He nodded, almost as if he was telling himself something. “Okay.” He placed his laptop and cell on my bedside table and then walked out of the room, but he was back seconds later with his pillow and blanket.
“I’m being stupid,” I whispered, wishing I could be the strong woman my mom had brought me up to be. “The alarm is on and—”
“No.” Ford placed his hands on my shoulders, and I shivered from the contact. “You’re not being stupid. It’s normal to feel what you’re feeling right now. Don’t try and push it down and pretend it’s not there. The Belle I knew—the Belle I’ve gotten to know over the last month—wouldn’t do that. She’d feel every single emotion and not give two shits about it.” His lips quirked. “Now, get into bed. We have a day full of classes tomorrow.”
I pulled in a breath and tried to center myself. “Okay.”
His hands slid off my shoulders, and I wished he didn’t have to stop touching me. At least when his skin was connected with mine, I was grounded. But now I just felt like I was floating on the wind like a lone balloon.
Ford made his pallet on the floor near the door as I slid back into my bed and pulled the covers up to my chin. There was nothing between me and the window, and I couldn’t stop staring at it, not even when Ford turned out the lights. My gaze refused to move off the window, just in case someone was still out there. What if they came back? What if they were just waiting for me to be asleep again, and then they’d try a second time.
A tear fell from my eye, and it was closely followed by another one. I didn’t know what had caused it, maybe my body needed relief from what had happened, but I couldn’t hold them in, and the lump in my throat became so big, I couldn’t swallow past it.
I was so inside my own head that I didn’t hear Ford moving around the room until he was crouched beside me between the bed and the window. “Sweetheart,” he whispered, and that one word said so much more than just its syllables. “No one can get to you now.”
“I know,” I choked out, not looking away from the window. “But…I just…” I ripped my gaze away from the pane of glass and stared right into Ford’s eyes. He was so close I could feel each of his breaths on my face. “I’m just…I can’t stop looking.”
Ford was silent for several seconds, his attention not moving off me, and then he said, “Move over.” I didn’t hesitate to do as he said, and as soon as I was on the other side of my bed, he moved in next to me. He lay on his back and turned his head to face me. “Better?”
I couldn’t bring myself to say anything, so instead, I just nodded and closed my eyes. Even if I couldn’t fall asleep, I’d at least try to. I counted his breaths and kept as still as I could with the space separating us.
Chapter Nine
FORD
It didn’t matter how many times I told myself to pull away from Belle, I always found myself getting closer and closer. The bond we had was unbreakable. And after last night, all I wanted was to hold her as tight as I could and protect her from the evil that was trying to get her.
Belle was pure. As pure as they came. At least, she was in my eyes. She didn’t deserve to be part of this fucked-up world, but she was. She was born into it the day Lola had given birth. It was only now it was finally finding her, and I knew it was partly my fault. If I hadn’t had a reaction when Garza had mentioned Belle, we wouldn’t be in this position. She’d be safe here, and I’d probably still be undercover.
The dark sky started to lighten, and I looked at the time on my cell. 3:45 a.m. My movement caused Belle to shuffle closer, and I swallowed as her hand landed on my bare chest. I hadn’t thought about the fact that I was in bed with her, not until that very moment. All I’d been concerned about was making her feel safe, but now…now I was only too aware of how close we were, and the fact she was asleep, and I couldn’t stop staring at her.
Her small button nose led down to her parted lips, and each of her exhales made a small noise that I was becoming slowly obsessed with. But it was the way her lashes rested against her cheeks that had me enthralled. Her light-brown hair fanned around her and rested on her shoulder, where the strap of her tank top had fallen down.
I didn’t know what possessed me to reach out and right the strap, but as soon as my fingertips touched her soft skin, her eyes slowly opened. The blue of her irises was so much brighter as she stared at me, and there was a life behind them that I craved to be part of. There may have been twenty-two years between us, but at that moment, all that separated us was the space in the bed that I craved to evaporate.
