Tattered & Bruised

by Allie York

  “You like that, baby?” I covered Cori’s body with mine, brushing the hair from her face, kissing across her shoulders. She nodded eagerly when I picked up my pace and I felt her pussy tighten around me, milking my cock. Her cries made me need more. The sensation and sounds made me fuck her harder, moving a hand to strum her clit while I kept her pinned to the table, biting her shoulder blade. I fucked her like I was punishing her and she loved every second of it. Cori cried out, clenching my cock in a vise grip, making me come hard. My balls tightened, and my nails gripped her hip hard enough to bruise, her orgasm pulling mine from me.

  I laid over Cori, catching my breath, trying to keep on my feet. “I can’t breathe, honey.” She squirmed under me and I let her up with a smack on the ass, keeping one hand on the table for stability. My knees weren’t cooperating after that one. Cori’s cheeks flushed red when reality hit her that we had just fucked in Needles. She looked around like she forgot where we were. Pride swelled in me. I made her forget.

  “Your place or mine?” I handed her a stack of clothes and she scurried to the bathroom.

  “Mine.” Cori’s sweet voice came down the hall, still breathy from me fucking her. I threw my clothes on once I could stand without support and was wiping down the table when she came back in. Great sex or not, sanitation was important, “Uh, Griffin?” I tossed the towel in the trash then took two strides to wrap my arms around her, letting her burrow into my chest. “You didn’t use a condom.” My body froze, so did my pulse and breathing. What the fuck was I thinking? I asked her to trust me but couldn’t even play safe. Way to go, asshole.

  “Fuck,” I grumbled, tipping her chin up to face me. I never forgot, never didn’t wrap it up, I was never careless. I was obsessive about rubbers to the point of getting shit from the pharmacist. “Baby, I swear I’m clean. Fuck, I am so sorry.” No wonder it felt so amazing. There was nothing between us, like it was supposed to be, but damn was I stupid. It was way too soon for stupid shit, and I had promised to take care of her, I told her she could trust me.

  Cori shook her head. “It’s not that, I know you are. I’m just not on anything.” Her panicked amber eyes clashed with mine.

  I held her tighter. “We can take care of it in the morning.” Cori nodded against me and I clicked the light off. I had never been so damn irresponsible, and I fucked up with the one I truly cared about. “Damn it, I’m so sorry, Cori.” She shook her head as we left, locking the door, and loading back into her Jeep. Cori stayed quiet, and it scared the shit out of me. I promised we could take care of it in the morning, but starting a family with her sounded like a future I could get behind. Me, Cori, our girls, and our baby was something I could consider. It was too soon, but someday. My train of thought had me all fucked up. I should have been freaking out that I may have just gotten my girlfriend pregnant so soon, but my mind was the complete opposite. Cori didn’t feel the same way, and I couldn’t tell her.

  Her house was dark when we parked in the driveway and I pulled her over for a long slow kiss. I cupped the back of her head, she held my bicep, and I devoured her lips. I couldn’t apologize enough for how stupid I had been, but if she was mad, she didn’t let on. “Let’s take this inside,” Cori whispered against my lips. I nodded, gathering up the presents I could reach. Cori hopped out and headed toward the door, glancing back to make sure I was following. I chased after her, bags in hand, and slammed into her back, nearly knocking her over when she came to a sudden stop. I dropped the bags and grabbed her by the waist when I saw why she had stopped. A man stood from his seated position on her front steps.

  My heart thundered in my chest while they just stared at each other. I kept my arm around her, holding her back to my front, and waited for the man to move. Who the fuck is at her house so late? The guy was nearly my height, and built, but not quite like me. His blonde hair reflected in the street lights and his thick-rimmed glasses were pushed up into his long hair. Cori’s breathing stopped and started against my arm wrapped around her.

  “You can’t be here.” Cori’s voice shook.

  “Where’s Axel?” The man looked around, eyeing the Jeep. Then I noticed the present on the porch. A giant pink box with a pink bow. Richard. Bastard didn’t even know his own daughter hated pink. He took a step forward, and my grip tightened. I’d kill the fucker before he got close. He ruined his chance. Cori was mine.

