Storm (Georgia Smoke #4)

• One •

“I’m a rule breaker.”

Briar

Fighting my own battles was something I excelled at. I’d been doing it since I had been a kid. There had never been a day when I didn’t face a hurdle I had to conquer. Allowing myself to relax and assume that I wouldn’t have to find a solution to a major problem today was foolish. I’d done that before, and it was a mistake I’d sworn I’d never do again. When life had never proven to be on your side, you woke up, prepared to face a new set of demons every morning.

Just because I was sitting on a swinging bed on the back porch of one of the most beautiful homes I’d ever been inside with the sweet smell of the peach trees surrounding me and a cup of delicious coffee in my hand did not mean I was letting my guard down. I was just allowing myself to soak in the moment, knowing that it was fleeting. This was always just out of my grasp. This life. The one where everything was handled and I didn’t have to constantly be ready to pick up and run at the drop of a hat.

It was these brief tastes of the life I’d never have that got me through the bad. And the bad came all the time. I’d heard that bad things came in three, and it always made me laugh. If they only came in three, then I’d be freaking relieved. I could come up for air on a regular basis.

Sure, every once in a while, I had a break.

This morning was my every once in a while.

Inhaling deeply, I sighed, content, then took another sip from my cup. Waking up in Storm’s bed with his arm wrapped around me, like he was never going to let me go, was a perfect memory that I’d tucked away immediately. Whatever we were doing right now was going to mark me. I’d never come out of this the same. I knew it, yet here I sat, on his back porch, drinking the coffee he’d made me and pretending like I wouldn’t be leaving him one day soon. Not because I wanted to, but because he’d tire of me. Or simply remember all the reasons he hated me.

The door opening drew my attention away from the rows of trees currently heavy with peaches. Storm stepped outside, wearing a gray pair of linen pajama pants hanging on his hips and nothing else. A tray of food was in his right hand as he used his left to close the door.

God, was there anything on earth as beautiful as this man? Even his feet were sexy, and I didn’t like feet. Not until I’d seen Storm’s.

Ruined. I was ruined.

His eyes drifted over me, and a pleased grin touched his face. I was still wearing his T-shirt that he’d left on the floor last night. I hadn’t wanted to change out of it yet.

“Hungry?” he asked.

“Did you make me breakfast?” I asked, not sure if any man had ever made me breakfast. I’d had plenty order me room service.

He nodded. “I thought we’d eat out here since you enjoy this view so much.”

I watched him walk over to the table and chairs that sat on the other end of the porch. I knew he meant the peach trees, but the view I really enjoyed was him.

Standing up, I made my way over to the table as he began to set everything out.

“I assumed we’d go to Maeme’s this morning,” I said, surprised at the items he had brought out here. Scrambled eggs, bacon, biscuits, fresh berries, and jam. The orange juice looked freshly squeezed.

He moved the glass pitcher of juice off the tray, then glanced back at me. “I wanted you to myself a little longer.”

Stop it, heart. Don’t get silly.

I had to keep my guard up. Prepare for the worst.

Studying the biscuits, I could tell they were homemade. “You can make biscuits?” I asked him as he pulled out a chair for me.

He smirked. “What do you think?”

“No. But those aren’t from a can,” I pointed out, moving over to take the seat as he stood behind it. I paused and tipped my head back to look up at him.

He reached a handout to cup my cheek, then brushed my lips with his thumb. “I might have had my sister bring Maeme’s breakfast to us.”

Ah. That explained it.

Smiling, I opened my mouth and nipped at his thumb with my teeth. His gaze studied my mouth, and I watched it darken, his hazel eyes turning a deeper amber color—it was one of my favorite things to watch.

“You’d better sit down and eat before I put you on that fucking table as my breakfast.”

My breath hitched, as if we hadn’t had sex less than an hour ago in his bed. I had to find a way to balance this with him. I couldn’t become completely addicted.

Forcing myself to look away from him, I turned and sat down. He pushed my chair in, then leaned down close to my ear.

“I’ll eat you after.” His deep voice made me shiver.

I could stay here forever. Never leave. That was not happening, but oh, how the thought of it made me wish things were different. That I were someone else. Anyone else.

Storm took the chair across from me, and I fought the urge to look at him.

Reaching for the pitcher, I poured myself a glass of juice. “Is this freshly squeezed?” I asked him as I put it back down.

He nodded. “Yeah, I use a juicer. That was me, not Maeme.”

I took a drink as my gaze held his. Licking my lips, I placed my glass back on the table. “First a perfect cup of coffee, then fresh orange juice. You should be careful. I might not leave,” I teased.

“That’s the plan,” he replied, then reached for the eggs and began to scoop some onto his plate.

He was joking. He had to be. I let out a laugh that I didn’t feel, but I was a pro at faking it.

His eyes shot back up to lock on me. “Nothing about that statement was a joke.”

