Page 25 of Snagged By Hook

“Robert didn’t last the week. He got stabbed by someone else who was flopping in the abandoned building we were sleeping in. Casey and I moved on that night. We didn’t stop moving around for two years. He took a job with this family, and they treated him really well, or so he told me.”

Hook’s throat started to close as the memories came rushing out.

“They eventually took him in, but he wouldn’t let me come. He brought me food and clothes and other things I needed, but I stayed in a tent with the other homeless. I admit I was a little jealous that he would keep the chance of having a home and family from me. But the people were good to me at the camp, though. I was only eleven or so, the youngest there, and they looked out for me.”

If Nova had a reaction to his confessions, she didn’t show it. The pace of her breathing or the path or speed of her strokinghand didn’t change. He was grateful for that. He didn’t know if he could follow through if he sensed any pity from her. He wasn’t telling her for pity but to give her all the information. As a mother, she had a right to know who he was. Especially if she asked him to stay like he hoped she would.

“Casey brought his mom to meet me one day. They asked me to come stay too, and I was so excited. I was going to have my brother and a home. It was the dream we’d all shared when we set out on our own.”

At that, he felt her breathing change, and he chickened out on the details. He decided he could still be as honest, but paint with broad strokes for now.

“It wasn’t a family; it was a child prostitution ring.” He swallowed hard to get the next part out, especially since Nova raised her head and was staring into his eyes. There was enough light in the room to see that much. She wasn’t looking on with pity, per se, but sympathy and shock and unshed tears.

“I know I should’ve told you before we had sex.” He hated calling it that. Everything he’d ever done with his body had been just sex, but not with Nova. With her, he wanted it to be different. It was different. There was an emotional connection attached to it, and that scared the fuck out of him, but also swelled his heart.

It’s probably why he was talking about shit that should be buried. He had never, not once in his entire life, associated sex with emotions or anything other than a physical act. It was the only way he survived those hellish years.

“You had a right to know that the man you were sharing your body with traded sex for a roof and three meals a day.”

“No.” Nova’s voice was rough and final. “You were a minor; you didn’t trade anything for anything. You were exploited and abused. Period.”

Intellectually, he knew that, had always known that once he escaped that world and got a glimpse of reality. But knowing andknowingwere not the same.

Hook just stared into her eyes. No one had defended him or his actions before. If she knew the whole story, she’d feel differently, but for now, she was championing him, and it felt nice.

Giving in to the urge, Hook kissed her. It bordered on violent, their teeth banging together, and they started laughing. Never had he had the occasion to laugh in bed with a woman. It was all a physical transaction, and when that transaction was complete, it was forgotten.

There was one thousand percent certainty that nothing about Nova would ever be forgettable.

It was on the tip of his tongue to segue into why his past had surfaced. Nothing more than a feeling in his gut, but he couldn’t. He needed to talk to his club and gather proof one way or another first.

Tightening his hold on Nova, he coaxed her on top of him. Pushing her to a sitting position so he could cup her breasts, she took his cues. Gripping him in her delicate hand, she guided his cock to the promised land and rode him into oblivion.

Hook would take her as many times as she would allow because once she knew everything, she may never touch him again.

Exhausted, he rolled them to the side, and they slept, still joined. It was the most intimate experience he’d had.

NOVA

Nova woke after what felt like hours, but a glance at the lack of light filtering in through the window told her it hadn’t been very long at all. It was still dark outside except for a shimmer of the moon, peaking through the slates of the blinds in muted lines.

She’d slept enveloped in Hook’s arms. For a man who didn’t cuddle, he was damn good at it. She felt cherished, protected, and loved.

Love? Whoa, down girl.

It wasn’t just sex, Hook had said as much, and it felt like more than that to her too, but love? No, most certainly not. Nova was not going there. She’d promised herself she wouldn’t fall for another man hard and fast like she had for Brent.

Not to mention she was in no position for a relationship. Hell, she didn’t even have her own car. No way did she need to go from marriage to practically homeless to a relationship.

Besides, she needed to prioritize her daughter and herself.

“You’re thinking so loud, I can hear it. Care to share?” Hook’s sleep-roughened voice rumbled over her frayed nerves. Nerves he’d just spent the better part of the night soothing. He tightened and relaxed his arms in encouragement.

“I was just thinking about how I failed my daughter.”

Hook held her away from him far enough to stare into her eyes. He seemed fully awake and coherent as he hardened his gaze.

“You didn’t fail shit, mama. Rough patches happen, but that’s over. I’m here, and as long as I have anything to say about it, you’ll always have the wind at your back…both of you.”

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