My sex clenches around him as he inserts one, then two fingers inside of me. “Drew.”

  He inclines his head, running his nose along my jaw before nipping my earlobe. “You feel so fucking good around my fingers.”

  “Oh God.”

  I arch into his touch, groaning as he presses the heel of his hand against my clit. The confinements of the leggings and knickers have the pressure increasing. The material of my knickers are damp and it only adds to my arousal.

  “Ride my hand,” he demands.

  I reach up, running my fingers around to the nape of his neck, using it as leverage to rock against his hand. He leans down, his lips brushing mine, yet neither of us move in for a kiss. He doesn’t look away, his gaze locked on mine as he pumps his fingers in and out of me. My sex clenches each time, the pressure building and building. The heat coming from both of us, the naughtiness of being outside, is becoming too much.

  I want to prolong this moment as much as I can, yet I know I won’t be able to, not when he makes me feel so much.

  “Come for me,” he demands, his tone rough.

  My neck arches, and my toes curl into the thin mattress beneath me as my orgasm tears through me.

  Before I can come down, I feel him lean down, rolling my leggings off, taking my knickers with them. I hear him fiddle with his own shorts before he looms over me, ripping his shirt off with one hand. The move itself is beyond sexy, but then my eyes catch sight of the tattoos and nipple piercings, and I’m certain I just had a mini orgasm.

  “Top off?” he asks.

  I melt at him asking, and lift up, taking the jumper and T-shirt off, leaving my bra on. His pupils darken as he runs a finger over the soft globes before palming my tits, his fingers digging in.

  “So fucking hot.”

  I could say the same thing about him.

  He hovers over me, one hand between us as he lines his cock up before slowly thrusting inside me to the hilt.

  He groans, shoving his face into my neck. “You’ll need to be quiet,” he rasps. “We don’t want Jaxon coming out and spotting us.”

  My sex clenches around him, causing him to growl low in his throat. I grip his sides, holding onto him as he thrusts back in, sliding my body up the mattress. My thighs are still aching from the bike ride, but right now, it feels like the good kind of ache, the ache you know you’ll remember for the right reasons.

  My neck tilts a little, giving him access as he peppers kisses along my jaw and down my neck, to my collarbone.

  “Faster,” I plead, punctuating the word by digging my fingers into his shoulders. I need more friction, more of him. He touches me like an instrument, one he knows how to play, and my body sings to the tune. I’m high on lust, need. I want more, so much more, but then I think when it comes to Drew, I’ll always want more.

  He pulls back a little, resting up on his forearms. “No.”

  “Please,” I beg, thrusting up, but he presses down, using his weight to stop me from seeking more.

  It’s torturous. Each time he hits the spot, it’s deliriously slow, yet it feels just as powerful.

  He brushes my hair away from my face, keeping his hand cupped at my jaw. “What are you doing to me?”

  I know from the last time this is a hypothetical question. “Probably not the same as what you’re doing to me. Please, Drew, go faster.”

  He smirks, and it’s devilish and naughty. “No. I have you exactly where I want you. Trust me to give you what you need. You’ll feel it soon,” he rasps.

  “I feel it now,” I whisper, unable to look away.

  His lips are hard, punishing, and yet, his pace stays the same. Never once slowing, or speeding up. Pleasure floods my entire body. Each breath I take, each move I make, I feel it.

  He was right.

  I can feel everything.

  It’s raw, real, and as we gaze into each other’s eyes, it feels like a part of my soul has left to join his. I’m bursting with emotions and each time he slams inside of me, it only creates more.

  As corny as it sounds, it doesn’t feel like it’s only our bodies connecting. I’m not spiritual, but if I were, then this would be a defining moment for me. Because I have never felt more alive than I do in this moment.

  I press my knees to his side, the move causing me to take more of him. He fuels the fire between us, licking and nipping at my neck.

  The pressure I have become accustomed to is building once again, sending me into a frenzy.

  My body jerks as each thrust gets rougher and rougher, and the moment he nips at my jaw, I explode, crying out my orgasm as a blinding light bursts behind my eyes. My legs begin to shake. The ripple of pleasure runs down to the tips of my toes. My pulse is racing so hard, I feel like my heart is going to explode. For that one single moment, it feels like euphoria.

  “Fuck,” he growls, his fingers pulling at my hair a little.

  He rocks above me, the lines and muscles in his face straining, like the torturous pace is killing him as much as it had me.

  His body coils, and a breathily groan slips through his lips. His ripped body pulses with his orgasm and tingles spread through me.

  My entire body goes limp and the pressure of his weight increases above me.

  That was intense, powerful, and my sex still tingles, sensitive from the orgasm that shot through me.

  He can bend me to his will sexually. I’ll give him anything he asks for. But as I replay everything that happened, add in where we are and the day we shared together, I know I’ll never get another moment like this one again.

  I’m not saying the next time will be bad. It will be a new kind of special. But I know deep in my heart, there is no repeating the moment we just shared, or the intensity.

  Lowering his head, he rests his forehead against mine, panting heavily. I run my fingers over the hard groove of his muscles, finding his skin coated in a sheen of sweat. I rest my palm against the heavy beat of his heart, my own tightening.

