Breaking Free

by C. A. Mason

  “I’m tempted to lock down your legs too,” I said, thinking about the other set of cuffs in the drawer. Just thinking about having her spread eagle on my bed and begging for me made my cock twitch in anticipation. “But I want to feel those sexy heels digging into my back as I fuck you.” She wasn’t the only one who liked a little pain with her pleasure.

  She moaned, arching her back as she thrust her tits up. “What are you waiting for?”

  I peeled my shirt off before toeing off my worn boots and casting them aside.

  She watched me shed my clothes, her eyes hungry as they trailed over my body before returning to my face. “You’re so sexy, Coop.”

  “As long as you think so, baby.” I’d never had a problem getting women in bed. Sometimes getting rid of them was the problem. But I couldn’t imagine anything Maura could do or say that would make me want to leave her. Except cheating. I didn’t share, and she knew it.

  I braced my weight on my hands as I drew one of her peaked nipples into my mouth. Swirling my tongue around the tight bud, I nipped hard enough to make her cry out before soothing it with a tender kiss. I moved to the other side. I could spend all night doing that, but from the way she was grinding her hips, she was anxious for more. Trailing my lips slowly down her abdomen and over her hips, I forced her legs wide with my shoulders and planted myself between her thighs. She was already trembling in anticipation. Nothing got her hotter than watching me go down on her. But I just blew on her engorged clit, looking up at her.

  “What the hell, Coop?” she asked, tugging on her restraints.

  “Tell me you’re mine.” When she frowned, I said, “Tell me you’ll never let another man touch you the way that son of a bitch did tonight.”

  It had just been a dance, but when I saw his hand on her ass, I saw red. Since I’d found out who he was, I couldn’t get the image of her having sex with him out of my head. He was her first lover, her only lover before I came along, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that that gave him some advantage over me. He obviously still wanted her, but he’d have to climb over my dead body to get to her.

  “You know I’m yours,” she whispered. “I don’t want anyone else.”

  I was a novelty for her, the bad boy who used his fists instead of his brains to get ahead, and she liked that… for now. But how long would it be before she realized she was out of my league and she’d be better suited to one of those college boys who were always trying to slip her their numbers? I wanted more. I wanted a promise of forever, but she was still young. Hell, at twenty-four, I was too young to think about forever, but that didn’t stop me from wanting to know she’d still be mine in a year, two years, ten years.

  But I did have a distinct advantage over those other guys, and I used it. I had the Maura Lancaster playbook memorized. I’d discovered every one of her hot spots, and I knew what made her tremble, cry out, and beg for more. I intended to use every trick I knew to convince her I was the only one who could make her happy, in and out of bed.

  Flicking my tongue over her clit, I kissed the inside her thigh when she bucked in response. “You like that, baby?”

  She groaned. “Fuck, Coop, that makes me crazy. Please, don’t stop.”

  I smirked. Yeah, I had her right where I wanted her. This was gonna be fun. “Stop? Hell, I’m just getting started, sweetheart.” I swirled my tongue around her swollen bud until she was whimpering and gasping.

  “Oh. My. God.”

  I dipped my tongue inside her before lapping at her juices. She was soaking wet and hotter than hell. Feeling her throb against my mouth, and knowing how turned on she was, just fed my hunger for her. I didn’t want to stop… couldn’t get enough.

  “Coop, oh, fuck… I’m gonna come.”

  I loved licking her right through her orgasm and beyond. When she was begging me to stop, I continued lapping at her pussy until she was climbing that peak again. That was the advantage of restraining her—she was forced to succumb to the pleasure whether she wanted to or not.

  “Come for me again, baby. I need to feel you come in my mouth again.” She loved when I talked dirty to her. The raunchier, the better. “Fuck, I love the way you taste.”

