I’d yet to catch my breath when he covered my mouth in a passionate kiss, and though I had just come, I wanted so much more. I could taste myself on him, his tongue clashing with mine as I reached down between us and freed his cock, even as he grabbed my hips and pulled me toward him and the edge of the counter, burying himself deep inside me with a single thrust.
I wanted to protest about him not using a condom, but his kisses silenced my thoughts, and as good as he felt with my body stretched tight around his steel-hard length, all I wanted was for him to fuck me and make me forget all my problems. And that was exactly what he did as I sat up, biting his neck while I draped my arms around his broad shoulders, holding onto him as he took me hard, each thrust pulling a needy whimper past my lips and offering me a distraction I was happy to lose myself in.
My clit was already so sensitive from having just come, and as big as he was, it would take him no time at all for him to have me coming again, especially when I could barely remember the last time I’d been with anyone. Even then…I’d only ever been with one guy. And Locke? Being with Locke was a completely different experience.
“Sweetness…bite me again, and you’re going to have me coming just like that.” I could hear the need in his voice, and there was a huge part of me that loved that I could have this sort of effect on him.
Though it was an insignificant thing, I liked that little bit of power. I’d felt helpless for so long—because of him and his family, no less—and it felt damn nice to have this hold on him.
Except that I knew that each time I was intimate with him, I was letting him get close to me in a way that would leave its mark long after he was gone, and it was already affecting me in ways I hadn’t anticipated. What little power I had on him was eliminated by the power he now had over me, even if it was the last thing I’d expected to happen.
I had come here to destroy him.
Instead, I found myself willingly submitting to whatever this was between us, and actually enjoying myself.
How fucked up was I for not just sleeping with Locke and letting him ravage my body, but coming harder than I’d ever had, time and again—and letting him come inside me, with nothing preventing me from getting pregnant?
What the hell was I doing here? Though a little voice inside my head knew the answer as to why I was taking such a risk—a baby would give me something to actually live for.
I must be insane.
But my body mocked me in answer as I teetered on the edge of yet another earth-shattering orgasm, as Locke pounded into me, my body stretched so tight around his thick length that trying to fight back the building energy was pointless.
And just like that, it felt like I shattered into a million pieces, my orgasm tearing through me as he joined me with a primal grunt, his cock pulsing deep inside me as he filled me with his cum, his mouth catching mine in a kiss that marked my soul and pulled at my heart.
As our breathing slowed, he covered my face in kisses, before finally pulling free of my body and helping me down off the kitchen island, his cum slipping free and onto my thighs. “I need to shower.”
And I needed to get the hell away from him.
This had been one giant-ass mistake from the very start.
It’s not like any of this would bring back my family. My sister…my parents…they’d still be gone, buried in a cold, dark grave. Nothing would give my sister the chance to live a full and happy life. Nothing would bring her back to me, so I could hold her in my arms. I wouldn’t ever again see my mom baking her famous cookies in the kitchen, nor get to have another late-night chat with her over cookies and milk as she waited for the last batch to finish baking. And I wouldn’t have my dad around to remind me that I had to get an oil change, nor would he be there to walk me down the aisle if I eventually got married.
“Hey, love…what’s going on? You okay?” Though Locke’s concern was touching, it didn’t matter when he was the source of my problems. And when he slipped his strong hand down my arm in a tender touch, sending my heart racing, it was just more evidence that I needed to abort my plan and put some distance between us, even if it meant I’d once again be all alone, with no one in my life.
“I’m fine. Just want to get cleaned up.”
But instead of simply letting me go, he scooped me up into his arms.
“Let me take care of you, Em.” He carried me as if I weighed nothing, despite my generous curves. “I know things seem hopeless—and I suspect you’re battling all sorts of demons as your memories try to resurface—but I have your back. I’ll do whatever it takes to make you happy.”
Stepping into the large walk-in shower, he carefully lowered me to my feet, the tile cold against my soles. He slowly stripped away the rest of my clothing before ridding himself of his own and pulling me into his arms as he reached behind me and got the hot water running.
It was too damn easy to just stay there in the comfort and safety he afforded, my body fitting perfectly up against his as he held me close, the hot water pounding away my thoughts and the voices in my head that told me I was getting in too deep. I was weary and exhausted from fighting off the despair and anger that had haunted me these last few years, and even though Locke was supposed to be the source of my problems, the truth was, he’d been nothing but a safe haven.
He didn’t need to do any of this. He could have let the cops deal with me. He could have let me stay at a shelter, and let me deal with whoever was supposedly after me all on my own. Instead, he was lovingly shampooing my hair and washing my body with a gentle touch, caring for me both physically and emotionally, even though I’d been nothing but a complete stranger to him.
Except that now, we were far from being strangers, even if we still didn’t know each other.
Part of me was thinking I should just stick to my original plan and see if there was anything more to find out. Maybe it wasn’t Locke after all, but rather his family.
Just because Locke and his brother, Finn, seemed nice, didn’t necessarily mean that one of their other brothers wasn’t a coldhearted bastard. It could be that this had nothing to do with Locke, other than the fact that he was related by blood to the assholes who’d pushed my father to the brink—and after the intimacy I’d shared with Locke, I sure as hell hoped there was someone else to blame.
Hell…Locke may not even know what those members of his family were up to. Except that there was a part of me that knew full well that he wasn’t stupid, and if something was going on, then he, at the very least, knew about it. And that made him just as guilty as the rest of them, if he did little to stop them from going after my father.
My head hurt as I tried to sort out my feelings and the evidence I had so far, though each thought only made me realize that I didn’t have a clue and I was already in too deep. So deep, that I may not be able to pull myself free of this mess without even more damage to my already tattered heart.
I was suddenly living a tangled web of lies—and the person I was lying to most of all was myself.