South Row (20 page)

Collin and I stare at each other, his eyes roving over my face as if to commit me to memory. Tentatively, I reach up to stroke his cheek. His eyes drift closed and he leans into my palm, savoring my touch.

“I’m scared,” he confesses softly. My heart shatters.

“
Me too,” I say, my voice rough with tears. We may be scared for separate reasons, but it doesn't stop me from wanting to slay his demons and him from slaying mine. Well, we’re going to slay some demons together, because no way am I going to let him go now.

“
Okay, honey, you’re scaring me,” Scott says, bringing us out of our own world.

I tap Collin on the arm and he releases me, setting me down
gently to stand. I walk them all over to the kitchen and lay my cell phone down on the countertop. Collin, not wanting to let me go too far from him, crowds in behind me, caging me in his arms as he rests his hands on the Island.

Hitting play on the voice recording, they listen to the voices of the two men plotting my
end. As the voices play, Collin’s hands slip to my waist where he grips me tightly, his hands shaking as he sinks his fingers deeper into my skin. That’ll bruise.

He rips away from me and lets out a roar before kicking everything within his range
– my fridge, stove, the wall, the floor cupboards – before jamming his hands through his hair and gripping the ends.

Lydia has a hand covering her mouth, tears are streaming down her face, as she grips Luke's arm with whi
te-knuckled force. Luke’s face is a picture of boiling anger. The muscles in his jaw are flexing and his face is red with rage. Scott's face is white, but the clenching of his jaw shows that he is just as pissed off. He starts pacing, his fists balling. He walks over to my bedroom door and punches a hole into the dry wall next to it, causing everyone to gasp. I've never seen my best friend this angry.

Collin is banging his head on the wall, not with much force, and muttering to himself when the recording comes to an end. The silence that ensues is one charged with anger, sadness and fear. Just when I think I have no more tears left, silent ones trickle down my face.

Why do I feel like soothing my friends when I’m the one in trouble here?
Because you have a good heart, South.

Voic
e in my head, is that you? That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.
Yeah, well…don’t get used to it, bitch.
There you are, snarky!

Walking over to Collin, I put a comforting hand on his shoulder, running it down his back and rubbing in soothing circles. I rest my forehead in the center of his back, only to feel his body shaking restrainedly.

Turning him to face me, I see his beautiful face twisted in agony with tears streaming down his cheeks. When I cup his jaw in both palms, he falls onto my shoulder and lets it all out. It breaks my heart to see him so shattered. All because of me.

No. Not because of me.
For
me. Because of Kaylee, because of her father, because of Fletcher and what they want to do to me...to us.

“
This is all my fault,” Collin chokes out. Say what now?

He must see the confusion and dismissal of his notion on my face because he goes on blaming himself.

“This is my fault,” he says more angrily. “If I had just…let that bastard go to jail…” He takes a ragged breath and continues, “I knew he did it. I knew he was guilty, but I was the Golden Boy, the fucking Golden Boy who never lost a case.” He closes his eyes and a strangled sob escapes his throat. He is rambling, not making any sense.

“You can’
t blame this on yourself, Collin,” Luke chimes in. He understood his ramblings?

Collin’
s head snaps up as he scowls at Luke. “I let a rapist – a sadistic rapist – walk free for a fucking paycheck and a track record. How am I not responsible for him trying to do the same and worse to her?”

Come again?

“What?” I whisper, confusion settling over me in earnest.

Collin drags himself away from me and faces the wall he had just been pounding his head on. O
ver his shoulder he confesses, “I represented Fletcher Colfax not too long ago on charges of rape. A number of women had come up stating the same thing; that he’d choked them…” My hands automatically go to my throat where I still remember Fletcher squeezing me half to death.

Collin continues, “
He’d slapped them around…” My fingers trail up to the now purpling bruise on my temple and cheek. “Then raped them.”

I thank God it never got as far.

