Justify

by Kristin Harte

  “No, you wouldn’t have. I was such a dorky kid back then. The only thing I had going for me was my breasts.”

  “Somehow I doubt that.”

  “It’s the truth. I was quiet and sort of shy, and everyone knew my dad had been the logger who’d died on the job, so they all treated me differently. It was a weird way to grow up. Plus, I had zero confidence.”

  “No?”

  “No.” She huffed, frowning, her eyes unfocused. “Guess that comes from always being told how fat you are.”

  The fuck she said? “Excuse me?”

  She waved her hand as if it was nothing, but it was obviously something. The hurt in her eyes didn’t lie. “My mom was an exercise junkie. She wanted to eat healthy and stay young forever, you know? That…wreaked a little havoc on my teenage self.”

  “Is that why you cook? Because of your mom?”

  She snorted a sarcastic laugh. “Yeah, but not like you think. Her idea of a good dinner was cutting open a box of something so she could know exactly how many calories were in it. When the cancer took her, I was convinced it was because of all those processed foods.”

  I thought about her menu, her kitchen, the food she made with such care, the worry on her face as she inspected every box of product that morning. “You don’t cook with processed stuff.”

  Her eyes met mine, wide and shocked. “Right. I don’t like it.”

  “That’s why you offered to make me healthier granola bars.”

  She nodded, still looking surprised. As if I didn’t pay attention to her or something. With a sigh, she pulled me in closer, fisting my hair and tugging. Sending sparks of desire shooting down my spine.

  “If eating the way I had to as a child taught me anything, it was that you should be able to pronounce everything that goes in your mouth.”

  Fuck, she smelled so good. We could talk about her mom another day. Right then, I needed her.

  I grabbed her ass, rubbing. Bending down to lick along her waistband. “I can pronounce pussy.”

  “Gage.”

  “Is cunt better? Because I can pronounce both. I’d also happily eat your pussy or cunt right now if you wanted me to.”

  Her breath caught, and her eyes locked on mine. “You already did that today.”

  Yeah, I had. But it hadn’t been enough. I’d never get enough.

  “I’d do it every day, multiple times a day, if you let me.” I slid my hand down her thigh, coming back up between them. Teasing her. “I’d happily eat at the House of Katie for every single meal.”

  “You’re ridiculous.” She moved as if to pull away, but I wasn’t done with her. Hell, I hadn’t even started with her yet. So I pulled her close, yanking her across my lap. Gripping and tugging until she straddled me right there on the step stool.

  “I’m not ridiculous, Katie. I’m hungry for you.” Then I kissed her, slicking my tongue past her lips and owning her mouth. Tasting her as she began that slow, sensual writhe that meant I had her. And I planned on keeping her, pushing her until she broke. Making her come with my name on her lips.

  She jerked when I dug my fingers into her flesh, bumping against where I was already so hard for her. My cock ached so badly, and the tip felt wet with precome already. Every roll of her hips over mine, every little groan or grunt as I pressed against her, only made it worse. I wanted to fuck her, to bury myself deep inside her sweet heaven and never come back out.

  And I fully intended to do so. As soon as I got her in my bed.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Katie

  This man killed me.

  Not in a bad way—not like the Soul Suckers seemed to want to do. Gage Shepherd killed me with his dark eyes and the heat they held when he looked at me. He killed me with his sweetness, such a surprise considering his gruff exterior. He killed me with his kisses and his hands and his hard cock wedged between us. I wanted to die a little death right there on his lap in the bathroom, but he had other plans.

  With his mouth still owning mine, he stood, taking me with him. Carrying me through the bathroom and into the bedroom as if I weighed nothing. His hands gripped my thighs so tight, so strong. Left me wishing I was already naked so I could feel his rough skin against mine. So intense, so damn manly. Nothing like the men I’d dated before, and yet I couldn’t get enough of him. Couldn’t see ever wanting a man who was less than what he gave me.

  Gage laid me on the mattress all sweet and gentle-like, following me down, never letting go as he settled over me. And then he was on me—his weight pressing me deeper into the bed. His thighs nudging my legs apart so he could lie between them. So he could notch himself against my hips and join us from chest to feet.

