Shoving his hands into his pockets, Adam shook his head. “Just be careful. Or it won’t just be you that’s getting fucked. And it won’t be in a good way.” Then Adam walked away.
Hugh knew Adam was right. And after the shit with her mother, the way Hugh had freaked out when she hadn’t answered her phone—the emotions swirling when he thought something could have happened to her—he’d tried to distance himself. He’d lasted one goddamn day before he’d gone to her and climbed back into her bed.
Hugh covered the car; the new cloned VIN plates they’d fitted weren’t any guarantee they wouldn’t get caught. They just tipped the odds a little more in their favor. Joe had taken off after they brought in the car, so Hugh locked up after himself and left. And despite Adam’s warning ringing in his ears, he walked past his truck—he couldn’t risk it being seen anywhere near Shay—and climbed into one of their loaners.
Shay didn’t work Friday evenings and he planned on taking advantage of the fact. The way he was feeling, if he had his way, he’d take her to bed and not let her out again for the whole damn weekend. But that wasn’t an option. She had a shift Saturday night at Woody’s, and he had a car to find. So tonight, she was his, and he was going to spend the whole damn night proving it to her.
But when he pulled up outside her place a short time later, the lights were out, the Honda still parked out front. Maybe she’d decided to go to bed early? They’d both had hardly any sleep the last couple nights.
He contemplated leaving, going home. He couldn’t do it.
Fuck it… He’d get into bed beside her, wait for her to wake. Just being close to her was enough for him. Just the feel of her soft, smooth skin against his.
He squashed those thoughts quickly.
What the hell was he doing? He shouldn’t be thinking like that. Warning bells should be wailing in his ears; he should he running like hell the other way. After what she’d said to him in the dark the other night, about her mother, about people taking from others. If she ever found out what he was, what he did—she’d be disgusted. She’d see him like she saw her mother. A thief. A liar. A user.
But instead of getting back into the car and driving away, he quickly picked the lock to her door and walked quietly to the bedroom, desperate for a taste of her, to just be near her.
But when he pushed the door open, her bed was empty. No Shay.
He stalled in the doorway, frustration pounding him, a growl bursting past his lips. Yeah, he was acting irrationally, but he wanted her. No…needed her. Where was she? Grabbing his phone from his back pocket, he tried calling her. No answer. So he fired off a text, asking where she was.
Thirty minutes later, still no reply.
The feeling of helplessness surging through him was making him restless, edgy. The worry coiled around his chest made him pace the small space. Since the car was still there, she was either with someone else or planned on taking the motherfucking bus. He didn’t know where she usually hung out, who her friends were. Where to start looking. And that pissed him off more than anything. He should know this shit. He should be with her, or she should have told him where the hell she was going.
She’s not yours.
He paced some more, and the longer he waited for her, the more scared he got.
What if they’d been seen together? What if Al…?
The sound of a car pulling up outside ground that unwelcome thought to a halt. He walked to the window and looked out. A late-model BMW sat idling out front. It sat there for a while, then finally the door opened, and Shay stepped out. He instantly scanned her body for any signs of harm, her face to make sure she wasn’t upset or afraid.
She was smiling, wide and beautiful.
He did another sweep of her body, and what he saw made his fists clench tighter at his sides, his teeth grind together. She was in that dress, the one she’d been wearing when she brought back his keys, after their first night together. The one that emphasized her full tits, small waist and round hips. She looked fucking gorgeous. Stunning. Killer heels. Her long hair in soft waves down her back.
Was she on a date? Is that what this was?
The interior light of the car hadn’t come on when she opened the door, and it was too dark out to see who was in there with her. He’d been here, waiting, nearly out of his goddamn mind with worry, and she’d been out, and by the looks of it, with some other guy?
Yeah, he’d told her he didn’t do relationships, but that was to keep her safe. He thought they had an understanding—maybe something special. Obviously, he’d been wrong.
