Shattered (A Bad Boy Romance Novel)

by Natalie Baird

  “To tell you the truth,” he said, “I haven’t figured that part out yet. I got about as far as the car trick before I ran out of smart ideas. You’ll have to be the brains of this operation from here on out. I’ve just about exhausted mine.”

  “Whatever you say, boss.” I told him, leaning back heavily against the seat.

  We finally cleared New York City and sailed into New Jersey. I looked back at the receding skyline. The city looked so peaceful from far away—all billboards and twinkling lights. It was hard to imagine that somewhere, underneath it all, a thousand of New York’s most powerful men had just been caught red handed in a corrupt underground fighting league. Somewhere among those city streets, Robert Hunt was huddled in the backseat of a cop car, apprehended at last after getting away with so many years of crime and murder.

  “Do you still think it’s a beautiful city?” Anderson asked me, catching my eye in the rearview mirror.

  “I do,” I said, “Despite it all. There’s no place in the world like it. What about you? Do you still think it’s beautiful?”

  “I think I’m robbing it of its most beautiful asset even as we speak,” Anderson grinned, “Even if she’s dressed up like a circus clown at the moment.”

  “Leave me alone!” I said, pulling the padding out from under my dress. “Desperate times...”

  “Indeed,” Anderson said, “But it’s over, for now. Let’s just think about that for a minute.”

  We fell silent as the road stretched out before us. I felt sleep rush in to claim me, and realized that it had been 48 hours since I’d last closed my eyes. I was finally free to rest, at least for a little while. For the time being, no one could touch us - we were finally free. I let my head rest against his shoulder and fell into the deepest, most satisfied sleep of my life. I felt like I’d earned a little shut eye—though god only knows, Anderson deserved it even more than I. I let my eyes fall shut, knowing that I was safe with Anderson at the wheel—as always.

  Chapter Twelve

  We spent the next week on the road together, Anderson and I. Neither of us had any destination in mind, nowhere to run to. We swerved around the country in our little blue sedan, blasting the radio as loud as it would go. The windows stayed rolled down, and I loved the way that the wind ruffled my short hair. I watched as America flew by my window, shifted and changed as we made our way from state to state.

  First, we made our way down the coast. We sailed through the middle states and headed further south. We stayed a night in North Carolina, camped by the shore on the Outer Banks. I’d spent most of the night looking up at the vast array of stars that spread above us. I’d never seen a night sky like that before in my life. We lay in the sand together, not saying a word. Neither of us was ready to speak about what happened, or the implications of what came next. We were just happy to be together, at peace, at long last.

  From North Carolina we swung up through the plain states, stopping at gas stations and rest stops to scrub ourselves down the best we could and load up on snacks and soda. We tore through bags of trail mix and chips, and whatever other local treats we could get our hands on as we went. Anderson, who had been on a strict protein rich diet since he was thirteen, rediscovered the glory that is the French fry. I had seen him overcome with pleasure before, but never quite like the first time a fry touched his tongue after a decade and change of abstinence.

  We made our way through Montana next, spending a night in a tiny cabin in a gorgeous national park. The farther away we got from the city, the more we finally relaxed. We stayed in Montana a whole day, hiking and drinking in the clear air. Anderson told me that he’d emptied his accounts entirely, that all the money Robert had been hoarding from him was safe inside a new account that the Mob boss could not touch. Anderson wouldn’t tell me the exact amount we had access to, but assured me that it was enough for us to live on comfortably and then some for the rest of our lives.

  California was our destination after that. We started at the top of the state and worked our way down through wine country, San Francisco, Los Angeles...all the way down to the Mexican border. We found a tiny seaside motel there and checked in, a week into our flight. The concierge seemed nonplussed about our desire to pay in cash, and that was just fine by us. Anderson carried our scant luggage up into the room and looked around approvingly.

  “This will do for a while, right?” he asked.

