Page 95 of The Acquisition

"You," she answered instantly, and my heart settled. Somehow my insane plan was working and she was letting me back in.

I delivered another slap, this time lower down across her legs and pussy. She groaned. I rubbed my fingers through her slit, feeling the wetness trickling out of her and using it to taunt her needy clit.

Three more quick smacks in the same spot had her squirming, and I stopped before she climaxed.

She whimpered when I lifted her off me. This was where I needed her. Out of her mind with desire and willing to take anything I gave her. The only thing that mattered to her in this moment was that I finally let her come.

"Tell me you'll retract the divorce papers." It was an asshole demand to make when she was out of her mind with lust, but I never said I was going to fight fair.

When you risked losing the one thing you needed to live, fighting dirty was the only way to go.

"I will," she promised.

I moved her until her knees were under her and her ass was in the air. She was far beyond caring that she was open for me and letting me see the most private place of her.

"You're mine," I told her as I pushed my boxers down my legs and stepped out of them.

My hand fisted my cock and I gave it a few rough strokes as my other hand moved to the back of her neck to hold her down. Lining myself up with her opening, I let my free hand grip her hip and plunged deep inside her in one hard thrust.

She shuddered as my piercings rubbed her walls and stimulated her g-spot once again. The time for teasing was over. With my grip on her neck and hip I pulled her body hard against me as I pounded her relentlessly.

Jana began to grunt and moan with abandon. I'd edged her so ruthlessly it wasn't long before she was squeezing my cock as she came. Her climax drove me, but it had been too long since I felt the tight heat choking my dick.

I grunted as the pleasure built. My spine tingled and my balls pulled tight against my body, but still I couldn't quite come. Letting go of her neck, I used both hands on her hips to fuck her harder than I had ever gone before.

Even though she'd just come I felt her body rise again. This time she screamed, actually fucking screamed as she came. I spilled everything inside her. A long, low groan ripped from my throat and my vision went black as I drained inside her. I'd never come so hard or so long in my life, and it felt like my body was trying to mark her from the inside out.

When I was finally spent, I slumped over her, keeping us connected as I cradled her from behind. Even though we'd woken not long before, we passed out, connected once again in every way we could be.

THIRTY-SIX

JANA

It was a beautiful week alone with Colter. I'd like to say that all hurts were healed and everything was fine between us, but life didn't work like that. It would take time to rebuild the trust I lost that night at the hospital. What I could say was that we were on the right path.

I was a little afraid to return to the real world where we'd face the judgment of our families. Colt told me what Evie said to him at the hospital. While I was comforted to know that she wasn't mad we were together, there was still some groveling I needed to do with my best friend.

There I was afraid she'd be upset I was with her father, and I'd hurt her by hiding it from her. I should have trusted her more. A mistake I wouldn't make again.

The weather in Kentucky was bleak when we landed. Summer was around the corner, but spring still had a strange hold in the mountains. My heart hurt for the little girl I imagined running around there. There was pride in the people of Coalville, but it was clear that the wealth of our nation had missed this pocket of the country.

Colt was nervous when he told me about the work he was going to do with Evie to help the women of this region. They planned to expand to include men, but for now, they wanted to give the most vulnerable members of this community access to care.

Women could come here to seek help and resources so they could stand on their own feet. Mental illness wasn't the only thing that led some women down the path of addiction. For some, it could be as simple as becoming dependent on a prescription. And when those injuries were caused by the person who was supposed to protect you, those women needed a safe place to turn.

I was proud of the work they were doing there. I could see how it was already healing the guilt he'd carried since he learned of Jenny's fate.

He thought I was going to see it as another way he was holding on to her memory, but I recognized it as him finally letting her go.

I'd never met her, but I'd seen the pain Evie lived with every day. She loved her mother, even if she didn't think so. Knowing that her mother couldn't love her enough to get better left a scar.

That wasn't the girl Colt knew. She was still young and would forever be preserved in the state she was before mental illness and addiction robbed her of the spark that made such a deep impression on his teenage heart. As hard as it was to accept his feelings for her, I was starting to make peace with them.

Hadn't I been changed by Malcolm at about the same age? I didn't even feel a fraction of what Colt felt for Jenny, but my life had been changed all the same. He wasn't the only cause for how guarded I became, my family deserved some of the blame, but that was the first time I made myself completely vulnerable only to be rejected.

Colt reached over and squeezed my leg. "Are you okay? You've been quiet since we landed."

I nodded. "Yeah, just thinking."

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