He watched as her blue eyes filled with tears. He had been harsh. He knew that. But Eve sometimes needed a bit of tough love to get it through that thick skull of hers that they needed her. She sniffled then spoke. “Where’s Mike?”
“In the office in the family building. Why?”
A fat tear cut a path down her cheek. “Meg, Dee, and I went to Noah for pregnancy tests. Henry tagged along.”
“And?”
She sighed heavily as her gaze dropped to the floor. “I’m pregnant. So are they.”
Eve let out a little squeal when he wrapped her in a crushing hug. He felt her wiggle in his arms until she hugged him back. “You’ve been trying for so long. Why are you keeping it from Mike?”
She looked up at him. “What if I miscarry?”
He tilted her head up a bit higher to stare her in the eye. “Eve Hallow, miscarriage is not an option. You will carry that baby to term, and you will give birth to a beautiful boy or girl that will be so loved by its mother and father and all of its family. But I understand your fear. And you don’t want to break my brother’s heart. If you want to keep quiet about it, then your secret is safe with me.”
“Really?”
“I promise. But don’t keep it from him long.”
“I won’t.”
“Are Delilah and Henry back too? I have to talk to Sam without distraction.”
“I think they just got back. So good luck. I’m sure Dee has told them, and they’re probably celebrating the way Hallows do. So you might want to cover your eyes. They’re more than likely naked.”
Josiah chuckled. “Thanks for the warning. And congratulations. Mom.”
Eve’s cheeks tinged red beneath the wet streaks left by her tears. “Thank you.”
Josiah nodded farewell as he stepped outside and closed the door behind him. His thoughts filled with images of Sarah, of her cradling a baby in her arms. His baby. Shit. Did he even want to be a father? He shook the thought from his head. At this point, it didn’t matter what he wanted. His only job was to keep his mother, his brothers, and their mates safe and to stop whatever war was on the horizon. He hurried his way toward Samuel’s cabin. It was time to disrupt the new lovebirds and give Sam the news about their late-night meeting with the vamps. Nothing like being the bearer of bad tidings. Sometimes being the oldest really sucked balls.
Chapter Five
Sarah wasn’t going to sleep. It just wouldn’t happen. It wasn’t the summer heat that stuck to her flesh like a second skin. Her skin was damp with the humidity that hung thick in the air. It wasn’t the crickets that played their outdoor symphony.
She sighed as she dropped on her sofa in an oversized T-shirt and a pair of panties. No, it was the man whose bed she shared the night before. It was the memory of him inside her, his mouth tasting her, his touch setting her on fire. She spent hours after mass that morning praying in the hopes she might have a ghost of a chance to save her soul from the sensual minion named Josiah Hallow that the devil sent her way. She spent at least an hour in the shower scrubbing the mysterious mark she now wore across her back until her skin was raw and bleeding. Nothing took it away. And nothing drove out the raw need for sex that now possessed her.
She fled the campground that Josiah called home and never looked back. She drove home as fast as she could and then changed her clothes. She stayed curled up in a ball on that very sofa until it was time to train. She rarely wore a T-shirt when she practiced. It restricted her movement. But there was no way she could let anyone see the tattoo. It would raise too many questions she couldn’t answer.
It was after she went home and took her torturous shower that she learned that the promoter she was fighting for had died. She knew he just partnered up with two gentlemen from the east coast. Those men demanded to see the fighters they now promoted that very night. Sarah’s mind jumbled. Her body ached. She couldn’t possibly make the long drive to Duluth. The two of them gave her the creeps for some reason. Besides, he might be there. Samuel Hallow was the main event. Shortly after their hot make-out session in the church coatroom, Sarah figured out who Josiah Hallow was. He coached the Hallow brothers that fought. That was all of them but him, and he had quite the colorful career in the cage.
She messaged them back and told them she was sick. Then she waited for the fallout. The new promoters didn’t seem very tolerant. She didn’t think they would take her absence well. They might even throw her off the card.
