The Lies We Tell (The Four #1) - Becca Steele Page 0,62
hard, angry, black and fathomless like the ocean below us. “Finish, then.”
“You’re not theirs,” he repeated, glaring at me.
“Yeah, I heard you the first time. Do you have anything else to add?”
He stared silently at me for a long time.
He let go of me.
He let me walk away.
Tears filled my eyes as I reached the castle wall once again, and I slumped against the stone, defeated, hidden by the shadows. He was never going to change. He was too fucking stubborn.
I sniffed, wiping a tear away, furious at myself for crying over him.
“Snowflake.” I nearly jumped out of my skin at his voice, right behind me. I let him turn me around to face him, and our eyes met, his face blurry through my tears.
He let out a pained groan and grasped my face in his large hands.
The sob ripped from my throat.
“I’m not my mother. I wish you would see me when you look at my face. Not her. Me.”
“Winter.” He kissed away a tear trailing down my cheek and wiped the tracks with the pads of his thumbs. “I know I’m fucked up.”
“I can’t do this with you anymore. It hurts too much,” I whispered brokenly, shaking my head, attempting to move away from him.
“Don’t go.”
“Why?”
He was silent for a long moment.
“Because I want you, okay?” His voice was rough, low, and he wouldn’t meet my eyes.
My heart stuttered.
“Look me in the eyes and tell me that.”
I wasn’t sure if he would. My heart was racing, and I could feel his own heart beating wildly against my chest. I kept my arms pinned to my sides, needing him to do this of his own accord.
I held my breath.
His stormy eyes met mine.
He took a deep breath, moving his head closer.
“I. Want. You.” He rasped the words against my lips, his grip on my face tightening.
“Cade,” I breathed and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling his face to mine.
I could taste the salt of my tears as he claimed my mouth, taking what he wanted, pressing me into the wall. I moaned into his mouth, his kisses sending need throbbing through me, straight to my core.
He released my lips and buried his face in my neck, raising my hoodie and sliding his hands across my stomach. “You’re wearing too many fucking clothes.”
I shivered violently, both from his words and the cold sea air that hit my bare skin as he exposed it. “Take me home. Or somewhere warmer.”
I felt his words vibrate low against my throat. “Home’s too far. I’ll keep you warm.” He picked me up, and I wrapped my legs around his waist as he carried me around the front of the castle. Lowering me to my feet, he grabbed my hand. “Come on. Climb over here. Careful.” I let him guide me over a teetering pile of rubble, through a small gap, and then we were inside the remains of one of the rounded towers—open to the sky and the sea, but sheltered from the wind. We must have been close to the bonfire—the tower we were in was almost warm, compared to the temperature outside, anyway. I could see an orange glow coming from high above us, through the arrow slits, and hear music and the sound of people on the other side of the thick stone walls.
“You deserve to be punished,” Caiden growled, pushing me up against the wall and nipping at my neck, then pulling my hoodie and T-shirt over my head in one go.
“No, you do,” I told him, unzipping his hoodie and sliding it off his shoulders.
“You let them kiss you. Touch you.” He undid my bra, ripping it from my body and throwing it to the side, then took my breasts in his hands and caressed them, his touch alternating between rough and punishing, and gentle.
“They weren’t you,” I gasped out between moans. “You’re the only one who makes—” I stopped talking as he licked a line up from between my breasts to my jaw, then sucked my bottom lip into his mouth and bit it gently.
“Oh fuck,” I moaned, wrapping a leg around him, grinding myself against him. I lifted the hem of his T-shirt, pulling it off, and the bandana with it. I scraped my nails down his back, and he shuddered, pressing his hard cock into me.
“I’m the only one who makes what?” He released my mouth, rasping the question against my lips.
“The—the—” I couldn’t think. “The only one who makes me feel this way.”