Chapter 46
ROOK
Icarried Asha to the shower like I should’ve before tearing off her panties and sinking in balls deep.
Instead, I’d fucked her hard against a wall—no finesse, no shame—with the blood of her dead rapist drying on my skin and clothes.
And she’d let me.
No. She’d wanted me to.
I didn’t know what to do with that. Perhaps Asha had already spent too much time in my depraved company.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
She sighed and beamed at me with a blissed-out smile. “I’m much better than okay, gangster. You did good.”
With her thighs still locked around me and her breath hot against my shoulder, she felt so breakable in my arms. Yet she was the only thing in this world that could destroy me.
Fear, stark and cold, hit me like an uppercut.
If anything happened to her because I’d forced her into this life, I’d never come back from it.
I’d already suffered too much and lost too many.
Asha was too good, too special, to be exposed to the filth of the underworld.
Just like Niall had been.
In the bathroom, I set her on her feet gently, then quickly removed the rest of our clothes. I stepped into the steamy oversize shower, bringing Asha with me.
“You all right there, big guy? You look like you’re questioning your life choices. You won’t knock me up, if that’s what you’re wondering.”
She thought not using protection would worry me? Getting Asha pregnant would be a fucking dream.
I blinked and shook my head. “I know you’re on the Pill.”
“Of course you do.” She rolled her eyes. “You probably also know I needed antibiotics for tonsillitis in tenth grade.”
I gave her a weak smile, still haunted by my thoughts.
I needed to force them aside and focus on the gorgeous naked woman in front of me.
I took my time washing her. Not because she was dirty, but because I needed to keep her close, to touch her everywhere.
This thing between us was real. Asha trusted me with her body. And by some miracle, she was prepared to trust me with her heart, too.
I didn’t deserve it, not after the things I’d done. But there wasn’t a chance in hell I’d give her up.
I was doomed to spend my life fearing one of two outcomes: If Asha stayed with me, I could lose her like I’d lost Niall. If I let her go, I couldn’t protect her from assholes like Holbrook, Tate, and the criminals she investigated.
Seeing that fucker’s hand on her and the look of pain on Asha’s face from his fingers digging into her skin, it had flipped some primal switch inside me.
Something feral. Something beyond lethal and unhinged.
I reached for her wrist and lightly traced my fingers over the bruises there. “I should’ve kept him alive. Made his death last longer.”
Her soft palm brought my face back to hers. “It’s done. Let’s never mention him again, okay?”
I nodded, although there was no way I’d strike his crimes from my memory. But if pretending like he’d never existed was what Asha needed, I’d do it for her.
“Will Torin be mad we left the party early?”
“No.” I reached for the shampoo and lathered it between my palms before working it into her scalp. “Once he finds out someone laid their hands on you, he won’t be surprised how Aidan and I dealt with it.”
“Do you think he likes me?”
“Tor? Of course. What’s not to like?”
“He seemed concerned I might use the podcast to expose Mob secrets.”
“Don’t pay that any mind. Tor can tell if people are lying, even those with the best poker faces. He was just prodding a sensitive area to see what you’d do.”
She closed her eyes and tilted her head under the stream. “He said something about defeating monsters. I got the impression he wasn’t only talking about the Soul Collector. What did he mean?”
I rinsed the suds from her hair and kept my tone casual. “Just the usual arseholes I have to deal with. Nothing you need to worry about.”
When I was ready, I’d tell her about Sierra and that the trafficking ring was a bigger problem than we’d initially thought. But not before the Beasts had it under control.
And we were close. So close I could taste it.
The burner phone Aidan and I had swiped from the docks contained all sorts of intel. My tech guy had even extracted deleted files, including shipment details, dates, locations, and the code names of the players involved. It was only a matter of time before we figured out who the Soul Collector was.
Until then, I’d keep Asha out of it. Keep her safe.
Yes, I was withholding information critical to her investigation.
No, I didn’t care.
“Are you sure?” she asked. “It sounded serious.”
“Just focus on the investigation and let me worry about those things, okay?” I nudged her chin up and kissed her wet forehead. “Besides, I owe you something.”
Her brows drew together. “What?”
“Another orgasm. I only gave you one.” I threw her over my shoulder, carried her to the bed, and tossed her onto the duvet.
“Rook!” She giggled. “I’m all wet.”
“You’re only going to get wetter, love.”
I dropped to my knees and hauled her ass to the edge of the bed.
She rose up to her elbows. “For a man who wants to be in control all the time, you sure get on your knees a lot.”
I pushed her thighs apart and stared at her pussy like it was the Holy Grail. “Only for you.”
“Such a good boy.” She lifted her chin and gave me a haughty smile. “Knowing where you belong.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You think it’s wise to tease me, pet?”
She shrugged one shoulder. “I think your bark is bigger than your bite.”
Well, well. My little podcaster had a brat in her. If she wanted to play, we could absolutely do that.
“I assure you. It’s not.” I stood calmly. “You’re right. I think it’s time you yielded to me.” Quickly, I clasped the nape of her neck and sat her upright.
Asha’s chest heaved with excitement. Her warm breath ghosted over the precum beading at the end of my hard cock.
I held her jaw and tilted her face toward mine. “Open.”
She obeyed without hesitation, and fuck if that didn’t undo me.
I held her face while I guided myself past her lips, slow and measured. Just a couple of inches at first, until the warm wetness of her mouth coated me, then I pushed in more. She moaned around me, eyes flicking up to mine with that wicked sparkle I couldn’t resist.
“Look at you, my dirty little wife, taking me so well.” My hips rolled forward. “You look so pretty with your husband’s cock filling that smart mouth of yours.”
