Rastor (Lawton Rastor Book 2) (27 page)

The guy on the sidewalk – yeah, that was me. I knew exactly which sidewalk she meant. It was the one outside a different hospital five years earlier.

Earlier that night, I'd gotten those burns, along with the worst beating of my life, not from my opponent, but from two guys who were just doing their jobs, "rewarding" me for my epic failure to throw a fight.

One stupid punch.

Now, five years later, I was in a different hospital under different circumstances. I felt a slow smile warm my face. But the girl was the same. And now, she was mine.

It made everything worth it.

Chloe eyes were still trained on mine. Her voice grew softer. "It was. Wasn't it?"

What could I say? I'd been planning to tell her. Just not like this.

It was Bishop who spoke next, sounding surprised as hell. "You've got to be kidding." He looked from me to Chloe. "
You're
the girl who scraped him off the sidewalk?"

She'd done more than that. She'd given me a glimpse of something different. She'd been the voice in the darkness and the reason that for years afterward, no other girl could hold my attention, not for more than a few days, anyway.

Right from the start, Chloe had been
the one
. She was still the one.

Chloe looked from Bishop to me. "I knew it!" she said. "So I was right. It
was
you."

"That depends," I said. "Would that be good news, or bad news?"

She was still smiling. "I don't care."

Bishop was shaking his head. "Well that's nice."

She gave him a dirty look. "What I
mean
to say," she continued, looking back at me, "is that, well, I love you either way."

"Yeah?" I said, reaching for her hand. "You wanna prove it?"

Bishop cleared his throat. "Do I
have
to listen to this?"

Chloe turned to him and said, "Yes. You do, in fact."

"Oh yeah? Why?"

She smiled at him. "Because you have it coming, that's why."

To my surprise, he actually smiled back. "Eh, you might have a point there."

Bishop pulled up a chair next to Chloe's, and we spent the next half-hour reliving the Thanksgiving dinner from hell.

For Chloe's sake, I didn't mention what Lauren Jane had been doing under the table. Later, when we were alone, I'd be mentioning it, along with a few other things, like my ideas for having Josh move in with us,
after
Chloe moved in with me, that is.

By the time Bishop stood to leave, I was feeling as good as new, and eager to get the hell out of that bed. My grandma used to say that I had an iron stomach. I didn't know about that, but I did know that I didn't want to waste my night in some hospital bed, when the girl I loved was back in my life.

Bishop gave Chloe one final look. "So
you're
Hospital Girl," he said, as if the shock hadn't quite worn off. He glanced back at me. "You could've mentioned that."

"Why?" I said. "So you could spend another five years giving me a hard time? No thanks."

Chloe turned to smile at me. "Hospital Girl?"

I smiled back. "I didn't know your real name."

"Well, you could've mentioned it to
me
," she said. "I never gave you a hard time."

Bishop made a scoffing sound.

"Hey," she told him. "I didn't. Much." She turned back to me and said, "So why didn't you tell me?"

There were so many reasons, but I stuck with the simplest. "Maybe I wanted you to love
me
, not that guy on the sidewalk."

"Because the guy on the sidewalk lost a fight?" She squeezed my hand. "Lawton, don't you get it? Win, lose, it doesn't matter. I don't love you because of what you do or what you have. I love you because of who you are."

I grinned over at her. "You wanna say that again?"

"That's it," Bishop said. "I'm gonna go get your car. See ya in a few days."

"Um, actually," Chloe said, "I think I lost his keys."

"Not a problem," Bishop said.

"So you've got a spare?" she asked.

He headed toward the door. "Something like that."

"Hey," I called after him. "Have 'em drop a car in visitor's parking, will ya? Something low-key."

Nodding, Bishop walked silently out, leaving Chloe staring after him. "He's kind of scary," she said.

"Baby, you don't know the half of it."

"Speaking of which." She turned to face me. "Since you're incapacitated…"

"Incapacitated? That's what you think, huh?" Was that a challenge? If so, I knew exactly how to prove her wrong. But first, I needed to get the hell out of here.

A couple of hours later, we were back at my place. On our way back from the hospital, we'd swung by Chloe's to pick up Chucky, along with some of Chloe's overnight stuff.

I still couldn’t believe my luck. She was back, and she was going to
stay
back, because I was done screwing up.

Before leaving the hospital, I'd told her almost everything – starting with the real reason that I'd gotten my ass beat that one night, and ending with a pretty strong hint that I was looking to make our relationship a forever thing.

The best thing was, something about the look in her eyes told me that when I popped the question, she'd be saying yes.

Talking with her, I'd also gotten something that I hadn't been looking for – an apology for being so secretive about the house-sitting gig. But looking back, it all made sense. She'd had an agreement with the owners, and she'd been determined to keep it.

In my book, that was a plus, not a minus. Over the last few years, privacy had been a hard thing for me to come by. And to have a girl who knew how to keep a secret, well, that was a big deal for me.

