Page 85 of Into These Eyes

After a light dinner of leftovers and a pathetic attempt to relax in front of the TV, we decide the bed seems far more attractive than anything else in the house.

While Jamie stacks the dishwasher, I clean my teeth, climb into bed naked, and pick up my Kindle.

Propped against the headboard, I pretend to read as she breezes in, grabs something from her dresser and disappears into the ensuite.

When she emerges, I continue to pretend to read, but in my peripheral, I catch the very short, sheer white negligee she’s wearing, her auburn hair tumbling over her shoulders in stark contrast.

Crawling onto the bed, she snatches the Kindle from my hands, places it on the nightstand, and straddles my lap.

“How rude,” I grumble through a wide smile.

As she nestles on my lap, I take in the lovely view of her cleavage and those pink, pebbled nipples peeking through the lace.

Running my hands up her arms, I hook my fingertips beneath the thin straps on her shoulders.

“What’s this new torture you’re subjecting me to? ”

“I thought I should wrap your Christmas present.”

“Mmm … I do like to unwrap gifts. But we agreed on no presents. I don’t have anything for you.”

“Yes, you do.”

“Oh? Where?”

She cups my face. “Here,” she murmurs, pressing her lips to my forehead. “And here.” She plants a sweet kiss on my mouth. “Here,” she breathes, nudging the stubble along my jaw with her nose. “And here.” Her mouth finds the pulse in my neck.

“Mmm. I got you a lot of presents.”

“I’m not finished yet.” She scoots back on my thighs a little, dips her head and kisses each quarter of my tattoo. “Here.” When she straightens, her eyes lock with mine, and she wriggles forward, rocking against my hard dick. “And here.”

I run my hands down her sides, grip her waist, and flex my hips, grinding up to meet her. And damn, even through the sheet, she’s scorching hot. “That’s all?” I tease.

She blinks at me, the corner of her lip twitching, her palms caressing my chest. “I’m not greedy.”

“Liar.” I clutch the back of her neck and force her mouth to mine. Her tongue glides between my lips and we suck and nips at each other as I run my hands along her bare thighs, slip them under the soft fabric and cup her naked arse.

Maybe this will be old one day, but that day is not today. And I have a sneaking suspicion we’ll be doddering, grey haired fools by the time that happens. I hope so.

Breaking the kiss, I squeeze her firm backside. “Cheeky, sexy, wicked thing.”

“The only thing wicked,” she pants as she reaches between us, slides aside the sheet and grips my hard cock, “is that this isn’t inside me already.”

Lowering my hand from her arse, I reach around until my fingers brush over her soaking entrance. “You want to ride me, J?”

She nods eagerly. “I like this. We’re so close … so easy to look into your eyes.”

“Take what you want from me. I’m all yours.”

Rising to her knees, she grips my shoulder with one hand and guides the tip of my cock over her clit, teasing herself for a long moment before, slowly, slowly impaling herself with a soft sigh against my lips.

Then she begins to grind against me, and I know she thinks she’s in control right now.

I’ll let her take a little, but not everything.

Removing her hands from my shoulders, I slip them behind her back and trap her wrists there.

With my other hand, I slide one thin strap off her shoulder.

Before the material falls away, I grip her breast, lower my head and scrape my teeth over her hardened nipple, teasing her through the fabric.

Only when she moans my name do I jerk the lace down, clamp my mouth over her, and draw her in.

She clenches around my cock. Fuck, she’s driving me wild with her tiny glides up and down my shaft. Her attention’s focused more on the contact her clit’s making just above the base of my dick, on the trail of hair that’s giving her all sorts of wonderful sensations.

Releasing her breast, I find her mouth, drive my tongue inside. Then I drag down her other strap until both hard nipples skate against my chest with every rock of her body. Fuck, that feels amazing.

Tugging on her wrists, I ease her away until I have a spectacular view of her tits as she bounces on my dick.

But I want to test her again, push her, discover what she likes at the same time she does. Freeing her wrists, I groan, “You want to be my naughty girl?”

Biting her lower lip, her fingernails scrape against my beard. And she nods.

I grab her arse with both hands, rock her flush against me, and reach lower until I touch my cock.

As I move in and out of her, I soak my fingers in her arousal, then drag all that wetness up between her spread cheeks.

When she groans and her eyes flutter, I do it again and again until she’s a slippery mess.

Concentrating on that tight, virgin hole of hers, I apply pressure, but I don’t push in, I just tease those nerve endings, circling my finger around and around. Our bodies tense and strain against each other, dragging out every sensation for as long as we can.

She presses her mouth to my ear, her breaths loud and ragged. “Oh, Gavin, why does that feel so … fuck, I’m going to come, I—”

She contracts around my dick. Hard. “Fuck, J. Ah, fuuck .” I follow her right over the edge, exploding with long, hot pulses as she continues to clench around me.

After we clean up and slip back into bed, we lie on our sides and twine our bodies together, our heads resting on one pillow as we gaze at each other.

“So, naughty girl,” I murmur, “you liked that, hmm?”

So quickly, I don’t see it coming, she clamps a hand over my mouth, her eyes wide. “Don’t speak of such things.”

I chuckle against her palm, then give it a lick.

“Eww,” she gasps, snapping her hand away.

“I hope that’s not what you’re thinking when I lick your delicious pussy.”

Grinning from ear to ear, she pinches my butt. “Okay, hot stuff. Enough.”

Laughing, I press my forehead to hers and rub our noses together. “You’re too fucking cute.”

“Cute?”

I give her lips a gentle kiss. “And sexy and beautiful, hot, gorgeous and sweet and every goddamn thing all at once. I’m spoiled rotten, you little wench.