I sucked in a breath and studied him, trying to decide what he was getting at. Last night had been incredible, just like this morning had been. The best sex of my life, but this was … us. My foolishly falling in love with him didn’t change that. He’d said a lot of things last night, but it had been in the heat of the moment.

He held the eggs out to me, and I took the bowl, not sure what to say then put a spoonful on my plate.

“Briar.”

I swallowed hard. “Yes?”

“What I said last night, I meant it. Every fucking word. Just because the sun came up doesn’t change anything. Everything is different now. You’re mine.”

There was that word again. He’d used it last night more than once.

“What do you mean, I’m yours?”

He placed some bacon on his plate. “It means, I’ll take care of you. Everything. No more running.”

I stared at the eggs on my plate as my stomach knotted up. He didn’t need to promise things like that.

“Two days ago, you were insulting me and couldn’t stand the sight of me.”

“The sight of you has never been something I couldn’t stand. As for insulting you, I am sorry. Most of the shit I said to you was because I hated that other men had touched you. I still do. I will always hate it, but I’m gonna make sure you don’t remember their names.”

My eyes shot back up to look at him. He was leaning back in his chair with a piece of bacon in his hand as he took a bite, not taking his focus off me.

“I can’t stay here. I have Dovie. Once I get my car and my money, we are going to have to find somewhere new to go. Far away from Jameson.” Who apparently had it out for me.

“If Jameson wants to live, he’ll stay away. Once he knows you’re mine, you’ll never see him again. As for Dovie, there are a lot of rooms in this house. She can have the entire top floor.”

I shook my head, trying not to grab on to the picture his words were painting of our future. This was more dangerous than anything I’d ever done. Men with wealth and power were one thing, and I was used to dealing with them. But Storm … Storm was a different kind of power. The Mafia was a whole new level.

“You realize what you’re offering me is what you hated me for?” I asked him.

His eyes narrowed, and he leaned forward. “Are you in love with me?”

Dammit. I’d gotten away without admitting this last night, but I’d said enough. He knew. I hadn’t denied it.

“Yes,” I whispered. I couldn’t lie to him. Not anymore.

“Did you love any of the other men?”

I shook my head. “No.”

He reached for a biscuit. “Then, it’s completely fucking different. I’m not married. I’m not attached to any woman. You aren’t going to be my side piece. You’re just mine, and I will make sure that it’s not a secret.”

I watched him put jam inside his biscuit as I tried to wrap my head around what he was saying to me. The hope was stirring in my chest, and I was fighting it back hard. I could not allow myself to be weak.

“I can’t—” I said, and the warning in his gaze stopped me.

I had to think of the right way to say this. Explain how this was a bad idea. Even if, at the moment, it sounded like a dream. One I was smart enough not to sink into.

“What happens to me when this ends? You’re right. You are important to me. Which means the more I allow you to … to handle everything. Let me have something this perfect. But when it is over and I am destroyed, I’ll still have to run. Take care of Dovie. I can’t fall apart. I have to stay strong. It’s what gets me through each day. Staying with you for however long this is going to last will weaken me. Take my edge.”

Storm stood up abruptly, and I stopped talking. He moved around the table with two long strides, then jerked my chair back before he leaned down, grabbing the armrests, caging me in.

“This doesn’t end,” he snarled. “I’m not letting you go. Ever. I don’t claim women. I don’t bring them to my house. You’re different. You’ve been different for me since the moment I laid eyes on you. This, us, it doesn’t end. You don’t leave.”

I blinked, staring at him, unsure if I wanted to throw myself into his arms or fight to be free.

“Do you love me?” I blurted out.

He’d demanded I admit it, but he wasn’t telling me he loved me too. Yet he was so sure he wanted to keep me forever.

His nostrils flared as he held my gaze. “If the clawing in my chest to keep you, touch you, own you, along with the desire to handcuff you to my bed so I know you’re unable to leave me, is love, then yes.”

I let out a startled laugh as my heart hammered in my chest. “Handcuff me?”

He nodded his head once.

“That’s a little twisted.”

He grabbed my chin as his eyes dropped to my mouth. “You have no idea how fucking twisted you make me.”

Fear and excitement warred inside me as I sucked in a breath. Dangerous. Storm was the most dangerous man I’d ever known. I ran from danger. I’d been doing it my entire life. But he made me want to willingly walk up to his room and hold my wrists out to him.

“I’m scared,” I admitted. Of everything he wanted. Everything I wanted.

“Of me?” he asked, those honey eyes lifting back to meet mine.

I nodded slightly.

A dark smile curled his lips. “You’re the last person on this earth who should fear me. But if another man touches you, I’ll kill him. If you want to fear something, fear that.”

Maybe if I were a normal woman. One who hadn’t been broken at an early age. One who had never killed someone. If I hadn’t lived in the darkness, this would be my cue to run like hell.