  “You can’t be here, Richard. Leave or I’m calling the cops.” Her voice was less shaky, more forceful. That’s my girl.

  “Where is my daughter, Cori? You leave her somewhere so you can fuck this guy? Mom told me you were with some thug at our daughter’s party. How could you?” He took a step forward, and I moved Cori behind me, straightening to my full height, readying to beat his ass.

  “Your daughter? Cute, Rich. Ax doesn’t even know who you are. You gave up the right to call her your daughter when you got sent to prison, you fucking asshole. Now fucking leave.” Cori stepped up next to me. “And take your shitty present.”

  “I’m free, Cori. Do you not understand? I get how bad I messed up, but I’m clean. I’m sober. I want my family back. I can fix this.” Richard’s tone changed from anger to defeat. “We are starting off wrong. Send this guy home, we can talk and work this out. I’m not mad that you cheated. It’s been a long time and you deserve better, but I can fix this.”

  Cori had her phone to her ear. “Last chance. I let you hold me back for years, let what happened define my life, but I don’t anymore and you aren’t ruining this for me.” Cori told the operator the address and what was going on. Richard stood still until she was finished and tucked her phone away. His eyes moved between us, obviously not trusting me. Good, you shouldn’t trust me.

  “Cori, please.”

  My girl took my hand, grabbed half of the bags I was carrying, moving us toward the house. I snatched the other bags as she pulled me to the house with her, “Leave, Richard, and stay the hell away from us.” I braced for him to reach for her as we passed, but the asshole watched us walk by into the house. Had he touched her, I would have fucking killed him. The fact that he didn’t even try spoke volumes. Richard was a coward.

  I locked the door behind us and turned right in time to catch my girl. Cori fell into me sobbing. I scooped her up, carrying her to the couch. “I’m so fucking proud of you, babe.” I leaned back, stretching out and taking her with me. We laid like that until her crying stopped and Cori looked up at me.

  “I’ll never go back, Griffin. Even if we don’t work out. I’ll never be with Richard.” Cori stroked my jaw, raking her nails through my beard. I nearly laughed. There was no way I was ever letting her go, so her statement was pointless.

  “Good, you deserve better. Ax deserves better. Not like I was giving you a choice anyway. There isn’t anything to ‘not work’. I told you, your ass is mine now.” I squeezed her ass and kissed her head.

  “When can this bandage come off? I want to stare at it.” Cori raised her arm and almost smiled.

  “Tomorrow. Wanna move this to the bed?” We wordlessly left the couch, checking the locks again, and she changed before curling into my chest on the bed. We didn’t talk anymore, just relaxed, enjoying the silence. There was nothing left to say. Cori and Axel belonged to me, so her ex could deal, or answer to me.

  When the cops knocked on the door, Cori didn’t even move, so I left her in bed to go answer the door and quickly explained what happened, showing my ID to prove who I was. I ensured them the guy left on his own, promising we would call if he came back. I closed the door, locked it, then went back to bed. Cori was on her stomach, with one arm tucked under her pillow and the other out next to her. The bandage on her new tattoo was facing up–even in her sleep, she was being cautious. I just stood at the foot of the bed staring. Cori was the sexiest woman I had ever seen, and I had seen countless women. Curves in all the right places, a pouty bottom lip, with the most amazing ass. She was so much more than that, though. Cori had the kind of soul other people wis
hed for. Fuck me sideways, I’m a lucky bastard.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Cori

  “Sit down!” I growled at Griffin, hand on my hips and my mind set on him keeping his sick ass home. I warned him that eventually Celia would bring home a bug he’d catch and it finally happened. Fortunately, I had years of parenting under my belt so had a stronger “kid germ” immune system. After an epic stare down rivalling every other over the last six weeks, Griffin sat back in the recliner, folding his massive arms over his chest. To be such a big guy, he pouted like a child. Men.

