Again, she attempted a nod.

“Verbally,” I said.

“Okay,” she said, her voice shaking a bit.

Was she truly ready for this? I didn’t know, but she would stop me if she needed to.

Starting at her toes, I grazed my fingers all the way up her smooth legs to her ass, up her back to her shoulders. No millimeter of skin went untouched by me. When I trailed back down and touched her between her legs, she was dripping wet. Oh, God. No woman had ever responded to me quite like Jade did.

“You’re wet, baby. You’re so wet for me.”

She attempted her nod again.

“I’m going to slide my cock into you, baby,” I said. “Keep your legs together like that, and I’m going to slide right into that sweet cunt. It’s going to be so tight, and it’s going to feel so good.”

I gave her a gentle slap on the ass. She jerked but didn’t say anything. I had told her to tell me stop if she needed me to, so I continued. I slapped her ass again, a little harder this time. It turned a luscious shade of pink. Then I leaned down and spread kisses over her pink cheeks to soothe the sting.

“You like that, baby? You like it when I slap your little ass?”

“Y-Yes,” she stammered.

I would go easy this time. As much as I wanted to smack her cute little butt until it was bright red, I couldn’t. She would need to understand me better before we could go there. And she would never understand me fully. I couldn’t let that happen.

I climbed on top of her and rubbed my cock between her ass cheeks. I dipped the head into her slit and then slid it between her ass cheeks again, lubricating with her wetness.

“Keep your legs together, baby,” I said again. “I’m going to slide into that tight heat just like this.” I knelt, my knees on either side of her thighs. I notched my cock at the entrance to her pussy, and slowly, achingly slowly, I slid into that wet paradise.

She let out the softest, sweetest sigh as I entered her.

That sound was better than the sweetest music I’d ever heard, better than the soft patter of rain on the roof, better than a baby’s laugh. And with that sigh, something opened inside me. A tiny bit of my heart that had been hard as stone for so long broke free.

A tear slid out of the corner of my eye. I didn’t know why. I had no idea where it came from. But something inside me broke, if only for that single moment. I pulled out slowly and slid back in, letting her warm suction surround me, take me, make everything okay.

Was this the person I had been looking for? Was this the person who could take all the bad away? Did such a person even exist? She lay still, not resisting, letting me take what I needed from her.

And even though she knew nothing about my past, what I had been through, something inside me, something on a deep carnal level, knew that she understood.

I slid back into her one more time and let my orgasm take me. More tears fell down my cheeks as I moaned and released.

I poured everything inside me into that release, into her. She lay beneath me, moaning into the comforter, her hips bucking, her hands tied behind her back. Taking me, trusting me, and giving me so much in return.

If only I were worthy.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Jade

He convulsed into me, and although I hadn’t had an orgasm, something about this joining of our bodies was more special and sweet than any before.

When his cock stopped pulsing, he withdrew. He released my hands, and I turned to face him. His dark eyes were sunken and wet, and moist trails lined his face where tears had fallen.

I cupped his cheek, thumbing the remainder of a tear away. I longed to ask him what was wrong, why he was crying, but I knew he would not respond. So I said nothing, and after cupping his cheeks for a few more seconds, I crawled into his arms.

He held on to me, and I burrowed my face into his chest. I inhaled the salty cinnamon masculine aroma. I loved his scent. I loved how I smelled like him for hours after we’d been together. I sometimes hesitated to shower so I could keep the scent on me longer.

He didn’t say anything, didn’t offer any explanation as to why he had been crying. I didn’t ask for one. I just held him, and I let him hold me.

And we came a little bit closer that night.

* * *

“If you just drop the charges, I can get him to pay restitution. I’m almost sure of it.”

“Why should I? The jerk beat the shit out of me. If you’re the new city attorney, aren’t you supposed to be on my side?”

I pushed my chair back and sighed into the cell phone. “I’m on the side of the city, Colin. Taking this to trial would be a waste of the city’s resources. You told me yourself that you’re okay. That you didn’t have any lasting effects from the incident.”

“He damn near broke my nose.”

“But he didn’t.” I was surprised he hadn’t. Colin’s nose had been bleeding pretty badly.

“He could’ve broken my ribs the way he was kicking me.”

“And again, he didn’t.”

“Only because I knew how to protect myself by getting in the right position.”

“We can all be thankful that you knew how to protect yourself.” I let out another sigh. “Don’t you need to get back to Denver? You really want to hang around here to testify?”

“I can fly out here anytime to testify. Has your office filed charges yet?”

“Yes, my boss did this morning. But, Colin, this is a misdemeanor assault. He didn’t use a weapon, and you didn’t sustain any lasting injuries.”

“I’m not dropping the charges.” Colin clicked the phone off.

Now what? I’d have to talk to Talon’s attorney and come up with a plea bargain. Would Larry object? I smiled to myself. He couldn’t possibly. He had given me this case. If he objected, I could easily go to the judge and tell him that Larry had given me in this case in spite of all the conflicts. It was my case. I would handle it as I saw fit.

I perused the Colorado criminal statutes. Reckless endangerment carried a maximum sentence of six months in prison and a maximum fine of five hundred dollars. I could probably get Talon to plead down to that and get him a fine instead of prison time. God knew he had the money.

I laughed out loud. I was the prosecution, for God’s sake. The defense should be pleading down the case. Where was O’Keefe? He should be taking care of this.