Sweet Ride (29 page)

“You going to say
something or are you just going to stand there and ogle me?” she
asks teasingly.

Still not saying
anything, I march over toward her and grab hold of her hand, standing
her up. I slowly and methodically remove each piece of her clothing,
revealing more and more of her flawless skin. When I get to her last
article of clothing, and my personal favorite, her panties, I trace
my finger along the hem from one hip, across her belly and ending at
the other hip. Then I snag my fingers into the sides and tug them
down her hips and thighs until they’re around her ankles. She rests
her hands on my shoulders and steps out of them.

I gradually make my way
back up her body, my hands memorizing every perfect curve. She
releases a sudden gasp as my fingers graze her pussy, and I can’t
help but chuckle against her navel.
Patience, Jacky Boy. It’ll
be worth it in the end,
I remind myself. Her nipples pebble as I
gently caress her breasts, but I resist the urge to taste them. Not
now, but definitely later. Once fully standing, I can’t help but
absorb all the beauty that is Payton Clare. She takes my breath away.
I was a fucking idiot to let two years go by without having this.

After finding out about
the rape, I think it made her even more beautiful in my eyes. She’s
damaged but, at the same time, strong and resilient. She’ll get
through this with the help from all of the people who love her.

“Bath time,” I
mutter against her lips. I feel her breath puff against my mouth and
her naked body shivers as she presses against me. My hands glide
across the hot, smooth skin of her back, and I wrap my arms tightly
around her waist, picking her up and carrying her into the bathroom.
I lower her down into the old-fashioned claw-foot tub until she’s
completely immersed in the bubbles.

“Joining me?” she
asks, arching her eyebrows and biting on her lower lip.

“Not this time, baby.
I’ve got something to do. Lie back and relax. I’ll be back in a
bit,” I say and can’t help but laugh as her teeth release her
lip, and she pouts at me. Fuck, she’s stunning. I place a soft kiss
against her pouted lip and reluctantly retreat from the bathroom.

In the bedroom, I light
a fire in the fireplace, turn off the lights, and head back to the
living room. Knowing Payton’s wet, ready, and waiting for me in the
bathroom, I’m going to make this call and head back to her as
quickly as possible. Digging my phone out of my jeans pocket I hit
speed dial and wait for an answer.

Dag’s been MIA for
over a week now. How surveillance could lose him, I’ll never
fucking know, but with him gone, we’re no closer to finding the
missing gun shipment. And knowing that he’s still interested in
Payton doesn’t make me rest easy. Fucker’s lucky that D.W.
ordered me to back down, or I’d probably be rotting in prison right
about now.

“We got nothing,”
is the response I receive from Devon.

“You’ve got to be
shitting me. We finally find out who the fucking supplier is, and ATF
loses him after less than a month. How the hell did he give them the
slip when there’s a team practically sitting on him?” I hiss.

“Fuck if I know,”
he responds.

“I’m out of town
for a couple of days. Keep me posted if any news comes in,” I tell
him.

“Jack, don’t have a
coronary if I say this, but are you sure Payton doesn’t have
anythi—”

“Don’t even finish
that fucking question,” I snap at my soon to be ex-partner, if he
doesn’t fucking cut this shit out.

“I’m just saying
that it’s pretty fucking obvious that he knows he’s being tailed.
Just making sure she’s not using you to send info back to Diego.”

“Jesus Christ, how
often am I going to have to go over this with you, Devon? Payton’s
innocent. Leave her the fuck out of it. Got it?” I growl. I don’t
get a response. “If I hear any more shit from you about her, I will
not hesitate to have our partnership dissolved.”

“You can’t be
serious. We’ve been partners for eight years, Jack. You’d really
throw that all away for pussy?”

“I’m dead fucking
serious. Do not test me, Devon. She’s not just pussy, she’s my
fucking everything, and I won’t stand back while you tear her
apart. She’s been through enough in her life. Back the fuck off,”
I warn him before hanging up.

I log on to my work
email through my iPhone and see a message with the subject ‘Boston
Trio.’ Opening the attached file, I quickly scan over the info that
was forwarded to me. Those fuckers have been busy since high school.
They better enjoy their freedom while they can. I smile at the
thought of being the one to take them down.

