Page 111 of Jump or Fall
Back in the main room, Gordon was lying back on the bed, remotes piled next to him. He had his palms pressed against his eyes.
Mara lay down beside him. It was just as comfortable as she’d imagined.
“Please, stay close tonight,” he said.
“So I can save you from stray doors?”
He lowered his hands and smiled. “Yeah. That’s why.”
Gordon turned to kiss her, his thumb brushing gently along her jawline. “You are everything to me, Mara.”
“And you’re everything to me,” she said.
The feel of his lips against hers was too much to resist, so she pulled him in again, testing him lightly with her tongue. He eagerly opened to her, thumb still stroking her before moving down the curve of her throat. Every little movement was like electricity in her skin.
Dawson’s humiliating taunts echoed in her mind, making her wince.
Gordon sensed the change immediately and pulled back. “What’s wrong?”
She frowned, trying not to meet his eyes. “Did it bother you… the things he said?”
“Not in the way you think,” he replied.
“You really don’t think I’m a used-up whore?” Her voice cracked. “An obedient little doll broken from the inside out?”
“Look at me, Mara.” Once she met his dark eyes he continued, “You are not a doll and you are not what that piece of shit has done to you.You are the reason I breathe.” He lightly traced one of the scars around her eye with the tip of his finger. “I would sell my fucking soul if it would heal every scar he’s left.”
She believed him. How could she not with the way he was looking at her now? Like he saw beneath everything on the outside, leaving only the person buried under it all.
“I love you,” she said, tears threatening to emerge. The lid around her false eye stung, but the discomfort was easily forgotten once he locked his lips with hers again and ran his fingers through her hair.
The need building inside her wasn’t purely sexual. It was something deeper. A need for connection. Heat swept through her as their kiss turned almost frantic, like he felt that same ache for her.
We might lose everything tonight.
Their clothes came off in a flurry, until they were flesh against flesh, their lips still linked. Her hand trailed down his stomach until she reached his erection. With a light grip, she stroked, savoring the way he groaned into her mouth.
“I want to taste you,” he whispered against the crook of her neck. “Is that something you want?”
Her face flushed. Of all the humiliations Dawson had subjected her to, that wasn’t one of them. Lukas had done it once, but their combined inexperience had made her too nervous to enjoy it.
“You can always say no,” he murmured, sensing her apprehension. “I’ll never do something you don’t want.”
“No, I want to… I’m just unsure. You really want to do that?”
Gordon moved her onto her back and settled between her legs, his erection resting against her center. His kisses moved down her neck, then to her breasts.
“Yes,” he said before claiming her nipple with his mouth. She gasped as his teeth raked over the stiff peak.
He released her and continued down, sending her heart into her throat. They locked eyes as he reached her hips and brushed his lips along one of the scars. “You said you aren’t in your body sometimes. When does that happen?”
The question caught her off guard. “Um, I think it’s when a sensation becomes overwhelming. Or a sound. My mind will drift to something I can count, then I just… disconnect.”
“What sound?”
“His belt.” The admission left her feeling raw. She’d never had to voice what went on in her head or why. “It’s the way his metal fingers sound on it.”
“Hmm.” He positioned himself lower and gently pushed her thighs open, bearing her completely to him.