Neither of us said a word as I righted her strap and then trailed my finger across her collarbone and up her neck, landing on her lips. I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about them since I’d first touched them, and it was time I was honest.
“I lied,” I croaked out, trying to keep my voice low. I stared at her lips for a beat and then flicked my gaze up to her eyes. I could see the question showcased in them, but I didn’t give her the chance to ask it as I said, “It wasn’t a mistake.”
Her tongue swiped over her lips, and then she whispered, “What wasn’t a mistake?”
My palm flattened on the side of her face, and the tips of my long fingers pushed into her hair. “The kiss.” I turned my body so I was closer to her, and she answered me by shuffling toward me.
“But you said—”
“I don’t care what I said.” I pressed my body flush with hers, needing to feel her against every part of me. “I fuckin’ lied to you, sweetheart. You think I give a fuck if you’re my boss’s daughter?” I gritted my teeth, trying to tell myself to slow down, to take my time, but it was impossible when it came to Belle. “I didn’t want you involved in this fucked-up life. People think just because we’re on the right side of the law, everything is fine, but it’s not, Baby Belle.” I took a breath, about to reveal things to her that I’d never told anyone, but her hand pushing through my hair had me speechless.
“So what I hear you saying is that you did want to kiss me?” The small quirk of her lips had me drifting even closer to her.
“No.” I shook my head. “I didn’t want to kiss you.” I wrapped my arm around her waist and yanked her against me. “I fuckin’ needed too.” Our breaths mingled, and something snapped inside me. The carefully placed control I’d held on to for my entire life evaporated, and I knew I was about to take exactly what I wanted. “Just like now.”
She opened her mouth, about to answer me, but I wasn’t willing to give her the chance to say anything else. Words could be spoken all day long, but it was my actions that mattered most. She should have known I was lying because there was no way I kissed someone just because it took my fancy. When I opened myself up, I meant it, and I’d never opened myself up like this. I’d never wanted to. But as Belle’s eyes focused on me, I knew if I was to do it with anyone, it would be with her.
I slammed my lips onto hers, taking everything I needed, but I hadn’t expected her to be just as fierce back. She didn’t let me take over and dominate. No, she was fighting for control just as much as I was, and I couldn’t do anything but relent to it. She wanted this as much as I did, and I wasn’t going to put a stop to it. For the first time in my life, I was putting myself first and not worrying about everyone else around me.
I rocked my hips against her, my body taking over, and Belle’s answer was to roll on top of me and place her legs either side of mine. We were going hard and fast, and I wasn’t thinking about what would happen after this. I wasn’t thinking about tomorrow or next week. All I was thinking about was the way her body felt against mine and how I hated the clothes which separated us.
Pulling back a little, our lips parted, and I stared at her as I sat up. Her face was the same level as mine, and I slowly reached for the bottom of her tank top. My rough fingers trailed over her stomach as I pulled it up, and as soon as it was over her head, and her chest was bared to me, I dived for her nipples.
The moan she let loose was the best sound I’d ever heard, s
o I sucked on the pink bud harder and lapped my tongue against it, loving the way her fingers gripped my hair.
“Ford,” she groaned, and I swore, every hair on my body stood on end at the sound of her breathy voice. “Please, Ford.”
I wasn’t sure she really knew what she was asking, but I’d bow down to her demands just to hear her say my name like that again. My palms wrapped around her waist, and I drifted my fingers lower, pushing them underneath the boy shorts she had on. I pulled back from her nipple and stared into her eyes, so bright they looked like two blue diamonds, twinkling against the lights.
“Belle,” I ground out. All I wanted was to go hard and fast, but she deserved more than that. She deserved slow and sensual, but I wasn’t sure I could give her that, not at that moment. Not when she was half-naked, pressed against my cock. “I need to—”
“No.” She cut me off and placed her finger against my lips. “Don’t think about it,” she whispered, her hips jutting forward and causing my eyes to close. She was tearing me apart and gluing me back together again, all in one movement. How the hell did she do that? How the fuck did she know exactly what to do to drive me crazy and make me lose my mind?