A creaking sound coming
from the bedroom captures my attention. I’m guessing bath time’s
over. I walk back toward the bedroom, and when I walk through the
door, my heart literally stops beating. All the blood is currently
heading straight to my cock at the sight before me.

Payton’s naked and
kneeling on the bed, her hands resting on her spread upper thighs,
looking sexy as fucking hell. She’s still wet from her bath and the
light flickering from the fire reflects off of her still damp skin.

“How do you want me?”
she asks, breaking me out of my daze.

“What?” I ask.

“How do you want me?
On my hands and knees, bent over the bed, or maybe riding you? The
possibilities are endless, Jack baby. You can have me anyway you want
me. The choice is yours,” she purrs seductively.

Any other day, I’d
probably fuck the shit out of her if she said those words to me, but
not tonight. I want to make sweet, slow love to her, and I want to
feel her underneath me when I make her fall apart.

“Under me,” I tell
her. The sultry smile on her face instantly drops.

“Any way, but that
way,” she chokes out. She looks like she’s on the verge of
breaking down.

Not wasting any time, I
undress and stalk toward the bed. She backs away as I kneel on the
mattress and crawl toward her. “Jack, please not that,” she
pleads, sounding panicked.

My arm spans the
distance between us as my hand grips her wrist, pulling her body
against mine—skin against skin. Sitting back on my haunches, my
calloused hands glide down her curvy sides to her thighs and shift
her body so that she’s straddling my thighs. I grip the base of my
cock with one of my hands and my other arm returns to her waist,
keeping her in place.

“Are you on birth
control?” I ask.
Please God, saying fucking yes,
I think to
myself.

“Yes,” she mumbles.

“Wanna take you
bare,” I tell her. “Don’t want anything separating us. I need
to feel you, beautiful.” I see a momentary look of panic again, but
thank fuck she nods her head.

“I’m scared, but I
need that, too, baby,” she responds through a raspy breath.

Gazing down her body, I
watch as I guide my painfully hard cock into her tight, wet heat. She
whimpers from the sensation of the slow slide of my cock rubbing
against her swollen clit. A low rumble escapes from deep down in my
chest when I’m completely buried inside of her. My hips still, and
I nestle my face into the side of her neck, taking a few seconds to
calm myself down. If I don’t, this is going to end before it even
begins.

Payton doesn’t give
me the chance to move because she beats me to it. She starts raising
and lowering herself onto my shaft. I fight the urge to piston my
hips up and ram into her body, but that’s not how I want this to
go. As she grinds her hips against my groin, my fingers tug at her
pebbled nipples. I dip my head down and suck one of her hard tips
while my fingers continue to toy with the other one. Then I switch it
up. She lets out a throaty moan against the top of my head, and her
fingers tangle in my hair. Oh shit, I’m going to come if I don’t
stop her. My fingers dig into her hips stopping her from moving.

“Look at me,” I
softly command. Her lustful eyes lock onto mine, and our lips brush
against each other.

“Do you trust me?”
I whisper against her mouth. Her head nods slightly, but I can still
see the doubt in her eyes. “I will never hurt you, baby. You can
trust me,” I say, trying to ease her doubts.

She looks me dead in
the eyes and responds by whispering, “I trust you.”

With that, I manage to
flip her on her back without our bodies losing contact. Her legs
automatically fall farther apart so that I can rest comfortably
between her thighs. My hands grab her calves, bringing her legs up so
that they’re tucked to my sides. A small whimper escapes from her
lips.

When I look back up at
her beautiful face, I feel like doing something I haven’t done in a
long fucking time—and that’s crying. My heart breaks when I see
the fear in her eyes looking back at me. The tears slowly falling
from her eyes, down her temples, into her hairline. Underneath me, I
can feel the muscles in her body tense.

“Shh, Payton. It’s
okay,” I say soothingly, kissing her throat, jawline, and
cheekbones.

“I don’t know if I
can do this,” she cries out, tears still flowing. My thumbs swipe
at the tears falling.

“Don’t be afraid of
me.”

