MASON (Second Chance Novels Book 2) (22 page)

The pizza in front of us is cooling, but the opposite is happening with us. Sofia, as always, is right there with me. She sets her plate down and spins her body so she's straddling me on the couch. I lean into her so I can reach the table and set my own plate down. Returning to my comfortable position on the couch, I rest my hands on the sexy curves of her hips. She grabs my face in both hands.
 

"I don't want you to hide from me like you do from the rest of the world," she says with more intensity than I expected. "I'm not asking for myself. I love you either way. But you…I see how your old life is affecting you, so I say we drag it out and we take it on. That's how we do things."

Looking her straight in the eye, I can say nothing…because she's everything. And she's right, but tonight isn't the night we solve anything. Right now I only want to show her how much I need her strength. I reach up and untie her halter causing her entire top to fall around her waist. I cup her breasts and drag my thumbs heavily across her nipples, watching them tighten for me.
 

"I know," I tell her. "We will."

She nods and pushes her tits harder into my hands. She fucking rules my world with the look in her eyes. Her hands move to squeeze mine, forcing me to grip her breasts harder in my hands. "Let me show you," she whispers to me. "I'm strong enough to handle you." She leans forward to kiss my shoulder, but instead bites down hard.

I clench my jaw and inhale sharply through my teeth. She should not be taking me where she's going. I've fucked her hard before, but always with restraint. I never want to hurt her, and I know she's been physically hurt before. She's asking, but I don't know how far I can take this without damaging her, but
damn
. That bite makes me want to throw her down and finally let loose with her. I'm so fucking torn…

She bites me again, digs her nails in hard, and grinds her hips against me. I'm not sure I've ever been this fucking turned on in my life.
 

"I know what I want, Master Sergeant," she breaths against my neck before she grips my head and jerks me back. "Show me how it's done."

"Do you have any idea…" I grit, giving her the out she should take. She's playing with fire, but my phoenix is made of fire. Holy fucking hell.

"What the fuck are you waiting for, soldier?" she says harshly.
 

I grip her hips hard and snap her strongly into me. I don't want to stop and think about how easily she's manipulating me right now. I don't want to notice her intelligence. I can't pause to appreciate her understanding of me. All I know is that Sofia DiGiacamo is pushing every single button in just the right way to get the response she's looking for, and I'm reacting to every impulse she's pressing. I fucking love this woman, and if she wants me to show her how it's done, I'm happy to educate.
 

"Let go of my fucking head," I growl. She drops her hands immediately and I clench my jaw again. "You think you know what you want?"

I reach up and grab her hair and jerk her head back more sharply than she did mine. With my other hand I drag my nails down her throat then grip her neck in my hand.
 

"Is that what you need?" she asks without fear or hesitation. She has unconditional trust in me.

"Damn it, Sofia," I rasp as I look at my fingers gripped at her jugular. I shake my head, trying to clear up my thoughts. I let go of her neck. She drops her head back and rests limp against my arm behind her. Her arms fall idly at her sides. I'm so fucking cranked right now, and she's playing dead.

"Don't do that," I say in anger. "You can't start this then give up!" I'm so fucking conflicted I'm not making any sense.

She grabs my jaw and forces me to look at her crocodile smile. "Now
that's
an officer," she grits out. "Be who you are, Master Sergeant Pratt. Quit forcing yourself to be anything else. Not with me."

I grab her hair with both hands and I jerk her face toward mine. I'm angry, feeling the old rush, and ready to push limits. My only choice is to give in.

"A Master Sergeant is called
sir
," I nearly hiss through my teeth.
 

Sofia smiles slowly like the cheshire. "Yes, sir."

Fuck. Me. Raw.

With strong arms and a quick push, I stand her up in front of me. I'm in her face in a moment, ready to run this fucking show. Instinct, skill, and core-deep truth break free in front of her. She's half naked, and that's half not enough.
 

"Strip."

"Yes, sir," she says with such strength. She may be allowing me to take charge, but she's no damn submissive. I love to watch my phoenix fly. She strips quickly and without ceremony, looking me in the eye the entire time. She is so goddamn beautiful. I get in her face again and she stands at the ready, taking anything I need to give.

"You have quite an attitude."

"Yes, sir."

"And you think you know me so well."

"I do, sir."

"How the
fuck
do you think you can understand any of this?" I say loudly with the cadence of a commander. This isn't a game to me. Part of me is furious she's forcing a familiar outlet.

"If I didn't understand, you wouldn't be giving me orders and ready to fuck me 'til I hurt."

"That's: fuck me 'til I hurt
…sir
," I correct acidly, pissed that she nailed me again.
 

I don't care if she repeats my correction like a soldier should. She's not a soldier. I don't even fucking care if she wants to play soldier. I have no confusion over this. I don't need her to beg me permission for anything. I don't need to control her at all. This is no game to me, but she brought every cell of my old self alive, and now I need to
handle
this woman.

I grab her wrists and push her hard against the wall. Her back sounds a strong thud and her head hits sharply against the drywall. Sofia stares me in the eye, strong…and I swear she's the one handling me. Fuck, I don't know what to do with this woman. I trap her solidly against the wall with my entire body and I hold her there for too long, neither of us moving or talking. I can see in her eyes she's had enough of my holding back.

"Listen, Mase," she grits at me.

"No YOU fucking listen," I shout, pushing her hard against the wall with my hand around her throat again. I know she could easily break away, but she doesn't. She only stares at me, her eyes flared and her pupils dilated.
 

"I can crush you if I want to," I grit in her face.

