Raw, A Dark Romance (11 page)

Their dance was a flirtation set to music. Gazes locking. Smiles tugging at their lips. Bodies leaning into one another.

Something touched the small of my back as I watched my friend fall in lust. It was a light brushing caress. No doubt, an accident. The brief touch of a stranger who had walked too close. Not expecting to find anyone, I twisted to glance over my shoulder anyway. My gaze snapped to a set of wide shoulders. The owner of those shoulders was walking away from me, swiftly.

Those shoulders--wide enough to carry the weight of the world--looked a little familiar.

So did that dark, wavy hair, pulled into a ponytail.

And the thick, muscular arms.

Was that man Kace?

After stealing a glance at Sid, to make sure she was still occupied, I pushed through the crowd gathered around the cart, heading in the same direction as the man. I broke through the thick mob and stopped to catch my breath. A river of people packed the road in front of me, the mass ambled slowly as the audience hesitated to watch the performers lining both sides of the street. I looked left, right.

No wide shoulders. No thick, wavy hair.

I’d lost him.

It probably wasn’t him anyway.

Giving up, I turned back around and began the long, upstream journey back to Sid. As I pushed my way through a pack of men, someone caught my wrist and gave it a hard jerk. My heart leapt.

What the hell?

I spun around. At the same time, the asshole who had my wrist yanked hard. I stumbled, crashing into over six feet of solid muscle.

Terror turned my blood to ice.

I looked up, mouth open, scream ripping my throat.

Kace?

Kace.

What was he doing here? He was the last person I would have expected to see at a carnival…unless…

“What are you doing?” I blurted.

“You shouldn’t be alone.” His hold on my wrist tightened. His eyes shone with dark intensity.

“I’m not alone. I’m with my friend.” I motioned toward the choir performing on the cart.

“You are alone. Your friend is occupied. And you’re wandering the street.” He pulled me closer, glaring into my eyes. “Do you know how dangerous these streets are?”

“No. But thank you for the warning. Now…” I twisted my arm, deciding to ignore the idiotic part of me that was happy that Kace had been watching out for me. Maybe he regretted shoving me out the door. But he’d done it. And it was for the best. I needed to get away from him before I forgot that. “If you’ll let me go, I’ll return to my friend.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that. Not until I know you’re safe.” Continuing to hold me tightly, he pushed through the crowd toward the other couples dancing. As we broke through, I caught sight of Sid. She wasn’t dancing anymore. She was looking pale, wide eyes full of worry. I waved, hoping the motion would catch her attention. It worked. The instant her gaze locked with mine, she visibly inhaled.

“Thank you for the concern, but my friend isn’t occupied anymore.” I motioned toward Sid. “So I can join her now.”

Sid scurried to me. “There you are. You had me worried for a minute.” Her gaze flicked from my face to Kace’s, back and forth several times.

“Serves you right for running off with that hot guy without telling me.” I thumbed over my shoulder, indicating my unrelenting chaperone. I had to give it to him, he didn’t shirk his responsibility when it came to protecting someone, unlike Fallon Franchot. “This is Kace Ramos.”

Kace nodded.

Sid’s eyes widened to the size of saucers. “You’re Kace Ramos?” Sid extended a hand. “It’s good to meet you.” Then she turned to me. “I told you I was going to dance. Sheesh, you make it sound like I just dumped you and ran.” 

She hadn’t told me she was going to dance. At least, not that I remembered. Granted, I’d been standing there, daydreaming. Maybe I hadn’t heard her?

“I would never dump you,” Sid said after she shook Kace’s hand. At least Kace had released my wrist. He’d had to, in order to shake Sid’s hand. “We’re here to have fun. You and me.”

“These streets are not safe,” Kace told her. “Neither of you should be alone. Not for a minute.”

“Warning heeded,” Sid responded. “Thank you.”

“Yes. Thanks,” I grumbled as I rubbed my sore wrist, “for protecting me.” I gave him a what-now look. While a part of me cringed at the notion that he had been stalking me, watching, following, the other was flattered. Very. His odd behavior showed he cared about me, in his own (twisted) way. He didn’t want me to be harmed. And he was willing to go to fairly great lengths to make sure I wasn’t. At least, he didn’t want any man but him harming me. My sore ass reminded me he didn’t mind being the one to cause me pain.

The guy Sid had been dancing with loped up, dark eyes glittering with male appreciation. “There you are,” he said in a heavy accented voice. “I thought you’d run away.”

“Oh hi, Casimiro” Sid beamed at her partner. “No, I had to find my friend.” She pointed at me and Kace. “This is Kendall and Kace.”

I smiled.

Kace didn’t.

Neither did Casimiro.

Both men nodded.

The chill in Casimiro’s eyes melted the instant he looked at Sid again. “Come, dance.”

She gave me a confused look. “Well…she jerked her head toward the dancers. “Why don’t you two dance?” she suggested.

“No,” I snapped.

“Yes,” Kace said.

Surprised, I gave him a wide-eyed look. “Yes?” I echoed, shocked by his response.

“Yes.” With light pressure on the small of my back he steered me into the crowd. Then, stopping when he found a small open area, he pulled me into his arms and started to move his hips to the music.

Oh crap, I was done. The man could dance. He danced well.

Too well.

Within seconds, I was feeling lightheaded. And my skin was simmering all over. My face was blistering hot. My neck. My chest. My nipples were painful, aching little points. And that heat was already starting to throb through my whole body.

He pulled me tighter to him and I nearly crumpled to a heap of molten goo, right there. I inhaled deeply, but that only made things worse. He smelled so fucking good. Like clean man, with a hint of musk. He felt so fucking good, too. And when he started singing along with the band, he sounded good as well.