  And, oh god, his cock.

  So hard and big, it pressed against where I was already so wet for him. I could feel the heat there, practically taste the need pulsing through his body the same way it did through mine. I’d never wanted my clothes gone so badly. I craved skin-on-skin contact with all of him—every hard and soft inch, every inch of him that could possibly touch an inch of me. All of it. The wildness and the sweetness, the troublemaker and the man who followed orders. I just wanted Gage. And though I’d tamed him a little—not much considering how much harder I could have gone after him with the clippers—I couldn’t stand the thought of taking more from him than I had. Didn’t want to. I liked him wild. I wanted him to make me wild.

  “Gage,” I murmured when he finally—finally—freed my mouth so he could suck and lick a path down my neck. “Please.”

  “What do you want, princess? What do you need?”

  His voice pulled a shiver from my body, his words hot against my neck. “You. Just you.”

  “Oh, you have me.” He pulled back, rocking his hips against mine as he braced himself on his arms, his muscles tense, locked like steel cables. Practically caging me in. “C’mon, princess. I want to hear you ask for it. Tell me what you want.”

  I couldn’t find the words. All I wanted, all I needed, was him inside me. But I couldn’t say that for some reason. Couldn’t beg him to fuck me. I’d never been very vocal during sex, never really had a reason to, I guessed. But, with Gage? I wanted to be. I just didn’t know how.

  He seemed to sense that, or maybe my silence lasted too long. He dropped down to kiss me again, still rolling his hips against mine. Still teasing me with one hell of a dry hump as he pressed his cock right against my pussy and made me moan and writhe beneath him.

  “You know what I want, princess? Want to know what I’ve dreamed about doing to you these past few months?” He groaned at my nod. “I’ve been dying to get a taste of that sweet pussy. Now that I have, I fucking crave it. But there’s more. There’s always been more. I’ve wanted to know how hot and wet you get when I tease that little clit. I’ve wanted to know exactly how deep I can fuck you before you can’t take another inch. I want to feel your pussy clench on my cock as you come, and I want to taste you afterward to know if your cunt gets sweeter when you’re all swollen and sated.”

  “Jesus, Gage.” I arched under him, wanting the same things. Wanting to feel him inside of me. For him to fill me. “Please. I want all that. Please.”

  And thank the heavens, the man conceded. He rolled to the side, stripping me of my clothes in seconds as I worked on his jeans. As I stared at the slow reveal of his heavy cock. So thick and long and red, the tip nearly purple. There was nothing gentle about it, nothing that gave me a moment’s peace or made me relax. His cock matched the rest of him—primitive and brutal, and I still wanted every inch.

  “I love the way you’re staring at my cock, princess. You look so hungry for it.”

  I leaned over him, forcing him onto his back and catching his eye before opening my mouth over him. Arranging myself so my face was even with his hips. I didn’t take him inside, though. Nothing so blatant. Instead, I licked that blunt, ruddy tip. Teased the slit with my tongue before swirling it around the head. Tasting him. He grunted and bucked his hips when I finally took the ent
ire head in my mouth, his hands gripping my shoulders. Holding on to me. Stopping me.

  “Not yet, Katie. Fuck, I want you to suck me so bad, but not yet.”

  He dragged me up the length of him then rolled me over, pinning me to the mattress once more as he stole my mouth with his. Naked and wrapped around one another, just as I wanted us to be. All that skin-on-skin contact was exactly what I needed.

  His cock lay trapped between us, rubbing against my pussy and teasing my entrance as he circled his hips on mine. As he teased me like the troublemaker I knew him to be. I arched and twisted and tried to bring him inside me, but he kept his hips locked in place, kept his mouth on mine and his hands gripping me tight. Kept me completely at his mercy.

  I couldn’t stand it but loved every second, too.

  “Gage.”

