Corrupting Cinderella (23 page)

“Hey, sweetheart, what are you doing here? You just missed Rock.”

“Oh.” I hesitate, feeling a little foolish.

“Whatcha got? You bring me real food?” He holds his hands out, clawing his fists into a gimmie, gimmie gesture that makes me break into a smile.

As I hand him the bag, his eyes widen in delight. “Oh, fuck, yeah.”

He spills all the food out onto the wheely tray next to his bed and moans around a mouthful of French fries. “If things don’t work out with you and Rock, I may have to claim you myself.”

I’m not sure how to respond, so I thrust the magazine at him.

He chuckles at the busty redhead on the cover. “Thank you. I’ve been bored shitless.”

“I figured you might be. Also figured they probably weren’t feeding you enough.”

“Damn right.”

“Shoot, I forgot to grab a drink. You want—”

He shakes his head, cutting me off, and points to a small refrigerator in the corner. “Will you grab me a ginger ale from there, babe?”

“Sure.”

When I return to him, he’s eyeing me up and down. It dawns on me he probably ogled my ass the entire time I was bent over digging out his soda.

“Pig.”

“Oink.”

We’re standing there, kind of half-smiling at each other, when Rock walks in without knocking.

I’ve missed him so much. This is ridiculous, but he’s fucking beautiful. My breath catches, and I stand there taking all of him in. Just beautiful.

A scowl screws up his face. “Baby doll, what are you doing here?”

His tone stabs me in the chest. But before I can come up with a response, Wrath jabs his index finger at me. “
She
brought me food and reading material.” He holds up the magazine and waves it at Rock.

Rock’s scowl deepens. “Christ, you’re a baby.”

“A baby with a full belly. Thank you, Hope.” He turns and smiles at me sweetly.

Wow.

If I’d known Wrath’s approval could be bought with some cheeseburgers, I would have gone that route a lot sooner.

Apparently I’ve wandered into some alternate universe where Hope and Wrath are pals.

Fantastic.

My girl brought him food and reading material. How fucking sweet is that? Especially when you consider he’s been a dick to her for about ninety-nine percent of the time they’ve known each other.

Or did she do it expecting to run into me? God, I hope so.

I’m confused about where we stand. Fuck, she’s got me twisted up—and not in the fun way this time. Except for the quick glance when I walked in, she keeps her head down. Her fingers are loosely tangled in Wrath’s hand. The fucker is eating up her attention with a shovel. I wish he wasn’t lying there all broken, because I’d really like to kick his ass.

Zeroing in on their intertwined fingers sends a jolt of crazy burning through me.

This is awkward as fuck. I hate that Wrath is here to witness it after our earlier talk.

The urge to punch him in the face comes on strong.

Then he surprises me by letting out a yawn worthy of a grizzly bear.

Hope’s gaze swings to him, and she blushes.

“Oh my gosh, you must be so tired. I’ll let you get some rest.”

She leans over and gives him a peck on the cheek.

Wrath flashes a crooked smile at me, and it’s a fight not to break his other damn leg.

Jackass.

“Thanks for the food, sweetheart.”

“Get better, big guy.”

Big guy. The fuck?

Hope stops in front of me, eyes glued to the floor. I brush my hand over her arm, and she finally meets my gaze. Surprise, longing, and doubt play over her beautiful face I love so damn much.

“We need to talk.”

Every part of her goes soft, almost scared. “Okay.”

We walk out to the parking lot without speaking. I don’t know what to say. Where to start. I’ve fought too hard, waited too long to have her. I’m not losing her or giving her up now.

My bike is parked right against the brick building. Hope gives it a once-over.

“It’s okay?”

“Yeah, few scratches. Nothing I can’t fix. Will you come home with me?”

“No.”

Fuck.

“I mean, I’m not getting on that thing. I can’t. Yet. I’m sorry.”

I reach out to run one finger gently across her cheek, brushing the hair off her face and over her shoulder. “Baby doll, it’s okay. Will you follow me home so we can talk, though?”

“Say what you need to say here. There’s no reason to drag it out.”

Confused, I stare at her until her meaning sinks in. “Drag what out? What’s going on inside your pretty head?”

The little twitch at the corner of her mouth gives her away. Her breath hitches. Shit, is she holding back tears?

I can’t stand seeing her so upset. Gathering her in my arms, I press her cheek to my chest and run my hands over her back. “Hope, talk to me.”

“I’m so sorry. I’m not…” she drifts off and starts sobbing again. What the hell?

“You’re not what, baby?”

“I’m not cut out for this. You must be so disappointed.”

Disappointed?

“About what?”

“Me. I had no clue. I was so scared. I couldn’t stand it if you got hurt.” She sucks in a breath and lets it out slow. “Or if I lost you.”

She’s not making a lot of sense.

“You’re not going to lose me, baby. I’m beyond sorry about what happened. It honestly had nothing to do with the club. But it’s still my fault. You know I wouldn’t put you in danger on purpose, right? I’d do anything to keep you safe.” I
have
done just about everything a man can do to keep his woman safe.

I’m not sure if she absorbed any of that. She pulls away and wipes her face. “Let’s just say goodbye now, okay?”

Fear sends a surge of adrenaline through me. “Say goodbye? What are you talking about?”

