“Cobi—”

“I’m not arguing with you about this again. Go pack.”

“Maybe I need my head examined,” she huffs, before turning away and going to her room.

I listen to her talking to herself and the sound of banging then look at Maxim, who’s lying on the floor near the couch. “What do you think, bud?” He barks at me then gets up and heads into her bedroom, giving me his answer, and I smile.

Chapter 9

Hadley

I HEAR THE GARAGE door go up, and Maxim, who knows his dad is home, lifts his head off my stomach but otherwise doesn’t move. A minute later, I listen to the door open, the sound of heavy boots on the wood floors, and then the sound of keys hitting the countertop in the kitchen. When the bedroom door opens a couple of seconds later, I peek through my lashes and watch Cobi move quietly through the room. Maxim finally gets up and his tags rattle as Cobi talks quietly to him. After a few minutes he goes into the bathroom, shutting the door before turning on the light and Maxim leaves the bedroom, probably to sleep on the couch.

I squeeze my eyes shut when the shower goes on and visions of a naked Cobi fill my mind. Wide-awake with my body buzzing, my nipples tingling, and the space between my thighs hot, I pray for a miracle. This is what hell must be like, having something you want close but just out of reach. When the shower shuts off and he comes out of the bathroom, I open my eyes just enough to see him wearing nothing but a pair of sleep pants that hang low on his hips, accentuating the deep V of his abdomen and his tattoos, tattoos that make him look even more intense. I close my eyes once more and pretend to sleep while he gets into bed with me. When he rolls me over and pulls me against his warm, clean-smelling chest, I almost whimper and beg him to have his way with me.

“You asleep, baby?”

I don’t answer him. I lay as still as possible, hoping the throbbing between my legs will go away. Throbbing that started because of the book I was reading then got worse when I got into his bed and surrounded myself with his scent. I thought about masturbating, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

When his hand slides slowly down my back, over my simple cotton nightgown and comes to rest on one cheek of my ass, my heartbeat picks up. “Hadley.” His warm breath skims across the shell of my ear and a shiver slides across my skin. He moves his hand lower down the back of my thigh then back up, under my nightgown, over my ass and lace panties. “Fuck.” That one word is filled with hunger as his hips jerk forward, sending his hard cock into my belly.

A whimper I can no longer control escapes, and my hand wraps around his bicep to hold on. Before I can even pull in another breath he rolls me to my back and settles himself between my thighs. The new position sends my heart rate higher and my head spinning. Without a word spoken between us, I lean up as he drops his head forward and our mouths meet. The kiss is frantic and uncontrolled, as we bite, lick, and nip at each other’s mouths.

When he pulls his mouth from mine and kisses down my neck, I arch into him then moan as he pulls down the top of my nightgown and takes my breast into his mouth. Sucking hard, he circles my nipple before biting down on the tight bud. I wrap my legs around him and grind against his hardness. He switches to my other breast while his hand moves down my side, and then he slips his hand in my panties and rolls his fingers over my clit, making me cry out.

“Christ, Hadley, you’re fucking soaked, baby.” He slips two fingers inside me and nips my other breast, before muttering, “So fucking wet and soft.”

“I need you,” I beg. “Please, I need you.” With a groan, he rubs his fingers against my G-spot then pulls his hand from me. He shoves my panties to the side then he’s inside me, filling me up in one quick, harsh thrust that is painfully perfect.

God he’s big, so big it almost hurts to take him as he starts to pound his hips into mine. I slide my legs down to wrap around the back of his thighs then lift my hands over my head, placing them against the headboard as he rides me hard and fast. When his fingers find my clit again, I make a noise I’ve never made before, crying out as an unexpected orgasm rushes over me, sending my mind into darkness. My body shakes and my pussy convulses around his hard cock. Never, never have I felt anything like what I’m feeling as he rides me through my orgasm. When I come down from my climax, I focus on his face above mine and lift my hands to his jaw, sliding my fingers along the scruff on his cheeks.

“I need to feel all of you,” he says, pulling out of me suddenly and stripping me of my clothes then removing his own. When he enters me again and his warm, hard body settles over mine, I close my eyes. I have never felt more connected to another person than I do right now. I have never felt more complete. I wrap myself around him and bury my face in his neck, not wanting him to read the look on my face or to see the tears I feel gathering in my eyes.

“Fucking look at me, Hadley.” His harsh words force my head back and I meet his gaze. When our eyes lock, he brings his hand up to rest against my cheek then he closes his eyes, slowing his thrusts. When his eyes open, I stare into them as he kisses me again. He stops moving and rests his weight on me as my heart thunders in my chest. This kiss is different than the others we’ve shared. I know without words he’s telling me that I’m his, and that he’s never letting me go.

With his mouth locked on mine, his hips start a slow, torturous circle, his cock hitting a spot inside me over and over in a slow tempo while his mouth devours mine. Our eyes stay locked as another orgasm starts to build within me, making my stomach muscles bunch and my hands on his shoulders tighten. I feel him get even bigger and know the exact moment he comes, because his orgasm sets mine off. I slide my hands into his hair and keep his mouth fused against mine as we ride out the wave of pleasure that has enveloped us both. When he drags his mouth from mine and rests his head in the crook of my neck, I wonder if he knows he’s ruined me forever.

“You okay?” he asks, leaning back to look at me and capturing my face between his palms. Still breathing heavily, I jerk my head up and down in a silent yes. He smiles, kisses my lips, and then rolls us to the side. As he slides out of me, I let out a small whimper. “Did I hurt you?”

“No.” I rub my face against his chest while my arms around him tighten. “Not at all.”

“You know what this means, right?” At his question, my muscles bunch and my lungs stop working. “I’m never letting you go, Hadley. I might have been able to do it before you gave yourself to me in this bed, but there is no way I could do it now.”

I close my eyes as tears threaten to spill from between my lashes.

The truth is, I want to believe he wants me.

All of me.

I just don’t know if I can trust him. I don’t know him well enough to trust he’s being honest when he says he wants me for more than just this moment. Having the childhood I did, I learned at an early age that actions speak louder than words, that just because someone says they care for you doesn’t mean they do, and that just because someone is supposed to love you doesn’t mean they will. My parents taught me that harsh lesson early on in life.

“You’re mine. I know you don’t get that yet, but I promise you, baby, there is nowhere safer for you to be than with me.”

“I always feel safe when I’m with you,” I admit before I can think better of it, and his arms around me pull me impossibly closer to him.

“That’s because you are safe,” he says, each softly spoken word brushing against my forehead where his lips are resting.

“Be patient with me.”

“Promise,” he agrees quietly.

I close my eyes and hold onto him. I don’t tell him that I don’t know how to trust him, that I don’t even know what love is. I don’t tell him that the two people in this world who should have shown me never did. I want to open up to him about my past, but instead, I press my lips together and fight back tears, refusing to give into them.

I press my nose into his chest and breathe in his scent. Eventually, I fall asleep in his arms, cocooned in warmth, feeling safe like I always do when he’s near me.

_______________

I smell the scent of bacon and my stomach rumbles before I even open my eyes. I sit up in bed and look around then down at myself. I’m still completely naked, my nightgown and panties nowhere in sight. After searching through the tangled blanket and sheet, I find both items of clothing and get up out of bed, slipping them on. With the door open, I can hear Cobi in the kitchen and the television on as I go to the bathroom to brush my teeth.