Page 25 of Love Lies Bleeding

“We’re gonna fucking kill it, Jake.”

“Dream team, bro.”

We bump knuckles then settle down to watch the game.

I should have told him about Cherry then, but for some reason, I wanted to keep her all to myself for just a little bit longer. She was mine and I wasn’t ready to share her with anyone, even the people who’d saved me.

8. Jake

“Fuck, I missed you.”

Wrapping my arms around her, I haul her close to my body and inhale her sweet fragrance. Her arms come around me and she buries her nose in my chest like maybe she missed me too, but won’t admit it. Her chin comes up and I find those gorgeous brilliant blue eyes that I can’t stop thinking about twinkling up at me.

“We spoke like yesterday.”

I pinch her side and she giggles as she jumps away from me. “Hey.”

“Well, stop being so lippy, or I might just bend you over my knee and spank the sass right out of you.”

I watch Cherry’s eyes go wide before they take on a deep slumberous look, her lips parting in invitation. “What if I want that?”

Stepping forward, I grip her hips, feeling her silky skin beneath my fingers. I hadn’t been expecting that, but it seems like my girl has finally made a decision to trust me, but I need to be sure. She’s stripped my brain of any thought but her and the thought of having her makes my whole body buzz with adrenalin. “Don’t play with me, Blossom. My restraint is on my frayed leash.”

She looks away, toward her bedroom window that faces Mass Avenue, as if she needs a moment to get her words together and I practice a patience I didn’t know I had as I wait. This girl has had me since the first second I laid eyes on her. I never dreamed I’d fall in love, let alone get taken down so hard by someone who doesn’t seem to want it, but here we are. She could ask me for the world and I’d kill myself to hand it to her on a plate.

Her gaze finds mine as her chin tilts up with determination.

My brave little fighter.

“No playing, Jake. I’m done fighting this. I don’t want to. Just don’t hurt me, okay?”

Her voice trails off on those last five words and I want to hunt down every person who has ever hurt her and rip them apart with my bare hands. I might be refined now, dress well, and act the part but, deep down, I’m still a kid from the wrong side of the tracks who fought his way out with blood and tears.

My hand shakes as I thread my fingers through her hair and grip her neck, my thumb forcing her bottom lip open. “I promise I’ll never hurt you, Cherry. You own me. Every single part is yours and every piece of yourself you allow me to have, I’ll cherish.”

A shudder wracks through her body and I can feel her relax into me, trusting me, and I won’t break that trust. “Gonna kiss you now, Blossom, so open that pretty mouth for me.”

Her lips fall open and I bend in, taking her mouth in a hungry kiss that consumes us both. Her nails scrape against my scalp as I grip her ass and pull her closer so she can feel how fucking hard I am for her.

“Jake, please.”

Her hands move over my chest, and down, her fingers quick and desperate as I lift her by her ass, her legs coming around my waist, as I sink to the bed, Cherry straddling me. I can feel her everywhere, her tongue in my mouth, her hands on my skin, her hot, wet heat pressed against the thin cotton of my t-shirt. There are just two layers separating us.

“Please what, my sweet Cherry Blossom?”

“Fuck me.”

I chuckle, pleased by her need for me. “Not yet. First, I’m going to make you come screaming my name for all to hear so that everyone knows just who you belong to.”

“I don’t belong to anyone.”

Fuck, I love how much she challenges me. I kiss down her neck, letting her feel my teeth as I slide my hand up her soft thigh to her drenched panties. “Fuck, you’re soaked for me.”

Cherry squirms on me as I run my thumb up her slit over her soaked panties, and skim her clit. Her groan makes my cock harden even more. I could listen to the sounds she makes on repeat for the rest of my life and never get bored. The thought should scare me, but it doesn’t. All I feel when I’m around her is alive, and excited for the future.

Pushing her panties to the side, I slide my finger along her slit and hear her hum with pleasure as I stroke firm circles over her clit.

“More. I want to feel you.”

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