Chapter Forty-One
Jo
I trust that Lochlan can take care of himself, but I still don’t want him to get hurt.
I’ve paced across his living room floor until the pads of my feet hurt.
Finally, headlights light up the living room window as an army of trucks pull in, and I take off outside with the flannel throw blanket wrapped around my shoulders, faintly aware that I should have put real clothes on while he was gone.
The cool night air skates up my bare legs, fluttering the bottom of my robe as Hayes parks the Bronco right next to the house.
Lochlan climbs out of the passenger seat slowly, and I gasp.
He’s covered in blood.
Dried patches across the side of his face and across his knuckles, and spots splattered up his forearms.
I meet him midway down the steps at his height, grasping the back of his neck in my hands, examining the damage.
“Who did this?” My eyes roam across his bloody temple and hairline, down his neck, and back up to his face, where I see an amused smirk.
“Worried about me, darlin’?” His hands grip my hips, pulling me closer.
“Of course, I am.”
“I’m alright, promise.”
“Did you get the guy worse?”
“I did.”
“Good,” I say against his lips, feeling him smile again.
“Real cute, love birds, but he needs a butterfly bandage or he’s going to keep bleeding,” Hayes cuts in from behind us.
“Ah, right.” Lochlan starts to pull away from me, but I don’t let him go.
“I’ll do it, show me where it’s at.”
He looks at me like he’s not sure if I’m serious.
“Let me do it,” I whisper, raking my fingers through his hair to cradle the back of his head.
The hands at my hips slide down a few inches just before he hoists me up, wrapping my thighs around his waist.
Everyone is outside watching us, but I only look at him as he carries me inside and all the way up the steps.
He maneuvers us into the bathroom and drops down on top of the toilet lid, keeping me firmly in place on his lap.
“The first aid kit is in the drawer,” he rumbles, raising goosebumps on my arms.
The drawer in the vanity right next to me houses a small box with gauze, antiseptic, and band-aids of all varieties.
There’s even a needle and thread, but I choose to ignore its intended use for the time being.
“Wash it first, try to get some of the blood off,” he instructs softly, nodding to the drawer with the hand rags.
It’s a small bathroom, everything is in reach, but even if it weren’t, I think he’d bleed out before letting me go.
I wait until the water is warm before soaking the towel and dabbing it across his cheek, slowly cleaning his skin.
It’s dried and sticky, and I’m probably being too gentle, but he doesn’t interfere.
He’s not in a hurry, and I’m determined to take my time.
He doesn’t flinch when I re-wet the towel and dab at his cut, but he does close his eyes until I’m done.
It’s my only indication that he’s affected by this at all.
He doesn’t seem concussed, though I’m not sure I’m qualified to give an opinion on that besides what I’ve seen on TV.
“Dry it off with the gauze and then do the antiseptic.”
“Okay,” I whisper.
“Thank you,” he says softly against my jaw as I reach for the first aid kit again.
“What happened?”
“Frank.”
“What? I thought he was gone.”
“Hayes said he’d been hanging around the motel they dropped him at. Apparently, he got a hold of a truck and decided test his luck instead of getting the fuck out of town.”
“Did you…?” I can’t voice the word that comes to mind, not because he isn’t capable of eliminating someone, but because I don’t want to imagine the repercussions if he did.
“I hurt him real bad. That’s all.”
“Is this type of thing how you got your scars?”
“Yeah.”
I touch the big one along his cheek, looking at him thoughtfully until he elaborates.
“I got jumped my first week in prison by an Aryan Brotherhood tweaker. They wanted to initiate me into their gang of racist scumbags, but I sent him to the infirmary.”
“How long were you there?” I trace the length of the scar, all four inches of it if I had to guess.
“They sewed me up and sent me back to gen pop within a day. I cut my hair off after that because I had a feeling it wouldn’t be my last fight. I didn’t let it grow again until I got out.”
“How many more fights?”
