Chapter 19
PAGAN
It had been six weeks. Six weeks since I’d seen her, smelled her, touched her, or spoken to her. Six weeks since she’d smiled at me and called me honey in the soft, sweet voice I missed so much.
I knew Aislynn was mad at me, but I was mad at her too for not giving me the chance to explain. Still, I never expected her to fly thousands of miles away and leave me hanging the way she did.
I was so angry the night she walked in on me and that bitch that I knew I needed to cool down, and more to the point, she did too.
By the time I got to Hambleton the next day, she’d already left for the airport.
She didn’t even tell me she was leaving; I had to go to her brother’s bar on the pretense that I wanted to change a drinks order just to find out where she was.
She’d switched her cell phone off, so I couldn’t even track her down and make sure she was safe.
In the end, Wiki hacked into her bank account and pinpointed where she traveled through her purchases and hotel bills. It was the only way I knew she was okay.
When I found out she was coming to Vortex for Maeve’s bachelorette party, I arranged for the waitress to spill a drink on her just to get her away from the table.
What I had to say was private, and I knew I had to play it cool because her brothers and the Speed Demons were just feet away and wouldn’t hesitate to fight for her.
Though I assumed they didn’t know what had happened between us because they hadn’t canceled their bookings, which, if I was honest, I’d half-expected.
I carried her into my office and gently put her down. My gut wrenched when she shrank away from me, but I ignored it and instead grabbed her purse out of her hand and rummaged inside, taking out her phone.
“What are you doing?” she demanded, her cheeks flushing with anger.
I wound the back of her hair around my fist so I could hold her steady, then angled her phone in front of her face to unlock it before I went to her message thread and typed,
Hey, Tris. I bumped into Pagan, and we’re having a talk. Cover for me, honey?
Within seconds, a message came back.
Tristan: OMG!!!!!!!!!!!! On it! Be good!
I tossed her cell back into her purse and dropped it onto the desk before I turned back to her, smirking.
Her gorgeous eyes flashed, and she cut out, “I can’t believe you!”
“Believe it,” I retorted. “You think you can just fuck off for six weeks and think that’s it? I told you, once you’re in, you’re not gettin’ out unless I agree, and I don’t remember agreein’ to shit.”
Her body snapped taut, and she shrieked, “You cheated on me!”
“I didn’t cheat on you!” I roared back, then I backtracked and rasped, “You’re not even my ol’ lady. Yet.”
“I’ll never be your ol’ lady,” she bit back. “I wouldn’t piss on you if you were on fire.”
“Liar,” I hissed. “You care, or you wouldn’t be so fuckin’ mad at me.” The fight left my body, and my shoulders slumped. “What if I guarantee I wouldn’t touch another woman? What if I gave you that?”
Tears filled her eyes, and she shook her head. “It’s too late.”
“I never made you any promises, Ash, but I will now. I’ll do anythin’ you want. I just need you to give me one more chance.”
She stared me straight in the eyes and said, “No.”
My jaw clenched.
Jesus, what is it gonna take?
“You love me,” I said accusingly.
“Doesn’t mean I’m your bitch,” she bandied back.
I cupped the side of her face and ran my thumb across her dark red lips.
“You’re gonna come back to me, so why waste time with this bullshit.
You’re mine, and I’m not lettin’ you walk away.
I want it all from you, Aislynn. Bein’ apart from you showed me that I never wanna be apart from you again.
Wanna introduce you to my boys; wanna build us the house you design for our family.
Want you to wear my patch, my mark, and my ring.
Want you on the back of my bike and on your back in my bed.
Want my baby in your belly; want you heart and soul, and I don’t give a fuck what you or anyone else says—I always get what I want. ”
“Well, I don’t want you,” she spat.
My heart plummeted, but I didn’t let her see how much her words wounded me. Instead, I fisted her hair again, tilted her head, and took her mouth in a hard, bruising kiss.
She bit my lip, hard, and when I groaned, she shoved me away from her with a strength I didn’t know she possessed.
“No,” she panted, wiping her mouth, her chest heaving so hard that I could see the rise and fall of her tits in that itty bitty scrap of cloth that molded around her perfect breasts, leaving hardly anything to the imagination.
Ash glared up at me, all the pain I’d inflicted and the longing she felt flicking across her face as she thrust a hand through her hair.
The rage erupting through my chest was only aimed at myself. “Baby—”
“No!” she repeated. “You can’t do what you did and expect me to still want you.” Her cheeks stained pink until I could almost feel her unfiltered rage.
