TWELVE
Repo had her pinned and immobile beneath him in the span of a heartbeat. How was that for old! He had energy in spades, and one of these days, he was going to prove it to her—all night long.
“I’ve about had it with your mouth, Red,” he growled, staring down into her warm, vibrant brown eyes.
“That’s the first time a man has ever said that to me,” she said with a put-upon frown that was as fake as the lashes on the last bunny who’d made a pass at him at The Tavern.
Repo was not amused. “Don’t talk to me about other men. Ever.”
“Just speaking the truth. I’m not a nun, Repo.” She wiggled her hips beneath him, rubbing her mound against his balls in a way that made them draw up tight. “But you know that already, don’t you?”
“You tempt me, woman, to your own peril.”
For someone who acted as if it were a death sentence to be claimed by him, Repo couldn’t understand her persistent need to push his every single button. If she wasn’t running from him, she was testing the limits of his patience…something he lacked severely with anyone else.
“Oh, Repo—”
“Garrick,” he reminded her.
“Isn’t that what I said? Anywho… You and I both know you’d never lay a finger on me.”
Repo’s eyebrows popped up. Currently, he was laying parts of himself all over her. Hell, his dick was wedged right up tight against her pussy, and it was lamenting its inability to get closer to all that heat.
Rolling her eyes, Ginger said, “You know what I mean. You’re not a violent man.”
“Then you don’t know me very well.”
“I’m not talking about your job. You don’t hit women. You would never hurt me.”
“How can you be so sure.”
“Because I’ve known you long enough to know you’re not that kind of man. And besides, the brothers wouldn’t allow it.”
She was right. The Spartans had cleaned up a lot over the years, and they stood for much more than they had at the beginning. Blake would tan his and anyone else’s hide if he thought any one of them had hurt a female. That’s how Hawke lost his position in the club, after all.
They might not be perfect, and they certainly weren’t angels, but the Spartans were respectable. Despite his dislike that she had him pegged so easily, Repo felt pride knowing that she trusted him with her safety and security. And when he looked into her eyes, his belief about her was right—no fear. Not a single drop. That was a hell of a good foundation to build on.
“You know,” Repo mused as something occurred to him, “I think I’ve been going about this all wrong.”
Ginger’s light red brows pulled together in the middle.
“When you break a horse, for example, you have to be relentless, corner it, force it into submission.”
“I’m not a damn horse,” she snapped back.
“Yes, exactly. I think I’ve been going about this all wrong.” Relaxing his hold on her wrists, Repo lowered the rest of his body down onto her, allowing the fullness of his weight to hold her in place. Framing her head with his hands, he brushed her wild mane back from her face.
“I don’t think you need to be broken, Red,” he said, his voice rough and full of gravel. “You’ve already been broken. What you need is a gentle hand.” To demonstrate, Repo transferred his right hand to her hip, skating his palm down the outside of her thigh. As her breathing began to escalate, he knew he was on the right track and curled his fingers around her leg, pulling it free from beneath him and hitching it up around his waist.
His hips settled between hers, and he took full advantage of the new position, rocking his rock-hard cock against her molten core, so there was no mistaking his intentions. When her lips parted on a soft, nearly silent gasp, Repo’s lips twitched in satisfaction.
“You need someone to show you what it’s like to be treated like a woman, like someone who matters.”
“I get plenty of that from every man I’ve ever been with,” she said defiantly.
But Repo wasn’t fooled. Her bravado was all about hiding the pain. He understood that all too well. “Red, babe, those men were using you just as much as you were using them, and you know it.” Lowering his head, he stuck out his tongue and licked the seam of her lips. A whimper of noise leaped from her, and she jerked her head back, pressing deeper into the pillow. Just like a frightened mare, he mused once again.
“Don’t you think it’s about time to know what it feels like to have the focus of one man, a man who knows what he wants and gets it? A man who will see to your safety and treat you with respect, never raise a hand to you, provide for you.”
“A man like you, you mean.” She glared at him as if the very idea was abominable.
“Yes, Red, me. Wear my patch, and you’ll never have to worry about anything again. I’ll take care of you.”
“For the small price of my submission, right? If I promise to shut my mouth and defer to you in all things?”
“Being an ol’ lady comes with some strings, yes, but—”
“Not interested,” she cut him off. “I won’t give up my freedom and become some Stepford wife just so I can have some man take care of me. FYI: I don’t need caring for. I do that just fine myself.”
“And I admire that about you, babe. You’re not out there like the rest of them trying to hook a brother just to get into his pockets. You fund yourself, and that’s sexy as hell to a man like me.”
“Then why would you want to take care of me?”
“Because I’m a man, and a man takes care of what’s his.”
She glanced away briefly, and Repo smiled inside, sensing victory. “So, let me get this straight. You’ve already claimed me, right?”
“Yes.”
“So, in your eyes, that makes me yours already.”
“That’s right.”
If possible, her glare deepened. “Then why haven’t you paid my rent yet? Or my car payment? And I don’t see you buying groceries to fill my fridge. And I’m guessing you claimed me days if not weeks ago, considering everyone at the compound knew about it before me, so from where I’m standing, you’re not doing a very good job of holding up your end. So, again, I’m not interested.”
Releasing an exasperated sigh, Repo sat back on his haunches and began releasing the buttons on her shirt.
“What the fuck are you doing?” she screeched, slapping at his hands.
Repo was undeterred. “I’m settling this.”
“By doing what, stripping me naked?”
“For starters,” he said, baring her breasts. For just a moment, he paused, soaking in the vision of those creamy, pale, freckled mounds. She wasn’t wearing a bra, the little vixen. Before she had a chance to pull her shirt back together, Repo yanked it down her arms, leaving the material pooled around her elbows, making movement difficult for her.
“Damn you, you bastard,” she hissed, struggling against her makeshift bonds.
“Keep cursing me, babe, and I’ll stuff a sock…or maybe a cock…in that mouth. Now,” he said, palming her breasts and giving them an affectionate squeeze, “I’m going to finish getting these clothes off you, and then we’re going to play until you beg me to fuck you, and then we’re going to fuck until you’re begging me to give you my patch.”
“I’ll never beg you. Not for anything.”
“Oh, you will, babe. You will.”
Reaching between his legs, Repo cupped his aching shaft through his jeans and squeezed, releasing a groan of need. One way or another, he was getting inside her tonight. He had to feel that soft, wet pussy wrapped around him again, feel the warmth of her embrace, the bite of her nails in his back, and hear those breathy moans of hers in his ear again.
Looking at her now, those double Ds exposed to him, rosy nipples beading from the slight chill in the air, her fair skin flushed from anger and frustration, and if he had to guess, desire. He was ready to nut in his pants like a teenager. Taking a deep breath, Repo summoned calm. When he came, he was going to do it inside her, buried to the hilt.