After hearing her conversation with Lauren, though, I gather she’s had a bad experience with sex. A woman inquiring if she should enjoy it is disheartening in the worst way. And not because I’ll have to wait longer to meld our bodies together, but because it means someone hurt her so terribly, she can’t trust again. Not easily, at least.
I’ll never push Laken for more than she’s ready for, but I will work tirelessly to show her that I can give her everything she needs and all the things she doesn’t even know about yet. There’s an entire world of intimacy that she clearly has no idea about, and I want to show it to her. Explore it with her.
“You’re looking a little angrier than you should after having a date with your dream girl.” I hear Torque’s amused voice from the porch where he’s sitting with a sleeping Jesse next to him. I raise a brow at seeing my son out here so late. “He wanted to hear about her.” Tor shrugs.
“She’s perfect. Laken is fucking perfect. It’s her past that’s left her scarred.” The rage bubbling to the surface is nearly combustible.
“How bad?” We’ve both seen enough shit to know that there are levels.
“Not a fucking clue, but I aim to find out.” I want to run a search on her, but without a full name, I don’t know that I’ll find much.
Opening the picture I took of us, her face appears more peaceful than I’ve ever seen her. She’s stunning with a red tinge to her cheeks and an adorable smile playing on her lips. Her fingers digging into my shoulder, hanging on tight for the ride we took in that moment. I want to frame this picture to remember for the rest of my life.
“She’s a beauty,” Tor comments quietly as he stands up and heads inside, leaving Jesse and me out here alone. There are no words to do her justice. Nothing seems adequate enough.
Doing something I ordinarily wouldn’t, I drop the picture on my social media with the caption “found my forever”. It’s irrelevant how long it takes me to convince her, either. Laken is it for me. There’s no one else I’d rather spend my life with than her.
Seven
HALE
I’m going straight to hell.
Sleep remained elusive, no matter that I took my cock in hand twice. Imagining Laken sighing my name over and over helped bring me to completion, but there was no satisfaction. And there won’t be until I’m nestled in her slick heat.
I woke up after a few restless hours of sleep, got Jesse off to school with the promise to take him out for pizza tonight after his baseball game, and then promptly went to Laken’s house to watch her through her bedroom window. What I saw stole the breath from my lungs. She was wearing a pair of cute white panties with little red hearts and a matching tank top after being freshly showered, and her nipples, dusky pink and large, were teasingly visible. I’m ashamed to admit that I snapped a picture as she was lotioning her arms and legs. The image is seared in my brain now.
It’s been a little over an hour since I left her as she was braiding her hair because I had interviews to conduct today in the case of the dead girl from the forest. We’re no closer to finding the man who kidnapped her than the day she was found.
“She’s got you wrapped up, huh?” Dorian laughs at me as we observe the man we suspect can identify the trafficker from behind the two-way window. I shrug. I can’t deny the truth. My obsession is out of control with Laken.
“You ever just been so enamored you can’t breathe right?” He shoots me a look like I’m insane. Hell, I probably am.
“Yeah, I know. Got my own girl problems, pal.” My brows raise because Dorian doesn’t talk about his personal life often. “You know my sister just got married, right?” I nod. “She has a stepdaughter.”
“Shit. How old?” I’ve known Dorian since high school; the man always gets what he wants.
“Eighteen, next week.” A bark of laughter escapes me because he sounds pained.
“You’re only thirty-two. You going for it?”
It’s his turn to face me fully. “You don’t think I’m too old?”
“Age is only a number.”
“Fourteen years, though, man.”
“Think she’ll consent?” That’s all that matters.
He laughs so hard I’m afraid he’s going to fall over. “Two days ago, when I was over there for a barbeque, she walked out of the bathroom naked, turned around, and bent over in front of me purposefully, without remorse or apology.” That explains why he’s been so moody lately.
“I’m betting Kelly’s husband is at least that many years older than her too.” Shrugging, I can see from the way his eyebrows scrunch together that he hadn’t thought about that.
“Good point.” His grin is devilish.
“You ready to give this asshole hell and find out who’s hurting these girls?” Leaving the viewing area, we enter the interrogation room where the temperature is so cold that the suspect is shivering.
“This isn’t right; you can’t freeze me.” His teeth chatter with the statement.