Bone (Redemption Ink Book 4) Read online

  Bone

  Redemption Ink: Book 4

  Flora Madison

  Copyright © 2020 by Flora Madison

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  —————————————————————

  As always, I appreciate you reading to the end. Without your eyes, I’m nothing!

  XoXo,

  Flora Madison

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  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Epilogue: Bone

  Epilogue: Astrid

  Also by Flora Madison

  1

  Bone

  I’ve always been a man of few words. For me, action is a more effective method. Due to my size I don’t usually have to say much, anyway. People are scared of me which makes having to have a conversation null and void. Except now, seeing Astrid, the barista at the coffee shop next door to Redemption Ink, sitting alone, I wish I could find the words to tell her how I feel about her. She’s so smart, kind and drop dead gorgeous. And unfortunately, every time I’m around her, I’m totally tongue tied.

  I’ve never seen a more beautiful woman in my whole life. The minute I saw her, standing behind the counter prepping us guys’ coffee order, I knew she was the only woman for me. That pink haired honey with the thick thighs and curves round and juicy enough to make your mouth water was meant to be mine.

  The DJ’s speakers blare at the front of the banquet hall. Astrid’s face is glued to her phone. Her co-worker just crossed the dance floor, headed to the bathroom maybe? Now’s my chance, but I can’t seem to get my feet to move. What the hell? I’ve been in prison fights, stared down the barrel of a gun, took the fall for a crime I didn’t commit, letting the world think I was guilty, and I can’t talk to a girl?

  I crack my knuckles in front of my chest. Astrid’s head raises at the same time. Before she has a chance to meet my eyes, I turn away from her and run smack into my buddy, Titus. His suit’s undone and he’s holding a beer.

  “Where’s the new ball and chain?” I tease. Taryn, his new bride, is anything but. He’s so in love with her it’ll make your head spin.

  Titus shrugs and puts his hand on my shoulder, gives it a shake. “The more important question is, why are you letting Astrid sit over there all alone?”

  I shake my head and shrug, brushing my hair away from my face. Titus and the other guys know about my hopeless crush on Astrid. They rarely bring it up, mainly because they know I can wrestle them to the ground and make them beg for mercy—not that I would. Especially now. They’ve all found the women of their dreams and I can’t even go up and talk to mine.

  “Now’s your chance, man. Why do you think I invited her?”

  “You invited her for me?”

  “Well, she’s a nice gal. She seems to have nice taste. I’m sure she got us a nice gift.” Titus shrugs, scratching at the silver sprigs of hair near his temple. “Of course I invited her for you, Bone. You’re madly in love with her. It’s kind of hard to watch.”

  “Shut the hell up.” I press my fist into Titus’ nice suit. He holds out his beer to keep it from spilling. Oops, too rough. I roll up the sleeves on my white button down shirt, exposing a roadmap of ink. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “You could talk about the wedding. You could talk about tattoos or coffee, or that homeless guy that hangs outside of the tattoo shop.”

  “Slimy Pete?” An image of the skinny, toothless man pops into my head. “He’s had a rough life, bro.”

  “Bone, I was kidding.”

  “I know that, dick.” I peer back over in her direction. She looks unbelievable tonight in her hot pink dress that matches her hair. It hugs her curves like it’s painted on. I love Astrid’s retro-throwback vibe. She’s like a pin-up girl from the fifties.

  “It’s a wedding, Bone. Ask her to dance.”

  I scoff. “Titus, I don’t dance— “ My words are cut short by Titus’ son, Ty, crawling up the side of me, a perfect distraction. I hoist the kid over my shoulder and take him to the dance floor. When I’m stressed, I lift weights. Right now, this will have to be the next best thing.

  The music plays and I toss Ty around. Tension leaves my body and the little boy’s laughter makes me smile. When the song is over Ty rushes to the bar to get a soda. I brush a little dampness from my brow and when I turn I nearly run smack dab into Astrid.

  “Oh!” Her hand slaps against her chest, which takes my eye straight to her pillowy cleavage. “Please, don’t try to throw me around like you did with that little one over there.” She flicks her head in Ty’s direction. “I’ve got a few pounds on him.”

  “You’re gorgeous.” The words fly out of my mouth. Astrid flushes the same color as her dress.

  “Wow…thanks?” Her brows furrow, and she extends her hand. “My name’s Astrid. I work at the—”

  “I know who you are.” I sound serious, but it’s just my nerves. She slides her soft fingers into my hand, making me rock hard before I know what’s happening. She’s electricity and I’m a wet fucking power outlet about to blow.

  “And I know who you are too, Bone.” She leans in a little closer. “If that is your real name.”

  “It’s what people call me.”

  She pulls her hand back and it’s like my world’s been stripped from me. “Then I guess that makes it as real as any other name.”

  “Do you want a drink?” I ask. “I’m paying.” My attempt at a joke.

  Her amber eyes flit across my face. I take in her creamy skin, the delicate nose ring looped around her right nostril—so thin, you’d only see it up close. “No, no…I insist. Let me get this round.” She winks at me, and allows my hand to graze her lower back as we walk to the open bar.

