Page 59 of Cody

We were sitting closely side-by-side. The loveseat wasn’t that big, and he was above average in size.

“I never said I didn’t want you, Alina.” He took a breath. “I want you too damned much. When I saw Max kiss you, I wanted to hurt him.”

When we’d been at the hospital I’d noticed the fist-sized bruise on Max’s jaw. “You kind of did,” I pointed out, smiling in spite of myself. I’d never had a man hit another man over me, and while I didn’t condone violence, seeing the jealous rage on Cody’s face had been hot.

He grunted. “That was child’s play, baby.”

Before I could protest, he slid an arm behind my back, curled it around my waist, and hauled me easily onto his lap. I arranged my legs on either side of him, instantly aware of his erection. Arousal for each other was never very far away and was easily brought to the surface. I felt a flutter in my core, whimpering weakly because of it.

“And for the record, I’ve only called two women in my life ‘baby.’” He hesitated for only a second, as if trying to decide whether he should continue or not. “Maggie was the first.”

I wondered if Cody realized how much his admission revealed to me. Part of me was thrilled, but he hadn’t let that fact change anything. He was still seeing other women and not making a commitment to me. I meant something to him, and I sensed that he didn’t know how to deal with it. That, or he was fighting it.

“What am I supposed to do with that, Cody?” Why was he so stubborn and set in his ways? Couldn’t he see that we would be so good together? He would never know that if he didn’t give us a chance.

“Own it,” he growled, cupping my jaw and running his thumb over my bottom lip. I wondered if he knew how much that one small act turned me inside out. His gaze focused on what he was doing. “I love this bottom lip,” he murmured, as if to himself. He leaned forward and kissed it, keeping the contact brief and butterfly soft. Then his eyes came back to mine. “I haven’t been able to get it up for another woman since I’ve had you, baby. Yet all I need to get a boner is think of you.” He thrust his hips against me, backing up his statement. “You do this to me.”

I felt as if we were on the cusp of something important. Something life changing. I tamped down my growing excitement, but I couldn’t stop my heartbeat from fluttering in my throat. “Sounds like you have a problem, Marine.” I ground my center against his hard-on. “Are you saying I broke your cock?” I licked my lips. “Because it doesn’t feel broken.”

Cody growled, grabbing a handful of hair at the back of my head. “You own my dick, woman.” He ground the words against my mouth, drawing a moan from me. Again he kept the kiss brief. Too damned short for my liking because I was ready to get it on. “Since you came on the scene I haven’t wanted anyone else.”

“But you’ve tried,” I voiced a guess.

“Yes. I won’t lie to you, Alina. You mean too much to me.”

I jumped on his words because I needed clarification. “What exactly do I mean to you, Cody? I need to know. I need to understand.”

He stared at me for a long time. His expression gave nothing away, but I could see the war playing out behind his dark eyes. Was he trying to come up with an explanation that didn’t set his words in stone, worried that he might confess something that he couldn’t take back?

He finally exhaled loudly as he seemed to reach a decision. “I want you in my life.Only you.”

This was huge! I waited patiently, giving him the time to choose his words carefully.

“I want to give you and me a chance to see where this insane attraction between us goes. I can’t deny that the thought of you with someone else eats away at me like fucking cancer.” I felt the same about him. “I don’t want to share you, baby. I want you for myself.Exclusively.”

I opened my mouth, prepared to respond when he added quickly, “The same goes for me, baby.”

I looked at him with slight surprise at his declaration, my heart pounding for joy. “You’re willing to be in a monogamous relationship?” I wanted no misunderstandings between us.

“Yes,” he said without hesitation. “With you.”

I was at a loss at what to say.

“We already know we had this instant, crazy attraction for each other, we know the sex is spectacular.”

Yes, it really was.

“If you feel half the things that I already feel, I think we should get to know one another better.”

Cody grew silent, and it dawned on me that he was waiting for my response. I smiled and took his face into my hands to make sure he didn’t turn away. “Yes! Cody, yes!” I gave his lips a peck. “I do feel the same way. In the beginning I thought I could be like you and keep my feelings out of what we were doing, but once I realized I couldn’t it scared me, and I pulled away. But I thought of you all the time.” I gave him another smack on the mouth.

“Thank God,” he said against my lips. “And enough with the fucking smooches. I need a real kiss.”

His mouth took control of mine in true Cody fashion, and before long the tiny smile of happiness on my lips was kissed away and I was moaning at the intensity. I opened beneath the grinding of his mouth and sucked his tongue inside, needing to taste his passion while I revealed my own. Kissing Cody always drew a response out of my body, and I rocked my hips against his erection. He had one hand in my hair and the other curved around my breast, squeezing and shaping it to his liking.

Soon the sounds of the nightlife surrounding us were drowned out by our escalating excitement. Some sounds carried in the country, but I didn’t care. This man was devouring me with just a kiss. I wiggled against him, wanting to get closer, and let my hands travel beneath his shirt and over his defined pecs and sculpted abdominal muscles. I raked my nails over his nipples on the way down to his pants.

I wished we weren’t wearing jeans. I wanted Cody inside me, wanted to feel his cock filling me. One good thing about our position was that the loveseat was up against a window so that I could see inside the house if Mom got up. With shaking, eager hands I undid his pants and slipped my hand inside.

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