He came with a shout, shooting down my throat, and I nearly choked. The grip he had on my head was almost painful as he held me where he wanted me, and I fucking loved it. When he was done, he leaned up and grabbed my waist, pulling me onto him. He flipped us both until I was underneath him, and kissed me with a hunger that I readily responded to. He pressed his knee between my thighs, and I ground against it, desperate for release from the pressurebuilding inside my core. I reached for him and found him already hard again—wrapping my hand around him, I tried to guide his cock towards my entrance.
He stopped me, grabbing my wrist and pinning me to the sheets. “You better be sure about this, baby girl.”
I bucked impatiently against him, and he smirked at me. “Damnit, Dalton… I’m sure.”
That was all he needed to hear. With one hard thrust, he was seated deep inside me, and I shouted with pleasure. He wasn’t gentle, or slow. No, he fit himself inside me like he had already decided it was home. He didn’t just fuck me. He worshipped my body. Hand around my throat for more control. Nibbling sensitive skin. Pinching my breasts. Thumbing my clit as he pounded into me. Pulling my hair and whispering things in my ear.
Over the next couple of hours, I lost count of how many times he made me come. Until then, I had considered myself a lucky girl to finish more than once. But Dalton introduced me to positions I had never even thought of. It was hot. It was rough. It was dirty. And I loved everything about it.
Afterward, we lay there in each other’s arms. He had gotten a warm washcloth and cleaned me up, something no one had ever done before. I was blissfully spent and very glad to be on the pill. His seed had spilled out onto my thighs. It hadn’t bothered me—I trusted him to be clean, and he had felt the same. As he ran the damp cloth across my thighs, I felt him hesitate. That’s when I realized…Shit. There were just some things you couldn’t cover up.
Like a fucking bullet wound.
He traced the spot just above my pelvic bone. Shelly and I had busted a drug dealer who had been lacing his goods with fentanyl. When we cornered him, he got off a couple shots. I still remember the sudden, burning pain before I hit the ground. Shelly fired two rounds into his chest, then ran to my side. It wasn’t a mortal wound, but it hurt likehell.
My heart raced, trying to explain away the scar.
“That’s a bullet wound, Vixen.” He lifted his head to meet my eyes, and I swallowed.
“Yes.”
He raised an eyebrow, and I looked away.
“Who was shooting at you, baby girl?”
“Just the wrong place, wrong time. I’m sorry. It’s a bad memory. Can we talk about something else?”
He looked at me for a second, and I prayed he wouldn’t see through the lie. Then he kissed the slightly raised mark, finished cleaning my legs, and lay next to me. I thanked my lucky stars he believed me.
And cursed every one of them for having to lie to a man who deserved the truth.
One evening after dinner, I decided to go for a swim in the lake. To my delight, Dalton had packed me a swimsuit and I changed eagerly before diving into the cool waters. I swam for a bit, before flipping onto my back and floating. I could hear the crickets and feel the breeze as it caressed my exposed belly. For the first time in days—hell, maybe weeks—I wasn’t thinking about reports or missing girls or what name I was supposed to answer to.
I was just… here.
Movement out of the corner of my eye had me glancing over at the dock, and I found Dalton watching me, his arms crossed and a soft, small smile on his face.
“You gonna stand there like a creeper or are you going to join?”
He tilted his head at me. “Depends. I kind of like just watching you.”
Slowly, my eyes never leaving his, I reached up around my neck and untied my top. I pulled it off and held it in the air. Like waving a red flag at a bull. “Just watching, huh?”
His grin widened. Slow, wicked. I slipped under the surface and swam closer to the dock. When I came up for air, I was much closer, and he was crouching by the edge. With a sharp look in his eyes and his elbows on his knees,he looked like a predator. Ready to leap.
I reached under the surface, wiggled out of the bottoms, and with a flick of my wrist, tossed them onto the dock. They landed with a wet slap at his feet.
“Oops,” I said, blinking up at him innocently.
“You’re gonna kill me, Vixen.”
“Better men have tried,” I said, treading water.
“True,” he said, his voice suddenly quiet. “But none of them were you.”
I froze. Just for a second. Because somewhere underneath the teasing, I heard it—the truth. The pain. I ducked back beneath the water, my heart hammering, and when I came up again, he was gone from the edge. A second later, I heard the splash behind me. I didn’t turn around. I just smiled and let him come to me. A moment later, strong arms wrapped around my waist from behind. He pulled me gently against him, bare skin sliding against mine beneath the surface, his lips brushing the curve of my shoulder.
“You really know how to test a man’s self-control,” he murmured, voice low and rough in my ear.
