Without warning, I reached down and gave her ass a hard smack.
"That's for spray painting my car," I said.
Her breath hitched, and she bit her lip, trying to suppress a smile. "You're such a caveman."
"Caveman? How about this?" I said, smacking her...
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CALEB'S POV
"I'm a virgin."
The words hit me like a punch to the gut, knocking the breath clean out of my lungs.
Virgin.
The word clanged around in my skull, louder than the bass still pounding from the party downstairs, louder than the fucking blood rushing through my veins.
Esme stood there, small, uncertain—her teeth sinking into her bottom lip, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her dress. She wouldn't even look at me, like she wasn't sure how I'd react, like she thought I'd fucking laugh.
As if I had it in me to find this shit funny.
My jaw locked so tightly it hurt. I could feel the heat of her confession settling in my bones, making my skin prickle, making something dark and possessive unfurl in my chest.
Because it wasn't just anyone telling me this.
It was her.
The girl who was suddenly in my arms tonight, dragging me into something dangerous, something neither of us could afford.
And she was untouched.
Mine.
Fuck.
I sucked in a slow breath, trying like hell to steady myself, but my control was hanging by a thread. A thin, fraying thread that was about to snap.
"Say it again," I murmured, my voice lower, rougher than I meant it to be.
Her gaze flickered up to mine, her throat bobbing as she swallowed. "Caleb—"
"Say it, Cherry."
She hesitated for half a second before she exhaled, barely above a whisper. "I've never..." She trailed off, her cheeks flaming even harder.
I clenched my fists at my sides, fucking struggling.
Christ. I shouldn't be reacting like this.
I should be stepping away. I should be leaving before I did something irreversible.
But I didn't move.
Instead, I reached out, tracing a slow finger down the curve of her jaw, feeling her shiver beneath my touch.
"No one's ever touched you?" I asked, my lips twitching into a smirk I didn't quite feel.
She shook her head, looking both embarrassed and... something else. Something that sent another hot wave of possessiveness straight to my gut.
