Stone Heart_A Single Mom & Mountain Man Romance Read online

  “Graham,” I said breathlessly. “Go faster.”

  He dug his knees into the mattress and slammed into my body. My tits were jumping for his viewing pleasure as his lips wrapped around my nipples. His hands roamed my curves and found the dip in my waist. His grip massaged my thighs as he slid one of my legs over his shoulders. He reared up, his muscles glistening with sweat, and he pounded into me as his fingers slid between my pussy lips.

  “Holy shit. Yes. Don’t stop, Graham. Oh my gosh. Yes. Oh. Oh. Oh!”

  My lips began to pucker, and my toes began to curl. My face scrunched with pleasure, and my legs began to shake. His cock was throbbing against me, his fingers moving at an agonizing pace, pressing and slowly stroking as his cock moved faster and faster.

  My hips lifted off the bed as I came around his cock. My head buried into the pillow below my body as his hips slammed into me. I pulled his cock deeper as my pussy clamped down around him, milking him for all he had as he growled out his approval.

  I watched his jaw tremble. I felt his body jolt. My leg slid from his body, and he collapsed into me, his body hovering over mine as he filled me to the brim. Wetness leaked from between my legs as I shivered against him, spent and sweating as his lips peppered my neck with kisses.

  I urged him to fall into me, to blanket my body with his throbbing muscles as we laid there on his bed.

  I couldn’t stop kissing him. I couldn't stop touching him. Though his juices were spilling from me, his cock was still rock solid. I panted for air as his hands found mine, our fingers lacing together as I smiled into his neck.

  He pinned my hands above my head and rose up, a fire in his eyes and a demon in his grin.

  “Ready for round two?” Graham asked.

  And he thrust into me before I could answer him with a “yes.”

  CHAPTER 16

  GRAHAM

  Her pussy was tighter than anything I’d ever experienced in my life. It cradled me in its warmth and kept holding onto me, even after we’d collapsed. Her scent was intoxicating, and her taste was magnificent. Her body kept drawing me in, even as I collapsed on top of her to recuperate.

  I needed her one last time. I needed to feel her again.

  I pinned her arms above her head and thrust deep into her body. Cindy’s eyes rolled back as her auburn hair spilled around the pillow. I wanted her just like this, unable to resist my body and weak to my attack. I watched the pleasure roll over her features. I watched her delicate face flush with wanton lust. I felt her juices coating my skin every time our hips met.

  She was beautiful, gorgeous as she gave herself over to me.

  The sound of the wetness our connection made was music to my ears, a sound I hadn’t heard in ages. Her arousal coated my balls as they slapped against her ass, and her swollen lips were calling to me. I dipped down and pulled her bottom lip between my teeth, sucking and massaging it with my tongue.

  The moans that fell from her mouth shot electricity down my spine, and I rolled us over so she was on top.

  Her hands fell to my chest as she ground herself down onto me. Her eyes were hazy with desire. I loved the sight of her losing herself with me as much as I was losing myself with her. My hands gripped her luscious thighs and ran up to her waist. I thrust into her, holding her body in place as her hands rushed to massage her tits.

  Then, I rolled us back over, crooking her leg over my shoulder and opening her to me.

  My name falling from her lips was pure heaven. Hearing her whisper how much she wanted me into my ear rattled me to my core. I had missed this. I had missed this closeness with another person. I had missed this desperate reminder of beauty and the feel of a soft woman underneath my tired muscles.

  I marked her breasts and nipped at her neck. I sucked her nipples to peaks as I slammed into her. I couldn’t help myself. My toes were curling, and my knees were digging into the mattress. Sweat was dripping from my brow and a wonderful blush of red was coating Cindy’s body.

  She molded to me perfectly like her body was meant to catch mine.

