He strips me down. Undresses himself. And proves that the best parts of last night weren’t a dream at all.
Chapter 17
Nolan
I’m high on sex with Cora and buzzing with need for more.
As soon as she hit the bed this morning, I claimed her body for mine and feasted. I took my time, made her come, made her take my cock between those pretty lips before fucking her nice and deep and hard. I made her back arch, her lips moan, and when she was finished and quivering on the sheets, I made her beg for more.
We fucked like we always should’ve fucked, and now I need to taste her again.
She’s a distraction, a filthy and beautiful distraction, and I need to keep my head in the game.
But no matter how many times I fuck her deep and make her body feel things she never dreamed, she’s still going to be worried about her sister. And that has me on edge. I don’t want her to do something stupid like try to chase Kady down.
For now, I’m walking a tightrope with no net and hoping I don’t fall off the side.
“What’s the play here?” Eric stares out the windshield at the lonely, boring building up ahead. The brewery is in a business park toward the very back with its own standalone structure and parking, though the space isn’t very large. There are a few trucks outside but otherwise it’s quiet for late on a weeknight.
“I’ve got Alex and Tom watching the back lot. We go in the front fast and hard, get everyone on the ground like we’re robbing the place, and head into the brewing area where they keep the guns. We grab the weapons and get out before shit gets hot.”
“Hit fast and hard. Understood.” Eric takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out. “Listen, man, I’ve gotta say something.”
“If it’s about Cora and her sister, I don’t want to hear it.”
“Just listen.” He looks annoyed and unbuckles his seatbelt. “I know shit’s been hard between us lately. I understand I’ve been a big part of the problem. I think you’ve been making bad decisions around that girl but hey, I get it, she’s got a magic pussy or something.”
“Don’t talk about her that way,” I say, staring at him flatly.
“That’s what I mean. We used to be able to joke, but now it’s like that girl came waltzing back into our lives and she’s all you can think about. The crew still needs you, Nolan. I’m trying to reach out here and see if I can’t squash whatever bullshit is brewing between us.”
I nod and look out the window again. “I appreciate that. And maybe you’re right. I’ve been distracted.”
“You got nothing else to say?”
I consider my words for a moment. I’ve known Eric for years and we’ve been through some seriously heavy stuff together, and it’s like the guys we once were have changed into something else, and now everything’s much more complicated than it used to be. Back then, in the early years after prison, we were brother thieves ripping off the world and giving life the middle finger.
But now my priorities have shifted and I don’t know how to make him understand.
“I didn’t go looking for Cora. You know that’s true. She’s been around Marietta for a long time and she’s the one that hunted me down when I could’ve found her whenever I wanted. I didn’t ask for her back in my life, but she’s here and she’s not going anywhere. I want things to go back to normal between us, but I also need you to accept that I’m not letting her go anywhere, not for a while.”
“I can accept it. But I don’t think it’s just about the girl. You’ve got a private crusade going and I don’t know what it’s about. You’ve got all the guys on edge with the way you’ve been acting, Nolan, and I want to understand if this is something I have to worry about.”
I can’t look at him right now. I grip the steering wheel hard as my thoughts churn. There are a hundred reasons why I shouldn’t have this conversation with him but I’m sick and tired of worrying and wondering. I want it out in the open and done with.
“You really don’t know what I’ve been up to?”
“You haven’t told me a goddamn thing since Cora appeared.”
“It all comes back to her, doesn’t it? It all comes back to what happened with her seven years ago.” I turn to look at him hard. I need to gauge his responses right now.
“The drug bust?” He seems genuinely confused and I wonder if he’s a good actor or if I’m completely wrong. “What about the bust?”
But fuck it.
“Someone ratted her out. Someone killed her mother. I’m trying to find whoever it was that stabbed me in the back. There are only a handful of people that even knew about the shipment and you’re one of them.”