  “Sure,” I said, taking in the space. It was surprisingly tidy, our room. The queen sized bed was made up with crisp creamy linens; the room was decorated with a few solid items, as opposed to a slew of tasteless artifacts. Through the back window, the nighttime ocean rippled and roared. I closed my eyes and let the sounds of the waves wash over me. It was a peaceful metronome, their progress and recession. Just the thing to soothe one’s frazzled nerves.

  “I like it here,” I said to Anderson, crossing to the window. “Can we stay a while?”

  “As long as you want,” Anderson told me.

  I smiled back at him. “Aren’t you going to get antsy, being trapped inside with me all the time?”

  “Trapped?” Anderson said, “Hardly.”

  “You mean we’re free to come and go as we please?” I asked.

  “For a while, maybe,” Anderson said. “The sooner we get out of the country, the better. But we probably have another week to spare before things get serious.”

  “You mean things are going to get more serious?” I laughed.

  A dark look passed over Anderson’s face. “We’re not out of the woods, Kaela,” he said, “We’re never going to be. We put Robert away for a time, sure, but how long will they really keep him locked up? Even if he gets what he deserves, he’s got people working for him all over the country. All over the world, probably. We’ll always be watching our backs, you and I. We’ll never be completely safe.”

  “I know,” I said, looking out over the water, “But you know what, Anderson? It’s worth it. To be with you, it’s worth it.”

  He came toward me and resting his hands on my shoulders. “I’m glad you think so,” he said.

  “Do you feel any sense of closure?” I asked him, turning around. “Now that they’ve caught Robert, after all these years, do you feel like you’ve gotten justice?”

  Anderson mulled over my question, gazing out across the darkened sea. “I don’t think it’s possible for justice to be done against Robert,” Anderson said. “For justice to be done, Robert would have to know exactly how it felt, having my family stolen from me. That man doesn’t feel. He hasn’t got an empathetic bone in his body. He’ll never know the pain he caused me and Toby. He’ll never know what it feels like to walk around with a hole in his heart for years and years until someone comes along to soothe you, fix you up.”

  “Do you think I can fix you up?” I asked. “I’d like to try, you know.”

  “I know,” Anderson said, cupping my chin in his hand, “I’m not making any promises, though. If anyone can do it, you can. But what if I’m too far gone?”

  “For what it’s worth,” I said, laying my hands on his slender hips, “I don’t think you’re too anything. I think you’re perfect. I love you, Anderson.”

  “I love you too,” he said, pulling me close, “Even if I think you’re out of your mind for getting stuck here with me.”

  “Shut up and kiss me,” I said.

  I didn’t have to ask him twice.

  Anderson pressed my back up against the window, the cool glass sending a little shiver down my spine. He brought his lips firmly mine, pushing my mouth open to his. He slid his tongue deep into my mouth, and the warm, familiar feel of him there made me sigh contentedly. I ceaselessly craved the way he tasted, and relished every kiss because of it.

  I threw my arms around his broad shoulders as he pressed his body against mine. He brought his hands down along my back, over the faded scars I’d earned that first night we’d met. His big hands cupped my ass, squeezing firmly. I thrilled at his forceful touch, dreaming
about all the new ways we would discover each other’s bodies through the years. We’d only just scratched the surface of our desire to know each other fully, that much was certain. The very thought of all we had left to find out made me grow warm and wet for him.

  Anderson reached under the back of my tank top and unclasped my bra, letting the garment fall away from my body. He wrapped his strong hands around my breasts, kneading them delightfully. I moaned as he ran this thumbs lightly over my hard nipples. I brought my lips to his chest as covered it with eager kissed as he pinched my nipples with just the right amount of force. He drew my shirt up over my head and sucked in an appreciative breath as I stood before him, naked.

  “You’re a sight, you know that?” he growled.