  I felt her pussy fluttering around my cock, and I knew she was close. I could hear her breathing speeding up and the desperation in her begging. Oh, how she begged for my cock, begged me to take her harder and to do whatever I wanted with her. Her words were hot, and her touch was soft. Her legs were trembling, her body jolting against me. Her tits bounced in my face and her pussy cradled my cock, and it was too much for me to handle.

  I felt my balls curling into my body as her pussy unleashed again.

  But this time, she was so overcome with pleasure that my name came out in chopped syllables.

  “Gra-ah-am. Oh, my—shit. Oh.”

  I rested myself in the depths of her body as I collapsed on top of her. My cock pumped the last of what I had to give as her pussy throbbed around my girth. I captured her lips, kissing her softly as the two of us breathed each other’s air.

  We lay like that, my body covering hers until the two of us could move.

  I couldn’t stop thinking about our encounter even after she left for the night. I watched her walk back over to her house with a hitch in her step, and a surge of pride filled my chest. She turned back to me and smiled, her small hand coming up to wave at me, innocently.

  Like I hadn’t just reduced her to a shaking, panting mess.

  I stood on my porch, allowing the wind to cool down my skin. I could still feel her touch against my body and her fingernails digging into my muscles. I opened my eyes and drew in a deep breath, smiling as her scent still lingered underneath my nose.

  But a car striking up its engine caught my attention. It was parked a block up the road.

  The relaxed part of me didn’t want to think anything of it, but the rest of me went on high alert. I watched as the car pulled away from the curb and then whipped a U-turn in the middle of the road. I stood there and waited until the car disappeared around the corner before I stepped back into my house.

  I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being watched.

  It was hard for me to focus the next day. The danger I had put Cindy in was obvious now. Giving myself over to someone like that and opening up the way I had was something I hadn’t expected. But what I hated was the regret and guilt I felt for indulging in another woman’s body and the anger I felt for placing her in a dangerous scenario.

  What if that car had been someone watching us? What if they hadn’t come for me before because I had nothing they could leverage against me? What if they were waiting for me to slip up the way I had with Cindy the night before?

  I wasn’t sure how to handle any of this. Cindy and I hadn’t spoken since our encounter yesterday. I saw her come and go with Lily to school, but neither of us had taken the initiative to talk to the other. And even though I was telling myself to back away and keep moving so I could protect this woman, I couldn't shake her from me. I couldn't shake the phantom feeling of her lips against mine, and I got the sneaking suspicion she felt the same way.

  My entire workday was filled with split fingers and shitty little accidents. That was what happened when a mechanic got distracted. I got through my shift and was ready to get home so I could take a shower and try to rid my mind of Cindy and the way her body instinctively caved to me.

  I walked into my house, and immediately, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I reached into the kitchen drawer and pulled out my gun, something in the air around me feeling off. I walked through the house, holding the gun in my greasy hands as I cased every corner and cleared every room.

  “Hello?” I asked. “Anyone here?”

  I saw a shadow move, and I went charging down the hallway. I burst into my room and held the gun in front of my body. I looked around the room, clearing the corners, and then raced to my closet and threw the door open.

  But there was nothing.

  No one was there.

  I sighed and closed my eyes as I settled my gun at my side. I was being paranoid. That was all this was. My protecti
ve instincts were heightened because of Cindy, and I was reading into things and seeing things that weren’t there. I had given myself over to someone and now I would drive myself crazy because of it.

  Tossing my gun onto my bed, I pulled my phone out of my pocket. I needed to call Daniel. I needed a distraction, something to bring me back from the flashback I was obviously having. I raked my hand through my hair, leaving greasy trails on my forehead as I sat on a chair in the corner.

  It was a relief to hear my friend’s voice.

  “What’s crackalackin’, homeboy? I had my phone in my hand about to call you.”

  “Are you high?” I asked.

  “Possibly. What’s up? You sound like you just passed a kidney stone,” Daniel said.

  “I gotta talk to someone.”

  “If you’re admitting that, it must be serious. What did you do now? Are you having to move again? Did you blow someone up?”

