Chapter 26
CHAPTER 26
B eckett
A long time coming.
A need that had never ceased.
A requirement in my life that I’d pushed aside.
No. Fucking. Longer.
That’s all I could think as I led Mallory down the hallway, Jax trotting behind us. He was just as thrilled as I was and perhaps just as skeptical. No, this wasn’t what I’d had planned. I hadn’t thought it a good idea, but the day I’d run into her, every resolve had crumbled. The moment I’d seen her walk into the bar, all bets had been off. My dominant nature had reared up, casting some fucking spell as if voodoo.
Even Mike had commented on the change in my demeanor.
I’d longed to see her, had done so from afar years before, but this wasn’t anything that I’d expected. I’d heard all about what she’d said to Mike, refusing the offer as if I truly believed she was all about money. I hadn’t intended on insulting her, but I wasn’t good at peopling. That had become made painfully clear to me.
Feeling her small hand in mine brought out a wave of possessiveness that had never left. It was almost as if four years hadn’t passed with one exception. We shared a son, a beautiful child that deserved to have the best things in life and I planned on giving them to him.
I slipped the keycard into the lock and as soon as we were inside, I shoved her against the wall, both of us laughing from the force I’d used. “I’ve missed the fuck out of you too, baby.”
“I’m not your baby,” she threw out, but the smirk on her face indicated otherwise.
“You’re not? Then what are you?”
“Maybe a devil in disguise.”
The woman could still make me laugh, but my hunger was far too intense to continue the fucking charade.
Jax trotted inside, immediately heading to his bed. He knew when not to fuck with whatever I was doing, but I’d seen the look in his eye. He’d considered her his people and it had been rough as fuck to return to my side. I’d felt selfish taking him, but had known bringing him back would only cause her additional harm.
If only from the assholes who’d refused to believe I’d died on that mountain.
I’d spent months looking over my shoulder. I’d only been able to trust Mike at that point and he’d kept track of all those in the Valenti family, aiding and abetting me on my continued path of revenge.
He’d alerted me to whether anyone was asking about me. After four months the questions had begun to die off. I’d returned to a normal life of sorts, moving out west to start fresh. But I hadn’t been happy or content.
She backed away, her chest rising and falling, watching me intently as I closed and locked the door. A single light had been left on and I was able to see the combination of apprehension and longing in her eyes. She was still confused, angry with me, and hurt. There were so many things I wanted to say to her, so many apologies to make, but I wasn’t that kind of man.
I advanced like a true predator, yanking my shirt from my trousers.
She licked her lips and gave me a solid, extremely heated onceover. She had no clue she’d just unleashed a beast.
When her back was against a wall, I cocked my head. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“Who said I wanted to?”
I chuckled softly and still knew this wasn’t a good idea. Nightmares were rarely over. I had way too much baggage and she was as close to being innocent as anyone could be. But I couldn’t stay away. She was far too tempting. Fuck. I could never let her go again.
We acted as if there was no time to lose, both tearing as each other’s clothes. I couldn’t wait to feel her voluptuous, naked body pressed against mine.
With every tear of our clothes, every nervous laugh erupting from her throat, my cock ached more than before. I was losing control of my actions, the need to possess her stronger than any desire for romance. That just wasn’t the kind of man I was.
Although the feisty woman had certainly altered my way of thinking.
The moment she removed her bra, I captured her rounded breasts in my hands. They fit perfectly, the size and shape making my mouth water. I was the only man who should ever be allowed to touch them again.
A dark growl bubbled to the surface and she moaned in response as I rubbed the rough pads of my thumbs back and forth across her nipples. They were already taut like perfect diamonds and I couldn’t resist dropping my head and sucking on one then the other.
She gripped my shoulders, digging her nails into my skin. The sensation had been something I’d missed, her touch keeping my mind active as I’d performed what I’d considered my duty to humanity.
Although I doubted she would agree.
The moment I bit down on her hardened bud, she raked her nails over my shoulders. She’d leave a mark and that was just fine by me.
“God. Sweet Jesus,” she muttered as she bent her knee, rubbing it against my thigh. As she rubbed her palms down my chest, I immediately realized she was struggling with my belt buckle.
I pushed her hands away, chuckling darkly as I pointed to her jeans. “Off. Now. If you don’t obey me, I’ll rip them to shreds.”
“Then you do the same. Or else.” Her attempt at issuing commands brought a smile to my face. But what the heck, I finished undressing, tossing my boots halfway across the room while I was given a spectacular show.
The woman could shimmy her rounded hips in such a way my balls tightened to heavy drums. There was a rapid pulse thrumming against my neck as another rush of adrenaline threatened to kick my butt.
When we were both completely naked, I gripped her hips, lifting her off her feet and forcing her legs over my shoulders.
