Adversaries by T.L. Hodel

Chase froze with his hand still in the open desk drawer and slowly rolled his glare my way. “You what?”

The darkness openly displayed on his face sent a shiver up my spine. I’d never seen him look this mad.

“I got rid of it,” I repeated despite the warning bells going off in my thoughts.

After Tanner’s reaction, I didn’t think it was a good idea to have weapons around and based on how hard he was clenching his jaw, I’d say I was right.

“You don’t need to be around guns right now.”

“I don’t need…” Chase roared, place his hands under the desk, and flipped it across the room.

I flinched as objects crashed around the room and again when the desk smashed into the wall, knocking three pictures off their hooks. I was wrong. Mad wasn’t the right word for what was pulsing through Chase’s large body, causing a vein in his forehead to throb.

“You don’t get to decide what I need.”

“I just thought…”

“Don’t think, don’t speak, don’t do anything but get on your fucking knees when I tell you… You know what?” He tipped his head at me. I didn’t like the look in his eyes. “That’s a good fucking idea. Come here.”

I lifted my chin and firmly stated, “No.”

“Does it look like I’m asking?”

“Does it look like I care?” I shot back.

That was apparently the wrong thing to do. Chase was across the room, tearing me out of the bathroom before I could even think about closing the door.

“What do you not get, Princess?” He slammed me back against the wall, briefly knocking the air out of my lungs. “I tell you what to do, and you do it.”

“Is that what Sam did?” I coughed out.

I watched a flash of guilt shift his expression before the rage deepened.

“You don’t get to talk about her.”

“Why not?” I snarled and shoved him back, “She’s the one calling the shots, isn’t she? I heard you talking to her.”

Chase stepped back and ground out, “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Oh, but I did. I knew all too well. Chase wasn’t the only one who had ghosts haunting his thoughts.

“Does she answer you?” I asked, taking a step closer. “Do you hear her voice when you sit alone at night?”

“Shut up!”

“She’s not here, Chase.”

“SHUT UP!” He yelled louder.

But I didn’t. I couldn’t. As harsh as this was, he needed to hear it.

“She can’t whisper sweet things in your ear…”

His hand shot out, wrapping around my neck as he slammed me back into the wall.

“Shut,” he leaned in, hissing in my face, “the fuck, up.”

“She’s dead, Chase.”

A growl so loud that it vibrated the wall erupted from his chest. He pushed his weight on my shoulders, causing my legs to buckle and forcing me down on my knees.

I landed hard and would’ve fallen over if he didn’t have such a firm grip on my hair.

“Open your fucking mouth,” he ordered while unbuckling his belt.

Unable to move my head, I rolled my eyes up and peeked at him through my lashes. “It’s not gonna bring her back.”

“I said,” he pulled his hard and ready cock out and slapped me in the side of the face, “open your fucking mouth.”

“Chase,” was all I got out before he slammed himself down my throat.

It was all I could do not to moan as his taste exploded across my tongue, and he face-fucked me. I braced my palms on his thighs and took it, opened my throat and welcomed every bit of anger and hatred he thrust into me.

“See this? This is all your mouth is good for.” His cock pulsed and throbbed, growing harder with each stroke. “To be my little cum dumpster.”

He popped his dick out of my mouth and brushed the tip over my lips. “Come on, Princess, beg for your supper.”

“Does it make you feel better to hurt me?” I tipped my chin up to look at him. “Or does it make her voice louder?”

Next thing I knew, I was being dragged across the floor by my hair and then flung on the bed. Chase was on me before I could balance myself, tearing the clothes off my body.

I didn’t fight him. It wasn’t the same this time. This wasn’t a game we were trying to win. He needed this. He needed to let go.

“She’s gone, Chase,” I said as he tugged on my hips and pulled me up on all fours. “Doing this isn’t going to fix that.”

But it might fix him.

“You don’t know when to fucking stop, do you?” The hard head of his cock lined up with my opening. “Guess I’ll have to show you.”

He shoved inside me in a strong thrust, stretching my pussy around his girth.

He groaned.

I moaned.

Then he fucked me.

Hard, rough strokes that touched all the right places. Igniting nerves, I didn’t know I had. It felt so good and yet so sad because he still couldn’t accept the cards fate had dealt him.

“Fuck,” he ground out and dug his fingers into my hip, pulling me back to meet his thrusts. “Is this what you need to shut the fuck up?”

I moaned and arched my back, lifting my ass so he could go deeper. “Is this what you need to forget, Sam?”

“Stop,” thrust, “saying,” swivel, “her,” thrust, “name.” swivel.

I fisted the blanket, forced back the scream of ecstasy threatening to pour out of my mouth, and whispered, “Sam.”

Chase growled so deeply I felt it in my core. Within one second, he had me flipped around with his hand on my neck as he slid back inside me.

He picked up the pace, using me hard. “Don’t say her fucking name.”

My pussy pulsed around him, hungry for his length, but it was the look on his face that had me entranced. He was fighting hard to hold onto his anger. Once that was gone…

“Sam.”

I watched Chase’s brows furrow as his fingers tightened around my neck, digging into my flesh.

“Stop it.”

No, I wasn’t going to stop.

“Sam,” I wheezed out through my constricted windpipe.

He tried to ignore me, tried to concentrate on furiously pounding into my pussy. But I wasn’t going to let him.

Every time I said her name, I saw him break a little more. If it took my last breath, I would pull him back from whatever ledge he was teetering on.

As Chase roared out his orgasm and slammed into me one last time, I reached up and cupped his cheek.

“Her name was Sam.” Tears brimmed in his eyes as they met mine. “And she’s gone. You need to let her go.”

A tear slid from the corner of his eye, rolling down his face and splashing on my chest, filling me with the pain I could see in him.

“I can’t.”

“Yes, you can.” I pulled him down, resting his forehead on mine, and whispered, “Let her go. Let them both go.”

He broke, clutching me tightly as he collapsed and let it all out. I held onto him. Let him cry on top of me while I ran my fingers through his hair.

“It’s okay.” I kissed the top of his head and tightened my hold. “I’m not going anywhere.”