“Fuck.”

He adjusts his hips and presses down on me harder. When he begins to move with me, it intensifies everything. I grab his shoulders and clench my muscles, too far gone now to stop. “Gage!” My legs tremble and my whole body shakes beneath him. I thought my fingers were good but holy hell, I may never use them again. I smile up at him as I try to catch my breath.

“Wow.”

He lays his forehead on mine and mumbles, “You’re the one who should be called Reaper…’cause you’re killing me slowly but surely.”

CHAPTER 3

***Raven***

Damn. Where did that come from? I raise my lips to his and kiss him softly. “That was sweet.”

“Sweet?” He scoffs and drops down next to me, supporting his head on his palm. “It’s sweet that you’re killing me?”

“No, of course not. It’s sweet of you to admit that I affect you, too.”

“That’s what you call it? ‘Affect’?”

He takes my hand, presses it to his crotch, and I curl my fingers around what feels like a steel pole. Does he always get this hard? Or is it just with me? I’d like to think that, but I highly doubt it.

“You feel that?” He asks. “You turn my dick into a fuckin’ brick wall. All I want to do is fuck you until you come, screaming my name, then change positions and start all over. So, yeah, you ‘affect’ me.”

I swallow hard, sliding my fingers up and down his dick. We stare into each other’s eyes until something snaps inside him and he grabs my hand.

“I know it’s your favorite color and all, but I don’t need the blue balls. You have any idea how much that shit hurts?”

“Well, I can’t experience it but I know it involves pain and fluid congestion in the testicles, so it can’t be pleasant.”

“The fuck, Raven?” His eyes widen in shock. “How the fuck do you know exactly what it is?”

“I told you, I read a lot.”

“And why the fuck are you reading about balls?”

I raise a shoulder in a shrug and drop my gaze. It’s not like I had a mother to teach me anything. Daddy would never talk about that stuff with me and Lonnie barely talked to me at all. How else was I going to learn? “I didn’t really have anyone to talk to, ask questions. I turned to books instead.”

I hear him take a deep breath before he pulls me into his arms, cradling my head on his chest. I throw my arm and leg over him and settle in against him.

“It’s okay, doll. You have me now.”

I haven’t felt as at peace in a long time as I do in this very moment. I have him. I have him, and that means I’m no longer alone. I have him. He holds me in his arms and we lie there for a long time, not saying anything, just being together. That is until my growling stomach interrupts our quiet companionship.

“Hungry?” He asks, and I can hear the smile in his voice.

“Starving. What’s for breakfast?”

“I wish it was your pussy.”

“And Mr. Dirty Mouth is back.”

“He never left, baby doll. I’m gonna take a shower then get you something to eat.”

“Okay.”

He adjusts himself as he walks to his chest of drawers. As I watch him choose boxers, the scene between him and the sheriff replays in my mind. I have so many questions about last night and this morning. Why were those men chasing us? Who were they? Are there others? Will they come after us, too? Where did the bodies go?

“Gage?”

“Hmm?”

“Who were those men from last night?”

“I don’t know, but I’ll find out.”

“What happened to the...the bodies?”

“Don’t worry your pretty little head about that.”

“But –”

“Raven,” he cuts me off. “I can’t tell you, so stop asking. Besides, the less you know, the better.”

“Gage, I’m scared.”

He sits on the edge of the bed and palms the back of my neck, pulling my face close to his. A firm but gentle squeeze ensures I’m looking in his eyes.

“I got you. I won’t let anything happen to you, Raven. I promise.”

“But –”

“You trust me, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then trust that I’ll protect you, no matter what.”

I bite into my bottom lip and nod. I do trust him, and after seeing him in action last night, I trust him with my life.

“Good,” he says, rising and grabbing his boxers off the bed. That reminds me.

“I asked Chrissy to bring me some clothes. Think you could get Ron to pick her up?”

“Sure, babe.”

He taps something out on his phone then tosses it on the bed. I stare at it as he heads to the bathroom. I’ve never seen a guy do that…ever. He not only left one, but two phones sitting around. He either has nothing to hide or trusts me enough to know I won’t go through them. Either way, he just earned major points. I grab my own phone and check Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Chris has updated his status to “single” and removed his profile picture of the two of us. Well, then. It stings, but at least he hasn’t posted anything nasty about me. Despite Chrissy’s advice, I try calling him. His phone goes straight to voicemail. I take a deep breath and wait for the beep.

“Chris...I know I’m the last person you want to talk to, but...I just need you to know that I never wanted to hurt you. I should have been honest with you. There are a lot of things I should have done, and I’m sorry. It won’t change anything, but I am. I’m sorry.”

I hang up and just lie there, staring into space. I didn’t ask for forgiveness because frankly, I don’t deserve it. If he responds by calling me a lying, cheating cunt, I wouldn’t blame him. I deserve to be called every name in the book in addition to any new ones he can come up with. He doesn’t reply though, and it makes me feel that much worse.

Chrissy’s voice precedes a knock on the door. I check the time on my phone and realize I’ve been lying here for almost an hour. Gage is still in the shower. Damn. He must be running a marathon in there.

“Come in.”

Ron opens the door, greeting me as he ushers Chrissy in. “Hey, Raven.”

“Hey, Ron. Thanks.”

“No problem.”

They make googly eyes at each other and then he leaves, walking backwards so they’re still looking at each other. Once he’s gone, Chrissy closes the door and drops my backpack on the bed before climbing in next to me, handing me a paper bag from McDonald’s.

“Got you breakfast,” she says in a sing-song voice.

“Thanks,” I reply as I lean over and absentmindedly kiss her cheek.

“Thank your man. It was his idea.”

“He’s not my man.” Technically...or not yet? I don’t even know what we are to each other.

“Whatever.”

Realizing my mood, she furrows her brows and tucks my hair behind my ear.

“What’s wrong?”

“I just don’t like myself right now.”

“He’ll be fine. I’ll make sure of it.”

“I called him,” I say quietly.

“Ray, I told you not to.” She scolds me.

“He didn’t pick up. I got his voicemail.”

“Yeah...he turns it off when he’s upset.”

“It’s all my fault. If I’d listened to Gage, all this could have been avoided.”

“All the ifs in the world won’t change anything now. I’ll take care of Chris.”

She sits Indian-style and bounces on the bed, giving me a bright smile. I know that smile. She’s about to try and change the subject to cheer me up. Gotta love her.

“So this is where all the magic happened,” she says, her palms gliding over the bed.

I don’t want to talk about me and Gage, so I try to steer the conversation toward her. “Tell me about the magic I just saw with you and Ron.”

“O.M.G…amazing kisser. Like mind. Blown.”

“When are you going out?”

“Tonight,” she practically squeals in excitement. “We’re gonna try Chiquita’s again.”

“That’s gr–”

The bathroom door opens, banging against the wall. Gage walks out in his boxer briefs, whistling and drying his hair with a towel.

“Oh…hey,” he greets Chrissy. “Chrissy, right?”