Hard Bastard(21)

“Come on, Gage,” I moaned. “Fuck my pussy. Fuck me, asshole.”

He groaned as he pulled out of me, stroking his cock. He came in thick spurts onto my stomach, groaning with intense pleasure.

Slowly, it was over. He collapsed back against the car, breathing deeply. “Fuck girl,” he said. “I don’t know how you do that.”

“I was wondering the same thing.”

He grinned then reached into the car, grabbing his underwear. He used it to help clean me up, kissing my lips gently.

I got dressed, feeling better than I had in a long time. There was no fear in my mind, nothing holding me back, nothing distracting me. There was only the night air and Gage.

We sat in the back seat, his arms around me, and we watched the stars. We sat like that for maybe a half hour until I realized how badly I needed to get home.

He drove us back. We made small talk about our lives since we last saw each other, and it was more comfortable than I could have guessed. There was no urgency, it was just two people talking about their lives and being together.

“I’m going to be tired tomorrow,” I said, laughing.

“Me too.” He shrugged. “It’s worth it.”

“Yeah.” I smiled and kissed him gently. “See you.”

“Night.”

I got out of the car and walked into the hotel, floating, elated.

I felt good, so good, and it was because of Gage. I didn’t know what any of this meant, but I knew that I had to see him again. I couldn’t walk away from this, not again, not if I could help it. Maybe there were reasons that held me back initially, but those reasons weren’t important anymore.

Only how he made me feel mattered.



I was absolutely freaking exhausted the next morning.

The night before was just a memory as I hurried into the courthouse, a cup of coffee in one hand and my files and folders shoved into my bag. I walked fast, almost late for the hearing.

Rick Shakeman was sitting at the table and looked up as I came in. He gave me a look and I gave him an exasperated half shrug. “You look tired,” he said as I sat down.

“Long night.”

“You get any sleep?”

I nodded. “Sure. Just not enough.”

“Well, don’t worry about it. I’ll take lead on this hearing, but after this, you’re on your own.”

“Got it. I understand.”

It was just a preliminary hearing, just basically reading the charges and making sure that Mr. Evgeni Popov understood the charges against him. Mr. Popov was sitting at the table to our left with his ridiculously expensive lawyer who was obvious being paid by the mafia, since his client definitely couldn’t afford him.

Everyone knew that Popov was involved in the mafia. There was clearly no question of it, but we couldn’t completely prove his connections through the law. Instead, we were forced to bring other charges against him and put him away for those, despite everyone knowing the truth about him.

That was how our justice system worked. We couldn’t accuse him of something just because we thought it was obvious, we had to have proof, clear and solid proof. That was how our system worked, and I was happy for it. Otherwise, it was anarchy.

I got out my files and flipped through them. It was going to be over pretty quickly. I didn’t know the judge, but Rick had assured me that he was a decent guy and wouldn’t let these stupid procedural hearings drag on. The judge hadn’t come out just yet, but I knew that he was in the back preparing. He wanted to get this over with too, since he probably had ten other hearings this morning, and the faster he got through them, the faster he could go home.

Just then, Rick cleared his throat. I looked up at him then he nodded toward the back of the courtroom. I turned around and watched as a bunch of men walked into the room.

I knew from the instant they entered that they were mobsters. I’d seen the type before: big, cocky, and confident. They looked like hard men, despite the suits, and they were all covered in tattoos. The man in the front was tall and had a dour face, followed by a fat man that I thought I recognized. The man behind him also looked familiar, and I figured it was just because I had seen them in the files that Rick had sent over.

Then the last man entered, and I went entirely still. The man stared back at me, a look of surprise evident on his face.

It was Gage, dressed in a suit, and coming in to support Evgeni Popov, obvious mobster.

I stared at him but he quickly looked away, the surprise gone from his face.

I felt like my whole body was frozen in place. I couldn’t move and I couldn’t breathe. Gage had just walked in with a bunch of gangsters, and I felt so stupid, so fucking stupid that I hadn’t seen this coming. It didn’t even occur to me. I just never thought of it. I trusted him, believed in him. Hell, I wanted him.