Chapter 4
PAGAN
My blood burned the moment I walked into the bar and saw Aislynn lean up and kiss that motherfucker.
Seeing her mouth on him sent my brain into a tailspin that made my fingers twitch with the need to grab ahold of the asshole and beat the goddamned shit out of him, except I wasn’t in the safety of my clubhouse bar.
Instead, I was standing in a crowded joint, in the middle of Denver, where there were at least a hundred and fifty eyewitnesses.
The bastard was safe from being taken out permanently—for now. Though if he dared to touch my Dubheasa again, he’d find himself embroiled in a FAFO moment he’d never forget.
I’d shared women all my life, even my boy’s mother, but the thought of someone else touching Aislynn made my skin crawl.
Even at her family’s bar last week, when I watched her hug her gay friend Tristan and her brothers, I had to swallow down my possessiveness, which was a new emotion for me because I’d never given a fuck before.
Aislynn wasn’t like the other women in my life. They either tried to seduce me or obeyed my every command.
My Dubheasa did neither; if anything, she was a brat, and although a bratty girl should’ve been the last thing I wanted, I loved how she dared to throw me attitude.
I needed a woman who challenged me, and it was what I intended to have, whether Aislynn agreed or not.
I didn’t give a fuck if she fought me. The truth was, I wanted her to fight me because it would make my victory all the sweeter.
Aislynn brought out a primal need in me to conquer her, body and soul, until she answered to nobody but me.
I wanted to instill a need inside her to please me, to beg for my care and attention, to feel lost unless she was in my arms, and empty without my hands on her.
I wanted to be the only man in existence for her, so seeing her all over Captain America made my chest burn so damned hot that I could hardly breathe without it burning me up.
Her beautiful dark blue eyes rounded on me, and she whispered, “Pagan.”
My jaw clenched so tightly, it ached.
“I was just...” Her voice trailed off, and she glanced at the other dude. “We were just—”
“Did I ask for a rundown of your night, woman?” I gestured toward the door again. “We’re goin’. Now.”
Her eyes went from round to narrow, and she popped a hip, her eyebrow hitching. “Well, someone had a big plate of bossy for breakfast.”
My molars clenched, and I glared at her.
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, alright then. Keep your hair on.” Her gaze flicked up to my bald head, and her lips twitched as she murmured, “Oopsies.”
My fingers twitched again, and I seriously contemplated strangling her.
The only reason I didn’t turn her over a table, pull those skintight leather pants down, and tan her ass raw was because I couldn’t deal with the thought of Captain America or any other man seeing what was mine.
I’d get her back to her apartment and fuck the sass out of her.
We wouldn’t have an audience there; nobody could help her.
“Look, friend—” Captain America began.
My arm sprang out, and I grabbed him by the throat, my fingertips digging into his skin hard enough that I clamped his mouth shut. “Did I give you permission to speak?” I snarled.
He choked an unintelligible reply just as all his buddies moved at once toward me.
I threw the dude against the bar hard enough that he let out an oof before turning to face the three assholes coming for me.
As soon as they saw my expression, they backed off.
“We don’t want any trouble,” one of them said, holding his hands up defensively.
“So why you comin’ at me?” I challenged.
“You had Kieran by the throat,” another one protested.
“He had his hands on my woman,” I bit out. “The fucker’s lucky he’s still got his fingers intact.”
Aislynn grabbed my arm. “Let’s go.”
“Ash,” her friend began.
My stare sliced to her, and she shrank back.
“It’s okay.” Aislynn nudged me hard in the ribs. “I’ll be okay.”
My head swiveled to meet my woman’s flashing eyes, and my cock thickened. I fucking loved how she wasn’t scared of me, though she’d learn to be soon enough, especially when it came to other men touching her.
I hooked my arm across her neck until it hung in front of her chest, then I pulled her close and caged her against me.
“Was there really any need to grab Kieran’s throat like that?” she snipped, glowering up at me.
“Shut your fuckin’ mouth,” I gritted out, turning and steering her toward the exit.
Aislynn craned her neck, calling her goodbyes as best she could with my arm trapping her, stumbling slightly as I yanked her toward the door.
It seemed my woman would have to learn the hard way.
I could’ve crushed that asshole’s windpipe if I wanted to.
Still, he wouldn’t touch her again anytime soon, so my work here was done—for now—but if she carried on giving me lip, I wouldn’t wait until I got her home before I punished her. She’d get it in the goddamned street.
