“There’s no use thinking about thewhat-ifs. They don’t get you anywhere.”
I know he’s right, but I can’t help but think about it and wonder what our lives could have been like. Would we have gotten a real home, jobs, and started a proper life? Maybe we would have made it work together. Fallen madly in love and had kids of our own to mess up. But that’s not a reality either of us get the luxury of living out, not when we’re on the run like this.
“You and me,” I murmur, meeting his stare. “After Ash took off and it was just us. Did we ever . . . you know?”
Stone presses his lips together, his gaze softening once again. “There was always something there between us. I always knew it was heading that way, but no, we never crossed that line. You were only seventeen. You hadn’t quite finished school and didn’t know what you wanted to do with your life. I didn’t want you to feel boxed in or like you owed it to me to stay. You deserved the chance to figure yourself out on your own, if that’s what you wanted.”
I pull back, really looking at him. “You would have let me go?”
He looks away, not meeting my stare. “Yeah.”
“Bullshit. Tell me the truth.”
He smirks again, and the way his eyes light makes something clench deep within my chest. “I would have let you go,” hereiterates, “I would have gone with you. You just . . . wouldn’t have been aware.”
“So, you would have stalked me?”
“Yes.”
A barking laugh tears out of me. “Well, at least you’re honest about it,” I say. “Can’t fault you there.”
Stone grins, and in a raw moment of affection, he lifts his hand to my back and pulls me in against his chest until my face is snuggled against him, his neck mere inches from my lips. “Now, shut up and let me drive. That’s enough talking.”
I breathe him in, instantly becoming intoxicated by his natural woodsy scent, and I can’t help but inch a little bit closer until my face is perched right in the curve of his neck. I close my eyes, and before I even know what I’m doing, my lips are roaming over his warm skin.
That familiar fire ignites within me, burning bright as I kiss his neck, my tongue working over his skin as he grows hard beneath me. My hips grind down against him, desperate to feel that thick cock plunging deep inside me. His arm locks tighter around me, his hand grasping my ass as though he’ll never let it go.
My fingers bunch into his shirt before becoming all too desperate and slipping beneath the fabric to feel his warm skin under my fingers. My nails dig into his strong muscles as a frenzy takes over, sending me into a world of undeniable need.
“Fuck, Menace,” he groans, holding back.
“Oh God, Stone. I need to feel you inside me.”
He sucks in a sharp breath, his jaw clenched as I work my lips higher up his throat, and when he doesn’t attempt to fuck me right here and now, frustration grasps me in a chokehold.
“Stone,” I beg.
“Stop trying to fuck me.”
“I don’t think I can.”
His fingers dig into my ass, gripping me so damn tight, but all that does is make me rock my hips over him, grinding against that thick cock between his strong thighs. I have no doubt that I have never been so wet in my life. I need it.I need him.
His hand trails up my back until his fingers push through the back of my hair. When he grabs hold and pulls my head back, my eyes snap to his. “Trust me, Menace. You have no idea what I would give to fuck you right now, to finally claim this tight little cunt, to know just how fucking sweet you taste, and I will. I will fuck you until you can’t walk. I will claim every goddamn inch of you, but not here. Not in this cramped car where you can’t move. I want you bent over. I want you spread out wide. I have waited too long for this, so when I grab these hips and slam my cock deep inside you, I want to know that I can take my time.”
“Well, shit,” I breathe, panting at the idea of what this man has in store for me. “Who the hell am I to argue with that?”
“Good. Now, if you could stop grinding that sweet cunt over me, it’d be greatly appreciated.”
I laugh, but respectfully stop dry humping the man, getting ready to climb my ass back over to my side of the car, where I can’t be quite so tempted, but I find myself pausing and snaking my hand around the back of his neck. “Just so you know,” I whisper, leaning in toward his ear. “There’s nothing timid about me. I’m about as wild as they come, and I have one hell of an appetite. It takes a skilled, big man to satisfy me, and I won’t be sated until you’ve crumbled for me.”
Stone groans, the hunger in his eyes morphing into pure, raw desire, but I smack his hand away. “Uh-uh, big guy. Not yours to touch. Not yet, anyway,” I purr, slowly climbing off him and settling back into my seat. “You said no, remember? I’m only trying to be a good girl for you. But get me somewhere where you can bend me over and spread me apart, and I promise, every inch of me will be yours.”
20
ARIA
The sun is starting to set when Stone pulls off the highway into an abandoned town that looks as though it hasn’t seen life in well over fifty years. The buildings are falling apart, the windows boarded up, and the paint peeling off the old wood.
