Cocky Protector: A Hero Club Novel

by Kat Mizera

  “What is it?” she asked worriedly.

  “I don’t carry condoms anymore.”

  “That’s okay. I have an IUD. And I’m not worried about diseases unless you are.”

  “Oh, fuck.” I dropped my mouth to hers and kissed her again, cupping her mound and reveling in the way it pulsed against my hand. She was so ready and I hadn’t even seen her completely naked yet. This was going to be so good I momentarily wondered what to do next. Kiss her some more? Play with those gorgeous breasts and watch them harden for me? Lick that sweet pussy? Or make love to her, the one thing I’d wanted to do for ten damn years.

  I slid my thumbs into the band of her panties and pulled them down with less finesse than I would have liked, but I was starting to lose control because I needed her right fucking now. And, holy hell, we were going to do this bare. My beautiful Shannon trusted me, didn’t appear even the slightest bit concerned, which blew my mind all over again. I was healthy, of course. I used condoms religiously, but I didn’t indulge in impulsive sex anymore, so I had time to stop and get what I needed when it happened. With Shannon, all the rules flew out the window.

  The light-colored curls between her legs were damp from her arousal and I longed to put my tongue there, but that would come later. Right now, I used the fingers of one hand to spread her open and the other to press a finger inside of her. She clenched around me, drawing me in deeper as a low, sexy moan escaped her.

  “That’s it, baby.” I started to fuck her with my fingers, preparing her for my cock. Her legs shook a little as I settled between them and I briefly wondered how bad the sex had been with her ex. Well, after tonight, she wouldn’t even remember sex with anyone else. I wanted to be the only man in her life, for the rest of her life, and nothing else mattered.

  My fingers slid through her folds until I found her clit, coaxing it out of its little hood.

  “Next time, it’s going to be my tongue instead of my finger,” I whispered, tracing little circles around it. “And when you come, it’s going to be all over my face.”

  “Ace!” Her hips arched up, whether from my touch or just the idea of me going down on her, I wasn’t sure.

  “Are you ready?” I asked, gliding the head of my cock between her legs, letting it move through the wetness.

  “God, yes.” She dug her fingers into my back, pulling my closer.

  I pushed into her, watching as her mouth opened a little and her eyes closed. She was so damn tight, almost like a virgin, except there was no resistance. She was panting a little, her chest rising and falling.

  “Too much?” I asked, pausing.

  “It’s been a long time for me and you’re…bigger than I’m used to.”

  “Okay. We’ll go slow.” I paused, reaching out to cradle her head with one hand, and leaning down to capture her mouth in a soft, sweet kiss. I coaxed a response from her and when her tongue was wrapped up in mine, soft whimpers coming from deep in her chest, I pressed deeper. She tensed a little and I eased back, allowing her to adjust.

  Her eyes opened and she gave me the tiniest smile, her body beginning to relax. I started to move again, advancing a little and then pulling back, letting her get used to how it felt for me to fill her.

  “This is heaven,” I groaned against her mouth. “You feel so good.”

  “You too.” She moved beneath me, arching her hips to give me a better angle and before I knew it, I was all the way in.

  “Jesus.” I had to close my eyes and breathe because I was seconds away from exploding inside of her.

  “You’re huge,” she sighed, but it was a happy sound, her satiny walls squeezing me deeper.

  “Thanks?” I nipped at her lower lip before kissing her again, keeping my movements light.

  “Fuck me, Ace. I’m okay.”

  “I can’t, baby.” I pressed my forehead to hers. “Or it’ll be over.”

  “Then we can do it again.” She clutched my ass and drove me in even deeper, her thighs tightening around me.

  “Dammit, Shannon, I want this to last.” I reached for her hands and laced my fingers with hers, holding them tightly on either side of her head.

  “It will.” Our eyes met and locked and time stood still. I couldn’t think, move or even breathe as I lay there buried inside the woman of my dreams, her gorgeous blue eyes focused on mine, something so raw in their depths that I was completely captivated.

