Chapter 12
ASHLEY
Mom: Ash, baby, I am so sorry for everything.
Max and I feel awful that you’ve been dragged into our mess with Jocelyn.
Please reconsider our offer? I need to know that you’re safe, sweetheart.
Let the police deal with this mess and you can come home when it’s over. Just think about it, okay? I love you.
A warm hand stroked down my bare arm, and I snuggled forward into the familiar embrace of my bed buddy. My roomie. My Royce?—
Wait .
My eyes snapped open as déjà vu flooded my brain, and I stiffened in anticipation of who I’d find in bed with me. But to my relief, it was a pair of gorgeous green eyes that stared back at me with concern.
“Are you okay, Squirrel?” Royce asked in that sexy, rough morning voice of his. “Bad dream?”
I wet my lips, trying to calm my racing heart.
“Something like that. I’m glad you’re here, though.
” Before he could ask me about my moment of confused panic there—I really didn’t want to explain the Nate thing—I snuggled closer into his embrace and pressed my lips to his throat.
“Really glad you’re here. I always sleep so much better with you. ”
“Mmm, that’s a shame because I was hoping you’d wanna not sleep with me this morning,” he admitted in a husky voice, his fingers stroking down my spine until they reached my ass, where he grabbed a firm handful. “But if you’re still sleepy…”
“I can sleep when I’m dead,” I informed him quickly, before crushing my lips to his and interlacing our tongues with an undeniable edge of desperation. He met me with the same passion, rolling me onto my back and slotting between my thighs as easily as two puzzle pieces fitting together.
His hands wandered down my body as we kissed, fingers slipping between my folds and pushing deeper. Then he groaned and tugged on my lower lip with his teeth.
“You’re so fucking wet, Squirrel,” he murmured. “Heath or Carter? They were both suspiciously missing while you washed dishes and returned looking very relaxed…” He gasped. “Both? Fuck. So unfair.”
Despite me having said nothing to confirm or deny, he knew me well enough.
Just like he knew his friends. And although he was annoyed to have missed out on the fun, it did nothing to diminish how hard his dick was right now.
Nor did the residue of my kitchen three-way dissuade him, as I hitched my leg up around him and he notched the tip of his cock against my cunt.
“Royce,” I gasped as he started to push inside, taking it slow and making sure I felt every single pierced ridge entering me. “Oh my god, that feels so good. ”
He responded by pulling out almost entirely, making me squirm and whimper.
His lips curved in an evil grin as he watched me, his breathing heavy.
“You’re so beautiful, Ashley,” he murmured, “So damn perfect.” He propped his weight on one elbow as he traced his thumb over my lower lip, seemingly mesmerized for a moment.
Then his hand shifted a little lower to wrap around my throat.
“Royce,” I whimpered again, rocking my hips in an attempt to put him back where he belonged.
That evil smile grew wider, and his thumb stroked my jaw. “Beg for it, baby. Beg me to fuck this sweet little pussy of yours and remind you that no matter what happens… you’re mine now . And I’m never letting go.”
Oh fuck, possessive Royce was back and I was here for it .
“Please, Royce,” I moaned, squirming harder as his hand pinned my throat. “Please, fuck me. I need your cock inside me. I need to feel those piercings and?—”
That was all the begging he needed, apparently.
He slammed back into me hard enough to knock the headboard against the wall, and I damn near blacked out with pleasure.
Then, as I moaned, he started to absolutely pound me into the mattress and prove that Royce D’Arenberg would not be treating me like I was breakable simply because I’d been through some shit.
Fuck, I loved him.
“Never. Leave. Me. Again,” he growled with hard thrusts, right as he must have felt me start to come. “Never again, Squirrel. Promise me!”
I gasped for air, since his hand was so tight around my throat, and my entire body flooded with ecstasy, but still I managed to give him what he needed. What we both needed, to be fair.
“I promise,” I uttered in the midst of my climax. It was enough, and his hold loosened, his body jerking as he found his own release buried deep inside me before collapsing.
It was possibly one of the most comforting, relaxing positions imaginable.
Royce’s heavy weight damn near smothering me, sweat slicked between us, and his cock still firmly lodged inside my pussy, with nothing but our combined breathing breaking the silence.
He must have been just as content as I was because we both drifted back to sleep exactly as we were.
Given the choice, I’d have happily woken up and continued exactly as we were, but a heavy knock on the door was what jerked us out of that incredible nap.
“Layne, get your lazy butt out of bed,” Nate called through the door. “Your mom made breakfast.”
A long, frustrated sigh gusted out of me. “Give me a minute!” I called back. Royce raised his head from where we’d been sharing a pillow, quirking a brow at me in question while his dick hardened within me. I grinned, shaking my head at him in warning. “Maybe ten minutes!” I amended.
For a moment, I thought Nate had left. Royce’s hand wandered to my breast, kneading gently and tugging my nipple while?—
“Layne, we should talk about what happened,” Nate said on the other side of the door—loud enough to be heard through the door but hopefully not loud enough to be overheard.
Panic washed through me, and I quickly slithered out from under Royce. Grabbing my robe and hastily tying it around myself, I rushed to my door.
“I really don’t think we do,” I replied in a hushed voice, opening the door just a crack to prevent him yelling our private business all over the house.
