Page 47 of Covert Affair

“A little bit ago. Taylor brought me straight here after I hung up with them.”

“Okay. And what did they have to say?”

I can already see a million scenarios spinning around in Cody’s mind and know that he’s ready to spring into action the minute I answer his question.

“Waylon’s dead.”

The information lingers in the air between us for a beat.

“Dead?”

“They said it looked like he’d been stabbed,” I shrug, feeling completely numb.

“Shit. Fuck. I’m…I’m sorry?” Cody replies. “Actually, you know what. No, I’m not sorry. Not exactly. I’m not sorry that the asshole is dead. What I am sorry about is the fact that he won’t have to answer for his crimes here on earth.”

I nod. “I get it. I want to feel something. I feel like I should be devastated because my…my ex just died, but the first thing on my mind was getting to you. What’s that say about me?”

“You’re in shock. And whatever you’re feeling, now or later, is normal.”

“It’s just that…I think our relationship was truly over before it ever really began. Looking back on it, I knew all along that Waylon wasn’t my future. I rushed into something because I thought that was the kind of life I wanted. He was charming and charismatic and together we had the potential to make a powerhouse couple. Or so I thought. Then I started seeing his true colors. Or some of his true colors. He broke my spirit when he laid hands on me, but I don’t think it’s possible for him to break my heart. Because I think somewhere inside, my heart has always belonged to you.” The words come tumbling out quicker than I can stop them.

“Say it again,” Cody steps closer to me and places his hands on my hips.

“I think my heart has always belonged to you.” I whisper.

“Goddamn,” he groans. “This is probably wrong on so many levels, Stacey, but…Goddamnit…I need you.”

“You have me. All of me,” I tell him as he grabs me by the ass and lifts me up. I wrap my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck, letting myself get lost in the feeling of simply being in his arms again.

Cody licks the side of my neck and nips my earlobe, as he carries me through the loft apartment. “Do you know how many times I’ve dreamed about getting to do this again?”

“God, I hope at least half as much as I have,” I sigh, contentedly.

He lays me down on his bed and pulls his shirt over his head. “Take your clothes off, Stace.”

It doesn’t take long for me to strip for him only this time, I’m bearing so much more than my naked body, I’m bearing my soul.

Cody takes his time, soaking in every inch of me and kissing away all the reminders of a man who didn’t love me. Worshiping me. Showing me the devotion that I deserved all along.

“Damnit,” he pauses and sits back on his haunches between my legs. “I don’t have any condoms.”

I swallow hard then blow out a breath. “It’s been…awhile. And I’ve been tested since the last time. When I figured out that he was seeing someone else, I avoided being intimate with him.”

For a split second, I think about the night Waylon hit me and what he really wanted. The false promise I made just to get him off of me. Thank God it ended there.

“I’m clean too. Had a physical and all that a few months back…haven’t been with anyone since you,” he confesses.

“If you want to…”

“Oh, I want to,” he smirks, then leans down and captures a nipple in his mouth.

He distracts me with more kisses as he slides inside of me. My back arches and I moan into his kiss.

“I think I lost my heart to you a long time ago,” he whispers before he starts thrusting his hips relentlessly.

22

CODY

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