“Oh, what are you doing? What in God’s name are you doing?” She was breathless, one hand gripping my arm while she flailed the other over her head, smacking it against the wall.
I offered a salacious look I doubted she could see in the dim lighting, growling one more time. “Feasting, baby. What does it look like? I’m a famished man and there’s only one thing that will soothe the beast.”
Mallory laughed until I buried my face into her wetness. She was so wet that my face was instantly covered with her juice. I thrust my tongue past her swollen folds, wiggling it several times as she undulated her hips. If the woman was trying to smother me, she had no idea how long I could hold my breath.
The taste was sweeter than I remembered, every muscle in my body relaxing as I enjoyed devouring her. How many times had I envisioned doing this? How many nights had I stroked my cock until it was raw thinking about the last time we’d been together?
Fuck. How many times had I almost broken the silent promise I’d made to her, giving her life back? Too many to count. I licked up and down, swirling the tip of my tongue around her clit. The moment I sucked on the tender bud, she arched her back, her moans floating around us like a beacon of sin.
The sound only added to the powerful aphrodisiac I’d experienced with her every time we were together. She tossed her head back and forth, her moans becoming scattered. As she pressed her knees against my cheeks, I concentrated on driving her into a moment of madness.
She was sweet like cherries in the spring, freshly plucked and broken open. I could do this for hours, bringing her to one climax after another. I’d do just that if it wasn’t that my cock was aching like a son of a bitch.
Every time she wiggled, I dug my fingers into her soft flesh, holding her tightly. The woman wasn’t going anywhere. Now not. Not tonight. Perhaps never. The thought fueled me even more and I managed to drive my fingers into her tight channel beside my tongue.
“Oh, God. You’re insane. You’re so…” Mallory’s words faded as she lolled her head to the side, her chest heaving. I sensed she was close to the first of hopefully many climaxes and licked more furiously. “Yes. Yes. Yes…”
When she jerked up from the wall, I pushed her back, grunting and growling like a beast rutting in the wild.
And she loved every second of it.
She continued thrashing as I brought her to first one climax then another. Every sound she made, her strong purrs and wild lioness roars only fueled my rough actions. Her entire body was shaking, her thighs threatening to suffocate me.
But I kept going, savoring every lick and taste of her.
It took several minutes for her body to stop trembling in my hold. I slowed my actions, savoring every drop of her sweet cream. I’d held back, wanting no other woman in the years we’d been apart. How could I when the enticing veterinarian with a heart of gold and the mouth of a sailor had managed to rip open a part of me I’d had no clue existed?
When she slumped her head, taking shallow breaths, I slowly eased her to her feet. She gripped my shoulders, her eyes completely unfocused as she blinked several times.
She was still breathless, her gaze locked yet I sensed sadness and possibly remorse. “What are we doing?”
“Reclaiming our lives.”
Her laugh sounded bitter. “You won’t stay. I can’t go through losing you again. I just can’t. I’m not built that way. You’ve already sold the house. Haven’t you?”
“Why do you think that?”
She laughed a second time, but there were tears in her eyes. “Don’t try and fool me. You and your attorney were meeting with a buyer. Right? That’s what was just happening. Don’t lie to me, Beckett. I get it. You have a life that doesn’t include Vermont. But I can’t have my son thinking you’re someone important in my life, if you don’t want to be in his then you disappear. That’s just not fair.”
As soon as she turned her head, doing everything in her power to push me away, I gripped her jaw, forcing her to look into my eyes. “You need to hear me, Doc. Listen. Don’t you dare say a word. Not one. You got it?”
Her nod was followed by a single sob. She was trying so hard to be the strong woman I knew her to be that a self-imposed rage jetted through me as it had done dozens of times.
“What you saw in the bar was completely the opposite. The moment I saw you I knew I couldn’t just disappear again. I refuse to leave you or the life I so desperately want and thought about for so long. You consumed my dreams. You kept me alive. You were the glue that held me together. And seeing my son’s eyes was just a stake being driven into my heart and one I deserved. I’m not leaving. You don’t need to want me here and there are no promises between us except for one. I will care about our son. I will be a part of his life to whatever degree you want me to be.”
“Who were you meeting with?”
“I’m purchasing a business in town.”
“Really?”
I rubbed the tips of my fingers across her cheek. “Really. I want you, both of you in my life.”
“What about the past, the danger?”
The truth was something she didn’t necessarily need to hear, but one she would fight to discover. “Eliminated.”
She opened her mouth as if to retort, her eyes searching mine. She might never be able to forgive me, not only for aspects of her life I’d all but stolen, but also because she knew exactly the kind of man I’d been become.
“I think I fell in love with you all those years ago, Beckett. But I can’t live a lie. Your son doesn’t deserve anything less than the truth.”
