Three Cliffs, page 27
Standing back, I stared at my reflection. In my mind, I looked a little slutty, but to other’s they would see a young woman who’d dressed up for the occasion, feminine clothes for sure and make up in addition to everything else, which made me look like a proper woman, and someone out to meet another wolf. Shaking myself out of my stupor, I left the room, heading down to the lounge.
As I reached the door, Cam looked up and gaped at me. Wolf whistling at me, his eyes raked me up and down. ‘What the hell, Cal?’ he exclaimed, standing. ‘Hot stuff, sis!’
‘Yeah?’ I questioned, running my hands down my sides. ‘It isn’t too much?’
‘It’s perfect! You look great; but you don’t have to do this because of what Mum said,’ he told me.
‘I’m not,’ I denied.
‘No? You don’t usually dress up this much.’
‘I do sometimes,’ I objected.
‘You don’t much,’ he laughed. ‘In fact, I can’t remember the last time I saw you in a dress or skirt.’
‘Oh, shut up, Cam,’ I said, shoving him playfully. ‘I’m feminine, I’ll have you know! I can’t have Mum saying those horrible things if all it takes is to show a bit of damn leg!’
‘A bit! God, the straight guys are going to have a field day with you tonight!’
I smacked him, hard. ‘Shut your face. I’m not interested in attracting anyone tonight…definitely not the males and definitely not…’ I broke off.
‘Kash?’ he questioned.
‘Can we just go,’ I muttered.
‘Have you seen her, Callie?’ he asked.
‘Yes,’ I nodded, headed for the door. ‘And I broke it off. I told her I didn’t want to see her anymore.’
‘Oh wow; you did?’ he said, sounding surprised.
‘Yeah, why? I thought you told me that it was for the best. I mean, she’s not offering me anything, is she?’
‘Well, I thought that, but then when Tommei and I chatted, he told me how much she’d been talking about you while they were away. Apparently, they had some kind of heart to heart and Tommei seemed to think that she was more than a little taken with you, that it was more than just a sexual thing.’
‘Cam; she doesn’t want more than sex. She won’t claim anyone or commit so what’s the point. Plus, my head is clear now that the damn scent isn’t near me. It was only that that was messing with my mind.’
‘Hmm…well, I guess you know what’s best,’ he said, scanning my eyes.
‘Yeah, and it’s done now anyway. Done and dusted.’
‘Did she accept you breaking it off?’
‘Not really, no. Stupid woman broke the damn door down initially, but we’re past all that now,’ I told him, as we left the house.
‘She broke the door down? Which door?’ he exclaimed, looking shocked.
‘Oh, the door at work. She wanted to see me, and I was refusing, so she took matters into her own hands.’
‘Sounds like the work of a desperate woman! Kind of romantic in a violent sort of way,’ he mused. ‘I mean, having to get to you in so much need! That’s kind of hot!’
‘No, it’s not,’ I told him. ‘It’s annoying, stupid and unnecessary. It didn’t get her anywhere, anyway…and I sent her packing.’
‘I bet you did. So, that’s that then?’ he asked, frowning at me.
‘Yeah, that’s that,’ I nodded.
‘Are you sad about it at all?’ he questioned, eyeing me closely.
‘Not exactly sad…I just feel weird,’ I admitted, as we walked in the direction of the beach.
‘Oh…well, if there’s anything I can do,’ he offered.
‘I’m fine, Cam. I’m going to forget it ever happened,’ I told him, knowing deep down that it was impossible to ever do that.
‘Okay, then, sweetheart. Well, the offer stands,’ he said, as we reached the top of the beach path. Voices sounded from a little way off and Cam grabbed my arm. ‘Hang on, Cal…I can hear Tommei!’
‘Oh great,’ I muttered, knowing that if Tommei was there, chances were that so would Kash. ‘Look, you wait for him. I’m going to head down, okay?’
‘Oh, okay. You don’t mind?’ he checked.
‘I don’t mind. See you there later!’
I made my way down to the gathering and I noticed that people were watching me, which was off-putting. Several males I’d never been introduced to before went out of their way to come and talk to me-that was before I sent them packing.