Now, we were both in the master bathroom, washing up after the whole hospital thing. I glanced over at Chloe, who was brushing her teeth in the nearby sink. As for me, I'd already brushed mine – twice – the moment we'd gotten home five minutes earlier.

Home. With Chloe. I felt myself smile. When she was here, that's exactly what it felt like, a real home. And the way it sounded, the feeling was mutual. She belonged here, and from what I could tell, she finally got that.

Chloe finished up and set her toothbrush in the spot where she used to keep it, before the whole basement thing and all the other stupid stuff that had torn us apart.

If I had my way, her toothbrush would never be leaving. And neither would she. Or her dog. Or anything else that was important to her.

Chloe turned to me and smiled. "I still can't believe you left the hospital like that."

"Why not?"

"Because you weren't supposed to."

"Oh yeah?" I wasn't worried. I was fine. And as far as the administrative stuff, I'd have someone take care of that tomorrow. But tonight, I had other things in mind.

Slowly, I moved toward Chloe and said, "Maybe I like doing stuff I'm not supposed to."

Back at her place, she'd practically dragged me out the front door, joking that she – and not the house – was on fire. But so far, she'd been taking things slow, and I wondered if the events of the day had finally caught up with her.

She was still wearing that green dress, and as nice as it was, I wanted to see her out of it. As for me, I was back to wearing the same clothes that I'd been wearing at her dad's place. They felt dirty, and so did I.

I glanced toward the shower. It was a nice one, with fancy tile on the bottom and glass on three sides. Chloe would look good in that shower. In fact, I'd seen her there before, all soaped up and sexy. It had been way too long since I'd seen her that way.

"You wanna shower?" I asked.

"Uh, sure." She hesitated. "Do you wanna go first, or….?"

"Yeah." I laughed. "And I want you to come with me."

She bit her lip. "Can I confess something?"

I moved closer. "Anything."

"I'm feeling kind of guilty."

"Why? Because of the gravy thing? Forget it."

"Well, that's part of it," she said. "But…" She blew out a shaky breath. "The truth is, I know you should probably be resting, and…" She glanced toward the shower. "The things I want to do, well, they're not exactly restful."

I felt a slow smile spread across my face. I closed the distance and wrapped her in my arms. "Yeah?" 

She nodded against me. "Except, I know we probably shouldn’t."

I gripped her hips and pulled her close, letting my hardness surge against her pelvis. "That's what
you
think."

The hell with resting. I didn't need it. I didn't want it. And thirty seconds later, I was in that shower, proving it.

She was wet and naked, pressed tight against me as the steaming water fell over us. I was rock hard and ready, and if I wasn't careful, this would go way too fast. Here she was, my dream girl, the girl I'd lost, the girl I'd found – and the girl I was never,
ever
going to let go.

We stood there for a long moment, lost in everything but each other. There were so many things I wanted to do with her, and yeah,
to
her. Her tight body fit perfectly against mine, and I savored the feel of it, loving the roundness of her breasts and the softness of her wet cheek pressed against my bare chest.

I loved her. And I'd love her always if she gave me half the chance.

As if reading my thoughts, she lifted her head and gazed up at me. Her eyes were bright, and her lips were full. I lowered my head and kissed her long and hard, caressing the back of her neck, and loving the feel of her long, silky hair falling over my wet fingers.

She was rubbing against me now, as if desperate to be closer. Yeah, I knew the feeling. My hardness was surging, and her skin was warm and slippery. I stifled a groan as she pressed herself tighter, making my erection slide, wet and slick, against the warmth of her naked stomach.

She pulled back and reached for the soap. With that familiar look in her eye, she started rubbing it between her hands.

I watched, hypnotized by the sight of her, the girl I loved, and the girl I wanted. I saw her naked breasts rising and falling with every movement. I saw the water falling off her shoulders and dripping down her bare stomach and naked hips. I saw her hands, the ones I loved to feel everywhere, lathering the soap in a way that might've been innocent if she were alone, and if I didn't have some nice ideas about where those hands might be going soon.

She lifted her hands, soap and all, to my chest, rubbing my skin in slow, steady circles. Like always, her touch was pure magic, and I let myself get lost in it, watching her every move with a hunger that grew with every motion.

When she looked up, I could hardly breathe. What I saw in her eyes – the love, the passion, the sweet sexiness that drove me crazy – was everything I'd been missing over the last few weeks.

No. Not weeks. I'd been missing this for years, from the first moment I'd met her, way back when.

With a secret smile, she lowered her eyes and watched as her smooth hands moved, slow and sexy, across my pecs and then, lower toward my mid-section. Loving the sight of her hands
anywhere
on me, I watched, too, as the lather gathered between her fingers and slid downward, falling in soapy waves past my hips and down my legs.

Her hands drifted lower again, sliding and teasing their way onto my hips. She moved closer and ran her soft hands over my bare ass, making me surge even harder when she squeezed me tight and pulled me close.

