Page 31 of Cop-Off

A short laugh escaped her. He had to admit, that wasn’t quite the reaction he was going for.

“My woman. You really are a caveman, aren’t you? You gonna club me over the head next?”

“Only if I can drag you back to my cave.” He smirked. “Is that a yes?”

“Actually...I thought I already was your woman. You been dating someone else on the side, McBride?”

As if. He told her as much, too. “Do you even have to ask me that, kitten? You think I’d want anyone else when I have you, a fucking goddess? Seriously?”

His answer seemed to satisfy her, her playful tone back with a vengeance. “So...do I get some kind ofCody’s womanmerchandise now? A t-shirt with an arrow pointing to my side telling everyone I’m with you? Or do you just take out an ad in the local paper?”

Capturing her lips, he took advantage of her gasp and pushed his tongue inside of her mouth, getting instantly tipsy on his wine-flavored woman. Little did she know, he’d do anything for her. Get her whatever she wanted. All she had to do was ask.

***

Cody was one content man. Holding a naked Cat in his arms, in his bed, in his home, was the only place he wanted to be right now. Laying another kiss on her forehead, his grip on her tightened as she continued to trail her fingers up and down his stomach.

After they’d tucked Dylan in, they’d made out on the couch like teenagers. For hours. To the point of pain on Cody’s end. Once they were sure Dylan was asleep, they snuck upstairs and raced to strip each other. And when they did, as usual, he lost it and took her like a man possessed. But a quiet one. Not that it wasn’t fun to swallow each other’s moans or cover Cat’s mouth just as she was about to go over the edge. It actually added another layer of passion between them that continued to blow his mind.

As hard as it was to admit it, sex with Cat was undoubtedly the best he’d ever had. It was one more thing to feel guilty about. It also brought a whole lot of insecurities to the surface. Insecurities he didn’t want to push down anymore. Cat had opened up to him about her dad, the least he could do was be honest with her about how he was feeling.

As long as you don’t accidently tell her you love her.

“Have you ever been in love?” He cursed himself as soon as the question came out. He was clearly missing the subtle gene.

Cat’s fingertips paused on his peck. “No.” It was stupid as all get out that one word made him so happy. After all, he had been in love before her. “I don’t think so.”

“You don’t think?”

“I thought I was once...but the more time that went on, the more I realized that it wasn’t love at all.”

Jealousy kicked him in the gut. Again, he had no right to feel that way. “Why’s that?”

“You know, the usual. Arsehole with a wandering eye.”Dumbass.“I was with him way longer than I should have been, but when you think you’re in love, it’s easier to ignore the red flags.”

He pressed another kiss to her head, bracing himself to hear more. “What happened?”

“He cheated. A lot. Told me I was crazy and insecure, and for a while I believed him. I even tried to work on myself.” Cody’s blood boiled and his fists clenched.Motherfucker.“But then I found all these messages on his phone...” Sadness cracked her voice as she trailed off.

He let her have her quiet, needing to get his rage back down to a more manageable simmer.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he eventually croaked out. “The thought of you going through that... it breaks my heart. You deserve the fucking world. Nothing less. And for that piece ofshit to make you think, even for one second, that there was something wrong with you—”

His speech was cut off by Cat’s mouth, which was now pulling a leisurely, soft kiss out of him. Cradling her face, he took it deeper. He’d realized weeks ago that he would never, ever get enough of her candy-coated kisses. And he was okay with that. Cody McBride was an addict. A proud one.

It would be too easy to get lost in Cat’s touch. Her taste. Her everything. But there was more to say. More he needed to know before he pushed inside of perfection. With that in mind, he slowly drew back, making sure to nip and suck her lower lip one more time before untangling them.

“No fair,” she whispered. “I wasn’t done.”

“Oh, I’m not done. Not by a long shot. But before I please my woman...there’s one more thing I wanted to talk about.”

She eyed him curiously. “Okay, as long as you hurry up.” Her hand drifted down his torso again, this time not stopping.

Catching her wrist, he reluctantly dragged it back up. “Kitten,” he warned, “one more minute and we can play. I promise.” She pretended to pout, prompting him to get on with it. “There was a reason I wanted to know about your past relationships.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I, uh, I guess we’ve never really discussed the past like that before. I know that you haven’t been with anyone in a while and nor have I...but you never told me about anyone you were seeing before.”

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