  “I do now,” I told him. It was true—I’d never felt beautiful before I’d met Anderson. But when I was with him, I felt like the most gorgeous creature on the planet. My tan was fading, and my dark hair had started to show its blonde roots, but I still felt flawless under his gaze. Flawless, and adventurous, and free...the kind of girl I’d always wanted to be. Perhaps I had been that way all along, even while I was trapped in my dead end coffee shop jobs. Even while I spent my first years in New York fending off pigs and dogs of men. Maybe this adventurous spirit had always been a part of me, and I simply needed to meet Anderson to set it free. One thing was for sure—I never could have imagined being as uninhibited as he made me feel.

  I tugged on the hem of Anderson’s tee shirt, peeling it away from his bulging muscles. My fingers sought out his chest, every defined and shapely plane and dip. I ran my hands all over his torso, treasuring the feel of his body under my fingers. He was perfection. He was everything I could have dreamed of in a man. And he was all mine.

  Feeling brave, I shoved Anderson toward the bed. He raised his eyebrows at me, taken aback. I wasn’t usually the one to show aggression in our lovemaking, but there was a first time for everything. I thought he might be annoyed by the gesture, but if anything it seemed to turn him on more. Grinning, I stepped up to him and shoved him again. This time, he sat down hard on the bed, looking at me expectantly. I grabbed onto the buckle of his belt and ripped it open, pulling off his pants and boxers in one swift tug.

  He sat before me on the bed, utterly naked. His member had risen to meet me, and stood at full attention like it was waiting for my orders. Meeting Anderson’s lusty gaze, I stepped out of my skinny jeans and kicked them away. The foot of air between our naked bodies positively crackled with anticipation. I like the sensation of making him wait, just a moment longer than he was used to. And I could tell from the excited, twisted look on Anderson’s face that he was enjoying it to. I took a step toward him, smiling.

  “I think I know what it is you want,” I whispered, laying my hands lightly on his thighs.

  “I’m sure you do,” he breathed, growing harder by the second.

  I licked my lips, teasing him, and slowly drop down onto my knees. I knew that Anderson could see our reflection in the darkened window as I took his throbbing member into my mouth and sucked hard. He groaned above me, steadying himself on the bed. I wrapped my hands around the length of his shaft that I simply couldn’t fit in my mouth. I worked my fingers along the length of him, teasing his tip with my searching tongue. Anderson tangled his fingers in my short hair, moaning and breathing hard.

  My tongue ran up and down the length of him, driving him into a frenzy. I cupped his bulging balls in my hands and held them ever so lightly, and I could suddenly taste that Anderson was ready for sweet release. But I wasn’t done with him yet.

  I let him drop from my mouth and pushed him back onto the bed, slapping at his legs until he swung them up onto the mattress. I scrambled up on top of him, standing on all fours above his powerful body. His eyes were crazed with pleasure and desire, and I took a moment to appreciate the fact that I had done that to him. I placed my hands on his shoulders and lowered my hips, until my slick opening was resting against the tip of his member. He held his breath as I hung suspended above him, hovering just shy of being impaled by the full, bulging length of his enormous member. I grinned down at him, delighted by the sense of power that was coursing through me.

  “You want to be inside me?” I asked him innocently.

  “Yes,” he moaned, “Please. Please, let me in.”

  “Right now?” I asked, making my eyes wide and playful.

  “Now. Please,” he begged.

  “I like it when you ask nicely,” I said, and slid down the staggering length of his rigid manhood. We cried out as one as he slid up inside of me, his huge girth slamming against my tender g-spot. Our bodies shuddering with bliss as we became one once again.

  I rocked my hips against Anderson, meeting his bucking thrusts at every pass. With each movement, he drove further and further inside me. I thought that he would burst through the other side if he kept at it. The room spun around me as the pleasure of feeling this mighty man inside of me, below me, threatened to send me right over the edge. I just wanted to stay there forever, riding my lion of a man until we both dropped from exhaustion in an endless sea of bliss.

  Anderson brought his strong hand down and rested two thick fingers against that sensitive nub between my legs. I gasped as he began to rub me, flick at me, and tease me into a frenzied state. I bounced on his thick cock, breathless as the force of his thrusts and speed of his fingers sent me spinning into oblivion. I felt that hot, intense pressure billowing up inside of me, gathering like a storm cloud in my very core. I looked down at Anderson, focused all my attention on him, and brought my hips down as hard as I could.

