Chapter Thirty-Seven
Steele
I couldn’t let her lose her father. He was a jackass who didn’t deserve her love, but I worried that someday she might regret it. I didn’t want that for her. I should have handled him when I got back to Europe, but I’d turned a blind eye, not wanting to do anything to cause Ashlynn additional pain. Instead I’d focused on protecting her.
The rest of my team took Ashlynn’s father away, bound and handcuffed. I had him gagged as well, not allowing him to speak to Ashlynn.
He didn’t have the right.
I pulled her into my arms, smoothing the hair back from her forehead. I owed so much to this woman. I couldn’t believe she’d stabbed her father. I looked at the knife on the concrete floor of the warehouse, dripping with blood.
It was one of the knives I’d hidden in my dresser.
Leave it to my Ashlynn.
She was my first priority in everything, but Cooper was in bad shape. He’d refused to give up any information about me, Ashlynn, or my financial holdings. I kissed her hand then reluctantly let go as I turned to Cooper. Mario had him untied, but he still wasn’t conscious.
“Take him to the hospital,” I commanded. “I think he’s too injured for our team. I’ll take Ashlynn home and then I’ll come and see him.”
“Like hell,” she piped up, her eyes flashing in warning. “I’m coming with you.” She moved to my side to emphasize her point.
I wasn’t going to argue with her. Not this time. She’d disobeyed me, negotiated with her father and brought his men into my townhome and put her life in danger…but she’d done it for me. This remarkable woman had saved my life twice. I’d never underestimate her again.
Cooper was loaded into a van to be taken to the hospital, and I escorted Ashlynn to the backseat of one of my town cars. I was bleeding pretty heavily still, so Mario got in the front seat and I crawled in the back with Ashlynn.
She fussed over my lip and the injury on my forehead, but I couldn’t care less about that. Instead, I just wanted her. I unbuckled her seatbelt and drew her onto my lap.
“Hey!”
I stopped her protest easily when I sealed my mouth over hers. She moaned, running her soft fingers through my hair. I was instantly hard. It had been over a month since I’d had any action, and my body was more than ready.
It would have to wait, though. Now that everything had changed between us, and she chose me, I wanted us to have a new beginning. I wanted to make love to her in my bed, pressing her into the mattress and worshiping her body.
But that didn’t stop me from kissing her thoroughly in the back seat of the car.
She pulled away. “Steele, are you sure you’re okay?”
I rubbed her shoulders, my thumbs pressing into her muscles. She was wearing my shirt, the one she wore to bed, and a pair of my sweatpants, rolled several times at the waist. Her feet were completely bare, and I marveled at her courage. Borrowed clothes, no shoes, yet she’d managed to hide a knife and single-handedly save me and Cooper. She was strong. And now, she was mine.
I tried not to shake with the excitement of it. Over the past couple of months, since almost the second she was in my life, I’d wanted this woman.
“I’m more than okay. Everything I’ve ever wanted is right here with me.”
Cooper was rushed into emergency surgery. He had significant internal bleeding, along with a skull fracture. I didn’t want to leave the hospital, and Ashlynn refused to leave me. I called Quincy and had him bring us both a change of clothes. A nurse bandaged me up, and Ashlynn watched carefully, her eyes narrowing every time the nurse touched me or flirted with me.
It was a nice change of pace to see her as the jealous, possessive one.
We sat for several hours, waiting for word on Cooper. I knew Cooper was tough, but I was still nervous. A lot could go wrong, and he’d lost a lot of blood. I felt obligated to call someone, to let his family know what was happening, but I realized I had no clue about his family. I’d never asked him questions, never gotten to know him outside of working together and scoping out women in bars.
I’d been an asshole. I resolved to be a better friend, hoping that if he came out of this, I could finally open up to him and have him reciprocate.
“He’ll be okay.” Ashlynn whispered in my ear, and a flash of affection overcame me. She held my hand tightly and then rested her head against my shoulder. I stared straight ahead, waiting for the doctor to come out. It had been over five hours, and I was more anxious than ever.
The doctor finally passed through the double doors, and I gently removed Ashlynn from my shoulder. She’d fallen asleep on me.
“Ash, the doctor’s here.”
We got up and walked towards him.
“He’ll survive,” the doctor said, scanning Ashlynn and I briefly. “We managed to stop the bleeding and repair the damage. He’s resting now in recovery, but we’ll move him into another room later this evening. You can see him quickly now, but then I suggest you both go home and get some rest. We’ll call you if anything changes.
I sighed in relief, the tension leaving my muscles. “Thank you, doctor.”
We both knew what was going to happen the second we got home. I couldn’t wait for the pretenses to be dropped. Ashlynn knew she loved me, and she knew I knew it too. I didn’t need her to say it, because I felt it in my entire body. Every touch, every glance she gave me conveyed exactly what I wanted her to finally admit to herself.
She’d finally let herself love me.
Quincy delivered my car to the hospital garage, so I was able to drive us both back to my townhouse. I noticed right away that the front door was replaced as well as the door to my bedroom.
“Steele, where was your security team tonight?” She looked at me closely, noticing the significance of their absence.
“I replaced my team after your father took you the first time, but I’m still short men. They’ve been watching you, my love. Ever since you left France.”
“Seriously? You had your men on me again and I didn’t notice?”
“They gave you a wide perimeter this time. Plus, your house is under surveillance at all times. Cameras, trip lines, the whole deal. They didn’t need to get close to you.”
She exhaled loudly, and I watched as her ears turned pink. She was pissed.
“I know you are going to say that it was a huge violation of your privacy, but I don’t give a damn. Do you think I honestly would have let you leave me without protecting you?”
