Chapter 26
CHAPTER
TWENTY-SIX
KING
Turning to my side, I reach out and place my palm against the center of her belly. Shawn turns her head, and her eyes find mine. I watch as she slides her tongue out and licks her bottom lip before she speaks.
“What?” she asks when I don’t say anything immediately.
“Your body is fucking beautiful, sweetness,” I murmur. “Maybe one day you’ll have my baby in here.”
Her breath hitches, and she sits straight up, her eyes wild, her breathing labored as she looks at me.
“You haven’t used a condom,” she snaps.
My lips curve up into a grin. “Not with my woman, I don’t.”
“Elvis,” she says.
“What?”
I watch as sheer panic sweeps over her face. She is freaking the fuck out. Sweat appears on her forehead almost immediately, and then she leans forward, her face just inches from mine. She whimpers once before she speaks.
“I’m not on birth control. I didn’t even think about it. I’ve never had to think about it. Oh my god,” she hisses.
I shrug a shoulder, lifting my hand to cup her cheek in an effort to calm her down. She’s starting to really lose her cool, and the last thing I need is for her to have a goddamn panic attack after coming twice.
“Sweetness,” I murmur, my gaze searching hers. “Don’t give a fuck. It’s all good. Whatever happens, we take it one day at a time.”
Her eyes widen as she lifts her hand, wrapping her fingers around my bicep before she speaks again. This time, her voice is barely above a whisper, so I have to really focus to hear her.
“We don’t know one another.”
“No, we don’t,” I agree. “But I’m not going anywhere, so I figure we can learn along the way, and that means whatever comes our way, it’s all good.”
She tries to shake her head, but I don’t let her. Keeping her still, I can’t take my eyes off hers. I can tell she’s still completely panicked, but I’m not going to let that happen. I lean closer and slide my nose along hers before I speak again.
“We can’t take back what’s already done, and if anything has been set into motion, Shawn, panicking helps not a single fuckin’ person.”
“But what if…”
Her words trail off when I touch my lips to hers in a gentle kiss. I slip my tongue inside of her mouth and fully taste her. She whimpers, then melts down into the mattress, and I follow her, moving my chest toward her tits, feeling her warmth and softness against my skin.
“Then we deal with it,” I murmur after nibbling on her bottom lip to break the kiss. “Plenty of couples barely know one another and bring life into the world. It’s all good, sweetness.”
Tears fill her eyes. I watch for a moment, wondering if they’ll fall, but she blinks them away. She smiles sadly before she speaks.
“I can’t even pay my bills, Elvis. How could I bring a baby into my life?”
I let out a small chuckle before I clear my throat. “Almost forty here, Shawn. I got you, and when I say that, I mean in every goddamn way. Now, go wash up. I’m hungry.”
She smiles, but I can tell she’s still worried about being knocked up. Wouldn’t surprise me if she went down to the clinic today to get on birth control. Part of me wouldn’t give a fuck. The other part wants her to already be pregnant.
Shawn is fucking beautiful, and our children would be out of this goddamn world in looks and brains. She may think she doesn’t know what the fuck she’s doing business-wise, and she could use a little help, but she’s got herself a long-ass way. I’m highly impressed with her abilities.
I watch as she throws her legs over the side of the bed and sits up on the edge. Reaching out, I touch the center of her back with my palm. She turns her head, looking over her shoulder at me, giving me a small smile.
“Seriously, sweetness, it’s all fucking good. I got you. In every way.”
“You didn’t have me this last week,” she whispers softly.
“Fucked up,” I murmur. “I see how much communication means to you, and I won’t do it again, sweetness. Have patience with me, yeah?”
She arches a brow but doesn’t say anything, so I continue. “Never done this shit before. Almost forty, and I never had a woman. It’s all new to me. I’ve never had to communicate with a woman.”
“Okay,” she replies softly. “But just to say, I haven’t done this either. Austin was the only guy I ever dated, and we were in high school. It’s not like it was an adult relationship.”
“Yeah?” I ask. “That’s who that was?”
I can feel the blood rushing in my ears. She stands, then turns to face me, her naked body on complete display. It shouldn’t distract me, but it does. Tits always distract me, and hers are the fucking best. They’re real and fucking perfect, a handful just for me.
“It was. But it was a last resort.”
“As much as I want to rehash this,” I say, clearing my throat, “I don’t.
We’ve both come. We’ve both said our piece.
It’s time we move on, and if you call him again, I’ll kill him.
I’m your man. Whatever you need, I got you.
Even if I can’t do it, someone from the club will be right where you need them to be.
That’s part of the perks of being my woman. ”
She nods her head slowly, sinking her teeth into her bottom lip with a single nod. “I can be okay with that,” she says with a smile.
“Never be afraid to call me, not fucking ever, yeah?”
“Yeah,” she exhales.
Smirking, I let out a laugh. “Go and clean up. I’m hungry.”
“What do you want for lunch?” she asks softly.
“Your cunt.”
Her eyes widen, and she lets out a gasp. I shrug a shoulder because that’s exactly what I fucking want. “It’s all I want. Real sustenance can come later. Eating your pussy comes first—always.”
She moves, making her way toward the bathroom, and I watch her ass as she walks. I don’t know if I’ll be able to wait until she showers the sweat and cum from her body. I might have to go and meet her in the shower.