  He groaned, moving down my neck. Sliding his body along mine as he headed south with his mouth dragging along my flesh. And, oh god, his tongue. He teased me with it, licking and kissing and nibbling his way along my collarbone and to my breasts. Sucking hard on my nipples as he held my hands at my sides. Popping off to come back to them, making me gasp and arch and beg for more while he held me down. Not letting me move. Not letting me touch. Controlling me completely.

  “Please,” I nearly whimpered as he dragged his beard along my stomach.

  “That was a mean little trick you pulled, teasing me with that hot little tongue the way you did. You think I’m too noble not to fuck that mouth of yours? Because I’m not. Not even close,” he said, sliding lower until I could feel his breath across where I was so damn wet for him. “But I wasn’t kidding when I said I craved the taste of your pussy. And I know I got a good fill earlier today, but I need it again. Need you on my tongue before I fuck you, princess. I want it so bad.”

  He pulled my legs up higher as he settled his shoulders between them, spreading me wide open for him. I should have been embarrassed, should have felt too exposed or something. I didn’t, though. Not with Gage. There was no need to feel shy around him, especially not when he stared down at me in what I could only call reverence and licked his lips.

  “Look at this pretty cunt dripping for me.” Gage groaned, rubbing his face against my thigh and letting his nose trail along my opening. “I’m going to eat you so good, princess. I’m going to fuck you with my tongue and get you all soft and wet—more than you already are—so I can fill you with my cock later. I just have to get a taste first, have to know this sweet pussy’s all broken in and ready for me.”

  The man never said what he didn’t mean. He tasted me, though tasted was really the wrong word. Too weak, too bland. Gage devoured me. He showed no mercy, pulling my lips apart as he closed his lips around my clit and sucked. As he dove right in and went at my clit in the most direct way possible. I nearly exploded off the bed, my free hand grabbing his hair and tugging him against me. Not wanting him to stop. Not wanting to miss a second of his brutal attack. He grunted and obeyed, inching closer, hanging onto my hips with a grip just this side of painful and pulling my pussy to his mouth. Not letting me get away from him for a second. I doubted he ever would—at least not until he had me sated and wrung out. Until he had me as wet and swollen as he wanted me to be. And then he’d fuck me.

  I had no idea how I was going to survive it.

  My first orgasm slammed into me without warning, coming hard and fast as he lashed my clit with his tongue. I screamed his name as I came, every inch of me shaking. Every sense pared down until it was only him and me and that moment. His mouth on my pussy, his hands holding my thighs so my legs draped over his shoulders, his beard making everything more sensitive. I screamed and bowed and clung to him as my entire body shook with my release.

  That didn’t stop Gage, though. He gripped my thighs tighter, mumbling something about sweet and luscious and fucking incredible as he continued torturing me with his tongue. As he chased me up the bed, his thick body moving mine with ease, until he had me pressed against the headboard as my second orgasm rocked through me. Until I was pushing him off me, too sensitive to let him keep assaulting my clit. Too wet and wanting to wait another minute.

  “Now, Gage,” I said, gasping. “Now.”

  Gage grunted and grabbed my hips, dragging me back down the mattress before sliding up my body. Covering me once more. Laying his weight on me as I caught my breath.

  “So fucking sweet.” Gage kissed me deeply, letting me taste myself on his lips before pulling away again. “I’ll never get enough of tasting your cunt, princess.”

  And I would never get enough of him making me feel the way I did right then—beautiful and languid but still so turned on and desperate for him. I wrapped my legs around his hips, squeezing him closer. Wanting him so bad, I almost couldn’t find the words.

  Almost.

  “I want you inside me. I want to feel all of you.”

  He groaned, stretching to the side to grab a condom from the pocket of his jeans. He tore open the foil packet with his teeth, then reached down to sheath his cock before lining us up. One hand under my thigh, pulling my leg up, spreading me for him again. The other arm braced against the mattress, supporting his weight. Leaving enough room between us for his chest hair to tease my nipples in a way that made me want so much more. Made me feel empty and needful again. Ready for everything from him.

  “Gage—”

  “Anything you want,” he whispered against my lips as he nudged his way inside me. “I’ll give you anything. Give you everything. Just stay with me, princess. I’ll take care of you.”

