Page 83 of The Bonds We Break
His lips trail along my neck, small nips and kisses, and I shiver. “Here’s what’s gonna happen. We’re going to get naked, right here on this sofa. The rules are we can’t get off it to get naked. We’re going to touch, probably laugh, maybe even pull something trying. And the one thing neither of us will do tonight? We’renotgoing to come.”
I can feel his hard erection pressing against my ass. “There’s no point in both of us missing out. You should—ow!”
His teeth release the lobe of my ear. “It’s not a negotiation. I’m telling you that’s what we are going to do tonight. Okay?”
It’s an incredibly thoughtful gesture, and though my stomach is filled with butterflies, joy fills me. “Okay.”
I wriggle myself over so I face him. “Thank you.” I cup his cheek and kiss him softly.
“My pleasure. Now take my jeans off.”
And he’s right.
We do laugh. I nearly fall off the back of the sofa removing his jeans from his long legs. King almost sprains my shoulder trying to get me out of my bra. And he finds a couple of erogenous zones I wasn’t sure I had. His hands soothe me. His tongue awakens me. His mouth says dirty things that make my head spin and my clit throb. The kissing and touching and petting goes on for hours until we finally fall asleep in front of the fire.
30
KING
“What’s that?” I ask when Rae puts a bag on the table the following morning. There are flakes of snow on her cute cream hat with a pom-pom on it. Her cheeks are flushed pink, her hair windswept.
She’s fucking perfect.
I’m still in my boxer briefs, having woken up alone. A call from Vex had roused me from sleep. Someone had bombed the clubhouse lot with Molotov cocktails. Four bikes were damaged, and the roof of the garage destroyed.
Fuckers.
And yet, Rae immediately douses my anger.
We slept on the sofa, never making it to her bedroom. And yet it was ... everything.
Waking up without her curled up against me was ... shit. I’m getting too used to being with her.
“It’s a bottle of wine. White. A sauvignon blanc.”
See. Brave. Braver than any woman I’ve ever known. Braver than most of the men, too. And so fucking loyal. To her brother. To me. Halo’s words haunt me, the ones he said when I was still fighting with my own destiny.
Acknowledge that shit, Prez ... The girl’s got you on the run. Tied up in knots.
So, I try to acknowledge my shit. I’m falling headfirst into a woman who deserves a future I can’t give her. One away from the kind of violence she endured as a kid. Not at my hands, obviously. I’m already at the point where I’d kill anyone who hurt her.
But there is violence in my world, and I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to keep her safe.
“You want to drink?”
She looks at the clock. It’s only ten thirty. “I got inspired. New memories. Overwriting the old ones with better ones. I want to move on, King. I want to try and let go of the control my dad still exerts over my life. I don’t know if I really like wine. But I want to associate the smell of alcohol with you and me and Christmas and decorating a tree and laughing and ... well, everything.”
I tug her hat off by its pom-pom. “You keep on surprising me, Rae.”
She shrugs as if it’s nothing, but her eyes tell another story. I see the fear, but she’s going to do it anyway. I reach for the bottle, unscrew the cap, and take a swig without swallowing. Instead, I tip my chin to encourage her to step closer to me.
Gently, I cup both of her cheeks as those trusting eyes of hers look up at me. When I press my lips to her, she opens slightly, and I let a little bit of the wine trickle into her mouth.
Her eyes stay on mine. Her pupils grow wide. I let my fingers edge farther into her hair so I’m holding her by her skull. Fuck, I’m hard. But that’s not what this is about. I let another trickle escape my lips, and Rae tries to swallow but ends up giggling against my lips. Wine escapes and dribbles down her chin.
I swallow what’s left in my mouth, then lick the trail of wine. I’m not a fan of wine, but mixed with the flavor of Rae, it’s the sweetest thing in the world.
“Uther,” she gasps, tilting her head so I can kiss the side of her neck.