  I moved, barely, easing out and back in, slowly, methodically, trying to focus on her face and not the incredible feeling between my legs. How tight and wet she was. How her body was practically swallowing me, body and soul. Her breathing hitched a little and I adjusted my angle, looking to find the spot that would do her in. Most women required clitoral stimulation to get off, but Shannon wouldn’t. Not this time anyway. I knew it instinctively, because she was already so close. If I could hit her G-spot, it would be all over for both of us.

  I glided in and out, holding her hands firmly, my eyes never leaving hers. She squirmed, meeting me thrust for thrust now, and she let out a soft cry as her pussy started to convulse.

  “That’s it, honey.” I drove in faster and harder.

  “Oh god!” Her wail was loud in the silence but I picked up my pace, hammering into her through her orgasm and then growling through my own.

  I finally rested against her, my eyes closing as she continued to jerk from the tiny spasms still shaking her. “You’re beautiful,” I told her, kissing her repeatedly, though my kisses were soft and gentle now, in the aftermath of what we’d just done. “This was fucking amazing.”

  “I knew it would be like this,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around my shoulders and burying her face in my neck.

  “How?” I asked, stroking her hair.

  “Perfect.”

  “It was absolutely perfect.” As was she. Now if only I could tell her that without sounding like an idiot.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Shannon

  We stumbled into breakfast just after nine. Well, I was kind of stumbling because my lady parts had just had a workout like they’d never had before. Ace was more strutting than stumbling, but I was okay with that. After the endless orgasms I’d just had, he could walk any damn way he pleased as long as he was by my side. I seriously hadn’t known sex like this existed. I’d read about it, but the real thing was so much better.

  Aubrey and Chance were at what I now thought of as our table, and I sank down next to her.

  “Good morning.” I gave her a grin because I couldn’t stop smiling. I wasn’t sure if all women acted this way after their first time having mind-blowing sex, but I didn’t care and Aubrey seemed like the type of woman who would understand.

  “Good morning.” She grinned back at me, arching one brow just a tiny bit, as if asking a silent, girls-only question.

  “Mornin’, mate.” Chance nodded at Ace and winked at me. “Get some rest?”

  “Some.” Ace pressed a light kiss on my cheek before heading to the breakfast buffet.

  Our waiter, Felix, came by and smiled at me. “Good morning, Shannon. Coffee?”

  “Cappuccino, please.”

  “Coming right up.”

  “I’m going to get an omelet.” Chance got up and went in the direction Ace had gone, leaving Aubrey and me alone.

  Aubrey raised her coffee cup and took a delicate sip as she peered at me over the rim. “You’re awfully chipper this morning.”

  “Well, when a ten-year fantasy finally comes true, it’s a reason to be chipper.”

  “Oh? Do tell.”

  “Ace and I hadn’t…” I blushed a little. I wasn’t sure why I was telling her something so intimate, but I couldn’t call Sandra or my mother right now, and I desperately needed to tell someone.

  “Really?” Her eyes widened. “And last night…?”

  “This morning.”

  She grinned back. “And was it worth waiting a decade for?”

  I let out a long, dramatic sigh. “So worth it. So, so worth
it.”

  “Well, then…” She paused as Felix dropped off a steaming cappuccino and walked away. “Here’s to awesome sex and the men who know how to do it.”

  “Amen to that.” I took a sip of coffee and looked around. “The buffet looks amazing. What do you recommend?”

  “The Belgian waffles.”

  “Sounds good.” I went in that direction and filled a plate.

  By the time I got back to the table, Ace, Chance and Aubrey were discussing plans for the day ahead.

  “I’m having a massage at eleven,” Aubrey said. “And then I’ll shower and get ready for a quick lunch. We arrive in Rüdesheim around two or three. Are you guys doing any of the tours or just walking around?”

  “I thought we’d follow the guided tour until we find something else we want to do,” Ace said. “We need to do a little shopping since I only brought one pair of dress pants and milady here believes I need more.”

  “Oooh, shopping.” Aubrey’s eyes twinkled. “I could be down for some of that.”

