Breaking Her Bad by Michelle Mankin

 

 

 

 

 

Claire

“Your mom has changed,” Kyle said, glancing up at me through strands of his wet hair.

“Change of some sort is inevitable given what she’s been through.”

Standing between his legs, I reached for the cotton ball and peroxide. I’d laid them on the counter while he showered.

Sadly, he hadn’t been up for showering together. More sadly, I’d peeked through the gap between the tile wall and the shower curtain and seen why. His gorgeous muscular body was a kaleidoscope of bruises.

“What you have been through too,” he said low. His voice echoed beautifully in the small space. “I wish I’d been there for you this summer.”

“I wish you had too, but we’re together now. Unlike my mom, thankfully I didn’t lose the man I loved.”

I poured hydrogen peroxide on a cotton ball and dabbed at the worst of Kyle’s wounds. He hissed at the sting but remained still.

“I hate that they did this to you.” My jaw tightened. “Martin’s your uncle. How could he do this just because you were with me?”

“I think it’s more than that.” He sighed. “It’s my mom, his sister, who he wanted to control but couldn’t. It’s also about Addy. He’s obsessed with her but can’t have her.”

My brow furrowed. “Controlling you was his way to control what he couldn’t. He was trying to rewrite the past.”

“Right, babe.” Kyle nodded. “I think controlling people is all he knows. That and power and greed.”

“He’s a twisted, messed-up person.”

Kyle’s gaze darkened. “He admitted to running my parents’ car off the road.”

“Oh no.” My eyes widened. “I wondered how he was there to pull you out. We need to call the police. Tell them—”

He waved a hand, cutting me off. “No, babe. It wouldn’t change anything. Martin has cops, lawyers, and judges loyal to him. He’d only weasel his way out of it, if I could even get them to reopen the case.” Kyle wrapped his fingers around my arms. “It’s over. It’s in the past. Let’s not focus on the hate. I want to focus on the future. On us.”

Kyle moved his hands to my hips. On my skin, they were warm and large, his grip masterful. A pleasurable shiver rolled through me.

We were alone. Bob was across the hall in their room. I was wearing one of Kyle’s shirts for bed, only a thong underneath. Kyle was in his boxers. Sure, his body was all bruised, but it was Kyle’s body. Bruised or not, it was divine.

“So, you can still love me,” he asked, “even knowing I’m related to someone as twisted as Martin?”

“Yes. He didn’t make you who you are,” I said firmly. “You did. And everything you are, I love.”

“And I love you.” His gaze lightened from my words.

“Are you okay knowing your mom kept her identity secret from you?” I asked.

“Yeah. I get why she did.” He looked away for a moment, thoughtful. “Or at least I think I do.” He refocused on me. “Martin was my mom’s brother, but she chose my father over him and her parents, over all that wealth.”

“I think you’re right.” I thought it over for a second while dabbing at his last cut. “And Miranda didn’t just choose your father, she chose you too.”

Kyle’s silver eyes flared. “I never thought of it that way.”

“Miranda was Addy’s best friend at one time. I think she made mistakes. We all do, but she loved the people in her life the best she could. Don’t you agree?”

“Yes, I can certainly relate to doing the best you can with the hand you’re dealt.” His voice was rough, and his fingers flexed deeper into the skin over my hips.

“Want some pain reliever?” I asked, tossing the cotton ball in the trash.

“I already took some when you were talking to Bob.”

“Oh.” My mouth rounded. “I didn’t notice.”

“You provided an excellent diversion so I could slip into the shower to get the blood cleaned off before he saw me.”

Studying him, I wrinkled my nose. “Not sure the cleanup improved the situation much.”

“Well.” Kyle’s lips twisted, stretching the cut in the bottom one. “He’s seen me in worse condition.”

No doubt Bob had after Strader’s guys worked Kyle over. But had there been worse than that? My hands curled into fists. I didn’t like thinking about Kyle alone in a harsh world.

“Don’t go back to the hate.” Kyle captured my hands, covering my fingers with his. Warmth, his warmth, washed the anger away.

“I love you.” I aimed my lips at the crown of his head. It seemed the only non-injured area.

“You can go for my lips if you’re gentle.”

He lifted his chin, and I brushed my mouth across his, then eased back, watching with fascination his eyelids slowly fluttering in pleasure before they opened.

“That was nice,” he said, his roughened voice adding to the heat already simmering inside me. “Makes the pain go away.”

“Happy to be of service.” My mouth curved. “Is there anywhere else I can kiss to make it better?”

He pointed to a spot on his right cheek.

“All right.” I softly pressed a kiss to his skin.

“There’s one other place.” He gave me an arch look.

“Are you really up for that?” Glancing at the closed and locked bathroom door, I considered it.

“I am, I assure you.”

I licked my lips, and his gaze dropped to my mouth.

“Babe,” he said low. “You’re killing me.”

“Not yet. But I will.”

When I dropped to my knees between his spread legs, he whipped my borrowed shirt over my head. My nipples went instantly hard from the pinch of cooler room air.

I wrapped my fingers around his cock at the base. He pressed his lips together, suppressing a groan. Watching him through my lashes, I licked the hot, velvety length of him from root to end.

Kyle’s features were taut. He looked hungry, and it made me feel powerful and sexy that it was me that fed his hunger.

“Salty,” I whispered, licking my lips as I tasted him, and he shuddered.

My clit throbbing, I swirled my tongue around the bulbous end. He wrapped my hair around his hand. I sucked him and jacked him in my hand. He was too big to get all of him in my mouth, but he didn’t seem to mind my workaround. His cock leaped in my mouth, and his fingers tightened in my hair.

When I moved faster, sucking him harder, Kyle tugged urgently on my hair. Wetness dripped from me. Turning him on turned me on. The muskiness of his arousal filled my nostrils, and I felt him get harder in my mouth. I sucked faster, throbbing harder between my legs.

“Claire,” he whispered, his voice ragged.

His cock stiffened, and the saltiness of him touched my tongue. I wanted to cry out as he ejaculated hot and thick in my mouth. My sex clenching rhythmically, I came as he did.

Kyle gently lifted me up by my elbows after I swallowed every drop. The excess on my face, he lovingly kissed from my skin.