  She moaned, tossing her head from side to side. “Yes, oh god…”

  And just like pouring gas on a flame, she exploded, her whole body trembling with the force of her release. I kissed a path up her body slowly, giving her a chance to recover, before gliding my tongue over the pulse point in her neck. Kissing her neck was a sure-fire way to get her going again.

  “You make me crazy,” she whispered, trying to catch her breath. “I didn’t know it could be like this until I met you.” Her eyes pinned mine, making my heart beat faster. “I love you, Matt.”

  She rarely called me by my first name, but hearing my name on her lips felt more personal, more intimate. I liked it. The next time she said it, I wanted to be buried deep inside her.

  “I love you too, angel.” I’d never said that to anyone else. I’d had too many girlfriends to count, but I’d never fallen in love. This was different. She was different.

  I guided my cock into her slowly, grateful she was on the pill and preferred sex without condoms. In spite of my outburst tonight, I did trust her to be faithful to me.

  I thrust my tongue into her mouth, feeling the need to deepen our connection. I couldn’t explain why, but I had this deep sense of foreboding, like something wasn’t right. No matter how fast I pumped into her, I couldn’t outpace the fear. No matter how loud she screamed, I couldn’t silence the voices. No matter how many times I made her come, it wasn’t enough. I wanted more. I needed more.

  “Jesus…”

  The sound of her voice tore me out of my trance, and I realized I was fucking her so hard my next-door neighbor was thumping on the wall with his fist.

  “Too hard?” I asked, my eyes closing as she clenched her pussy around my cock.

  “Perfect,” she whispered. “I love it when you fuck me hard.”

  Her long blond hair was fanned out on my pillow, making her look like an angel. That was why I called her that. She looked like something out of my dreams, and sometimes I feared our relationship was just that—a dream. I’d wake up and realize she was just a figment of my over-active imagination.

  I felt the urge building, my blood pressure rising. My cock got thicker as I pinned her legs over my shoulders and drove into her relentlessly. It wasn’t enough to please her. I wanted to possess her. It was almost disturbing how I needed her to the point I wasn’t sure I could survive without her. She had me in a vise grip, and the slightest shift could bring me to my knees.

  I felt her body spasm as she moaned my name. She’d come again, which should have pleased me, but it still didn’t feel like enough. I had a hollow feeling in my chest, and even the feel of her throbbing pussy milking me couldn’t make it subside. I flooded her with my come, taking pleasure in the knowledge that I was a part of her now. But that joy was always temporary. I needed something more permanent.

  As I eased out of her, I unfastened the cuffs and pulled her into my arms. She held me tight, which should have made me feel better, but it didn’t. I still needed more. I needed something to fill the emptiness, to take away my pain.

  “Marry me,” I whispered. I hadn’t expected to hear those words come out of my mouth, ever, but I didn’t want to take them back.

  She gasped. “What did you say?”

  “You heard me.” I drew back to look her in the eye. “I asked you to marry me. I love you, Maura. I want to be with you. I want the world to know we’re a couple. I want to put a ring on your finger, and I want to know you’ll be sharing a bed with me every night.”

  She laughed lightly, trying to push me off of her. “You’re crazy, Coop.” She laughed harder. “You actually had me going there for a minute.”

  “I’m serious.”

  When her eyes met mine again, I saw realization followed by fear, then panic. My heart sank. I’d just proposed, and
she was about to blow me off. I’d screwed up everything. It was too soon. She’d leave me now. She couldn’t continue dating me knowing I wanted more than she could give. I wanted to take it back, but the damage was already done.

  “I can’t marry you.”

  I’d known she was going to say that, but it still hurt. “Why not?”

  “Because I’m too young. I have to finish school, get a job.” She gently pushed my shoulders back so she could sit up. “I think you’re a great guy. But marriage? That’s crazy.”

  “Is it because I’m not good enough for you?” I couldn’t suppress my hurt and anger, though I knew it would only drive us further apart. “Is it because you’re embarrassed of me?”

