by HELEN HARDT
“Easy, Tal. You have court on Monday, remember?”
Red rage flooded into me. All I could see was the malignant blur of Colin Morse with his hand on my woman’s arm. This was so not happening right now. I would fucking kill him this time. Totally. Completely. Take him down like I had those enemies overseas.
I yanked my arm away from Jonah. “What the fuck are you doing with him?” I bit out at Jade.
“Talon…what are you doing here?”
“Having a drink with my brothers. What are you doing here?”
“We were having…dinner…because…”
I raised my fist to pummel the motherfucker, but Ryan stepped in front of me, quick as a panther.
“Don’t, Tal. Don’t undo everything we just talked about.”
“Get out of my way,” I seethed through clenched teeth.
“No, I can’t let you do this.”
“Oh, please, let him do it,” Colin taunted. “I’m not thrilled about this deal that you guys cut, anyway. Go ahead. Hit me. Put me in a damned coma. That way maybe you’ll go to prison like you deserve.”
Ryan stood between Colin and me. My little brother, always levelheaded, who’d take a bullet—hell, a cannonball—for me.
“Don’t let him get to you, Tal. He’s not worth it. Remember what we were just talking about. You have things to live for.”
“Things to live for? What the fuck?” Colin guffawed. “Come on. Do it.”
“Would you shut up, Colin?” Jade said. “Look, Talon, nothing is going on. I had to have dinner with him because he…”
“Because why, Jade?” Jonah asked. “Why did you have dinner with him? You know how Talon feels about this.”
“It’s because of Talon that I did it.”
“Yeah.” Colin quirked his lips. “It’s because of you. She’s over you. We’re getting back together.”
Jonah moved between us this time. “How old are you anyway?” he said to Colin. “Did you ever make it out of middle school? You sound like a stupid teenager.”
“I ought to kick your ass, next,” Jade’s ex said.
“You won’t get very far. I’m as strong as my brother and a hell of a lot meaner,” Jonah said.
“You threatening me?” Colin advanced.
Jade grabbed his arm. “You threatened him first, Colin. Just shut up, for God’s sake.” She turned to me. “Could we go somewhere and talk? I swear to you there’s a good explanation for this.”
“Sure. We can talk after I kick his ass.”
“You’re not going to kick his ass, Talon,” Ryan said.
Jade looked at me, her blue eyes sad and…frightened? “Talon, please. Just breathe in and out. He’s not worth it. Listen to me. He’s. Not. Worth. It.”
At her words, her sweet hypnotic voice, my rage began to scatter. Oh, I was angry, for sure. Why was she with him, anyway? But I would ask her about it. And she would tell me. And I could be angry with her, but I didn’t have to risk screwing up my future and hers by pounding the halfwit.
“Fine,” I said. “Come with me across the street to the bar, and you can tell me what’s going on.”
“I don’t think so,” Colin interjected. “She’s with me tonight.”
Jonah stepped forward again. “Look, man, I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but you’re not getting what you want this way.”
“Says who?”
“Says me.” Jonah raised his arm.
“Not you too, Joe.” Ryan caught Joe’s arm in a clench. “Look, man,” my younger brother said to Colin. “Do yourself a favor and get the fuck out of here. Now.”
“I don’t think so. You assholes don’t own this town.”
Ryan let out a chuckle. “As a matter fact, we do own quite a bit of stuff in this town. Now granted, you’re standing on public sidewalk. So I’m not going to make you move.”
“Like you could.”
Ryan chuckled again, shaking his head. “I could. And the three of us together? We’d knock you into the next century. But that’s not really the point, is it? I’m not going to do that. No matter how much you taunt Talon. No matter how much I would love to pummel your sorry ass.”
“So now you’re so civilized.”
“No, dickhead. My brothers and I are not civilized. Far from it. We are hard-working men. We don’t sit on our asses in three-piece suits all day. We work the land. Trust me, we’re way tougher than you are.”