  I feel like I can’t breathe and it has nothing to do with his weight.

  He puts a little bit of space between us, and brushes my hair out of my face, his gaze and touch gentle. I suck in a breath, wondering how someone so large, so powerful, can be so gentle. He makes me feel like I’m a delicate artefact.

  “Charlotte,” he murmurs, his voice raspy.

  I shake my head, and swallow past the lump in my throat. Something definitely passed between us. Something monumental, and everlasting.

  But I’m too scared to grasp it right now, too overwhelmed to figure out what it means.

  Instead of telling him that, I reach for him instead.

  “Hold me.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  CHARLOTTE

  A smile lights up my face as Drew steps up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. He leans down, pressing a kiss the side of my face. “Morning, beautiful.”

  I tilt my head and glance up at him. “Did you sleep okay?”

  His pupils darken. “I slept really good.”

  I blush, ducking my head. Yesterday we hadn’t moved out of bed for anything other than to open the door for the takeout or go to the toilet. I’m sore in places I never thought I could be. I think I may need to stretch before and after at this point.

  Do people stretch before sex?

  I’ll have to look it up later and double check I’m not doing it wrong.

  “I made cookies.” He grimaces, staring down at the fresh tray I pulled out. “You don’t want one?”

  “Um, I, of course,” he tells me, grabbing one. I watch as he takes a bite, smiling when he groans. It isn’t out of disgust or pain. It’s one of pleasure. His eyes widen, and moments later the cookie is gone and he’s taking another. “These are seriously good.”

  “I’d really love to know what I did right today to get them to taste so good,” I muse.

  “You know your other baked goods are a health hazard yet you still give them to people?” He doesn’t seem pissed, only amused.

  I shrug. “My cakes I can’t exactly try. It wouldn’t be hygienic to hand someone a cake with a slice missing.”

  “And the famous muffins I’ve heard so much about?”

  I’m still mad Landon told him my muffins were a self-defence weapon. They weren’t that bad.

  “It’s chocolate; that always smells good to me.”

  He chuckles, leaning down to press a kiss to my lips. “I really hate that we have to go into work today. I want to stay and eat cookies.”

  I grab the container I filled earlier. “I made you some to take to work.”

  He takes the container, eyeing it warily. “How do you know these ones aren’t toxic?”

  I giggle, shaking my head. “Because I tried one.”

  I love how he doesn’t try to fake they’re good. My family tends to force themselves to eat it or lie about not being hungry. And we all know a Carter is always hungry. But it’s fun to mess with them.

  “What time do you have to be in?”

  “An hour ago. But I messaged Rita yesterday to call in a temp to cover Marlene for a while.”

  “The chick that was poisoned?”

  I bite my lip. “She won’t answer the phone to me but her sister or friend did, and she passed on a message.”

  “What did she say?” he asks, taking a swig of his coffee.

  “She doesn’t know if she will be coming back to work. She still has another week of paid leave so I’m hoping she will let me know by then.”

  “Doesn’t she screw up a lot? Or is that Rita? I remember Landon moaning about someone who worked there.”

  “That’s Marlene,” I admit. “What time do you need to be in?”

  He grins. “An hour ago, but I messaged Landon to open up so we could have a lie in. But you weren’t there when I woke up.”

  I press my body flush against his. “I’m sorry. I wanted to make you some eggs but then I panicked in case you drank a protein shake instead.”

  He glances around the kitchen. “Where are the eggs?”

  I duck my head. “In the bin. I kind of burnt them.”

  He chuckles, wrapping his arms around me. “I’ll make you breakfast next time.”

  “You want to stay again?” I ask, surprised.

  “Why did you say it like that?”

  I shrug. “Because most men would be put off by the pink and glitter in my room. You aren’t exactly the type who seems to be okay with those things.”

  “They’re you. I like you. And no offence, sweetheart, but a bed is a bed. I couldn’t care less what’s on the cover.”

  Warmth fills my chest and I lean up, pressing my lips to his. “You are amazing.”

  Before he can answer, my phone blares with a call and I grab it from the counter. My brows pull together at the unknown number. It’s the same area code but no one I’m familiar with.

  Drew tenses. “Who is it?”

  “I don’t know,” I whisper before answering the call. “Hello?”

  “Miss Carter, it’s PC Megan Brown.”

  I straighten, my hands shaking. Megan is the officer who interviewed me at the hospital the night Scott hurt me. She had been the one to recommend counselling and gave me details on victim support, one I didn’t take her up on.

  “Hi,” I whisper.

  Is this it? Is this the moment she will tell me she found him?

  “I have an update about the case. Are you free to talk?”

  “I am,” I tell her, letting Drew pull me against his chest. He runs his hand down my arm, soothing me.

  “Amber Cooper woke up yesterday and had her sister bring in the photo of who she believes to be Scott Taylor. We would like you to come in and see if you can identify the man in the picture. Are you free this morning?”

  “Um, I am,” I croak out. “Is Amber okay?”

  “From what her sister said, she still has a way to go regarding recovery. We will be interviewing her in the next week or so if this turns out to be the man we are looking for.”