“I defended that…that scum and he got away, and he almost did the same thing to you. All of this is happening because I let him get away and…because I love you,” Collin argues passionately.

He loves me? I’
ve always known he does, but to hear him say it lifts my spirits and causes my heart to trip over its staccato beats.

The feels!

“Don’t you see?” he goes on softly, almost as if in pain.
Focus, idiot!
“You almost died because of me. Because I love you.” Collin chokes on a sob as he slams his palms on the wall. Boy, that wall has taken a beating.

“Baby,”
I start to say and shake my head at his misplaced blame. It’s sweet he blames himself for all of this. Misguided, but sweet. See why I love him?

Stepping toward him, I wrap my arms around his waist
and try to get through to him. “Baby, none of this is your fault. You did your job and unfortunately, you do your job too damn well.”

His body vibrates as he tries t
o repress a chuckle. Well, that’s a good sign.

I press on, “
The people to blame are on that recording. You can’t blame yourself for them being bastards and bitches. No offense to the woman carrying your spawn.”

He snorts at that
. “You’re just calling it like you see it,” he says bitterly.

“Collin, look at me,”
I beckon to him. He sighs deeply, shudderingly, but makes no move to face me. “Look at me,” I order in my Domme voice. Hey, the job calls for it. Some of those pervs like it when you order them around; get turned on by it actually. Don’t ask me why, I just provide a service.

Surprisingly, though, Collin turns around. He looks down to the floor before his beautiful brown, green-rimmed eyes find mine. They look sad, but they still shimmer with love and
, for a second, the sight of them knocks the wind out of my lungs.

This beautiful man is my everything and he loves me. The backs of my eyes and my nose burn as I try to keep the emerging tears at bay.

“Listen to me,” I force the words out past the lump in my throat and reach up to brush my fingers across his cheek. “We’ve got ’em. They won’t be able to hurt me…
us
again,” I reassure him.

I see the moment things change in Collin. From dismal to hopeful. His eyes darken, the green in
his eyes almost taking over. It’s heady and sexy as all hell.

“We need a plan,”
he resolves.

“I think I’ve got one,”
I hear Luke say, reminding us that we aren’t alone. Why is it so easy to forget people are around when Collin and I are together? It’s like we go into our own little world where nobody exists whenever we’re close. Not that I mind.

After going over the plan with Luke
– can I tell you this is a damn good plan? – I shower and change into another Pat Benatar t-shirt and sweats. Collin and I have gone way past trying to impress each other; and I feel so very comfortable in ratty t-shirts and oversized sweats because I know he finds me sexy and beautiful no matter what I have on and won’t make snide remarks about it.

Collin takes me to bed when I emerge from the shower. I am exhausted. That even sounds like too mild a word for it. The British say
knackered, but as a Texan, let’s just say I’m more tired than a one legged man in a butt kicking contest.

In bed, Collin spoons me, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me to him, throwing one of his legs over mine and entangling the other with my free one. He has me in some kind of Collin cocoon, and despite the small amount of breeze shooting from the overhead and vertical fan in the corner of t
he room, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be than wrapped in Collin.

“
I love you,” he whispers, making my heart cliché itself (go pitty pat).

“
I love you too, Collin. Always have.”

“
I’m sorry I took your virginity all those years ago,” he says, taking me by surprise.

“What?”
I try to turn to face him, but he locks me tighter to him. I try to protest.

“Just listen,”
he commands, shaking me quiet. “I said I’m sorry, not that I regret anything.” I smile. Neither do I.

“
The only thing I regret was not making it something special and not waiting until you were older.” I try to protest again, but he squeezes me and I know I should keep my mouth shut.

“Don’
t make me spank your ass, South,” he warns gruffly. The command in his voice, the roughness of his threat, sends tingles through my body and down to my girly bits. My hips brace into him of their own accord.

He chuckles. “You like that, huh?”
I don’t answer. My face heats up with embarrassment. He laughs now. “Oh, I’m going to enjoy exploring everything with you.” He kisses the back of my head.

