by London Casey
“Done,” Noah said. “I’ll hold you, sweetheart. I’ll touch every part of your body. From the beauty to the scars. It’s all amazing to me.”
“Noah, do you hurt?”
“Every day of my life.”
“Me too,” I whispered.
We gently kissed. I never knew pain could taste so fucking good.
32.
(Noah)
She was definitely a mother. We stopped kissing and she tried to clean up the leftovers. I told her no. Just to leave it. Who the hell cared if a couple bottles of beer stayed on the floor overnight? She then had to check on Jude. I couldn’t argue her out of that.
She was a great mother.
I climbed into bed and did the one thing I told Ashlynn not to do.
I felt guilty as shit.
It was almost funny because I tried to do what she wanted. I had planned on finding her after the fight. My motivation that night was at an all time high. Destroy the guy trying to destroy me and then get Ashlynn and show her the rest of a wild night. Hell, who knew where that could have ended up…
The second the guns started going off I knew I needed to get to the back of the building. Sneak out and look for a ride. If not, just fucking run and let Benito take care of things. Instead, I went for the back wall and went for where I had left Ashlynn.
“Okay, sorry.”
Ashlynn shut the door behind her.
“How’s the kid?”
“Sleeping.”
“Do you have a baby monitor?”
Ashlynn smirked. She opened the top drawer of her nightstand and took it out. “Yeah. I was embarrassed…”
“Of what?”
“This mom thing. And being with a guy.”
I grabbed Ashlynn’s wrist and pulled her to the bed. I slid my left hand around her belly and sat up, keeping her tight to my body. “Listen to me. I’m not some fucking guy. You have no reason to ever be embarrassed around me.”
I reached out and turned on the baby monitor. It was a steady stream of low static. I pulled at Ashlynn, bringing her more onto the bed. My hands slid down to the bottom of her shirt.
“How do you like to sleep?” I asked.
I lifted her shirt up and over her head. My intentions were nothing but wanting to make Ashlynn feel comfortable and beautiful.
I tossed her shirt aside and went for her bra. She let it fall down her arms and shook it away. I touched her shoulders and then pulled at her again.
“Your shirt,” she whispered.
“Got it.”
I took my shirt off.
We then laid down together, her back to my front.
I caressed her shoulder and arm. When I got to her wrist, I couldn’t find her fingers. Why? They were inside her pants. I didn’t say a word though. I inched away and looked under the covers. Ashlynn slowly slipped out of the rest of her clothes.
She wanted to sleep next to me naked.
I took a deep breath and watched as her hand rested on her hip. I kissed the back of her shoulder and then put my lips to her ear.
“I’ll never stop forgiving what I missed, sweetheart. But I’m never going anywhere ever again. I promise.”
“You can’t keep that promise,” she said. “We both know that, Noah. Your life is crazy…”
“Crazy is okay though,” I whispered.
I slowly put my hand to hers. I interlocked our fingers and squeezed. She squeezed back. She then moved her hand down. Together our fingers touched her smooth skin. As she parted her legs, I felt the silky heat of her body.
“Please,” she whispered with a beg. “Please… I want…”
“Shhh,” I said. “Relax.”
I curled her finger with mine, brushing against the soft folds of her pussy. I pressed harder, feeling her sweetness give way. Both of our fingers penetrated her, leaving my cock instantly and painfully hard. I slid our fingers up and rested them against her clit.
“Did you think of me?” I whispered in her ear. “When you did this?”
“I never did that,” Ashlynn said. “It was you… and then you a year later.”
“That was it? Nobody touched you?”
“Unless you count doctors.”
“Male or female?”
“Shut up.”
I laughed and slid my hand down again. Two fingers touched her throbbing hole. She was ripe, like a precious piece of fruit. I pressed, entering her, feeling her hips jump to my touch. Her hand left her body and grabbed at me. Her hand squeezed my cock through my jeans.
“I thought you wanted me to sleep next to you,” I whispered.