“Agreed.”
The feeling of her fingers kneading my chest sent a heat flash into my system. “Then tell me your real name.”
For so long I’d believed doing so would place her life in extreme danger, but there was no one left on this earth with a single exception that remembered the boy I’d once been, the one who’d promised his mother he’d bring her joy and prosperity. I no longer recognized him.
“Michaelangelo Rinaldi.”
There was utter silence between us, the sweet veterinarian processing what I’d told her. When she held out her hand, I chuckled. “Pleased to meet you, Michaelangelo. I heard you were a decorated Marine, saving several lives. And that you saved your father. You’re a hero.”
Huffing, I found it interesting Mike had told me what she’d said during their meeting, but had left out what he’d said to her.
“That was a long time ago, Doc, and I’m no hero. Just a man hoping to regain control of his life alongside the woman he can’t live without. Michaelangelo ceased to exist a long time ago.”
“Are you certain about that?”
“Very. Beckett suits me. A little rough around the edges.”
“You are rough around the edges, but that’s sexy as hell. Beckett it is.” Her lower lip quivered, but I sensed some relief. A secret conveyed. A past revealed.
We shook hands and I could see another veil had faded from her eyes, another moment of trust returning.
With a devious expression crossing her face, she slowly dropped to her knees. I didn’t need to grill her on what she was doing. She immediately wrapped one hand around the base of my cock, sliding her other hand between my legs. When she squeezed my balls, I slammed my palms against the wall. The urge to fuck her like some wild animal was growing stronger.
She blew across my cockhead before darting her tongue across my sensitive slit. When she lifted her head, she purposely dragged the tip of her tongue across her bottom lip.
“Be careful teasing me, Doc. You know I have little control.”
“That’s what I was counting on.” She squeezed my balls again as she sucked on the tip of my cock. Goddamn, her jaw muscles were strong. I arched my back, throwing back my head as the heated sensations began to rise.
Every move she made was controlled, a far cry from the hunger furrowing inside of me. She sucked on the tip for almost a full minute while she twisted her hand around the base creating wave after wave of friction.
Her actions were perfect, practiced and I could barely contain my need to take over, fucking her mouth. I cinched my eyes shut as she continued tormenting me, now running her tongue along the underside of my shaft.
The moment she wrapped her wet mouth around my testicle, I slammed my hand against the wall several times. Nothing had felt quite so incredible in one hell of a long time. I found myself panting as she swirled her tongue back and forth, sucking just enough my thoughts were spinning out of control.
After purring, she zigged and zagged her tongue back to my cockhead, engulfing the tip. That was all I could take.
I fisted her hair at the scalp, jerking up her head until she was forced to look at me. “Suck, baby. Suck me dry.”
Her eyes were twinkling, something else I’d been forced to miss. And something I would never take for granted. I rolled onto the balls of my feet, driving several inches into her hot, wet mouth. The slight strangling sound only fueled the rush and electricity we shared. Our chemistry was off the charts, enough so I was now the one having difficulty focusing. She did that to me, the woman who was never far from my mind.
I continued fucking her mouth, my pulse racing from my attempts to keep control. When the tip hit the back of her throat, I held her head in place. There was something so refreshing about her gasping for air as I studied the way her jaws were puffed out in acceptance of my wide girth.
I was still very much a bad man.
She placed her long fingers against my thighs, never blinking. Never complaining. There was so much emotion in her heated gaze, much like I knew there had to be in mine. There were so many things to say, decisions to be made.
But not tonight.
I pumped into her mouth viciously, every muscle in my body as tense as in hers. There was nothing I’d enjoyed more than spewing my seed down her throat, but I’d never forgive myself. I longed to drive my cock so deeply inside her sweet pussy she screamed out my name.
That’s exactly what was going to occur.
After a few additional plunges into her sweet mouth, I pulled all the way out, stumbling backwards. That was how much tension was riding every muscle.
She remained on her knees, panting as hard and fast as I was doing.
I raked my hand through my hair, laughing softly as my cock continued to throb. Relief had better come soon or I’d go mad.
Taking a single long stride, I lifted her into the air, forcing her legs around my hips. She shuddered visibly, her eyes shimmering as her breath skipped.
My cock ached, the desperate need to be near her increasing. I pulled a single finger into my mouth, unable to take my eyes off her as I sucked. The look on her face became more intense.
Her feistiness had returned in full force. As soon as she dragged her tongue across her lips, I wasn’t certain we’d ever leave this room. When I eased her finger from my mouth, she wrapped her fingers around my neck, pulling me down. I planted my hands on either side of her, staring into her sinfully gorgeous whiskey-laced eyes.
“What does the bad girl want?” I couldn’t resist asking, although I winced.
Every time she laughed nervously, my balls tightened. “Everything.”