Staking His Claim by Tessa Bailey Read Free Book Online Page B

been so fucking gone for her, bursting at the seams with lust and the need to please her, he wondered now if that had shaded his perception. His needs had been kept locked up so tight for so damn long. Sweated out of him nightly as he went round after round with the punching bag that hung suspended in his apartment. He hadn’t been prepared for her. Hadn’t had time to bring the urges down from a boiling point to the slow simmer he walked around with each day.
    He came to a stop at a red light just as another unwelcome image assailed him. A familiar woman, forcibly pushing him away, eyes filled with disgust. Get away from me. What is wrong with you? I don’t even know you anymore, Matt.
    Unease clogged his throat. Had he missed the signs with Sasha? Even worse, had he…ignored them? It had been so damn long since he’d allowed that side of him to surface, maybe he’d been too overcome with need to recognize that she’d wanted him to stop. What other explanation could there be for her sudden urgency to leave? If he’d had his way, they would still be in that motel room. He’d be fucking her in the shower, on the bed, on any available surface he could find. He sure as shit wouldn’t be getting ready to drop her off at a fucking Starbucks in Midtown.
    As soon as they’d gotten on the road, her plan had changed. She’d texted a “friend” who apparently thought it was easier if they met at yet another coffee shop. This friend thought their apartment would be too hard for them to find. He hadn’t bought it. He didn’t want to drop her off at all, but if he was being forced to leave her somewhere, he wanted to see her there safely.
    Maybe she’s scared of you and doesn’t want you to know where she’s staying.
    Matt swallowed that disturbing thought, hoping it wasn’t true. The light turned green and he eased off the brake. He wanted to see her again. Hell, he needed to. If only to make up for taking her from behind on the floor of a motel room. She deserved better than that. He wanted to be the one who gave it to her. Had he blown his only chance? This couldn’t be the last time he laid eyes on her. The very notion of their association ending in mere minutes felt undeniably wrong.
    Up ahead, the Starbucks came into view and he barely resisted the impulse to keep driving. All the way to his downtown apartment. How would she react? Not well , he thought, wryly. As much as she’d surrendered to him that afternoon, she was full of fire. Not the type to take lightly a man changing her plans without consulting her.
    With a brick in his stomach, Matt pulled his car to a stop outside the Starbucks. Right on cue, Sasha opened her eyes and gave an exaggerated stretch. “Good timing,” he said.
    She blinked innocently. “W-where are we?”
    Right. He sighed and climbed out of the car to retrieve her suitcase, all the while trying to figure out how to convince her to give him another chance. He could see her rounding the car through the back windshield, could see her nervous expression. Already, he could practically feel her slipping out of his reach. You did this. It’s your fault she can’t wait to get away from you.
    The second Sasha reached him, she curled her hand under the handle of the suitcase. “Thank you. I, um…appreciate the ride.”
    It was right on the tip of his tongue to tell her he wasn’t leaving. That he wouldn’t just drop her off in the middle of New York City and drive away. That it felt unnatural to leave her, period . But she continued to avoid his gaze, shifting nervously like she might break out into a sprint at any minute. It was worse than he’d anticipated. If he insisted on staying with her, it could increase the damage he’d already done.
    Having no other choice, Matt reached into the still-open trunk and retrieved his police notepad from the duffel bag he kept stored there. As she watched wide-eyed, he wrote his phone number down on a piece of paper and handed it to her. He knew