  I hadn’t heard from April for a few days, but I’m happy her sister is awake and doing okay.

  “I just need to finish getting dressed, then I can drop by?”

  “That’s perfect. Just ask for me when you hit reception. They’ll call for me.”

  “Okay, thank you.”

  I end the call and turn in Drew’s arms. “Amber woke up and told April where to find the picture.”

  “This is good news, right?”

  “What if it’s not the same person? What if I’m getting my hopes up? Before, I just wanted to forget everything that happened. But now…”

  “But now?”

  “Now I have something to compare it to. What he did was wrong. It wasn’t me. I didn’t do anything wrong. It wasn’t because I was weird or a freak. It wasn’t because of me.”

  For so long, I have blamed myself for that entire night. Not anymore. And if it is Scott messing with me and my loved ones, I want to make sure they get him.

  He cups the back of my neck, pulling me against his chest. “It was never your fault.”

  “I know that now,” I breathe into shirt, trying to hold back the tears, but it’s useless.

  “And you aren’t weird or a freak. Never say that again,” he orders, his voice rough.

  I pull back, swiping the tear that rolls down my cheek. “I need to get ready and go. And call Mum to come and get me. After the crash, I don’t want to…” I pause, fighting back the memories. “I can’t drive my car. Not yet.”

  “I’m taking you. If you want to call your mum to come, we can pick her up on the way, but I’m not leaving you.”

  I hiccup. “You aren’t leaving me?”

  His expression softens. “No, babe, I’m not.”

  Tears burst free and I rush at him, wrapping my arms around his waist. “I didn’t want to be needy or clingy but I really want you with me.”

  “I’d be there even if you didn’t,” he assures me. “You shouldn’t be alone.”

  “I think I more than really, really like you,” I blubber.

  *** *** ***

  Pressing my face into Drew’s jacket, I inhale sharply. His muscles tense beneath me as he wraps an arm over my shoulder. Mum is just as tense, her fingers tightening around mine.

  It’s Scott— if that is even his name.

  The beautiful redhead next to him is Amber and she looks happy and so in love in the picture. Scott’s smile is charming, giving her the same wonder-filled expression he used to give me, like he can’t believe he met the woman he wants to spend the rest of his life with. It had all been a lie, like an actor playing a part. He played the game and he played it well.

  For what feels like months, I have been praying this had been a misunderstanding and he hadn’t hurt anyone else. But he had, and the same foolishness I felt each time I thought of him, increases tenfold.

  When PC Brown slid the photo toward me, I saw the very thing I had been blind to the entire time we were together. It was beyond the charm and sweet words. He had hidden it so well and if I didn’t know now to look for it, I would never have seen it. There was a narcissistic man consumed with darkness. A sadist who picked his prey by their kindness and vulnerability.

  Seeing him, even if it had only been a photo, had brought back all the memories that have haunted me since that night. I saw the tightness in his eyes, the clenching of his jaw. Everything assaulted me from the feel of his hands on me to how rough he had been inside of me.

  I whimper, closing my eyes as I try to breathe through it all.

  “Do you have any idea who he is now?” Mum asks.

  I turn to face PC Brown, wanting to know the answer myself. I can’t move out of Drew’s arms though, needing his comfort. This has been harder than I realised.

  PC Brown sits forward and from her blank expression and the flicker of her gaze, I know it isn’t going to be good news. “I’m afraid not.”

  “How are you going to find out? Surely there has to be someone who knows him.”

  “That’s the next thing I’d like to discuss,” she explains, turning to me. “We want to do a press release. We will post this picture and ask for anyone who recognises him or thinks they do, to call in.”

  “Will I be mentioned?”

  “No. It will remain anonymous and be read as, ‘in regard to an assault charge’ or something along those lines. This is our last shot at finding him.”

  I chew on my thumbnail. “And the notes and flowers; do you think they are from him too?”

  “I’m not sure until we bring him,” she admits. “I’ll be straight with you; I didn’t think we would get this far in the case. I’ve been searching every avenue and coming up with nothing.”

  That isn’t exactly true. Landon had mentioned Drew’s dad, Silas, finding a little information. We just aren’t sure if it was useful yet.

  “Do you need us for anything else, because I’d like to get Charlotte home,” Drew announces.

  PC Brown shuffles her papers into a pile. “No. That is all for today. The press release should be going out sometime this week or maybe next. But I’ll let you know.”

  We stand, and say our goodbyes. Once outside, the fresh air feels cool on my face. I soak it in before turning to Mum. “Thank you for coming with me.”

  “I’ll always be with you. I need to call your father. He should be finished with his case soon and will want to know what happened,” she tells me, then stops, taking me into her arms. “You were really brave in there.”

  “Thank you,” I reply. “Go call Dad before he searches for us.”

  “True.” She steps to the side to make the call.

  Drew pulls me against his chest, his strong, large arms wrapping around me. “How are you feeling?”

  “I’m not going to lie, it feels weird seeing him again, even if it was on a picture. I have this tightness in my stomach and for a moment back there, I thought I was going to be sick.”

  “It’s from seeing his face again,” he mutters.