Her eyes centered on my cock, and it jerked in response as if she’d reached out and cupped me in her hand.
“Nothing happens until you’re ready,” I told her.
She licked her lips once more, and my cock bobbed again, greedy to feel that mouth on it.
But that was a pleasure that would have to wait for another day, and I knew it.
I braced a knee on the mattress next to her and held out my hand. She hesitantly offered hers, and I guided it to my chest. She stiffened at first, then slowly, slid her hand up. “You’ve got scars,” she said, her voice tight, almost rusty.
“Yeah.” I grimaced and glanced down as her fingers played over one on my ribs. I’d gotten that one in prison, trying to avoid a shiv. I hadn’t managed to avoid it entirely, but it hadn’t punctured anything – just scraped the surface. “A few.”
Something that might have been amusement danced in her eyes. “If this is what you call a few, what’s a lot?”
“Let’s not talk about my sorry, scarred hide now. You’ll make me self-conscious,” I teased her, moving to slide down next to her so I was laying while she sat over me.
“I didn’t say anything about you being sorry.” The words seemed to surprise her, and she shot me a look, her lips parted. “I just…I meant…it’s not that you aren’t attractive. You…um…”
I caught her around the neck and pulled her down. “Come here.”
I kissed her, holding her naked body close to mine, but not pulling her on top of me the way I wanted. Once I did that, it was going to be close to all over. Or at least, I’d be pushing for that. The second I felt her weight on me, I was going to want it all, but for now, she still needed time.
And she was letting her hand roam over my chest, and I didn’t mind that at all.
When she reached my shoulder, she pulled away, panting a little as she peered down at me. “You’re not doing anything.”
“I am, too. I’m enjoying things.” Watching her from under hooded eyes, I fought to stay relaxed, keeping my hands loose at my sides. “I want you to do what you want.”
She bit her lower lip. “What I want. Whatever I want?”
I nodded.
She looked me over from head to toe, then dipped her head, pressing a kiss to my mouth. Then she moved lower, her lips cruising down my jaw bone, my neck. She echoed the path I’d taken on her earlier, and when she reached my breastbone, she paused and looked up. “Am I doing this right?”
“I’m naked, and you got your mouth on me,” I told her. “There is no wrong to it.”
Her lids dropped low, and she bent over me once more, her mouth pressing to the midline of my torso. She went lower, and my cock jerked as her breast brushed up against it. I felt her chest move as her breathing hitched, and I wanted to reach down, cup my hand over the back of her scalp and urge her on, but I didn’t dare.
She kept to her own pace and finally, finally, her lips brushed the head of my cock.
A drop of pre-come leaked out, and she pulled up, staring down at it.
“It’s your fault,” I told her. She blinked up at me owlishly. “You’ve got me so fucking turned on, I could come right now.”
“Really?” She cocked her head, and then, as I fought to find words to tell her what she was doing to me, she reached down and closed her hand around my dick, stroking up, then down. I grunted and arched up into her touch before I could stop myself.
Another drop of pre-come leaked out.
She bent over me and licked it away.
I fisted my hands in the sheets and swore a blue streak.
She gave me another owlish look.
“You keep putting your mouth on me, I’m going to lose it,” I warned her.
To my surprise, a slow smile curled her lips. “I think I might like that.”
“I think I’ve created a monster,” I muttered. Reaching out, I fumbled in the drawer of the small table by the side of the bed, feeling around for the box of condoms I’d put inside.
I found it and pulled it out.
“Unless you want this to end the way it did last time, I’m going to need one of these shortly.”
I pulled it off and dropped it down next to me. Raye rose to her knees, her hands tucked between her thighs. “Put it on now.”
I eyed her, then reached for the foil packet and tore it open. “You ready for this?” I asked after dropping the empty packet on the nightstand.
A breath huffed out of her, and her eyes slid away as I rolled it on. “I don’t know.”
I tugged her toward me. “You let me know if you decide you aren’t.”
