the choker and rumbles against my jaw, “Now you’re fully mine.”