Broken Bond by C.J. Primer

Read Broken Bond by C.J. Primer Chapter 10 – CALLUM 

I leave the hot springs with the worst blue balls of my fucking life. I go straight home, hop in the shower, and jack my dick to get the poison out, but then I start thinking about the sounds Nessa made when she was falling apart on my fingers and I‘m instantly hard again. 

So I jerk off twice. 

Even then, it‘s not enough– not when I can still picture the flush of her cheeks right after she came, how swollen and puffy her lips were as she fought to catch her breath 

I‘ve never been a giver. When I‘ve hooked up with girls in the past, it was always about my own pleasure, not theirs. I didn‘t kiss them if I could help it, and I sure as hell didn‘t rub them out without getting anything in return. I grew bored with hookups quickly, and then it got to a point where I stopped even bothering because it was easier to just jerk off to relieve the tension rather than hassling with the neediness of another human being. 

But this is different because of the bet, right? Nessa isn‘t easy prey; I have to employ other tactics to ensnare her. Sacrifice my own pleasure to win her over, try to make her think that I‘m not like those other assholes she‘s been with that always expect something in return. Play it smart so she doesn‘t pick up on my nefarious intent. It‘s just about the bet. 

Fuck, it isn‘t just about the bet. 

It‘s her. The bright–eyed curiosity where there should be fear. The way my name sounds when it rolls off her lips. The fact that she looks like a goddamn fashion model, but doesn‘t rely on her looks or even seem to recognize how fucking stunning she is. 

I want her, and it has nothing to do with Miles‘ stupid wager. 

She‘s fascinating; a puzzle that I haven‘t been able to solve, while remaining intriguing enough to hold my interest. It doesn‘t hurt that she‘s a knockout, either. Seeing her in her underwear today was a fucking treat. I committed every line and curve of her body to memory, and I could‘ve watched the water 

roll off her bronzed skin all day long. She‘s like a work of art; almost too flawless to be real. 

I have no idea why she‘d grant a monster like me the privilege of touching her, but far be it for me to question her motivations when my own are less than noble. 

With one of my appetites satisfied in the shower, I get dressed and rummage around in my fridge to satisfy another. There‘s a lone apple that looks like it‘s a day or two from turning, so I settle on that as my snack. I never waste food; I can‘t afford to. 

I nudge the fridge closed with a shoulder as I slide my phone out of my pocket to check the online message board for maintenance requests in our apartment building. I check it a couple times a day in case there‘s anything urgent, honoring my agreement with Alpha Vaughn in exchange for living here. Today, there‘s a message from Ms. Donnelly next door waiting for me, requesting help with her leaky kitchen sink. 

If it were anybody else in the building, I‘d probably put it off until later– but I like Ms. Donnelly. She‘s a cranky old kook and we mostly communicate by exchanging insults, but that‘s what I like about her. She doesn‘t fake niceties or pretend to be someone she‘s not. I respect that. 

I stuff my phone back into the pocket of my jeans and tuck the apple into the front pocket of my hoodie, deciding to head over now to take a look at Ms. Donnelly‘s leaky sink. When I pull open the door to head out, though, I spot Miles walking down the hall with a determined stride, making his way from his own apartment to the exit door of the building. 

“Where are you off to?” I ask as he draws closer. 

that Nessa‘s working this afternoon, so I‘m gonna go pay

shoulder against the doorframe as he passes by, pulling the apple out of my hoodie pocket and buffing it against my

around to face me, his mouth agape. “What? When?”

up earlier today.” I shrug and take another bite, grinning widely as I chew. Yeah, I‘m smug as fuck right now, but it‘s worth it

to say, I finish chewing and swallow, licking the juice from my lips. “Honestly, you shouldn‘t make

“You haven‘t fucked her yet, have you? There‘s still time for you to screw this up. And when you do, I‘ll be

his cavalier comment, but I don‘t let it show. I shrug nonchalantly, sinking my teeth into the apple for another bite, then chew slowly, enjoying how my silence rattles him. He shuffles his feet, shaking his head with a scowl. Then, wordlessly, he turns on

after him with a laugh, but Miles just flips me the bird over his shoulder, muttering

Those impossibly long legs of hers are on full display in her tiny black mini–skirt and matching ankle boots, and I can‘t take my eyes off them as she weaves through the crowd to

been secretly hooking up, Levi still falls all over himself to greet Vienna, somehow still under the delusion that he has a chance with her. There‘s no fucking way. Vienna goes rigid when he leans in to kiss her cheek,

is, but nobody‘s ever accused Levi of being observant.

try to start a conversation with Nessa when he hands her

past

at me.

chin, beckoning her to join me on the couch. With a polite ‘excuse me‘ to Miles, she obliges, leaving him slack–jawed as he watches

1. me. 

only to further embed myself under Miles‘ skin. It feels a little too natural, though. Too comfortable. But when Nessa leans

cheeks and she covers it with her cup, taking a sip of the fruity punch that Levi mixed up

showed up.” The corner of my mouth lifts and I take a sip of my own drink; the gin and tonic I‘ve been nursing it for the past hour. Gotta keep a clear

dimple sinks into her left cheek. “I would‘ve been here to cure your boredom earlier, but my little sister threw a fit when we were leaving.

mentioned brothers the other day, and now a sister? “How many siblings do you have?” I wonder

“Six.” 

up.

My parents are breeders.” Nessa giggles, shaking her head.

a smile because that little giggle of hers is damn contagious. It’s like if sunshine had a sound.

know of her personality, that definitely tracks. “I‘ve got four brothers and two sisters. My youngest sister is only four, but she‘s got everyone in our house wrapped around her little finger.” She smiles fondly,

fading from my face. “A half–brother. We... don‘t

round in sympathy. “That‘s a shame.”

toward my friends seated around us on the sectional. “These guys are the only brothers I really need.”