“You will,” she said. “After you fuck me.”
Good Christ…
Hearing those words from Ashlynn was the sexiest thing ever. Trust me, I’d had other women say much crazier and dirtier things to me, but it was Ashlynn. The mother of my son. A woman who endured so much. Not to mention… nobody had touched her since me. I had made my claim on her and I left it that way.
My fingers dug inside her, twisting, turning, sliding out. I felt her oozing, so ready for so much more. I grabbed her waist and turned her body, face down. Her plump ass was comfort for my right hand as my left hand fought to open the zipper of my jeans. I tore my dick from my jeans and stroked myself once. I was full and ready.
Ashlynn lifted her hands and grabbed the pillows on the bed. She turned her head, already breathing heavy.
“Yes,” she groaned. “Yes, Noah, please, yes.”
Her legs were spread, her body flat on the bed.
My hand slid down her ass, squeezing and moving her. I spread her open, staring down at the beautiful, tender folds of her sex. My thumb teased, played, as I lowered my body down to hers. The front of my legs touched the back of her legs as I entered her. She was still so wonderfully tight but quickly forgiving, welcoming me inside. I put my hands to the bed and thrust at her.
“Yes!” she cried. “Yes!”
I pulled back and thrust again, harder.
“Fuck,” she moaned. “Again, Noah. Fuck.”
She wanted it over and over, just like that.
I fucked her hard, pounding at her perfect body. When my body crashed down to hers, it made noise. The bed rocked and moaned. But Ashlynn was louder. From the corner of my eye, I looked at the monitor, wondering if we were going to wake up the other member of our little family.
I didn’t care. I couldn’t care. This was what Ashlynn wanted.
She started to thrust at me. Her ass moving up and down, riding me as I kept thrusting. I put a hand to the small of her back. My other hand went to her shoulder. I started to pick up even more speed. Ashlynn turned her head, blew her hair out of her face, and then grabbed at my hand with her mouth. She bit at my hand, groaning each time my cock slid between her legs, opening her desire, as I fucked her. I couldn’t control myself either. The harder she thrust her ass back at me, the harder I thrust forward. I loved the way my body smacked against her, sending her down the bed. Her ass jiggled with such wild beauty.
I grabbed at one of her cheeks and pressed, holding her steady. It was all me now.
“I want to feel you come,” I said. “Right now, sweetheart.”
“Fuck,” Ashlynn groaned.
Her mouth still touched my hand. I leaned down, arching my back, still pumping at her. I touched her jaw and turned her head as much as I could without hurting her. I brought my mouth to hers, needing to taste her. We kissed wildly, our tongues battling, a few strands of her hair in our mouths. It didn’t fucking matter. It was about us being together. It was about this moment. The way I fucked her I would never do to another woman. The way she let me inside her she’d never let another man do.
It was absolutely fucking intense.
Ashlynn stopped kissing me, leaving her mouth open. She groaned each time I thrust forward. Her lips quivered and she managed to tell me one thing.
“I’m coming.”
I gritted my teeth and hissed, feeling her pussy sheathing me tight
er by the second. Pulsing, letting go, pulsing again harder. She came with the same ferocity as I fucked her.
I kissed her open mouth one last time and then moved away. My hands grabbed her hips and pulled, bringing her to her knees. Her back arched, her ass high in the air. I pushed and pulled at her, watching her body slide up and down against me. The greatest sight I could ever imagine with her. Offering herself to me in such a crazy and private way.
She put her hands to the headboard when it started to rock, hitting the wall like a drumbeat. I moved my hands around and up her body, holding her breasts. I loved them. They were beautifully full, almost bigger than my hands. I loved everything about Ashlynn. Shit, I loved her…
I took my hands away as I felt the tightening rush between my legs. The palms of my hands were slightly damp from touching her breasts. I couldn’t explain why, but that turned me on. The fact that her body was there for nourishment to my child, but also able to provide such great pleasure for me, for the father of her child, it was the most amazing thing in the world.
