Page 84 of Cold Hard Truth

“Fuck.” He growls, kissing the path from my mouth to my jaw. “You make me lose all fucking sense, butterfly.”

His mouth finds mine again, but he releases one of my legs to reach into his pocket. His hips hold me to the wall, and it’s been so long since I’ve felt anything that I pull him to me.

He breaks our kiss to open the door next to us before setting me down and pulling me inside the side entrance to Twisted Roses.

Sage closes the door behind him and pauses with his back to it. While I stand out of breath in front of him. It’s silent inside the shop, and dark, except for the streetlight streaming from the other end of the hallway. The rain falling outside fills the space with a peaceful pitter-patter.

I take a step back, and Sage’s eyes skim down my body. My clothes are soaked, and the chill has my nipples pebbling. Taking another step back, I reach for the hem of my T-shirt and slowly peel it over my head, tossing it to the side so I’m standing in nothing more than a paper-thin bra and skirt.

“What’s wrong? You worried about something, Sage?” I step back again, slowly stepping into his room at the shop. “Think my daddy is going to kill you if you touch me?”

Sage’s dark eyes gleam. A smirk lights the corner of his mouth as he lifts off the door and stalks toward me. Anyhesitation strips away, and he’s the hunter, out to get his prey. The confident side of him I’ve heard so much about reveals itself when he’s been holding back.

He hooks his fingers through the choker around my throat and pulls me to him. “I’d like to see him try.”

“He just might.” I keep going, enjoying pushing his buttons. “And he’s got a whole club on his side to help him. So if I were you, I might be a little bit worried.”

“Keep running that sassy little mouth”—he drags his thumb over my lower lip—“and I’ll put you on your knees just to shut you up.”

I’m about to dare him to try when he picks me up and plants his mouth on mine. He carries me backward until my calves hit the chair in the center of his tattoo station, and he sets my ass down on it.

His hand wraps my throat, controlling the kiss. He takes me deeper, pressing his hips between my legs.

Sage pulls away just enough to graze his lips over mine while one of his hands slips to my skirt, tugging it up to my hips. “Fuck, I missed you.”

This time, when he leans in, his kiss has lost all softness. He takes my mouth like he’s been craving me for years, and I pull him closer because I’ve missed him too.

Undoing his pants, I tug at the front to pull them down, releasing his hard cock. He’s larger than I remember, and my heartbeat thumps in my throat as I wrap my fingers around his thick length.

Sage pushes my shoulders until I’m laying back on the chair, and he grabs his cock, stroking it over me. He glidesthe head over my wet panties, and my hands fly to my breasts.

“Let me see them.” He watches me rub my breasts through my thin bra.

Slowly, I peel the cups down, not taking it off, which helps push up what little I have.

A growl rumbles in his chest as he watches me pinch my nipples.

“You got away from me once before, butterfly.” He traces over the butterfly he tattooed inside my inner thigh years ago before pulling my panties to the side and dragging his fingers over my clit. “That’s not happening again.”

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a condom, slipping it on, before positioning himself between my legs. Leaning forward, he once more wraps his hand around my throat.

“I’m going to fuck you until we’ve made up for every minute I’ve lost with you.” He drags himself up and down, grazing my clit and making me shiver. “Until you can no longer run because your legs will be useless. Isn’t that right, Lyla?”

I try to nod, but his grip on my throat limits my movement.

“Good girl.” Sage thrusts his hips forward, driving himself into me.

A gurgling scream rips from my throat as he releases my neck and grabs my thighs. He leans down and worships my nipples with his mouth, licking a path from one to the other as he holds a steady pace.

He’s relentless, fucking me like he’ll lose me if he doesn’t.

Maybe I’ve been lost this entire time. Out in space, wondering if there was no path home. Still, he found me. In the concrete. In the basement. Tied down by metal and hopelessness. He pulls me out of that place and guides me back to him.

Sage’s tattooed arms flex with each pump of his hips. He grips my legs tighter and uses the leverage to pull me to him with every thrust. Relentless and desperate. Claiming me completely, in the deepest part of my soul.

And my body aches as he claims what’s always been his. Like it was meant to be his. Even as I tear open again given how long it’s been. He takes my pain and turns it to pleasure.

He’s steady while I adjust, and then he unleashes himself. Knowing I can handle the beast so long as it’s him.

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