The Ruthless Note: Dark High School Bully Romance (Redwood Kings Book 2)

Several times in the night, I wonder if Cadence’s bed can handle all the rocking. But somehow, the little twin doesn’t break. It holds steadfast, creaking and moaning and trembling, but never once faltering beneath us.

The air smells of reckless abandon and lust.

It douses my body in heat and makes me powerless to control myself.

Damn. She’s strung me too raw, too high, too close to giving up everything.

I promised I’d be gentle. It is her first time after all and I know I’m a lot to handle, but I was unprepared for the energy burst that ripped all my self-control away.

She’s stunning.

Unpretentious.

So, so soft…

I lost it the moment I felt her tight little body and saw her thrashing underneath me. That’s when I turned into an animal.

She was so ready for me, so perfect.

And the thought that I was her first, that I was going where no man had ever gone before, made me lose my mind.

To my credit, I kept asking if she was okay, only to hear that she was. So I pushed a little harder. Maybe a little too much. By the time I’d gotten a handle on myself, I’d almost split her in two.

Since then, we moved to the bedroom and left several dents in the mattress.

It’s like she turbo-charges me. I barely catch my breath before I want to go again.

Cadey keeps up with me, accepting every burning inch, rough when I’m rough, tender when I’m tender.

“Dutch,” she moans, her voice cracking.

This girl has wrecked me for life.

I sink in deeper. I want to hold her forever, but I can’t.

So I settle for hearing her scream.

“Hold on,” I growl in her ear. Stopping to capture her in a rough kiss, I rear up and go harder, my hands yanking her hair and my head tilted forward. She’s panting, throwing her hips back, meeting me with a passion of her own.

The bed is going to fall this time.

I’m sure of it.

But that doesn’t stop us.

I yank her up so her back is against my chest, tilt her chin and move as I kiss her. Our mouths rock in a dance similar to our bodies, tongues sliding together, tasting, charging, invading. It’s nothing but friction and heat and greedy hands. Her nails dig into the back of my neck and scrape my spine in a way that I’m sure will hurt like hell tomorrow.

Or is it already tomorrow?

I’ve lost track of time.

Everything about her feels so damn good. Even the way she sounds is like music. I want to stay here forever. Pumping Cadence freaking Cooper like a maniac, working her into a frenzy that sends her body levitating off the bed.

My body tenses.

Freaking hell.

My fingers slide against her and find her heat. I bite down hard on her neck, feeling her tumble into oblivion a second before I do.

I snap apart like an earthquake, a wild eruption that wrings my entire body out like a towel.

The perfect harmony.

Utter bliss.

We’re both a panting, steaming mess by the time we come back to ourselves.

Cadey is under me, her face buried in the pillow, her body quivering.

I’m smothering her.

Rolling off, I stroke her back, wincing when I notice the purple bruises near her hip from where I gripped her.

I didn’t set out to mark every inch of her body, but between the forceful kisses and my heavy hands, it’ll be obvious to everyone that she belongs to me.

A grin teases across my face, but I shake it off. She’ll probably smack me if she sees me celebrating.

Cadey lifts her head and her eyebrows are drawn as if she can feel the smile getting trapped inside me. Moonlight falls against her bruised lips and her flushed face.

I kiss her like she’s Snow Freaking White, locked in a glass case just waiting to be resuscitated. I want to kiss her again, but I know if I do, it won’t ever be enough. I’ve overdone it already tonight. She needs time to recover.

“Oh my gosh,” she whispers, her hair falling into her face. Her eyes are pure, chocolate brown.

My lips arch up. “Tonight was just an introduction.”

“Oh my gosh,” she says again. She lowers her head, struggling to catch her breath.

I brush her hair over her face. She has no idea all the ways I’m going to wreck her.

My sweet little Cadey.

Brahms.

Redhead.

Mine, whatever her name is. Whatever she’s freaking dressed as.

I grab her into me and mold my body to hers, not to invade her legs but to trap her against my chest. I bury my nose in her neck and inhale, enjoying the scent of her sweat mixed with the fragrance of us.

It’s my first time cuddling someone and I thought I’d hate it. But I don’t. Or maybe I don’t because it’s her.

