Page 30 of Full Throttle

“It sounds as if you tried to put him first. It also sounds as if you keep trying.”

“My father walked out on me when I was six. I didn’t want Josh to think I abandoned him. I know that hollow feeling it leaves in your life.”

“Do you think your ex poisoned him against you?”

He nodded. “She was great at manipulation. Always the victim.” He barked out a humorless laugh. “I was always the villain. Even when we were together. She even had me believing I was a bad guy at one point.” He rested his chin on my head, his voice low. “Sometimes I wonder if it wouldn’t have been easier to have walked away when she was pregnant. Then I remember what it felt like when he said ‘Da-Da’ the first time, and I know I wouldn’t give that up, in spite of the pain I feel all the time.” He swallowed. “I miss him every day.”

“I understand. I almost lost Hannah, and if I had, I would have been grateful for the years we had together.”

He pulled back. “Lost her? How?”

“She was shot on the job. They weren’t sure she was going to pull through,” I said, my voice quavering as the memory of that awful time went through my mind. “Her partner died.”

He cupped my face. “Jesus, baby, I didn’t know.”

“That’s why she left Toronto. Went to Lomand. It was smaller, safer.”

“But you miss her.”

I nodded. “But knowing she is happy and safe is more important than her being here where I would worry myself sick daily.”

“That’s how I feel about Josh. He’s safe. In the pictures, he looks happy. I have to be satisfied with that. Hope that one day he reaches out and lets me tell my side of the story. Allows me to get to know him.”

“I hope that happens for you,” I whisper. “He should know what a great guy his father is. That you put him first, despite the pain it caused you.”

“You understand.”

“Yes,” I agreed. “I do.” A realization hit me. “That’s why you let people think you’re a love-’em-and-leave-’em type. It’s all a front.”

“Yes. I didn’t want to fall for someone again and lose them. I didn’t get close to anyone after I lost Josh.” He smiled sadly. “Until I met you. You blew all that out of the water, Cherry G.”

Our gazes locked. “You’re amazing.”

He bent, brushing his mouth over mine. I rose up on my tiptoes, kissing him back. He pulled me close, deepening the kiss. There was shared pain in our caress. An understanding between us of loss and comfort. He tugged me closer, his hands slipping under my sweatshirt, tracing delicate lines of pleasure up and down my back.

“I need you,” he murmured against my neck. “Please let me have you.”

“I need you too,” I replied, shocked at how badly I wanted him. How much I wanted to help him forget his pain. Remind him of the joy in life. In being with me. Right now. I stepped back, taking his hand and leading him to the bedroom.

I fisted his shirt, and he yanked it off, tossing it to the floor, uncaring. We kissed as I fumbled with his belt, long out of practice. He laughed low, helping me. Tugging on my leggings and pulling my shirt over my head, then staring at me as he smoothed my hair away from my face. “You are so beautiful, Cherry. Incredibly so.”

I ran my fingers over the tattoo on his chest, understanding the fractured heart and date etched in his skin. I hadn’t asked him about it when I first saw it, somehow knowing it was personal and painful. I pressed my lips to the poignant reminder he carried on his skin right over his own heart, and he sighed, his body shuddering as I cupped him.

“Show me,” I whispered. “Forget everything but me. Us.”

In seconds, I was on my bed, him looming over me. He kissed me slowly. Leisurely. Long, drugging kisses that stole my senses and made me dizzy. He lapped and nipped at my neck. Sucked and licked his way down my body, exploring every inch. Making me wild with desire. When his mouth closed around my clit, I arched off the bed, crying his name. Mere moments passed before I was coming, my body exploding into shards of pleasure. Everything around me shimmered in light as I succumbed to the ecstasy of his mouth.

Before I could recover, he rose on his haunches, dragging me up his thighs and sliding into me. I gasped as he filled me, still adjusting to his girth. He groaned, his head falling back as he gripped my hips, pinning me in place as he moved. Every thrust brushed up against my already sensitive clit, and I whimpered as I felt the stirrings of another orgasm begin to form.

“No,” I breathed out. “I can’t.”

Dom shifted, towering over me, my legs resting on his shoulders, sinking even deeper. “You can, and you will,” he murmured, his voice low and full of dark promise. “I’m not coming until you do again, Cherry. So, let go.”

I clutched the sheets, the pleasure building to an almost painful point. My body shivered and shuddered. My nipples were stiff points, my core on fire. I felt frenzied and hot. Needy and wanting. Desire peaked, the emptiness I carried within me all the time disappearing as Dom filled me. There was no room for anything but him. Us. This passion.

He lifted me higher, his fingers digging into my hips so hard, I knew they’d leave bruises. I didn’t care. I wanted those marks. I wanted to look at them and remember this moment. He moved faster, grunting and cursing, the sweat on his skin glistening in the low light. “Come with me, Cherry. Come now,” he pleaded, hitting a spot so deep, it sent me over the cliff. I cried out, my muscles clamping down, pulling him in deeper.

The world around me shattered. Splintered into thousands of shards like a mirror being hit by a brick. Lights danced behind my eyes. Colors I had never seen erupted, bright and beautiful. My body took on a mind of its own, stretching, grasping, holding him.