Chapter 34

I’ve been thinkingabout her all fucking day.

I park my SUV in a spot outside Bagel’s Bakery, enter it, and stand in line, my arms crossed over my chest. Nobody talks to me—people have learned to avoid conversation with the angry guy who lives out on his ranch—and I don’t mind it. The only person I want to talk to today is Hannah.

The inside of the bakery is cute. The type of place Hannah would enjoy spending time in, with squeaky polished wooden floors, and dark wood tables, wrought iron chairs, and a special board done in chalk with a crude drawing of a cupcake. The servers wear black aprons, the pockets on the front bearing slogans like “Bagel Today, Bagel Tomorrow” or “This is Knot Your Average Bagel!”

I don’t care for any of it, but god damn, Hannah loves donuts, so I’m buying her a box before I head upstairs to see her.

I shift my weight from one foot to the other, scanning the interior of the bakery out of habit, marking anyone who might be a threat. But it’s clear of weirdos, and the faces are mostly familiar.

The line shifts, and a girl at the front counter smiles at me. I swear, I recognize her from somewhere.

She sweeps curly blonde hair behind her ear and gives me a wide smile that shows off a small gap between her front teeth. “Hi, Mr. Savage.”

“I know you?”

“Riley,” she says, tapping her name badge, then she does a double take when she realizes it’s missing. “I usually work at the Heartstopper in the afternoons. I picked up some extra work here in the mornings.”

“Right.”

“What can I get for you?” She’s young, probably in her twenties. I would expect her to be off at college, not working double shifts at two different places in town to make ends meet.

“Strawberry stuffed donuts. Half dozen. Please.”

“Sure. I’ll get that wrapped up for you.” She rings up my order on an old-timey bronze register, and I pay her with a hundred dollars. “Oh, shoot, I’ll get your change. Just give me a?—”

“Keep it,” I say.

She blinks. “Oh. Thank you. That’s very kind of you. Thank you.” She wells up, but turns away quickly.

Poor kid. I walk over to a table and sit down to wait for my order.

I grab it when my name is called then head out, taking the stairs that lead up to Hannah’s apartment two at a time. I can barely fucking wait to get there.

I want her to stay.

The realization hits me as I knock on her door.

I want this woman to stay. My ranch house is empty without her in it, and my life is slowly changing because of her. I feel lighter than I have before, more focused. I want to help her. Fuck, I want to keep her.I can’t put her in danger but I can’t let her go.

That phone call fucked me up, even though nothing came of it.

Hannah opens the door, and her face lights up. “Carter,” she says, those pretty lips parting.

I take her by the back of the neck and bring my mouth down on hers. She opens up to me immediately, moaning against my lips, kissing me back with as much need as I have for her. I kick the door shut with my heel, walk her backward, and drop the box of donuts on the coffee table. I lift her into my arms.

Hannah’s legs wrap around my waist, and I hate that she’s wearing jeans.

I grip her thighs and kiss her hard, walking her backward until she hits the opposite wall.

“I’m going to cut these off,” I say, tugging on the fabric. “I want that pussy now.”

Hannah trembles. “It’s yours,” she whispers.

I slip my hand over the front of her jeans and rub her, frustrated that I can’t reach her.

She moans and rides against my hand, arching her back, her head bumping against the wall.

“You okay?” I ask.

“I don’t care about my head,” she whispers. “Just take me, please.”

“How do you want it, Princess?”

“In my mouth.”

I suck on her collarbone and drag the front of her shirt down so I can reach the slope of her breast. “That right?” I ask. “You want a mouthful of me?”

“Yes,” she hisses, trying desperately to rub herself against the front of my jeans. She wants release, and I want to give it to her.

“You can only have it if you behave yourself.”

“But—”

“Stop moving, Hannah. You’re going to hurt your head.”

“Carter! I want it,” she says. “Now.”

“You’re in no position to make demands.” I carry her to the sofa and sit her down on it. She scrambles onto her knees, and I wrap my hand around her throat. The excitement in her eyes, the way she lifts her chin to stare at me, daring me to make a move, drives me fucking wild.

Hannah squirms on the sofa. “Please,” she whimpers.

I unzip my jeans and pull out my cock. It lolls in front of her, and her eyes widen.

“You think you can take this?”

“I want to try.”

I slide my hands up to her head and bring her forward. She opens her mouth and trails her tongue over the head. My cock throbs at the contact. “You… are going to drive me fucking crazy, Princess.”

