Ravaged Hero (Heroes with Heart Book 3) Read online

  I press my hips against hers. I reach between us and part her swollen, wet slit with my fingers. I push into her, and she’s tight, so tight, that I have to clench my eyes in concentration or I’m going to come before I even get fully seated inside her. With only the head of my cock in, she groans, and I freeze, but she’s not having it. Her hands are sliding up my chest, over my shoulders and down my back. I lean into her, sucking her pale, pert nipple into my mouth. I suckle her until her hips start a slow rock back and forth, pushing and pulling me deeper inside her with each tiny thrust.

  “I’m sorry,” I tell her. I grunt and push into her as a sound deep in her chest erupts from her lips. “Oomph.”

  I push into her until I’m fully seated. Her eyes are wide, staring up at me, and I want to move so fuckin’ bad, but I hold on to the very last bit of restraint I have. She starts to move, slowly at first, and I move with her. The friction between us builds until it’s almost unbearable. There’s so much we should have talked about before this, but I’m not pulling out now. I’m safe, and I know she is, and if I get her pregnant, so be it. I want her tied to me forever.

  I reach between us and stroke my finger across her clit. Her moans tell me what she wants, and as she gets louder, I don’t stop. I’m barely holding on. I could come in an instant, but I’m holding back. Only when her thrusts get reckless, and she starts to writhe underneath me do I start to plow in and out of her in hard, deep thrusts. She grunts, and her whole body goes taut as her pussy spasms around me. I come with her, burying my face into her neck as I coat her insides with my cum.

  Our bodies are wet, and we’re both gasping for breath. I pull back to look at her. “Are you okay?”

  She puts her arms around my neck. “I’ve never been better.”

  I laugh then, a carefree sound that I haven’t made in a very long time, and I roll to my back and pull her on top of me. “I could get used to this.”

  She kisses my chest and rests her head under my chin. “Me too.”

  9

  Cora

  I wake the next morning finding his side of the bed empty. Fear that he’s changed his mind about me or let his guilt come between us fills my gut, and I wrap myself in a sheet before leaving the bedroom to search the apartment for him.

  I find him pouring coffee into two mugs that are situated on a breakfast tray on the kitchen counter. He’s on the phone. “Yeah, Cole, you were right,” he’s saying. I recognize the name from when Jason used to talk about the team he worked with. “Yes, that’s what I said. You were right, I should’ve gone after her as soon as I talked with you about her before. She’s so much more than I deserve but fuck, I can’t let her go. I really just wanted to thank you for talking to me before because without you giving me that push, I wouldn’t be where I’m at, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”

  He spots me watching him, and his handsome face smiles at me, making me feel silly for doubting him.

  He wraps up his phone call and pulls me on to his lap at the kitchen table. He kisses me and pulls away the sheet that is wrapped around my body. “I love you, Cora, and I’m going to apologize now.”

  I run my hands across his chest. “Apologize for what?”

  He smiles against my lips. “For letting the coffee get cold.”

  “I don’t care about coffee. I don’t like waking up with you gone. I thought you’d left,” I admit.

  Patton frames my face in his hands. “I’ve been lost for a long time. Not belonging anywhere. With you, last night I finally felt like I was home, and that was because I was with you. You don’t have to worry about me ever leaving, Cora. I’m not going anywhere. I love you.”

  His lips on my neck feel so good I struggle to keep a coherent thought, and I send up a silent prayer for the man, Cole, who gave Patton the push that led to me getting to be in the arms of the only man I’ll ever love.

  Epilogue

  Patton

  Less than a year later

  I still can’t believe this is my life.

  Cora nudges me in the waist. “Relax... it’s going to be fine.”

  I take a deep breath and nod my head. I pull her into my arms and breathe her in. That always seems to calm me. “I know you’re right. I still get nervous seeing the guys again.”

  She gives me the look. I know exactly what it means when she gives it to me. She thinks I’m too hard on myself, that I’ve shouldered the blame long enough, and I need to let it go. Most days I do, especially now that I have her. She keeps all my hard thoughts away. But sometimes when I least expect it, a memory of that day worms itself into my head, and a feeling of despair washes over me.

  She holds me tight and puts her chin on my chest to look up at me. “What do you need?”

  “You. Just you.”

  She smiles at me and kisses my shirt-covered chest. “You got it.”

  I lean down to kiss her just as the doorbell rings. I stop midmotion but not Cora. She smiles so big it lights up the whole damn room. “They’re here!”

  I nod as she kisses me quickly and then goes to answer the door. The commotion starts all at once. First comes Cole and Hope holding their baby, CJ. Cora oohs and ahhs over the baby as I make my way to Cole and pull him in for a hug. I don’t even try to act cool about it. After all we’ve been through together, I’ll always hug him and Jeremy both.

  Next comes Jeremy and Peggy, followed by their teenage twins. I can’t get over the transformation on Jeremy. The last time I’d seen him he had given up all hope for his future, but the way he’s holding Peggy’s hand, I know they’ve found their way back to each other.