“Is that a threat
, Mr. Danes?”

“
Oh, baby.” Collin untangles himself from me then lifts his body over mine before settling between my legs.

He grinds his hips into my pelvis and I feel the hardness of his erection digging into my sensitive core. A moan trips from my lips and I lift my hips to deepen the friction.
God, that feels good.

He kisses me deeply, and in that kiss he unloads all his sexual desperation and intent on me. By
the time his lips leave mine, I’m disoriented and breathing labored, ragged breaths.

With a whisper that sends the butterflies in my stomach on assault, Collin speaks.

“That’s a guarantee, Red.”

This is it. As I lean down to capture South’s lips again, I know that it would have to take South saying ‘no’ to stop me from claiming her. Again. Because nothing is going to stop us from making love this time.

Her body seeks mine as I hover over her. She grips the lapels of my grey button-down, pulling me on top of her. She claims my lips, kissing me deeply. She swipes her tongue against the seam of my lips and I open for her. When her tongue makes contact with mine, a white hot heat surges up my spine and any thought I had of going slow with her flies through the window.
Everything melts away with that one touch. All the ugliness of the day, of the past few days pale in comparison to this beautiful moment. This is a connection…of souls.

I sink between her open legs, rubbing my aching shaft against her mound. The hardness against my own throbbing member creates a friction that drives me insane. My hands find their way to her soft rosy cheeks where I brush my finger
s across the flush of pinkness on them. As my eyes travel up her beautiful face, I find myself staring at the bruise on the side of her face. I quickly look away so as to restrain my anger. It broke my heart ten years ago to see her hurt and it still hurts now. No one should ever lay a hand on her in harm. But even with the deeply purpling bruise, she still looks like she could stop traffic or cause a major ten car pileup. She is so soft, so delicate; like the texture of a tantalizing flower; but hidden inside this beautiful, soft, sexy-in-sweats-and-tattered-t-shirt woman, lays a vixen waiting to be freed and I can’t wait to set it free.

As my hand travels down her torso, the heat radiating from her plush little body is enough to incinerate me. I have to get her out of these clothes.

Pulling away from her body – and not liking it whatsoever – I turn on my side, facing her.

“
Strip for me, Red,” I command. Desire hums through every vein in my body when her pupils dilate and those blues darken with hunger, longing.

Red…hot…
want.

Instead of hopping off the bed, South crawls to the edge of the bed and places her palms flat on the floor. With her ass in the air, she does a slow, sexy grind that has my cock in a painful salute. She looks over her shoulder, spying the bulge in my pants and winks at me. My cock twitches.
Fuck, she’s sexy.

With her hands on the floor, South does a handstand and flips over, landing in complete split. Another surge of my dick has me propping up on my elbows to take in the spectacle on the floor before me.

Still in a split, South slips her Pat Benatar t-shirt over her head. The black bra against her flushed skin looks sinful. I want to lick every inch of her creamy skin and watch as she glows with desire.

The minx turns her head and kisses her shoulder before flicking her eyes to mine. In those e
yes are naughty promises that I’m eager to let her fulfill. Bringing her legs together, she sits up on her knees, slipping her sweats down to her hips to reveal a pair of lacy boy shorts. Going on all fours, she wiggles her butt at me and I can't help but smile. Sexy and silly…that’s my girl.

She pushes to a stand, bent at the waist with her hands flat on the floor, legs straight, and her panty-clad ass high in the air.
Oh, what a beautiful sight.

My dick is trying to break through the barrier of my pants. It is tapping out a
Morse code against my zipper.
Must…get…balls…deep.

Cupping it and giving it a squeeze,
I almost pass out. Dear God, I’m hanging on by a thread. She looks absolutely delectable; a fruit ripe for the eating. And I plan to eat and lick the very nectar that spills from her secret sweetness.

