His to Protect: A Brook Brothers Novel

by Delaney, Tracie

  “Don’t stop,” he mumbled into her neck. “Not yet. Not until I tell you.”

  She didn’t answer vocally, but her grip tightened, and she worked him harder, faster. Oh shit. So good. So goddamn good.

  His mouth crashed against hers, their tongues tangling in a desperate, furious, passionate meeting of bodies. His need for her, cultivated for so many years, spilled over. He thumbed her clit and massaged her G-spot. Her response was to move her hand even faster.

  “Stop,” he said, shifting his hips. “I’m gonna come if you don’t stop.”

  “I could say the same,” she panted, reaching for him again. And then her hips rose off the bed. “Ohhh…God.”

  She clenched around his fingers, her muscles contracting as she climaxed. Her eyes closed, and a look of sheer bliss, of absolute pleasure, swept across her face. Transfixed, he stared at her. She’d never looked more beautiful, more fascinating. More his.

  Her eyelids fluttered, and then she let out a contented sigh. When she opened them properly, two pools of melted chocolate gazed back at him. She held out her arms. “Can I have you inside me now, please? I need you.”

  No need to ask twice.

  His cock twitched and jerked in response to her request. He shucked off his underwear, and hers, although he left the bra on. He liked the way the satin cups framed her creamy-white breasts. He grabbed his jeans and pulled the strip of condoms from his back pocket. He tore one off, ripped the foil open, and sheathed his erection.

  He tried to keep his eyes open, because he wanted to gaze at her face, but as he slid into her, so soft, so warm, so wet, his lids closed over. And when he thrust his hips everything else ceased to exist. There was no outside world, no worries, no regrets. There was just him and her, and mind-blowing, obliterating sensation as he drove into her over and over.

  And then he was coming, drowning in feelings of such overwhelming pleasure, the likes of which he’d never experienced before. So different. So addictive. She’d ruined him. It was over for him now. There was only her—or there was no one.

  Millie tightened her arms across his back, urging him to lie against her. Her muscles clenched around him, drawing out his climax as she came for the second time. She muttered something into his neck, but he couldn’t make out the words, only the sentiment that mirrored his own.

  Holy fucking shit. There was sex, and then there was intense, eye-opening, fuck-me-backwards sex. Yep, that had definitely been in the latter category.

  His bones turned to liquid, and he sank on top of her, sweat trickling down the back of his neck. She stroked his hair, and they lay there for a few seconds, both catching their breath.

  Conscious of how heavy he was, Cole rolled to the side and flopped onto his back. He removed the condom and dropped it on the floor—yeah, classy, right? He sought out her hand and knitted their fingers together, staring at the ceiling and trying to process the whirlwind of emotions swirling through him. And then Millie’s breath caught on a sob.

  He spun his head in her direction, just in time to catch her dash a hand across her face.

  “Oh, Jesus. Are you okay? Did I hurt you?”

  She shook her head violently. “Give me a minute,” she said, her voice thick and husky. She drew in a shuddering breath and then blew it out slowly through pursed lips. She did the same thing twice, three times.

  His panic grew the longer the silence stretched between them. And then she rolled onto her side and stroked his face.

  “Thank you.”

  Okay. Had not expected that.

  “For what, Mia?” The nickname seemed natural after what they’d shared.

  She offered him a wistful smile. “My mom used to call me Mia when I was a little girl.”

  He captured a lock of her hair and twirled it around his finger. “Would you rather I didn’t then?”

  “Oh no. I like it. A special name just between us.”

  Liking the sound of Mia right about now.

  “Done. Now will you tell me what’s up?” Before I really start to lose my shit.

  She expelled a soft sigh. “I don’t even know where to begin.”

  “Right. Okay.” He pulled his lips to the side, considering the right words to encourage her. “Let’s start with: did I do anything wrong? Because I gotta tell you, I haven’t had a woman cry on me after sex before.” And that’s a first I can happily do without.

  She chuckled. “Sorry about that. And, no, you didn’t do anything wrong. In fact, sleeping with you may have been the only thing that’s felt right in a very long time.”

