Her kiss tasted like surrender and salvation all at once. I slid my hand around to the back of her neck, gripping her in a dominant hold she accepted without protest. I didn’t break the kiss, but pulled her onto my lap, needing her closer, needing the weight of her against me. She came willingly, her thighs sliding to either side of mine, settling herself against me with a softsound that vibrated through my chest. The feel of her straddling me sent heat flooding through my body, pooling low in my stomach and instantly making my cock hard.
Cora tugged gently at my beard as she explored my mouth with increasing boldness. The hesitation from earlier had vanished, replaced by hunger that matched my own. She rocked slightly against me, whether intentionally or not I couldn’t tell, but the friction against my cock drew a low groan from deep in my chest.
Her lips curved against mine in response, pleased by my reaction. I felt her smile more than saw it. Then I was lost. From the night Sarah died to the moment Cora walked into my life, I’d merely existed, not really wanting to continue on but not knowing what else to do. Now, I had purpose, someone to protect and cherish for the rest of my days. God help me, I couldn’t let her go even if I wanted to.
“Marcus,” she breathed against my mouth, the sound of my name on her lips. Telling her from the beginning to call me Marcus instead of by my road name had been impulsive on my part. Now, I thought maybe I’d known all along Cora was the woman for me. Hearing her say my name separated her from every other woman in my life other than Sarah. After Sarah passed, no other woman had ever called me anything other than Rancor.
I slipped my hands under her shirt, finding the warm skin of her back. She shivered at the contact, goose bumps rising beneath my fingertips. I traced the ridge of her spine, the subtle curve of her waist. The softness of her skin against my calloused palms felt like a kind of absolution.
She pulled back slightly, eyes half-lidded, pupils dilated so wide the blue was just a thin ring around black. Her lips were swollen from our kiss, cheeks flushed with color that had nothing to do with tears now. I’d never seen anything morebeautiful.
“I want…” she started, then faltered.
“What?” I urged, my voice rougher than I intended. “Tell me what you want.”
“You,” she whispered, the single word carrying such weight I felt it settle in my chest like a stone. “Just you.” She swallowed and I saw the vulnerability hovering just beneath her expression. “Please make love to me, Marcus.” With deliberate movements, she reached for the hem of her shirt, drawing it upward. I caught her wrists, stopping her.
“Me,” I murmured. I sounded like a fucking caveman, but I honestly couldn’t get the words out. I wanted to unwrap her, to claim my present like a greedy toddler on Christmas morning.
She nodded, seeming to understand my primitive mindset. She raised her arms above her head as I grasped the fabric, lifting it slowly to reveal inches of pale skin. I took my time with her, every new inch a slow reveal. The gentle sweep of her belly under my hand, the hard edge of her ribcage, the black lace of her bra stretched across pale skin… all of it combined to create something hard and combustible inside me. Each layer sparked something hot and sharp, and I let myself savor the feelings surrounding me both inside and out. I drank her in, all of her, every single detail, not wanting to rush, not willing to miss a thing. When I finally pulled the shirt over her head, her hair fell in tousled waves around her shoulders, static making strands cling to her cheeks.
I brushed them back, tucking the silky strands behind her ear with careful fingers. Even this small gesture felt intimate in ways I hadn’t experienced in years. She watched me with wonder in her eyes, like she couldn’t quite believe I was touching her this way.
“Your turn,” she said softly, reaching for the hem of my shirt. When she tugged the fabric over my head and tossed itaside, her breath caught. I knew women appreciated the heavy muscles of my torso. I’d never really cared before now. The way she looked at me made me want to puff out my chest in pride. She didn’t find me lacking physically.
She explored my chest and shoulders, the featherlight touches driving me crazy with the sweetest torture. She paused over one ragged scar that ran from my left shoulder halfway down my chest.
“Shiv,” I explained before she could ask. “Third year in.”
Something flashed in her eyes. Not pity, but a fierce protectiveness that caught me off guard. She leaned forward, pressed her lips to the scar in a gesture so tender it made my throat tighten. “I hope you gave as good as you got.”
I smirked. “Better than.”
“Good. No one gets to hurt you again, Marcus. Not me, not Detective Reeves, no one.”
I framed her face in my hands, forcing her to look into my eyes while I did the same with her. “You could never hurt me unless you leave me, Cora. And I’ll deal with Reeves. I knew this whole situation with him would come to a head one day. His attack on you is making me force the situation, but the conflict was inevitable the moment I got out of prison.”
“Please don’t do anything on my behalf, Marcus. I won’t be the cause of you getting into trouble.”
“Don’t worry about me, baby. Now that I’ve got you in my life, I’m not going to do anything to jeopardize my good luck.”
Before she could say anything else, I stood with her in my arms, forcing her to wrap her legs around my waist and hold on tightly as I strode down the short hall to my bedroom. I was most definitely making love to Cora, but I was doing it in my bed.
We finished undressing, our motions faster the more clothing we shed. “Need you,” I croaked out. “Come here.”
She came to me without hesitation, her bare skingleaming under the soft light of my bedside lamp. I lifted her into my arms again, feeling the glorious press of her bare skin against mine. I laid her down on my king-size bed carefully, the sight of her pale body against my dark sheets stirring something possessive in my chest.
“You’re sure?” I asked, needing to hear it even as my body ached for hers.
“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my entire life,” she answered, reaching for me.
I lowered myself over her, bracing my weight on my forearms to keep from crushing her smaller frame. Her legs parted, welcoming me between them, the heat of her against my hardness drawing another groan from me. I captured her mouth again before moving down her body with my lips, teeth, and tongue.
I trailed light kisses over her shoulder, down the edge of her collarbone and across her flat stomach. Her skin was like silk under my mouth, and the feeling made me shudder with desire.
Moving back up her body, I buried my face in the hollow of her neck, breathing in her sweet scent as she turned her head to the side to give me all the access I wanted, even as she arched against me. “God, Cora,” I groaned against her soft skin. “You’re so fucking beautiful.”
She wiggled under me, pressing herself closer still until the hard length of my erection ground against the soft lips of her pussy. I had to bite back the urge to sink into her wet heat. The only reason I managed was because I was dying to taste more of her before I fucked her. I wanted to worship her body in a way no one ever had, for her to scream my name so much she’d never forget who she belonged to.