South straightens and her sweatpants fall off her hips and down her legs. The sweetest sin
– that is what I’m looking at right now. She steps out of the pants and kicks them aside. As she twists and rotates her hips, she slowly trails her hands from her hips, to her torso, all the way up to her hair, where she loosens her tresses from the confines of her messy bun.

Her hair falls
loose, almost in slow motion, and I wonder if I’m dreaming. I don’t test my theory because no way do I want to wake up from this if it is, indeed, a dream.

She strokes her shoulder then traces a f
inger along her bra line. I don’t want her to take it off, though, so in a flash, I’m behind her, halting her hands from making another move. I kiss her shoulder and she shudders, gasping when she feels my tongue wet on her skin. She tastes just like I thought she would – like green apples and sin.

“Let me,”
I breathe on her skin, letting my breath fan across her neck. I smile when her body slackens against me and it reminds me of how responsive she is.

I slip both straps off her shoulders, brushing my knuckles against her skin as I go.
I kiss the freckles on her skin, studying every shape, and inhale her skin like the weirdo I am. Even her scent I’ve committed to memory. Reaching around to the front to unclasp her bra, I let my fingertips brush the tips of her nipples, reveling as they pebble beneath my touch.

South sucks in a breath when I unhook her bra and her breasts, heavy with arousal, break free of their confines. Slipping the lacy bra the rest of the way down her arms, I place gentle pecks acro
ss her shoulders. Because I can’t resist, I cup both her breasts, feeling the weight of them in my palms. They are supple, ripe for the taking, and I can’t wait to taste them.

My heart is beating that familiar rhythm again.
Mine
. All mine.

Her breathing grows ragged as I flick both nipples with my thumbs, but she remains still against me. I start to pinch and roll the tight buds, taking pleasure in her whimpers of approval of my hands on her.

“Oh, God, please don’t stop,” she begs; as though I’d ever.

Massaging one breast with one hand, I let the other one drift down her torso, dipping into her panties. Her skin feels like satin under my palm and it warms as I glide lower and lower.

“Yes, please,” she pleads.

“
Fuck,” I hiss when I find her wet and wanting. “So fucking wet.”

South grinds her ass into my impossibly erect member and I groan at the sweet torture, needing to bury myself deep inside of her, but knowing I need to prepare her
as much as I can. She hasn’t been touched in ten years, so I need to make sure she’s ready for me.

Spreading the lips of her pussy, I stroke down to her opening, coating the tip of my middle finger with her arousal, and dragging the finger back up to rub her very engorged clit.

South releases a keening moan and grabs on to my hand to stay its position. Applying more pressure, I swirl my finger harder on the sensitive nub as I roll her nipple between my fingers.

“
Tell me, Red. Tell me what you’re feeling,” I demand on a rasp. My voice doesn’t even sound like my own. The thickness of arousal that I find in it has never been so. Only with her do I feel so desperate, so wild.

“
God, Collin. I feel like I could explode,” she breathes.

“Then explode, baby.”
I dip one finger inside of her tight, wet sheath and then another, thrusting them forcibly and repeatedly into her until she is nothing more than a screaming, quivering mass of orgasmic South; putty in my arms.

“Oh…
oh, God!” she cries out, jerking wildly against my ministrations. “Yes!” Her voice carries the word out lengthily as sags in a puddle against my rigid body.

Scooping her in my arms, I carry her boneless body over to the bed and lay her down gently. In one fluid motion I have her panties off and her legs spread. Her inner thighs are stained with the juices of her climax and the heady scent drives my animalistic desire for her.

Quickly undressing, I descend upon the feast spread before me and devour her, savoring her sweet and tangy juices.

“
Holy shit,” I swear, drunk on her taste and needing more.

“Collin!”
she gasps, gripping my hair and doing an odd mix of pushing me away and keeping me in place. “I can’t…I need…it’s too much!”

“
Baby, let me get you ready,” I tell her.

“I’
m–I’m ready, Collin. I swear, I’m ready,” she promises in a hoarse voice, grinding her pelvis into my mouth and trying to pull away all at the same time. “I’ve been ready.”

