Her eyes glistened with what looked like tears, but then she pulled me down, her arms banding around my shoulders, her mouth once more at my ear.
“I’m falling for you, Jinx.”
I grunted, the sound ripped from my chest as I drove into her. Hard, deep.
“Oh, my God,” she cried out. “Yes. Jinx. Oh, yes.”
Driven by a hunger so primal, I wasn’t sure I would survive it, I fucked her. Those words triggered a beast deep inside me, releasing him from his cage, setting him free so he could claim the only woman who’d ever made him feel whole.
Locking my arm beneath her, I held Laikyn against me as I rammed my cock deeper into her tight sheath.
“Yes!” Laikyn’s arms tightened. “Jinx … yes … oh, fuck yes!”
Come for me, baby. Come for me.
Laikyn cried out, my name tumbling from her lips as her body trembled, her pussy milking my cock until I was helpless to stop the release that tore through me with a strength that rivaled anything Mother Nature could’ve come up with.
I groaned, the sound reverberating low in my throat as Laikyn held onto me.
“Nothing,” she whispered against my ear. “Nothing has ever felt like that.”
She was right. And I had a feeling that nothing ever would.
I probably should’ve gone to clean up or allowed her to, but I couldn’t let go of her. I didn’t want to. Not yet. Instead, I rolled to my side, then turned her so her back was to my chest. I spooned up behind her, one arm under her head, the other draped across her.
“Don’t leave me, Jinx,” she whispered, clutching my arm and holding onto me.
I wasn’t sure whether she meant tonight or ever, but it didn’t matter. For as long as I was drawing breath into my lungs, I would be hers if she would have me.
When she shivered, I dragged the sheet over us and held her until her breathing deepened and her body relaxed.
It wasn’t until I closed my eyes that I thought about Rule and what he was going to think when he found out that I’d fallen in love with the woman he’d married. The woman who was supposed to be temporary in our lives. We’d agreed, and for the first time since I’d pledged my life to Rule, I’d gone back on my word.
As I gave myself permission to sleep, I decided that he didn’t need to know. The same as he didn’t need to know that I’d been in love with him for nearly two decades. With Rule, denial was always the best path to take.
18
Rule
Was this how Jinx felt when hewatched me fuck Laikyn on the couch? Had he felt the same gut-wrenching pain that tore through my insides as I watched them sleeping?
As I stood in the doorway of Laikyn’s room, watching her and Jinx curled up together like lovers seeking comfort in their dreams, there was a churning in my gut. Every so often, it twisted, a dull-edged blade slicing but never enough to open me completely, only enough to cause more pain.
It was evident by their state of undress that they’d succumbed to exhaustion after taking their pleasure in one another. How or when this had come to be was anyone’s guess. Last night, after their make-out session on the couch, Laikyn had disappeared to her room without a word to me. Jinx hadn’t stuck around much longer after that, leaving me to wonder what had caused all the suffocating silence.
Now I had only more questions. Had this been their plan? Had they been looking for privacy?
Shockingly, that wasn’t the part that bothered me. Not really. I was the one who brought Jinx into this … marriage? Relationship? I wasn’t sure what to call it. It was supposed to be a temporary ruse to keep Laikyn occupied and safe until she could get her inheritance. Never mind that I hadn’t told her about it or that I’d been lying to her this entire time, letting her believe she owed me a debt. Truth is, she owed me nothing.
But maybe she should. If I treated her like a piece of property, perhaps she would stop burrowing under my skin. From the looks of it, it was already too late for Jinx. He appeared rather cozy curled up to her like that. Only once in all the years I’d known Jinx had we ended up in a similar situation. Not the first time we fucked, nor the twentieth. It hadn’t been until years later. After a heated night when we’d slaked our lust, finding solace in one another, I’d given myself free rein to imagine a life with him. It wasn’t intentional, but it had happened all the same. For ten minutes, I’d remained beside him, my arms around him as we fought to catch our breaths. Neither of us had moved, and for six hundred seconds, I’d felt more complete than I ever had before.
I was the one who put an end to it, getting out of bed and heading for the shower, refusing to let myself feel anything for anyone. Deep down, I knew it was a facade because I cared about Jinx. I’d cared about him before I went to prison and more so when I found him waiting for me the day I was released. I honestly couldn’t imagine my life without him.
As I watched them now, I was aware of that vicious ripping as that dull-edged blade sawed at me from the inside. It was jealousy trying to root its way through my guts. I was fucking jealous. Of him? Of her? Both? I didn’t know, and I didn’t fucking like it.
A soft whimper sounded, and I looked down to see Waldo staring up at me. It was time for his breakfast, and he wanted to ensure I knew that.
I nodded as I stepped back, intending to leave Jinx and Laikyn in peace.
