Page 32 of A Worthy Opponent
As if sensing my mood, even in his sleep, Hook draws me closer and nuzzles my temple. The heat of him steals through my body, relaxing me muscle by muscle despite myself. I only intend to close my eyes for a moment, but the next time I open them, dawn steals across the sky overhead.
It’s beautiful, like a painting made just for me. I didn’t expect this kind of romantic thing from Hook, though he didn’t create this room with me in mind. He must have done it for the sheer joy of sleeping under the night sky. It’s frivolous, but I appreciate it all the more for it.
I roll over to find him on his back, his face and body still relaxed in sleep. He’s beautiful in the way a lightning storm is beautiful. Gorgeous and deadly and overwhelming. He’ll level me if I give him half a chance.
The smart thing to do after last night is put as much distance between us as possible. Hook isn’t offering me anything beyond revenge. Getting my emotions mixed up just because he happens to be a good Dom and seems invested in my pleasure and emotional well-being—at least where fucking is concerned—is a mistake. Once the threatPeter represents is eliminated, Hook will have no more use for me.
I don’t know how annulling a marriage works. We haven’t had sex by the most Catholic of definitions, which I’m pretty sure is a requirement. But even if an annulment isn’t an option, divorce always is. I’ve survived this much. A divorce is barely a speed bump.
It still leaves me feeling unsettled. Maybe it’s because divorce seems like a flavor of failure, and that’s not something I’ve ever had much peace with. Yes, that must be it. I can’t change my nature, even when it’s concerning a sham of a marriage.
Hook shifts, and the sheet slips lower on his waist. Dark hair dusts his bellybutton and trails south. I saw him in all his glory last night before, during, and after the shower, but that doesn’t stop me from tugging the sheet down, inch by inch.
Now that I have more time to study him, I notice faint scars. Small circular ones on his chest that I recognize as cigarette burns. A jagged scar on his thigh that must have been horrifically painful when it happened. My attention turns back to the burns. Those are from his father. I’d bet my last dollar on it. Hugh Hook had an unfortunate name and an even more unfortunate temper. He’d worked for Peter’s father and then for Peter when he took over the territory. I remember bloodshot eyes and a temper that warned me to keep my distance, though even the most foolhardy person in Peter’s territory wouldn’t touch me for fear of reprisal.
No, that privilege was Peter’s and Peter’s alone.
I shudder. Like Hook, I have my own scars from the time I spent helpless in this territory. Unlike him, mine are all internal. Scars on my very soul, wounds that still bleed at the most unexpected times.
I desperately don’t want to think about that. Not now. Not ever. In the dark of the night, sometimes I lie awake andfear creeps in. Fear that I’ll never be free of Peter. Fear that the abuse he dealt during those four years will continue to poison anything good for the rest of my life.
He took those years from me. I desperately don’t want him to take my future, too.
I close my eyes and take long, slow breaths. One after another, until the frantic circling of my thoughts eases, just a little. The fear isn’t gone. It’s never really gone. I’ve just learned to live with it.
I don’t examine my motivations too closely as I climb to my knees and shift to kneel between Hook’s legs. I want to do this, so I’m going to do this. As simple as that. I run my hands over his thighs. His breathing stays deep and even, but his cock twitches. I almost laugh. The man is nothing if not consistent.
“Hook.” He doesn’t move, so I brace my hands on his thighs and give him a squeeze. “Jameson.”
He opens those dark eyes still fogged with sleep. “Morning.”
“It’s about to be.” I stroke his cock. “I want to suck your cock. Now.” It’s framed as a request, but from the way he narrows his eyes, he knows it’s anything but.
Still, he doesn’t move. “I’ll allow it, Tink. This one time.”
He’s not talking about the blowjob. He’s talking about my topping from the bottom. Instead of answering, I lean down and drag my tongue up the underside of his cock. He lengthens beneath my touch, and I allow myself one last look before I take him into my mouth. There are times when a hard and fast blow job is the name of the game. Not now. I explore him with my mouth the same way he explored me with his last night. Learning him. Memorizing his taste and feel against my tongue.
He laces his fingers through my hair and pulls it back from my face. I open my eyes and look up his body to findhim watching me. His smile is nowhere in evidence. No, he looks at me like he’s the big bad wolf and I just wandered into his forest.
I suck him harder, and his grip tightens in my hair. I hold his gaze as I work his cock, and I’m not even sure what I’m trying to convey. Pure lust, maybe.
Hook gives a deliciously deep growl. “You’ve made a mistake, beautiful girl. Waking me up to that hot, wet mouth. You’ll be lucky if I don’t command you to be my alarm every single fucking day.”
I’d do it. I don’t even know why, but I’d do it. Seeing him like this is almost like seeing him without his mask. He’s not the charming, boisterous man who moves through this city, hiding everything behind that fucking smile.
The truth of him is that he’s just as much a survivor as I am. That he’ll fight until he can’t fight any more in order to never go back to feeling helpless again. That he’s mine. At least in this moment.
“Suck me harder, Tink.” His voice is low and almost angry. “You want this? Fucking finish it.”
Though part of me wants to keep teasing him, I obey. I give myself over to sucking his cock. Taking him as deep as I’m able to, using my fist to make up the difference. My jaw aches, but I welcome the pain. It means I’m still alive, stillhere.
His fingers tighten in my hair, and he curses as he orgasms. I drink him down, watching every expression play over his face. He looks fuckingwrecked, staring at me like he’s never seen me before, like I’m some kind of phantom who wandered into his room to give him one hell of a morning blow job.
I give him one last long suck and sit up. “Thank you for last night.”
“Don’t thank me. It was driven entirely by selfish desires.”He moves faster than I anticipate, grabbing my arms and hauling me onto him. I squirm, but he bands his arms around me, keeping me in place. Hook’s dark gaze flicks over my face before finally settling on my mouth. “Good morning.”
I feel like I’ve been stripped bare, which doesn’t make a damn bit of sense.He’sthe one who just showed me far too much. I should be feeling secure in my power, at least for the moment.
