Текст книги "All or Nothing "

Автор книги: C. C. Wood

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Текущая страница: 13 (всего у книги 13 страниц)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

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My eyes opened slowly against the bright morning light. I winced and squeezed my lids shut. When I opened them again, I realized that I’d actually slept through the night.

It was the first time in two months I’d gone to bed without taking a sleeping pill and not woken up because of a nightmare.

I rolled over to find King sprawled half on his side and half on his stomach, his head turned away from me. He seemed to prefer this position and I liked stretching out on top of him at night, cuddling up to his back. I could tell by the boneless spread of his limbs that he was sleeping soundly.

Pressing a light kiss to his shoulder, I rolled out of bed and padded down the hall to the kitchen. I was still staying with King two months after that horrific day. Tia was living in my apartment and working at the bar, so we were now alone in King’s house.

I brewed coffee and stood at the back door, looking out over the deck, while I drank my first cup. When it was empty, I set it on the table next to me and leaned my forehead against the cool glass. I wished I could sit on the porch but the mornings were brisk and I didn’t want to risk waking King up by going back in the bedroom to get dressed.

I saw the ghostly shadow of King’s body behind me in the glass right before his arms closed around my waist.

My body melted into his, my back pressing against his bare chest. He pulled me tighter against him, his chin resting on my shoulder.

“You okay, darlin’?”

“Yeah, I’m good.”

His arms squeezed. “Why didn’t you wake me?”

I placed my hands on his forearms. “I wanted you to get some sleep. I know you haven’t been getting enough.”

King turned me around to face him. “I don’t like the idea of you sitting up alone after a nightmare, Jena.”

My hands lifted to his neck. “I didn’t have a nightmare last night, King.”

“You didn’t? But you didn’t take a pill.”

“I know.”

He smiled, pressing his lips against mine for a quick, light kiss. “That’s good, darlin’.”

I nodded, a little disappointed. In the last two months, King made no effort to have sex with me. He would hold me and kiss me, but he never took it farther.

At first I didn’t notice because I was still shell-shocked. After three weeks though, I started to even out and realized that he was barely touching me unless he was holding me while I cried. King wasn’t the type of man who talked a lot, but he showed affection, putting his hands on me in some way every time we were close.

After that fateful day, he rarely laid a hand on me.

Now, it had been over two months since we’d last had sex and I was getting desperate. It sounded silly, but I really needed him to make the first move. I didn’t think I could handle a gentle rejection from King.

So far, he hadn’t made that move.

As usual, King read my thoughts on my face. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

He shook me a little. “Don’t lie to me, Jena. Tell me what you’re thinking.”

I couldn’t meet his eyes, so I focused on the base of his throat. “It’s just…” I trailed off because I didn’t think I could say it.

“Jena,” King growled in warning.

“We, uh, haven’t had sex in a really long time,” I mumbled. “And you hardly touch me anymore unless I’m upset or crying.”

For once I seemed to surprise King. Then the corner of his mouth kicked up. “Well, technically, I’m touching you now.”

I sighed, feeling my face heat. For some reason, talking about this was difficult for me. I wasn’t shy when we were in bed and didn’t hesitate to whisper dirty talk in his ear, but standing here in the bright morning light, I felt vulnerable.

I was exposed and fully focused on his reaction rather than preoccupied by the haze of lust.

“You know what I mean,” I whispered, staring at his collarbones.

King’s finger hooked beneath my chin, tilting my face up. “I was givin’ you time to heal, babe. You’ve been through a traumatic ordeal and I was worried you were going to break.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve been getting better the past few weeks,” I responded.

“Well, why didn’t you say anything?” he asked.

Now I was getting annoyed. “I never had to ask before.”

His eyes glittered with amusement. “I was trying to be a gentleman, which means I was waiting for you to tell me you were ready.”

“What was I supposed to say, King? Throw me down on the floor and screw my brains out?” I snapped.

He started to laugh then, his shoulders shaking with it. Irritated beyond belief, I shoved at his chest.

“Asshole,” I muttered, trying to wiggle out of his hold.

