Page 56 of Captured Pawn
But when Nick took long strides directly in my direction, I didn’t have time to worry about what to say. As he closed the distance between us, I waffled between fighting down the desire to run toward him to close the distance faster and getting ready to kick him in the nuts as payback for breaking my heart.
In the end I did neither. I stood frozen as Nick barged into my personal space exactly as he had in the cemetery weeks before. This time, instead of finding myself thrown over his shoulder, his hand jammed into the thick hair at the back of my head, yanking my head back so I had no other option but to look up into his dark eyes. With his other hand, he grabbed my hip, catapulting my whole body forward to crash against his hard, muscled chest.
As terrifying as he probably looked to any outsider, this domineering version of the larger-than-life man felt familiar. His masculine scent washed over me, calming frayed nerves I’d been trying to ignore.
But it wasn’t until his lips crashed down on my own that I knew how much trouble I was in.
These last few weeks had been so hard. I’d told myself it was because I was missing Matt. Getting used to being alone in the world. But the truth was that I’d been fighting this. Nick… us… the complicated feelings he made me feel. I’d tried to forget, to put it behind me, but feeling his arms holding me tight… his tongue dancing with my own…
Feeling his hard cock pressing against my stomach was the final straw. It was when I knew that I could live to be one hundred years old and never again feel this way about any other man who might come into my life. He’d ruined me for all others, and since I couldn’t have him for myself, that felt a bit like a death sentence.
If he was going give me one last time together, I might as well enjoy it like it was my last meal.
CHAPTER22
Nick
I hadn’t even made it ten minutes before I’d broken the promise to myself that I’d just come here to say goodbye. To make sure Matt’s sister was going to be okay and to wish her well.
Now, as I stuck my tongue down her throat, I had to fight off the animalistic urge to strip her bare, bend her over the back of the nearest chair, and fuck her so hard it would be impossible for her to forget who owned her.
And that was exactly what I wanted… to consume her. It had nothing to do with my promise to her brother and everything to do with the fact that since I’d sent her away, I couldn’t go a single hour without thinking about her. She was the last thing I thought of when I went to sleep and the first I thought of each morning.
It was an impossible situation. I wasn’t the kind of man who did relationships, yet the idea of anyone else other than me so much as touching a hair on her head enraged me.
The kiss was everything, and yet not even close to what I really needed. Sophie collapsed into my arms, her legs crumpling under her like wet noodles. I was grateful for another reason to scoop her up into my arms, careful not to let my lips leave hers.
I stumbled the few feet to the glass counter where she used to check out customers. Grateful it was now empty, I plopped her ass down hard before shoving her legs wide and yanking her body to the edge of the glass. I felt relief when Sophie wrapped her legs around my waist, clearly not wanting to let me go either.
My brain was shouting at me to stop. This wasn’t fair to her. She would be happier—if not at least safer—if she moved far away from here. If I were a real man, I’d let her go.
I let the tiny voice of guilt seep in enough to pull out of our kiss. We remained close, each gasping for air. I should step away. Say goodbye and leave.
Don’t you dare leave her alone, asshole. You promised me.
If I hadn’t seen his dead body with my own eyes, I would have sworn Matt was standing right next to us, shouting at me. I felt his presence as I fought to sort through the bombarding emotions I wasn’t familiar with. Emotions that had only shown up since Sophie’s arrival in my life.
Guilt. Responsibility.
Love.
It was the only four-letter word I didn’t use, at least hadn’t used until a hissing kitten named Sophie burst into my life. Now… it was the only word that fit how I felt.
The revelation should have terrified me, but instead, it helped to calm my nerves. It made everything I’d been fighting against finally click into place. We were complicated puzzle pieces, but we fit together perfectly—and we hadn’t even taken our clothes off yet.
Time to fix that.
I spent about five seconds trying to unbutton the small buttons in the front of her blouse before I lost all patience. Grabbing the two halves of her blouse, I ripped it apart, sending buttons skittering across the counter to the floor.
Her curvy breasts heaved up and down as she worked to catch her breath. I couldn’t wait to taste her again as I reached around to unhook her bra and free her gorgeous breasts. They filled my hands perfectly as I cupped and lifted them before diving in to nibble kisses back and forth across her curves. Her fingers ran through my hair, holding me against her breasts until I finally sucked a pebbled tip into my mouth.
“Oh, God,” she cried out, bucking her hips off the counter long enough to crash her still-covered pussy into my tortured cock. My knees went weak beneath me, and I leaned into her to help stay on my feet.
I lifted my lips long enough to confess, “Christ, I’ve thought of nothing but this since the day you left.”
Her soft giggle was the best kind of music to my ears. It was the soundtrack I wanted to hear for the rest of my life.
“I need to be inside you,” I warned her as I reached down to unbutton Sophie’s pants.