“Please. You probably use slave labor to work your land.”
“Oh, for God’s sake.” Ryan rubbed his forehead. He was finally starting to lose his cool. “You really are asking to have your ass kicked.”
“Colin,” Jade said. “Just leave. Please.”
“Fine. I’ll see you in court on Monday.”
Jade turned her head. “Excuse me? We had a deal.”
“I don’t think so.”
“You said if I went to dinner with you—”
“What?” I said, my head spinning. “You had some deal to go to dinner with him?”
“Talon, I was trying to do what was best. For you.”
“Having you anywhere near him is not what’s best for me, blue eyes.”
“Blue eyes.” Colin rolled his eyes. “God.”
I turned to Colin, trying perilously to keep from shoving my fist in his face. “Look, you don’t come near her again. I don’t care what kind of deal you had with her. I don’t care if you show up at court on Monday. What are you going to try to do? Pay off the judge?”
“I don’t have to tell you what my plans are.”
“Fine. Don’t. Show up. I don’t care. But you leave her alone,” I said through clenched teeth. “Don’t you come near her again.”
For a split second, I saw a real fear in his eyes. Good.
“He’s right, Colin,” Jade said. “I don’t want anything to do with you. Just leave me alone.”
“You heard the lady,” Ryan said. “Come on, Jade. We’ll take you home.”
“That’s not necessary. You guys know I only live down the block.”
“I’ll take you home.” I grabbed her arm.
“You don’t have to. It’s not even all the way dark yet.”
“I’m not letting you out of my sight while this jerk is in town. I’m assuming he’s staying until court on Monday, so don’t expect to leave my side until then.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Jade
Talon dragged me a couple blocks down to my apartment above the beauty shop. He took my keys from my hand, unlocked the outside door, and then lugged me up the stairs in the back.
Still holding my keys, he unlocked my door and entered. He looked around. “Pretty sparse.”
“This is Sarah’s furniture. I haven’t had a chance to buy anything yet.” I shook my head. “Why am I making excuses for you? This is it. This is what I can afford right now. You don’t have to be here, you know.”
“Yeah, I do. As long as that jerk is in town, I need to protect you.”
“Protect me? I’m not the one who needs protection while he’s in town. Apparently it’s him, the way you and your brothers were all stalking him—” I stopped. I didn’t need to go there. Actually, Jonah and Ryan had kept Talon from beating Colin a second time. For that I was grateful.
Talon looked around the room, his gaze settling on my unmade futon. It was still pulled out from where I had slept on it.
Would he take me there?
Of course he would. I could see the fire in his eyes. He wanted it, and so did I.
But damn, he didn’t own me. First the whole tattoo deal, and now this. He needed to understand a few things. “Talon, we need to talk.”
“About what?”
“About you dragging me up here, for one, but more importantly, about you paying off Toby so that he wouldn’t give me a tattoo.”
“You’re not getting a tattoo.”
I laughed out loud. “Oh, yes, I am. I’ve wanted one forever, and I finally found the right image.”
“Not that image.”
“What’s wrong with that image? A phoenix is beautiful. It has amazing symbolism.”
“Not. That. Image.” His eyes scorched me as he ground the words out.
And then he pulled me toward him, our chests meeting with force, and he crushed his lips to mine.
I opened for him immediately. I couldn’t resist him. I was done trying. Our bodies would always respond to each other, even when I was mad as hell about other things. He was clearly angry as well, after seeing Colin. I expected an interrogation about that, and I knew it was coming. He wouldn’t forget it. But for now…
Such a firm, drugging kiss—a kiss that took me away from everything that was bothering me until only Talon was left.
Talon.
My world.
For that is what he became when we were together. Only the two of us existed on some alternate plane of the universe. Our bodies responded to each other’s like no other, and we became each other. We became one.
How I loved him.
I didn’t claim to know him, but still I loved him.
How was that possible?