I held her ass and moved faster, bringing myself to climax. I thrust forward and held inside her, groaning as my cock pulsed. I felt every release, almost wanting to do it all again… to have another baby with her.
My head and heart were so messed up.
Slowly, I pulled back and pressed forward. I gently fucked Ashlynn for another minute, easing both of us down. I then pulled away from her body. I tucked my dick away and zipped my jeans. She was still on her knees, ass in the air. Looking at her had me halfway ready to go again.
I helped her down the bed again. My arms swallowed her up, pulling her close. The heat between us left us sweaty, but I wasn’t going to let her go. I felt her stomach rising and falling as fast as her heart beat. My heart raced the damn same.
I kissed her neck and rubbed my nose to her earlobe. “Fuck, sweetheart. Just… fuck.”
“Yeah,” Ashlynn whispered, her eyes already shut. “Please don’t let anything happen to Jude, Noah. He’s never done anything wrong…”
“You never have to worry about that,” I whispered back. “I’d die for that kid. And you.”
That was truth. I would die for Ashlynn. I would die for Jude.
What scared me… was that I didn’t just say it to be romantic; I said it because I knew I was going to wind up dead.
33.
(Ashlynn)
His hands were everywhere as I drifted off to sleep. Noah had cracked my shell open for good. The flicker of that wild woman the night I met him was in full swing. Sharing stories together, understanding each other’s pain, knowing we were both hurt, it just worked for me. It made the world seem whole.
I had never been touched like the way he touched me. His strong hands touching, pushing, pulling, making my body feel things I never knew possible. It was because I trusted him.
I really did trust him.
I fell asleep lost in a world of pleasure and romance.
I was going to wake and step into world of violence and blood.
~
I was not going to get used to waking up and finding the bed empty.
I hated it.
I grabbed my robe after stepping over the mess on the floor.
My plan was to find Noah and slap him across the face.
Stop leaving me in bed alone.
“So here’s what I do know,” I heard his voice say down the hallway. “People who eat bacon overcooked cannot be trusted. It’s only meant to be warmed up, okay? You need a good mix of slight crunch but that warm fatty taste. Yeah, it’s not good for you, but nothing in the world is.”
Who the hell is he talking to?
The smell of coffee and bacon flooded my nose. At the end of the hallway, I stopped and covered my mouth to keep from gasping.
There was Noah, standing in the small kitchen, shirtless, holding Jude. On the stove was a big pan of eggs and bacon crackling in another pan. Maybe it was kind of dumb to hold a baby near bacon grease or a hot stove, but the sight was just too much.
The rippling cuts of muscle that climbed down Noah’s body and went into his jeans left my mouth watering. And it took something good to take my attention away from fresh brewed coffee.
I’d drink Noah all day, everyday.
Calm down… your son is awake now…
I pushed the thoughts away. Yeah, maybe Noah and I wouldn’t have that wild lust thing where we could just go at it whenever we wanted. But at least he was here. And he was holding Jude.
“Now let’s talk about coffee, kid,” Noah said. “You want sugar in coffee? No way. Men drink coffee black. I’ll give you a pass with some creamer because you’re still young. But we have to get you…” Noah turned and saw me. “Hey. Good morning.”
I swore I saw Noah blush a little.
“Keep going,” I said. “Don’t mind me.”
“I’m just teaching my son the finer points in life.”
“Bacon? Coffee?”
“You missed the talk about whiskey and women,” Noah said and smiled.
“Not my son. Never.”
“Have you met his father?”
Now I was the one blushing.
I walked to the kitchen and kissed Jude. Then Noah.
We were like a real family now.
“I better feed him before…”
“Hey,” Noah said, lowering my hand from Jude. “I took care of it.”
“You fed him?”
“Yeah.”
“What…”
“It took him a few tries to swallow some bacon, but he got it.”
“Noah! He’s only…”
“Calm down,” Noah said. “I’m joking. There was milk in the fridge. Remember?”