I wanted her. I wanted her so bad, I could hardly wait. But I didn't want to rush it. If I had my way, there'd be thousands of nights just like tonight, with just her and me, doing this and a whole lot more.

She pulled back and worked up more lather between her fingers. And then, setting aside the soap, she eased forward and gripped my hardness in her soft hands. I closed my eyes and savored the feel of it, the feel of
her
, so close, finally, after all this time.

I felt her slippery hands slide up and down my shaft, driving me crazy in the best possible way. When she tightened her grip, I moaned her name and tried not to lose it. No matter what, I
had
to make this last. But she was making it so damn hard, literally.

Desperate to see her, I opened my eyes and saw her looking up at me. She was smiling in that special way, like a girl who knows exactly what she's doing and is loving every minute of it. I was loving it, too. And I loved
her
.

I smiled back. But that didn't mean I'd let things finish the way they were going.

"Turn around," I said.

"Why?"

Because I wanted this to last. Because I wanted to run my hands over her tight, little body and make
her
want
me
like I wanted her. Because she was my girl, and I wanted her to know it. Because I loved her, and if she wasn't ready and then some, I wasn't doing things right.

But all I said was, "Do I need a reason?"

She smiled. "But I'm not done yet."

"Me neither. And I don't want to be. Not yet." I took her shoulders and gently turned her away from me. I wrapped an arm around her stomach and pressed my front against her back, loving how she fit perfectly against me, like she always did.

I lowered my face to kiss her neck. "Baby, I love you so much it hurts."

With a happy sound, she let her head fall back against my chest. "I love you, too. And God, I've missed you. I've missed this. I've missed everything."

She wasn't the only one. I heard myself whisper, "You're mine. And I'm never letting you go."

Whether she heard me or not, her body responded. Her hips were moving, making her hot, wet ass, grind seductively against my pelvis. She reached up and wrapped her fingers around the back of my neck. I lowered my gaze, liking what I saw. Her back was arched, and her breaths were coming fast and shallow. Her nipples were hard, and her breasts were glistening.

I slid my hands upward and cupped them in my palms, loving the feel of her body and the weight of her breasts as I squeezed them gently together and then cupped higher, into the cascading water. I pressed my lips to her neck, and felt my erection surge against her back as she gave a sweet little moan that drove me half-insane.

I caressed her curves, loving how her softness fit perfectly in my hands. She was trembling and breathing harder now, and I was loving every minute of it, loving that she was liking this, and more than anything, loving that this wouldn't be a one-time thing.

When my fingers brushed the tips of her nipples, she arched into me, as if silently begging for more. So I gave it to her, toying with her nipples in just the way she liked, stroking them, and gently tugging at them until they were hard little knobs in my wet fingers.

She was grinding against me, harder now, pressing against my length and driving me to distraction. I moved a hand lower, sliding it over her wet stomach and then lower again. As I moved, I took my sweet time, letting her savor the knowledge of where I was going.

I slid my hands past her pelvis and reached between her thighs. I slid my wet fingers back and forth on either side of her hot center, loving the sound she made as she ground desperately into my touch. Liking the way she moved, I rubbed my thumb along her clit and ran a finger across her opening, loving the slick, hot feel of her against my teasing touch.

With a desperate moan, she twisted around and coiled her hot body tight against mine. When she reached between us and grabbed my cock, I was too lost to fight it.

"Lawton," she breathed, "I need you so bad."

I needed her, too. And I started with a long, slow kiss that had me remembering just how good this felt. With a sexy sound, she reached up, wrapping her arms around my neck and pressing herself tighter against my naked body.

I couldn’t wait another second. I cupped her ass and lifted her hips high against me, loving it when she wrapped her wet legs around my hips as if desperate for me to take her.

And so I did. I slid into her slick warmth, liking the sound she made as she wrapped her legs tighter and ground her pelvis close against mine.

I thrust into her, loving everything about this – the hot tightness of her, the feel of her wet skin pressed up against mine, the curves of her sweet ass in my steady hands. But mostly, I loved the fact she was here, with me, after all this time.

She was mine.

Desperate to make myself believe it, I said her name over and over as we moved together under the steaming water. When she convulsed against me, I held her tighter, feeling my hardness pulse as she trembled and moaned, and said my name too many times for me to count.

And then, I couldn't hold back any longer. I surged into her, savoring the sweet release and the way she clutched me tighter with every stroke.

When it was finished, we sank down together into a trembling heap, letting the steaming water wash over us as we gazed into each other's eyes, oblivious of everything except each other.

I reached out, running the back of my index finger across her lower hip. "If I wake up, and you're not here, if this is all a dream, I don't want to wake up at all."

She gave me a slow, sleepy smile and leaned her head on my shoulder. "Me neither," she murmured as she held me tighter.

After the shower, we collapsed, naked and warm, onto my king-size bed. We were still naked when I drifted off with the girl of my dreams wrapped in my arms. It would've been a perfect night, except for one thing.

When I woke an hour later, Chloe was gone.

And I couldn’t find her anywhere.