I let my hand wander out to caress the bulge in his jeans. So fucking hard. Hard as granite. I wanted that beautiful dick in my mouth. I broke the kiss and fell to my knees, unbuckling his belt. I released his snap and unzipped his jeans. Quickly I brushed the denim and his boxers over his well-formed ass. His cock sprang from its ebony nest, hard and majestic, with a pearl of pre-cum glistening over its tip.
I licked the liquid off him, swirling my tongue around his cockhead.
He groaned. “God, Jade. God, that’s good.”
Would he tell me he loved me again? I wasn’t expecting it. In fact, I was pretty sure he probably regretted saying it. Still, hearing those words would remain in my mind and heart as one of my most treasured moments. I considered them and thought about how much I loved him as I proceeded to give him the best damned blowjob I could.
I clamped my lips over his cock and sucked—short quick bursts of constriction. His moans forged my desire to please him. I took him back as far into my mouth as I could, until he nudged the back of my throat. I pulled back and slid forward again, sucking him, my hand on his base, pulling his skin taut.
Then I pulled back and sucked his cockhead again, short little bursts as I had before. He liked that. I could tell by his reaction.
“God, Jade, so good.”
I continued my assault, nibbling on the underside down to his balls, where I trailed tiny kisses over his sac and then sucked each testicle into my mouth. I inhaled his musky odor, closing my eyes and savoring it. Savoring him. I grabbed his ass and massaged his buttocks as I continued to kiss his balls and the inside of his thighs. When I finally turned to his cock again, I sprinkled kisses over his length until I got to his head. He grabbed the back of my head and plunged my mouth downward onto him. I nearly gagged but held myself in check. I wanted so much to please him, to give him everything he wanted, everything that I could. That I was.
“That’s it. Fuck me with your mouth, blue eyes. So good.”
He moved my head back and forth over his cock, finding his own rhythm. I grasped his base with my hand again, sliding it up and back along with my mouth, helping the stimulation.
“God, baby. I want to come in your mouth so bad.”
Do it, I said inside my head. I wanted him to come down my throat so badly. I kept going, sucking his cock as he moved my head back and forth, until he finally let out a big groan.
“Baby, yes, I’m coming, blue eyes.”
And his hot seed spurted into my mouth. I swallowed it instantly, lapping up the rest around his head with my tongue.
His cock went limp, and it would be a while before he could come again. That was okay, because we needed to talk.
Talon, however, had other plans. He stood, pulled up his boxers and jeans, and then turned me around and pushed me onto the futon facedown. He pulled off my shoes and pants and then dragged my lacy underwear over my hips as well.
He gave my ass a quick smack. “That’s for being with Colin tonight.”
I had the right to be with whomever I wanted, but damn, the sting, the intensity… I wanted him to smack my ass again. I clamped my lips shut for fear I’d cry out, begging him to spank me.
Turned out I didn’t need to beg. His palm came down on my ass again. The burn turned to pleasure, bubbling through my veins and culminating in my center. My pussy was wet. The scent of my arousal was thick in the air.
Behind me, I heard Talon inhale.
“Fuck, Jade, you smell so good.” He pushed my knees forward so my ass was in the air. “Such a cute little ass, and now nice and pink from my spanking. I’m going to lick you, baby.”
He swept over me with his tongue. I shuddered. I was so sensitive down there. He continued licking me and inserted a finger into my pussy, finding my G spot and massaging. Damn, so good. I quivered, my blood boiling.
I was close to coming already. All he had to do was nudge my clit, and I would erupt like a hot volcano.
Bu he stayed away from my clit, teasing me, torturing me.
He continued to probe my ass with his tongue while he fucked me with his fingers. “Blue eyes, I could eat you all night. Nothing tastes like you. Nothing so sweet, so succulent.”
If words could make me come, those would’ve been the lines. I was on edge, so ready, so willing. He teased me to the point of almost exploding and then brought me down again.
God, touch my clit, I wanted to shout.
