on instinct, I switched directions and pulled the door all the way open.
The sound of the punchbag being hit drifted up towards me, and I tiptoed down the stairs, to be treated with a sight that took my breath away.
Caiden, bare-chested, his torso glistening with sweat, going at the punchbag with everything he had, absolute fucking fury on his face. The bag was swinging madly as he punched it over and over, his knuckles red and split—fuck, was that blood?
Why was I instantly wet?
I needed him. Right. Now.
“Caiden.” My voice was hoarse, but I managed to speak loudly enough that his head snapped round to mine.
“You,” he growled, and then he was stalking over to me, his eyes so, so black, a dark rage filling them. He reached me and thrust his hand up, gripping my throat, and pinned me against the wall.
I couldn’t speak, not because he had his hand around my throat, but because I couldn’t think enough to form words. I was on fire.
This was so fucked up.
He leaned closer, his teeth bared. “You,” he repeated, then sank his teeth into my neck.
Flames of desire lit up my entire body, and I barely registered the pain.
I wasn’t afraid. I trusted him with every single part of me—I knew he wouldn’t go too far. All I knew was that I was beyond turned on, and the only thought in my mind was that I wanted him. The throbbing need between my legs grew more and more intense.
How to snap him out of this? I reached down and grabbed his other hand, pulling it up to my lips before he had a chance to react. His head flew up, and he stood, frozen for a moment, his eyes glued to my movements as I licked across his split knuckles, the burst of blood in my mouth coating my tongue with its sour, metallic tang.
It was a spur-of-the-moment, totally unplanned action, but…fuuuuck. It worked.
He lunged for me, attacking my mouth, ripping his hand away from mine and undoing his jeans with one hand. Not quick enough, apparently, because he suddenly released his grip on my throat and pulled away from me totally, pulling his jeans and boxers off, his cock hard, thick, and heavy between us.
My mouth watered. I needed him inside me, now, and we were most definitely on the same page. He tore my underwear away from my body before I could even process what was happening, and then he lifted me and thrust up into me.
“You. Were. So. Fucking. Careless,” he hissed between thrusts, all teeth and savage grip on me. All I could do was hold on and ride him, moving closer and closer to the edge, feeling him flex around me. His hot breath on my face, his sweat-soaked body, his cock that filled me so perfectly…
“I’m sorry.” My strangled gasp was barely discernible as he buried his face in my shoulder again, biting down, pressing me into the wall as he fucked me mercilessly.
Oh. Fuck.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Stars burst beneath my closed lids as I came hard and fast, gripping him with everything I had. His iron grip tightened on me as he followed me over the edge, pulsing inside me, his cum marking me as his.
“Caiden.” I breathed his name as he kind of collapsed back onto the workout bench behind us, me straddling him, my arms around his neck, his dick still inside me.
“What am I gonna do with you?” His voice was so pained, and I knew what he was saying. Why had I been so stupid? He already had to go through losing his mother, and then to have me disappear not once, but twice, if you included tonight…why hadn’t I at least sent him a message? What had possessed me to climb out of an upstairs window? Why didn’t I think?
“I’m so fucking sorry, Cade. Please…” I had the biggest lump in my throat, and I could hardly get the words out around it. I swallowed, still breathing hard. “Please…” I took a deep breath. “Please don’t do anything rash. I—I don’t…”
Argh. My huff was audible—it wasn’t meant to be.
“You don’t what?” The rage and pain were masked by something else. Curiosity, perhaps?
I drew back to meet his eyes.
There he was.
My boyfriend.
His gaze all stormy, still angry, but tempered with his curiosity and what I thought was concern. And maybe something else, something I couldn’t think, let alone say aloud.
He made my heart skip a beat.
“When you look at me like—” I