  The thumping bass of the music is nothing compared to the beating of my heart. Before this night is over, Astrid’s going to know how I feel about her. Not because I’m going to tell her, because I’m going to show her the only way I know how, with raw and primal physical contact.

  2

  Astrid

  I cannot believe the hot as hell, mammoth tattoo artist from next door wants to have a drink with me. It’s hard to breathe walking next to him, his gigantic paw of a hand grazing my lower back. My mind flutters. It’s like I’m having an out of body experience. I’ve been craving a piece of this Incredible Hulk body double since he walked into the coffee shop nearly a year ago…and then never came back in. It was one of the other three guys always making coffee runs. I thought I did something wrong. Clearly, tonight I did something right.

  I peer at Bone from the corner of my eye. I’m a delicate, fragile flower in the wind compared to his overpowering presence. He leads with his barrel chest, chin lowered so that a mass of dark blonde hair hanging in his face covers one eye. Shaved up the sides, even his head has tattoos on it. Thank God there are none on his face, they would take away from his beauty.

  I sound like a star-struck groupie.

  The bartender’s eyes widen at Bone’s size. I puff my own chest up a bit, excited and turned on to be seen with him. I love bad boys. They’re my weakness. And if Bone isn’t the physical prototype for a bad boy, then I don’t know
who is.

  His arctic gray eyes land on mine, his glance making me shiver. “What do you want?”

  “Champagne,” I say. Bone nods and holds up two fingers. I lick my lips watching him. His perfectly trimmed facial hair accentuates his prominent chin with the slightest hint of a dimple. Talk about luck, Bone was blessed with beauty and brawn. I’m not letting him get away from me tonight. I can’t wait to feel all of that muscular weight on top of me, pinning me down.

  “What?” Bone’s hand swipes at his jaw.

  “What, what?”

  “You were staring at me.”

  “Oops.” I tease. I’m sure he gets this all the time. Leading with that “you’re gorgeous” routine. Lucky for him, not only have I decided that I’d sleep with him in a heartbeat if ever given the chance, but weddings make me frisky in general. Love in the air can really amp up the pheromones.

  The bartender gives us our drinks, and we clink glasses. He holds eye contact when we do, but immediately looks away before leading me over to a high top table. For the longest time, we stand there in silence—long enough to make me feel the need to fill it with small talk.

  “It’s getting hot out.” I press my glasses up on my face, trying not to look too dorky.

  “It’s summer.”

  “Yeah,” I agree, then take a long swig of my drink. This conversation is painful. But as long as it ends tangled in sheets, I don’t care. I watch the few remaining guests cut a rug on the dance floor. The party’s nearly over, so I need to seal this deal.

  I open my mouth to speak, turning back to Bone, and when I do I catch him staring at my breasts. Full-out, nearly drooling. He doesn’t see me, so I press them together, giving him a better view. His eyes dart to mine and my breath catches in my throat. I’m not usually this forward, but success is when preparation (wanting Bone to jump my bones) meets opportunity (me not-so-accidentally running into him on the dance floor), and baby I’m going to win. Besides I haven’t been with anyone in a very long time. I need this.

  “I thought you had a friend here.” Bone leans closer so I can hear him over the music. His earthy aroma fills the air, sandalwood. My panties erupt in wetness.

  “My co-worker, Laney.” I shake my head and lean in, letting my lips graze the tip of his ear. “She left.”

  “Good.” His firm voice commands. “Because I’m taking you home.”

  Bingo!

  I toss my hot pink ringlets over my shoulder. It took me nearly two hours to get these Victory rolls right. The square neck on my dress really does show off my rack. Now, I just have to figure out how to wiggle out of Spanx in a sexy way…

  “That’s very presumptuous of you, sir.”

  “Excuse me?”

  I playfully roll my eyes. Of course he’s a little dim. Look at the size of him. “Presumptuous. You know, like brazen? Overconfident.”

  For the first time since we’ve been talking, a smile twitches at the sides of his mouth. He narrows those honest-to-God gray eyes of his before leaning in. His hot breath on my neck sends heat waves straight to my center.

  “I know what presumptuous means, Astrid. In fact, that’s very presumptuous of you to think that I don’t.” I pull my head back, and at the same time his hand moves to my waist. He presses his full lips against my ear. My eyes roll back in my head when he speaks. “It’s also presumptuous of you to think I want to sleep with you. Maybe I just want to make sure you get home safe.”

  A tiny laugh escapes my mouth. Talk about a surprise. The man, known only as Bone, has a sense of humor. I like that. It’ll make tonight’s excursion even more exciting.

  “Let’s get out of here.” I press myself closer to him, the pulsing ache in my core growing hotter, more insistent with every passing moment. “We can go to my place.”

  Bone licks his full lips, pulling them into a perfect o-shape. He shakes his head, eyes narrowing. “No, Astrid. I don’t think so.”

  My mouth drops open. Did I truly read this wrong? Holy shit, is he some kind of do-gooder? Or even worse, just a bored and lonely guy at a reception? I struggle to keep my face from showing any form of emotion, even though inside I kind of want to scream. I can’t be rejected by another bad boy. I told myself that this time, I’d be the one to walk away first.