  Her blue eyes flashed with rage as she jumped out of bed. “Did it look like I was embarrassed when I was cozying up to you in front of Ben and flaunting you to my friends?” She stepped into her dress and zipped it up before tying it around her neck. Her eyes narrowed at me. “That’s what this is about, isn’t it? You think I’m screwing around with Ben, don’t you? You don’t trust me. You think if you put a ring on my finger—”

  “That’s not it.” My proposal did have something to do with my insecurities about her ex, but I wasn’t stupid enough to admit it. “I love you. Do I need another reason?”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  “You don’t believe I love you?”

  The tension in the room was so thick, it would take a machete to cut through it. I had no idea what I’d done to piss her off, though. I’d told her I loved her and wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. She should be happy. Unless she didn’t love me as much as she claimed… Maybe she really was playing me.

  “Yes, but—”

  “What the fuck is with you?” I asked, sitting up. “Is this all a game to you? Do you enjoy fucking with me? Are you just leading me on, pretending to care about me so you can reel me in and then destroy me?”

  “What are you talking about?” She looked stunned. “Do you seriously think that?”

  I knew I should keep my mouth shut, but it was too late. The rage was consuming me, blocking out any sense of reason or fear. “What the hell am I supposed to think? I saw your fucking ex feeling you up in the middle of the goddamn dance floor tonight!”

  She threw up her arms, turning her back to me. “Are we back to that again? You know what? You’ve got a real problem. You need help.”

  She wasn’t the first person to tell me that. My old man had suggested anger management classes the last time I was hauled into the station on an assault charge because some guy had spilled a beer on me in a crowed bar.

  “Yeah, I’ve got a problem. You’re my problem! I’m sick of being with a woman who treats me like I’m not worthy of being seen with her.”

  “What are you talking about?” she asked, stepping back, closer to the door. “I was with you in public tonight. I danced with you in front of my ex. I introduced you to my friends. I don’t know what more I can do to prove that I’m committed to you and this relationship.”

  “I told you what you can do—marry me. Prove you’re serious about building a life with me.”

  “You know I can’t do that,” she said, her voice softening. “And it’s not because I don’t care about you.”

  “You care about me?” I exploded. “I thought you loved me.”

  “I do, but I won’t be bullied into getting married.” She made her way to the door. “You know what? I’m not doing this anymore.”

  I was out of the bed and across the room before she could reach for the door handle. Grabbing her shoulders, I said, “What the fuck is that supposed to mean? You’re ending it?”

  “Yes.” She peeled my hands off her. “This isn’t healthy for either of us. It’s too much, too consuming. I’m not ready for this kind of relationship.”

  “Maybe you should have thought of that before you made me fall in love with you!”

  “I didn’t make you fall in love with me. That was your choice.” She opened the door a crack, and I slammed it shut, making her jump.

  “You were the one strutting around your parents’ pool in those goddamn string bikinis, giving every guy on my crew a raging hard-on. You were the one asking me to take a break so I could cover you with sunscreen! You were being a fucking cock tease. Every one of those guys wanted to get in your panties, and you knew it.”

  “How do you know they didn’t?”

  My blood reached its boiling point, so I did the only thing I could—I put my fist through the drywall.

  She screamed as she grabbed the door handle. “You’re an animal!” she shouted, running down the hall. “Stay the hell away from me. I don’t trust you to be anywhere near me.”

  I couldn’t very well go after her without clothes. I ran across the room to scoop my jeans off the floor. I was just fastening the button when my next-door neighbor appeared at my door in a tattered bathrobe and stained white T-shirt.

  Scratching his bald head, he said, “What the fuck’s with you two? One minute you’re fucking like rabbits, and the next it sounds like you wanna kill each other.” He looked at my bloody hand. “You didn’t hit her, did you? ‘Cause if you did, I’m gonna have to report that. My old man used to beat the fuck outta my mom, and that’s not cool.”

