He groans and pulls me closer. “I’ll take you home first, get you dried off—”

“No. Fuck me here, with the rain beating down on us and the thunder crashing. Fuck me where people might see because you want me as badly as I want you. Make my heart pound. Make me feel alive. Take me, Ray. I’m yours.”

He gives no further protest. Instead, he pushes me back against the brick wall and slants his mouth over mine. His kiss is hard, deep, and hungry. Savage. Water streams down our faces, trickling into our clothes, cool and refreshing in the hot, muggy air.

With brusque, efficient movements, he shoves up my bra and T-shirt, then helps me shove my jeans over my hips, tugging them quickly over my feet, so he can toss them into the dry space in the alcove.

“Touch me.” He grabs my hand and presses it against his hardened length, where it’s straining against his fly. I stroke until he growls, and then I yank on his fly. The zipper parts, and I slip my hand inside and wrap my fingers around him. He is rock hard and hot in my palm, but his skin is silky smooth.

He groans and pulls a pocket knife from his jeans. Then he flicks open the blade and slides it into my free hand. “Cut me.”

“I thought…you didn’t need that anymore.”

“Never like this before, but I need it now, beautiful girl.”

Ray’s sodden shirt sags under the weight of the rain, and I yank it up and over his chest, and then off, tossing it into the alcove.

“Here.” He touches over his heart, the center of the wolf I inked into his skin. Water streams over his tattoo, the beads of water trickling from the wolf’s head like tears.

“I can’t.”

Hands trembling, I reach around his neck to pull him close, skin to skin, cool and warm with only water drops between us, holding the knife away from his body. My nipples harden against his chest and Ray wraps his arms around me and digs his fingers into my ass.

In the distance, cars splash through puddles and someone honks a horn. Faint lights illuminate the alley then disappear. But I am focused only on the rasp of his breath, the warmth of his body against me, and the rigid length of his erection pressed tight against my belly.

“You’re so fucking hot.” Ray lifts me, bracing my back against the rough, wet bricks as he cups my ass. I wrap my legs around his hips and grind my sex against his shaft.

“Hell.” His word is swallowed by the patter of raindrops on the cement and a distant clap of thunder. But I’m not afraid. Naked, wet inside and out, I am truly alive. Heart-pounding, pulse-racing, clit-throbbing life.

“Now, Ray. I need you now.”

He groans. “Don’t have a condom.”

“Me either but I’m on the pill. Are you safe?”

Ray nods. “But if you want to stop—”

“No. Please don’t stop.”

He must sense this isn’t the time for games. With a low groan, he drives his shaft inside me, impaling me, making me his.

Trembling, I cling to him, the knife still in my hand, hopefully forgotten as he thrusts, savoring the feeling of being as close as we can get, the friction of his unsheathed cock sliding against my inner walls.

Raindrops spatter on my mouth and I lick them away, tasting Ray and me and tears on my lips.

When he bends down to take my left nipple in his mouth, my head falls back and I close my eyes. Wanton, uninhibited, and totally unrestrained, I give myself over to the storm and to the man who has made me feel again. “Take me.”

Ray releases my breast and grips my hips so hard I know I will have bruises tomorrow. His thrusts are fast, hard, and deep, merciless in their rhythm, making my necklace bounce against my chest. I am drawn to my peak by his passion and the violence simmering beneath his glistening skin.

Lightning flashes. Thunder roars. Rocking my hips, I meet Ray’s thrusts until I am mindless, awash in sensation. Free.

He slides a hand between us and presses the pad of his thumb over my clit, releasing me. My body uncoils with such violent intensity that I forget to breathe. Shaking, convulsing, I climax hard. And then he curls his hand over mine, tightening my fingers around the knife, and slides our joined hands to his chest.

“No.”

He pounds into me, and then he leans forward and swallows my scream as he cuts himself with our joined hands, piercing the wolf’s heart. Moments later, he stiffens and groans, his shaft pulsing as he spills hot and deep within me. And then we hold each other in the rain until our hearts no longer beat as one.

Chapter 22

This is not a game you want to play

Priority: Confidential

Bay Area Underground Fight Club (BUFC) Fight Night

Empty lot. Shipley. 8 p.m.

Headlining: Krakow vs. Raptor

Also on the card: Predator, Rampage, Dark Knight, Anarchist

Code Word: Revolution

“Who are you?” Jess sniffs and turns away when I join her in the empty lot on Shipley Street to watch Rampage fight. A makeshift ring has been set up in the grass about ten feet away, marked off by ropes and poles. The lot is far off the beaten path and lookouts have been stationed on either end of the small lane leading up to our illicit fight ground.

“Your BFF.” I slide my arm around her waist and she pulls away.

“BFFs don’t ignore their BFFs. They respond to texts, answer phones, and don’t forget Thursday drinks at Clive’s Bar.”

My heart skips a beat. “I’m so sorry. I was with Ray.”

“Of course you were.” Her cold tone makes me cringe. “I guess he’s more important than me or helping me decide if I should break up with Blade Saw, since he’s decided he wants to get serious.”