  “I slept with Cindy.”

  The silence on his end of the line told me I’d really taken him by surprise.

  “No shit! Good for you, Graham. Seriously. Was she any good?”

  “You know I don’t talk like that,” I said.

  “Couldn’t hurt to try.”

  “I told her about Cary. And Kason. Over a fucking lunch date.”

  “Which version did you tell them?” he asked.

  “The version I was fed in the hospital.”

  “Probably for the best. But Graham, you’re opening up to someone. You’re making a friend.”

  “This is a little more than a friend, Daniel.”

  “Yes, but if I categorize it as anything more, you’ll flip out on me or some shit. Trust me, this is a good thing. You’re loosening up a bit, moving on more and more each day. Cary would want that for you. You know that, right?” he asked softly.

  “Don’t say that. Don’t throw that card,” I said.

  “Then what do you want me to say?”

  “We haven’t talked since the encounter.”

  “That what we’re gonna call it? The encounter? Okay, when was it?” he asked.

  “Yesterday afternoon.”

  “I’ve waited four days before talking to a woman after I’ve screwed her. If it’s that weird, though, take her out to dinner. Push through the awkwardness. Be a man about it,” he said.

  “What if she doesn’t wanna go to dinner?” I asked.

  “Be honest with her, Graham. In the end, that’s all women really want. Tell her why you feel the way you do. She’ll be more willing to open up to you, and that honest communication will obliterate this weirdness you think is happening.”

  “You know I’ve never been good at opening up to people.”

  “Yeah, I know. It’s like pulling teeth from an angry tiger. But you can do this. However, I’m about to ruin the moment. You ready?” he asked.

  “What?” I asked, feeling every muscle in my body tense up again.

  “Those guys you got tangled up with on your last mission? You know, the ones who made you? They’re searching for you.”

  I felt the blood in my veins turn to ice as my back straightened out.

  “Could you not have led with that?” I asked.

  “I heard the distress in your voice and figured you need to talk. But I’ve been keeping an eye on things with some contacts I kept after I left, and I’m concerned about some moves they’re making.”

  “What moves?” I asked.

  “One of their cars was registered on a camera thirty minutes outside of Bend.”

  I thought back to the car lurking on the side of the road yesterday after I watched Cindy walk home.

  “What else do you know?” I asked.

  “I know they’re pissed. You quit not long after that mission was aborted. And you know these guys. They don’t mess around. They don’t leave loose ends.”

  “The mob never does,” I said.

  “And I know if they’re that close to Bend, it’s only a matter of time—”

  “Before the CIA is, too. Shit. Is that damn case still open?”

  “It never closed. They pulled you from it and debriefed you but didn’t shut it.”

  “Fuck me. How stupid are these guys?”

  “Very. But I wanted to let you know so you can be ready for whatever’s coming your way.”

  “Is that why you asked me if I’d blown someone up earlier? You weren’t joking, were you?”

  “Not really. But that’s beside the point. Has anything strange been happening? Have you noticed anything out of place?”

  “Nothing that can’t be explained with other reasons, but you know how I am. Always vigilant. Can you keep tapping into your resources to figure out what the fuck’s going on?”

  “Already happening,” he said. “When I know more, I’ll call you. In the meantime, keep a low profile and don’t let this deter you from Cindy. It could be nothing. The mob has dealings all up and down the West Coast.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Call me once you hear something. And I mean that.”

  I hung up the phone and shoved it back into my pocket. Shit. None of this was good. One part of me was paranoid to no end, and the other part of me wanted to see Cindy again. I was being ripped between two worlds that could potentially destroy one another, and I had no idea what to do.

  But I knew what I wanted to do. So I left the house and walked over before I lost my nerve.

  I knocked on Cindy’s door and waited for her to answer.

  “Hey there, Graham.”

  “Hey, Cindy. Sorry I look so rough. Just got off work.”