  His heart thumped against his ribcage because, yeah, that excited him. A lot.

  “Good to know, but that doesn’t tell me why you’re crying.”

  She moved forward and pressed a kiss to his lips. His dick was immediately on board, jerking to life, but it’d have to wait, because the last thing he needed was more tears after round two. Coz they were definitely having round two. And three. And four. Nope, before he got another taste, he wanted to know what was spinning around her head.

  “Just tell me, Mia. Nothing you could ever say is going to bother me or change the way I feel about you. But I need to know why there were tears after I’d come inside you. Because I’ve got to tell you—that was the best sex of my life, and I’d kinda hoped you’d feel the same way.”

  “I do,” she said. “God, I do. It was… I don’t have the words to describe how you made me feel.” She let out a soft sigh. “I need to tell you how it was with Tanner. Then you might understand the reason why what we shared made me cry.”

  O-Kay. So, the “Nothing you can say will bother me” was a fucking great lie. The very last thing he wanted to hear was all the years Tanner got to fuck her while he silently mourned the lost chances and tried to forget her by screwing other women. He’d rather rip his fingernails out with pliers and then pour acid onto the raw nerves underneath than listen to that.

  “I gotta say, Mia, I’m not exactly chomping at the bit to listen to you talk about your sex life with Tanner.”

  She reached for his hand and linked their fingers. “It’s not a fairy tale, Cole. It’s a nightmare. The reason why I cried was because that was the first time I’ve ever come with a man. And let me tell you, it’s different to doing it yourself.”

  His eyes widened as shock rolled through him. “You never… with Tanner?”

  “No.” She laughed bitterly. “Tanner was all about Tanner. Nothing else mattered except his own gratification.” She stared into space, her facial features downturned, so sad, so lost.

  He kissed her because this wasn’t his Mia. When he drew back, the darkness had receded, and she gave him a wavering smile.

  “Tanner used sex as another way to control and punish me. He would start up, then stop because of some unknown transgression of mine. The way I’d looked at him. The fact I’d held him too tightly, or not tightly enough, or that he thought I wasn’t ‘active’ enough. And then he’d wake me in the middle of the night and demand sex. He liked to keep me sleep deprived because that made me more compliant. I was too exhausted to fight him. If I told him no, he’d sulk, and the moody anger and harsh silence would be so much, I’d give in. It was far easier to comply than to face his escalating anger and intimidation.”

  Cole clenched his hands into fists. I am going to kill that fucker. Slowly and painfully.

  “So now you know.” She hitched one slender shoulder. “Not only do you make me feel cherished but you also make me feel things sexually I didn’t even know were possible.”

  His heart swelled, even as his anger raged at what she’d suffered at Tanner’s hands for all those years. If it took him a lifetime, he’d find a way to make that bastard suffer.

  “I’m so sorry.”

  “Oh, no. Don’t be.” She leaned up on her elbow and kissed him. “I’m safe. I’m happy. I’m with you.” She gave him a sweet giggle. “And I’m horny. Ready for round two?”

  He caged her with his body, his forearms res
ting at the side of her head, and he trailed his nose between her breasts. “For you, I was born ready.”

  Chapter 17

  Millie forced her eyes open and squinted at the clock beside the bed. Four fifteen in the morning. Her bladder was fit to burst, and she slipped out of bed to use the bathroom. Sliding back beneath the covers, she nestled into Cole’s side. He stirred in his sleep, and his arm came around her automatically, but he didn’t awaken.

  Safe, her body hummed. You’re safe with him.

  Not to mention the man gives you amazing orgasms.

  She shuddered with pleasure as her mind picked over the events of the last few hours. She hadn’t expected to end up in bed with Cole. Sure, she’d hoped for a few stolen kisses, the odd brush against his firm, muscular body, even a sweep of her hand over his delicious ass—maybe. Whether it had been the excitement of the evening, or the way he’d looked at her in that bar, she’d been overcome with desire. She’d wanted him, desperately, the urge within her spilling over into an almost frenzied need that had shocked her with its intensity.