She fell against my chest, her breasts a soft, warm weight. “What do I do?” She stared down at me.
Catching one of her legs, I drew it over my hip. “Ride me.” Her face went pink again, and I chuckled. “You’ve had my dick in your hand, and you’ve touched me all over, let me touch you all over, and that embarrasses you?”
“Stop it,” she huffed out, smacking my chest and squirming against me. Then her eyes went wide.
I knew why, too.
She had wiggled until her wet, waiting cunt tucked snug against my hard, waiting cock and I was so ready to fill her, I hurt with it.
Gritting my teeth against the urge to do just that, I gripped her hips and tugged until she lifted. “You’re killing me, Raye,” I told her, heart racing in my chest.
“I…what do I do?” she demanded, hunger a razor-sharp edge in her voice. She braced her hands against my chest, her hips wiggling and rocking in my hands.
“Take my cock. Hold it up. You’re going to slide down on me. Take as much as you want, or as little. Go as fast or slow as you want. It’s all up to you.”
Her spine arched as she lifted higher, her movements awkward as she followed my instructions. Her eyes widened as the head of my cock pressed against her and the folds of her pussy yielded slowly, opening for me as she let her weight bear down.
A faint whimper escaped her lips, and I steadied her. “Take…” I grunted, sweat beading on my brow. “Take your time, Raye.”
She was so tight…
Another whimper escaped her as she slid down another inch, then she swayed forward, bracing her hands on my chest. Eyes over bright, she stared down at me.
Still cupping her hips, I had to clench my teeth not to thrust up and fill her completely. “You okay?”
She nodded, mouth parted as she rocked back, taking more of me.
Just…not enough.
Fuck, this really might just kill me.
She tightened around me as she started to slip away, and involuntarily, my hands tightened.
She stilled. “What is it?”
“Just…” I shuddered underneath her. “It’s nothing.”
“What?” she persisted, panic starting to edge into her voice.
“You feel too fucking good, and I want more,” I said, arching up the slightest.
Her spine curved and her eyes widened. “Oh…” Lashes fluttering down, she whispered, “Do that again.”
Slowly, I did, and she whimpered, her body opening to take me more deeply. A short cry escaped her.
“More?”
She nodded, her nails kneading my chest. Slowly, I started to rock up against her, thrusting into the cradle of her thighs, pleasure spilling through me with every hot, aching second.
My balls were so tight, I thought they might explode, and I wasn’t even completely buried inside her yet.
She twisted on top of me, her spine arching as she fought to take more of me, then I was buried inside her. She wailed, her mouth parting on the sharp sound. Her nails dug even deeper into my chest, and I stilled. “Are you hurting?”
“A…a little?” She didn’t sound certain. “I don’t know.”
“Do we need to stop?”
“No!” The sound tore out of her, and she went to move against me.
“Okay…okay…” I smoothed my hand down her hip, then rocked upward. “Just…can I?”
&nbs
p; I moved against her again, and she nodded. “Please.”
Hungry little mewling sounds escaped her as I thrust up in slow, shallow motions, and she started to move, finding the right rhythm as she began to ride me. I caught her ass in my hands, tugging her down just the slightest every time she went to pull up. Her eyes locked on mine, dazed delight making them cloudy.
“Kane…”
My name came out on a broken sigh as her pussy went even tighter around me, and I knew she was close.
Sliding a hand between us, I sought out her clitoris. “Come for me, Raye. I want to watch you.”
She moaned, her body racking and trembling as the sound escaped her. Fine tremors shook her, and her pussy clutched at me, a tight, snug fist.
Just as the orgasm hit, I caught her behind the neck and pulled her face to mine. “Kiss me.”
She did, and the two of us came together.
Raye slept next to me, and I lay against her back, one hand on her hip.
She’d told me, right before she fell asleep, that it hadn’t been like that for her before.