Suddenly his hands were in my shirt and it was up and over my head before I could blink. My underwear hit the floor and he put his foot between mine to hold them down while he lifted me up with his hands on my ass.

I gasped when my naked back hit the cold glass of the sliding door. Then King was kissing me, deep and hard, our tongues dueling. My hands lifted to cup his skull, fisting in his hair. Wrapping my legs around his waist, I rolled my hips, trying to get closer.

He groaned down my throat and one of his hands went between us, working at the waistband of his shorts.

“Are you ready?” he asked roughly.

I’d been ready for weeks. “Yes!”

I felt King smile against my mouth right before he thrust inside. My head rolled back as he filled me and my entire body clenched.

King growled, his head dipping down to take one of my nipples in his mouth.

When I tried to roll my hips again, his hands grasped my hips to hold me still.

“King!”

He used his weight to hold me against the glass as he tormented my breasts until I was panting and close to begging.

I grabbed a handful of his hair and yanked his head up. “If you don’t move now, I’m going hurt you.”

King chuckled wickedly before his mouth crashed down on mine. Then he moved.

It had been so long and I was so worked up, that it started building immediately. With each slam of his hips, I got closer and closer to the precipice. Then it hit me.

I cried out, my body bucking wildly against the sliding door. “Oh my God!”

King groaned, his thrusts growing short and jerky until he finally lunged inside me one last time before he stopped moving.

My arms were draped over his shoulders and my legs loosely crossed behind his back. I felt limp and wrung out.

I gasped as King and I slid down to the floor, still connected. The wood was cold against my heated skin and hard beneath my hip, but I couldn’t bring myself to do anything about it.

“I love you, Alaric Sloan,” I murmured against the damp skin of his chest.

He ran his hand down my spine and answered, “That’s the first time I haven’t hated hearing you say that name.”

I giggled. “So you really hate that name, huh?”

“Yep.”

“So, when I wanna piss you off I should call you Alaric?”

He smacked my ass lightly. “Let’s not do that now. I feel too damn good to ruin it.”

I laughed again and nodded. “We’ll save it for the next time you make me mad.”

“I also didn’t mention that, as much as it pisses me off, hearing you call me Alaric makes me wanna fuck you until you beg me to stop.”

“Well now I definitely have to do it,” I retorted.

He chuckled and shifted us, slowly pulling out of me and pulling his shorts back up. I snagged my panties and pulled them up my legs, then sat up and dropped the t-shirt over my head.

King helped me to my feet and guided me over to the couch. He sat down and pulled me over to straddle his lap. “We need to talk about something,” he stated.

At his serious words and expression I felt my heart pick up speed. “What’s going on?”

“I haven’t talked to you about this because you’ve been dealing with the fallout of Katie’s shit, but there’s two things we need to discuss.”

I nodded.

“First, we’re getting married. Not tomorrow, but I’m not waiting until next year either. I figure we can do a beach wedding in the Caribbean sometime in the next couple of months. We’ll keep it small. Us, your mom if you want, Tia, and Wick.”

“Uh, don’t you think you should ask me?” I honestly didn’t care if he asked or not, but I couldn’t seem to resist giving him a hard time, even about this.

King shook his head. “I’m not gonna ask when I already know the answer.”

Since this was true, I just shrugged. “Good point.”

He gave me a suspicious look. “That was easy.”

“I’m feeling mellow. I’ll give you more shit later.”

Shaking his head, King murmured, “That’s my girl.”

“What’s the second thing?” I asked.

King sighed. “This isn’t as good. We need to talk about Renaldo.”

The mellow feeling I mentioned a few moments ago vanished. “What about him?”

“He’s making moves, preparing to take us on. Larry wasn’t lying when he said this guy was unpredictable and brutal. He’s moving in on the drug dealers and pimps first, either getting them to agree to his terms or making an example of them. He considers Wick small potatoes, so he’s saving us for later.”

My eyebrows lifted. I couldn’t imagine anyone considering Wick small. He was a scary dude, one I wouldn’t want to mess with on my best day.

“But he will be coming for us. We already know he won’t hesitate to go after those we’re close to, so that means you will be in danger again.”