We’ve never done this before. Her sucking my dick. Even though I’ve pictured it countless times. She takes me in her mouth and sucks, and my eyes roll back. I grip her head a little harder so she feels the pressure. And guide that smooth warmth up and down my shaft.

The pleasure is exquisite, and so are the noises she’s making. Gagging, sucking, moaning and whimpering. Her head bobs in front of me, and she stares up at me, those blue eyes wide and almost pleading. She wants me to come.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” I ask, pulling her back.

Her mouth pops free, and she frowns at me. “Why did you stop? I wanted to finish you off.”

“You want me to come in your mouth?”

“On my face,” she whispers.

“Fuck, Hannah. You are?—”

Footsteps thud up the stairs outside, and we both freeze, staring at each other, wide-eyed.

“Crap,” Hannah whispers, and scrambles off the sofa. “I have no idea who?—”

A knock rattles the front door. “Han? You home?” Cash’s voice.

Her jaw drops, and she covers her mouth.

I tuck my dick back into my jeans and make sure my arousal is hidden. Hurriedly, I look around the room. The donut box is on its side, so I right it.

Hannah hurriedly checks her hair and fixes her shirt.

“Han?”

“Yeah, just a minute.” She gestures for me to sit on the sofa.

I do, my phone in hand, and I fix a frown on my face, like I’m intensely focused on something.

Hannah unlocks the front door and lets Cash inside. He steps into the tiny living room. “Took you— Savage?”

I glance up and raise a hand. “Hey,” I say, and the look on his face is fucking dangerous. Suspicious, his brows drawn inward. He strokes his jaw, clean-shaven for once, and flicks his gaze from Hannah to me, then back again.

“What are you doing here?” Cash asks.

I open my mouth to reply, but Hannah saves me the trouble.

“What do you mean, what is he doing here? You were the one who set him on me.” She shakes her head, her hair brushing back and forth. Fuck, she is so gorgeous. “You told him he has to be my bodyguard, remember? And to teach me self-defense? Or have we moved past that? Finally, might I add.”

Hannah’s snark dissipates some of the tension, and Cash sighs. “You’re learning self-defense.”

“Yeah,” I say. “I’m teaching her.” Fuck, it wasn’t the only thing I was teaching her. I feel a tinge of guilt, but just a tinge. It’s nothing compared to how I felt about this before. Cash is important to me, one of the most important people in my life, but Hannah is…

Fuck, she is Hannah.

And I’m starting to think I can’t let her go now that I’ve had her. And that if Cash doesn’t like it, well, he’s going to have to fucking deal. I might owe him, but he can’t tell his sister what to do.

“Right,” Cash says. “I was actually coming by to ask if you wanted me to come with you.” He says to his sister. “June is in the mood for a vacation, so we could come with you to New York, help you get settled into your hotel. Alex would like to stay with Ganny for a while and?—”

“I don’t know how long I’m going to stay for,” Hannah says. “And no offense, but this is something I need to do on my own.”

“Hannah, when are you going to let this go?” Cash asks. “You’re obsessed with proving that you’re independent and that you can do stuff, but why do you want to do any of that when you have people to look after you?”

“Because she’s a grown woman who makes her own choices,” I say.

The words are out before I think about them. I want to keep Hannah, especially because the last time I left the woman I loved alone, she died.

The woman you… what?

“What do you know about it, Savage?” Cash asks, pulling a face. “This is family business.”

“Savage is family,” Hannah says.

My chest aches at the words.

“And I don’t need you to come with me.” Hannah places a delicate hand on her brother’s arm. “I appreciate the sentiment, but I’m good. I can manage on my own.”

He grits his teeth and grumbles. He’s always been a grumpy bastard, and that’s part of the reason we get on so well. We’re both assholes, but he needs to take his asshole down a couple notches when he’s speaking to Hannah.

I don’t want her to go alone either. It’s driving me fucking insane, the thought of her in trouble or without help, but I’ve got to be a man about it. Sometimes, that means letting go, which turns out to be the hardest thing in the world.

“You good?” Cash asks me, over Hannah’s head.

“Just waiting to get started on our self-defense training,” I say.

But Cash isn’t going to let this one go. “I’ll see you at the potluck this weekend.”

“You will.”

Hannah watches the tense exchange, then sighs and walks to the sofa. She flops down, grabs the box of donuts, and opens it. “Anybody want something to eat?”