Page 41 of Blue-Eyed Jacks (Destroyers MC: Skilletsville PA #1)

I backed her into the room on the left, this time minding the rafters that threatened to take a piece of my skull.

We’d done this dance before. Almost seventeen years ago.

“I love you, too. Not just ‘cause of Zoe. You, Kate. I love you.” It felt so damn good to admit it finally.

“I have loved you for…” Nineteen years , my inner voice said.

Ever since I got snared by her clear, green eyes.

“Shh.” She put a finger over my mouth. Then replaced it with her lips. They tasted sweet. I’d never desired anything more than the sensation of Kate being the beautiful woman she was. From her bravery to her kindness, her dedication, and the compassion she displayed even in horrible moments.

“Whose idea was it to leave the compound?” I had to know.

She leaned back. “Mine.”

I wasn’t going to tell her that was stupid. I’d been planning a similar escape route for her. But she didn’t know that. So, I had to ask, “Why?”

After a moment of contemplation, she answered. “A long time ago you talked about your mother. How she had no choice but to go back to prostitution after your father was locked up. I wondered if she, or Cara, or … poor Tina… if they had a choice, would they take it?”

Shit, I didn’t know Cara like Kate had, but I’d have done the very same for Tina. She wasn’t a bad person, just someone caught up in Shock’s issues .

“It was dangerous.”

Kate nodded. “And if Cara hadn’t betrayed us, or if Tina hadn’t lied, then what? I’d have helped two women get out of a situation they didn’t want to be in.”

“It’s still dangerous.”

The look she sent me was designed to put me in my place.

I tried to reframe things so we wouldn’t argue anymore. “Next time, ask for help.”

“Next time?” she prompted.

It took decades to figure out why my father did what he did for Mom. But I finally understood why. “Hopefully, there won’t be a next time, but I know you have a good heart. A wonderful, caring one. And you’ll need help. Please ask.”

Her expression softened. “You will always be my partner in crime.”

“Partner, huh?”

“Always.”

Damn. That sounded like… forever. “I’m going to be a terrible mayor. You know that, right?”

Kate opted to give her answer as a kiss.

One that led me to her bed. It lingered and extended into more kisses, and clothing discarded to the floor.

I climbed into her tiny bed and held her in my arms. We kept kissing, until I slid inside her, and our sharp inhales of wonder freeze-framed the moment and I had to tell her again how much she meant to me.

“I love you, Kate. With all that I am.”

She repeated my words back at me, adding my name… my real name—the whole damn thing.

“Hold up. When did I tell you that?” For the life of me, I hadn’t.

“Crystal Ann told me. And Zoe found you online. You made the papers.”

I grimaced and tried not to go soft while seated inside her. “Good or bad?”

“Something about a river walk being built in Skilletsville.”

Ah. The good shit. “That’s all Sprout’s fault.” I pumped out, then back in, enjoying the feel of her on my dick.

“I think it was you. Trying to be mayor.”

“Don’t make me laugh, woman. I’m inside you.” I pumped again, setting a slow pace guaranteed to drive her over the brink of ecstasy.

Her eyes glimmered with amusement, and her fingertips squeezed my biceps. “Laugh, Jackson. Life’s too short not to.”

I thrust three times before answering her. “Nope, we’re going to live a long time. You’re going to get sick of me.” I dug in a little harder and gave her all of me.

A small moan escaped her. She tacked on a breathless,“Not if you keep doing, that. More?”

“You gotta be quiet, too,” I whispered in her ear and pulled to the edge of our connection to watch her face as I slid back in. She was so beautiful.

Her eyes met mine as she clamped her mouth shut. She put her hand on my mouth as I picked up speed. I nipped at her fingertips, but she moved in for the kill, trapping my neck and wrapping her legs around my ass. “Kate…” I warned.

“Shh. Bad. Very bad. And very quiet,” she whispered in my ear.

This woman was going to kill me.

Her teeth caught my earlobe, and I lost my mind as I rocked harder and faster into her cunt. My brain teetered in that state of nothing and hyper-awareness as her vaginal walls pulsed against my cock.

Quiet? Fuck . I held my breath and let go of as much control as I could as I orgasmed inside her. My soul was pouring into her, and she wanted quiet? Why? It screamed.

A groan escaped. Kate’s fingernails dug into my skin as my dick’s pulses roared inside her while I admired how damn gorgeous she was with her clear green eyes and her skin all flushed and—“Fuuuck.”

“Zoe,” she reminded me.

Right . Less than a scant hallway and two thin walls away. I breathed through my mouth for control.

Kate smiled at me. “If this were a competition…”

“You’d win every time.” My head fell to that little nest between her shoulder and neck where I could smell her shampoo and skin. “Every time,” I vowed.

“I think we both deserve an award for quietest sex.”

“Gold medal.”

“At least.” She breathed out a satisfied sigh. “We probably should put our clothes back on.”

That would be a good idea. But I didn’t want to move. “Give me a minute.”

Hours later, the sound of Zoe’s door opening had us scrambling for clothes.

Kate set a land speed record, snagging her shirt off the floor and tugging it over her head.

Too bad it was inside out and backward. Meanwhile, I’d gotten my pants over my ass and dick tucked in when the door to Kate’s room opened.

“Mom?”

“Here, honey.” Kate shot me a look of panic. I flicked my fingers at my bare chest, right about the spot where her shirt tag stuck out. She looked down, and her eyes got bigger. Her face turned red.

“I’m here, too, Zoe.”

My baby ran into my arms, and she hit me like a train. I didn’t flinch this time.