Instead, they replied that they understood and wished her a speedy recovery. It seemed a little odd. Maybe they weren’t as bad as she thought.
The pounding on the door nearly scared her to death. She glanced at the clock then the door. It was almost midnight. She stood and crossed the room. She huffed at the lack of a peephole. Living in such a small town led the landlord to believe the holes were unnecessary. At the moment, she really wished she had one. She didn’t have many friends. Edna and Edith were pretty much it. No one should be paying her a visit this late at night.
The door was barely open an inch before whoever it was on the other side shoved it open. Her lips were taken captive. The kiss left her breathless. Her body arched hard against the one who held her. The scent of male musk and the great outdoors filled her nostrils. She knew the taste that tangled with her tongue. Her hands wandered the hard, muscular planes beneath the thin cotton. Her body ached to be possessed in a way she had only known since she met Josiah Hallow. She didn’t have to ask who it was. Her mind raced. She never told Josiah where she lived. No one really knew. How did he find her?
He answered her question as he nibbled on her earlobe before she could voice it. “The pull led me here. I just gave into primal instinct. Instinct led me to your door. Are you going to send me away?”
Sarah gasped as he ran his tongue down her throat before he feasted on her neck. She lifted her foot blindly to kick the door shut and then cling to him. “Please,” she begged.
He lifted her and guided her legs around his hips. She could feel the tip of his cock nudge her through the thick denim and thin cotton to where she wanted it the most. He pinned her tight to the wall to free his hands. He gripped her T-shirt and tore it off over her head.
She watched as he gazed at her body. “Fuck.”
“Josiah.”
“So beautiful. So fucking beautiful.”
Despite the fact she hated his constant cursing, the way he said it turned her inside out. He scooped her breast in his palm and nipped at the bud before he sucked it into his mouth. She threw her head back against the wall as she whimpered. He lavished the same attention on her other breast. She shuddered at his touch. She didn’t know how much more she could take.
He slipped a hand beneath her and squeezed her rump. She didn’t know where his other hand went. She felt it somewhere between them occasionally flicking against the swollen flesh between her thighs. She heard his belt buckle clank as it was unfastened, and then his zipper slid down. There was a bit of tugging, but she hardly noticed. His mouth never stopped roaming her exposed skin. She felt his bare cock nudge her right before he impaled her.
She buried her fingers in his long, dark hair as she clung to him. She didn’t need to move. His hard, deep strokes set her on fire. The friction of her naked body against his nearly clothed one, the feel of him inside, set her on the edge of ecstasy. He gripped her hips to pull her closer with each thrust and then moved her just the way he wanted her to penetrate her further. The sound of his panting against the curve of her neck filled her ears. Her eyes fluttered closed as she surrendered to him.
Josiah nipped at her jugular as he drove further, burying himself entirely inside her. The sensation of his teeth scraping her skin coupled with the way his cock swelled set off a blaze inside her. She cried out as she peaked. She knew her neighbors heard her. She didn’t care. Her conscience screamed at her how bad this was. Her body and soul demanded him. It craved him. If he was Satan’s minion, she was lost forever.
Sarah heard his gr
unts as he slowed his hips. His brow creased as he throbbed inside her. Then he laid his damp forehead on her shoulder. A moment later he lifted it to gaze in her eyes. He was still thick and hard buried inside her. She ground against his erection.
“You want more?” he questioned with a grin.
“No. Yes. I mean…” Sarah’s voice trailed off.
Josiah rocked against her. Another sweet jolt tore through her. “Which is it?”
“How did you know where I lived?”
“I focused my mind. I followed the pull. It brought me to your door.”
“The pull? This thing that possesses me, the one that makes me think of you in very unholy ways, terrifies me.”
“Unholy ways, huh? Like me fucking you against the wall like this?”
“Josiah,” she chided.
“What?”
“I told you. The language.”
