Page 71 of My Secret to Protect

Bringing my fingers to her still-sensitive clit I press a little, and she squirms.

‘Relax.’ I dip in to kiss her, the motion of each thrust into her body pressing my finger against her, giving her the pressure that will send her over the edge, and soon she’s tightening. Her moans go up in pitch until she’s crying out my name and clawing at my back, and then she’s there, her mouth wide in a silent scream, her eyes closed, her head tipped back against the bed, and her, like this, coming apart under me, is the most excruciatingly beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

Her body softens as her climax subsides, and I lift up, gripping her hips to hold her to me as I fuck her harder, pounding out my release until I collapse forward, holding my weight above her, both of us breathless and sweaty.

‘Oh my Go—’ I raise an eyebrow at her, and she smirks. ‘Arlo.’

With a laugh, I drop my head, then lower to kiss her. Her arms wrap around my shoulders, her fingers tangling into my hair once more, and as I pull back, I can’t ignore the tears leaking from the corners of her eyes.

‘Pix,’ I say, concerned as I pull back further to look down at her to check her over. ‘Bree, did I hurt you?’

She shakes her head and reaches out her hand for my cheek.

‘No, you didn’t. I swear.’

‘Then why are you crying, sugar?’

‘I don’t know.’ She shrugs. ‘I can’t explain it.’

‘You want to get cleaned up while you think on it?’ I ask, and she nods, smiling.

‘I don’t think my legs will get me to the bathroom right now.’

Grinning, I push back to stand, then pick her up without warning, and she giggles, wrapping her arms around my neck.

‘Mine will.’

I Never Took A Boy Home Before

Bree

‘Ohmygosh,youhad long hair.’ I stare wide-eyed and slack-jawed at the photo on Arlo’s phone. We’re on the couch, my back to his chest, him in just sweatpants, me in just his shirt, and Beans content and snoring on the floor next to us.

We cleaned up in the shower together, and I tried to explain what had me so emotional, but the words weren't there because it was just an explosion; relief, comfort, pleasure, the sparks firing as two halves connected as a whole again after so long apart.

Arlo made us lunch, and we spent the afternoon fooling around. Now, we’re relaxing into each other’s company and filling in some of the blanks from the past twenty years.

‘Yeah, I just let it grow when I was in prison and then kept it long for a while once I was out,’ he grumbles, but I can’t take my eyes off the photograph. He told me my grandma took it on his phone. She made him pose out the front of his garage the day he got the keys. He’s dressed no different to every other day, in a black t-shirt and perfectly fitting jeans, but his hair, which I’ve only ever seen short, hangs long and straight around his face.

‘You look hot.’

He laughs behind me. ‘Well, I acted like I was hot shit back then. That guy,’ he reaches out over my shoulder and takes the phone from my hand, ‘was a dick.’

Laughing, I relax back against him and soften as his huge arms wrap around me.

‘Now, will you tell me what it was like for you in there?’

He inhales deeply, and I wait for the exhale. When it comes, the rush of air tickles my ear.

‘It was okay.’ He surprises me with his words, and I wait for more. ‘I was lucky. The club has its fingers in a lot of pies, and they pulled a lot of strings. I got a lesser sentence than I should have. I got a cell to myself, and nobody touched me in there. I had brothers from the club already in there and they treated me like fuckin’ royalty. They made it clear to everyone not to try anything with me.’ I swallow hard and rub my hand along the strong forearm crossing my chest. ‘I was angry though, you know, I was in a bad place. They weren’t trying it with me, but I was trying it with them.’ Turning my head a little, I see him clench his jaw. ‘I was getting into fights at first. I pushed people so hard they ignored my protection just so I could feel something, release some of what I was feeling.’

‘Is that when you broke your nose?’

He huffs out a laugh behind my back. ‘You noticed that.’

‘I know your face, Arlo. I spent a lot of time looking at it.’

‘Yeah, I got pretty busted up.’ He laughs again. ‘By one of the guys protecting me.’ I turn my head to look up at him again, shocked. ‘He got sick of my shit and put me firmly in my place before dragging my ass to the kitchen and telling them to give me a job.’

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