I pulled her to standing and lifted her back onto the island, never breaking our kiss. I set her on the edge and pulled her hips to me. I let Trudy take the lead and guide my dick. When she pulled me to align with her center, I made eye contact with her as I thrust all the way inside her. She stifled a scream, and I slipped my hands under her ass to pull her flush with me.
“Is it still, ‘God, yes?’” I asked her, one eyebrow cocked in jest.
“Yes, please,” she moaned.
I fucked her hard then, bringing my cock all the way home with each thrust until she was falling apart, coming, her wet heat tightening and pulsing around my erection. I bucked fast and hard, turning her orgasmic moans into a vibrato.
“Malik, I can’t hold on any longer,” she gasped.
“Come for me,” I told her.
As soon as she was there, I let go, too, coming inside her as waves of pleasure tore through both of us.
When we finally stilled and our ecstasy subsided, I pulled out slowly and began handing her clothes without looking her in the eye.
I said nothing as dread washed over me. I wasn’t scared of her rejection or of her neediness or the possibility of commitment.
What scared the hell out of me was that I had definite feelings for Trudy, and I wanted to make her mine. But a hitman with a girlfriend was a walking vulnerability. I’d prided myself on years of impenetrability, and having a woman to love was an Achilles heel. You can’t break the heart of a man who loves no one. But now, in order to exact revenge, all a rival would need to do is target the only woman I’ve ever been able to care about.
Chapter 10
Trudy
I turned in the bed, expecting to hit the tall brick house of a man, but the other side of the bed was empty. I felt myself panic. I knew having sex after he’d opened up to me like he did wasn't a good idea. I shouldn’t even have come along on this trip and now I was tangled in an inextricable knot with a wounded man who’d taken up killing as a way to exorcise his demons. Not my smartest move to date.
Perhaps I could call Miller and ask if an escort from Valor could come and get me. Take me home or at least to the club until this all blows over. Some things were better left in the past, including both mine and Malik’s abuse stories and our distinct ways of dealing with them. My head pounded from the wine, the sex, and the conundrum on my hands.
“Rise and shine!” Malik burst into the bedroom with a smile on his face and a mug of coffee in his hand. His hair was wet and tousled, and he was wearing a black t-shirt and grey sweatpants.
I sat up in bed and covered my naked chest with the sheet.
“So you’re not mad?” I asked him.
“Mad? I haven’t woken up happy like this in years!” he said with a wicked smile on his face.
"I was actually just going to come looking for you."
"Why?"
"Well, I woke up, and you'd already left. I wanted to make sure you were okay."
He stalked towards me, putting the cup of coffee on the side table before he swept me into his arms. "I haven't felt this good in a very long time. I just took a shower and did some quick surveillance around town."
I pointed at the coffee, "Is that for me?"
"Depends," Malik said before bringing his head down and nipping at the hollow of my neck, making me jump.
"On?"
"Do you take your coffee black, or do you like to lighten and sweeten it?"
"Original form. Hot and bitter.”
“Are we describing the coffee?”
“What did you see in town?”
He kissed the base of my neck and shivers ran up and down my spine.
“A really cool looking diner with in-house baked goods where I thought I might take you to breakfast if you’re hungry.”
“I thought you were hunting traffickers?”
“All work and no play makes for a grumpy hitman. Plus, on my days off, I’m known to bake and take over the kitchen.”
“What are we going to do about Rafa and Fio?"
"They have their heads busy with their weird techie world. She's really excited that Rafa let her play with one of his government-issued machines."
"Aren't we worried about her security anymore?"
"Rafa knows what he is doing. My brother might be a huge nerd, but he can take a man out if he needs to. You don’t think Gabe and I would let him grow up into a man and not know how to use his fists? He might have soft hands, but I promise you, he can be cold as ice when he turns it on.”