She waved as the car drove away, smile still in place as she pulled her keys from her bag and unlocked the door.
Hugh stood in the center of the room, arms crossed, but only because he wanted to grab her and shake the ever-loving fuck out of her for making him feel this way. This out of control. This jealous.
This messed-up feeling of betrayal.
She walked in, flicked on the light, dumped her bag on the bench and turned around…
“Jesus Christ!” Her hand flew to her chest, and she stumbled back a step, slumping against the tiny breakfast bar. “What are you doing here? You scared the heck out of me.”
Her question felt like a knife to the gut. “Have fun?” His voice sounded wrecked.
She stood a little straighter, frowned. “Yes.” She crossed her arms, as well. “I had a nice time. What are you doing here?” she asked again.
“Been here the last two nights, Shay. Me showing up tonight can’t be that big of a surprise to you.”
Her gaze darted away from his then flitted back, locking on his chest. “But that was the middle of the night.”
“I’m not welcome earlier?” There was a definite growl to his voice now, but he couldn’t hold it back. “You sure as hell seem happy to see me when I visit, ecstatic, even.”
Heat flooded her green eyes, and he had to fight to hold his ground and not go to her, not use her lush body to ease the pain throbbing through him. Not to take his anger out on her in a way that would leave her screaming his name in ecstasy, so she’d never forget who she belonged to.
“You should have called first, saved yourself the trouble.” She was breathing hard now, full breasts heaving against the fabric barely containing the soft mounds.
“I did. You didn’t answer.” He wanted to tell her how worried he’d been, how fucking insane it made him that she didn’t want him as much as he wanted her, but he didn’t. He didn’t have that right.
“Oh…” She grabbed her bag, rummaged around and pulled out her phone, turned it on. It started beeping with missed calls straight away. “I forgot I’d turned it off.”
He was in front of her in two steps. “Why did you turn it off, princess? What was so important you couldn’t be disturbed?”
She blinked up at him in that way she often did, all innocent and sweet. “Dinner and a movie. I always turn off my phone in the movies. It’s rude not to.”
His head exploded. Just…blew up. “Who the fuck is he?” Because he was going to hunt him down and kill him with his bare hands.
She dumped her phone on the counter behind her and crossed her arms, eyes wide. “He? What are you talking about?”
The phone beeped again beside her, and his gaze darted to the screen. The name Travis flashed up. “Why the hell is Travis still texting you?” he gritted out.
She just stared up at him, as if he was speaking in some foreign language. He didn’t blame her. He didn’t know what the hell he was doing, either. Shay didn’t get what she was to him, what she meant to him. He couldn’t name it himself. He just knew he didn’t want her seeing anyone else. When she continued to stare up at him, not answering, he grabbed her phone and clicked open the message.
She sucked in a startled breath. “You can’t do that! Give back my phone.”
He ignored her, holding it out of her reach, and quickly read the text. The blood started boiling in his veins. “I miss you, honey. Please think about what I
asked you.” Hugh threw the phone back onto the counter. “You’re seeing this asshole again?”
Her eyes narrowed, and she scowled at him. “How is that any of your business?”
He moved in, grabbed her hips, making her yelp in surprise, then lifted her, spun, and pressed her against the wall. “You are mine. That’s how it’s my business.” He grabbed her ass so she had no choice but to wrap herself around him. “Now, I’m going to ask you again. Are you back with him?”
“Yours?” she whispered. “You’re acting like a crazy person.”
“Mine,” he snarled. He knew he was acting as crazy as she said, but there was no chance of reining it in. “Tell me!” he barked.
She scowled harder. “No. I’m not back with him.”
“Are you going to take him back, Shay?” He held his breath, waiting for her answer.
Finally, she shook her head. “No.”
He kept pushing, had to. “Did you have dinner with him tonight?”
“No.” Her gaze dropped to his mouth, thighs tightening around his hips.
He pushed deeper into her curves. “Then who?”