“Go to sleep, Cadey. I won’t teach you any more lessons tonight.”

She yawns and turns to face me. I can feel her studying me, can feel all her questions, her worries, her what happens next. But she doesn’t have to keep any of those thoughts in her pretty little head.

For tonight, all she has to do is sleep.

Tomorrow, I’m going to figure out how to put that ring on her finger.

CADENCE

Everything in my body hurts.

That’s what wakes me up.

As my eyes open, I become aware of the hot, heavy bear behind me.

Dutch.

His hand covers my stomach. It’s so big, that it spreads from my chest all the way to my hip.

I shift and soreness echoes between my legs. The sheet moves too and I realize that it’s stuck to my skin, baked on from all the sweating and the heat from Dutch’s embrace.

I’m no longer a virgin.

My breath gets trapped in my throat and I start to panic until I tune in to the steady rhythm of Dutch’s heartbeat against my back.

I watch the bare skin stretched over his muscular biceps and try to gather my thoughts so I can make the right moves.

What exactly is the right move?

I can’t think with Dutch touching me like this, reminding me of all the times he had me falling to pieces last night.

He snorts softly and I almost smile. When he’s sleeping and not flashing those amber eyes like a predator in the jungle, he seems almost innocent. No jerk of Redwood Prep vibes around.

“Dutch,” I whisper, pushing at his hand. “You need to go.”

He responds by gripping me tighter.

I chew on my bottom lip. The closeness between us is alarming, but I knew that opening myself to him completely would have some strings. The connection is different now, more intense.

But I can’t let it distract me.

“Dutch.” I shake him until he wakes up.

His amber eyes open and fall on me. I notice the marks on his neck, arms and shoulders. I don’t recall scraping him that hard, but it looks like I might have lost it a little.

“Are you okay?” he rumbles.

“Okay?”

He gestures to the sheets. “Are you sore?”

“Only a little.” That’s a lie.

But I’m not going to look weak in front of him.

Dutch rolls me over and kisses me deeply. I feel his desire growing and sense that if I don’t stop him now, he’ll have me trapped in this bed for hours, just like he did last night.

“My sister is coming back today,” I tell him, twisting my head away.

He stops, his eyes taking me in.

I bite down on my bottom lip. “That’s not an excuse. She really is going to be here any minute.”

He grunts. “Where’s your bathroom?”

I point.

He gets off me and saunters away, naked as can be. I take a peek at his body, marveling at the sculpted lines and wondering how on earth I managed to handle all of that last night.

My body flushes with heat again and I quickly jump out of bed to dress before I change my mind and tell Dutch the truth.

That Breeze has my sister until Monday.

That I want him again.

That my life is about to implode.

I manage to keep my mouth shut and grab the pillows that got knocked off the bed. As I work, I spot my bedsheets and wince. There’s no amount of laundry detergent that can fix that mess.

Fully dressed, I walk outside and knock on the bathroom door. “Dutch, I put your clothes out here.”

Not waiting around, I head to the kitchen and start making breakfast.

A few minutes later, I feel Dutch’s overwhelming presence get closer and my neck stiffens.

“Cadey,” he says carefully.

“Not now, Dutch,” I interrupt him.

He hesitates. I glance over my shoulder and find his eyes looking more brown than honey, the scary amber tamed by the shadows in the room.

“Later,” I promise. “If my sister comes back and sees you here, I won’t know how to explain it.”

His eyes narrow on me, tearing me to pieces without even trying. How will I ever go back to being numb around you?

He walks forward, picks the ring box off the table and jams it on the counter next to me. “Later.”

I watch him leave and then wilt against the counter, glad that he didn’t make a fuss. I’m not ready to deal with Dutch yet.

Turning back to the stove, I push the spatula in the eggs when I hear a knock on the door.

Did Dutch forget something?

My heart pattering, I spring to the door and throw it open.

But it’s not Dutch on my doorstep.

I see familiar brown eyes, messy brown hair and a face that was once beautiful but is now marked by all the bad choices she’s made.

The blood drains from my face. A resigned sigh builds in my chest.

I step back, letting her in. “Come in, mom.”