Damaged and the Outlaw (Damaged #4)

“No sex,” I mumbled. “If you want to stay tonight, I wouldn’t say no. I just can’t have you rubbing against my skin.”


Vaughn said nothing. He only stared so I turned back and closed my eyes. A few minutes passed before I felt the bed shift and he settled in behind me. Once the sheet was over us, Vaughn nuzzled my hair. He cuddled just behind me, but never touched me enough to cause any pain.

I fell asleep smiling at how careful the big hunk could be. My dream wasn’t as happy. Vaughn was missing and I was driving around town looking for him. I kept crashing my jeep and my mom was in the backseat yelling at me. When I woke, I still felt the panic of losing him.

Glancing back, I found Vaughn awake. He was thinking about his dying mom and a million other painful things. I turned over to face him and he gave me a weak smile. We watched each other for a few minutes then I asked what my groggy mind was wondering.

“Did you miss me?” I whispered.

Vaughn studied my face then nodded.

“Why didn’t you at least text me?” I whispered when he said nothing.

His thumb caressed my lower lip as he exhaled heavily. “I couldn’t tell you what I wanted to tell you, so I didn’t say anything at all.”

Placing a hand against his chest, I felt the rough hairs and warm skin.

“I understand,” I told him while cuddling closer. “I missed you too.”

Vaughn cupped my face with his strong hand. “Your skin is tender.”

Straddling him, I winced at the pain, but I didn’t stop. He was so beautiful and I’d missed him so much. Most of all, I didn’t know how much more time we had together.

“Let’s pretend,” I murmured into his ear. Vaughn watched me like he was lost and I offered him the way home. “The world outside this bed doesn’t exist. Everything before and everything that’s waiting to happen can’t touch us. There’s only you and me.”

Even in the darkness, I saw the tenderness in his smile. “A world with just you and me sounds good, sugar.”

Leaning down, I kissed him tenderly. Vaughn felt strong and powerful, but he was so careful all night. None of the hard fast fucking that we normally shared. Gently, he filled me again and again until we were blinded to everything ugly in the world. It was only us.





Chapter Sixteen - Vaughn


The phone sat nearby taunting me while I played house with Raven. I kept waiting for it to ring. Until it did and Caleb told me Mom was gone, I struggled with the urge to fly to Tucson and say goodbye to her and my life.

Raven did everything she could to keep me distracted. She walked around naked, claiming her skin was too tender for clothes. It wasn’t too tender for me though and I spent hours tasting the burned skin. When I had Raven in my arms, I could forget about Tucson. When I was inside her, I could think of the now in Ellsberg. When she said my name, I didn’t imagine my mother asking for me.

When she was away from me though, the urge to return to Tucson and face my fate was too strong to deny. Once I even headed for the door, but Raven jumped on my back.

“I’m so horny,” she purred in my ear. “If you fuck me, I’ll let you call me another dumbass nickname.”

Laughing and aroused, how could I tell her no? The girl knew how to get my mind off my past, but it took a toll on both of us. At one point while I stared at the baseball game and thought about the time my mom took me to a game, Raven handed me an ice pack for my crotch. As she reclined on the couch, she placed a hot water bottle on her pussy.

“I think I’m fucked out,” she said, grinning at me. “After dinner though, I’m going to strip for you.”

“You’ve been naked all day,” I mumbled, tossing the ice pack back in the kitchen and crawling to the couch. “I’ve seen it.”

“You don’t want me to dance for you?” she asked, looking hurt as I removed the hot water bottle.

“I know a way to soothe you.”

“No,” she said, but then felt silent as I gently sucked at her swollen lips. “Okay, that works.”

“I’d like to see you dance, Raven,” I said, licking her tender clit. “A lap dance too.”

“If this is how you tip, you can have as many lap dances as your cock can handle.”

“Shh, I’m trying to concentrate on fixing what I broke.”

Raven wanted to say something smartass. I saw the look in her eyes and the bitchy response was on the tip of her tongue. Instead, she just smiled and closed her eyes. I savored the sweet taste of her until she whimpered my name like I alone offered her salvation.

As tender as she was and as tense as I was, Raven didn’t disappoint with her striptease. Disappearing into the bedroom, she dressed in something skimpy and found the right song.