Page 31 of Stone Deep
“At least the pain in my gut has lessened the gnawing hunger pangs.” I grabbed the railing on the stairway and hauled myself up to my feet. “Now, my sweet little nurse slash wood sprite, get me upstairs for some much needed first aid.”
SIXTEEN
BRITTON
Iwalked back into the cottage with the bucket of fried chicken. Only a glimmer of daylight remained on the pink horizon outside the picture window, but it cast a nice glow over Slade’s naked body as he slept soundly against the mound of pillows. An ice pack and some aspirin was the best I’d had to offer in the form of first aid. There was a miniature wet bar with some airline-sized bottles of whiskey inside the room. The motel was charging five bucks for each one. Twenty dollars worth of mini whiskey bottles and two aspirin had finally knocked my patient out.
I put the chicken on the table and walked over to him. At every turn, the man wound himself tighter around my heart. He’d stepped in, without hesitation, to save Bradley from what was surely a grave situation. Once again, he’d put himself in harm’s way to help someone else. For a man who had suffered what seemed to have been a truly horrid childhood, he’d managed to hang on to his own slice of humanity. And he laughed it all off with humble humor. Now he was driving me across state lines in a wild chase to find answers to questions that deep down, I already knew.
I stood over the bed and allowed myself the luxury of looking at him, sleeping like the most masterfully crafted man in the world. The perfect angles of his face, every curve of muscle, even the way he swallowed in his sleep sent a surge of heat through me.
The scent of fried chicken stirred him from his whiskey-soaked slumber. I sat on the edge of the bed and picked up the bag of ice that had melted to cold water.
His dark lashes fluttered open, and he smiled up at me. “I had this great but kind of weird dream. I was kissing you, and you turned into a piece of fried chicken.”
I laughed. “While you were sleeping, I went out and found food, fried chicken, coincidentally enough.” I rubbed my fingers near the wound. There was some bruising around it, and the puckered skin looked more swollen. “Shit, you poor guy. You courageously help people, and all you get in return is pain. What do you think? Should we go to an urgent care and have them look at it?”
He shook his head without lifting it from the pillow. “Nah, it’s fine. I’m only pissed that I might not be quite asmasterfultonight as I’d hoped.” His cock grew as he talked. “Damn, Tink, look what you’ve done to me. I just have to think about being with you, and I get hard.” He reached for my hand. “You know something, looking at that angel face is better for my pain than any doctor, or ice pack, or whiskey. You’ve got me fucking spinning, Britton. Really. Never felt this way about anyone.”
Each word pressed harder on my heart. There was so much I’d kept from him. “I’m not worth spinning about, Slade. I wish I were.”
“Bullshit.” He pulled me down next to him. I wriggledcloser and gazed down the length of his hard, sculpted body. His cock stood erect.
I reached down and wrapped my fingers around it. I pressed my lips against his ear. “I think you need your next session of first aid.”
He closed his eyes as I kissed his neck and throat. I scooted down and ran a trail of kisses over his chest. It rose and fell with unsteady breaths as I moved my hand up and down his cock. I dragged my mouth over his rock hard abs. He reached down and smoothed his hands over my back and shoulders.
I stopped and sat up. “Sorry, Master, I’m the one giving aid.” I picked up his hands and lifted them above his head to the headboard. I kissed his mouth. “You need to relinquish control for this round.”
I moved back down and knelt between his legs. I wrapped my hand around his cock, leaned over him and ran my tongue around the hot, slick tip. A low, appreciative groan flowed from his mouth as I wrapped my lips around the thick shaft and lowered my mouth down over him.
“Baby, your mouth makes me fucking nuts.”
I ran my hand up and down his cock as my mouth swallowed him again and again. He met my mouth with a small thrust of his hips, asking silently for me to take in more of him. He filled my mouth as my tongue teased him. He lowered his hands and combed his fingers through my hair, holding me over him.
“Fuck yeah, I’m going to come, baby.”
His fingers tangled in my hair and his long, hard body tightened as his hot seed flowed into my mouth. Heloosened his grip, and his body relaxed.
I pulled myself up next to him. “Feel better?”
A low laugh rumbled from his chest. “Hundred percent.” He wrapped his arm around me. “Tink, just lying here next to you makes me feel better . . . about everything.”
SEVENTEEN
SLADE
Iturned over in the dark room, deciding, once again, that I needed Britton. Even if it was just to hold her naked in my arms. Her side of the bed was empty, and from the coolness of the sheets, it seemed she hadn’t been next to me for awhile. I leaned up on my elbows forgetting, too late, about the bruise on my side. The ugly pain had lightened to an annoying, tender ache.
The balcony door was open. With a grunt, I sat up and pulled on my jeans. The warm summer day had become a cool coastal night. Gritty moisture coated the railing and flooring on the deck. Britton was staring out at the water. She’d pulled on my shirt and had it tugged over her knees as she hugged them to her chest.
She heard me walk out but stayed focused on the view. It wasn’t until I circled around in front of her to lean against the railing that I saw she’d been crying. I stepped closer and knocked down a row of tiny liquor bottles.
She looked down at them. “Another twenty dollars. The motel must make a fortune on those darn wet bars.” Her words were a little stretched by the tequila.
“Hey, what’s the matter?” I asked.
She dropped her face and stared down at her hand. She was holding her cell phone.
