I need something to blow off steam.
I wrench the steering wheel to the right, veering off the main road and plunging into a heavily wooded area where there isn't a single sign of traffic. I go faster and faster, watching him floor his own accelerator to keep pace.
Then, he pushes the Mercedes past its limit. He accelerates, overtaking me in a split second. His car cuts right in front of mine, forcing me to a sudden, screeching halt as he prepares to claim his prize. But I’m not ready to give up just yet.
I yank the wheel to the right again—off the pavement entirely, where there are no paths. The Porsche bounces over thick tree branches and rocks. When the vehicle finally starts to struggle, the wheels spinning uselessly through the thick mud of the woods, I kill the engine, parking it in the middle of absolute nowhere.
The exact moment I fling the car door open and flee into the brush, the sound of his car door slamming echoes right behind mine.
I don’t look back. My legs are moving so fast they practically reach the back of my head, my chest heaving as I take frantic breaths to convince my starving lungs not to give up on me.
"Maya!"
His deep voice booms through the trees. It makes a flock of birds scatter into the sky. There is nothing left in these woods but me, him, and an endless span of grass and towering trees.
I run harder, taking random turns. If I were forced to trace my steps back to civilization right now, I wouldn't even know where the hell I came from.
"Maya! Come. Back. Now."
The shout is significantly closer than before. I run even faster.
But I fail to outrun the monster.
His hand reaches out and violently grabs the back of my head. The sudden stop in momentum makes me shriek insurprise, my footing giving out entirely. As we fall, Graham angles his body so he takes the brunt of the impact. I land directly on top of him, my back pressed flush against his chest. We are both panting as our lungs struggle for oxygen. And right beneath my ass cheeks, I can feel his cock, completely rock-hard. Even in his fury, his body is turned on by me.
His hand remains tangled in the roots of my hair. He tightens his hold, pulling my head back until my throat is exposed, and lets out a feral growl right against my ear.
"Never. Do that. Again."
I know I probably just completely ruined his brand-new Porsche. No wonder he is vibrating with rage.
"I'm... I'm sorry about the car," I mumble, coughing sharply as talking hinders my ability to take the deep breaths my lungs are begging for.
The grip on my hair becomes a million times tighter, and a keen of pain slips from my lips.
"You think this is about the fucking car, Maya?"
"Then what is it about?!" I gasp out.
"Your safety," he rasps. "You cannot be negligent about your life. You cannot risk stealing all the light from my existence. I don't give a single shit about the Porsche. I will buy you thirty others tomorrow just so you can smash them to pieces to let off your steam. But never again do you drive so recklessly."
Tears escape my eyes, spilling over my temple.
All my life, no one ever cared if I lived or died.No one.And now, when I finally get to experience what it feels like to matter to someone, it comes with a mountain of toxic baggage. He is my sister's ex-husband. A man so utterly, ruthlessly obsessed that he isn't even normal.
Maybe I need this exact amount of insane attention to heal.Because Graham is simultaneously healing me and breaking me. Shaping my soul into something I barely recognize. I painfullytwist my body around against his, fighting his restraint until we are face-to-face in the dirt. I cup his jaw and kiss him.
"You know..." I whisper against his mouth. "I never had anyone who cared if I lived or died."
"I don’t only care if you live or die, Maya," he says. "My entire life, my every breath, depends on the fact that you are breathing. If you stop, I burn."
He crashes his mouth back onto mine, and the kiss instantly turns feral. Our tongues rub against each other in a vulgar way, thick with saliva and unhinged desperation. But that’s what we have always been. Wrong. Vulgar. A complete sin. Yet, nothing in heaven or hell appears capable of stopping us from destroying each other.
We begin to undress each other frantically. He pushes my dress up to my chest, his mouth sliding down my throat, down my breasts, until he reaches my stomach.
I tense up automatically. I’m soft there, and Valeria always reminded me of that. I instinctively try to pull away. But Graham buries his face into my stomach, kissing the skin with so much affection that even more tears fall from my eyes. He litters my stomach with hickeys that brand me as his.
As his head moves lower, I grab him by the hair, trying to pull his face up. "Graham, stop... I'm already wet. There’s no need for this."