I’d never tell her, but it hadn’t been like that for me either. Not ever. As many women as I’d been with, it had never felt…new, like that. I always made sure the woman I was with was happy, but it hadn’t ever mattered as much as it had with Raye, and it hadn’t ever been so…tender before.
I couldn’t let myself get caught up in it though.
It wasn’t just that Jake would have my ass.
I wasn’t good enough for somebody as sweet as Raye.
She deserved somebody, some thing, better in her life. Somebody more than an ex-con with a tiny old garage in Brooklyn and a future that was uncertain at best.
21
Raye
Michelle had invited me out for coffee the other night, and I’d taken her up on it, although a part of me wished I was still back in the garage in Brooklyn, wrapped around Kane.
Or maybe wrapped around his dick, as he told me I’d be at some point last night.
And I had been. Not just last night, but this morning.
This morning, he’d woken me up by going down on me. A little bit of time with him, and I understood, finally, the allure of oral sex. Something that had seemed maybe a little gross and way too intimate had turned into a drug in his hands.
“You seem a little distracted today,” Michelle said as we sat down in a small booth near the back.
“I…ah…I didn’t sleep a whole lot,” I hedged, forcing a smile.
Something must have shown on my face, though, because she leaned back and studied me. Before long, a grin lit her face. “Did you take my advice?”
“Your advice?” My voice cracked. So much for playing dumb.
“You did, didn’t you?” She curled her hands around her mocha and leaned forward conspiratorially. “How did it go?”
“I…um…” I knew women talked about this kind of thing, but what was I supposed to say? He melted my brain?
“That good?” Michelle fanned herself.
“I didn’t say anything,” I protested.
“Your face said it all.” She sipped at her coffee, then braced an elbow on the table. “So…I guess you went over there…when? Last night? Friday?”
“Last night.” Blushing, I squirmed on the seat, which made me aware of the fact that I was a little sore. It was a good kind of sore, though, an ache that reminded me of everything Kane and I had done.
“You must have been on the fence about him already then,” Michelle mused, her eyes narrowed.
“Ah…maybe?” I took a sip of my chai, studying the swirls in it instead of looking at her. “I…I like him. He makes me feel…safe. That’s crazy, isn’t it?”
“Why’s it crazy?”
“I slept with a guy because he made me feel safe?” I laughed, but Michelle just shook her head.
“I don’t think that’s crazy. I felt safe with Jake after…well, you know.” She shrugged and picked up her spoon, swirling it through her mocha for a few seconds, clearly thinking something through. “It’s not like you decided to get with him because he was a teddy bear or something. No teddy bear makes a woman look like…that.”
She finally looked back at me and grinned, and I had to smile back because I understood. I had no idea what I looked like, but I knew how I felt when I was thinking about Kane, and no…he didn’t inspire teddy bear like feelings.
“Still, it is kind of crazy. He’s this big, rough-looking guy…all these tattoos and these scars…” Without thinking, I reached up and brushed my fingertip down my left eyebrow, echoing the path that the scar on Kane’s face took. “He’s scary looking, and he makes me feel safer than I have in a long time.”
I glanced at Michelle, a wry grin on my face.
But the expression on hers had my grin fading. “What is it?”
She bit her lip. “I’m about to get really personal. I’m sorry…but…hell. Did you sleep with Kane?”
My mouth fell open.
She winced. “I’m sorry! I just…you described him exactly the way I would. I mean, I even get what you mean by feeling safe around him. Jake’s like that, although Jake isn’t as rough as Kane. But…I’m right, aren’t I?”
“Yes.” I grabbed my chai and lifted it to my lips, taking a sip. “Is that so bad?”
“Honey…” She reached out as I put the cup down, covering my hand with hers. “It’s just that…well, Jake would flip out. He’s missed having a family, and he wouldn’t want to see anybody taking advantage of you.”
“Kane isn’t taking advantage of me,” I retorted. “I went to him. I asked him. Maybe I am taking advantage of him?”
