Chapter 9 Shea
Chapter nine
Shea
The storm lasted until late in the afternoon, flooding the streets and taking down trees.
Trooper pushed our date later, until after the rain had passed.
A jumble of emotions twisted in my gut—excitement, anticipation, dread, the nagging feeling that this was a terrible idea and it would blow up in our faces.
Then the sun came out, and the world was freshly clean, smelling sweet, glistening. And Trooper pulled up to the curb.
That knot of anxiety melted away. Because he was still here.
After years of friendship, Trooper continued to show up for me, to be there when I needed him the most. I didn’t ask where he was taking me when I climbed on his bike, and I didn’t care.
Huddled against his back, I would have been happy to ride in circles for hours with no destination in mind.
A few minutes later, Trooper turned into his driveway and parked.
“Didn’t you say we were going out to dinner?” I asked.
“I decided to impress you with my cooking skills instead,” he replied, helping me dismount from his bike.
“Oh, that’s terrifying. Should I have the fire department on speed dial? Or an emergency medical team on standby in case I get food poisoning?”
Trooper rolled his eyes as he took my hand, leading me inside.
“Ha, ha, very funny. Make me the butt of your jokes all you like. You’ve never tasted my cooking before.”
“I didn’t even know you could cook in the first place,” I pointed out.
Trooper shrugged.
“That’s because I don’t like doing it for myself. But it’s different when I have company. Everything just tastes better when you have someone to share it with.”
After leaving our boots by the mat at the front door, I followed him into the kitchen.
For a long time, I thought Trooper would have a typical pig sty for a bachelor pad.
A pile of unwashed dishes in the sink. Overflowing garbage.
And a bathroom that probably never saw a scrub brush since he moved in.
But that wasn’t the case.
He kept a tidy living space, with soothing tones of gray-blue and earthy brown. His decor was minimal, but tasteful—black and white photographs of his Harley, or the snow-capped mountain peaks of Juniper Creek.
Ever since Trooper became an uncle, bits and pieces of his nephew’s influence began to show up in his home. A basket of colorful toys by the couch in the living room. Drawings rendered in crayon, pinned to the refrigerator. An entire shelf dedicated to snacks for kids in his pantry.
Trooper pulled out two trays of food, wrapped in tin foil, that had been left to warm in the oven. When he removed the foil, steam wafted into the air with a mouthwatering scent that made my stomach rumble.
“Black pepper roast beef,” he announced. “With parmesan rosemary bread rolls, and an honorary side dish of roasted vegetables in a creamy feta sauce. So, now you can’t say that I don’t eat my veggies.”
“Theo,” I said softly, marveling at the plate he passed into my hand. “This is incredible.”
He looped an arm around my waist and kissed my temple.
“Does that mean you’re impressed with my domestic skills?”
I laughed and glanced up at him.
“It means I’m suspicious. Where did you learn to do all this?”
“I might have consulted with Ironside beforehand,” Trooper admitted.
“Since he’s so good in the kitchen, I figured he would have some date-night recipes that I could use.
I might not have anything going for me when it comes to my track record with long term relationships, but maybe I could earn a few points in my favor if I prove that I’m a good cook who would make sure you never went hungry. ”
My heart squeezed. Trooper had protected me, kept me safe. And now he was feeding me. Providing for me.
I set our plates of food aside and hooked a finger in Trooper’s belt loop, tugging him close. His eyes brightened as he pinned me against the counter with his hips. I cupped his face in my hands, smoothing my thumb across his lower lip.
“I don’t know how to do this, Theo,” I whispered.
Trooper rested his hands on my hips, skimming up under my shirt. His callused palms felt so good against my skin, fingertips lightly stroking over my stomach, caressing the curve of my breasts.
“I don’t either, sweetheart,” he murmured, barely a breath against my lips. “But I know that I want you. And I’ll do whatever it takes to be the man who stays for you.”
If he had been anyone else, I would have thought he was just saying what I longed to hear so he could get his rocks off. But I saw the honesty in his eyes, the sincerity. He meant it. Every word.
Threading my fingers into Trooper’s hair, I sealed my mouth to his with a devouring kiss. He answered with a moan, deep and delicious. He palmed at my breast, rubbing teasing circles over my nipple until I ached between my thighs, so desperate to be filled.
Breaking away for a moment, I stripped off Trooper’s shirt, tossing it aside.
He unzipped my jeans, peeling them down along with my panties.
The next thing I knew, he was on his knees before me, guiding my leg over his shoulder.
He kissed the inside of my thigh, his breath fanning over my throbbing clit.
“I thought you wanted to talk,” Trooper said with a smirk.
“Oh, shut up,” I grumbled.
He laughed and his eyes darkened with a shadow of arousal as he pressed his face between my thighs. I gasped when he stroked his tongue against my clit, sucking hard enough to make my legs shake.
Gripping the counter for support, I pushed my hips against him. Trooper smoothed one hand up my thigh, cupping my ass to hold me in place. With his free hand, he slid two fingers inside me, curling upward with exquisite pleasure that sent stars dancing across my vision.
I tipped my head back, closed my eyes, surrendering to the flood of sensation that washed over me. The hot sweep of Trooper’s tongue. The perfect twist of his fingers, stretching me open.
“Fuck, baby, you’re dripping,” he rasped.
A whine rose in my throat, my orgasm coiled hot and tight in my lower belly. I rolled my hips, grinding against Trooper’s face. His fingertips dug into my flesh with a bruising grip. As I trembled on the edge of release, my eyes flew open and I glanced down at him.
