Page 57 of Beneath the Stands (Sugarlake 2)

No. I will not be my momma.

She leans in, her voice low. “But while you get lost in your illusion of love, the world keeps spinnin’. It’ll spin right outta your grasp. And all those years you spent tryin’ to break free? Wasted. You’ll be tied down and stuck anyway.” Weariness paints her features. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

I roll my eyes to try and stem the tears, turning my head to the side and crossing my arms over my chest. But her words dig through the cavity in my chest, knocking against the cage that holds my heart, seeking to destroy.

29

Becca

“You okay?”

Eli’s voice floats through the air, caressing my dilapidated soul, but the wounds are too deep, and even his balm doesn’t curb the sting.

I nod my head, sinking into the nook of his arm as we lie on his bed.

Eli has this way of knowing what I need before I can verbalize it. Took one look at me when I showed up, and walked me to his room, pushed me on the bed, and fucked me so hard he left bruises.

His fingers ghost up and down my arms, goose bumps sprouting to mark the places he’s touched.

“Have your folks always been such assholes?”

“Not always,” I murmur. “When I was little, they used to be like any other folk, I guess. Or, maybe I was just blind to what was really goin’ on.”

Looking back, it seems more likely I was an unknowing participant of a carefully crafted show. Probably would have played my part forever, if I hadn’t stumbled behind the scenes and ruined the whole damn storyline.

“It doesn’t matter anyway,” I sigh. “I’m used to them bein’ who they are. I just don’t know what I’m gonna do.”

I taste salt on my lips, and realize tears have been trickling down my face, soaking into Eli’s skin. He doesn’t acknowledge the proof of my pain, and a gooey warmth spreads through my chest—so damn thankful he knows not to bring it up.

“What do you want to do?” Eli’s palm grazes against my jaw as he angles my head toward him.

“I wanna stay here, in Florida. Figure out what the hell I’m gonna do with my life. But I don’t know how to make that happen when I’ve got nothin’.” My eyes close and I lean into his touch, reveling in the comfort.

“You’ve got me,” he whispers.

My eyes snap open, latching on to his. A tsunami of this… feeling rises up and crashes against the edges of my soul, sweeping me away in its wake. Desperation claws at my insides, and I dive into him, molding our lips, needing him to steal away the sensation before it drowns me with its power.

My hands cup his face, melding us together.

I need him closer.

His arms tighten around my waist and he rolls us, his large frame settling over me. I moan into his mouth, his thickness pressing into the junction between my thighs. We’re still naked from earlier, and I thank God there’s nothing to slow this down. Not when my need is so all-consuming.

He breaks our kiss, his head leaning back, thumbs sweeping across my cheeks as he cradles my face. The intensity of his gaze sizzles in my stomach, and my breath snags on the feeling.

He swallows, his grip tightening along my jaw. “Becca, I lo—”

My heart crashes against my sternum. My finger trembles as I push it against his lips. “Don’t.”

The lines between his brows crease.

Reaching down, I wrap my fingers around his thick cock, feeling it jump against the palm of my hand.

I push my upper body off the bed, stroking him, our breaths mixing in the space between us. My hips start a slow grind, his tip dragging through my folds as my hand works his length. He pants, his teeth grazing my bottom lip.

I move him to my entrance. “I don’t want your words. I need you to show me.”

His eyes darken. I pull him in at the same time he drops down, and I cry out from being so full.

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