“You like this, baby? You like my mouth all over you?”
“You know I do,” I gasped, clutching the comforter.
“I’m going to fuck you soon, baby. Fuck you hard, not gently. You need to pay for what you did tonight.” He pulled back and slapped my ass once more.
And as he did so, he nudged my clit with the bottom of his hand.
I exploded, screaming, shouting. I didn’t care that Sarah was next door. I didn’t care if anyone was downstairs in the beauty shop. I didn’t care who was on the street below. All I cared about was coming, coming, coming. As the waves of rapture surrounded me, I took flight in my mind.
Talon continued drilling his fingers into my pussy and probing my ass with his tongue as the orgasm went on and on, every cell in my body tingling, sizzling. When I finally came down, panting into the covers, I was spent.
I smiled into the comforter as I melted into the futon.
Talon’s body warmed me as he slid next to me.
“You have too many clothes on,” I said into the covers.
“I can take care of that, baby.” The futon rose slightly when he got up. I heard the unbuckling of his belt, the soft zing of his zipper. I heard him toeing his boots off, and soon he was next to me again, his warm skin heating mine. He flopped his arm over me and pulled me to him so I was lying on my side. His cock nudged me in the back.
I smiled. “Something you wanted?”
Without answering, he slid his cock slowly into my pussy from behind.
Sweet completion. I was still spent from my orgasms, and I didn’t want to move. I just wanted to lie here and feel his presence in my body.
He didn’t move for what seemed like the longest time. We just lay there, joined, our skin touching, his front to my back. He placed his hand over one of my breasts, but what he did wasn’t sexual. He just held me there, as he held his cock inside me.
I sighed again against the covers.
I had never felt as close to anyone in my entire life as I did to Talon in that moment.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Talon
She gripped me so completely. The animal in me had the urge to pull out and thrust back into her heat, work myself up to another climax. Yet I held still, reveled in the snug feel of her body encasing mine. Being inside her, close to her, was so potent yet so comforting at the same time.
And something dawned on me like a light bulb illuminating over my head.
This wasn’t about sex.
I was in love with her. Of that I had no doubt. But even loving her as I did, I still wanted to fuck her. I was still so sexually aroused by her.
But right now? Yes, I wanted to fuck her and fuck her good, but more than that, I just wanted to be a part of her, joined with her. I didn’t want to know where she ended and I began. I wanted us to be complete in each other. One being. One body.
I kissed the top of her head and inhaled the coconut fragrance of her hair.
Maybe, just maybe, things would be all right.
“Stay?” she said into the comforter.
I chuckled against her hair. “I told you I wasn’t leaving your side until after court on Monday, remember?”
She laughed. “Yes, you did say that.”
“Well, since I’m a man of my word, I’ll stay.” I nudged into her a little more deeply, ignoring the urge to plunge, and kissed the top of her sweet-smelling head again.
When she pushed backward, I couldn’t take it any longer. I began thrusting slowly, ever so slowly, making sweet, quiet love to her. To Jade. To the woman I loved.
“Touch yourself, baby,” I said against her hair.
I felt movement as she shifted her fingers between her legs. I closed my eyes and saw her, in my mind’s eye, softly stroking her beautiful pussy…as I slid in and slid out, methodically, gently bringing myself to the edge.
I kept my hand on her breast but did not tease her nipple. No, this was just about the sweetness of a man loving his woman and a woman letting a man love her.
“How are you feeling, blue eyes? Ready to come?”
“Mmm,” she said, her hips gently moving in circles against me. “Whenever you’re ready, baby.”
My skin tightened around me, and my balls inched up toward my cock. “Oh, yeah, I’m ready.” I ground into her, holding my breath for a moment, squeezing my eyes shut, reveling in the tiny convulsions starting in my balls and pulsing outward.
“Now, baby,” I said. “Come now.”
And her pussy clamped around me, milking me, as I shot my seed into the woman I loved.