“Fuck, that feels good. Can you take a little more?”
I put my hand on his back. “Yes,” I whisper.
He drives deep several times until a little shriek escapes my lips. It hurts in the best way.
He pushes off his hands and is suddenly upright on his knees, his cock out of me. He strokes himself fast.
“Wait,” I say, rubbing between my legs. “Let me do that.”
“Then do it,” he says breathlessly, just as an orgasm hits me.
I ride it out for a few luscious moments, then drag myself up to my knees. I grip his solid girth in both hands and stroke.
I pause to bend down and suck the smooth cap, drawing the salty fluid into my mouth.
“Fuck, Raven.”
I glance up, finding his chest expanding with deep breaths, his eyes closed.
I stroke and suck, mimicking the hard fast rhythm he’d set with his own hand. When he erupts, I swallow, struggling to keep pace.
I watch him. He’s breathing hard, his face strained until the final thrust.
He cradles his head for a second, shaking it. Then his big arms drop. His gaze falls to me.
I lick my lips and smile slowly. “Am I the best you’ve ever had?” I tease.
“Yes,” he says.
That’s likely a lie, but it’s sweet nonetheless. I stand up on the mattress, stopping to kiss the top of his head before stepping off the end of the bed. I land lightly on the floor and look back to find him watching me.
I make a heart with my fingers and keep walking.
When I return from the bathroom, he’s stretched out on his back. “Tell me about your mother.”
I exhale slowly and shrug. I reach the edge of the bed and stop.
“I’m sure she planned to take me with her when she left. Frank likes to claim that she abandoned me, but I remember that day. He took me out of school early. I heard later that our neighbor, her friend, was killed for warning my mom that Frank knew she planned to leave. The man he’d sent had gone to kill my mom, but my mom had gotten away. That was such a relief for me. But for weeks afterward, I was so scared she’d be found and killed. He never hid his anger or bitterness. She’d been seeing someone else and that infuriated him.”
Sasha rolls his eyes. “Hypocrite.”
“Exactly. For years he kept her as a mistress while he was married. He threatened us both to keep that secret. I was never allowed to tell anyone who my real father was. Now he pretends he always treated me like a princess, but I remember the threats. When he was drinking, the threats were graphically violent. She used to hide me in my room whenever he drank because she didn’t want me to hear him, or worse for him to actually do something to me. He was never physically violent except for a couple times when he’d pinch my arm to get my attention. It always left a bruise. I think he was angry that I’d been born. I think he’d wanted her to get an abortion.
“She’d say he didn’t mean anything. He was just drunk, but that I did need to keep things a secret because it would cause trouble and hurt people if I didn’t. I remember feeling so desperate for his approval when I was young. Any little nice thing he said I cherished because he could be so brutal. Later, I saw how he was with C. He treated him like a son. I guess I’d never seen him with his other kids, so I didn’t know what I was missing. I didn’t know he could be good to people. I resented it. I did. I was jealous. But then when I was fifteen, she got involved with a nice guy. And he was always good to me. And I saw the way C was with you and Trick and I don’t know—I started to see Frank in a different light. I got so cold inside about Frank, so numb. It was a relief to not care about his opinion.” I pause, and then blink, aware of my surroundings again. “I think, sometimes, things break a person down inside. And then you have to fight to survive. And if you do, you’re never the same.”
“No.”
“I think I could be totally alone and survive. I wouldn’t like it, but I could do it, especially if it was for a good reason. That’s how I’ve been able to live at Frank’s all this time. It’s a prison, but while I was there, he wasn’t looking for my mom. And Zoe was safe.”
He scowls. “Mentally, you’re a thousand times tougher than Frank. But you shouldn’t have needed to be.”
“A lot of time’s passed. I don’t think he cares as much about my mom’s betrayal. He’s got a new mistress now. And he renewed his ties to New York. I think if he didn’t need those threats as leverage over me, he might not even bother to look for her anymore. I think as long as she stays out of sight, she’ll be okay. And Zoe’s hooked up with C. It’s up to him to protect her.”
“It is up to him and the rest of us in C Crue. That’s a given.”
I offer him a small smile. “That’s good. Maybe my work in Coynston is done.”
“Your work protecting other people is. That’s certain.”
