Cruel Temptation

by Callahan, Kelli

  “That’s right,” I stood and pulled her to her feet. I bent down and gave her a kiss. “For luck,” I said, right before taking a running start to the cliff and jumping on it. I didn’t use the rope. I dug my hands into the rock, and when my foot found leverage, I launched off one side of the cliff and flew, landing on the other the same way.

  “Oh my god, Jaxon Steel! I’m going to kill you for swinging around like Spiderman. You’re giving me a heart attack!”

  “The food will do that to you before I do,” I shouted, pouncing toward the last edge I needed. My fingers gripped the rock, and I pulled myself up, using my upper body strength. “Alright,” I said, flipping to my stomach and held out my hands. “Ready for you.”

  “Show off,” she cupped her hands around her lips and yelled.

  With timid moves, she grabbed the rope and got used to its weight. She tested its strength by tugging on it, and the tree branch didn’t move. The rope was secure.

  “You can do it,” I continued to give her words of encouragement because I knew she needed them.

  She shook her head in denial but walked up to the rock. Planting her feet, she started hoisting herself up slowly.

  Sloth slow.

  But I couldn’t complain. She was trying.

  Every time she pulled herself up, she still shook her head, doubting herself, but she still moved her feet. She was about halfway up when she made the mistake of looking down. “No, no, don’t—” I tried to warn her.

  Too late.

  “Oh no! No, freaking way. Get me down this instant, Jaxon. I’m going to die. Oh, god. I’m going to fall and die,” she started crying hysterically, a death grip on the rope which she probably imagined being my throat. “I can’t do it. I can’t,” she said, eyes red and swollen from her crying. She leaned herself against the rock and held onto the rope, not moving.

  “You can do it. You can. You’re halfway to me, baby. You’re halfway. Don’t give up now. You’re so close.” I stretched my hands out to her, and she looked at them like they were lifelines, and she was drowning.

  She took a deep breath and moved.

  I let out a breath of relief. For a minute, I thought I’d have to go down and get her.

  “I can’t do this. I’m so afraid of falling. It isn’t even being high up. It’s the fall that bothers me,” she kept saying, bringing herself down with all these negatives. As she cried, her focus locked onto her hands as she climbed.

  Inch by inch, she gained ground and was getting closer to me.

  All while being scared, crying, shaking, and doubting herself.

  I was so fucking proud of her. “You’re so close,” I said. “Come on, baby. Get to me. I miss the hell out of you.”

  Her entire body quaked, reminding me of ripples in the water from a vibration she shook so hard. Her foot settled in another place, but her foot slipped. She screamed and braced her feet on either side of a valley carved into the rock and held onto the rope. I needed her to move another hand. That was it. I would be able to reach her if she moved one more time.

  “Open your eyes and look at me,” I said, doing my best to remain calm, but on the inside, I was a little afraid. She looked scared to death, and I had done that to her. If she let go of that rope, she’d fall and most likely die.

  She tilted her head up and stared at me with those big beautiful eyes.

  “Focus on me. Look how close you are, Quinn. Look.”

  She stared at my hand, then hers, and then back at me again.

  I nodded. “Look how far you’ve come. Don’t give up now.”

  Her throat bobbed as she gulped, and she tugged herself up again. I didn’t waste another damn millisecond. I reached down and tightened my hand around her wrist, then heaved her up until she was lying flat against me as we lied down. I wrapped my arms around her as she cried. She clawed her nails into my chest, pinching the skin, and sobbed so loud; it echoed over the cliff into the empty air.

  “Look,” I lifted her up, and she wiped her cheeks against my shirt to dry them off. “You did it.”

  Her eyes rounded, and she peeked around me, staring over the cliff and then a certifiably insane chuckle left her throat. “Oh my god! I did it. I really did it.” She pulled me into a bear hug, and I couldn’t breathe. Little beast was stronger than she looked, I’d give her that. Quinn pulled away from me and looked at me like she had never seen me before. “Thank you for believing in me. I couldn’t have done that without your help. Thank you. I love you. I love you so much.” She pressed her lips against mine, and I wasn’t about to stop kissing the woman of my dreams when we were in the most romantic spot in California.