While his fingers slid into my hair, I knew I was messed up enough for this. For him.

“There has to be some rules,” I said as he pressed a kiss to my cheek.

“I don’t like rules,” he murmured, trailing his lips over my jawline.

I had to stay focused. He was trying to distract me. If I was going to give in and do this, I had to protect myself the best I could.

“I have money. I pay for my own needs. Dovie’s needs.”

“No,” he replied, then nipped at my bottom lip.

“Yes. If this is different, then I need that line drawn. I don’t want your money.”

He paused from where he was now nuzzling my neck. “I take care of mine.”

I closed my eyes as his warm breath tickled my ear. Focus, Briar. Stay on course. I was starting to pant. “But I need to do it this way.”

Storm’s hands covered mine, and then he stood up, pulling me with him. “Are you mine?” he asked, staring down at me as he held me against his chest.

“Yes,” I replied.

“Exactly.”

I opened my mouth to argue when his hands grabbed my waist and he sat me on the table, shoving back the things that were in my way.

“Don’t give me rules. I’m a rule breaker,” he said, jerking my legs open. “Time for the breakfast I really want.”

It was very difficult to argue with a man who had his head between your legs.

My heels dug into his back as his hands gripped my inner thighs, hard, while his tongue made long strokes between my folds. God, that was good. Falling back on my elbows, I watched him. His eyes lifted to meet mine, and he winked. He played unfair. He knew he was gorgeous, and I was weak. Adding his magical mouth to the mix made it hard for me to remember why I needed rules.

His tongue circled my clit as he slid his middle finger inside me while watching me pant.

“Oh,” I moaned, rocking against his finger.

“That’s my sweet pussy,” he praised as he watched his finger move in and out of me.

“Please,” I begged.

“Hmm? What do you need, little siren? My cock? Is that it?”

I nodded as another cry fell from my lips.

He bent down and took several more licks before pressing a kiss inside my thigh. When his hands went to his pajama pants and untied them, I wanted to weep in relief. As much as I loved having his mouth there, I wanted him inside me more.

His pants dropped to the ground, and he kicked them aside, then stepped between my open legs. I arched toward him impatiently, which only caused a deep chuckle from him. He ran his hands up my sides, underneath his shirt I was wearing.

“Yes,” I sighed as he covered my breasts with his rough, callous palms, then squeezed.

“Tell me what you want,” he growled.

I licked my lips as his eyes met mine. “Fuck me,” I panted.

His eyes flared as they darkened. “That’s my good girl.”

Moving his hands to my hips, he gripped them tightly, then thrust into me.

“AH!” I cried out as he stretched me.

“Fuck, I love how your cunt squeezes my dick,” he ground out through his teeth. “Perfect.”

I pressed against him, wanting him so deep inside me that I felt owned. I craved it with Storm. I’d never thought that sex could be like this. But every time he was inside me, it was like a claiming was taking place, and it should scare me off, but I clung to it. Needed it.

Shit! He didn’t have a condom on again.

“Condom,” I gasped.

“That ship has sailed.”

I used one hand to push at his chest, but it was a lame attempt. “This is dangerous. I need my birth control.”

He rocked his hips into me as his gaze lifted from where our bodies were joined to meet my eyes. “You being pregnant with my baby isn’t something that scares me. As much as I don’t want to share you, it would be insurance that you never left me.” His voice was raspy and deep.

I shivered, looking at him. He was serious. I should stop this. That was slightly more insane than even I could overlook. His thumb pressed on my clit and began circling it while he thrust into me harder. The jolts of pleasure rocketing through my body made my thoughts fuzzy. I wanted this, him inside me. Couldn’t I be happy for just a little bit?

“Pull the shirt up. I want to see your tits bounce,” he said as he pounded into me. The veins on his neck and arms stood out as his entire body flexed.

I sat up and pulled it up and over my head, then dropped it beside us before leaning back on my hands again. His eyes were on my chest as a muscle in his jaw ticked and his nostrils flared. I loved watching him look at me like he couldn’t get enough. He bent down and kissed the scar from the bullet from Jameson’s shot. It wasn’t the first time he’d done it. And I wondered why he did.

“Come here,” he growled, pulling me back up with him. Threading his fingers into my hair, he held my head so that our faces were so close that our heavy breathing mingled. “I’m not ever letting you go,” he said before his mouth claimed mine, his tongue stroking the inside of my mouth the way he’d done between my legs.

I wrapped my arms around him, pressing my breasts against his chest. A shudder went through his body, and I tensed, then shattered into a beautiful orgasm while clinging to him and shouting his name.

“FUCK!” he roared, slamming into me hard, and the warmth of his release filled me.

Every time we were together, it just seemed to get better. I wanted this man. The warnings in my head were getting fainter and fainter. He was managing to dim them all.