“I don’t know what you’re smiling at,” she hissed. “I can’t believe you just did that.”
The crowd parted for us as I stalked toward the exit, my hand going to the fallen strap of her purse and pulling it back over her shoulder. “Shut your mouth, Dubheasa. There’s only so much I’ll take from you, and you’re already dangerously close to the fuckin’ line.”
“How did you know where I was?” she demanded as we stepped out onto the street.
I glanced down at her. “My tech guy tapped into your phone.”
Her steps halted, and she brought us to a stop, spinning around to face me. “What?”
“My tech guy, Wiki. He’s got access to your cell.
He can see your messages and gets an alert every time you get a call.
Then he taps into it, records it, and sends it to my phone.
I turned up at your place thinkin’ you’d be waitin’ for me, like I fuckin’ told you to. Called Wiki, and he tracked you down.”
Aislynn’s head reared back, and her mouth slackened with shock. “You’re spying on me?”
“I’m keepin’ tabs on you,” I corrected. “For your safety.”
“For my safety,” she echoed. Her eyes turned to slits, and she shoved me away, rolled up on her toes, and shrieked in my face, “How fucking dare you?”
I growled, expecting her to back down, even apologize. Instead, her body locked and she grated out, “Asshole!”
The word hung in the air between us. My lungs began to burn, and my face twisted as I stared down at her.
Aislynn’s gaze lowered. She knew she’d fucked up, and she also knew I wasn’t a man who’d allow that shit. Just because she was mine didn’t mean she could lead me around by the balls, and it didn’t mean she’d get any lenience from me either.
I wasn’t the firefighter version of Captain America like that pretty boy back in the bar.
I was the president of a one-percenter MC, and shit like that didn’t fly with me.
I wouldn’t put up with it from my men, so there was no way I’d take it from my woman.
If she did that in front of my boys, she’d be in a whole world of hurt right now, so it was clear I had to give my girl a short, sharp lesson in respect.
I jerked my chin toward my Harley, parked a few feet away. “Get on the bike.”
Her eyes widened, and she took a step back. “Maybe we should take some time to calm down—”
“I said get on the fuckin’ bike, Aislynn,” I ordered through clenched teeth.
I watched her visibly gulp, then she turned and began to pick her way over the icy sidewalk toward my ride, throwing a furtive glance at me as she went.
I fell into step beside her and took her elbow roughly.
“I’m sorry,” Aislynn whispered.
My jaw tightened, but I kept my stare forward, not acknowledging her until we reached my bike. I threw a leg over and mounted up, holding a hand out for her to take.
She cocked her head, pursed her lips, and folded her arms across her chest in a silent challenge the little brat had no business making.
With a grunt, I lunged off my bike and grabbed her waist with both hands, ignoring her shocked squeal as I shoved her on the back of my Harley.
Then, keeping hold of one hand, I slid on and started the engine.
She let out a little shriek as I shot away from the curb, and her fingers twisted into the leather of my jacket to stop herself from flying off the back of my bike.
“Oh my God,” she shrieked. “What are you doing?”
I revved the throttle to drown out the sound of her bitching and concentrated on the road, ignoring the way her nails dug painfully into my skin and the frustrated yell she let out as I sped down the street toward her apartment.
“Stop the bike,” she yelled in my ear.
“Settle,” I shouted over the growl of the bike.
“Fuck you, Pagan,” she cried. “You can’t just force me to do whatever you want.”
“Settle,” I repeated the order, turning my head slightly so she could hear me over the engine.
“Screw you!” she spat, finding a grip for her boots and rising up behind me. “If you don’t stop this bike, I’ll jump off.”
I grabbed her jacket and dragged her back down until her ass rested on the bike. “Sit and stay,” I barked, directing my handlebars toward the shadowed mouth of an alleyway.
Jesus, she could’ve fucking killed herself.
My heart thudded out of control at the thought of her getting hurt.
I rode down the alley and skidded to a stop a few meters inside.
The bike’s headlamp lit the brickwork in harsh white light.
My hands trembled as I killed the engine, and the resulting silence was filled with the sound of our harsh breathing.
My mind filled with images of what could have happened if she’d made good on that stupid threat, and I sucked icy air in through my nose, my shoulders slumping as it cooled my heated lungs.
The thoughts remained of her beautiful, soft body crashing against the hard sidewalk, of her bones shattering, and her pretty skin ripping off in shreds as she skidded over concrete.