Holy shit, it was like a romantic dream, being serenaded in the street by a gorgeous man. His every movement was a seduction, and my body responded. Blood pounded to my center, burning my veins. As he moved, he held me closely, tightly, forcing my body to match his movements. My soft curves pressed against his hard, broad body as if we were trying to become one. He didn’t have to hold me against him. My body was pulled, by an invisible force. I couldn’t get close enough.

I couldn’t blame him for my response now. He wasn’t holding me against my will. He wasn’t treating me like a whore.

And yet in the back of my mind, this niggling thought kept nagging at me.

What kind of games is this guy playing?
He’d thrown me out. He hadn’t wanted me. So what was he doing here now?

I tipped my head back and looked him in the eye. “What are you doing?”

“Dancing, of course,” he said as he performed a seductive sway that made me breathless. A wave pulled from his ponytail, falling to curl along his cheekbone. The end curved under his jaw.

“Yes, you’re dancing. That’s quite obvious.” Lifting my chin, I looking him in the eye. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

“I…” His gaze jerked away. “I want the rest of my week.”

“You want what? You bullied me. You beat me. You treated me like a whore. And then you shoved me out the door like yesterday’s trash. And now you expect me to go back?”

“Yes, I did all those things. I fucked up. I’m fucked up.”

“I’m beginning to see that.” My hand itched to capture that lock of hair, to see if it was as smooth and silky as it looked. Dark black strands flashed with blue light as brilliant beams of sun caressed them. A gust tugged another strand free from the ponytail.

“I want you to come back.” He visibly swallowed. “This isn’t easy for me. I don’t…I never…I’m
asking
you to come back.”

“I don’t understand any of this.”

His gaze locked on mine. “You’re not the only one.”

“What does that mean?”

“I don’t understand either. That’s just it.” He cupped my chin and brushed his lips across mine. “No esclavo has ever…no woman has ever made me feel this way. When I taste you, I crave more. When I touch you, I need more. It makes no sense.”

My insides melted.

That was how I felt. It made no sense in my case either. He was a total asshole, who bought women, beat them and then shoved them out his door. So why the hell did he make me feel so warm inside?

He felt it too. That strange, overpowering connection.

“Why did you push me away yesterday?” I whispered. I was so tight all over, thanks to his little kisses, that I could barely speak.

“For your own good.” He released my chin and looked at me with eyes so dark I couldn’t make out the pupils. “What I said is all true. I will hurt you. I can’t help it. I’m a bastard. I wanted to get you away from me, far away. But I can’t stand it. I haven’t slept since you left. I can’t work. I can’t eat. Nothing is right with you gone. And I don’t understand why that is.”

My mind was blown. Blown so far I didn’t know if was dreaming right now or not. “I don’t understand it either.”

“Do you want to come back home with me now?” he asked.

God help me, but when you’re like this, yes.

“Do you wish to be mine for two more days?” he asked.

Yes.

“Despite what I have said?” His hand slid down, cupping my ass. “What I’ve done?”

Yes.

“I’m not afraid of you,” I told him. He had to know I wasn’t going to be his cowering, begging submissive, if that was what he was looking for. This girl didn’t fall to her knees and cry for mercy. She told him what she thought, she challenged him, she forced him to face the truth about himself. And when he became angry with her, she held her tongue and took his punishment instead of pleading with him to stop.

“That’s why I sent you away, Kendall. You should be afraid of me.”

“No. You won’t hurt me too badly. I’m strong.”

“You are strong.” That hand that was cupping my ass moved to my face, palm curving over my cheek. “You’re too strong for your own good.”

“There is no such thing as too strong.”

“There is.” Something wicked flashed in his eyes. But it wasn’t the same fire that I’d seen before, the dark sadistic thrill of hunting prey. This was more playful, more flirtatious “And you will find that out if you come back.”

I felt a saucy smile pulling at my lips. “That doesn’t scare me.”

The arm wrapped around my back pulled me closer, until I could feel his every inhalation and the thick, hard lump in his pants was burning my stomach. “Your body will be mine. All. Of. It.”  His eyes flicked down and I knew, as the hard heat of his cock prodded at my stomach, what he meant.

All of me. He wanted all of me.

My virginity.

That, I could not give him.

No, no, no, I couldn’t let him have that.

I cleared my throat. “Before I give you my answer, we must agree on one thing. You can whip me. You can tie me up. You can punish me any way you like. And you can touch me anywhere you want. But I will return home a virgin.”

“I can punish you any way I like?” He stared down into my eyes as I counted the seconds thudding in silence between us. “Agreed.” He stopped dancing, slid a hand down my arm until he had my hand in his and pulled me through the crowd, toward the outer edge of the dance floor.

I dug in my heels. I couldn’t leave like this, abandoning Sid without giving her some kind of explanation. I had no idea how I would make her understand my actions. Maybe I didn’t have to...yet. But I still needed to let her know I would be leaving. “Wait!”

“What is it?”

I motioned to the other dancers. “My friend, Sid. I have to tell her I’m leaving with you.”

“She knows,” he said, eyes glittering, lips curling into a naughty semi-smile.

“What?” I said, even though my brain had put two and two together already. Sid had called him. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. Sure, I was going back to his house. So things had turned out for the better. But she’d called the man I had told her had beat me. What did that mean? Had she not believed me? How could she have doubted me when she’d seen the marks?

“How do you think I found you?” he asked.

“Sidonie called you?”

“She did.”

I glanced over my shoulder, toward the last place I had seen my friend, and wondered why Sid had called him. Maybe Franchot had threatened her? Holy shit. Was I falling into a trap? Calling the man who had purchased my virginity and having him convince me to go back to his place after he had let me go would basically put an end to any legal or criminal action I might take when I returned home. What judge would believe I’d been forced and traumatized if I willingly went back?