“Plenty. They saw my size as a threat. Someone always had something to prove.” He thumbs the one on his chin.
“This is from Hayes.”
My jaw drops.
“What the hell?”
Lochlan chuckles.
“At the time, he thought I deserved it. He found out he was sharing a cell with a predator. I would have done the same thing, so I didn’t hold a grudge.”
“Didn’t he feel bad once he found out you were innocent?”
“He’s paid his penance many times over, don’t worry.” He reaches up, pinching my chin in his fingertips softly, and looks at me.
If he wanted a kiss, he would lean in, but he doesn’t; he’s just looking at me tenderly.
“Time for the bandage,” I breathe the words out, blinking rapidly to clear the fog in my brain.
It feels like someone turned on the hot water, filling the room with steam.
I carefully secure both sides of the butterfly strip before I’m brave enough to look him in the eyes, but when I do, I see the source of heat making it hard to breathe.
His thumb caresses my cheek, falling to my mouth and paying special attention to my bottom lip.
“I’m sorry I ran out on you earlier.”
“It’s okay, it was important.”
“You’re important.”
The breath catches in my throat, but I’m already struggling to get air in and out of my lungs.
His dark eyes are intense, studying me closely.
The blanket fell from my shoulders to the floor the moment we arrived in the bathroom, and I let my flimsy robe join it, tugging on the belt to let gravity take over.
The silk slips down my arms, pooling on the floor at his feet.
His chest heaves, and I watch his throat as he swallows thickly.
There’s only a moment of insecurity in my head, exposing myself this blatantly in front of him, but it’s not because I’m afraid he won’t like what he sees; it’s because I feel so unprepared and inexperienced.
His rough hands travel up my spine, bringing my chest close and nuzzling his face between my breasts as if he needs them to survive.
My fingers find the back of his head, gripping his hair and holding on for my own sanity as he explores me further, gently dragging his lips across my soft skin.
When his lips reach my tightened peak, a soft gasp escapes my throat, and his fingers dig into my spine, holding me tight.
Another first.
He doesn’t rush, memorizing the first nipple with his lips before doing the same with the second.
It isn’t until I’m molten lava on the inside that he tastes me, flicking his tongue across where I’m most sensitive and sucking me into his mouth.
He worships me with his tongue, and my hips replicate it, grinding languidly against his lap.
When he sucks my other nipple into his mouth I can’t control myself.
My hands are clutching and grabbing at him, rubbing down his chest until they find his belt.
I don’t know what to do once I’m here, and I start fumbling with the buckle, not thinking even two steps ahead to what I’ll do once I release it.
As soon as it pops free, his mouth stops moving, and I’m lifted into the air, losing the progress I was making.
It’s only a few steps to his room where he drops me on the bed softly, staring ravenously at my almost naked body.
His eyes roam over me, and he looks like he’s struggling with where to start before he reaches for my blue panties, continuing from where he was interrupted earlier.
He drags them down my legs until I’m completely nude and frighteningly exposed, but I’m not worried, not with him.
He makes me feel beautiful and safe, and more confident than I’ve ever been in my life.
“Spread your knees,” his gravelly voice demands.
I shake my head.
“Take your shirt off first.”
He rips it up and over his head, dropping the blood-stained fabric on the floor as I take him in slowly.
He’s larger with every breath he takes, radiating with strength and unbridled chaos, and I hope he gives me all of it.
“Now, your pants.”
He shakes his head no this time, and I frown.
“If I take my pants off, I won’t be able to stop. Pants stay on.”
“I don’t want you to stop.”
“Darlin’, I don’t want to either, but you know how I feel. You can’t sway me on this one.”
My frown deepens, but he’s too focused on my lower half to notice.
“Spread your knees for me, baby.”
Like a voice-activated entry, my legs open at his command, baring myself to him completely .
“I knew your sweet pussy would be fucking perfect.”
His words make me clench.
I’ve never heard anyone talk dirty in real life.