  She’d honestly never understood the big deal about sex. With Tanner it had been something to endure, not enjoy. She’d cry and he’d carry on anyway. She’d told Cole a little of her history last night, but the main thing she had kept back—her primary reason for being so scared before they’d slept together—was that Tanner had often called her frigid. Her word, not his. No, Tanner would hit her with a string of criticisms like her ass was too flabby, her stomach not flat enough, that she didn’t turn him on, and then he’d finish with a flourish by saying fucking her was like fucking a block of wood. He made her believe there was something wrong with her. That she wasn’t capable of reaching climax.

  Cole had proved that statement to be a big fat lie—because, by her reckoning, she’d had six.

  Six mind-blowing, toe-curling, out-of-this-world orgasms.

  Grinning to herself, she slowly lifted the covers. Seven time’s a charm, right?

  Cole had one leg bent, the other stretched out in front of him. His cock lay across his thigh. She licked her lips. Yep, actually licked her lips at the thought of him inside her mouth. And the most surprising thing about that? She hated sucking cock, because Tanner had always forced her. She could still feel him pressing her head down, his grip on the painful side of tight, her gag reflex kicking in as he’d exerted his power over her. God, she’d wanted to bite that fucker right off. Clamp her teeth down on him, like a pit bull locking its jaws in a dog fight. Unfortunately, she’d never found the courage, so she’d let him defile her, punish her. Hurt her.

  Well, no more. That time in her life was over, and ahead was sunshine, rainbows, unicorns… and Cole.

  She slid down the bed, dislodging his arm. He stirred in his sleep, but his breathing told her he hadn’t awoken. Good. She didn’t want him to yet. For a few seconds, she stared at his cock resting against his thigh. No one could, in all honesty, say that the male genitalia was pretty to look at, yet lying there, gawking at Cole’s, she felt completely different. Maybe because of the things he’d done to her with it the previous night. A tremor ran through her. The fact she’d never come during penetrative sex with Tanner made her believe that orgasms during the act itself—and without clit play—were a fallacy. It would appear that all her preconceived ideas had been destroyed by the man sleeping beside her.

  She tentatively skimmed a finger down the length of his penis. It jerked, so she did it again, circling the tip with her thumb. It began to swell and thicken, and the butterflies fluttering in her belly took off. She bent down and closed her lips around the head.

  “Holy shit, what are you doing?”

  She glanced up at Cole, eyes wide. His penis was still very much in her mouth. Yeah, she wasn’t going to be able to answer him like that. She let it go, and it made a popping sound as it slipped out. “Um, sucking you,” she said with a shy smile. “Do you want me to stop?”

  “Fuck, no.”

  Her grin widened, but as she angled her head to start up where she’d left off, he cupped her chin, easing her head up to meet his sincere gaze, even if his eyelids were still half closed in sleep. “You don’t have to do that, you know.”

  He looked so earnest, and a little bit worried, that she had to scour her mind to figure out whether she had slipped up and told him how Tanner used to force her. Nope. She was absolutely sure she’d kept that delightful piece of information to herself. Although… maybe she talked in her sleep? No, if she did, Tanner would have been sure to mention it. Another misdemeanor to add to the ever-growing list.

  “I want to,” she said. “It’s called returning the favor.” She shuddered at the memory of Cole’s dark head between her legs last night. Instead of her semi-joke making him laugh, though, his frown lines deepened, and he eased up onto his elbows, properly awake now.

  “It’s not a quid-pro-quo situation, Mia. I don’t want you doing anything you’re not comfortable with.”

  Bravo, Millie. This has gone swimmingly.

  “You’re killing my buzz, Cole,” she chided, sliding her hand up and down his cock.

  He laughed, and the deep lines between his brows disappeared. He flopped back onto the pillows and laced his hands behind his head. “Well, now, I wouldn’t want to do that, especially with the death stare you’re giving me.”