“You…”
“Look, I’m not father of the year, but I managed. I looked it up online. Okay?”
My heart swelled. Noah had woken up, got Jude, and was taking care of him.
“What about his diaper? He usually soaks…”
“Changed. That was easy enough.”
“You changed him? And fed him?”
“And taught him that if a woman wants to go home, don’t let her cross the line between fun drunk and oh-shit-get-the-bucket drunk.”
I started to cry. I broke down like a child who lost her favorite toy.
Noah put an arm around me. “Hey. I was just kidding.”
“It’s not that,” I said. “It’s this moment, Noah. I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. I really never thought it would happen.”
“Hey, it’s happening. It’ll keep happening. As long as you want me around. I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to take care of my family. Of you. Of Jude. All this shit around is noise and I’ll kill the noise. You just have to help.”
I nodded. I was stepping into the fire. Both feet. If I was going to melt, at least I’d melt with Noah.
We started to kiss and Jude slapped Noah in the face.
We both smiled, still kissing.
Fuck, it was so romantic.
“He’s just protecting his mom,” Noah whispered.
“I think the bacon is burning,” I said.
“Ah, shit. Here. Take Jude.”
I took the baby and Noah hurried to take the bacon pan from the burner. He grabbed a few pieces with a pair of tongs and held them up. They were mostly charred.
“Damn,” he said. “I burned the bacon. Still want some?”
“No,” I said. “I don’t eat bacon like that. It’s gross.”
Noah smiled. He looked at Jude and winked. “See, kid? That’s why I love her. She doesn’t eat the burned bacon.”
That’s why I love her?
I felt all color rush from me.
Noah loved me? For real? Like, real love?
I stood there, frozen, watching him work around the small kitchen.
“Uh… Noah…”
He scooped eggs onto two plates. “Here. We have to eat. Well, I do, at least. I got a call from Benito. I’m fighting today.”
“Yeah. He had been planning a fight for me later… but an offer came in he couldn’t pass up.”
“An offer…”
“That’s how it works. Him and the guy running the other fighter work out money details. They take a cut of the bets and then place their own money down. If I win, I get paid.”
“If you lose?”
Noah smirked. “I don’t lose, sweetheart.”
He put the plates on the counter and I grabbed his wrist. “I’m being serious.”
“I am too.”
“Noah. What happens…”
He looked at me and curled his lip. “I get killed, okay? That’s the trade-off. There’s no option to lose. Ever.”
He shook me away, looked at Jude, and then grabbed his plate and walked away. I watched him disappear down the hallway, leaving me breathless.
Live or die… like I expected anything else, right?
34.
(Noah)
I took my shirt off and gave it to Ashlynn. I slid a hand to her back and pulled her close. “Now listen to me carefully. You don’t have to watch if you don’t want to. I get it. But you keep this shirt and you be right here when I’m finished. I’m putting it back on.”
“And I’m taking it off of you later,” she said.
Goddamn.
I kissed her and then hurried to walk away.
No lingering allowed. No feelings and all that bullshit. No fighting for the honor of Ashlynn or Jude. That was all movie stuff. Nobody was going to lift me up after the fight. I wouldn’t scream my son’s name and wave a swollen fist and smile a bloody smile.
This was real.
Life or death.
I stood at the doorway and waited.
Benito and Dante walked toward me. Benito offered his hand and I shook it.
“You ready?” he asked.
“Always.”
I looked at Dante. He nodded but didn’t speak. We hadn’t talked since I punched him for selling me out to Benito about Ashlynn and Jude.
Benito got close. I smelled the whiskey on his breath. “This is a six figure fight. The power behind the money is nothing I’ve ever seen. Everyone is interested in you, Noah. We had to cut off betting. You win this and you get to fight again… same prize money. It will make up everything you lost while inside. I’m upping my cut, just for you though. Go get ‘em, son. Make this motherfucker pay.”