“Beautiful, eternity is going to suck if you’re constantly picking at every little thing I fucking do.”
She frowned. “Eternity? We’re not even dating. I’m not sure I want to marry you.”
“Marry me? Oh, Sarah. You have no fucking clue.”
Sarah gritted her teeth. “Would you stop saying that word please?”
Josiah wrapped his large hands around her rib cage as he drove deeper into her. She gasped then moaned. “Which word? Fuck? Like I’m doing to you now?” His pace picked up as he pressed her against the wall. Sarah gripped tight to him as she balled his shirt in her hands. With each stroke, he muttered the word “fuck.” Did he do it to irritate her? She had no idea. The guttural sound of his voice with each stroke drove her crazy. Her orgasm hit her hard and fast. His bruising grip on her as he slowed his pace with a couple final strokes told her that he finished also.
She looked up in his eyes and lost her breath. The way he gazed at her made her heart flutter. It was the way the hero would stare at his heroine in the movies. Was she imagining it? She had to be. She barely knew this guy, and when he was around, she didn’t act herself. She acted wild. And what scared her most was that she was starting to like the way she felt.
He kissed her long and deep. Their lips were joined so long that she was out of breath when they parted. “Bed,” he whispered.
“Pardon?”
“Your bed. Where is it? The sight of you nearly naked against this wall is amazing. But I want skin on skin. I have to put you down to get myself undressed.”
“Down the hall past the kitchen.”
He pulled free from her and then grabbed her rump with both hands. She held tight as he carried her to her room and then set her on the bed. She stared at him, transfixed, as he pulled his T-shirt over his head and tossed it on the floor. Patterns of ink were embedded into his skin. Tattooed guys had always turned her off. This one turned her on.
He grinned at her as he pushed his jeans and briefs to the floor. Sarah gazed at his hard cock that stood erect against his belly. She licked her lips. That voice in the back of her head, the one that warned her that he was sent from the devil himself to lead her astray, the one that was getting harder and harder to hear, screamed at her to stop. She had never done this before. But that force that possessed her made her want it in the worst way. She lifted herself to her knees on the mattress and wrapped her fingers around his cock.
Josiah hissed at her touch. “What are you doing, Sarah?”
She glanced up at him once more. Then she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the tip of his cock. She ran her tongue down the length of his erection. The taste of their union lingered as she enveloped him in her mouth. She bobbed her head up and down as she sucked. She had to look ridiculous to him. She had no idea what she was doing.
Josiah growled as he threaded his fingers in her long hair. “I thought you never do things like this.”
Her lips made a popping noise as she let go of him. “This is the first time.”
“You are doing a fucking fantastic job. The best I’ve ever had.”
“Have you had many?”
“Let’s not go into that now.” Josiah cupped his hand behind her head and guided her back to him. She opened her mouth obediently to accept his length. She braced her hands on his thighs as she licked, kissed, and sucked him. He shuddered then bucked. Sarah coughed at the intrusion but never stopped. She looked up at him and took in his hard, muscular body swirled with color. His head was thrown back, and his eyes were closed. His lips moved in some sort of silent benediction. Suddenly he pulled her off him.
“What’s wrong?” she questioned.
His eyes looked like fire as he nudged her back on her rump. He kneeled between her splayed open legs and then hovered over her. He kissed her hard enough to bruise her lips. It felt wonderful. “It’s your first time. I’m not going to subject you to the rush you were about to get. Mmm. I can taste you and me on your tongue.”
“Don’t you need to release?” she asked. She could barely hear her own voice.
He chuckled. Then he descended on her. She arched her back and neck as he drove into her. Her body molded against his. “I’m going to release. Don’t doubt that. And I’m going to take you with me.”
She clung to his shoulders as his strokes pierced her deeper. Another fiery rush pulled her under its wake and drowned her in a pleasure she had never experienced before. Every thought fled from her mind but one. To mate with this glorious man buried inside her. His panting and her mews were the only sounds she could comprehend. She was lost for good. She never wanted to be saved.
