Page 54 of Stone

“You still need to sleep, John,” she argued, pulling back from me.

I gazed down at her. “I can go days without any shut-eye now. Boot camp drilled it into me.”

“It bodes well for me.” She bit her lip sexily. “I dream about you keeping me awake at night. And talking about drilling—”

“Baby,” I groaned. “Can’t fucking wait to get you under me again. Twelve weeks in that place, and I couldn’t get much privacy, if you know what I mean.” I waggled my eyebrows suggestively. “Not much chance of taking things in hand when you’re surrounded by fifty hairy-assed soldiers.”

“Well, I guess we know what you’ll be doing on your first stop-off.” Her cheeks flushed slightly.

I smirked because that blush showed me that although she could participate in sexy banter, she was still the same shy girl underneath. “If I don’t, I won’t last long when I finally get my hands on you.”

Elise’s breath hitched, her eyes darkening with need as I pulled her body against mine for a second time. Her mouth curved into a sexy little smirk—probably because she could feel the effect she had on my body.

The air around us thickened with excitement and longing. It had been so long since I dared think about sex because of the environment I’d been living in. I’d taken my frustrations out on the assault course because I couldn’t relieve my pent-up frustrations the way I usually would.

The mere thought of being with my girl again after so long made my cock harden painfully, but there’d be plenty of time for that over the next ten days.

“Shall we go back?” I asked in a rough voice. “I’ll get my stuff and spend the rest of the day with you and Mom before I ride.”

She reached up and touched my face, her touch sending a shiver down my spine. “I missed you every moment you were gone.”

Time stood still, and without another word, I bent my neck, capturing her soft lips in a searing kiss that rocked me to my core.

My heart soared as my mouth moved on hers, rough with possession, and I knew that in every fiber of my being, she was mine, heart and soul.

Chapter Thirteen

Elise

Two days after John arrived home in a blaze of glory, I pulled up to the warehouse in Bessie, bouncing on my seat excitedly. Having him close again felt like heaven and made me realize how deeply I’d missed him while he was at boot camp.

John had told me he and some of the brothers would be working on the walls today. I knew he’d be there all day, so I decided to bring them all lunch.

After parking Bessie next to John’s bike, I grabbed the basket of food I’d packed and jumped out, eyeing the white van sitting adjacent to the warehouse's door. The back doors were wide open, revealing work tools, pots of paint, and big sheets of drywall.

Muted echoes of hammering and loud laughter wafted toward me from the building, along with the thump of music. John had told me the night before that he was working on the warehouse today, but it sounded like a party in there.

Brow furrowing, I approached the building, grabbed the handle, and pushed the door open. It took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the darkness of the room before my gaze rested on the sight of John and three Speed Demons, whom I hadn’t seen before, sitting on crates, drinking beer.

My guy drinking beer with his buddies on a work break wasn’t a shock. What stopped me in my tracks was the sight of the scantily clad women hanging off them.

I stood there, unnoticed, gaping at John, who patted the knee of a blonde-haired girl beside him, dressed in a bikini top and shorts.

He laughed along with the other guys as one of them told a story.

My chest squeezed painfully as the girl looked up at John with something akin to hero worship in her eyes before resting her head on his shoulder. Then, to my horror, he slid his arm across her back, completely entranced in the story his brother was relaying.

Nausea churned through my gut as tears prickled the back of my eyes. Blinking them away, I snapped my back straight while simultaneously jutting my chin up, before stalking toward them.

My chest shook, but I couldn’t tell if it was from fear or rage. I wasn’t confrontational—the thought of what I was about to do made me want to turn around and run—but I would never allow anybody to disrespect me, especially John Stone.

Maybe I should’ve gone outside and calmed down before I hashed things out, but honestly, it didn’t cross my mind. Instead, I stalked toward them, swinging the basket I was holding with an air of impatience I couldn’t contain.

John must have caught movement out of the corner of his eye because he turned his head and looked straight at me.

Metallic golden eyes met my angry ones, and my lips pursed as his face fell.

“I brought you lunch,” I announced, holding the basket up and looking pointedly at his arm, still resting across the club girl’s shoulders. “But I can see you got your hands full.”

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