  And I’m about to do just that when Bone presses his soft lips against mine, gentle yet unmistakably commanding. I lose myself in his embrace. When I finally find the strength to open my eyes, it’s hard to find my breath.

  “What was all that ‘no’ talk, sir?”

  He growls into my mouth. “I meant no, I don’t want to go to your place because I have a room upstairs.” His hardness presses into me, soaking my center. “I can’t wait that long, Astrid. If I don’t have you right here and now, I’ll lose my goddamn mind.”

  3

  Bone

  I want to throw her over my shoulder and run as fast as I can to the room, but I’m not sure if she’s into that sort of thing. Instead, I grab her by the hand and lead her toward the elevator. My length throbs against my pants with every step. We can’t get to the room fast enough. My fantasy of having Astrid all to myself, showing her how I feel about her, is about to come true.

  The elevator’s waiting for us. Once we’re inside, and finally alone, our bodies lock together like two magnets. I devour her mouth, parting her lips with my tongue and tasting every inch of her. I press myself against her, pinning her to the wall. “I can see why they call you Bone,” she says as my cock jerks against her leg.

  Her hand slides down the side of my dress pants, stopping to give my ass a squeeze. “Open your mouth for me, Astrid.” Her amber eyes glow with excitement. I weave my hand behind her neck and trail my tongue across her parted lower lip, before nibbling on it enough to make my woman gasp. If I can’t tell her how I feel about her, I have to show her she’s mine and only mine.

  I find my way up her skirt, straight to the inner seam of her panties. My fingers dip inside, tracing a line up and down her slick center. “You’re already so wet, baby.” I whisper into her mouth. Astrid shudders beneath my touch. I bring my finger to my lips and give them a suck. Her eyes widen in surprise as the elevator dings.

  I grab her hand and lead her to my room. The key card in my pocket seems like it’s buried three feet deep. My cock strains against my pants and we both wait for that green light on the keypad to give us the go. When it does, we both breathe a sigh of relief.

  The second the door’s closed, her fingers fumble with my buttons. Her hungry mouth nips and sucks at my lips, tangling her tongue with mine. She kicks off her shoes and rises on her tiptoes to unhinge my shirt from my shoulders, sliding the sleeves down my arms. With narrowed eyes and a curled lip, Astrid digs her fingernails into my pecs, causing me to shiver and tighten.

  “You’re so fucking hot, Bone.” She caresses the sides of my arms, I grip her wrists and stare her dead in her honeyed eyes.

  “I’m going to fuck you so hard, you’ll be begging me to stick it in your ass just to give your pretty little pussy a break.” Astrid’s mouth falls open before spreading into a wide grin. “Now take off your dress and show me those gorgeous breasts of yours.”

  Astrid reaches for her zipper, but hesitates. Her teeth gnash into her bottom lip, smeared pink from her lipstick. “Turn around.”

  I do a double take. “No, Astrid. I want to see every inch of you. Every nook and cranny.”

  Astrid rolls her eyes. “Bone, I’m wearing Spanx. I’d rather you not watch this part.”

  “Okay. What are those?”

  “Just fucking turn around.” One hand rests on her hip while her finger draws a circle in the air. I throw my hands up and do as I’m told. “I promise it’s nothing you’ll miss. If anything…” She grunts. “I’m making things easier for you.”

  My cock feels like it’s about to burst. “Are you done?”

  “You can turn around now.”

  When I do, the top of her dress is draped down over her shoulders,
and her glasses are off. She hoists up her ample cleavage. Knowing I’m going to bury my face in those perfect melon shaped breasts of hers sends my feet racing toward her.

  I pull her dress down over her breasts. Astrid unclasps her bra and lets it fall to the floor as I feast on one of her pink peaks. Her hand fists the back of my hair, suffocating me with her gigantic breast. My hand slides up the inside of her dress, still lingering around her waist, and my eyes widen. “You took off your panties.”

  “I told you that removing my Spanx would only help you out.” I coat my finger in her juices. A moan escapes her mouth as I press into her, deep, up to my knuckle. My thumb swirls her engorged nub, her juices running down my wrist. With her breast in my mouth and my finger pleasing her, it’s like I’ve died and gone to heaven.

  But it’s still not enough.

  I stop what I’m doing, pull the dress down over her hips and bring my face to her glistening mound. Astrid spreads her legs for me as the tip of my tongue stretches between her folds. I spread her wider, taking her sensitive bud into my mouth and giving it a long, hard suck.

  My finger dips inside of her once more. Her pelvis grinds against my face, coating me with her desire. And I can’t get enough. “Your pussy is mine.” I growl, twisting my finger toward her most sensitive spot. “Say it, Astrid.”

  “It’s yours.” Astrid moans. “Oh my God, it’s so yours.” Her grinding grows rougher against me, I don’t let up until her pelvis lurches forward and a long moan escapes her mouth. Her lips twitch against mine and she releases all over me. I lap her up long after the moment’s passed.

  “I can’t stop tasting you.” My top lip quivers as I kiss all the way up her body, taking an extra moment along her strawberry pink peaks, still hard with excitement.