As a reward, I suck on her clit again, clamping down with my teeth to give her a sting of pain. That sends her over the edge and the heels of her feet dig into my back. Her nails are continuing to score my skin as her body tightens to the point that there must be pain as she tries to hold onto the pleasure she feels. My cock presses against my damn jeans, wet and angry because I’m not claiming her that way today.
It will be soon though. There’s no way I can keep from it after this little taste. I lick her pussy again, softly this time. Slowly taking my time in a way that is meant to calm and soothe her ravaged folds instead of stoking more hunger. Only then do her aftershocks come to an end and her body goes languid.
I sit back on my heels and look at my woman, her skin pink, dotted with perspiration and well loved. I reach down, grabbing a discarded towel and clean her up, gently. She hisses a breath through her teeth because she’s so sensitive. I ate at her hard, maybe too hard—but I couldn’t stop myself.
It’s hard not to lose control with her. All I want is to make her feel good and show that I’m going to have a care and cherish her. I’m not like that bastard who hurt her.
I crawl up the bed next to her, throwing some of the cover over her body. I see a flicker of disappointment in her eyes before she curls into me. “What about your turn?” she mumbles against my chest.
“My turn can wait. This was for you. I wanted your body relaxed and well-loved.”
“I think you accomplished that.”
I chuckle as I nuzzle my nose into her hair, wrapping my arm around her body.
Mine.
With what she gave me tonight there’s no going back. Hell, that hasn’t been an option since the first moment I laid eyes on her.
Chapter17
Shelby
Itry my best not to be salty as I get ready for work. It’s not working out well for me though. I’m not sure there’s a girl out there that wants to wake up alone after one of the best nights of their life, and yet here I am, wondering what happened.Did I do something wrong?It feels like I did because he didn’t leave a note or even send me a text.
Instead, I’m left alone with my insecurities and right now they are getting the better of me. I’m trying not to give into it, but I’m hurt. That pain allows all my old insecurities to hit me. All my past experiences with Mason are storming back, bringing memories that are beaten into me so deeply that they will never leave.
I glare at my reflection as I war with myself. I pull my hair back into a high pony, trying to ignore my dark thoughts. I wrap my hair in a circle, making a cute bun before pinning it on. It’s just better not to have my hair in the way when I’m working on the ICU floor. I don’t really like to wear a bunch of make-up either, so I just add a little lip gloss then slide it into one of my pockets. I put on a tiny bit of mascara before I look at myself, taking a deep shuddering breath. Whatever the reason King just left like this, I refuse to dwell on it.
I refuse to let him ruin my day.
I grab my keys, phone, purse and lock up. As I get into the car, I put my new phone in the cupholder.Why would he get me something so nice if he didn’t care?It doesn’t make any sense and I can’t seem to make it. King is too confusing.
The phone rings, startling me out of my thoughts. It’s probably King. The only other person with the number is my grandmother. I texted her last night to give her the new number, but given her hate for cellphones, I doubt it’s her.
I can’t see the caller ID from this angle. Trepidation rolls through me. I want to answer it, but there’s a tingle of fear that it could be Mason calling. I shake my head, feeling stupid for being afraid. He doesn’t have this number and he can’t get it because it’s not in my name. I snap out of it and answer it before it goes to voicemail.
“Hello,” I respond as I click it to speakerphone, so that I can keep my eyes on the road. My car is decent, but it has none of the bells and whistles. Sometimes I miss having Bluetooth capability—especially in times like this.
“Shelby, it’s Jay.” The deep voice of the cook from Grandmother’s diner blasting through the speaker fills me with confusion. “We’ve been trying to get a hold of you. We got this number off Billie’s phone. I hate to be the one to tell you this…” The sadness in his voice is alarming. My stomach knots up as I hold my breath.
Something about the way he’s talking to me tells me this isn’t about a shift needing covered—besides my grandmother would call me for that kind of thing.Why isn’t my grandmother the one calling?
I slam on my brakes coming to a stop in the middle of the road. A car behind me swerves as they lay on their horn, narrowly missing me. Adrenaline rolls through me to the point that even if they hit me, I likely wouldn’t even feel it.Something’s wrong.
“What’s wrong with my grandmother?” I ask, my heart thundering in my chest. My palms sweating as I grip the wheel until my knuckles are white.
“Someone broke into the diner early this morning. They destroyed the place and we found Billie unconscious. They’ve taken her to your hospital. They’re waiting for you there.”
I step on the gas frantic to get to the hospital. I don’t say anything else, I can’t. My heart feels like it’s in a vice. I’ve never driven so fast in my life, but it still feels like it takes me forever to get to the hospital. I need to be with my grandmother. I’m praying with everything I am over and over, scared to death of what I’m going to find when I get there. She needs to be okay.
I need her to be okay.
Chapter18
King
Tired, sore and bruised, I know that the staged blow-up with Grunt went exactly as it needed to. But damn, Grunt wasn’t as nice as T. I know T pulled his punches. The same can’t be said for Grunt. The damn asshole could’ve made our fight look real, without the full power behind each punch. I have a feeling he did it for coming up with this stupid plan. Getting hit by that guy is like getting hit by a damned freight train.