"No you can't," she defies.
 

I clench my jaw and nearly growl at her. "…No you can't, SIR!"

"No you can't…
SIR
…unless you have the balls to do it," she spits back. She's pushing more buttons than she did before. "Give it to me."

She's glaring, daring me to feel what I keep pushing down. At this point, I don't have much choice. I've had enough conversation…so I spin her quickly so she's facing the wall and I hold her there with my chest and hips. Then, needing to get out of these shorts, I press my elbow too-hard into her back while I drop what little clothing I've been wearing. Those shorts could barely hold my erection anyway.
 

I lace my fingers quickly through hers and slam her hands against the wall hard, gripping painfully. All the anger, all the angst long-accumulated in my system gets released against her shoulder. I bite harder than I mean to. Sofia makes a noise of shock, but betrays no pain. I bite harder.
 

"Too long," I grunt. "I held on too goddamn long."

"I'll take it," she rasps in front of me. I should have let my anger go a long time ago.
Oh, Sofia, I'm sorry you're receiving this.
I let go of one of her hands, and grip and drag along her body, leaving harsh red marks as I go. I dig my fingers far too hard. How can I be doing this?
 

"More…" she moans.
 

"More,
sir
," I correct again, unable to keep the lines of my past and present from blurring anymore.

I can't believe she's asking to take my anger from me. What the hell am I doing? It's too late, though, she already pushed me here. She wants me here, so I twist my entire fist up in her gorgeous hair and hold her in place while I nearly attack her entire body. I lick and bite at her neck harshly and quickly while my free hand digs deep in her skin and grips hard between her legs. I use my feet to kick hers further apart. She's moaning heavily.
 

"More, sir," she asks, her voice demonstrating the strength of the sensations I'm pushing across her body, and her own strength as well. I grip her pussy harder, sharply lifting her to her toes as I do. An acute noise of shock pushes from her chest, and she begs for more again.
 

No longer pinning her to the wall, I pull her against me and wrap both arms around her. She moves her arms up and around my head. I grind my palm against her clit and dig the fingers of my other hand into her breast. I feel like such a bastard, but she's responding to every touch like she's clinging to my strength. I know exactly how fiercely she loves me.

Suddenly I push her to the floor in front of me and I'm on top of her in a moment, right there in the living room. I smack her ass hard before I flip her to her back and pin her down. I face her angrily, still feeling so much of the frustration from my past pushing strongly into my present. I worked so damn hard to keep that anger back, but Sofia broke me. But here, with her, I'm strong, I'm victorious, I'm understood. The best part of my world which was taken from me…she's giving it back. She trusts me, relies on my strength, understands my intelligence, and allows me to lead. She follows by choice, and never with weakness. I love her for everything she is.
 

I pinch each nipple then pull her leg around me. I smack her hip sharply, because the tension in every muscle needs to be released. Again she makes a sharp noise of surprise, but follows with a moan rather than a cry. I fucking smack her again. What an asshole.

"More, sir…"

Asshole or not, Sofia is offering what I need, so I give her more. Running on full instinct now and letting my entire body go, I get my hands under her arms and shove her sharply into position under me. I slam into her…and she's so wet. Taking me on got her hotter than I've ever felt her. Holy shit, this woman. Understanding everything about this fuck, I slam hard, push strong, and grind painfully. Sofia is moaning and begging below me.
 

"Sir…" she cries. Unreal, what she's doing for me.

My body and mind mesh in a perfect, interlocking connection as I plunder this woman who mirrors me in every way that matters. I smack her hip again and bite her harder. I grunt, shout, swear at her, and give her orders, all while gripping her wrists and locking her down. I fuck her so hard my hips lift hers with every thrust. I allow her only what movement I want from her, and focus my strength on giving her everything of myself. I won't allow her to give back. Not tonight.
 

My mood soars up then falls again, remembering my past and conquering my demons, then facing the reality of my present, all amplified by the beautiful, fiery phoenix I'm fucking too hard. This moment is the apex of my world: present and past, dream and nightmare, beauty and disgust, action and repose…all resting on Sofia.

Unable to move below me, she has no choice but to receive the rough pleasure I'm forcing too-strongly into her body. I'm offering her harsh intensity, but still, the strength of my passionate assault is taking her to a place of satisfaction. I grind into her relentlessly, until I listen to her climax. The sound of her breathless voice whispering "Thank you, sir" is my undoing.
 

I come inside her so powerfully I nearly lose consciousness.
Epic
isn't strong enough to describe Sofia's effect on me. Every part of me has been emptied of my anger and tension. Breathless myself, I rest over her and kiss her neck softly. I soothe the marks on her skin with my lips and reach to take her face in my hand.
 

"Are you ok?" I ask, having a difficult time with the knowledge I hurt her. I see the marks on her shoulder and I see her hair twisted at hard angles away from her head. I don't want to look at the rest of her, but my beautiful phoenix smiles at me.

"I love you," she says quietly. "And now I can
see
you."

I chuff half a laugh and look down at the floor beside her. "Hell of a view, huh."

She takes my face in both hands and directs my head so I'll look at her again. "I want to see
more
."

Exhausted, stripped bare, flayed to the bone, and lying here thoroughly exposed, there's no longer a reason to hide. This fucking woman shredded me. I look at her and nod. Then I get up silently and reach for her hand. She follows me to the bedroom where I lay her down again. Gently this time I caress her skin and take care of different needs, for both of us. I spend time softly kissing all the marks I left. I attend to the woman I love, and try to soften the bastard I am.