My heart stopped as memories threatened to overwhelm me.

King’s hands cupped my face. “Jena, don’t go there. Stay with me.”

I blinked and suddenly I was back.

“I can see that the thought terrifies you, darlin’. I’ll arrange for you to go somewhere safe. You won’t have to worry about this shit touching you,” he murmured.

Steel made my spine straighten. “No.”

“Jena, babe, you don’t have to put on a brave face. You’ve had a really bad exp-”

I interrupted him for a change. “No. I’m staying here,” I insisted. “I can’t run every time something scares me. If I leave, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life. We’re talking about getting married. That’s for better or worse. So, this is the worst. That means it can only get better.”

King studied me closely for a few seconds. “How likely is it that I’ll change your mind?” he asked.

“You know the answer to that,” I responded.

He sighed, but smiled a little. “Okay, but no arguing when I do whatever is necessary to keep you safe.”

I nodded. “I think I should train with Tia too,” I said suddenly. “I’ll feel less…weak.”

It was King’s turn to nod. “I think that’s a good idea.”

I bit my bottom lip, looking down at him. “I’m scared, King.”

He pulled me close and kissed me. “You’d be stupid if you weren’t. Fear in this situation is normal, darlin’.”

“Are you scared?” I asked, pulling back to look at him.

“Yes,” he admitted.

Amazingly, that made me feel better. King was a badass. If he was afraid, then I wasn’t weak for feeling that way too.

“But we will be fine,” he insisted. “Wick is the smartest man I’ve ever met and he’s already got a plan in motion. This will all be over before Christmas.”

I hoped he was right.

I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around him, tucking my face into his neck. “I love you, King.”

I felt his lips brush my shoulder. “Love you too, darlin’.”

Soaking up his strength and his love, I felt hope that we were all going to be fine.

Epilogue

Tia

“Damn, Tia, not only can you kick ass and look good doing it, you make a damn good drink,” Lana yelled, lifting her martini glass in a mock toast.

I paused in wiping down glasses and looked up, grinning at her. “I’ve had lots of practice.”

And I had. From the time I was old enough to read until I left at seventeen, I’d been mixing my mother’s drinks. I’d started making martinis at age seven, so I’d had twenty-four years of experience.

The bar was closed and Lana demanded I make her a martini, just like she did every night. She said it was good practice for me and I went along with it because she was a lot of fun to work with. King didn’t seem to mind if she had one while we closed up. In fact, he would join us for a beer from time to time if he stayed that late.

I finished with the glasses and went out on the floor to wash tables. I was about halfway done when the atmosphere in the bar changed. It felt as though the air were suddenly charged with electricity.

Every hair on my body stood up and I lifted my eyes to see Wick sitting at the bar, watching me. Lana was standing behind him. I could tell by her posture that she was trying to flirt with him, but Wick wasn’t really paying attention to her.

Our eyes locked and I knew tonight was the night.

We’d been dancing around each other for two months, like fighters looking for a weakness to exploit. Only the pounding Wick wanted to give me wouldn’t involve blood and bruises, but moans and orgasms.

I’d resisted for as long as I could, refusing to become another faceless woman in his harem. I knew about the other women. I listened to the talk and only believed about half of it, but I did know that Wick was not a one-woman man. All the women who worked here thought it was because he liked variety.

I knew better.

Wick didn’t want to get attached. He wanted to keep his distance. I understood it because I was similar. Only, instead of having two or three men on rotation, I preferred one-night stands.

Either way, I knew what he was all about.

This was why I avoided him. While I didn’t necessarily want to be tied down, I also had no desire to be part of a crowd.

Still, there was something about him. He was magnetic and I was at the end of my resistance.

So I would give him one night.

Decision made, I continued with my to do list until everything was done. Lana had long since given up trying to flirt with Wick and was finishing up her own stuff as well.

As I worked, I could feel his eyes following me. My limbs tingled with anticipation, but I focused on giving nothing away. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

When we were done, Lana gathered her bag from the back and I grabbed by leather jacket and my helmet. Jack was waiting for us by the front doors when we returned to the bar area, but Wick was nowhere to be seen.