  “Fuck off, and mind your own business, Morrison.” I usually ignored the dead-beat, but I was ready to take my anger out on anyone who crossed my path. “There must be a bottle of gut-rot with your name on it somewhere.”

  Wagging a finger at me, he said, “I make it my business when I see a man roughing up a woman.”

  I pushed past him, nudging him with my shoulder. “I don’t have time to fuck you up for saying that right now, but if I were you, I’d lock my goddamn door tonight.” I didn’t really intend to beat him up, but I didn’t appreciate him sticking his nose where it didn’t belong and implying I’d ever lay a hand on my woman in anger.

  I flew down the stairs. I’d already wasted too much time on Morrison. She could have hailed a cab and been halfway down the street already. I tore out the door, looking for any sign of her, but the street was deserted. Fuck. It was too late. She was gone.

  Chapter Two

  Days had passed since I last saw Maura. I’d gone crazy looking for her, calling, texting, even driving by her house. Something told me she was in trouble, but it wasn’t until the cop showed up at my door that morning that I realized we were on a parallel course to hell.

  I listened to the cop’s lies, refusing to lose my temper. I knew that’s what he wanted.

  “Just admit it, Cooper. You kidnapped and raped her. You were the last one to see her. Your skin was under her fingernails. Your semen was inside her. There’s no one else to pin this on.”

  I tried to control my urge to heave all over the table. Maura had been kidnapped, raped… brutalized. I did this. My anger had driven her into the arms of a psychopath. I let her leave my building alone.

  The cop and I had been going in circles for hours. I was tired, hungry, and mad as hell, but he wasn’t going to break me. I refused to tell him what he wanted to hear. I hadn’t done it, and nothing he said would get me to say I had.

  “I think it’s time for me to lawyer up.” I knew I should have asked for a lawyer the minute they brought me in. As the son of a career cop, I knew their tactics too well, but I’d foolishly believed honesty would set me free. Obviously I was wrong.

  The detective glared at me as he got up and tapped on the two-way mirror. He slowly turned to face me. “Just tell me why you let her go. You killed all the others. Why not her?”

  The detective and I both knew he was crossing the line. I’d asked for a lawyer and anything I said from this point on would be inadmissible in court, but that didn’t prevent him from hounding me, which told me they believed they’d found their man and had no intention of looking elsewhere.

  I didn’t have much use for the police since they’d shot and killed my brother during a high-speed chase three
years ago. Billy was high and behind the wheel. He needed to be taken off the streets because he was a danger to himself and others, but he didn’t deserve to die. He was just a kid who’d fallen in with the wrong crowd.

  Bile rose in my throat, and I had to swallow it back. “What the fuck are you talking about?” I fisted my hands, thinking how much I’d love to be inside the ring and taking my aggression out on an opponent. “I didn’t kidnap anybody. I didn’t rape anybody. I sure as fuck didn’t murder anybody.”

  A slow smile spread across his face as he ran his tongue over yellowing teeth. “We’ve been looking for you for a long time. You were good at evading us, but I knew you’d screw up eventually. You messed with the wrong woman. This one was tough. She fought back. Is that how she got away?”

  “We had sex. She liked it rough.” So did I. “My skin was under her nails because she scratched my back.” I turned around, unbuttoning my plaid work shirt before peeling it off. “See?”

  “That could have easily happened during the attack.” The cop sounded unimpressed.

  I rolled my eyes as I sat down. “She’d have clawed my face, my chest, my arms, not my back.” I knew I was wasting my breath. Nothing I said was going to change his mind. “My semen was inside her because she hates condoms. She’s on the pill.”

  The image of someone taking Maura forcibly charged through my mind again. If I found him before the police did, he’d wish he were dead. I’d show the bastard no mercy. He hurt the woman I loved. No way would he get away with it, and he sure as hell wouldn’t pin it on me.

  The cop sat across from me and leaned in. “Okay, Cooper, let’s say I believe your story. Why’d all those people say you went ballistic at the bar when she rejected you?”