She chewed on the inside of her cheek. I was curious to see if she’d give in to her temper or let it slide this once.
“I guess not,” she grumbled, unbuckling her seatbelt and sliding out of the car.
Disaster temporarily avoided. I was sure she’d bring it back up at some point, but for tonight, arguing with me wasn’t on her agenda.
She wanted me as much as I wanted her.
We both walked straight up to my room, silent. There was so much we wanted to say, but words weren’t enough. We would let our kisses, embraces, and sighs do the talking this time.
She followed me into the bedroom, and before she could even close the door, I pulled her into my arms. Her chest met mine and I leaned down and kissed her, slowly moving my lips against hers. As much as my body wanted to get her naked and shove inside of her, my mind wanted us to come together gently. Tenderly.
She kissed me back, her fingers running through my hair before she placed her hands against my chest. I tried to steady my breathing, but I could feel the ragged air escape my lungs. I needed to hold it together, but the anticipation was playing with my head.
She moved her lips from my mouth and nuzzled my neck, and I cursed as she placed a kiss at the hollow of my throat, moaning quietly.
“You’re burning me alive,” I said, cupping her cheeks in my hands. “I’ve never met someone so aptly named. Pretty soon there’s going to be nothing left of me but ash.”
Her brown eyes met mine, and she removed her hands from my chest and pulled her t-shirt over her head and unclasped her bra. I shuddered as her nipples instantly hardened when the cold air hit them. She covered herself, but I pulled her hands down and held them in mine.
“None of that now. We’ve been through hell and back, you and me. We’re cemented together now. You don’t get to be bashful or ashamed. Your body is now mine, just as mine is yours—and I’ll love every inch of it until my last breath.”
The intensity of my words must have moved her, because she kissed me again on the lips. Her fingers snaked down and grabbed the hem of my shirt, and she pulled it off, throwing it down on the floor to join hers. Her palms went right back to my chest, and she traced the crevasses of my muscles. I bit my bottom lip and tightened my hold on her.
“I hate these scars,” she whispered, her eyes downcast. “I feel guilty every time I see them.”
“Don’t. If your father hadn’t taken me, you might not have realized what we had. I’ll wear them proudly for the rest of my life. Treasure the sacrifices we made for each other.”
We breathed together, my forehead against hers. I ran my fingers along her bare arms, feeling her tremble slightly at my touch. She stood on her tiptoes and our mouths melted together again, and I licked the seam of her lips, silently asking for entrance.
She opened her mouth, and I took what I wanted, kissing her so intently that a nuclear bomb could have gone off and I would have kept at it. When we were both shaking with need, I picked her up in my arms and then set her carefully on the bed. Her back hit the mattress, and I hovered over her, caressing her cheek and tracing her brow.
I pulled off her pants and discarded mine. She had on the same black panties she was wearing the night before when I changed her, but this time I removed them, the excitement mounting in my chest.
My body wanted to claim her right away, but my mind and heart wanted it to last. Instead of moving between her legs right away, I laid next to her, tracing lazy, slow circles across her hips and thighs.
“You’re teasing me,” she accused, her eyes wide with desire.
“It’s only fair,” I said with a low chuckle. I kissed her neck and then moved farther down, nuzzling her breasts and placing whisper-soft kisses along her rib cage. She squirmed, but I was delighted in her acquiescence. Before, she would have goaded me into getting inside her as quickly as possible, rocking hard and finishing us off as fast as I could. But now, she let me hold her, touch her…love her.
When I couldn’t contain myself anymore, I finally separated her thighs and moved in between them. My head found her entrance, and she was drenched for me.
Just like always.
I touched her how she loved, ensuring she was more than ready for me, and then I moved inside slowly, savoring the connection I felt when I was within her.
Her mouth opened slightly, and she closed her eyes, the sensation overwhelming. I wanted to tell her to open them, but I knew she wasn’t pretending that this wasn’t happening. Not like before.
She just couldn’t handle the pleasure.
I thrust carefully, trying to make it last. Endurance wasn’t a problem for me, but when it had been this long since I’d fucked her, my control was slipping. Luckily, she’d experienced the same dry spell as me, and she was moaning and thrashing as my pubic bone rubbed her with every slick movement.
“That’s my girl,” I encouraged, smoothing her hair and then muttering in her ear. “Let yourself go. Don’t hold back—there’s plenty more waiting for you.”
She scrunched up her face and then climaxed, whimpering as she clutched at my back. My scars bothered her, but she”d have to get used to them now. I’d endured a lot of trauma, but if it had brought me to this moment, to this exact second when this beautiful woman was pulsing around me, it was all fucking worth it.
She threw her head back, trying to catch her breath, but I pushed us both forward.
“I can’t again—not so soon—”
“Yes, you can,” I encouraged, bringing my mouth down to her breasts, “and it needs to happen now.”
At my command, she released again, softer this time, but satisfying all the same. With a few more thrusts, I finally allowed myself to finish, filling her full of my essence. I stayed inside of her, pulsing for almost a full thirty seconds. It was the greatest high I’d ever known.
We both came down from the clouds gently, our breathing becoming steady and calm. I stayed inside of her, hovering over her body and kissing her as tenderly as I knew how.
“My god, I hope you’re pregnant,” I whispered, biting her lower lip gently.
“Steele!” She smacked me playfully, slightly horrified, slightly aroused.
“I mean it. That way, you’d be forced to marry me. For your honor.”
She giggled and then laid her head back down, sighing contentedly.
“I’m back on my birth control, you freak.”
“One thing at a time then,” I said. “I plan to bind you to me for life, Ashlynn Phillips.”
For the first time in our relationship, she didn’t disagree with me, and she just rested her head on my chest.