He took one look at me, one look , then forced the door open far enough to spot Royce sprawled out naked across my bed.
“I see,” he muttered, anger flashing across his face.
“Sorry I interrupted.” He released the door abruptly, spinning on his heel to stalk away, while frustration, irritation, and guilt flooded through me so hard, my hands shook.
“Fuck you, Nate,” I hissed after him. “You do not get to judge me.”
He turned around once more to meet my eyes and just shrugged. He fucking shrugged . “No thanks. Once was enough.”
My jaw damn near hit the floor, outrage and hurt hitting me so hard, I could barely breathe. Regret seemed to cross his expression, and he took a step back toward me, but I slammed the door between us once more.
“Are you okay?” Royce asked from my bed, his brow furrowed with concern. “That seemed…heated.”
I wet my lips and swallowed hard. “I’m fine,” I lied. “How much of that did you hear?”
“Not much. Did something happen between you two?”
Panic flooded me, and my cheeks heated. “Me and Nate?” I asked in a strangled voice. “No! Absolutely not. That’s crazy talk.” I forced out a weak laugh as I hurried across to my en suite bathroom. “I just need to shower really quickly before heading downstairs.”
For some dim-witted reason, I thought he’d bought that. So I gave a little shriek when he opened the shower door a couple of minutes later and leaned his thickly muscled arm against the frame.
“I’m not calling you on your bullshit, Squirrel, because clearly something has you two back at each other's throats. But if something did happen between you two…” His jaw tensed, his brow dipping in a scowl.
“Then it’d be okay with us. You already know, the four of us are closer than brothers, so as badly as I want to keep you all to myself, I’d also never deny any of them the same happiness as you give me. ”
What the fuck is happening right now?
“But to be perfectly clear,” he added, with not even a trace of teasing in his expression. “If he hurts you, I’ll gut him myself and feel no remorse.”
Then he closed the shower door once more and left me to freshen up in peace, although the concept of peace was debatable with how fast my mind was racing.
No amount of scrubbing seemed to fix my problems, so I eventually gave up and got dressed in clean clothes, thanks to the wardrobe I kept at Mom and Max’s place. My stomach was twisting and growling, but it wasn’t entirely due to hunger.
Breakfast was awkward —with Mom and Max leaning hard into the suggestion that we all needed to leave the country or at least the state until Jocelyn could be handled—but that had nothing on the awkwardness of the drive home to the guys’ apartment.
For some fucking reason, I ended up riding with Nate again, but at the last moment, Heath decided to join us. Thank fuck. I firmly insisted he take the front passenger seat and tried to make myself as small as possible in the back to avoid sparking conversation.
My efforts were futile, but at least the conversation stayed firmly on the subject of Nate’s crazy mom, and no matter how many times he glanced at me in the rearview mirror, no mention of our tryst was made.
Apparently, our weirdness didn’t go unnoticed.
“Okay, what is going on with you two?” Heath asked when we got into the elevator at their building. “The tension is practically smothering me.”
Nate gave a choked laugh, and I snapped my glare at him, silently telling him to shut the fuck up . It was bad enough Royce had picked up on the vibes between us.
“Look,” Heath continued, not waiting for one of us to spin a weak lie, “I think I know what’s causing this tension, and honestly, I get it.”
I frowned. “You do?”
Nate squinted at his friend. “I don’t think you do.”
Heath huffed a sigh. “I do, dickhead. I get it . And I don’t blame you for feeling like you do right now, Ashes. Despite how incredible I think you are, you’re still human.”
Nate gave another strangled sound while I wrinkled my nose in disagreement. “I wouldn’t say—” I started to protest the idea that I only slipped and fell on Nate’s dick because I was only human and how could anyone possibly resist such a specimen, but Nate cut me off.
“Why don’t you elaborate what you mean, Heath?” he asked in a tight voice as we reached the guys’ floor.
Heath glanced between us with a puzzled look on his face.
“I mean that Ashley blames you for her getting locked up in a psychiatric hospital for the last ten days because it was your paperwork that held her there and your mom who’s masterminding this insanity.
And I’m not saying that to be an asshole, bro.
You know I don’t hold you accountable at all , but I just think it’s not unreasonable for Ashes to feel that way and you can’t be mad at her about it. ”
Startled, I locked eyes with Nate, who slowly raised one brow.
“You’re right,” he said when I remained frozen, speechless.
“I apologize, Ashley. Your feelings are valid.” Then he shook his head with a defeated sigh and stalked ahead of us, letting himself into the apartment without glancing back even once.
Heath tilted his head, glancing from the slammed door to me. “Why do I feel like I’m still missing something?”
Fuck. Guilt flooded through me like a goddamn shit tsunami. “Um…Nate and I are dealing with some personal issues, along with all the other crap.”
To my surprise, Heath just nodded with understanding. “He doesn’t deal well with change, but believe me when I say that he will come around in time. I wouldn’t say this about many people, Ashes, but Nate’s worth the headaches.”
Did Heath fully grasp what I meant about personal issues, or was he just talking about Nate as a friend? It was so hard to know, but after what Royce had said…maybe the guys saw more between us than I had realized?
“Guys, get in here!” Royce barked, leaning out of the apartment door to beckon us. “I have a great idea, and Carter is talking about hiring a hitman. We need a vote. Come on!”