I watched myself glide in and out, one hand fisting her hair, the other at her jaw, controlling the rhythm as I claimed her mouth. “You like this, don’t you? Letting me use you, because you know it’ll make me lose my fucking mind.”
She moaned again and slipped one hand between her legs.
“Christ, woman.” I gritted my teeth. “How are you so bloody perfect?”
She gagged, so I eased back, but she grabbed my thighs and drew me deeper.
“Asha, fuck—”
My balls tightened. I was close. Too fucking close. I pulled her off with a groan.
She only smiled at me, smug as hell, her lips slick and swollen.
“My turn,” I growled, and pushed her flat.
I crawled over her, shoved her thighs apart, and buried my face in her pussy.
Asha whimpered and tried to buck her hips, but I forced them down as I feasted on her.
Her fingers clawed at my scalp, clutching my hair to keep herself grounded.
She was already trembling when I slipped a finger inside her.
I let her juices coat my hand, then rimmed her tight little asshole, pressing lightly.
Asha tensed.
I paused but didn’t move my hand away. “Everything okay?”
“That just feels…strange.”
“Are you a virgin here?” I rubbed her hole again.
“Maybe.” A blush crept over her cheeks. “Okay, yes. Don’t look so surprised.”
“I’m not surprised. I’m glad.” I leaned forward and kissed the curve of her hip. “That means it’s all mine for the claiming.”
She choked back a laugh. “Who says that’s even on the table?”
I smirked. “You’ll let me own your arse, love, because you know I’ll make it good for you. Not tonight, though. We’ll have to work up to that. Doesn’t mean we can’t play.”
Her brow creased.
“If you want me to stop, just say the word, and I will.”
A beat passed before she said, “Okay. I trust you.”
Christ, if those three words didn’t make my chest ache.
Maybe she didn’t realize the gravity of what she’d just said.
The list of people Asha trusted was short. A few cousins, those two friends of hers. Not one bloke with whom she didn’t share blood. No prizes for guessing why.
Killing the prick who’d hurt Asha must’ve earned her trust. Even if it hadn’t, I’d still slaughter every man who’d ever laid an unwanted hand on her, one by one, until the world learned she was untouchable.
She’d be obsessed with me then.
I returned my mouth to her pussy and circled her clit with my tongue, coaxing soft moans from her lips. Asha writhed under me, so sweet and eager, thighs quaking as I added pressure. I slid my thumb into her cunt while teasing her other hole with the tip of my finger.
“Oh God,” she said on a ragged exhale.
I ground my cock into the bed, needing friction. Nothing turned me on like watching this woman come undone.
“Touch your tits for me, Wildfire. Wanna see you lose control.”
She complied, back arching while I sucked her clit and pushed into her tight arse, just to the first knuckle.
Asha was unraveling, stimulated on all fronts. Twisting, grinding.
“Rook. Rook, I—” My name fell from her lips like a plea. Then her whole body seized, thighs squeezing my face, pussy and arse clenching around my fingers as she shattered.
Before she’d finished riding it out, I rose over her, lined myself up, and sank into her.
She cried out again, still pulsing around me.
I froze, buried to the hilt, and smothered Asha’s moans with a kiss.
When I pulled back, I took in her flushed cheeks, swollen lips, and heaving tits.
“You’re so fucking beautiful. Sometimes it hurts just to look at you.
” I moved slowly to savor the feel of Asha’s warm body wrapped around mine.
“And when I’m not with you, I get this feeling in my chest like it might explode. Is that normal?”
“I don’t know.” She brushed her fingertips along my jaw and touched her lips to mine. “This is new for me, too.”
I kissed her, long and deep. “I never thought this could happen. You and me together like this.”
She blinked up at me. “We had sex the night we met. Lots of times.”
I shook my head. “Not the same. You didn’t know me then. Not the real me. Now you do, and you still want me.”
“I do. I want you, Rook. But this is confusing for me. Give me some time to get my head around it, okay?”
She could take as long as she wanted to accept what I already knew. Asha was it for me, and I’d do whatever it took to keep her.
“Anything you want, love.” Anything except letting her go. “Arms around my neck now. Hold on.”
Asha complied, and I lifted her, keeping her thighs wrapped around me as I sat back on my haunches.
She settled in my lap, straddling me. I grabbed her ass and arched my pelvis up to meet hers.
Her lids fluttered closed, and she tilted her head back. “Rook. Oh my God.”
“You like that?” I sank my face into her neck, sucking and biting the soft skin.
“Yes.” Asha gripped my shoulders and rolled her hips to meet mine. “Now give me more, gangster. Make me forget about everything except you and me for a little longer.”
I could do that. I could lose myself inside her for fucking days if she’d let me.
I quickened my pace, driving into her the way she needed.
Christ. I loved having her like this. Open and needy and so responsive to me. Her slickness dripping onto my balls. The sounds of us fucking filling the room.
“You’re mine.” I slammed into her from below. “This pussy, these gorgeous tits, this mouth. All of you.”
Asha moaned. “I’m close, Rook.”
“I know, love. I can feel it.” Her cunt was damn near strangling my dick.
I shifted one hand between us to rub her clit. A moment later, her whole body locked. She came with a gasp, clenching around me.
I couldn’t hold back. I buried myself deep and groaned as I spilled into her, releasing everything I had.
We stayed fused together as we came down, breathless and sweaty.
Asha collapsed against my shoulder, warm and pliant and still trembling in my arms.
And for the first time in years, I let myself believe I could have something good.
Not just tonight.
Not just these stolen days.
But her. Us.
A future.
I’d do everything in my power to protect it.