” I litter her face with kisses before pulling back so I can see her eyes.

“It’s like we both waited for each other …

we just didn’t know that’s what we’d been doing until we met. ”

She caresses my jaw, her eyes watery. “I think you’re right,” she whispers before planting her mouth on mine. “I love you so much … I don’t even know how to describe it.”

“It’s easy,” I tell her. “You’re my happiness, my life, my breath. When you stop breathing, so will I.”

I startle awake, heart pounding, not sure what brought me out of sleep. Motionless, I listen. Nothing. Reaching out, I find Jamie’s back only a foot away. Instinct wants me to snuggle against her, but I don’t want to disturb her. Besides, now that I’m awake, I could use a glass of water.

Slipping out of bed naked, I pad quietly out of the room, down the hallway and into the kitchen. With the illumination from the various appliances, I don’t bother with the lights as I grab a glass from a cupboard and fill it with water.

When I raise the glass to my lips, I freeze.

At the fringe of my vision, a shadow moves.

I spin toward the breakfast bar as he rounds the end. He stops there, in the hallway, giving himself a view of our bedroom door, while effectively trapping me in the kitchen.

So I can’t get to her, can’t protect her.

Like I’m fucking supposed to. The very reason I’m in this house.

And now Reid’s pointing a pistol with a suppressor attached right at my chest.

I’m naked, exposed, caught completely off guard.

The fact that he’s made no effort to hide his identity sends terror streaking up my spine.

He’s here to kill us. And he wants us to know exactly who’s ending our lives.

I let the glass slip from my fingers. When it hits the tiles in the silent house, the shatter sounds like a foreshadowing of what’s to come. Because all that broken glass is about to hurt.

I’m certain it’s woken her. The very reason I dropped it.

Reid chuckles. “Merry fucking Christmas, arsehole.”

“Jamie! He’s here! Don’t come out!” I yell, knowing that’s what she’ll do. If there’s any hope of her surviving this, she’ll have to take him by surprise. “Get Bennie and the Jets!”

At Reid’s confusion, I launch myself at the fucker who took so much from me. The fucker who’s here to take everything.

As I charge at him, the glass slices into the soles of my feet, and I slip on the blood, almost losing my footing.

But I don’t stop. Over the roar of rage coming from my throat, I barely hear the pop , barely acknowledge the burning pain spearing through my shoulder, the acrid smoke filling my nostrils.

Before I reach him, Reid ducks behind the kitchen wall, constricting my heart with renewed terror. He’s going after her.

But when I slam into the hallway wall, he’s not racing to our room. He’s facing me, bringing the gun up again.

Launching off the wall, I swing my arm down on his wrist, hoping to knock the weapon from his hand.

Another pop .

Heat slices through my torso.

Ignoring it, I ram my uninjured shoulder into his chest. He stumbles backward, raises the gun again, and this time I grab the hot barrel, try to twist it from his grip.

When I rocket my other fist at his face, my sliced feet slip on the polished floorboards, and I only manage to graze his jaw.

“Benny!” I shout, trying to regain my footing. But there’s something wrong. Reid’s not afraid of me, and I can’t be sure, but I don’t think my voice is as loud as I want it to be. “Get Bennie and the Jets! Get Benny!”

As my knees hit the floor, Reid wrenches the gun from my failing grip. When he takes a step back, the hallway walls grow fuzzy.

Then the fucker laughs. “I watched that worthless piece of shit leave hours ago, arsehole. Give it up.”

I stare at him, my mind drifting, blurring. He’s not looking at my face. He’s looking at my dick. I glance down. No. Not my dick. At the blood pumping from the hole in my gut. Blood that’s running down my leg and slicking the floorboards.

He raises the gun, and as I fall forward, I manage to grab his ankle. With everything I’ve got, I yank it toward me and hold on.

He crashes to the floor, and I hear that pop again. But no pain this time.

“Get Benny!” I yell, barely louder than a whisper.

The pain from the bullet scorches my insides and dims my vision, but I keep going after him, pulling at his jeans, using them to drag myself up his body.

He squirms beneath me, our eyes locking. The only thing looking back at me is determination and hatred.

As a wave of weakness loosens my grip on him, the heel of his shoe connects with my temple.

The foggy world fills with bright sparks, then threatens to thrust me into darkness.

I fight it with everything I have. I need to save her.

I can’t let him take her from this world.

She’s too precious, too kind, and loving, and good.

She’ll survive my death, but I won’t survive hers.

If there is any surviving. I’m not so sure right now.

When the world swims into focus, Reid’s looming above me, the gun pointed at my head.

“Get Benny,” I croak.

A thump comes from the bedroom, sending Reid’s attention to the open door. With the pathetic amount of strength I have left, I try to grip his leg to drop him to the floor again.

No longer amused, he shakes me free, raises his foot and brings it down on the bullet wound in my abdomen.

I think I cry out, but I can’t be sure. The world’s spinning away, darkness descending.

Warmth pools at my sides, and I know it’s my blood.

In contrast, there’s a deep cold seeping from the inside of my useless body, radiating outward.

I desperately try to draw on the strength I found that first week in prison.

The night those pricks cornered me. That feral animal still lives within me and it’s fighting like fuck to get out.

But I hadn’t been shot back then. I’d had complete control of my body.

Not this time. No matter how hard I try, it won’t cooperate.

With no concept of how much time has passed, feeling like I’m diminishing into nothingness, the last blurry thing I see is the hallway. Empty.

“Get Benny,” I whisper, over and over, when all I want to say is I love you, I love you, I love you.

As the darkness finally claims me, a gunshot blasts through the house.