“I’m never going to be the type of woman you need. I’m not tough like Trinity.”

“Baby, is that what’s wrong? Here I thought you were mad at me for dragging you into my shitty, fucked-up world and almost getting you killed. But you’re worried you’re not tough enough for me?”

With her mouth set in a grim line, she nods. “You just dropped me off, and I didn’t hear from you…”

I crush her against me again. “Hope, no.”

Fuck. Do I tell her the truth? What the hell—I’m about to lose her anyway.

Lowering my voice, since we’re in the hospital parking lot, for fuck’s sake, I try to explain. “We got a lead on the guys who ran us off the road. I needed to take care of that. I also thought you were pissed at me, so I wanted to give you a little space.”

“Oh, what did the police do?”

Huh? “The police?”

Suddenly I get where she’s going. “Honey, I love you, but that is not how I handle things. They could have killed you. All of us, my brothers, Trinity. My best friend is seriously fucked up and out of commission for the next few months. I protect what’s mine, and I don’t do it by crying to the cops about it.”

She takes a minute to absorb that. I watch the recognition flare in her eyes as my words sink in.

“Okay.”

Okay? That’s it? “Anything else you want to ask me?”

“No. I get it. Going to the police would have been pointless. You would have had to explain where we were coming from, and once they heard that, they would have assumed we were all gangsters or something and not put much effort into the case. See if we all kill each other to make their jobs easier.”

What. The. Fuck? Where has
this
girl been hiding all along? Speechless, I just stare at her for a minute.

This mix of offended innocence sweeps over her face. “What? I’m a lawyer, not stupid. I have no love for law enforcement. I’ve seen how many times they railroad innocent people, and how they use legal extortion to extract what they want. I’m not saying I condone taking matters into your own hands—because you could have gotten hurt—or that I love the idea, but I
understand
it under these circumstances.”

My jaw is working, but nothing comes out of my mouth. She slips her hand over it, silencing me. “I don’t want any details about what you guys did, though, okay? If I had to represent you in connection with this…well, it’s just better I don’t know.”

Without releasing my hold on her, I tug my phone out of my pocket.

“What are you doing?”

“Texting one of the guys to bring my bike up to the clubhouse. I’m not letting you out of my sight for a second.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Somehow, I lost the battle to drive us to my house. I’m not sure how I feel about that. Normally I prefer to be the one in control of the vehicle I’m in. Not that Hope’s a bad driver, but she’s my woman, and I should be driving her. I’m all sorts of twitchy sitting in the passenger seat, which makes her laugh repeatedly at my expense. I tell myself the only reason she’s behind the wheel is when she bent over to clean out the passenger side—cause my girl keeps her car as messy as her closets—she distracted me with thoughts of getting her back to my house and bent over my bed. Thank fuck we’re only a few blocks away, although with the traffic and red lights every thirty fucking feet, it seems to take forever.

I’m on her the second we set foot inside. The way I strip her down is almost violent, but she can’t seem to get enough. Like a wild man, my gaze darts to every available surface. Bend her over the table? Up on the counter? No. Ultimately, I want her under me for a long damn time, so we’re going upstairs.

For some reason, she still has her bra and panties on when we get inside my bedroom. Why her tits aren’t filling my palms right now is a mystery. I lost my shirt and boots somewhere downstairs, but she’s struggling to get my jeans off, while I’m trying to figure out the tricky little hooks on her bra. Finally I get her free. The bra goes sailing across the room while I fill my mouth with a tasty little nipple. With one arm around her waist and my other hand holding her tit for my greedy fucking mouth, I walk her backwards to the bed. My hand slides down under her panties to cup one little round ass cheek. How could she ever think I would give any of this up?

I turn and take her down to the bed with me so she’s straddling my lap. She works her satin-covered pussy over my fly. The sexiest mewling noises are coming out of her mouth. I sit up and cup her face with my hands, pulling her to me for more scorching kisses.

“Panties off, now,” I growl against her lips. But I don’t give her a chance to lift off me for even a second. Instead, I twine my hands in the thin waistband and snap it in half. Pushing and nudging her down, I fall over her. Her hands are at my jeans, frantically shoving them down over my hips, freeing my cock. My girl is just as crazed as I am. She lifts her legs, spreading wide, and hooks her feet into the waistband to push my pants down my legs. It’s sexy as fuck, how nuts she is to get me inside of her. I don’t want to disappoint, so the minute the tip of my dick gets near her slick pussy, I slide home.

We both groan at the intensity. In seconds, my furious thrusting is pushing her down the bed. Wrapping my arms around her, I anchor her with hands on her shoulders to keep her still so I can fuck her hard and fast. Once I finally kick my fucking pants off, I sit back on my heels and take it slow. Keeping her legs spread wide, I’m in the perfect position to watch myself slide in and out of her pretty pussy. I place one hand on her mound to keep her still and use my thumb to play with her clit.

Fuck, that’s the hottest damn thing.

I fall down over her, licking and sucking at her neck. Her hands are all over me, rubbing and squeezing my back, my arms, my shoulders. I can’t stop slamming up inside her. All mine.

“Tell me I own your fucking pussy, baby doll.”

She stares up at me in big owl-eyed surprise. Damn, that expression only makes the fire roaring through me hotter.

“Say it,” I growl against her lips.

“I’m yours.”