Endurance (The Sin Trilogy 4)

My back is pressed hard against the wall and my spine strikes it each time Jamie thrusts into me. I will definitely bear some marks from this lovemaking session. “Am I hurting you?”

I shake my head. “Feels good. Keep going.”

And he does. Jamie pounds faster. Harder. Deeper. “Oh, fuck. I’m coming. From so deep.”

Jamie pins me to the wall and thrusts one last time. Hard.

That’s how we are—him pinning me against the wall—when he presses his forehead to mine, his eyes intently staring at me. “I love you, Mac. So. Fucking. Much.”

He isn’t drunk.

He isn’t going to take these words back in the morning.

He means them.

He really loves me.

I move my hands to hold his face. “I love you too. I can’t even tell you how much.”

Jamie opens his mouth to say something but then stops. What does he want to say? “Don’t do that. Tell me what’s going on inside your head.”

“I’ve given us a lot of thought. I have things I want to tell you, but the stockroom at Duncan’s isn’t where I want to have that conversation.”

What has he been thinking?

What has he decided?

What does he want to tell me?

“You can’t do that to me—say that you’ve been thinking about us and you have things to tell me but then you don’t.”

“We’ll talk when we get home.”

“Jamie! I’m dying—right here before your eyes.”

He returns my feet to the floor and my legs are so wobbly I have to hold his shoulders for support. “See? You’ve literally made my legs weak. I’m dying.”

He chuckles and grabs the bottom of my dress to pull it over my hips into place. “It’ll give you something to think about while the brothers pursue you tonight.”

This is cruel and inhumane. “If I weren’t with Westlyn, we would sooo be leaving right now.”

“I’m sure we would.”

He zips and buttons his pants and then scoops my panties from the floor and stuffs them in his pocket. “I’ll hang on to these for safe keeping.”

A wet dress and no panties? Not overly keen on that.

“Where were you in the bar? I didn’t see you.” It’s like he came out of nowhere.

“I was somewhere keeping a watchful eye. And that’s where I’ll be when you’re done freshening up.” He places a quick kiss on my lips. “I don’t want you to wipe all of my cum away. Leave a little bit.”

Jamie sometimes expresses an odd mixture of carnal and primal needs. “Even if I wiped all of it off, it’s still inside me.”

Jamie’s semen. Inside me. Where babies are made. I haven’t been able to get it off my mind since Westlyn made the pregnancy suggestion.

“Mmm. I do enjoy putting it inside you.”

“You’re very crude sometimes.”

“Don’t pretend you’re offended. You love it.”

I shrug. “Maybe.” Definitely.

“Ready to go back out there and fight off your suitors?”

“I’d rather go home and have this talk, but I don’t guess that’s an option.”

“Ah, the suspense. How will you survive?”

I poke out my bottom lip. “Uggh, you’re so mean. Make it up to me. Tell me again that you love me.”

“I.” Kiss.

“Love.” Kiss.

“You.” Kiss.

“Mac.” Kiss.

He holds my face and with full-on eye contact, says, “I love you. Now tell me you love me too, so I can survive watching those fuckers compete for you.”

“I love you, Doc.”

He kisses me one last time. My dismissal kiss. “You go out first. If anyone sees you leaving this room, giggle and ask them where the toilet is as though you got lost.”

“Got it.”

I go to the ladies’ room and evaluate my dress. It’s unsalvageable—complete soaked mess—but it’s black, so hopefully not really that noticeable.

I clean up the other wet mess and return to the trinity table where a fresh Rusty Nail awaits me. “I see Greer managed to not spill this one.”

“What a bitch. Is your dress bad enough we need to go?”

I’m wet and sticky—make that double wet and sticky. And uncomfortable. But I hate to bail on Westlyn. “I can tolerate it.”

“What took you so long?”

I grin and giggle, which makes Westlyn grin and giggle. “I ran into Jamie.”

“I thought I saw him following after you like a little lost puppy.”

I grin bigger. “More like a dog in heat.”

“You shagged him?”

I nod. “In the supply room.”

“Did you work on getting me that niece while you were at it?”

“I told you I was on the pill.”

“Then stop being on the pill.”

Westlyn has never struck me as manipulative, but she is Abram Breckenridge’s daughter. Maybe she has a side I’ve not seen. “Is that something you’d do to keep a man?”

“Not one that didn’t love me. If we were in love and we wanted to be together and some stupid reason was keeping us apart, then yeah. I might do it. But I don’t have someone to love. And I don’t have someone to love me. And there’s no one I want to be with. You have that person, and you shouldn’t let him go without a fight.”

“He told me he loved me just now. Three times.” And how I needed to hear those words. I’ve wanted to hear them for quite some time now. And finally feel more confident that he’ll do all he can to keep me.

“See? It’s true love, so tell me how in the world you can let something like that go.”

“I don’t think it’s going to take a baby to keep us together. He told me he’s been thinking about us a lot and there’s something he wants to tell me when we get home tonight.”

Westlyn claps her hands like an excited toddler. “Do you think he has changed his mind?”

“I do.” Jamie’s ready to claim me. I saw it in his eyes.

“Then what are you doing here? You have to go home right now for that talk.”

“I don’t want to bail on you.”

Westlyn wrinkles her brow and shrugs. “Psh. I’m not interested in anyone here. We might as well go.”

“Are you sure? I see a lot of cute guys.”

Westlyn shakes her head. “I’ve known every one of these men my entire life. None of them do it for me.”

“Okay. Let me text Jamie and tell him what we’re doing so he won’t worry.”

We’re leaving.

Jamie’s reply is nearly immediate.

Not without an escort. Protocol. Meet me at the front door.

BTW . . . You’re riding home with me.

Ready to talk. Love you.

“I may swoon. He just texted ‘love you.’ No man has ever texted that to me.” Except my dad.

Love you too.

“Jamie says meet him at the front door.”

Westlyn loops her arm through mine as we walk toward the front of the bar. “I’m so excited for you. Will you call me first thing in the morning and tell me all about it?”

“Of course.”

We’re bundled in our jackets and scarves and ready to go when Jamie approaches. “Ellison is riding home with me. Sterling is pulling around to pick you up.”

“But I drove my car.”

“I know, but it isn’t safe for you to drive alone. Not with this new Order leader coming into power.”

“I have class in the morning. What am I supposed to do about getting there?”

“I have clinical. I’ll come by and pick you up around 5:30 to take you over to get your car.”

Westlyn rolls her eyes. “That means I have to wake up at the ass crack of dawn. I really hate this life sometimes.”

Jamie holds the door for us and we walk out onto the sidewalk. I’m freezing so I wrap my coat tightly around my body. “A wet dress isn’t ideal to wear on a cold Novembe

r night in Scotland.” But we’ll be home soon. And Jamie will be taking it off me.

“I can’t believe Greer did that. Pure rubbish. Hundred pounds says she goes to work for Lyle Campbell dancing on stage and showing her tits to the brothers. Although I’m guessing half of them have already seen them.”

I look at Jamie and he holds up his hands. “Haven’t seen them, babe. Swear.”

But he has seen Lorna’s.

Stop it, Ellison. If they were together, it happened before you. Neither of them can change the past.