Chapter Sixteen
Aspen
Tears filled my eyes again. He was offering me everything I’d ever wanted. My father never wanted me to marry a club brother. But it was what I knew. I trusted his men. I trusted Banshee.
“I was never his old lady.”
“What?”
“Pepper never claimed me. I never wore his patch. He never even slept with me. I was his wife in name only.”
Banshee sat back on his heels. “Were you a virgin when...?”
I smiled at the concerned look on his face, knowing what he was asking. “No, and before you ask, I will not tell you who.”
I knew if Banshee found out it was one of my father’s men that had taken my virginity, despite it being consensual, he would lose his mind. I was thankful my father had never found out. Otherwise, Erebus might be dead.
His eyes narrowed at me. I realized quickly that by telling him, he’d figured out it was one of my father’s men. Before he could ask who, which I knew he was gearing up to do, I kissed him.
The moment our mouths fused together, all thoughts of other men disappeared. Banshee’s focus was back on me, on my body, as his hands ran up my thighs and he lifted off his feet and spread my legs, allowing him to move closer on his knees.
I lifted my shirt and removed my bra. His groan sounded pained as he sucked my nipple into his mouth. My fingers tangled in his hair, and I pulled him back and stared into his eyes.
“You promised fast and hard.”
He growled as he stood and removed his jeans. His boxers came next, and I licked my lips at the sight of his hard cock. Reaching out, he caught my hand. “Fast and hard,” he reiterated, then pushed me back.
I quickly scooted back on the bed, making room for him as he ripped open the condom box and pulled one out. I was dripping wet as he tore the wrapper with his teeth, his eyes never leaving mine while he rolled the condom down his length.
I spread my legs, eager to accept him into my body. He crawled over me and lined the head of his cock with my entrance. It had been a long time since I’d had sex, and when he shoved inside of me, I cried out in pain.
“Fuck,” he said as he tried to pull back.
“No!” I panted. “Just give me a second.”
Banshee was big, and the pain was delicious. The feel of him spreading my lips apart with his dick was the kind of pain that brought equal amounts of pleasure.
He kissed my neck as I held him in place with my ankles crossed at his back. His dick twitched inside me, and I arched into him.
“I’ve never been this full,” I gasped.
I felt his chest puff up at my words. Men and their egos.
I chuckled at the notion that he was proud of the fact he was larger than any other man I had been with.
Not that there were many. Besides Erebus, there had only been a couple of guys from college.
There was Greg, but thankfully I didn’t remember that.
“This is hard and fast,” he whispered, and I chuckled.
“I think I could come just from feeling you inside me.”
When he pulsed inside me, I shuddered.
“Fuck, baby girl, I might come just from the way you’re reacting if I don’t get moving soon.” He pulled out, leaving only the tip inside me, before he pushed back in with force.
My teeth dug into my lower lip, as my hips met his every thrust. My eyes remained locked on him. He held himself over me with his hands pressed into the bed as he rammed his cock into my pussy over and over.
I panted, my breath coming fast and shallow as my hands roamed over his skin. The feel of him under my fingertips, hovering over my body, thrusting inside of me—it was all too much.
He smiled, and I knew he knew. My pussy began to contract around him. The telltale tingle that shot through my hips had me bucking against him, chasing what was coming.
“Come for me, baby girl. Squeeze my cock.”
His movements sped up, and his hand collared my neck. He didn’t squeeze; he just held me still while he fucked me hard and fast like he promised.
“Let go, Aspen. Soak my fucking cock.”
I didn’t want to let go; I didn’t want the feeling to end. I wanted to live with this man inside me, always moving, rubbing the spot inside me, giving me pleasure like I’d never felt before.
But when he called me by my name. The name I’d chosen. The one I was now, not the one he’d known me by. Not the one he’d chosen to call me every time he spoke. Something hit inside me, breaking me open.
Acknowledgment.
Acceptance.
Approval.
Things I had sought after my whole life. He gave them to me with one word. And I gave them all back when I exploded into a million pieces, his name on my lips. Elijah. The name he’d asked me to cry out. The one only I would use.
His release came immediately after mine with a roar of his own, as he pushed in to the hilt and unloaded into the condom. The only barrier between our bodies. The one I suddenly wished wasn’t there.
He collapsed beside me, pulling me against his chest. “I fucking love you, baby girl.”
“You keep calling me baby girl, and I might have to start calling you daddy,” I teased, though the thought of it lit something inside me. Something that only grew when he groaned and rolled over me, taking my mouth in a searing kiss.
Things had changed between Banshee and me. The cabin no longer felt too small; it was almost too big with how often we were tangled up together.