  We cried out in unison as we came together, filling the room with our ecstatic moans. I felt him pulse and throb, spilling himself out inside me as pleasure rained down upon me, drenching every inch of my body. We rode each other through waves and waves of sensation, sucking up every last drop of bliss that fell down onto us. When we finally slowed our pace, I rested on top of Anderson. I let myself fall down against his chest, our bodies still attached in the most intimate way imaginable. I rose and fell with each breath that he took. His steady breathing slowed as he fell into a deep sleep. The endless, rhythmic crash of the waves lulled me into slumber, my body aglow with the feeling of Anderson within me.

  At some point in the night, I must have rolled off of my lover. When I woke the next morning, I was curled up on my side under the blankets, still naked from head to toe. For a long moment, I kept my eyes closed, even as I rose up out of slumber. I wanted to stay wrapped in that moment for as long as I lived. I could still feel Anderson’s imprint on my body, could conjure how it felt to hold him inside of me. There was no other feeling as satisfying in the entire world.

  Finally, I managed to convince myself to greet the day. I forced my eyes open and looked around the room. The bed was empty. Anderson was always up before me. I swung my feet down onto the floor and snatched a bathrobe from the chair in the corner. I threw on the soft garment and padded toward the wide window. The Pacific Ocean stretched endlessly before me, glinting in the early morning sunlight. I looked all around and noticed that we had a little patio attached to our room. Anderson was sitting in the sun, reclining in a chair with the morning paper balanced on his knee.

  For a moment or two, I simply took in the sight of him. He was a finely tuned collection of perfectly shaped muscles. His features were flawless and beautiful, intense and sensitive and unknowable. But besides all that, he was an incredible person. Compassionate, determined, deep, and loving. He was a bad boy, to be sure. We were, after all, on the run from dangerous gangsters that would never leave us alone as long as we lived. He was a bad boy for sure, but I knew that he would always be good to me.

  I tiptoed out onto the patio, squinting in the sunlight. Anderson looked up at me as I let the door snap closed behind me. “Good morning,” he said, opening his arms to me.

  “Good morning,” I replied, settling down onto his lap. “What’s going on in the world?”

&nb
sp; “See for yourself,” he said, offering me the paper. I looked at the front page and gasped. There, in the center of the page, was a picture of Anderson and I fleeing from the underground arena. A picture of Robert was splattered beside us, and the headline read, “Mysterious Heros Bring Down Mob Boss.”

  “Oh, dear,” I said.

  “Yeah,” Anderson replied.

  “This is far from over, isn’t it?” I asked.

  “Far, far, far,” Anderson said, pulling me close to him. “Are you up for it?”

  “Why not?” I said, “I haven’t got any other plans for the next, oh, twenty years or so.”

  “Want to make that the next eighty years or so?” Anderson asked.

  “You want to keep me around that long?” I asked with a smile.

  “I want to keep you around forever,” Anderson replied. “If that suits you, of course.”

  “Sounds good to me,” I said, giving him a peck on the cheek. “But I don’t want to talk any more about forever today.”

  “What would you like to do instead?” Anderson asked.

  “A swim might be nice,” I said, turning toward the beach.

  “A swim, she says,” Anderson laughed.

  “We’ve only got today, lover boy,” I called to him over my shoulder, feeling the sand between my toes and letting out a giggle, “We might as well make the best of it.”

  I took off toward the ocean at a run. And though I didn’t check to see that Anderson was following behind me, I knew that he would always be there, right where I needed him. The azure ocean rose up to meet me as I flew fearlessly into its embrace.

  # # #

  The End

  About the Author

  Natalie is a writer living and working in New York City. When she isn't typing her heart out, she enjoys watching live music and supporting local bands. Visit her site www.yuppiebitch.com for more info.

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