Page 3 of Claim Me

We tug free of our clothes until I’m wrapped under him on the mattress. Indigo doesn’t hesitate. He isn’t thinking any more than I am. We’re animals in heat, lusting for what only the other one can provide.

Indigo thrusts inside me. I inhale sharply, surprised by how full I feel. He hesitates, breaking free of our lust.

Before he ruins our fun, I bring his lips down to where I can suck on them. My hands reach around to find his tight ass, and I stroke his bare flesh. Indigo exhales in a soft, sexy way as if he’s at peace for the first time in his life.

I move with him, enjoying his every thrust. My body feels reborn. I’m sexy and wanted in a way I thought I had lost forever.

I come hard enough for words to fail me. Groaning what sounds like Indigo’s name, I grip his arms and ride my orgasm to its final wonderful waves of pleasure. My spasming pussy makes Indigo lose control. He sounds in pain as he thrusts faster into me. I hold him, wanting to reassure myself as much as him.

My mind refuses to imagine what any of this means. I remain lost in the heat of a beautiful man craving me. Indigo catches his breath, still wrapped in my arms.

I begin sobering up from my lust just enough to wonder what happens next. Would asking him to come home with me tonight be viewed as too clingy? Should I let him lead? Will he just stare at me, seeming unhappy if I don’t take charge?

“This isn’t right,” Indigo says, going rigid and climbing out of bed.

“It’s okay,” I tell him as he reaches for his jeans. “We’re both lonely, and we like each other. There’s no reason to get flustered.”

Indigo flashes a dark frown in my direction, reminding me why people fear him. I hesitate, just for a moment. Everything’s happened so fast. I have a right to spend a fucking second to get my head on straight!

Yet, that’s all the time Indigo needs to get dressed and out the door. I stumble out of bed and look around the room. This place hasseen a lot of hookups over the years. None of them were special in any way.Have I become another discarded chick in a long line of them?

Though my feelings are hurt, I can’t muster any tears. Not yet, anyway. I don’t understand what the hell is happening!

Indigo was just Indigo. Then, he wanted me to see him. I did see him, and I held him close. He looked truly happy for once. Now, he’s returned to being the sullen Indigo.

No, he’s different now. I see the change as soon as I walk out to the bar to find him at the door. He’s gone cold. Not because he’s gotten a taste of pussy. He wasn’t lonely out of necessity. He has long chosen to keep women away.

Indigo’s gone cold because I’ve disappointed him. He had a crush and built me up to be someone great. But I couldn’t live up to his fantasy, just like I didn’t with Sync.

As he escorts me to my truck, I try to talk to him. My words only encourage him to step farther away. Of course, he still follows me home. Indigo takes his responsibilities to the club and O’Malley family very seriously. I might have let him down, but he’ll still do his job.

As soon as I pull my truck into my ranch’s side-entry garage, Indigo speeds away into the dark morning. I watch him go, still feeling him between my legs and smelling him on my skin.

Retreating to my house, I stand in shock at how my night turned out. My friends are all asleep. My girls are with their dad. My parents won’t be awake for hours. There’s no one to soothe me. I’m left alone with my confusion and broken heart.

INDIGO O’MALLEY

My first memory as a child wasn’t playing a game or going somewhere fun. I was three years old, sitting in the back seat of my mom’s rundown sedan. She held my brand-new baby brother. I’d been so excited about her having the baby. I thought I’d finally have a friend, but babies don’t do anything except cry. My mom rocked him while sobbing.

I recall how the car smelled like dirty people, even though Mom washed me in the gas station bathroom earlier that day.

“Life doesn’t get easier,” Lorrie told me as she cried.

My mom looked at me with the eyes of a woman already dead in so many ways. I didn’t understand what I was seeing back then. I just knew she was sick all the time. Now, I realize she was on borrowed time.

“I thought life would get easier when I grew up,” she told me between sobs. “Once I was big, I’d outrun my problems, and the bad people couldn’t catch me. The pain would just peel away. I’d be free, but life didn’t get any easier. It’s worse now. I’ve got you and Bubby. I brought you into an ugly world. I ought to make us go to sleep. I can make the pain go away, baby, except I’m scared the next world is worse than this one. Tell me what to do.”

I looked at my beautiful mom with her eyes as dark as Hershey's Kisses. She was my favorite person. I loved her so much. When she smiled, the world didn’t feel so tight and cold. I could breathe easier and stretch out. I liked feeling that way, but my mom rarely smiled.

“We’ll be happy soon, Mama,” I told her because I was three years old and didn’t know any better.

My instincts are usually wrong. All the good stuff in my life has come about because other people made the choices. No matter how much I plan, situations don’t work out like I want.

That’s what happened with Siobhan tonight.

For years, I’ve imagined dozens of ways to show her how I felt. If she could see herself through my eyes, Siobhan might understand my worth.How I would never cheat like Sync. How I could love her girls like they were mine.

My qualities aren’t noticeable. Maybe I hide or people don’t look close enough. Most people can’t see me clearly, even when I’m right in front of them.

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