Page 3 of Borden 3

He was always one step away from danger.

We thought the city was finally under control, but New Raven had other surprises up its sleeve. Mulligan may have died, but he had gotten to Borden. He had shown the underbelly that it was possible to penetrate through the wall of Marcus Borden. With the port’s illegal activities and the presence of the Warlords Motorcycle gang, it spelled disaster. It was believed that if Borden was making deals with bikers, then it must have meant he could make deals with other factions. They rose up under the hole they’d been hiding in and made themselves known, and when they didn’t get their way, they didn’t hold back.

We’d been in war ever since Borden opened those floodgates. Protecting me had cost him everything, and it was still costing him. There was always some form of violence. First it would happen every month. One of Borden’s businesses would get shot up or blown to smithereens.

Now it was happening every week, and it wasn’t just his businesses going up in flames—it was his men, too. I was tired of wearing black and watching another one of his men get buried in the ground, and looking at him–looking at him and holding his gaze and silently asking, “Are you going to be next?”

Yes, that was the hardest part.

He kicked off his pants next. He set his clothes neatly on the dresser, and turned in the direction of the bathroom. “No shower,” I said, needily. “Just come to bed.”

He turned his head, staring at me for a moment. “You must have really missed me, doll.”

“It’s been a long week.”

“Just tell me you’ve missed me.”

“I won’t tickle your ears. Now come to bed.”

He moved across the room to me, but it was slow. He was going to take his sweet time. I watched his every move, my eyes crawling over his broad frame. It wasn’t fair that I couldn’t burn off my belly pouch while he didn’t have a shred of fat on him. He was alarmingly big. Absent from him for a week, it was another reminder of how vulnerable I truly was. Call me crazy, but I got off on the idea that he could crush me with his bare hands if he wanted to but didn’t.

If I meant anything less to him, he would.

I knew that wholeheartedly.

Marcus Borden had a reputation for a reason. His bloodshed over the years had solidified his position in this city. He was the King of New Raven, and there was nobody who could stand in the way of that. Ruthless and unforgiving, he was known to eradicate whatever factions attempted to assemble from the ashes. He never blinked twice about ending a life if it meant he continued to reign supreme.

I wish I could say having a family softened him. On the contrary, his viciousness grew. He lashed out, sometimes reacting like a flip of a switch. When it got bad, I’d get a phone call from Hawke, and he would tell me in two words what to do: Ease him.

And there were two things that eased Marcus Borden.

Our son Lincoln.

And dirty, rough sex.

Lately, easing him became a thing.

New Raven wasn’t what it used to be, and Borden was more around than tender Marcus was.

He crawled into bed now, moving to me with a face clean of emotion. Tendrils of hair fell over his forehead, his plump lips were pressed into a firm line. I could feel his barely contained chaos thrumming beneath his skin. I felt my heart race in an instant.

Borden had not shed his inner beast.

I shut my eyes and braced myself against his storm. The wall of him cloaked me in an instant, his mouth smashing against mine, knocking me breathless. I wrapped my arms around him. Or, at least, I tried to. He was so big, covering me whole as I fell back on the bed. I gripped his muscled bicep with one hand. I used my other hand to grip his hair, tugging it harshly against me as he explored my mouth with his tongue. The second my tongue swirled around his, I felt the vibrations in his chest, the growl he barely contained.

“My alleycat,” he rasped, licking at my bottom lip. “My wife.”

My heart hiccuped in my chest. I wrapped my legs around him in a vice-like grip, trying to keep him pressed to me. Between my legs now, his hard length pressed against my core, and I felt my blood turn to lava. Fuck.

“Oh, I do like going away for this,” he murmured, his smirk spreading along his lips as he kissed down my neck. “You’re so fucking sensitive.”

“So you like going away then?” I gasped as his lips continued down my throat. He threw my nightgown up and over my head in no time, exposing my bare body to him.

He pulled back to look me over and let out a deep groan. “You’re fucking perfect, you know that?”

I ran my hands down my body, and he watched the movement, his hand gripping at his hard cock through his briefs. I cupped my breasts and stared evenly at him. “You could have me all the time if you just stayed.”

He hummed softly, dropping his head to wrap his mouth around a nipple. Pleasure shot down my body as he mercilessly sucked, his hands grabbing at my body, running his touch over every bit of me, like he couldn’t get enough. He squeezed at my other breast, bit and lapped at my other nipple, his nostrils flaring when I squirmed and distracted him.

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