The last person I’d been one-on-one with was Holly, a rare mistake that had me panicking back then too, to the point where I kicked her out in the middle of the night without so much as a ride. I. Didn’t. Do. One-on-one.
When I grabbed Sonya’s hand, refusing to let her get away, I didn’t know what to make of that. I’d treated her like shit in that alley, taking what I’d wanted from the second I’d met her. But I’d had to shut her up. She’d guessed the truth in no time, and I’d snapped. I’d had this need to take her, show her who was in charge. I hadn’t even tried to make her come, didn’t consider her pleasure . . . and she’d gotten off on it. I rubbed the back of my neck, grazing what felt like dried blood. She’d marked me, damn it. I never let any woman do that kind of shit to me. I needed to get away from her. The tigress had had me in her claws for too long.
Yet my fingers tightened around hers as I stalked down the street at a clipped pace. Sonya and Sam easily kept up.
“If you’re worried I think this means we’re going steady, you can relax,” she said as if what we’d done meant nothing, just another average day in the life of Sonya Hughes. It was a move out of my own playbook. My mother was right. This woman intrigued me. She should be complaining about how rough I was, how I had just . . . rutted. Fucked. With no permission. Yet her comments suggested she didn’t give a fuck . . . fascinating. Insulting.
“Sugar, it most definitely does.”
Sonya smirked, though it didn’t go unnoticed that she hadn’t even tried to pull her hand out of mine. “Never pegged you for one to get attached so easily.”
“It’s just that sparkling personality of yours,” I fired back.
“You really know how to woo a woman. I have no idea why you aren’t taken.”
“I am now.” I lifted a brow, and her mouth clamped shut as though she didn’t know what to do. There was some sort of battle going on in that head, probably something akin to what was happening in mine. I didn’t even know if I was serious. Did I think she’d be my girlfriend, and we’d ride off into the sunset?
More likely, we’d fly into a hurricane. I felt like I was spinning out of control around a calm center with everything breaking apart, destroying me.
“Where are we?” she asked as I pulled the two of them inside the now all-too-familiar building. She didn’t hesitate to come with me, even as she protested.
“Say something to make me shut you up again,” I demanded when we were in the elevator. Sam stayed against her leg, that dog as loyal as could be when it came to her.
She got right up in my space, caging me against the wall, her eyes locked on mine. I stuck my hand in her hair to keep her in place. “Are you a deadbeat dad?”
I growled in anger before I crashed my lips onto hers. Goddamned temptress. She was the devil incarnate. I absolutely didn’t like her, was infuriated at the gall she had, but I was hard again.
I spun so her back was against the wall and devoured her mouth. Sonya was no helpless little kitten. She kissed me back. I wasn’t sure who was in control, and I didn’t care.
My tongue lashed inside her mouth, and hers dueled back. She bit my bottom lip and then licked off the blood she’d drawn. I sank my teeth into her neck, sucking so she’d have one motherfucker of a hickey. The vixen was all about fair play, taking advantage of my exposed neck as I marked hers. She wasn’t gentle, her sharp little teeth breaking my flesh. The way she sucked had me pressing my dick into her stomach.
“I’m going to give you something else to suck on,” I warned, and she gave me a wicked grin.
“A lollipop? For being such a good little girl?”
When I did get in her mouth, I should be on high alert. Her teeth were sharp, yet I looked forward to the prospect of her lips wrapped around my shaft while I fucked her mouth.
“A good girl would have already had her cunt out so I could fuck it again.”
“I can’t imagine why I haven’t taken off my jeans,” she returned saucily.
“See, sugar? We’re so in tune. Those are my thoughts exactly.”
The elevator stopped. Sonya’s hair was a wild mess from me running my hand through it. I liked that she was disheveled, liked that there was already a dark spot forming under the red patch where I’d marked her neck.
Her eyes drifted, taking in our surroundings. Never in a million years would she guess where we were, and I couldn’t wait to see her face when she found out.
Chapter Twenty
Sonya
We weren’t in some obscure, meaningless place, of that much I was certain. The air around us felt somber, everything inside me quieting out of respect, though I couldn’t understand why. It gave me something else to focus on besides that kiss in the elevator, and the way we’d marked each other like animals in heat. I had never been so reckless . . . so passionate.
Seeing that little boy, and Drew’s reaction, had my curiosity in overdrive. The blonde was beautiful. Probably sweet too. If anybody was going to do something crazy, like have a kid, Gabriel would be the one they’d like to have. As much as it irked me, they’d have made a picture-perfect family. Drew proved over and over again that he was a jackass, but I couldn’t come to terms with him abandoning a child. Something didn’t fit.
“Try not to look so pissed off. I’d like you to make a good impression,” Drew said. There was tension in his voice. His gait wasn’t quite so confident, and his shoulders sagged a fraction.
Before I could respond, an African American woman wearing scrubs came out of one of the rooms down the hallway, smiling when she saw Drew.
“Mr. Carter, I know someone who’s going to be happy you’re here.”
“Juanita, what have I told you to call me?” he responded with a charming smile and demeanor I hadn’t yet seen from him. It was stunning.
“Drew,” she emphasized, her grin widening even as she blushed.
“How is she?” Drew asked.
“Excited about her surprise.” The woman’s eyes cut to me, and I shifted uncomfortably. Seemed that everyone knew what was going on but me. “Although you forgot to mention this one.” She glanced at Sam but didn’t kick him out. He huddled closer to me as if he knew we were talking about him.
“Better to ask forgiveness than permission.” Somehow, I bet that was Drew’s creed.
She smirked, and then her expression turned serious. “She’s stronger today.”
“She’s always strong,” he corrected, and Juanita nodded. “Thank you for taking care of her.”
“You’re welcome, honey. It’s been my privilege. Not too many women like that left in this world.”
“No, ma’am.” A Texas drawl made an appearance, and a little shiver rolled through me. Drew inhaled sharply in front of a door that was slightly ajar. The mask slid into place, his expression pleasant, his tension buried deep. He rapped lightly with his knuckles, going inside before there was a response.
I saw enough to know we were in some sort of hospital room. When he stepped aside, there was a woman in the bed, the back adjusted so she was sitting up. She looked small, her head lacking any hair, her skin gray, but there was a courage about her. She appeared frail but not defeated. When she saw Drew, her eyes lit.