  “Okay, so food will be ready in a little while. I thought we could all hang outside by the pool and talk until then.”

  The group moves on, and when I reach Jeremy, Peggy squeezes his hand before letting go. I hug Peggy and lean down to hug Jeremy in his chair. “It’s good to see you, brother.”

  He lifts his shoulders. “It’s good to see you too.”

  Their kids, Jaxon and Josie, have already raced out to the pool, and Jeremy stops me from walking on. “So how are you? Still fighting demons?”

  If it was anyone else, I’d probably get defensive about it, but not with Jeremy. Of all of us, he was the leader of the group. He lost both legs the day Jason died and Cole was hurt, but he wasn’t leaving until his whole troop was out of harm’s way. He almost died because of it, and he lost both legs. He’s probably fighting more demons than all of us. “It will always be there. You know that. But it’s getting easier.”

  He nods understandingly. “Tonight’s the night, huh? You doing okay? You ready?”

  I nod my head. “I’m more than ready.”

  Jeremy laughs and starts rolling his chair to the back yard. “It’s about time. Let’s get this show on the road then.”

  I follow behind him and look out at the yard. Jaxon and Josie are swimming in the pool. The women are all talking while Cora is holding little CJ in her arms. Man, it’s a sight to see. I can’t wait until she’s pregnant with our child. I clap my hands together. But first things first.

  “Thank you all for coming today. You don’t know what it means for Cora and me to have you in our lives.”

  Cora smiles and puts the baby in Hope’s arms to come stand next to me. We had talked about how I was going to say a few words so she’s not expecting a thing. “I couldn’t have made it all those years without you, Jeremy and Cole. We’ve been through a lot of shit together, and I’m so thankful to have had you all serving at my side. I know that Jason is looking down on us, happy that we’ve come this far.”

  Cole holds up a beer that he grabbed from the outdoor fridge. “Here, here.”

  “But there’s more. When the three of us got back after losing Jason, we were a mess. I don’t know how else to put it. I think it’s fair to say that none of us would have imagined being where we are now. Hope,” I say looking at the woman standing proudly next to Cole, holding on to his arm and looking up at his scarred face w
ith so much love I can feel it across the yard. “You brought our friend back to life. After everything, he wasn’t living, and none of us could reach him... but you did. You gave us our friend back and made him happy again.”

  I take a deep breath and look over at Jeremy and Peggy. Peggy’s already wiping at her eyes. “And to you, Peggy, Jeremy is so lucky to have you in his life. He pushed you away like he did the rest of us, but you weren’t having it. Your love for Jeremy gives new hope to the rest of us.”

  “Thank you, Patton,” she says as Jeremy puts his arm around her waist and pulls her onto his lap.

  I turn to Cora and look down into her eyes. They widen in surprise, and I know she wasn’t expecting this. “And, Cora, I don’t even know what to say. I love you more than I ever thought I was capable of. You make my life better, and even though I know I don’t deserve you, I can’t ever let you go. I want to spend the rest of my life loving you and making you happy.” She sniffles, and her eyes fill with tears. I drop to one knee in front of her, and she gasps. “Cora, will you do me the honor of being my wife?”

  “Yes, yes,” she says as she falls to her knees in front of me, holding on to me so tightly I can’t even get her to hold still. “Honey, I need to put my ring on your finger.” I laugh.

  She pulls back with tears in her eyes. “There’s something I need to tell you, Patton.” She wipes her face with the back of her hand.

  I nod as I put the ring on her finger. “You can tell me anything.”

  She cups my face in her hands and looks into my eyes. “I’m pregnant. You’re going to be a daddy.”

  Everyone erupts in cheers around us, and I stand up, hauling Cora to her feet. I hold on to her so tightly that she squeals, and I instantly release her. My hand goes to her flat stomach. “Are you okay? Did I hurt you?”

  She’s crying and laughing. “No, you didn’t hurt me.”

  Everyone gathers around and congratulates us, pulling me in for hugs and Cora too. We get separated, but I’m not going to let it happen for long. After hugging both my friends, I walk over to my fiancée, who is showing off her ring to Hope and Peggy. “Excuse me, ladies, I’m going to borrow her for just a minute. We’ll be right back.”

  I pick her up off her feet and take her into the house and lean her against the wall of the dining room. “How long have you known?”

  She lifts her shoulders. “Just a little over a week.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  She shrugs and averts her eyes.

  “No, baby, no secrets. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Because I know the kind of man you are, Patton. I didn’t want you to marry me because you felt like you had to.”

  I shake my head and clench my eyes shut. “Aww, baby, don’t you know? I want it all with you. I want to go to bed with you next to me each night and wake up with you in the morning. I want you to be the mother of our babies, and I want to spend the rest of my life showing you that I love you.”

  She rubs her hands through my beard and pulls me in for a kiss. “I do now. I love you, Patton.”

  A tremble shoots through my whole body. I have everything I could ever want right now with her. “I love you too, Cora.”

  Then I kiss her. Our friends can wait.

  Make sure you read all of the Heroes with Heart Series here: Heroes with Heart

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