“Kayla.” She arched into him, so his cock was flush against the soft heat between her legs. “I was out with my best friend.”
“Why is he still texting you?”
She bit her lip, and he wanted to suck it into his mouth and soothe away the sting.
“He’s still saying he…he wants me back. And that he’s kept my job at TBS Designs open if I still want it.”
Motherfucker.
Anger fired back to life. “Promise me while we’re seeing each other, you won’t see anyone else.” He had no right to ask it, but he wouldn’t accept anything else, not from Shay. The thought made him lose his mind.
Her fingers spasmed against his back. “I promise.”
He held her against the wall with his hips, grabbed her wrists and pinned them above her head with one hand, the other going back to her ass. “Promise me you won’t talk to your ex, you won’t meet your ex, you won’t fucking think about your ex ever again.”
Her head dropped back, and she licked her lips. “I don’t want him, Hugh.”
“Say it,” he rasped.
Her eyes held his gaze, bright emeralds, clear and gorgeous. “I promise.”
“Only me.”
She moaned softly. “Only you.”
“That’s right, only me.” He shoved her dress up around her hips. “I’m going to fuck you against this wall, princess, then I’m going to take you to bed and fuck you again.”
She was breathing hard, her tits almost exploding out the top of her dress. He decided to help them out and tugged down the material at the front as far as it would go, making her gasp. He growled when a puckered, cherry-colored nipple popped out over the top.
He leaned in and sucked it into his mouth, tugging and licking as he reached down and got to work on his jeans. His cock was an iron bar behind his zipper, throbbing and aching to be released.
“Hugh,” she moaned softly. “Please.”
“You wet enough to take me?’
“Yes.”
He yanked open his jeans and groaned when he felt her against his bare skin, felt just how hot and wet she was against the underside of his dick through her panties. “You need this as much as I do, don’t you, baby?”
“Yes.”
She tightened her arms around his neck and pressed in, tight, pointy little nipples digging into his chest. Warm, panted breaths brushed his throat as she placed an open-mouthed kiss there.
“Please,” she added.
He dug his fingers into her ass, angled back and shoved her underwear aside. Fisting his erection, he rubbed the fat head through her drenched lips, grazing her hard, little clit, dipping back down. “Now?”
She sucked harder on his skin, nipped. “Please, now,” she whimpered.
He pushed inside slowly, hissing at how tight and hot she was, how goddamn good she felt. Swallowing his cock inch by painstaking inch. “This pretty pussy was made for me,” he rasped. “All of you. Nothing feels this good, no one.” Then he slammed up inside her the rest of the way until he completely filled her.
He held still, trying to get his shit together, but she wrapped her arms tighter around him, thighs hugging his hips and lips brushing his skin, begging him to move. He was powerless to take it slowly after that, and holding her ass in his hands, he started thrusting into her. That mouth at this throat stayed open against his skin, letting him feel every moan, every cry, every word, asking for more, asking him to give it to her harder.
“Shit, baby, you’re so wet. You love it when I lose control, when I fuck you hard, don’t you?”
She lifted her head and looked at him through half-lidded eyes, mouth slightly open, lush body jarring, tits bouncing each time he thrust into her brutally. He almost came.
“Yes, I love it,” she whispered.
Her hand slid over his shoulder to the spot she’d been sucking and kissing on his neck then into his hair, fisting, making his scalp tingle.
“I-I can’t get enough of you,” she told him.
He slammed his mouth down on hers and kissed her deeply, swallowing her moans, her cries as he pounded her.
She tore her mouth away, making the sexiest sound he’d ever heard in his life, completely uninhibited, letting him know how good she felt with him moving inside her. Then she tightened around him, inner muscles clamping down on his cock repeatedly as she came. Her nails were biting into his shoulders, nipples dark cherry, straining above the top of her dress. Thighs wrapped around him so tight, he knew he’d feel them there long after they were gone.