  “You're fine,” she said with a smile. “What brings you around?”

  “A second date,” I said. “I was wondering if you’d like to get dinner with me tomorrow night.”

  I watched her cheeks blush with a beautiful tint as she bit down onto her lower lip.

  “Yeah. I’d like that,” she said

  “Wonderful. Meet on my porch around seven?” I asked.

  “I’ll be there.”

  I leaned in and kissed her lightly on the cheek, making sure to not get any grease on her. She giggled that cute little sound that made my heart slam against my chest. I made my way back to my house and took a shower, the smile on my face aching my cheeks.

  I was looking forward to having dinner with Cindy.

  I got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around my waist. My eye caught my gun in the middle of my bed. I picked it up to put it on my nightstand in case something happened, but I again sensed that something was off.

  I turned my gun over in my hand to see why it felt different when I noticed that the weight of it was what was off. My eyes fell to the bullet chamber and a shiver ran down my spine.

  I slid it out to the side and adrenaline coursed through my veins. It was empty. The entire clip was empty. I ran back to the kitchen and threw open the drawer, hoping and praying that those bullets were rolling around in the back somewhere, but they were nowhere to be found.

  Someone had been in my house.

  And someone had fucked with my gun.

  They wanted me to be defenseless.

  Fuck me, guess I wasn’t paranoid after all.

  CHAPTER 17

  CINDY

  “You got your phone?” Nicole asked.

  “Yes,” I said.

  “Your lipstick?”

  “Yes.”

  “Your good panties?”

  “Seriously?” I asked.

  “Hey, just saying. I told you to enjoy yourself tonight. If the two of you don’t wanna come home right away, don’t feel like you have to,” she said.

  “It’s only dinner. Nothing else.”

  “Yeah. After the two of you banged each other’s brains out.”

  “I knew I shouldn't have told you.”

  “Oh, Cindy. I’m hurt. I’m your best friend. I should know all these things,” she said.

  Nicole had agreed to watch Lily for the night so I could go out with Graham. I had spent the last hour trying o
ut every outfit in my closet. My black dress. My green dress. My red dress and my orange one. Some of my summer dresses with my white flip-flops and some of my tighter dresses with some heels. It didn’t help that I had no idea where we were going or what we were doing. For all I knew, Graham was taking me to a dive bar, and I would be dressed in a prom gown and a full face of makeup.

  I settled on a flowing summer dress with a strapless bra and my flip-flops. It was nice enough for a restaurant but could be played off for a picnic if something like that was happening. I put on a little makeup and left my hair down before changing my mind and pulling it back into a half-ponytail to get it out of my face.

  “Cindy?”

  “What?” I asked.

  “It’s a few minutes past seven. Get your ass out there!”

  “Please don’t use that language in front of Lily,” I said.

  “She’s definitely out back getting dirty before her bath,” she said.

  “I owe you one.”

  “All you owe me are details from yesterday.”

  “You’ll have to babysit a lot more for those,” I said.

  I hugged Nicole before I started for Graham’s house. He was on his porch waiting, and when he turned around to see me, I saw his eyes take me in. They ran up and down my body like he was shocked to see me.

  “You look … fantastic,” he said.

  “You don’t look so bad yourself.”

  He ushered me into his truck like the gentleman he was, and we headed off to dinner. We pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant I’d never been to, and I sighed with relief. The evening was a little chilly for anything outside, and I was tired from my day at the store.

  I could sit, relax with some wine, and enjoy Graham’s company to wind down my day.

  I could tell something was bothering him, though. We sat down at a booth in the corner, and he was adamant on sitting against the wall. His eyes kept darting out over the crowd of people in the restaurant, and his sentences to our waiter were clipped.

  “Rough day?” I asked.

  “I didn’t go into the shop today,” he said.

  “You just seem tense is all.”

  “There is something I need to tell you, but I’m not sure how you’re going to react,” he said.