The feast laid on was lush and plentiful and I ate a plate of food before discovering the drinks table, which was filled with a range of alcoholic drinks. Deciding it was a good night to get well and truly drunk, I helped myself to the punch, which everyone seemed to be adding to as the night wore on, and drank other things to-like beer and wine. Anything I could find, I drank, such was my low mood. I needed something to pick me up, and although I never drank, tonight I felt like I needed to.
Sometime later, I felt eyes boring into my back. I’d been drinking steadily and because my inhibitions had lowered, I was dancing too with friends. Turning to see who was staring at me, I saw Kash standing a short way off, watching me intently. I subtly gave her the finger and turned back to dance with my friends.
The night continued and throughout the occasion, I knew she was staring at me constantly. I could feel the heat of her gaze, and it was intense and heady enough for me to seek her out in the crowd. Each time my eyes found hers, she was watching me with eyes blazing. She never looked away, and I got tired of it as the night wore on.
When I’d had enough, I finally marched over to her, with fire in my belly.
‘What the fuck are you doing?’ I demanded.
‘Standing around at a party,’ she replied, sardonically.
‘Stop, bloody staring at me, will you?’ I exclaimed, hotly.
‘Pretty difficult when you come dressed like that,’ she said, running her gaze down over me, lingering at my legs, stomach and then breasts.
‘Stop eye-fucking me! How dare you!’ I almost yelled, my drunk mind whirring with annoyance.
‘Eye-fucking?’ she said, shaking her head. ‘Callie; you’re wearing the shortest skirt I’ve ever seen, and that top shows every inch and every curve you possess…’ she said, her eyes wandering appreciatively.
‘I don’t have curves,’ I muttered, annoyed, ‘Besides, it’s better than looking like a butch dyke, right?’ I slurred.
‘You…what?’ she frowned, scanning my eyes.
‘Just stop, bloody staring at me, will you?’
‘It’s pretty difficult when you’re absolutely stunning,’ she told me, above the music.
‘Oh, fuck off,’ I said, rudely, giving her a shove on her shoulder.
‘I’m completely serious…and your mouth needs cleaning out with all the crap coming out of it lately,’ she told me, cocking her head at me and perusing me closely.
‘Fuck…right…off…who the hell do you think you are to tell me what I can or cannot say? Fuck, fuck, fuck…offending you yet?’ I questioned, smirking at her as I swayed dizzily. I reached to grab something to stop me falling, and her arm was the closest thing. hanging onto her, I waited for my head to stop spinning.
‘You really are drunk as hell,’ she commented, watching me closely as she steadied me.
‘Yeah? Well, maybe you should try it rather than being so fucking boring and moaning at me about my potty mouth,’ I said, before turning to head back to the drinks table. The alcohol was giving me a happy buzz and it felt good to forget my woes and focus on feeling good for a change. Downing another glass of punch, I shuddered in disgust as the strength of the drink before heading back into the crowd. Finding Leda and Jom, I joined their group and started dancing lewdly as alcohol flowed freely through my veins. I danced and danced, losing myself in the music. The last thing I remembered were hands at my waist and then a mouth on my neck, teasing my sensitive skin. After that, all memories were lost in a drunken haze.
I woke feeling horrendous. My head was spinning, and a wave of nausea hit hard, making me clutch my stomach in pain.
My groan was low and heartfelt, the bed beneath me soft against my naked body. Naked body? What the hell? I felt movement next to me and shifted where I lay, confused as to why I was in a bed naked, while my head throbbed with pain.
Turning, I gasped, as Kash lay beside me, eyes open and blurred from sleep.
‘What the…?’
‘Callie?’ she questioned, sitting up abruptly, and looking as stunned as I was.
‘What the hell happened?’ I exclaimed, and then reached for my head. ‘Fuck, my head…’ I groaned, fighting another wave of nausea as my head swam with dizziness. ‘Oh my God. I feel sick…’
‘I remember the party,’ she began, frowning at me in confusion.
I looked down at myself and swiftly grabbed the sheet to cover my nakedness. ‘What the hell happened here? I went to the party and was…I was drinking…fuck, did I sleep with you?’ I asked, shocked at how drunk I was. I had never been so drunk that I couldn’t remember the night before. That was unheard of for me.
