“Don’t act like you know me.”
“I do know you, Cora. Why the hell do you think you came to me from the start, huh? You came to me because you missed me.”
“Bullshit. I needed a thug and you’re the best I know.”
He smirks and runs a finger down his lower lip. “Yeah, okay, tell yourself that. Lie and say there was nobody else, that I was just convenient.”
“What do you want me to say? My life’s gone because of you. My home’s on fire, my mother’s dead, my sister’s hanging on by a thread, and here I am trying to keep myself from drowning. You think giving her a few thousand dollars is going to fix anything?”
He stares at me and says nothing. My mind’s whirling like a top trying to find its center, wobbling and wobbling around its stationary orbit, and I want to finally feel like I’m in control of something even if I’m right on the edge of spiraling away. I want him to touch me, I want him to grab my hair and kiss me, but most of all I want to dig my fingernails into his back and hear him grunt with pain, because I want to hurt him.
I hate him for everything, and I hate him even more for being right.
“You need a shower,” he says quietly and it takes me aback. I’m about to tell him to mind his own business, but he takes my hand gently, and it’s the softness that makes me relent.
I let him lead me into the big bathroom I’m sharing with Kady.
He turns on the water. It happens like a dream. He gets it hot, the steam rolling out from the glass-enclosed stall like clouds over a mountain. I look at myself in the mirror, at the smudged dark eye makeup, at my pink lips, at how exhausted I seem. I’m ragged and on edge. His hands touch my shoulder as he stands behind me and slowly I turn to face him.
“Come on,” he whispers and reaches for the hem of my shirt. I could stop him, tell him I can undress myself, but instead I raise my hands and let him take it off. His eyes stare into mine as he tosses the top on the floor. “There you go. That’s good.” He unbuttons my jeans and slowly pulls them over my ass. “Good girl. There you go.” His lips brush against my hipbone and I lean back against the bathroom sink as he takes the jeans off my feet.
His hands move up my flanks, over my ass, and his mouth lingers on the spot beneath my belly button but above my panties. I whimper as he looks up into my eyes.
“Almost there,” he says and stands. He reaches around and unhooks my bra and I let it fall free. I move to cover my breasts, but he gently pushes my arms away. “That’s better. That’s good.” His mouth brushes my collarbone and I want to cry out. “That’s perfect, princess. That’s really good.” His mouth moves along my throat. “We’re so close now.” His hands grip my hips and slip down to the top of my panties. I’m trembling and my nipples are so stiff I feel like they might crack, and I’m dripping right now, my wetness practically rolling down my inner thighs.
“There you go,” he says as he drops to his knees and moves my panties down my thighs. “That’s my girl. There you go. Take them off for me.” He tosses them aside and I’m naked, completely naked, and I’ve never been this exposed for a man before, much less for Nolan, and I think back to all the times I wanted this to happen and I realize this is so much better than I ever dreamed.
“Good girl,” he whispers as he stands. His mouth kisses up my hips, up my stomach, up my breasts, lingers on my nipples, and his tongue so gently caresses the pink tip of each before he finds my lips. “Good fucking girl.”
I kiss him then, unable to hold myself back any longer. I kiss him and taste him and moan into his mouth, and I want him to make me forget all the pain, all the horror. I want him to live up to his promises. I want him to make me feel good.
His right hand grabs into my hair and his other caresses my body like he’s exploring every inch of my skin. He touches my breasts, my hips, my ass, my inner thighs, my lower back, my shoulders, my throat. His tongue is soft and his lips are heaven, and I drink in his kiss until he spreads my legs and slowly slides his fingers down along my pussy lips.
I whimper into his mouth, shaking. “What are you doing?” I ask him and he bites my lip.