Chapter Twelve
Steele
I woke up out of a dead sleep, a pounding headache in my temples. I looked around my bedroom, slightly disoriented and a little hungover from the night before. I usually held my liquor better, but I drank more than normal and mixed my alcohol after I’d shoved Ashlynn in the guest room. It took me forever to calm both my anger and my desire.
“Sir?” Quincy’s voice sounded through the door.
I stumbled out of bed, finding my way in the poorly lit room.
“What?” I said, a little too harshly.
“Miss Phillips is—”
“Let me guess, she’s done something else to piss me off?”
“She’s—”
I opened the door and pushed past Quincy, my senses already on edge. I barely made it a meter down the hall before my bare feet felt the soaked rug beneath me. The entire runner in the hallway was saturated, and water was flowing freely under the guest room door. I groaned, my annoyance tripled due to my headache. I watched as the water seeped down the stairs, pooling on the original wooden floors below.
I stopped in front of her room and unlocked the door. She stood near the bed, hands on her hips and a murderous look on her face.
From the corner of my eye, I watched as the water overflowed from the claw foot tub, as well as the porcelain sink. The entirety of the white carpet was steeped in water, and the second I moved into the room my feet sank in and water pooled up.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” My ears clogged as the blood rushed to my face.
She folded her arms in front of her chest, still wearing my t-shirt. Her hair was tousled, so I gathered she had slept for a bit before pulling her little stunt.
“I thought it would be obvious. I’m flooding your house.”
I made a move forward, so angry I could strike her. But she flinched and stepped back, and the motion was enough to make me stop.
“You can’t keep me locked in here. I’ll just find more ways to ruin your house. I’ll eventually escape.”
“Then I’ll just lock you back up in the basement,” I threatened. Her face paled before she squared her shoulders in resolve.
“You wouldn’t dare,” she accused, throwing her hair over her shoulder. Even in the dim light of the room it glistened, silky and smooth. Even pale, her face was full of light, and her brown eyes swam with something I couldn’t quite place. Amusement? It was as though she enjoyed this little game we played, this intricate chess match where we each moved our pieces forward, trying to dominate and win over each other. But she still possessed humanity, an inherent goodness in her, and my soul was black and tainted. And, try as she may, black would always win.
“I would dare. I’d lock you up and leave you there to rot.”
“Stop it,” she hissed through clenched teeth. “You want something from my father. How about we work together? You can free me, and I’ll find him.”
“You wouldn’t betray your father, and there’s absolutely no way I’m letting you go.” I raised an eyebrow, curious to see what her next move would be.
Ashlynn moved closer to me, a coy smile playing on her full lips. Stunned, I couldn’t take my eyes off of her as she swayed her hips seductively. When she was within an arm”s length, she tilted her head, lowering her lashes and then looked up at me.
Damn.
I moved towards her, my body acting on instinct. But as I brought my head down to meet her mouth, her palm came against my cheek as she slapped me. Hard.
My face jerked slightly and then turned back. I could see the anger in her eyes, the passion radiating in every single thing she did. This woman did nothing half-assed, which both impressed and infuriated me.
We stared at each other, the chemistry thick and overwhelming.
I gave in and rushed her, fisting her hair possessively as her mouth melded against mine. I sucked on her bottom lip, pulling it into my mouth as she moaned and rubbed against me with her hips. My body awoke again, urging me to take what I had refused before, to take all of her until there was nothing left. That’s what I did, both in life and my work. I saw, I took, I conquered, and every single molecule in my body wanted to possess Ashlynn Phillips until there was nothing left but dust.