Page 34

TICK TOCK

I walked up the familiar porch steps to the blue door that was once chipped. The once crooked screen door, which had been hanging by a thread, due to a night of drunken stupor where I’d leaned her against it and kissed her long and hard, was now upright and repaired, unlike myself. I stood there for a moment, helmet under one arm, my other shoulder still sore as hell from the shot she’d given me.

Fucking woman.

And yet here I was, knocking on her door. I heard movement, a shuffle from behind the door, and then she was there, framed in the doorway like every goddamn fantasy I'd tried to bury. Hair messy, eyes guarded, lips pursed into something that should’ve said fuck off but just made my dick ache.

I let my eyes roam up her bare legs, her toenails were the color of cherries, and her skin was lightly tanned. She wore the shortest shorts and the tightest tank top. She made my mouth water as she woke up every single nerve cell in my body.

"God, you look good enough to eat," I practically groaned. My neediness showing.

Control yourself.

"So, you’re ringing bells now?" she asked, arching a brow and ignoring my greeting.

I gave her the grin she hated to love. "Better than being shot at again. You fucked up my arm."

She shrugged, unimpressed. "I thought you said you deserved it."

"I did. Doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt like hell."

We stared at each other. Long. Hard. Something raw swelled between us. Ten years of pain and want all pressing against the silence.

"Can I come in?" I asked finally.

She hesitated, hand tight on the door, but then she stepped aside. "Don’t touch anything."

"Wouldn't dream of it," I muttered as I walked past her.

The house smelled like lemon and cinnamon and something uniquely her. I looked around, tried to picture her living a quiet life here, away from the blood and the chaos. It didn’t fit. She was too fiery, too much fury, too much fucking mine.

"So," I said, leaning against the wall. "You always shoot your guests?"

"Only the ones dumb enough to sneak through my back door," she said.

"I wasn’t sneaking."

"You weren’t invited either."

"You’ve got good aim. Where’d you learn to shoot like that?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Wolf Stone."

I let out a slow breath. "That son of a bitch. Him and I will have words."

She smirked, crossed her arms over her chest and brining her tits up to peak over her top. "Oh yeah? I’d love to see what you have to say to the President of the Hellbound Lovers."

"You defend him real quick. Why’s that?" I growled, jealousy surging hot through my veins.

"Because he saved my life," she said, voice tight. "And Gabriel’s."

The name hit like a bullet. "You sure he ain’t his son?"

Her palm cracked across my face before I saw it coming. Sharp, clean, and well-deserved.

"How dare you," she hissed.

I grabbed her wrist before she could strike again and pulled her close. "You left me wondering for ten goddamn years. What the fuck do you expect?"

We struggled, her palms shoving at my chest, breath ragged as mine grew heavy with restraint, heat coiling through my veins like wildfire. Her nails bit into my shoulders and I gritted my teeth from the pain as I gripped her hips, dragging her close enough to feel the full weight of my need pressed against her softness. Her mouth was parted, her lips trembling, but not with fear, but with fire. She cursed me, fought me, and I loved every second of her body squirming against me.

I dipped my head, lips grazing her jaw as her fingers twisted into my shirt. “You gonna keep fighting me, kitten?” I growled, my voice rough as gravel. “Or are you gonna admit you still want me?”

She hissed something sharp, but before she could get the words out, I claimed her mouth with mine. Hard. Fierce. A kiss that tasted like possession and too many years of silence. Her lips parted in shock, and I didn’t waste the opportunity. My tongue slid over hers, stroking slow and filthy, savoring the taste of the woman who’d haunted my every goddamn dream.

She moaned, hips jerking against mine, but I wasn’t letting up. Not until she melted. Not until she clung to me like the only man who’d ever made her feel this fucking alive.

But it was short lived as she kneed me in the groin and slapped me again for good measure.

"You have no right to touch me, or to claim what’s not yours! And don’t you dare question my son’s upbringing. Who else was going to take care of him?" she snapped. "His father sure as hell wasn’t around."

"Don’t fucking do that,” I grunted.

"What? Hold you accountable?"

"You didn’t tell me, Kitten. You vanished."

"Because of your actions that night. Because you killed my father! Because I thought I’d lost everything!"

We were shouting now. Pain curling between our words, inflicting it on one another, when I was the only one to blame and I knew it.

"Your father," I said, breathing hard. "He made his choices. And I made mine."

"You put a bullet in his head. You didn’t even think twice about me. About what would happen to me!” She slammed her hand against her chest, seething and wild with anger. And yet so goddamn beautiful.

"He was a traitor, Natalia. You know what this life entails. It gives, then it takes. And it’s bloody and fucked up and ugly. I won’t apologize for surviving."

"Eye for an eye," she whispered.

I stared at her. "I guess Wolf taught you well."

"He didn’t have to," she said. "I’ve survived it on my own."

I took a moment to collect myself and then looked around the room. "Where’s Gabe?"

"At school."

I nodded. "What’s he like?"

She softened as she spoke of him, the subject change calming her demeanor. "Stubborn. Set in his ways. But he has a kind heart.”

“Like yours,” I whispered. "I’d like to meet him."

"No!" The word hit like a whip, and she crossed the room fast, pacing now.

"Nothing’s going to happen between us," she said. "There’s no reason for you to be around. No reason for you to get near him."

"What?"

I stalked her. Her steps quickened. She darted behind the couch, trying to put space between us.

“He’s my son,” I growled. And you won’t take that away from me!”

She tried to run, but I slid the chair that was in my way and reached out, catching her in mid stride.

My hand tangled in her hair, yanking her head back, forcing her neck to arch back, her breath catching as I loomed over her, drinking her in like a man on the edge of starvation.

"Still smell the same," I murmured, my voice a low growl against her skin. "Still taste the same too, I bet."

I licked at her neck, gliding my tongue up the base and fuck me, she whimpered. Her eyes fluttered closed, her chest rising and falling fast. Her plump breasts pressed tight against me with every shaky breath, nipples hard beneath the thin fabric of her tank top. I felt her fight herself as her lips parted and her body tensed against me. Like she couldn’t decide if she should shove me away or melt into me.

My lips hovered just above hers, not touching yet, teasing, tormenting us both. Her scent was addictive. Her body trembled. And fuck, so did mine.

"You think I’m walking away, Kitten?" I rasped, brushing my nose along her cheek. "No. I’ll assume the position of being his father. Just like I’ll assume the position of being your Daddy."

I ran my tongue over the shell of her ear, trailing fire as I moved down her neck. She tried to resist, tried to keep her guard up, but her head tilted, giving me more, and I took it.

"Or did you forget?" I breathed against her throat. "How your pussy clenched around my cock when I spanked you, when you begged me, 'Please, Daddy.' Because I never forgot."

Her knees buckled and I caught her, my free hand gripping her ass, squeezing her like I owned her. Her body pulsed against mine, her thighs clenching around nothing as she whimpered again, more desperate now.

"I want you back," I whispered, my lips brushing her jaw, sliding toward her mouth. "And I will have you again."

She was panting, lips trembling under the weight of what we were, what we still could be.

"Don’t run off," I said, my mouth hovering just over hers, the heat unbearable. "Next time, I won’t be so nice, Kitten. Next time I won’t be asking for permission. I’m done with waiting; I’m a desperate man."

“Jose,” she whispered.

“Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock,” I murmured against her lips.

It’s only a matter of time before I have you begging again. I released her and I turned and walked out the door, leaving her breathless, aching, and haunted. Exactly how she’d left me.

.