‘I think so,’ she replied, looking down at herself. ‘I mean, these marks weren’t here before…I think you, uh…I think…oh God, yeah…look at the floor too…’
I looked over her shoulder and saw our discarded clothes, the lube lying on the floor and the strap on lying dumped in the middle of it all. ‘Oh fuck…what on earth…I was so drunk,’ I groaned, covering my face. ‘I don’t want this…I told you…’
‘I know, I know,’ she said, resigned to the fact. ‘It’s fine, Callie…I know this wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t been completely plastered. Fuck, I got so drunk I don’t even remember last night.’
‘I don’t either,’ I groaned, pushing my hair back roughly. ‘I wouldn’t have done this if I hadn’t been well out of it,’ I said, meeting her eyes.
I watched as her eyes widened and fixated on my neck, avoiding my eyes. ‘Oh my God…’ she uttered, completely going cold and frozen.
‘What?’ I exclaimed, alarmed at the sudden change in her demeanour.
‘Oh my God, I didn’t mean to…I didn’t do this…oh my God, I did…I fucking did,’ she cried, her voice becoming higher and more troubled by the second.
‘Kash; what the hell?’ I exclaimed, worried. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘Your neck,’ she said, eyes filling with tears. ‘I didn’t mean to…would never have…if I’d been aware of what I was doing…God, I’m so sorry, Callie…please don’t hate me,’ she rambled.
‘What have you done?’ I asked, hurtling to my feet and rushing to the bathroom. I ran into the small room and stopped in front of the mirror to study my neck. The sheet dropped and then the ground came up to meet me as realisation dawned. Kash had claimed me. My neck carried the bite mark, and it was clear as day that the previous night, she’d taken me as hers, completely against my will.
Kash was there, cradling me on the floor and helping me into a sitting position immediately. ‘I’m so sorry. I was drunk,’ she wept. ‘I can’t even remember doing it.’
‘You…you…you claimed me?’ I questioned, incredulously.
‘It looks like it,’ she said, her voice flat and broken. ‘I never…would never have…I don’t want this…’ she finally uttered.
I felt tears fill my eyes at her words and I tugged away from her, hurrying back into the bedroom once I’d got to my feet. Her rejection stung, even though I didn’t want this either. Reaching for my clothes which were littered all over the floor, I pulled on black satin panties and matching bra before she came back in.
‘Callie, stop…please…’
‘I have nothing to say to you,’ I cried, tears streaming down my face.
‘You can’t go like this! We need to talk about it! We can’t leave things unfinished like this! I claimed you-we need to put this right!’ she cried.
‘What-how? There is no putting this right! You fucking claimed me, you dick! You’ve gone and wrecked everything! We were done…finished…now you’ve messed up in the worst possible way!’ I yelled at her, dragging the tiny skirt on. ‘I don’t even know how this happened! I wasn’t even with you last night.’
‘You were,’ she said, glumly. ‘You were dancing with Jom and Leda and your arse in that skirt looked so, damn incredible that I had to go over to you. I approached you and we danced. I think we kissed at some point…that’s as much as I remember.’
‘Well, we clearly got back here and got busy!’ I cried, indicating the floor.
‘Yeah, we did…Callie, please calm down and stay a moment. We need to figure out what we’re going to do.’
‘Stop telling me what to do!’ I shrieked. ‘You bit me, you idiot!’ I cried, losing the plot. ‘And it really hurts!’ I said, turning to go back to the mirror to stare at the claiming bite in my reflection. It was hot and throbbing, a pulse existing in the contours of the bite which was impossible to ignore.
‘It will do,’ she murmured, appearing behind me. ‘We need to clean it…tend to it…I could…’
‘Fuck off, is what you could do!’ I yelled. ‘Get away from me! Haven’t you done enough?’ I cried, upset.
‘I’m so sorry, Callie. I didn’t want this either. I’m so sorry.’
‘Sorry doesn’t change the fact that you’ve done this! What the hell are we going to do?’ I exclaimed. ‘I can’t even go home now! Look at me! Look at my neck and eyes! It’s clear for everyone to see!’ I said, tearfully.
‘Sweetie, we’ll go to the elders…we’ll seek permission to break the bond, okay?’