“Baby—”
“Don’t you ‘baby’ me,” she barked. “You think you can just—” She cut herself off by shoving me again, her palms flat against my chest, and I let her because I had to let her work her anger out.
My Dubheasa had a temper, and I loved it.
I couldn’t wait to slide a ring on her finger and finally take her to my bed.
I had plans to make her as mad as I could, as often as possible, just to bring out the sexy little wildcat inside her.
The image of her dragging Saskia by the hair flashed through my mind, and my cock thickened.
She must’ve recognized my wolfish grin because she raised her palms defensively as if to warn me off. “Don’t you dare.”
My grin grew wider. “Oh, I dare.”
I moved toward her like a tiger stalking its prey, making her scuttle backward until her ass collided with my desk. “Pagan, stop,” she demanded. “You can’t expect me to—”
I reached out, grabbed the front of her throat, and squeezed gently.
Her eyes rounded as she stared up at me with her lips parted. “What are you doing—?”
I slid my other arm around her waist and pulled her flush against me, my fingers biting into the lush curve of her ass through the material of that damned skirt. Her breathing became ragged, her body trembling in my grip, and for a second I thought maybe, just maybe, she’d give in.
Instead of doing what I expected and leaning up and kissing me, she threw her chin up, her eyes spitting poison.
“You’re choking me,” she hissed.
“Good. It may shut you up for five minutes,” I grunted.
Her lip curled into a sneer. “You’re a bastard.”
I grinned and muttered, “Yep,” before leaning down and taking her mouth again.
Something wild had been let loose inside me. My girl tasted like fire, rage, and tears, and I fed off it like an addict craving his next fix. I knew I’d hurt her, but I was willing to do anything to make it right. I just needed her to give me the chance to make it up to her.
I pressed my lips firmly against Aislynn’s, drinking in her groan of protest. She bit my lip again, but all it did was make my cock even harder. She tried to wrench away, but I was ready for her that time. I tugged her top up over her boobs and pulled back to study how beautiful she was.
Ash’s lips were swollen, her cheeks pink, and a flush ran from her neck to her tits, which were heaving from exertion.
Jesus fuck, I’d missed her.
Stooping slightly, I grabbed her waist and hauled her ass up onto my desk, stepping between her legs. “I love you, bared for me,” I rasped. “You’re so fuckin’ beautiful. Nobody else could ever compare to you.”
“Except Saskia,” she whispered, her tone laced with so much sadness that it brought a lump to my throat.
“No, baby,” I murmured. “You’ve got it all wrong.”
Her eyes flared. “I know what I saw, Pagan. Don’t try to gaslight me.” Her fingers hooked into her top, trying to pull it down, but I grabbed her hands and forced them behind her.
“You think you know what you saw,” I corrected, but she wasn’t listening; instead, she tried to slap my hands away.
“Oh my God. Let me go,” she cried.
“Never,” I muttered. “Do you fuckin’ get me?”
“Jesus, Pagan,” she exclaimed. “I said, let me go!”
My mouth twisted, and my throat burned with a surge of anger that rose from my chest.
She was so goddamned stubborn, and it was starting to piss me off. Aislynn could make her demands; she could scream, shout, and cry. She could slap my face or knee me in the balls, but all it would do was make me come back stronger.
I released her hands, but moved my body into hers, effectively pinning her to the desk. Then I unclipped one of the suspenders holding up my jeans and reached behind her back.
The second Aislynn realized my intentions, she began to struggle.
“Be a good girl,” I barked as I bound her wrists tightly behind her back.
“What are you doing?” she shrieked.
“Bakin’ a fuckin’ cake,” I shot back.
Her jaw dropped, and she tried to wriggle off the desk, but I crowded her body with mine so she couldn’t move.
Slowly, my hand slid up her skirt.
“I hate you,” she spat, her eyes flashing.
My fingers found their target, and I began to stroke her tight little cunt. “Is that why you’re soaked for me, Dubheasa?”
She tried to wriggle her ass away from me, but I grabbed her skirt and wrenched it up her legs, exposing her to me.
Her cheeks flamed bright red, and I could see the battle she was having within herself. Aislynn yearned for my touch but hated it at the same time.
I circled her clit and watched her eyes glaze over. “Love your cunt, baby,” I crooned. “You’re so soft and wet. Can’t wait to spread your thighs apart and slide inside. Can’t wait to feel your cunt grip my cock when you come.”
She cried out as I shoved her back until her ass balanced on the edge of my desk. Grabbing a chair, I sat my ass down until I drew level with her pussy and went in for a taste.