»»•««
The high pitch chirp of an electronic canary filled Sarah’s dreams. That and the deep, mysterious Josiah Hallow. It wasn’t like they were at a specific place and time. He was just there, touching her, kissing her, whispering his everlasting love and affection to her. There was quite a bit of creamy white satin floating around. She wasn’t sure what its purpose was. It felt incredible on her skin. And it made the whole scene more sensual.
“What the fuck is that noise?”
The voice that rumbled through Sarah’s slumber belonged to the man kissing her at the moment, but it wasn’t him. It was really not just a mirage in her head. The dream Josiah faded from her mind. A strong, steady beat thudded against the palm of her hand. It was muffled by warm, hard flesh and a soft tuft of hair.
The canary song played its irritating song once again. Sarah pried her eyes open and looked around. Her search ended when she met Josiah’s stare. Her head was still pillowed on his shoulder. One of his hands caressed her rump. The other slapped her bedside table angrily.
“When I find that fucking noise…”
“Stop.” Sarah sat up and stretched across him to reach the table. She gasped as he caught a nipple in his mouth and began to suck. She wrapped her phone in her fist as she cradled his head closer with her other hand. Desire flooded her, leaving her light-headed.
“Josiah,” she protested.
He let it go with a smack of his lips. “I’m not about to let an opportunity like that pass.”
She took a deep breath as his thumb rubbed the swollen spot between her legs. She struggled to focus on the screen of her cell. Her lust froze solid as she read the message. “Oh, no. This is bad.”
Josiah guided her back to her side of the bed and then sat up. Sarah gripped her phone tighter. Tears stung her eyes. Her blood ran cold. Her nerves quaked. She knew being with him was bad. Why couldn’t she walk away? Why couldn’t she say no?
“What’s up?” he asked.
“It’s from Mr. Rothsberg. He wants to see me immediately. He says he has a video of me acting inappropriately at the carnival. With you.”
“So?”
Sarah flew out of the bed and threw her phone on the mattress. Her voice pitched high as she shouted. “I’m going to lose my job. No one will hire me. What am I supposed to do?”
“You’ll move into my cabin. My brothers and I will come down and get your things this weekend.”
Sarah huffed. “You can’t be se
rious.”
“I’m deadly serious.”
“I’m not moving in with you.”
“Why not?”
“For one, I hardly know you. And I’m not going to move in with a man unless he’s my husband.”
This time it was Josiah’s turn to crawl out of bed. “Slow your roll, beautiful. I have enough on my plate right now. I have a brother to train for the fight of his life. I have to keep my family safe from some pretty scary shit trying to kill them. I have to save the world from being destroyed by bloodthirsty creatures.”
Sarah’s laughed in disbelief. “Wow. Save the world? You think a lot of yourself, don’t you?”
“You wouldn’t understand.”
“Probably not.” She scuttled across her bedroom to her dresser to find underwear. Once she had them on, she headed for her closet. She grabbed the first dress she could find. She didn’t bother straightening her hair. She’d brush it on the way to school. She picked up her purse and then turned to face him. He still stood beside her bed, stark naked.
“Where are you going?” he demanded.
She stood tall to stand her ground. She hoped he saw her that way. She was quaking inside. “I’m going to go try to save my job. You found your way here. You can find your way out. Goodbye, Josiah.”
Before he could get a word out, she was out the door and down the hallway of her apartment toward the door.
»»•««
The school building was empty when Sarah arrived. She glanced at her cell. It made sense. The other teachers wouldn’t arrive for their summer teaching sessions for another hour. She let out a heavy sigh. At this hour of the morning, Mr. Rothsberg could fire her without another soul knowing. At least he was saving her from the public humiliation. Not that it would stay quiet for long. Rumors had a bad habit of spreading fast in the little town.
Corner (Hallow Brothers Book 4) Page 6