When I hear the water run, I throw my legs over the side of the bed. I cannot have her getting wet and soapy without me. I have an entire week of fucking to make up for, and I plan on doing it today.
All fucking day long.
SHAWN
His lips touch the side of my neck as he pulls me against his chest from behind. His hand cups my breast. He hums against my skin. He flexes his hips, his cock nestled between the cheeks of my ass.
“I missed you last week.”
“Never again?” I ask.
I feel so damn needy. But I don’t think I care. I am needy. I am so needy when it comes to him. He hums against my shoulder again, then squeezes my boob before he answers me.
“Not if I can fucking help it, sweetness.”
Drifting off to sleep, I can’t help but finally feel at peace.
For the first time in my entire life, I feel taken care of in a way I didn’t think was possible.
It feels possible now. To have a man give a shit about me.
To have a man who is wild and a little bit over the top.
Who wants everything about me—my good, my bad, and my ugly.
Austin was a great partner. He would be a great husband, too.
And I could have stayed with him and been his wife on the ranch, but Austin would not love the ugly parts of me.
Sure, he knew about them, he hated my family for me, but he would have never accepted that I come from them. That that is who I am.
That’s where I came from.
I am Shawn Cotton of the Cottons, the ones who do drugs, make drugs, sell drugs, steal shit, break the law, and whatever else kind of scams they have running. It’s been generational. It’s not something I could ever have pretended didn’t exist.
That is where I come from.
Austin wanted to pretend.
He wanted to play perfect.
I’m not perfect. I don’t come from perfect. I never have, and I never will. There will always be some Cotton inside of me that will shine through. Maybe this club, these people, are where I’ve always been meant to be.
They would never, not in a million years, judge the woman I am or where I’ve come from.
“You’ve been thinking very hard,” Elvis murmurs against my shoulder.
I could tell him the truth, but I’m not ready to be that open with him yet. I’ve shared my body, possibly my womb, with him. I’ve shared my life and my business, but talking about being a Cotton, talking about who I am and what I come from, it’s too much.
Turning in his arms, I look into his eyes. “Yeah,” I whisper. “Should we get some real food?”
“Cupcakes?” he asks.
I almost burst out laughing, but I decide against it. Lifting my arms between us, I cup his cheeks. “I do like cupcakes, but maybe we need some protein?” I offer.
He leans forward and touches his lips to mine before he nips the bottom one and shifts backward slightly. His gaze searches my own for a moment, then his lips curve up into a small smile before he speaks again.
“I got some protein for you right here, sweetness.”
Throwing my head back slightly, I let out a burst of laughter. It comes from deep within my belly. I can’t hold it back at all. Elvis wraps his arms around me, pulling me against his chest as he rolls me onto my back.
He’s above me, his nose sliding along mine, and then his lips brush my own. He places his hands on the mattress at either side of my head and pushes up, straightening his arms before he rolls off me and practically jumps to his feet.
Turning to the side, I watch him for a moment before he turns and walks out of the room. I assume he’s heading into the kitchen to find the clothes he discarded earlier today.
My entire body is sore, every inch of me. Although, the way his mouth felt against my pussy, it was almost like a soothing balm. And honestly, I’m ready for that again any time he feels like offering it to me.
Moving around my own room, I open my middle drawer and tug out a pair of leggings, socks, and a crop top. Normally, this wouldn’t be my go-to outfit, but my entire body is sore as hell, and I’m starving.
I throw my hair up in a messy bun and slip on my sneakers before making my way into the living room, where I find him. Elvis. He’s standing in my little kitchen looking sexy as shit, his phone held up to his ear as he murmurs something that I can’t quite make out.
He turns his head to look over his shoulder at me as if he senses my presence. I watch as he gives me a smirk, then jerks his chin as he finishes up his conversation.
“Yeah, I’ll handle that shit in the morning.”
He ends the call, and I watch him for a moment, taking in his masculine hotness, then something pops into my head.
“Why were you at the farmers’ market today?” I ask.
Silence.
He shifts his attention to his feet, then lifts it slowly to meet my own. “Knew it was your debut,” he says.
Shaking my head slowly, I press my lips together as my eyes narrow on him. Without me even having to ask, he tells me the truth. “Poison said she saw you downtown with him, loading up his truck. She was trying to piss me off so I’d dump you.”
His words are factual. Truthful. And I’ve never wanted to get in a fight with a woman in all of my life… well, again, that is.
“I’ll just bet she did. This girl is going to be a problem, Elvis,” I say.
He moves from my kitchen, walking around the bar until he’s directly in front of me.
Then he wraps his fingers around the back of my neck before he dips his chin and almost touches his mouth to mine.
He doesn’t kiss me, though. He just keeps his lips so close that I can practically feel them, then he speaks.
“She doesn’t mean shit, babe. It’s you, only you. Ignore her crazy ass because there’s only you.”
“The fact that you call her crazy makes me worry,” I whisper.
He shifts his head backward slightly, sinking his teeth into his bottom lip as his gaze searches mine. “Nothing to worry about, sweetness. There’s only you for me, yeah?”
“Yeah,” I exhale, but I don’t believe my own word. Because I am worried about this girl. She clearly wants him, and she’s there with him a lot more than I am. But we wouldn’t be in a real relationship if I didn’t trust him, and until he gives me a reason not to, that’s exactly what I’m going to do,
At least, that’s what I tell myself…