  “What do I get out of that?” Chance teased, pretending to pout.

  “What do you want?” she shot back, arching a brow.

  He leaned over to whisper something in her ear and she rolled her eyes. “Yeah, okay, buddy, let’s put that on your sexual bucket list.”

  He wiggled his eyebrows at Ace and we all laughed.

  “I could be down for a massage,” I told Ace.

  “Ask at reception,” Aubrey said. “Maybe they can fit you in.”

  “I’d like to run on the treadmill,” Ace said. “I haven’t gotten in much exercise at all since I got to Germany, and at my age, I have to stay in shape.”

  “Let’s do that after breakfast, old man,” I teased him. “I could use a run myself. I wish we were stopped somewhere so I could run in a new city, but I don’t want to waste time when we get to Rüdesheim.”

  We made plans to meet just before the guided tour left and Ace and I went up to our room to change.

  “Go do that in the bathroom,” he said firmly. “One look at that luscious body of yours and we will never get to the gym.”

  I laughed, slowly pulling off my top. “You were saying?”

  “I thought you wanted to work out?” he growled, advancing on me purposefully.

  “I do. But there’s more than one way to work out.”

  “You’re definitely trying to kill me.” He snaked out an arm to grab me and pulled me close. “And now I’m going to make you pay.”

  “Oooh…” My breath left me in an excited rush. “That sounds…terrifying.”

  He laughed and tossed me on the bed.

  Two hours later, we had to shower and get dressed, all thoughts of working out long gone. We had lunch on our own and were waiting in the reception area when Chance and Aubrey joined us as we got ready to leave on the tour. We joined a dozen others as we filed off the ship onto shore, and excitement coursed through me. I loved to travel and explore new places, and Ace had said he hadn’t had a lot of opportunity for that, though he wanted to. Today was going to be filled with firsts for both of us, I hoped.

  “I did some research on the winery on the list,” Aubrey said, wrinkling her nose. “Terrible reviews. Personally, I’m going to skip it, though you guys can go if you want. I’m happy to shop.”

  “If the reviews were bad, I’m out too,” I said, glancing at Ace. “You?”

  He shrugged. “I’d go if you wanted to, but if not, I’m happy to do whatever.”

  “Shopping it is.” I slid my arm through the crook of his elbow as we walked. It was chilly today, and the wind picked up, so I wrapped my scarf around my head since I’d left my hair down and it was blowing all over the place.

  The town was small but lovely and the Christmas market was enchanting. Each booth had something different, everything from cookies and candies to tourist items to local, handmade jewelry. I bought some sweets to bring home, as well as an ornament to put on some future Christmas tree since I hadn’t gotten one since my divorce. I had a nice collection of ornaments, though.

  “Hey, we’re supposed to try this Rüdesheim coffee,” Aubrey said, pointing to a little place that advertised them. “Apparently, you can’t come here without trying one.”

  “What is it?” I asked as the four of us walked in that direction.

  “It’s coffee with a special German brandy called Asbach or something, covered with whipped cream and shaved chocolate.”

  “Sounds good,” Ace said. We walked up to the counter as my phone rang and I saw my mother’s name.

  “You guys order for me. Let me talk to my mom for a few. She’s been texting me constantly.”

  I walked out of the small store and answered the phone, not wanting to talk on the phone in the middle of a busy little shop.

  “Hi, Mom.”

  “Shannon! How are you? Is everything okay?”

  “Everything is wonderful. The boat is gorgeous, we’ve made friends on board, and we’re having a blast.”

  “Where are you?”

  “Today we’re in Rüdesheim and were just about to have some special local coffee drink.”

  “Oh, good. I’m glad you’re away from that awful person stalking you and can relax.”

  “I booked a massage for Thursday morning, so relaxation is on the menu.”

  “And Andrew? How’s he doing?”

  I paused. There was something curious in her voice, like she was asking something more than what she was saying. “He’s good. We’re good. Having fun. He’s just as charming as I remember.”