  And then he was there, pressing inside, stretching me with his girth and length and, oh god, it felt so good. So, so good. I must have said that out loud because he nodded, hissing a yes before rolling his hips into mine. Pressing harder as my pussy gave way for him. Giving me more. Fucking me slow and easy and deep. So very deep.

  “Fuck, Katie. You’re so damn wet and soft. How are you so soft?” Gage lifted his upper body from mine, rolling every muscle in waves as he kept thrusting deep. As he teased and pressed and filled me to the brink. As he finally bottomed out, his hips all the way against mine, his cock completely buried inside of me. I couldn’t hold still beneath him, couldn’t stand not to move as the pleasure-pain of that big cock invading my body overrode every other sensation possible. I writhed, pinned down by his hips, only one hand able to reach for him. To grab at his shoulders and scratch into his flesh. To hang on as my mind spiraled out of control.

  “Gage. Damn it.” I bit my lip and tossed my head back as he thrust harder, smacking his hips into mine. Filling me right to the edge of pain. To the edge of more. So much more.

  “You going to come on my cock, princess? Should I tease you a little more? Is that what you need?”

  My groan was my only response as he released my hand and moved his arm between us so he could press his thumb against my clit. Pressure. Nothing but Gage and sex and pressure. That had become my world, my life. My present. I fell into the rhythm of his thrusts, twisting my hips to meet his. Lifting my knees so he could slide deeper, fill me more. So he could drive me right back over the same edge with his cock that he already had with his tongue.

  And he did.

  I came so hard, there was no room for anything else. Not for words or thoughts or senses. It was only me and the pleasure ripping through me, screaming along my nerve endings and turning my body into a live wire. At least, that was all there was until the energy started to fade. That was when I heard Gage mumbling the filthiest fucking words against my ear as he slammed into me faster than before. Words about my cunt, how tight I was, how good I felt around his cock. How wet I’d become. How much he wanted to lick up every drop. How he wanted to claim me with his cock. How badly he wanted to fill me with his come and watch it run down my thighs afterward.

  Fuck, I wanted that too. Wanted it badly—to know he was there, inside me, owning my body the way only he could. Wanted the reminder later, that feeling of wetness to tell me this wasn’t a dream. T
hat I really had fucked Gage Shepherd, that he’d come inside me and marked me as his. Base, dirty, and wrong—but I still wanted it. Wanted to be his in every way.

  “Fuck, can’t hold back.” He moaned, hips hitting harder and faster, his rhythm stuttering as he lost his grip on his control. As he gave himself over to his needs.

  As I dug my fingers into the back of his neck and pulled his face to mine, unable to hold back. Unable not to say the words swimming inside my head. “Come inside me, Gage. I want to see you lose control all because my pussy feels so good wrapped around your thick cock. Come for me so I never have to question if I’m yours.”

  Gage groaned a sound that was loud and guttural, pressing deep and shivering all over as he came. As he buried himself deep and swelled inside of me. But before he was done, before he finished coming, he dove in for a soul-shattering kiss. One that spoke of power and control, of need and desire. Of fucking lust and want and carnal pleasure taken to the max. He kissed me as if he’d never get a chance to do it again, still bucking and twitching inside of me. Still getting off. And I took it. Took everything he had to give me as I tried to make my body obey my mind so I could wrap myself around him and clench hard on his cock. So I could make it better for him. So I could bring him the same pleasure he had brought me.

  So I could be enough to deserve a man like Gage Shepherd.

  “Goddamn, Katie,” he said, grunting slightly as he collapsed on top of me. I loved the feeling of him covering me, loved the heaviness of him. I could have stayed that way for hours, but Gage would never trap me underneath him that way. He rose onto his elbows, keeping his forehead against my chest but relieving the majority of his weight. He didn’t pull out of me immediately. Instead, he lay on top of me, breathing hard. Still filling me.

  I trailed my fingers up his spine, grinning when he shivered. “So I guess that means it was good, yeah?”