Page 16 of Vengeful Pawn

Before I’m able to pick her up, her stomach grumbles in protest. Her nourishment comes before my wants or desires, so I pull back. Pushing her hair off her face, I lean down to take another kiss, however.

“Food first.” We eat together, mostly in silence. As I’m cleaning up the dishes, my phone rings and Bishop’s name flashes on the screen. “Hey,” I answer.

“I got a grainy image from the building’s security. You can’t see his face, but he’s driving a white Tacoma, and there’s a blue and gold arrowhead sticker on it; Mississippi College is my guess.”

“Thanks, man, I owe you one.” Bishop always comes through for me.

“You’d do the same for me, man. You know I’ve always got your back.”

After we hang up, he sends me the pictures. He wasn’t kidding about the image quality.

“Is everything okay?” Mia comes up beside me.

I slide the phone to her so she can look at the pictures. “Bishop couldn’t get a clear image of the guy's face, but the truck with the sticker could come in handy.”

“Jeff.” She hisses out the name.

“What?” I stand up straighter.

“My ex, Jeff Gold, he went to Mississippi College.” She swallows before looking up at me. “He drives a white Tacoma, too.”

The fear that enters her eyes pisses me off. There’s no way in hell I’m going to allow this to slide. This asshole is mine.

Pulling her into my arms, I begin formulating a plan to get this guy off her back and maybe have him meet a watery grave if he further pisses me off.

CHAPTER 12

MiaBella

Processing what I’m seeing after staring at the images in front of me for what feels like hours now is mind-numbing. Jeff and I spent a year together. He wasn’t a man who took my breath away like Hendrix does, but he was good to me. Respected my desire for independence and didn’t press me for more than I was willing to give. However, my first red flagshouldhave been his disdain for my brother.

Initially, I ignored it because I wanted it to be first-interaction jitters or something. Unfortunately, as each encounter occurred, Jeff became increasingly obsessed with taking me away from that life. Inferring that their criminality infected me.

Eventually, he hinted at something more serious, but I preferred keeping it casual while still being committed to each other. We didn’t live together, and before we broke up, he had started pushing for it. In all honesty, I think that’s what made me call it quits. I hadn’t wanted to lead him on when I knew there was no future for us.

By the time I’d broken it off with Jeff, and he didn’t go ballistic or give any indication that he was this upset, I’d been shocked. I was prepared for a fight. He’d been sad, shed a tear or two, begged a little, but I thought he’d moved on.

“MiaBella?” Hendrix’s sleepy voice calls to me like a beacon. The way he says my name is purely erotic. It slips out in this smooth timber, sending chills down my spine. “Come to bed.” With any other man, I’d balk and protest that growled command.

“What is it about you?” I wonder, looking over my shoulder to find him bare-chested and nearly naked in nothing but a pair of boxer-briefs that highlight the prominent bulge between his legs. The scars hurt my heart, now knowing what they’re from, but I’m insanely proud, as well, because he stood up for what was right in that moment. Even though it ended in great tragedy.

“What about me?” His hands grip the doorframe above his head. The muscles in his arms bulge while his body ripples. The sheer strength coming off this man makes me ache in ways I never could have imagined.

“Any other man demands something of me, and I’d tell them to fuck off, but you…you soak my panties by just saying my name.” It seems the darkness of night makes me a little braver.

“Is that so?” His cocky lop-sided grin melts away the stress and pressure he’s constantly under. I nod slowly as my eyes eat up his frame. “How about you come over here and show me just how soaked you are.”

My heart skips a beat at the heat in his words. Putting the images on the table in front of me out of my mind, I go to him, still in nothing but his shirt, panties, and the warm socks I like. When I’m a foot away, I slide the panties down my legs and offer them to him.

He’s quick to snatch them from my hand and inspect them, growling when he sees my truth. Our eyes meet like magnetsas he brings them to his face and inhales deeply. A loud groan rumbles from the depths of his chest and weakens my knees.

Taking a step forward, I drop to the ground in front of him, our eyes remaining locked, and I reach forward to the waistband of his underwear. With his one hand still on the frame and the other holding my lacy fabric to his face, I hear the groan of wood as his grip tightens. Grasping the elastic band, I slowly begin to lower it. Knowing that Hendrix is large, it’s no shock when the bulbous tip pops out as soon as I move the material out of the way. I drag it down his thighs and get my first close-up look of the man, and I am shook.

He’s thick, long, and the veins are so pronounced that they look ready to burst. The tip leaks his desire, making my mouth water for a taste. This is the first time we’ve been intimate in the month that we found each other again, and I’m vibrating with need to feel him inside my body.

“Does it hurt?” I whisper, scooting closer to him. I feel the heat of his cock on my face before rubbing my cheek along the side of his length.

“Yeah,” he croaks out. “It aches for the warmth of your body.”

---