I groan in frustration at her words. How many wasted years have I spent searching for something I could only ever find with her? This woman is the other half of me in every way. We fit.

Slipping two fingers past her tight defense, I work them brutally into her as I latch on and suckle her clit. In no time, she is screaming through another climax, shuddering above me.

“
I need to be inside you, Red. Let me worship you,” I implore, crawling up her body and settling between her legs. “I’m going to be as gentle as I can be, but don’t count on me lasting long. So the first one minute might be a little disappointing, but I promise I’ll make it up to you once I regroup.”

“
One minute? Is that standard?” she questions.

How to answer this question?
Lie your ass off.
“Yeah…standard.”

One minute man
, my subconscious taunts. Oh, shut it.

Ladies, it
’s never about how long you can go, but the impact of the ride.
Yeah, keep telling yourself that, one pop.

“You ready?”

“God, just get inside me already!” South huffs.

And with that, I slam into what can only be described as Heaven. Within seconds of entry, South is falling apart.
I love it!

“
So tight,” I murmur, trance-like, when her shudders die down to mere pulsations. “So wet, so soft. So…” I grunt as I start to move. “So mine.”

“
Ugh,” South groans when I slide out of her, only to cry out again when I slam into her. “Yes! Oh, God!”

I try to take my time, but with her clenching walls, the intensity of my thrusts turn brutal. She digs her nails into my back, the bite of pain spurring me on.
I’ve never seen anyone more beautiful. South in the throes of passion is a sight to behold. Not even in my wildest dreams could I have imagined such decadence, such utter perfection.

The way her face glows with the radiance of pleasure; the way her dreamlike blue eyes seem to darken with
a passion so intense, that I feel it in my veins – it all has me on the verge of disintegrating. It is in this moment that I know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that it will always…
always
be like this with this girl.

No…with this woman.

I slide out and slam back into her in rapid bursts, digging deep every time.
Marathon man!
I want to pat myself on the back for lasting longer than I first predicted, despite the temptation to blow even before I entered her.

Her pussy grips me like a vise and seems to clutch me tighter with every stroke. Forcing myself to slow down, I prop on my knees, gripping the globes of her ass and opening her wider.

South grabs onto her thighs and spreads herself further open.
Good girl.
Looking down at her wet, flushed pussy has me fighting my own climax. As I piston into her, using her ass for purchase, I stare down at the epic sight of my dick sliding in and out of her. This will be etched into my mind forever. And no matter how many times South and I have sex, I already know that I will never get tired of her body.

My God! This is what I’
ve been searching for all along – rightness. I don’t have to fantasize anymore to reach my peak because I have the real thing, the best thing, right in front of me...underneath me. This is where I belong, forever.

“
Fuck, Red, I can’t hold on anymore,” I declare, before dragging her body down to meet my hard, deep thrusts.

“
Collin, just like that! Yes!” I feel her core clamp down on my cock, shattering my resolve. I place my thumb to her clit and rub until she’s hurtling toward climax again.

The feel of her moist channel squeezing
, and the sound of her mewling, keening voice as she thrashes about in orgasmic bliss, sends me over the edge. With a final brutal jerk inside of her, I shout a garbled version of her name and spill the evidence of my pleasure within her depths. Surprisingly, I feel tears prick the sides of my eyes and I squeeze them shut to prevent the tears from falling. This is paradise. Never have I ever felt this way with any other woman.

Holy shit!

Indeed, subconscious.

“
Col–fuck–jeez–God!” South sputters as she releases her legs and they fall open bonelessly.

Falling on top of her, I nuzzle her breasts, still twitching as I try – in vain – to come do
wn from my orgasmic high. South’s heart is racing, as is mine, but it is the soft hitching of her breath and what sounds like sniffling that brings me out of my fog.

“
Baby, are you okay?” I look up to see tears leaking down the side of South’s face. I prop on my elbow to take my weight off of her and so I can look in her eyes.