Trooper met my gaze, his pupils full-black with lust. He looked so fucking hot with my leg thrown over his bare shoulder, tattooed muscles shifting and flexing with every movement.
He ate me out like he was starving, working his jaw into me like I was a ripe piece of fruit, my juices sliding down his chin.
This was the point of no return. There would be no holding back now.
He was all in.
And so was I.
My orgasm hit so hard that my knees buckled.
Trooper prevented me from falling, wedging his shoulder beneath me to lean on him.
Darkness clouded the edges of my vision as my body was wracked with one pulse of pleasure after another.
He coaxed me through it, sucking and lapping at my clit until I couldn’t take it anymore, pushing his head away.
I gasped for air, feeling wrung-out and loose from head to toe. Trooper sucked an open-mouthed kiss to my inner thigh, looking like he would be content to stay there for eternity. Then he rose to his feet, kissing his way up my body, sliding my T-shirt off as he went.
As I started to unhook my bra, my gaze snagged on the inside of Trooper’s elbow with a familiar swath of ink. I grabbed his arm, touching the lines that I’d drawn in marker at the clubhouse.
“That should have faded by now,” I said.
“I stopped by Hotline when you were out to lunch with Lila one day,” he replied. “So I could get it permanently inked by one of your tattoo artists. It’s perfect. I didn’t want to lose it.”
I gulped around the sudden lump in my throat. Over the years, I’d done some work for Trooper. That was nothing unusual. But this…this was different. This was part of him and part of me, intertwined together. It was personal.
Like a promise. A commitment. A proposal.
Trooper cupped his palm to my cheek, tilting my head up. He slid his tongue into my mouth, salty with the lingering taste of myself. Taking my wrist, he guided my palm to his cock. I needed no encouragement to squeeze the bulge of his erection, teasing him through his jeans.
Without breaking the kiss, I unbuckled his belt, pushing his pants down just enough to free him. He swore softly as I grasped his cock, pumping the length until he was hard as a rock. He grunted, teeth clenched, thrusting into my fist.
“We’re doing this all wrong, sweetheart,” Trooper said, tangling his fingers in my hair with a firm tug. He mouthed at my neck, dragging a hot, wet stripe up my throat. “I wanted to wine and dine you first. Not jump your bones as soon as we walked in the door.”
“Feed me later,” I said. “Fuck me now.”
He blew out a breath and hooked his hands behind my knees, hoisting me up onto the counter.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Digging into his pocket, Trooper pulled out a condom and stripped off his jeans, kicking them aside. After rolling the condom on, he skimmed his fingers up my pussy, gathering the cream of my arousal to coat his cock with it.
Sex was never like this with anyone else. I couldn’t stop grinning like an idiot, and my stomach felt as if I’d swallowed an entire bottle of bubbly champagne, leaving me giddy and light-headed in the best way.
Trooper pushed my legs apart, lining up the tip of his cock. Too impatient to wait any longer, I cupped his ass with a squeeze, pulling him closer.
“Raine was right,” I said. “Your ass really is so grabbable.”
He started to laugh, then broke off with a moan as he slowly eased inside me with one long, deep stroke. I loved that smooth glide, the drag of every inch against my walls.
Placing my hand on Trooper’s tattoo, I guided his arm around me, nuzzling into his neck. I closed my eyes and let him hold me, carrying us both higher.
“God, you feel so fucking good, Shea,” he growled.
His hands were everywhere—smoothing over my thigh and my hip, cradling my tit in his palm, pinching the nipple with the sweetest tinge of pain to compliment the silky heat of his cock buried inside me.
Trooper curved his palm around the back of my neck and angled my head up to look at him.
He pushed deep, circling his hips until I gasped from the mind-melting bliss that sparked through me, all the way down to my toes.
I locked my legs around his waist, wishing I could fuse our bodies together like this.
“I’m not leaving you,” he said, his voice hoarse as he pressed his forehead to mine. “I’m not leaving you, I swear it.”
I grasped the back of his neck in return, meeting his thrusts, moving together. Breathing each other in. We were sloppy and frantic and delirious in our hunger for each other.
At any other time, I would have blamed the heat of the moment.
But this was Trooper. This was my Theo.
“I believe you,” I whispered.
My protective instincts still wanted to kick into overdrive. But in my heart, in my bones, I knew Trooper meant what he said. He was mine—my man, my Theo, my husband—until we grew old and gray.
He slipped a hand between our bodies, rubbing my clit. My orgasm surged hard and fast through me, rocketing up my spine. I cried out, clinging to his shoulders.
Trooper hooked my legs over his forearms, angling my ass off the counter so he could get even deeper.
The new position left me breathless, delirious and sensitive.
I could hear the slick sound of my pussy gripping his cock tight with every stroke.
His balls pressed to my ass when he bottomed out, his cockhead rubbing against my G-spot, making my eyes roll back in my head.
At last, Trooper came with a groan against my shoulder, pulsing his hips in short, broken thrusts. He peppered kisses across my breasts and up my neck to the corner of my mouth. I smiled against his lips, lazily dragging my fingers through his hair.
“You’re so adorable when you get that pussy-drunk look in your eyes,” I said.
He huffed a laugh and kissed me again.
“Oh, so that’s how it’s gonna be, huh? My wife-to-be is a damn menace.”
I cackled, nibbling at his earlobe. He hummed, pressing a slow, indulgent kiss to my neck.
My wife-to-be.
I never thought I would hear those words. But I loved the sound of them now.