The days no longer dragged on. But the hours until we climbed into bed sometimes felt like they would go on forever. Like now, Grayson had invited us to dinner at the house.
He’d been gracious enough to allow us to hide out on his ranch, and I loved Addie. But if I were being honest, I would have been perfectly happy never leaving the cabin again.
We had everything we needed there. Food, clothing, shelter, Diesel. And we had each other. We lived in a bubble I never wanted to pop. But life always had a way of catching up with you.
The house was old and beautiful. I especially loved that over the years it had held its charm of being a ranch house. The Powell family bred, raised, and trained horses. Many being racehorses. They had money, but they didn’t flaunt it.
The home wasn’t luxurious; it was lived in. It was comfortable. Homey. And it was filled with love. Watching Grayson interact with his grandfather and his siblings made me miss my family.
There was no telling whether I would ever see them again. I missed Zeus and his bossy attitude. I missed Diana. I’d missed out on growing up with my older sister. She hadn’t been there to talk me through my teenage years and learning how to deal with boys.
I missed my mother. What I wouldn’t give for one of her hugs. For her to hold me in her arms and promise me everything would work out the way it was supposed to. My mother was a huge proponent of fate. She believed that everything happened for a reason.
Maybe she was on to something. Maybe if Banshee had claimed me years ago, I would have grown to resent him like he thought. Missing out on years of fun I could have had before settling down.
Losing those years, anyway, had a way of putting things into perspective. I reached over and took Banshee’s hand. He smiled and leaned over to kiss me.
Grayson’s grandfather said something that had the Powell children groaning. I wasn’t sure what it was because I was thinking about my father.
I missed him too. For all his mistakes, despite his grumpy rules and orders, I knew he loved me. I could only imagine the pain he felt, having both his daughters disappear without a trace.
My intent had never been to cause my family pain. Just as I knew that was never my father’s intent. He’d trusted the wrong people. He’d made a choice that he thought would bring him closer to his oldest daughter. It ended up being a decision that would take his youngest daughter away from him.
Winchester’s phone rang, and he stepped away from the table to answer it. It was strange hearing his siblings call him Tyson. I’d only ever known him as Winchester.
“Hey, Cash, what’s up?” Winchester turned and looked at Banshee. “Actually yeah, he and Aspen came up to the main house for dinner.”
Winchester hit a button on his phone, and Banshee said, “I’m here, VP.”
“We’re taking a vote,” Cash’s voice said through the speaker. “I asked Rose to be my old lady. Any objections?”
Banshee looked over at me and smiled. “None from me.”
“Me either,” Winchester confirmed.
“Thanks.” Cash disconnected the call, and Winchester shook his head.
“Wow, he’s already taking on a new old lady?” Emerson asked. “Rachel’s only been gone a few months.”
I thought about what Emerson said and pulled my hand away from Banshee. No one here but him and Winchester knew I was married. I couldn’t help but wonder what they would think of me and Banshee being together, knowing I was still married.
“You knew Rachel, Em. She’d want him to be happy. She wouldn’t care that it was only a few months,” Winchester said, winking at me.
“Tyson’s right,” Grayson added. “Rachel was the sweetest person in this town. She wouldn’t have wanted him to live the way he has been. She’d want him to move on and find love. It’s who she was.”
Banshee reached over and grabbed my hand. You’re mine, he mouthed. And I gave him a small smile. I didn’t know Rachel well, but she’d been in the flower shop often. She’d done everything aside from kidnap me, trying to get me to go to brunch or out for drinks.
I wish I’d gone. I wish I’d given myself a chance to know her better. If I had, maybe Banshee and I would have had more time together.
Everything happens for a reason.
My mother’s voice ran through my head. She was right. I might not know where my life was going, but I knew I was right where I was supposed to be.
In this house, in this moment, with these people.
And with Banshee.
He promised me a future. One without my husband. One as his old lady. But for that to work, one of two things had to happen: Either I had to get a divorce, or I had to become a widow.
Neither option held much promise. Both paths led down only one road.
War.
A divorce would need a reason. And when my family found out what that reason was, my father would declare war, despite no longer being the president. He would make sure Zeus did what he thought was right.
And Zeus would follow his lead. Because that would ensure vengeance, not just for me. But for Diana. They had no one to blame for her disappearance. No one to seek vengeance on.
Once again, I would be used for my sister’s sake.
If I became a widow, it would be because Banshee killed my husband. And the Death Dogs would declare war on the Silver Shadows. And innocent lives would be at risk. Old ladies, children. Not to mention the townsfolk. The very people sitting at this table.
Once again, the thought of running ran through my head.