  “Really?” My mother’s voice rose an octave. “So…the two of you are…spending time together?”

  I frowned. “Mom. Is that your way of asking if we’re sleeping together?”

  “Of course not.” Mom sounded affronted. “A lady would never ask such a thing.” She paused. “But if you happened to mention that something like that was going on, it wouldn’t be a bad thing.”

  I was so shocked I wasn’t sure what to say at first. My mother was interested in hearing about not just my sex life, but whether or not something was going on with me and Ace? I’d always thought she disliked him, thought him beneath us. Had that changed now because he was helping me?

  “Shannon?”

  “Sorry, you caught me off guard. I didn’t think you liked him.”

  “It’s not that I didn’t like him, I just wanted more for you. In case you’ve forgotten, I was married to a military man and I was alone a lot. Years. I didn’t want you to live that life. Unfortunately, it seems that none of the things I wanted for you were what was best for you. You’re not me, and while it’s taken me thirty years to learn that, I’m trying to be better going forward.”

  “Oh, Mom.” I was both happy and sad about that, but it would be better to focus on the good stuff.

  “So…was there anything you wanted to…mention?”

  I smiled to myself. “About me and Ace? Maybe.”

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake, Shannon, yes or no?”

  “Goodness, it almost sounds like you…want us to be together.”

  “I want you to be happy and I know you had a crush on him in high school. Also, your father told me how you asked about him just before your wedding. I wish you’d come to me to tell me you were that conflicted about Douglas.”

  “You wouldn’t have listened to me back then,” I told her gently. “And anyway, that was all fantasy. Now that he’s here, it’s reality. Dad didn’t even know where he was back then.”

  “I guess hindsight is always twenty-twenty.”

  “I suppose it is.”

  “So what are you guys doing next?”

  “You mean on the cruise or something else?”

  She chuckled. “On the cruise, of course.”

  We talked about the plans for the week and she told me to call her once we got to Switzerland. I disconnected feeling happy but slightly out of sorts. I’d never had a phone call like that with my mother, both lighthearted and sincer
e. And she’d acknowledged my sex life, something else she’d never done before. I was so confused, but really glad we’d reached this point in our relationship. She was all I had really, since I was an only child and she was as well. My father had a brother who’d passed away, and he had two boys that were much older than I was, but other than exchanging Christmas cards, we didn’t have much of a relationship.

  “How was your mom?” Ace asked as I joined them at the coffee shop.

  “She wanted to know if you and I had gotten naked yet.” My eyes twinkled and Ace just stared at me.

  “She hates me,” he said after a moment.

  “Apparently not.”

  “Wow.” He shook his head. “I don’t even know what to say about that.”

  “Me either, but it feels good to have this kind of relationship with my mother after so many years of being at odds.”

  “Not close to your mom?” Aubrey asked softly.

  “Not until after my father died. Now that it’s just us, I guess she has no choice but to be nice to me. We went to a therapist, though, a neutral party to help us navigate through some of the hostility. Mom finally understands that I’m nothing like her, so she can’t expect me to make the choices she makes, and I needed to wrap my head around the idea that just because I didn’t care for her methods didn’t mean she didn’t want what’s best for me. It took us a while, but counseling helped and the last year or so has been so much better. Of course, I’ve been living six thousand miles away from her, so that might be part of it.”

  We chuckled and I hurriedly drank my coffee so we could get back out to the market. We only had a few more hours before we had to get back to the boat and I wanted to see everything.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Ace

  Between the gorgeous woman I was spending my time with and the fact that I was actually on a real vacation, I’d almost forgotten about Shannon’s stalker. Almost. I was always on guard, aware of my surroundings and where Shannon was, but I was a lot more relaxed about it. It was hard to explain, because I could be woken out of a deep sleep and break a man’s neck before I opened my eyes but I felt different now. Being with Shannon, as a couple, changed everything I thought I knew about myself. Our relationship had advanced in leaps and bounds. We went from distant-memory fantasies to friends-who-wanted-benefits to being together intimately within a very short period of time, but it felt perfectly natural.