AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He looks at his plate. I almost feel the regret and pain knotting inside him.
“She was okay with it,” he finally says. “At least, she was glad I was doing something useful instead of raising hell. She was married by then. Worked at a paper supply store. She and her husband had a house up in Richmond. They were trying to start a family when she was diagnosed.”
My heart tightens with grief for the young woman who still had so much life ahead of her.
“She fought like a warrior,” Dane continues, dropping his fork on the plate. “For years. That was when I started cooking again. Nicole lost her appetite while undergoing treatment, but she needed to eat to stay nourished and strong. I made it my mission to find something she’d like and could keep down. I experimented with a bunch of foods and recipes and came up with a few soups that she loved. Chicken noodle, vegetable, and potato leek.”
He sits back and reaches for his beer. “I made them in batches. Finally felt like I was able to do something for her. I kept cooking other things for her to try, but the soup was the only thing she wanted. She even asked me to bring her some when she was in the hospital for the last time.”
“Does her husband still live in Richmond?”
“Yeah. We stay in touch. He’s a good guy.”
“That steak is fucking amazing.” Benny’s loud voice breaks through the air. “Juicier and tastier than any pussy I’ve eaten. You got any more?”
He waggles his eyebrows at me. With a threatening glare, Dane starts to rise.
“It’s okay.” I push my chair back, gesturing for Dane to stay seated, and hold out my hand to Benny. “Give me your plate and go back to the TV. I’ll bring you some more.”
“Another beer too. ” He hurries back to the living room.
I get him situated with more food and beer. Though I want to know everything about Dane’s story, we need to deal with Eddie first, and I don’t want Benny overhearing Dane’s private business.
After we finish eating, Benny saunters back in, asking about dessert.
“Benny.” With a narrow look, I take a ten out of my wallet and hand it to him. “Go buy yourself an ice cream, okay?”
“And stay the fuck away from us.” Dane stands so fast his chair scrapes against the floor. “I don’t want to hear a word from you, much less see you hanging around.”
“You have until Friday.” Benny grabs the ten from me. “Five o’clock. If you don’t have your shit together by then, I’m sending the cops after you.”
Dane takes a step toward him. Benny scurries out the front door so fast the screen door bangs shut.
“Fucking rat,” Dane mutters. “Leave the dishes, Hannah. I’ll do them later.”
“You cooked, I’ll clean.” I fill a dirty pot with water at the sink. “Did you find out anything at Zodiac?”
“Maybe. I need to confirm some things, but sounds like they’re gearing up for a smuggling drop at the house in San Leandro.”
“I still don’t get why my mother would have gone there.”
“I’m trying to find out. Not many people would, or could, talk about her.” He wraps his arms around me from behind, his big body such a haven of warmth and protectiveness that I can’t help melting back against him. He presses his lips to my hair. “I need you in bed.”
“Say no more.” Turning, I lift my face.
He kisses me and slides his hands under my rear, scooping me up against him. He carries me into the bedroom—a room with a king-sized bed that nearly takes up the whole space.
In seconds, he strips off my clothes and rubs his calloused palms over my whole body. My arousal shoots upward with a force that takes my breath away. The air fires with sparks and heat.
It’s scorching hot and so easy at the same time. He kisses me everywhere—my breasts, my belly, my thighs—and whispers dirty things in my ear that would make me blush furiously if they didn’t turn me on so much.
I’m slick and ready by the time he thrusts into me with a groan, his cock like hot, malleable wax. We fall into a fierce, easy fucking rhythm that I’ve realized belongs only to us.
A seemingly endless series of orgasms streams through me—incited by both his cock and his fingers—and only when I fall back against the pillows, limp and sated, does he bury himself deep inside me with the shuddering flood of his release.
So. Fucking. Good.
We lie close together as we catch our breaths. I rub my cheek against his hairy chest and run my hand over his abdomen. “I love you.”