I listened to her words, but they caused a deep ache in my stomach.
‘This was a mistake, right? They have to see that. By nightfall, they’ll have sorted this all out for us. You’ll see. Everything will be fine once we explain our mistake.’
I huffed at her. ‘Your fucking mistake! Do you see a bite on your neck?’ I questioned, annoyed once more.
‘No, but I’m sure it was a close call…look at me,’ she said, indicating her barely clothed body. ‘I’m covered!’
For the first time, I really did look at her all over-and she was right. Marks from my mouth littered her skin, absolutely everywhere. I could see the purple bruising all over her soft, white skin and I stared, open-mouthed, shocked that I could have done that. Shocked that my mouth had clearly been everywhere last night.
‘Fuck…’ I muttered, stunned.
‘Yeah,’ she murmured. ‘It doesn’t look like I was alone in the passion shared last night,’ she commented, wryly.
‘Maybe so-but I didn’t claim you!’ I all-but yelled. ‘It hurts so bad,’ I said, holding my neck and touching it lightly with my fingers. It stung and smarted under my touch, and I winced in pain. ‘Ow!’
‘We need to clean that up. The best thing would be for me to lick it clean-will you allow me to do that?’ she questioned.
‘Fuck no! get away from me! If you’d stayed the hell away, we wouldn’t be in this nightmare situation now, would we?’ I ranted. ‘No, you can’t touch me…ever a-fucking-gain. Stay away, Kash. I mean it. I’m done with you…beyond done. You’ve betrayed me by doing this. I’ll never forgive you.’
‘Callie; we were drunk! Do you think I wanted this?’ she raged back at me.
‘No, I’m under no illusions of that!’ I shouted back, angrily. ‘Of course it’s fine to fuck me, but no commitment offered! No opportunity for more! How shitty is that?’ I cried.
‘You said we were on the page! I thought you were okay with that?’ she questioned, wide eyed.
‘Well maybe I changed my mind. Maybe, when my damn head cleared, I realised I deserved more than to be someone’s sexual plaything.’
‘You’re not a plaything!’ she exclaimed, heatedly. ‘God, Callie, you never were that to me! You keep saying crudely that I was ‘fucking’ you, but I never considered it as that. I was making love to you, baby…I would never lower what we did together to fucking,’ she said, seriously.
‘Well, maybe you should, because that’s certainly how it feels now,’ I replied, shaking my head. ‘I mean how do you expect me to feel about it all?’
‘I thought we were enjoying each other…I thought we were enjoying spending time in each other’s arms and learning about being together.’
‘Perhaps that was true when your scent was messing with my head. As soon as I realised that you were only out for one thing, I realised I need more than that. I might not want the traditional claiming deal, but a little commitment is something I feel I deserve. I even spoke to Cam-who is open and liberal-and he said the same…I deserve more than what you offer. I do deserve love and commitment, even if I don’t claim the person I’m with. Maybe it took meeting you to realise that,’ I said, saying my piece clearly.
‘I didn’t think you wanted…I wasn’t…that wasn’t…Callie, I don’t know what you’re saying…this was accidental…are you saying that you want to keep the claim I’ve bestowed on you?’ she asked, hesitantly.
‘No! Fuck off!’ I exclaimed, rudely. ‘You can go to sodding hell if you think I want your drunk, pity claiming! I’m going to get this removed the first chance I get! I’ll scream from the rooftops and howl at the moon until the elders and high priestess remove it! Fucking hell, I’ll go to my frigging mother! She’ll be beyond furious! She’ll make change happen, for sure!’ I continued, in full rant. ‘Yeah, that’s a plan-she’ll hate this! She’ll go mental! I’m going to go and tell her-she’ll get this damn bite removed!’ I said, heading for the door.
‘Callie, wait!’ Kash called. ‘We need to talk!’ she said, as I was already leaving.
I made it down the stairs before my stomach was too painful to bear. With each passing step, it cramped more and more until I had to stop and lean heavily against the wall, breathing in deeply to try and calm the agonised tension deep inside me. Dragging in shaky, ragged breaths, I slumped down the wall, crying out, my soft howl resonating through the house.
Kash was there moments later, bending beside me and reaching for me, even as I tried to pull away.