  “You shouldn’t have to take my kid to dance for me. I told you, I’m fine.” I rolled my eyes and tossed the blanket over him. Griffin could play big badass to someone who believed him, but the guy was sick so was not taking Celia to dance. We had gone to the last four classes together, but his cold was staying in quarantine. I heard the thunder of little feet come up the stairs and kissed him on the head.

  “We’ll be back in an hour. Rest. If Lily calls me to tell me you didn’t sleep, I am kidnapping C and taking her home with me.” The girls squealed at my threat. They loved our weekend sleepovers, but weekdays were kids in their own beds with parents sending dirty texts. Griffin had me breaking my no sexting rule pretty quick, but I stuck to the no naked texts. My hunky other half did not abide by that rule, but I was not complaining. I never thought I would appreciate pictures like I did his.

  “Call if you need me.” Griffin settled back in the seat, closing his eyes. Not even a guy his size could fight the power of cold medicine paired with a fever. The pitiful look on his face made me kiss him again and he smirked with his eyes closed. I took the girls’ hands, leading them out front to my Jeep, I loaded them up, and we headed to dance.

  In a month, things had only gotten better. I hadn’t heard from Rich, his attorney, or his parents. Work was busy, Harriet was getting married in two days, and the girls still weren’t tired of each other. Griffin took on an apprentice at work to train and Celia was making friends everywhere. In another few weeks, they were done with surprise home visits by social workers. We were planning a party for Celia to celebrate. Griffin had panicked when the social worker showed up with Ax and me there, but it went well. Annie was thrilled to see Celia playing with another kid so said we should let them get together as often as possible. Griffin and I agreed readily. We left out the part about us dating, but surely the woman wasn’t that stupid.

  “Cori? Can we take Daddy ice cream?” I choked on my Diet Coke, putting the car into park a little too abruptly. The word Daddy threw me for a complete loop. Of all days for Griffin to be sick. It was still our tradition to get yogurt after dance, but Celia called Griffin by his name, never Daddy, or Dad. Griffin or Griffie was it.

  “Sure, kiddo. I’m sure it will make him feel better.” I unbuckled the girls, brushing off their leotards, and led them to the door. “Just do me a favor. Please call him Daddy when we get back to your house, okay?” I dropped to my knee, putting a hand on either of Celia’s shoulders. “I think it would make him feel a million times better to hear that.”

  “Axel said if you have a daddy you should take care of him, because some kids don’t have one.” Celia smiled at me and I nodded. “LeeLee said he would like it if I called him Daddy.”

  “Well, he is your daddy. He loves you and takes care of you, so I think Daddy is a good name to call him.” Once we all agreed, I held the doors and let the girls into the studio, dropping them with Charli. Celia didn’t look timid at all as the girls walked into the room to join the other little ladies. It was a different kid from a few weeks back. Griffin was easily the best father I had ever seen.

  Heads turned when I walked in and I threw my hands up. “At ease, ladies, he’s sick.” Nothing had budged on that front. The other moms ogled my man shamelessly every time he was in the room, so I had to fight back my psycho possessive tendencies. I wanted to maim any woman who looked at him, but kept my craziness in check. Faces fell when they found out Griffin wasn’t coming, but then Karen patted the seat next to her and smiled.

  “Come sit, Corrine. I think I owe you an apology.” I tentatively scanned the faces before sitting with them, waiting for the blows to start. Karen offering me an apology was about as likely as hell freezing, but her over-painted face looked sincere. I lowered myself slowly into the seat, waiting for the other shoe to drop. “I had no idea your sister was Arianna until Sophie’s party.”

  “Uh, yeah, Ari is my older sister. How was the party? Did she deliver our gift?” I didn’t care how the party was, but I could play nice, even when in complete shock. Karen started talking about the party, chatting like we were friends, patting my arm occasionally. The other women in the room, damn what are their names, were the same, chatting like we were friendly. Some other couple showed up to the party already wasted and made asses of themselves. I had to have looked like a deer in headlights.