“I’m not afraid of
you. It’s the weight of your body on mine that’s scaring me. My
first memory after being drugged was waking up with this heavy weight
on my chest. I couldn’t do anything while they pinned me to the
bed. I was helpless. I don’t think I can handle…”

“Sei tutto per me,”
I whisper in her ear. “Senza di te non sono niente,” I softly say
against her lips, pulling back I look her dead in the eyes and
continue with, “Ti voglio, bella.”

Her body starts
shuddering with a quiet laughter at the same time she’s crying. “I
have no idea what you just said, but it sounded beautiful. Not only
am I scared, but now I’m confused
and
turned on,” she
admits. Here I thought I was being all romantic by speaking in
Italian. Well here goes nothing. English it is.

“You are my
everything,” my lips glide along her mouth. “Without you, I am
nothing.” Her tongue lashes out, nervously licking her lower lip. I
place a soft kiss on that exact spot and say, “I love you,
beautiful.”

“You love me?” she
asks, doubting my declaration.

“When I first saw
you, I wanted to kiss you. When I first kissed you, I wanted to claim
you. When I first claimed you, I wanted to love you. I have fallen so
deeply in love with you, I’ll never be the same man again. You have
effectively ruined me.”
Please get the picture, baby. I really
need you to understand that this is it for me,
I think to myself.

“Oh, Jack, I love
you, too. I have for a while now, but I was afraid you’d leave me
when you found out how messed up I am.”

“Baby, you can’t
get rid of me that easily. You’re stuck with me,” I say, kissing
her again, this time she kisses me back. “I need to make love to
you, Payton. Like this, and I promise I won’t hurt you. Just give
this a chance. That’s all I ask. Trust me to make it good for you.”

“I need this, too,
and I really do trust you, Jack,” she mutters against my lips
before devouring them. I feel the vibration of a groan from the back
of her throat as I gently start to rock into her warm, welcoming
body. My arms wrap around her torso, hugging her body close to mine.
I crave the feeling of her soft skin against mine.

I pull out leisurely
and push back in, over and over again, deliberately rubbing my shaft
against her sensitive clit. She trails her mouth down my neck and
gingerly bites at the skin between my neck and shoulder. My movements
begin to ramp up in speed and I can feel my climax approaching when
her bite becomes harsher. Who knew that biting would turn me on so
much? I feel her inner muscles flutter as she clamps her teeth down
on my neck breaking the skin. Knowing that in her own way she’s
marking me excites me to no end. The combination of the erotic bites
and her pussy gripping my cock sets me off like a rocket.

“Oh God, baby!” I
shout out against her breast. Her back’s arching against the bed as
she rides out her orgasm. Payton only releases a quiet whimper as she
hits her release. She’s surprisingly quiet, considering I know she
can get pretty vocal when she comes.

I push my torso up off
of her, resting on my elbows on either side of her body. I watch her
and notice she has her eyes closed, a smile spreading across her
face. She looks like she’s finally at peace with herself. Once
recovered, she graces me with the appearance of her chocolate brown
eyes as she slowly opens them, staring back at me.

“That was beautiful,
Jack,” she murmurs. “Thank you for making me feel so safe and so
loved.”

“I plan on doing that
every day,” I say, rolling on my back and taking her with me. She
throws her leg across mine, wraps her arm around my waist, and lays
her head against my chest. As my hand strokes the soft skin on her
back, I can hear her breathing start to slow and steady. She’s
going to fall asleep. “Sleep, baby,” I whisper against her head.

“’Kay,” she
mumbles quietly, so quietly I almost can’t hear her.

I lay there for hours
just reveling in the fact that I’ve found a woman to love again
and that she returns my love. Life couldn’t get any fucking better.
I fall asleep to the soft sounds of my girl’s breathing.

We arrived home from
the cabin early this afternoon. I really didn’t want to leave
because I couldn’t stop making love with Jack now that I know how
it can be. He managed to turn one of my worst fears into one of my
new favorite past-times. Sex was always something I just did, going
through the motions, but now it’s something I feel, and I can’t
keep my hands off him and he’s the same with me. God, but I love
this man.

Jarring me back to
today is Ella’s ringer.