  I broke the kiss before I got too heated and decided to fuck her right on this cliff. “Baby, there won’t be a day that goes by that I don’t believe in you. I’ll push you, but only because I know you can do it. Come on.” Standing, I reached down and helped her up. “Let’s see the view you worked so hard to see.”

  Taking her hand in mine, we walked toward the front of the rock, shaped like a Strawberry, and she gasped when she saw what I had been talking about. “Oh my god.” She scanned from right to left in disbelief. “This can’t be real.”

  I wrapped my arms around her and placed my chin on top of her head. Miles and miles of Douglas Firs and Redwood trees cushioned the ground down below in bright green. On the left, the Pacific went on for miles. I could see the seagulls in the distance and the waves crashing against the shore. The air was colder up here, fresher, and the clouds drifted around us, so close we could reach out and touch them if it were possible.

  “I feel like I’m on top of the world,” she said, taking a step closer to the cliff’s edge.

  I tugged her back against my chest. “That’s close enough.”

  “Now look who is nervous.” Her fingers lazily scratched my arms as they dragged up and down, putting me into a deep trance, just like the view did.

  “You might feel like you’re on top of the world, but you’re my world. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

  “Such a romantic, who would have thought,” she said.

  We stood there on the high cliff of Strawberry Rock, on top of the world, with me holding her tight as we watched the waves hit the shore and birds fly in the air. I had been here before, but it didn’t compare to experiencing it with Quinn. The view was different, broader, bigger, and I appreciated the beauty more.

  Ever since she came back into my life, I carried the diamond ring around in my pocket. I debated on slipping it on her finger while she slept, so when she woke up, she had no choice but to say yes. I was terrified of giving her choices; a part of me was nervous she wouldn’t pick me. Like she said, I didn’t want to wait any longer to start our lives.

  It was too soon to propose, but I didn’t care. Now was the perfect time to see if she genuinely wanted to be mine forever. We had a lot to overcome. My job wasn’t safe and there was the issue with Brian. She’d have to deal with violence.

  Quinn could. She was strong, stronger than she gave herself credit for.

  “I’m so proud of you,” I repeated and moved in front of her so she could see how serious I was. “Do you get that? Do you understand what you accomplished today? You’re remarkable, Quinn. You always have been. You always will be.”

  “I cried the entire time,” she scoffed. “Nothing brave about that.” Quinn’s hair danced around her shoulders as the breeze blew. She gathered her hair and tied it in a knot on top of her head. Even when she wasn’t trying, she was the most beautiful woman in the world.

  “You’re wrong. That’s what makes you brave. Even through fear, through tears, you pushed yourself.” I dug into my pocket and pulled out the plum-velvet box and got down on my knee. I never imagined myself falling to my knees for anyone, but I’d do it for Quinn. I opened the box and swallowed.

  “Holy shit,” she said for the second time today, covering her mouth with her hand. “What are you doing? What is that diamond? Oh my god. I’m going to
faint right off this cliff. What…Jaxon?” she finally came to a stop after her rambling.

  I grabbed her left hand and saw the naked ring finger, something that should have had my ring on it forever ago. “I don’t want to wait. I know we have a lot to overcome, but there is no doubt in my mind that you have always been the person for me. Your road to having undeniable faith in me is long; I know that, but I really want to walk that road with you, Quinn. I’ve loved you since we were teens, and I’ll love you when we have teens of our own. Marry me? Marry me like you were supposed to all those years ago and let me prove to you that I’m better than the man you were made to doubt?”

  Her silence had me clearing my throat and rearranging my knee on the ground when the bone started to hurt. The whites of Quinn’s eyes showed, and I honestly couldn’t tell if she was breathing. She…. stared, unblinking.

  I was getting worried.

  “Yes!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. “Yes, yes, yes! Oh my god, I’ll marry you!”