He was still here somewhere, though. I could feel him.

Jack walked us out, well, specifically walked Lana out. I knew he was sweet on her, but had to admit I was glad she wasn’t giving him any encouragement. Lana wasn’t a bad woman, but she wanted to find a man to take care of her. Jack was smart, funny, and hard working, but he would never be rich and definitely never wealthy enough for someone like Lana. It was a train wreck in the making.

As I headed to my bike, I immediately noticed Wick leaning against his SUV parked next to it.

I walked right up to him, stopping a couple feet away. “Wick,” I greeted.

“Tia.”

We stared at each other, neither of us willing to break first. When he didn’t speak again, I lifted an eyebrow and lifted my helmet to settle it on my head.

He’d come here for me and I sure as hell wasn’t going to make the first move. That’s what Wick was used to, what he wanted. If he didn’t chase me, then he didn’t have to admit he wanted me, and I wasn’t going to let him get away with that.

He wanted me as badly as I wanted him and he was going to fucking admit it.

As I strapped my helmet down, my eyes on Wick’s, I watched as the realization hit him. When he still didn’t speak, I turned toward my bike. I wasn’t going to play fucking games all night. I usually didn’t play games at all, but there was something about Wick that made me break all my own rules.

His hand shot out and wrapped around my wrist. “Wait.”

I faced him again without speaking.

Finally, he growled, “I want you.”

I nodded, but didn’t respond verbally.

“Come with me tonight,” he continued.

“Where?” I asked.

At my acquiescence, his eyes flashed. “Get in the car. I’ll drive.”

I shook my head. “I’ll meet you there. Tell me where.”

His hand tightened on my arm before he released it. “Just follow me,” he instructed firmly, sounding almost angry.

I nodded once and went to my bike, throwing my leg over the seat. He climbed into his SUV and waited until I started up the Harley before he pulled out of the parking lot.

I followed behind him, secure in the knowledge that I was in control.

Because I had to be.

The End

Tia and Wick’s story will continue in 2016.

Acknowledgments

I would never be able to do this without the support and love of my hubby. He’s the one who told me to give this self-publishing thing a shot three years ago, and he always does what he can to make sure I have the time I need to write and doesn’t complain when we’re eating take-out for the third night in a row. Thanks, baby!

I also need to thank the ladies that beta read this book; Amber, Christine, Catherine, and Jena, AND my editor, Tania. You ladies keep me on the straight and narrow and catch all of my mistakes. You’re also the reason I drink, but that’s for a different book.

Major props to my FB group, C.C.’s Sinners. You all are the best! Thanks for hanging out with me and letting me share my craziness. And thanks for reading my books!

To Magan Vernon, Ashley Pullo, Tara Sivec, Tee Tate, R.K. Lilley, and Tiffany King. Thanks for letting me whine, sprinting with me, and for all the ARC’s. You make this gig so much fun!

Hugs and kisses to Donna Soluri, Nikki Brooks, and Christine Stanley. You ladies have helped me in so many ways over the last three years and I’m utterly blessed to have you as friends.

Finally, thank you to all the people who take the time to read my books. You are the reason I’m able to do this job that I adore and I’m grateful every day.

Contact C.C.

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About C.C.

A native Texan, C.C. grew up either reading or playing the piano. Years later, she’s still not grown up and doing the same things. Since the voices in her head never shut up, C.C. decided to share their crazy stories and started writing books.

Now that she has a baby girl at home, C.C.’s non-writing time is usually spent cleaning up poopy diapers or feeding the poop machine. Sometimes she teaches piano, cooks, or spends time bugging her hubby and two beagles.

Titles by C.C. Wood

Novellas:

Girl Next Door Series:

Friends with Benefits

Frenemies

Drive Me Crazy

Girl Next Door-The Complete Series

Kiss Series:

A Kiss for Christmas

Kiss Me

Novels:

Seasons of Sorrow

NSFW Series:

In Love With Lucy

Earning Yancy

Wicked Games Series:

All or Nothing

Paranormal Romance:

Bitten Series:

Bite Me

Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Bewitched, Bothered, and Bitten

One Little Bite

Love Bites