“Just feel it, Ford.” Her hand drifted over my shoulder and down my pecs, and I knew she was following the trail of my tattoos. I opened my eyes as she leaned closer and pressed her lips to my neck, then whispered, “Feel me.”
I wanted to tell her that I could feel every inch of her pressed against me, but I couldn’t get my words out. She was a vixen, and I had nothing in my arsenal to stop her attack. I trailed my hand up her back and wrapped my palm around the back of her neck, then pulled her back so she could stare into my eyes. I needed her to see how serious I was, and the only way she could do that was by looking into my eyes.
“I’m only gonna say this once, Baby Belle. You want to forget this happened, then you need to get off of me right now.” I paused, waiting to see what she would do. But when she didn’t move, I continued, “Because right now, you’re seeing me holding back, but if you rub yourself against my cock once more, I ain’t gonna be able to—” I groaned as she moved her hips against me, and that was all the answer I needed to slam my lips back down onto hers.
I spun us around and laid her on the bed, throwing the covers off so they didn’t get in my way. Nothing could separate us, not now that she’d given me her silent answer. Actions spoke louder than words, and her actions had screamed in my face.
My lips traveled down her body, between her breasts, down to her hips, until I was centimeters away from her pussy. I inhaled a deep breath and flicked my gaze up at her. She was watching me in a daze, her hands gripping on to the sheet below us, and I grinned up at her.
I latched on to one side of her boy shorts and held them tight. I twisted them, and the tearing of material was the only sound in the room right before she gasped. I didn’t give a fuck if they were her favorite because they had to go. And fuck…I didn’t know what I expected once they were off her body, but it wasn’t what I saw. Part of me wanted to take my time and stare at her pussy, but that side of me wasn’t in control, so I dived right in and licked her. My tongue flattened so I could touch as much as I could, and her answering moan and hands gripping my hair were exactly what I wanted.
“Ford,” she groaned out and pushed her hips closer to my face.
I moved my hands beneath her, my fingers biting into the soft skin of her ass as I held her to me and feasted like I hadn’t eaten for months. And that was exactly what it felt like. I’d never tasted something so goddamn divine. Maybe it was because she was forbidden fruit, or maybe it was because I’d been holding myself back for so long. Or maybe it was just because she was Belle, and impossible to resist.
“I don’t know how much more I can take,” Belle gasped, her fingers tightening so much in my hair that my scalp burned. But I could feel how wet she was as I licked her harder and faster. She was close, and I wasn’t willing to let up.
I pulled away so I could look up at her and licked my lips, tasting her all over me. Her head was thrown back, her chest pushed up in the air, and it was the sweetest sight I’d ever seen. “Hold tight, sweetheart.” Her gaze met mine, and I winked at her before I dove back in, going even faster this time and needing to feel her pulsating clit as she let herself go for me.
It was mere seconds until she was shouting my name, and then I latched on to her clit. She went off like a rocket, fast, impactful, and fuckin’ beautiful. I could have felt, tasted, and listened to her orgasm all day long.
“Fuck, Ford,” she groaned out, and I finally let go of her pussy and climbed over her. I swiped my arm over my lips.
“You like that, sweetheart?”
Her hands cupped each side of my face, and I expected her to shy away from me, but she just planted her lips against mine and pushed her tongue inside my mouth. Wrapping my arms around her, I pressed the length of my body against hers, feeling her wetness on my sweats.
“Take them off,” she whispered, wrapping her legs around my waist. Her gaze connected with mine, and I could see how much she wanted this with just one look. I pushed my hips up and moved one of my arms around so I could yank my sweats off. We were so close, only a sheet of paper could separate us, and as soon as the tip of my cock touched her skin, I nearly lost it.
“Baby Belle,” I groaned out, my voice deeper and rougher than I’d ever heard it. “I need to feel you.”
“Please,” she begged with a tilt of her hips. That one move had the tip of my cock pushing against her wetness. Neither of us looked away as I wrapped my hand around the base and guided myself to her opening.
