Page 8

Chief

I drummed my fingers against the steering wheel as I glanced up at Cora’s window for the hundredth fucking time.

Three hours I’d been sitting in this goddamn parking lot like some lovestruck teenager, and my patience was wearing thin.

Her lights had gone out over an hour ago, but for some reason I couldn’t bring myself to leave.

“Stubborn fucking woman,” I muttered, checking the time. It was after midnight.

The rational part of my brain knew it was late and I should head back to the clubhouse. I had the Bratva bullshit to figure out, Spike was on the loose, and there were a hundred other things that needed my attention. But the thought of leaving Cora unprotected made my chest tighten.

I’d fucked up with her five years ago, no denying that. I should have told her the truth from the jump, but once it hit me that I wanted more than just a roll in the sheets, Tonya had spewed her venom and Cora had shut me out.

There was so much she didn’t know, so much I wanted to tell her. I glanced back up her window, a bad idea sparking.

“Aw fuck it.” Decision made, I climbed out of my truck and hit the lock before taking off in a jog toward her building. The security in her building was laughable, nothing more than a simple keypad that any halfway decent outlaw could bypass. I punched in the code I’d seen Cora use earlier and shoved through the door.

The elevator ride to her floor was slow, allowing the frustration I’d felt all night to spiral.

By the time the doors slid open, I was good and riled up.

As I approached her door, I pulled out the lock-picking kit I kept on me for emergencies.

Within seconds, I had both locks open and was stepping inside. I threw the deadbolt, not bothering to be quiet. Maybe it was shitty, but I wanted her to know someone was in her apartment, to feel that spike of fear before she realized it was me. Maybe then she’d understand why I couldn’t leave her alone with all this shit going down.

The layout was exactly what I’d observed earlier, an open concept living room flowing into a small kitchen, with a hallway that led to her bedroom.

I approached her door and peeked through the crack in her door. She was lying on her back with her arms and legs flung out beside her. The blankets had been kicked away and her blonde hair was fanned out around her. For a split second, something in my chest twisted at how peaceful she looked.

And just as quickly I remembered how fucking stubborn she was, and my irritation returned full force.

Pushing open the bedroom door, I stormed over to the side of her bed, climbed up and straddled her hips, pinning her with my weight.

Her eyes flew open in the darkness, wild and terrified. She thrashed beneath me, kicking and twisting. When she opened her mouth to scream, I slapped a hand over her lips. Didn’t need her neighbors calling the cops.

“Stop,” I growled.

She froze instantly at the sound of my voice, those big eyes widening in recognition. Yeah, sweetheart. You pissed me off and now we’re going to talk it out.

Her body went tight and even in the dark, I could see the exact moment her fear turned into white-hot fury.

“I’m gonna move my hand and you’re going to be fucking quiet. Understand?”

She nodded, though the fire in her eyes promised retribution.

I lifted my palm from her mouth, bracing for the tirade I knew was coming.

Her lips parted and her eyes were spitting fire.

In that moment, as I looked from her blazing blue eyes to her pouty pink lips to the halo of blonde hair surrounding her, I snapped. I couldn’t take another second of not touching her.

Before she could register the move, my mouth was on hers, swallowing whatever curse she’d been about to hurl at me. She made a noise of protest, fisting her hands in my hair and pulling—hard. But hell if she wasn’t kissing me back; her lips were just as hungry as mine.

The kiss went on for long minutes before she bit down on my bottom lip, breaking the spell between us.

I jerked back, breathing hard.

“You asshole,” she hissed, her chest heaving beneath me.

She could call me an asshole all she wanted, but she was kissing me back just as fiercely.

Instead of calling her on it, I kissed her again, but this time slower, deeper. To my surprise, her fingers relaxed in my hair, sliding down to grip the back of my neck and pull me closer.

When I finally broke away again, her eyes were hooded and her lips were swollen.

She was so goddamn beautiful.