Michelle’s brows rose at that.
“Well, maybe I am!”
“Okay, okay…” She held up her hands. “Look, I get it. It’s just…I don’t want to see you get hurt. Kane doesn’t do relationships, okay?”
“I’m not looking for one,” I insisted and took a deep breath. “I’m just…I want to feel normal. He…I feel good with him.”
Michelle’s face softened. “Okay. I just…I just wanted you to know.” She reached for her cup again, taking another sip. As she put it down, she said, “It’s not that he’s not a good guy. He is. I mean, Jake wouldn’t hang around him if he wasn’t. The two of them are tight, have been for years.”
“How did they meet?” I was greedy, not just for information about my brother, I realized, but to find out what I could about Kane.
He would only tell me so much.
This was dangerous territory to be wading into.
I’m just curious, I told myself.
But it was more than that, and I already knew it.
Michelle did too, judging by the assessing look she sent my way. But she answered anyway, her tone guarded as she replied, “They met while they were in prison together.”
Prison!
I cut off the immediate knee-jerk response, reaching for my coffee so I had something to do with my hands.
“He was in prison?”
Michelle inclined her head. “Yes. He got out about a year after Jake did. I don’t know what he did, in case you were wondering. Jake never told me, and I never saw any reason to ask.” She lifted a shoulder. “But Jake says he’s one of the best guys he knows…and that’s good enough for me.”
“Then it’s enough for me, too.”
Michelle’s gaze was skeptical, but I shook my head. “You seem like a good judge of character, and I’ve already decided I want to trust my brother. I want to have a family, Michelle. So, if you two trust him, that’s enough for me.”
22
Kane
I was alone in the garage, save for a couple of unfinished cars and a sweet 1965 cherry-red Mustang that was waiting for the owner to pick it up tomorrow. I was entertaining the fantasy of laying Raye out on the hood of that sleek car and having my way with her – not that it was going to happen, but a guy could dream.
I’d already pictured her straddling me in the b
eat-up old chair in the tiny little closet that served as my office and just about everywhere else that one might be able to have sex in my small garage – and the apartment. There were a lot more options than I’d realized.
The sound of a knock at the back door had anticipation lighting inside me, and I didn’t think about it until it was too late that it wasn’t likely to be Raye. She’d already told me she wouldn’t be over until close to six. It wasn’t even five-thirty now.
Still, I went over to check the window.
Irritation kicked up inside me the second I laid eyes on the man on the other side of the door, and I thought about sending him away. Tank Jones was the last man I wanted in here when Raye was due to arrive, but he always paid well, and it wasn’t like I couldn’t use the money.
Despite the foreboding I felt, I unlocked the door.
He gestured to the car parked out behind him.
“I had an accident.” A sly grin curled his lips, and he added, “Insurance isn’t going to help me out. Was kind of hoping you would.”
That probably meant there was damage to the car he wanted fixed on the sly.
It could also mean that whatever damage had probably happened had been done while doing something illegal. I didn’t know and wasn’t going to ask. I figured it was safer that way.
“Let’s take a look at it.” I joined him outside, and we spent a few minutes out in the cold while I circled the car, taking in what I could under the piss-yellow security light behind the garage. My truck took up one of the two parking spaces, and I gestured to the other, telling him to pull into the spot. “I’ll have to work on it after hours. Don’t figure you want my crew knowing about the…damage.”
“Appreciate that, Kane.” The smile didn’t soften his scarred face at all, neither did the look he cast around the alley. “I was thinking…hey, you got a beer? Got a question I want to toss at you.”
I should have told him no.
But old habits died hard. Tank and I used to run together, back in the old gang. It had fallen apart in the years since I’d been in prison and whether Tank was affiliated with a new one now, I didn’t know, nor did I want to. He still came around the garage, like a few others did and I didn’t turn them away. They’d meant a lot to me at one point, and they still brought money with them. I didn’t turn away money.