“Fuck.” I tensed so much I was sure my teeth would crack from the intensity. “You feel so fuckin’ good.” I was only an inch or so in, but it was all I needed to know nothing would be the same again. Not after kissing her. Not after touching her.
She wrapped her arms around my waist, and I pushed down on my knees and lifted her up. There was nothing I wanted more than to look down and watch as she pushed herself onto my cock, but I couldn’t resist the lure of her eyes. They were pulling me in, holding me captive, and threatening not to let me go.
Her mouth opened, and a small gasp slipped out, and then I was fully inside her. She winced a little, but I knew it was just her adjusting to my size.
I gripped her at the waist, our chests connected, and then asked, “You ready, Baby Belle?”
She pressed her forehead to mine. “Always.” That one word meant so much more than just for now, but I didn’t want to think about it, not when she was attached to me in every way possible.
I lifted her slightly and then brought her back down, going slow, but she wasn’t having any of it. She pulsed her own rhythm, and it was driving me crazy. Every inch of my body wanted to take control. Belle was testing my limits, but if there was anyone I could give in to, it would be her. But I couldn’t do it right then, so I moved us back down to the bed and pistoned my hips faster and harder, loving the way her boobs bounced from the movement. My hand was connected with hers, our gazes locked, and it was right then I knew…
Nothing would ever be the same, not after this.
* * *
BELLE
I wasn’t sure what to say. For hours my brain had been thinking of word combinations, but each time I opened my mouth, nothing would come out.
I’d slept with Ford.
I’d had sex with him.
I’d shown him a part of me I never thought I would.
And I didn’t regret a single second of it.
But whether he did was another matter. We’d only had a couple of minutes in bed after the epic-ness that was our sex before his cell had rung. I wasn’t sure if he knew I’d seen my dad’s name flashing on the screen, but his slew of curse words as he jumped out of my bed and yanked his sweats on made me nervous.
And now we were alone again. His call had lasted a couple of hours, and I could hear the rest of the team as he switched to his laptop
. I had no doubt he was on a video call, and after what had happened last night, I wasn’t surprised they were talking for so long. But it didn’t help my nerves.
Would he tell me it was a mistake, just like he had the day after he kissed me in my bedroom? Or would he stand by what he said? He’d been confronted with the reality of who I was only minutes after shattering my world with a mind-blowing orgasm. So what now? What happened from here? I had no idea, but what I did know was I wanted to do it again. The ball was in his court, and I hated how much he controlled it.
Ford walked beside me as we moved toward his car. He opened my door for me, just like he always did, but I noticed how he made sure not to touch me. My shoulders sagged. I’d laid myself bare for him, and he’d taken me without a second thought. And now…now I was the girl who had been taken for a fool and—
My cell ringing cut me off just as Ford closed the door. I pulled it out, not really looking at the screen as I pressed the answer call button and placed it next to my ear.
“Hello?”
“Belle?” Mom shouted down the line and nearly pierced my eardrum. “Thank god! Your dad just told me what happened last night. Are you okay? Do you need me to come down to you? Maybe you should come home and—”
I laughed at how fast she spoke. “I’m fine, Mom. I promise.” I glanced at Ford as he started the engine, but his attention was focused ahead of him as he drove out of the lot.
“Are you sure? I can be down there in a few hours. I’m ready, all I have to do is—”
“Really, Mom. I’m okay.” I swallowed and looked out of the passenger window, watching as other cars drove by us. “Ford is here and—”
“Ford.” I heard Mom heave a sigh. Ford and Mom knew each other from way back. In fact, they’d known each other longer than Dad and Ford. “Thank fuck he was there.”
“Mom!” My eyes widened. “Language.”
“What?” she asked, and I could imagine her face was one of innocence. “I think if there is one situation where I can say ‘fuck,’ then this is it. Someone tried to break in and steal my baby. When I find out who it is, I’m gonna skin them alive. And I swear to god, they will not know what hit them. I’ll chop their balls off and—”
Torn Bond: Bonded Duet: Book One Page 12