  I blew out a breath and slid the ring on her finger. The kaleidoscope of the yellow diamond shined different shades, casting reflections of light against my black shirt. The rock looked huge on her finger, just the way it should look.

  “Holy mother of diamonds,” she said, captivated by the size of the diamond I stole from a criminal. “This is real?”

  I reared back as if I had been slapped. “Of course it’s real. What kind of man do you take me for?”

  “The kind of man that’s going to be my husband.” She threw her arms around my neck and laid the best damn kiss I had ever received against my lips. The kiss turned frantic, needy, and desperate. I pushed her against the rock wall, shoved my knee between her legs, and she rubbed her clit against me, seeking relief.

  My hands gripped the curve of her hips, and I grunted when she made a sound that hummed in the back of my throat. She tasted even better since she was my fiancé, sweeter, like honey dripping from the comb. I wanted to eat her up for the rest of my life.

  “Jaxon.”

  My name falling from her lips and the fact that she said ‘yes’ to me, shattered any self-control I had. “I’m going to fuck you right against this cliffside, Quinn.”

  “Jaxon, someone could see.” Quinn’s rubbed her perk nipples against my chest. She snatched my hands and laid them on her chest, forcing my palms over her mounds. My cock flexed, and my sack ached to come.

  “I think you like the idea of someone catching us,” I murmured against the soft curve of her neck and bit the skin into my mouth, sucking it so hard, blood came to the surface right under the skin.

  She was marked, claimed, and fucking mine— at last.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Quinn

  He slid my pants down until they were around my ankles. The air breezing over my wet pussy had me inhaling a sharp breath. Jaxon was really going to fuck me here, on the side of the cliff, on top of the world, and anyone could climb up and catch us in the act.

  “I’m going to fuck this tight cunt, Quinn, and then I’m going to fill you so full and pull your panties up, so the only choice you have as you walk down this mountain is to feel my come between your folds.” He spun me around, situating his hand between my shoulders and pressed.

  My body obeyed and bent forward. My palms laid flat against the bumpy rock to hold myself steady. I turned my head to the right to get a look at where we climbed up to make sure no one was there. The worry spritzing my brain ended as he slid his finger over my slit, getting the thick digit nice and wet.

  “Hurry, Jaxon. I can’t wait,” I begged. It was true, I wanted him, but I didn’t want anyone to catch us, even if the thought was exhilarating.

  “Too bad. The one thing I will never do,” he paused, inserting a finger inside me, “is rush with you. I’m going to take my sweet time stroking my cock in your heat. I didn’t have this cunt for a decade. I’m going to cherish it every time and treat you like you deserve.” He slides his thumb over my puckered star, pressing, and I clenched, afraid that he was going to go inside. “Don’t worry; I’m not going to do anything. I’m just touching you, exploring your limits.” He pressed again. “Is this hole a limit, baby?”

  Unable to pry my tongue off the roof of my mouth, I nodded.

  “Forever or just for now?” Jaxon tested me again by rubbing his thumb around the ring but still didn’t slide inside like his fingers were in my pussy.

  He wasn’t lying. He really was going to take his time with me, up here, in the wilderness, where anyone could see.

  The thought of getting caught had my nails grinding against the rock, scratching little white lines against the solid stone. My pussy clamped around his fingers and sucked him in deeper, but it still wasn’t far enough. I needed his cock.

  “Answer me, Quinn.”

  “Just for now,” I swallowed and pushed my ass against him, needing him further inside me.

  His groan was thankful mixed with impatience. I smiled to myself when I knew I gave him the right answer. The teeth of his zipper echoed through the valley, the anticipation caused my skin to shiver, and it wasn’t from the cold air caressing my flesh.

  It was because of him.

  He didn’t just push me for me to conquer my fears, he pushed me sexually— but in the best way. He had me out of my mind with lust. I wanted him to take me to the edge and demolish any hesitancies that I might have about sex, life, or anything else. I want him to rebuild me.

  Jaxon slipped his fingers out, and before I could inhale air into my lungs, he lined his cock up with my entrance and slammed inside.

