One Wild Ride (Lords of Mayhem 2)

“No, look at me.”

She forced her heavy lids open and peered at him.

“Come for me.”

His husky command set her off like a bomb. Her toes curled into the couch and she quaked, drowning in the overpowering emotions Moose evoked. She came back down and found him studying her.

“You back

with me?”

She focused her eyes on his face, licked her lips and nodded.

Moose surged inside her and she gasped.

“Keep those brown eyes of yours on me while I take you. I want to watch you submit to me.”

His words woke a desire buried deep inside, loosened the piece of her that longed to belong to and fit with a man who truly understood and accepted her. Others had tried to change her, misunderstood her or been uninterested. Moose took her as she was and encouraged her to explore hidden parts of herself she could barely admit to possessing.

He pinned her arms above her head, trapping her wrists with one massive hand as he ground into her, bottoming out. Every thrust seemed to take him deeper until she didn’t know where she started—and he began. For a moment, they were one. Their breaths synchronized. A new emotion unfurled between them. His eyes hypnotized her. Unable to look away, she studied him.

Ownership, fierceness and intense emotion lined his face and colored his eyes. “Mine…” The guttural word drew a fresh gush of liquid. “You…understand…that?” He punctuated each word with a stroke harder than the one before. This was more than a dalliance.

Doubts rose in her mind. This was her chance to walk away. She hesitated as questions swirled inside her mind like a whirlwind.

“Who do you belong to, Jo-Jo?” He increased his speed, striking the spot inside that made her see stars over and over.

Joey screamed, squeezing her muscles.

He grunted. The decision had been taken out of her hands the moment he opened himself up and showed her what lay beneath the indestructible armor he showed the rest of the world.

“You, Moose.”

The relief visible in his eyes toppled the wall she’d hidden behind. The man entered her bloodstream, linking them together, worming his way beneath her skin and into her heart. The time for walking away unscathed was in the rearview mirror. Dread and excitement met in equal amounts as they climbed the heavens together and found solace in a mind-numbing explosion that stole away her ability to think.

* * * * *

The insistent playback of her mother’s ringtone pulled Joey from sleep. She forced her concrete-lined eyelids up as she blindly felt for the phone on her nightstand. Locating the sleek black cell, she pulled it into her nest of covers, pressed the screen and brought it to her ear. “Hello,” she croaked out.

“Josephine, are you still in bed?” The sound of her given name hit her like a bucket of cold water.

“Mom, what’s wrong?” She gently removed Moose’s arm and sat up in bed.

“We need to talk. There are things I’ve kept from you that are coming back to bite me.” Her mother sighed. “I thought this would be best for you. Above all else, I want you to know that.”

“What are you talking about?” Her muscles tensed. Her mother had never been given to dramatics. The quaver in her voice terrified Joey.

“It’s not something we can talk about over the phone. Can I come there?”

Joey glanced down at Moose. “I’m not actually alone right now.”

“Oh.”

“I mean, you could meet him if you want.” Joey nibbled her bottom lip, uncertain if that would sit well with Sleeping Beauty.

“No. I don’t want to intrude. How about we meet for lunch at my house?” her mother asked.

Joey glanced at the clock on her phone. “Sounds good, Mom,” she paused. “Are you sure you’re okay?”