  Her lips twitched at the corners. She loved how, with him, she didn’t have to filter her responses, to try to figure out how each thing she said would be received. She could just be herself, or at least the person she’d been BT—Before Tanner.

  She wrapped her hand around him and squeezed.

  He made a throaty growl and raised his hips. “Do that again. Firmer this time.”

  She did as he asked and then took him into her mouth once more. Within thirty seconds, he was fully erect. She slipped into a rhythm. Hard suck, soft squeeze. Lick the tip, hard squeeze. She had no idea what she was doing, but he seemed to like it. Strike that. He seemed to love it if the noises he was making were an indication. Her insides flipped. She hadn’t thought giving someone so much pleasure could be such a turn on. Cole’s eyes were tightly shut, and the cords in his neck stood out as he struggled to maintain control. A faint sheen of sweat broke out on his forehead, and a nerve beat just above his chiseled jawline.

  Suddenly, she found herself beneath him. She hadn’t even processed that he’d moved her, he’d shifted their positions so quickly.

  “What’s wrong?”

  He gazed down at her, his intense green eyes flicking between hers. “Everything is right, Mia. So goddamn right.”

  Her stomach flipped at the earnest tone to his voice. “Then why did you stop me?”

  “Because I didn’t want to come in your mouth, and I was about five seconds from shooting my load.”

  “I wouldn’t have minded,” she said, even though she was actually rather relieved. Tanner had never thought about her, or whether she even liked the taste of semen. Newsflash: she didn’t. Not his anyway. But Cole’s? Yeah, maybe one day she’d like to sample a taste.

  A memory invaded her thoughts of the first time Tanner had forced her to swallow. They’d been married almost three years. She’d slowly watched him change into a stranger when his dreams remained unfulfilled, a cruel, angry young man who seemed to only find pleasure in torturing others. Mainly her. Or perhaps that’s who he’d always been, and over time the real Tanner had emerged when he’d figured he didn’t have to keep up the charade any longer.

  He’d come in from a night out with some of the young players at the club—drunk, belligerent, and demanding sex. She’d refused, saying she was too tired. He’d sulked, got angry, sulked some more. Paced the room. She’d given in. She could still remember the triumphant expression on his face as he’d dropped his pants and told her to get on her knees.

  She refocused her gaze to find Cole looking down at her with such concern and worry on his face.

  “Where do you go when you disappear on me like th
at?”

  God, the man was astute beyond belief. It must have something to do with his police training that made him so attuned to others. Or maybe it was just because Cole was an amazing human being. She thought about making light of it, but he deserved better.

  “A bad memory creeps in from time to time, and I guess it pulls me back to the past for a few seconds.”

  His face tightened, and his beautiful, full lips flattened as he correctly guessed what she meant by bad memory.

  “I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”

  She cupped his face. “Can you do me a huge favor?”

  “Of course. Anything.”

  “Put that gorgeous dick of yours inside me so I can start to replace bad memories with good ones.”

  His answering smile almost blinded her, despite the darkness filling the room. “Beautiful, that I can do.”

  * * *

  Millie and Cole crept into his hotel by the entrance out back that led straight to the living quarters. Because of the early wake-up call she’d given him, dawn hadn’t yet broken, and the place was in darkness. Plus, it was Saturday, which, she’d come to realize over the last few weeks of living there, was Jax and Indie’s only day off. How they kept up their crazy schedules, especially as Indie also worked full-time as a financial advisor, was beyond her.

  Cole and Millie disappeared into their respective rooms to wash up and change—a hazard of sleeping at a hotel on the fly. When she came back out into the living room, Cole was still in his room.

  She wandered across to the kitchen and removed eggs and bacon from the fridge. She was hungry, so he must be starved.

  “What are you doing?” Cole asked, coming up behind her. He slipped his arms around her waist, then rested his chin on her shoulder.

  “Cooking my man some breakfast.”

  He turned her in his arms. Her stomach vault with need as those vibrant emerald eyes fixed on hers, despite the last few hours doing nothing but sating her desires.

  “Is that what I am? Your man?” he murmured softly, grazing the tip of his nose down hers.