Tough Shit (Rejects Paradise 1)

His fingers tighten on my body, holding me closer. “I’ll buy you a new one.”

I shake my head. “No, please don’t do that,” I tell him. “I don’t want any more reminders of how he tore it from my body. I just …”

“It was your first gown.” I nod, loving how intune he is with me. “Are you okay, Jade?”

“No …” I say, looking up. “I don’t know. Maybe. I haven’t really had a chance to process everything.”

He watches me for a moment before slipping his hands down my body and lifting me. My legs automatically wrap around his waist, holding on as he strides across his bedroom. He sits down on his bed with his back pressed up against the headboard and my knees on either side of his thighs. “You’re strong, Jade. You’re going to be alright.”

I pull back and rest my weight on his legs while refusing to release my hold from around his neck. “Why do you call me Jade?”

A soft smile pulls at the corners of his lips and it blows me the hell way. “Have you ever seen a sky blue jadeite crystal?”

I raise my brow, wondering how a guy like Colton knows anything about crystals. “Do I look like the kind of girl who’s seen a sky blue jadeite crystal?”

He laughs and raises a hand, brushing his fingers over my brow and circling under my eye. “It’s the same color as your eyes.”

My mouth drops as butterflies sweep through my stomach and make my heart race. “So, all this time I’ve been pissed with you for calling me the wrong name when in reality …”

“It’s the perfect name.”

“You should have told me.”

His soft smile turns into a wicked grin. “As if I was going to do that. Do you have any idea how entertaining it is watching you get your panties in a twist over things you don’t understand?”

My hand smacks out but his reflexes are on point and he catches it with ease. “You’re an ass.”

Colton tugs on my hand and I fall into him. He catches me so that I don’t crash headfirst into his chest but a part of me kinda wishes I had. My face hovers in front of his and I catch my breath, feeling the tension rising between us.

“Tell me something I don’t know,” he murmurs low, his eyes glued to mine.

I can’t resist him a second longer and fuze my lips to his. The hunger builds within each of us and he curls a strong arm around my back and pulls me in close. My body plasters against his and every last thought, every problem, every insult flies out the fucking window. All that exists is him.

I rock back and forth over him and feel him harden beneath me. After the night I had, sex should be the furthest thing from my mind. I should be running for the hills but the need continues to grow within and if I don’t do this now, I might not survive.

I need Colton Carrington and I need him now. I don’t know when I might ever get a chance like this again.

He reads my body and reaches for my shirt, pulling it over my head and dropping it to the bed beside him. His lips fall to my neck and I turn my face away, giving him as much room to explore as I possibly can all while his hands roam over my bare skin, trailing over my back and claiming every inch of me.

His hands find my jaw and he forces my gaze back to his. I see nothing but a pure, raging desire and I know he sees the same reflected in mine. “Are you sure about this?” he questions reluctantly as my chest rises and falls with rapid movements. “I can wait …”

“But I can’t.”

His gaze heats and his lips come straight back to mine. My underwear and sweatpants are ripped down my body as the towel around his narrow waist is pulled off.

The hunger intensifies and his fingers dig into my hips, moving me exactly where he wants me. I flinch at his forceful nature and know that any other time, I would love it but not now, not so soon after …

“I need you to give me control,” I tell him, panting heavily and dropping my head back as his lips return to my neck and fingers trail over my nipple, lightly pinching and sending bolts of electricity shooting through me right through to my center.

His hand curls back around my neck, bringing my eyes to his again. He shakes his head. “I don’t give up control.”

My eyes sharpen and for a brief moment, we fight for power, we fight for control, and we fight for our place in this twisted relationship. The need within him takes over and just like that, I see that he wants this more than his need to be in control and I know he will give me what I need even if he doesn’t know it himself.