Page 79 of Shattered Hearts

I wouldn’t be able to stop even if I wanted to. Fire burns in my gut, my balls heavy, needing release. My skin is sweaty, and so is hers, my fingers slicking down her back and to her ass, pulling her close.

Eight inches inside her isn’t enough.

The air smells like sex, and I suck in big gulps of it trying to keep control.

I don’t know how close she is.

I’m going to explode any second, and I reach between our bodies to quicken her along.

She sinks her teeth into my shoulder. “Yes, please, yes.”

Her clit is huge and slippery, and I swirl my fingers over the nub. Moaning, she lifts her hips and grinds into my hand. I thrust, sharp, hard jerks, and she tenses as she comes, clinging to me. Her cum gushes out of her, coating my pubic hair and the base of my cock. Her pussy pulses around me, and I finish off, pounding into her.

I come, one of the best orgasms of my life, and I hide my face in her hair. Sucking in a staggering breath, I mumble, “Please tell me I have a condom on.”

Her fingers wiggle between us. “You have a condom on.”

“Good. Knocking you up is the last thing I want to worry about.” I shudder, pull out, and flop onto my back, hot and exhausted.

She brushes a kiss over my lips. “Another week or so and we won’t have to worry about it.”

“That will be nice. This took me by surprise.”

“You were having a nightmare. I don’t know what you were dreaming about, though...you didn’t say anything. I started kissing you, hoping you would wake up, and all of a sudden I was flat on my back and you were inside me.”

I force my eyes open. “Jesus. I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?” That’s always a worry I’m going to have whenever we make love. Am I going too fast? Am I trying something she won’t like? Am I too rough?

“No. You’ll never hurt me, Gage.”

“Yes, I will, but I hope I never do in bed. I need to clean up. Go back to sleep, sweetheart. It’s too early to be awake.” I kiss her, our tongues tangling. Reluctantly, I lean away.

She sighs. “Okay. I love you.”

I pull the comforter up around her shoulders. “I love you, too.”

She rolls over and in seconds, her delicate breathing drifts to me.

I wipe off, take a leak, and put on boxers and a t-shirt. My heart is hammering too painfully to go back to sleep. I’m still scared shitless that she might not have wanted to make love just then. I need to be more careful. I’m exhausted, but that’s no excuse. I’m lucky she was in the mood. I don’t ever want her to have to tell me no or fight me off in any way. Every time we’re intimate, I need her full consent.

It’s four in the morning, and maybe I can get a couple hours of work in before Zarah wakes up. I have so much to do, I need a few days to myself whether I want them or not. She’ll inviteme out to eat dinner, but I’ll find a backbone and decline. I still haven’t processed what I saw her go through yesterday, and I need to find my cool so I don’t shove that video into Zane’s face.

There’s a load of crap I could do, but first I let Baby out for an unexpected pee break that she’s thankful for and then make coffee. There’s no way I could do any kind of work without it.

When I have a full mug and Baby’s in bed snuggling on Zarah, I scribble out a list of the things I need to get done.

Find out what happened to Ingrid.

Pack up Max’s apartment.

Read more of his journal.

At the office, Zarah mentioned her suspicion that Max was spying on them. I chewed on it, gave it fair consideration, but in the end, I said he wouldn’t have done something like that. She hasn’t read any of his journal, didn’t know that even if maybe he’d had intentions of reporting to Rourke, him meeting her and falling in love would have put an end to it. I told her if anyone knew anything they shouldn’t have we could blame Nathalie Barton, and her expression cleared. She didn’t want Max guilty of something like that anymore than I do. Besides, he wouldn’t have left me instructions to protect Zarah, his journal, and those CDs. He must have thought they were important if he wanted me to see them, and I shouldn’t have put it off for so long.

I should look into my truck exploding, but Jesus Christ. That seems like a dead end. They could have planted that bomb anywhere, anytime. I’m all over King’s Crossing working on jobs. I’ve been lax checking out this truck, and I should be doing a sweep every time I get inside. I was an easy mark once, and I’m proving to be an easy mark again.

I want to see Willow. I wonder if she knew Rourke owned Quiet Meadows when she pointed us in that direction. She was fucking the guy, it’s a sure bet she knew. Not quite sure what we would have done with the information back then. Not sure whatto do with it now. Rourke owning the sanatorium doesn’t have to mean anything but that he saw it as a good business investment, and that’s not me trying to find an explanation to excuse him. If I get a chance to pin the guy’s ass to the wall, I will, I don’t care for what. Zarah might owe allegiance to Zane, and I completely understand that, but nothing is keeping me loyal to Rourke, not even my mother.

Visiting Black is still on my list, but I’ll need a day to travel to the state pen, and that seems like a crazy amount of time to throw away right now.

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