His cock swelled and pulsed, balls drawing up so tight it hurt, and then he blew, pumping her full of him until she collapsed against his chest.
He held her close, kissed her. “Time for bed, princess,” he said into her sweet-smelling hair. “I need more of you.”
The way he was feeling right now, he didn’t think he’d ever get enough.
Chapter Eighteen
Tonight, Woody’s had a live band—they did most Saturdays—and the place was pumping, but Shay barely noticed. She’d woken up this morning early, early enough it was still dark outside, and Hugh had still been there, wrapped around her. She thought he was asleep, but as soon as she moved, he’d rolled her to her back, kissing her until her head spun, then he’d pushed inside her, making love to her, slow and perfect.
She’d tried to tell herself repeatedly that wasn’t what they’d done—they hadn’t made love—and that she was being ridiculous to even think it. But this time had been different somehow. Hugh was an intense man, always, but this morning—she’d never experienced anything like it. There’d been a fervency in the way he’d thrust into her, kissed her, as if he was trying to communicate something to her without words. As if he was trying to tell her what they were doing held significance.
God, the way he’d looked into her eyes when he’d pounded deep, the sounds he’d made as he’d pinned her to the mattress and taken her.
Taken her.
There were no other words to describe it.
He’d been jealous when she’d gotten home. Possessive. Why would he act that way if he only thought of her as casual, someone to pass the time with?
Only me.
The way he’d said it. The way he’d made her promise to see only him. His words and actions had sent her on an emotional tailspin. Confused her. Excited her.
He’d made love to her. He had. She couldn’t believe anything else, but then, like the last few nights, he’d left before the sun came up.
“Shay? Your order.” Branden, the barman on tonight, stared at her, eyebrow raised.
“Oh, sorry! Right.” She felt like an idiot, getting caught daydreaming while the bar was pandemonium around her. “I’ll just”—she smiled at him and slid her tray off the bar—“deliver these.”
Her shift went fast and without a hitch after she finally got her head in the gam
e. It was two in the morning, and the place had thinned out considerably, when the door opened and Travis walked in. He didn’t bother pretending he was there for any other reason than to annoy her and walked straight over.
As soon as he stopped in front of her, she held up a hand, halting whatever it was he intended to say. “I don’t know why you’re here, but whatever the reason, you’ve wasted your time.”
He wrapped his fingers around her biceps and pulled her closer. “You keep hanging up on me. You’ve given me no choice.”
She needed this to be over, needed it to end. She’d promised Hugh she wouldn’t talk to her ex, but it was the only way to make him understand it was over between them, for good. She led him down the short hall off the side of the bar, just past the toilets. Where it was quieter.
When she looked up at him, his eyes softened and he moved closer.
She placed her hands on his chest to keep him back. “Trav.” Her tummy churned using the shortened version of his name, what she’d always called him, but she needed to get through to him, needed him to see she meant what she said. “You can’t keep doing this. You can’t keep calling and showing up. You and me, we’re over, and that’s not going to change.”
He flinched. “You don’t mean that, honey. You can’t.”
“I can, and I do. I cared for you once, a lot, but you destroyed those feelings, annihilated them. We’re not good for each other. I’d never fit in with your family or the world you come from, and we both know it.” She didn’t care about his family or what they thought of her, but she’d use anything at her disposal to make her point. “It has to end. The phone calls, the texts, they have to end, Travis.”
He grabbed her upper arms and yanked her forward. “I don’t want it to. I made a mistake, letting you go. I messed up; you need to forgive me.”
“I won’t compromise myself to please someone else. You don’t really want me. You want a slim, polished version of me. That version doesn’t exist; she never will. This is me, and I like me the way I am.”
As she said the words, she realized they were true. Hugh made her feel beautiful just the way she was, made her feel comfortable, desirable in her own skin. Hugh made her feel a lot of things she was finding harder and harder to deny…or ignore.
Swerve: Boosted Hearts (Volume 1) Page 17