  “So, tell us all about Richard. We know what happened in the past, but how is he now? My mother knows the Sharpes, they said Richard is home and going to meetings. Has he seen Axel?” There it was. Karen didn’t want to be chummy, Karen wanted the gossip and I was the center of it. It was like a gravitational pull for shitty things to come flying at me at the speed of light. I let my mouth hang open for a moment before I had the composure to answer.

  “I truly don’t know.” I smiled at the disappointment on her face. “I saw Rich for a second a few weeks back, but that was all. The restraining order still stands.” I forced a smile through the shitstorm of embarrassment threatening my face. The more I talked, the worse it got. None of it was my fault, but I felt solely responsible for the mess my daughter would go the rest of her life having to endure. Axel would forever be the little girl whose dad went to prison for drugs and there was nothing I could do about it.

  “Wait, so you are staying with Griff?” His nickname rolling off her tongue made me want to throat punch her. Cat fight would seem like an understatement. I took a deep breath, willing my psychopathic jealousy to ebb.

  “Yeah, I’m staying with Griffin. If Shane put you through the humiliation of going to prison for anything other than embezzlement would you go back to him?” The bite in my words made her eyes widen. Shane was a good guy, but had been accused of some shady shit in the past. Karen and Sophie had vanished to go on vacation for a month while it blew over. There was no way I was backing down from a Karen confrontation again and there was no Griffin to save me. “Anyway, I like to leave the past where it belongs. Axel and I are doing well. Maybe someday, she will choose to see her father. If that day comes, it will be her decision, but I won’t make it for her.” The other ladies nodded quietly, going back to watching our daughters dance, keeping quiet.

  Class dragged on for all eternity, making me antsy while the other mothers exchanged glances. I kept my chin up, though, I was not letting anything involving Richard bring me down again. His decisions had done enough damage to my self-esteem, and him being in the same city, right down from my job, was not going to derail me. I slid my phone out to send a text to Harri. Two days until her wedding meant she was busy as hell, but I needed a distraction and my man was napping, or he better be.

  Cori: Plans tonight? What do you need from me?

  Harri: Am I doing the right thing?

  Cori: Harriet, do you love him? I can’t believe I need to ask you this.

  Harri: I’m doing the right thing. Faye took care of the caterer. Briggs has taken my to-do list. Like he hid it and I can’t find it. He swears it’s all done. Apparently, this has been planned for months. He made me pick a date by blindly pointing at the calendar.

  Cori: I’m coming over anyway. Amelia is babysitting and I want to help.

  Harri: 7pm, The Brew. I love you, Cori

  Cori: Love you too girl.

  Dance class let out and I bid a polite goodbye to the other mothers as they told us to have Griffin get better. I internally rolled my eyes. Maybe this would teach me to go for less sexy men. Yeah, r
ight. If it were up to me I would spend the rest of my life worshiping every inch of Griffin Steele. The girls and I grabbed our yogurt to go, starting back to the Jeep. I told Griffin an hour so if he woke up with us not there, his cold wouldn’t matter. The caveman would hunt us down with a bottle of Nyquil in one hand and tissues in the other.

  I had just checked buckles on car seats when I heard a throat clear behind me. The hairs on my neck and arms stood at attention. My stomach heaved. Swallowing the bile in my throat, I breathed in slowly, gripping the paper bag of yogurt. My chest closed up, invisible hands tightening around my throat, as I slowly backed toward Richard. I would know that sound anywhere. It was the same fake cough he used when I got too rowdy around his colleagues or said something vulgar in public.

  “Are you going to face me?” I shuddered involuntarily and thanked a whole slew of deities that the girls were immersed in some horse conversation. I backed up, shut the door, and turn to face him. “I’m not going to hurt you, Cori. Stop acting like I’m the one who attacked you. I would never lay a hand on you. Haven’t I been punished enough? I lost everything.”

  “It was all your choice. You chose to gamble it all and you lost, Richard.” Looking up at him, standing three feet from the man should have been scary.