  “Yes!” My voice carried louder than I expected it to. His fingers bruised my hips as he slid out and thrust forward.

  He gathered my hair and yanked me back, stealing my lips in a savage kiss. His thrusts were hard, punctual, and fast. Our skins slapped together, and my whimpers were getting louder. He ate my mouth, and our teeth clanked, our tongues fought, and the kiss turned sloppy. I loved the sounds he made as he buried himself as far as he could go as if I was the best thing he had ever felt.

  His fingers laced between mine and held them against the rock, the ring on my hand digging into his palm.

  “Quinn,” he gasped my name, and hearing the vulnerability in his voice had my orgasm burning in my belly. I was close. “I can’t wait to fuck you for the rest of my life. I’m going to live in this pussy. My cock is going to fill you every damn day.”

  I tumbled over the ecstasy quicker than I thought. My muscles clenched around his engorged, fat cock, milking him into the fertile depths of my body. “Jaxon! Yes, I’m coming! Oh, god, yes. So good. Your cock is so good,” I rambled mindlessly as the orgasm melted my brain. I couldn’t stop coming. I arched my back, and my hand wrapped around his neck, tremoring around him nonstop.

  He paused in between strokes as he filled me with so much come, it started to leak out of me. “Hmm,” he hummed in content, this time kissing me slow and tender like he barely had the energy but wanted to taste me one more time. “My Fiancée’s pussy could start wars it’s so good,” he said, tapping my ass as he slid out of me.

  He tucked himself back in his jeans and zipped himself up. The material of my pants rubbed against my legs as he pulled them up, settling my panties first before he brought the waistband of my pants around my hips. He buttoned and zipped them for me.

  I leaned away, my legs jello, and my body buzzing with the post-orgasmic glow. Jaxon was right. I could feel him leaking out of me and pooling in my panties. I had no choice but to deal with it. The fact that he had me do this was barbaric, but I loved it. Did he think it would make me smell like him, warding off other men or something?

  Did he just like the idea of his come all over me? All the above?

  I wanted to ask, but I was too tired. I was ready to go home, eat, and sleep.

  “Alright, time to climb down,” he said.

  The amazing high I felt vanished. “What? You didn’t say anything about having to go down the way w
e came! Jaxon. I can’t climb down. My legs are shaking; I’m not stable.” It was a weak excuse, but the thought of having to use that rope again made me sick.

  “How weak?” he smirked while grabbing the rope to get himself ready to propel down the cliff.

  “I’m serious Jaxon.”

  “The only way out of here is the way we came baby. Watch me,” he advised, and he slid down the rope, kicking off the stone every few feet until he landed on the ground. “Your turn!”

  “I’m going to kill him,” I mumbled as I bent down to gather the rope in my hands. It was dirty with mud, and a few places looked weak on it. I didn’t even want to get started on the branch. The thing looked like it was about to snap in half, and when it did, I bet my neck would snap just the same. “Yep, I’m going to throw him off this damn ledge,” I said to myself.

  “What did you say?” he shouted up at me.

  “Nothing, sweetie!” I said with an edge to my voice only I could catch. Why didn’t I think about having to climb down? “Because he made your mind numb with the best sex of your life.” I was so angry; I didn’t even think about climbing down. I just huffed and imagined yelling at him in my head. It made the time fly, and before I knew it, my feet were on the ground. I thought nothing of it. I turned around on my heel, and in two stomps, I stopped in front of him. “Next time remind me when I climb something that I’ll have to climb down it. I needed to prepare, and instead, you fucked me senseless, and I forgot where the hell I was at.”

  “Baby, you are down. You did it,” he smiled, a sparkle on his white tooth glittering with all the knowledge in the world. Cocky little criminal.

  I stared at my feet and tilted my head, confused. I really did climb down.

  “Why can’t you fuck me like that, Collin?”

  I jerked my head up and really hoped I didn’t hear what I thought I did. “Jaxon—”

  “—Yep,” he said.

  “Did you hear that? Why haven’t you done that with me?” the lady asked her boyfriend.