Right now, he didn’t know, and he didn’t care.
All he knew was that watching her, seeing how much she wanted him, making her wait, was the best damn feeling he’d ever had. This was for him. It wouldn’t fix anyone, it wouldn’t save a damn thing. But it would feel good. And he wanted it.
Wanted her.
“Take my panties off,” she said, her words coming out short, harsh.
“Not yet,” he said, rocking against her, watching the color in her cheeks deepen.
“You bastard,” she said, and wrapped her legs around his hips, tugging him down harder.
“I think you called me that last time I had you in handcuffs.”
“It was true then, it’s true now.” She shifted. “And you didn’t make me come either time.”
“We still have time.” He slipped his hand around beneath her and cupped her ass, tugging her hard against him.
She whimpered, her breath hot on his neck. “Please...I need you.”
He shifted his hand and tugged her panties to the side, positioning himself at her entrance and sliding in slowly. He cursed, short and sharp. She was so slick and tight, he thought he might go over the edge the moment he was buried inside her to the hilt.
“Eli,” she whispered, his name broken on her breath, the splinters lodging deep inside him, burning his soul. Branding him.
“I’ve got you, baby.” Her eyes clashed with his, wide and...shocked? Almost afraid? It made his stomach clench tight. “Hey, hey, I’ve got you.”
She nodded wordlessly, her eyes never leaving his. He leaned in and kissed her lips, long and slow, withdrawing from her body, just an inch, before pushing back inside.
Then he was lost completely, chasing the liquid heat that was raging through him, building, bringing him closer to the edge. His blood roaring through his ears, canceling out everything, his vision going dark, nothing remaining but the hot, hard bite of pleasure, twisting and turning in his gut, ready to savage him, ready to squeeze everything inside of him into dust, the pressure building, threatening destruction if he didn’t find release soon.
“Come for me, Sadie,” he said, the words hard-won, almost impossible to push through his tightened throat. “Baby, I’m on the edge. Come for me.”
She arched against him, flexing her hips, the motion twisting everything in him even tighter. He tightened his hold on her ass, his other hand braced flat on the window behind her head as he circled his hips slowly, grinding against her clit.
Finally, he felt her give, heard the hoarse cry escape her lips, felt her internal muscles squeezing him tight. And he let himself go.
His release roared through him like a wildfire, scorching everything that had been contorted inside him, hollowing him out completely and leaving him devastated in its wake.
He tried to catch his breath, his muscles shaking, sweat rolling between his shoulder blades. He felt like he’d just run five miles in the desert. And found an oasis at the end of the race.
Sadie.
He let out a harsh breath and moved away from her. “Well,” he said, leaning back against the seat, dimly aware that sitting bare-assed in his patrol car was probably not the most professional thing, but he didn’t think he could move much farther right at the moment. “I didn’t think the condom thing through,” he said, looking down, feeling vaguely embarrassed that he hadn’t quickly dealt with it out of her sight, like he would normally do.
“Oh, dear,” she said, wiggling slightly then giving him a hard stare. “I need releasing.”
“Oh, sorry,” he said, leaning forward and pulling the key out of the cup holder, undoing the handcuffs as quickly as possible.
She smiled, almost shyly, which was unusual, if not unheard of, for Sadie. She rubbed her wrists, looking around. “Yeah, I think you have to bury it.”
He let out a long breath. “This is more complicated than I thought.”
“Well, you can’t litter. That’s a crime and you’re, like...running for sheriff. Can you imagine the scandal?”
“You’re right. We can’t have that,” he said, opening the passenger door, one bare foot hitting the pine-needle-covered ground. “This is the most awkward thing I’ve ever experienced.”
He heard a giggle behind him and turned and gave her a hard look.
“The view is good anyway,” she said.
He rolled his eyes and shut the door, hurrying, naked and in broad daylight, into the trees, where he dug a small hole in the soft dirt and disposed of the condom. Then walked as quickly as he could back to the car, taking light steps, trying to avoid majorly sharp rocks and any particularly crunchy sticks.
When he returned to the car, Sadie was sitting there with the door open, her legs sticking out, jeans back on and T-shirt tugged back down. And she was smiling. Far too broadly.
“You look all back to normal,” he said.
She stood, her legs wobbling. “Looks can be deceiving. Are you ready to head back?”
“Well, I’d like to get dressed.”
She swallowed visibly and nodded slowly, moving to the side so that he could reach in and grab his clothes. He shrugged his underwear on, making sure none of the pine needles that were sticking to his feet flaked off inside the underwear, then grabbed his jeans, tugging them on as quickly as possible.
And now he felt at least marginally less ridiculous. He turned back to Sadie, who wasn’t smiling anymore. She had her arms folded beneath her breasts, a blank stare on her face, her lower lips trembling.
He flashed back to that moment she’d looked at him. That calm before the storm when she’d looked almost terrified in his arms.
“Sadie? Did I... Did I hurt you?” he asked, regret slamming into him, making his face feel numb and his stomach sick.
“No,” she said, shaking her head, “I’m fine.” A tear trailed down her cheek, leaving a streak of glitter on her skin.