“Need you to hear me out, and then you can get pissed about me breaking in here,” I said, my voice rough.

Her eyes narrowed, but she didn’t try to push me off. “Talk.”

I took a deep breath, realizing this was my shot.

“I was married when we met. But it’s not like you think. I married Tonya because I knocked her up.” I could see that Cora wasn’t happy with that answer, but I kept on going before she could once again get the wrong idea. “She lied, Cora. She wasn’t pregnant. She only told me she was carrying my kid so I’d marry her. And I did, because that’s what a man does, you know? Takes care of his responsibilities.”

The fire in Cora’s eyes dimmed and her expression softened slightly.

“When I met you, the divorce papers were already filed. Had been for months, but her lawyer kept finding ways to drag shit out.” I shook my head at the memory. “I should’ve told you that first night, but I was... fuck, I don’t know. I was selfish. I wanted you, and I knew if I started talking about my soon-to-be ex-wife, you’d run for the hills.”

Her body relaxed beneath mine, and I could see the wetness gathering in her eyes.

“And the fucked-up part? Even though I didn’t give a shit about Tonya, I wanted that kid. When I found out it wasn’t real...” I looked away. I didn’t want her to see how it damn near broke me.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, reaching up to touch my face. The gentle contact nearly undoing me.

“I fucked up with us,” I admitted, the words tasting bitter on my tongue. I wasn’t a man who apologized often. “I should have been straight with you from the start. But Jesus, Cora. From the minute I saw you, I knew you were something special. Something I had no business wanting for myself, but fuck if I did anyway.”

She gripped my cut and pulled me down until my weight rested against her smaller frame. Her arms circled my neck.

Sweet. She was so fucking sweet, even after everything.

I turned my head slightly, our lips a breath apart, and watched her eyes dart between my eyes and mouth. Something primal surged through me, and I growled low in my throat before crushing my mouth to hers again.

The kiss was long and wet, igniting something that had been simmering between us since she’d opened her door to me earlier tonight.

I dropped all my weight onto her and the spark in the air that’d been zapping between us suddenly went electric and we were a frenzy of movement.

Cora shoved at my cut, and I broke away just long enough to help her push it off my shoulders before gripping the back of my shirt and hauling it over my head. The second they were gone, I returned the favor, stripping her thin sleep shirt up and off. Her naked breasts spilled free, perfect and full, nipples already hard.

“Christ,” I groaned, lowering my head to take the peak into my mouth.

Cora gasped, arching beneath me.

In a move that surprised me, she pushed hard against my shoulders. I lifted up, worried I’d misread the situation, but she was already rolling me onto my back. Her hands went straight for my belt.

Fuck yes.

No way in hell was I going to stop where this was going.

Her fingers worked my buckle open as I kicked my boots off. Then she was tugging at my jeans, a silent demand I was more than happy to fulfill.

I lifted my hips, helping her strip them down along with my boxers. My cock sprang free, hard and aching, and her eyes darkened at the sight.

Meanwhile, she was shimmying out of the tiny sleep shorts and panties she’d been wearing, leaving her gloriously naked beside me.

“Fuck, baby, you’re even more beautiful than I remembered,” I said, reaching for her.

Her eyes came to mine and she smiled, before swinging her leg over my hips and positioned herself above me. I felt the wet heat of her center brush against the tip of my cock, and my hands flew to her waist, gripping hard enough to bruise.

“Easy, sweetheart,” I warned, barely hanging onto my control. Not that I didn’t want to feel her wrapped around me, but I was a big guy and didn’t want to hurt her.

Her answer was to sink down in one fluid motion, taking me inside her completely.

“Fuck!” I hissed. The sweet heat of Cora’s pussy was almost my undoing.

“Mason,” she breathed, her head falling back on her shoulders.

“Jesus, babe,” I groaned when she began to move, rising and falling on my length with an urgency that told me she needed this just as badly as I did. Her breasts bounced with each downward thrust, and I reached up to cup them, rolling her nipples between my fingers.

