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.

“The lodge,” he replies with a shit–eating grin. “A little birdie told me that Nessa‘s working this afternoon,

so I‘m gonna go pay her a visit and invite her to the party this weekend.”

I lean a shoulder against the doorframe as he passes by, pulling the apple out of my hoodie pocket and

buffing it against my shirt. “I already invited her.” I lift the fruit to my mouth and bite into it with a loud

crunch.

Miles skids to a stop, whipping around to face me, his mouth agape. “What? When?”

“We met 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 see the way Miles‘ face reddens with frustration.

Words aren‘t his forte, so while he struggles to come up with something to say, I finish chewing and

swallow, licking the juice from my lips. “Honestly, you shouldn‘t make bets that you have no chance of

winning. You can save yourself the embarrassment, though. Just get me that transmission and we can

call the whole thing off.”

“Yeah right,” he scoffs. “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 waiting to swoop in.”

Irritation prickles up my spine at 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 a heel, striding toward the

exit again.

“Hey, where you goin‘?” I call after him with a laugh, but Miles just flips me the bird over his shoulder,

muttering curses under his breath as he pushes out the door.

The party at the packhouse is in full swing on Saturday night when Nessa and Vienna arrive. I‘ve been

on edge since it started; on high–alert for Spence to walk through the door given Fuckface‘s visit earlier

this week. My half–brother hasn‘t shown his face yet, though, and Nessa‘s arrival serves as a welcome

distraction. 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 make her

way to the sectional where me and my boys are posted up. She looks good enough to eat, and tonight,

I‘m starving.

Even though Nessa let it slip the other day that Vienna and Chase have 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, darting glances in Chase‘s

direction while Levi chats her up and orders Miles to get her a drink. If the guy knew anything about body

language, he‘d be able to pick up just how

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

Miles returns with a cup of punch for each of the girls and proceeds to try to start a conversation with

Nessa when he hands her one. She‘s not looking at him, though.

She‘s looking past him.

She‘s looking at me.

Our eyes meet, gazes locking together, and I lift my 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 her stride over to the

couch and drop down beside

1. me.

“Hi,” I rasp, sliding an arm around her shoulders if only to further embed myself under Miles‘ skin. It feels

a little too natural, though. Too comfortable. But when Nessa leans in, her sweet cherry scent enveloping

me, I forget why that even matters.