“That’s it, baby,” I encouraged, lifting my hips to meet her movements. “Ride my cock. Show me how much you missed it.”

Her rhythm faltered at my words, and I took advantage of the moment to flip our positions. Suddenly she was under me, her legs wrapping around my waist as I drove into her.

“Oh god,” she gasped, nails digging into my shoulders.

I hooked one arm under her knee, changing the angle. Goddamn. The new position let me go deeper, hitting that spot inside her that made her eyes roll back and her walls tighten around me.

“Look at me,” I demanded, slowing my pace until her eyes focused on mine. “Look at me while I fuck you, Cora.”

Her pupils were blown wide, lips parted as she panted beneath me. She was so beautiful.

When her eyes finally focused on mine, I rewarded her with a hard snap of my hips that had her crying out.

“Missed this sweet pussy,” I growled, picking up speed again. “Missed you. Thought about you so many times.”

“Mason,” she moaned, her inner muscles clenching around me as I hit that sweet spot again and again. “Please, don’t stop?—”

“Not stopping, baby. Not until you come all over my cock.”

Her eyes fluttered closed as her body tensed beneath me.

Oh yeah. She was ready to come.

I slid a hand between us and found her clit, circling the hard little nub.

And that was all it took.

Her back bowed off the bed as she shattered around me, coming with a cry that I silenced with my mouth.

“Fuck yes!” I pumped my hips faster.

“Fuck yes, Cora!” I buried myself to the hilt and let go, filling her with my seed.

For a long moment, we stayed frozen, bodies still joined, breathing hard against each other’s mouths. Shit. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d come so hard.

Arms shaking from the exertion, I rolled to the side, taking her with me, unwilling to break our connection just yet.

“Holy shit,” she whispered after a moment, her face pressed against my neck.

I chuckled, running my hand down the curve of her spine. “Yeah.”

She pulled back enough to look at me, her expression suddenly serious. “You broke into my apartment.”

My lips turned up. “Technically, I picked the lock. Breaking in implies property damage.”

She smacked my chest, but her fury from earlier was gone. “That’s not the point, and you know it.”

“What’s the point then?” I asked, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.

“The point is...” She seemed to struggle for the right words. “The point is you can’t just do whatever you want. Normal people don’t act like this.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Pretty sure normal people don’t fuck the guy who just broke into their apartment, either.”

Her cheeks flushed, and she looked away. “That’s different.”

“How so?”

“Because...” She bit her lip, and I had to resist the urge to kiss her again. “Because it’s you.”

Something warm spread through my chest at those simple words. I pulled her closer, resting my chin on top of her head.

“I’m not leaving you alone, Cora,” I said firmly. “Not with everything that’s going on. So either I stay here, or you come to the clubhouse with me.”

She tensed in my arms. “I’m not going to the clubhouse.”

“Then I’m staying here.”

She was quiet for a long moment, and I braced myself for another argument. But when she finally spoke, her voice was soft and uncertain.

“Why did you really come back, Mason? After all this time?”

The question caught me off guard. “Your brother asked me to check on you,” I answered, only halfway telling the truth.

“That’s the only reason?” The vulnerability in her voice damn near gutted me.

I pulled back enough to see her face, needing her to see the whole truth in my eyes. “I never stopped thinking about you. When Sparrow said your name, it was like... like someone punched me in the gut. I didn’t even know you were still in Jacksonville.”

She studied my face, searching for any sign of deception. She wasn’t going to find any. It was the God’s honest truth.

“And now?”

“Now I’m right where I want to be.”

She nodded slowly, then snuggled back against my chest.

“I’m not going anywhere, Cora. Not this time.”

As she drifted off to sleep in my arms, I stared at the ceiling, trying to process everything.

Cora had forgiven me.

She was lying naked and safe in my arms.

And there was no way in hell I wasn’t letting her go.