Chapter 26 #2
She huffs out an annoyed breath. “See? Emotionally stunted to hell.”
“Well, this is an MC. An illegal one at that, and they don’t always attract the most well-adjusted people. A lot of us have had trauma in our past.”
“Ace has had trauma, but he’s well-adjusted.”
This is the second time she’s called him that. Is she insane?
“Ace? No, he’s fucking not. He’s batshit crazy.
The man is off his head half the time, and the other half, he’s off rescuing animals or carrying out some harebrained scheme.
He goes from being the life and the soul, to wanting to cut your head off in the blink of an eye with no reason, so please don’t say Ace is normal. ”
“At least he can admit to his feelings,” she points out.
“What about you?” I demand. “You talk about being emotionally well-adjusted, but what kind of game are you playing here? You’re messing around with both Rook and Ace, and I can see that each of those men are falling hard for you.
How will you choose? Never mind Jack. The man has tried to tell you numerous times why it’s not a good idea for you and him to be together, and you won’t listen.
You keep pushing for what you want.” I step closer to her.
“You’re greedy, Camile. You want it all, all of us.
It doesn’t work like that. Maybe what I did was wrong, but what you’re doing is wrong, too.
You’re going to destroy friendships, and you’re going to tear up hearts, and then one day you’re going to be gone, and you’ll leave behind a trail of destruction. ”
“Fuck you.”
Her palm cracks across my cheek, snapping my head to one side. Heat blooms before the pain of the slap makes itself known. I stand there, half stunned, and half impressed with how strong she is. But when she goes for round two, pulling back her arm again, her eyes fierce, I grab her wrist.
She struggles to get free of me, and I let go, not wanting to hurt her.
Her lower lip trembles. “Fuck you for saying those things to me after everything I’ve been through. I thought you were one of the good guys, Ghost.”
There’s a wildness in her deep brown gaze, and her rapid breathing and clenched fists show how livid she is. She shoves past me and runs from the room. I follow her down the hallway.
She heads for the front door.
“Where the fuck are you going?” I demand.
“To the party. Screw you.”
The party will be wild by now. Raucous for sure, and maybe even turning violent.
Most of the ol’ ladies will have gone home, taking their men with them.
The remaining men will either be single, or the ones who don’t listen to what their ol’ ladies say.
There will be more alcohol flowing, and the sweetbutts will have arrived.
It’s around this time of night that things can get really crazy.
Especially at these outdoors parties, for some reason.
I’ve even witnessed mini orgies happening on blankets spread out on the grass, and guys fighting for no particular reason.
Glass gets broken and bottles get thrown.
It’s the last place I want Camile to be.
And anyway, she can hardly go like that.
She’s barefoot and wearing only her panties and a silky camisole.
So, I act on instinct. I tear after her and, just as she reaches for the door, I slam my hand on it, holding it shut.
Then I wrap my other arm around her waist and lift her into me.
She kicks and starts screeching at me to let her go.
I carry her back to the bedroom, throw her onto the bed, and stand over her.
We’re both breathing hard as I look down at her.
“You are fucking crazy.” My temper is hot and burning in my gut, and that’s terrifying because I am always in control.
I don’t feel much of anything these days, but this slip of a girl makes me feel all the time, far too much, to be honest. “You can’t keep behaving like this.
You were taken. Hasn’t the danger you’re in sunk in yet? ”
She glances down her body, and her eyes widen, as if, in her anger, she’d forgotten she’s not wearing much in the way of clothing. I follow her gaze. Her legs are slim and toned, and I want to slide that camisole up and kiss her stomach. I bet her skin is so soft.
She pulls her knees into her chest. “I want you to leave and send someone else. Ace, maybe. You spied on me, Ghost. You watched me, in my most vulnerable moments. Am I supposed to just forgive you?”
I steady myself, my muscles tensing. “I haven’t asked for your forgiveness. I’m sorry my actions have upset you, but if I had to do the same thing again, I would.”
Her head snaps up. “You can’t be serious?”
“If I hadn’t had the cameras still going, we’d probably never have figured out who’d taken you. It was that footage that saved your goddamned life.”
She rolls her lips into a line, a couple of creases appearing between her dark eyebrows. I can see she’s considering what I’ve just said.
When she speaks again, her tone is softer. “You should have told me about them.”
I shake my head. “No, I shouldn’t. If I had, you’d have told me to remove them, and then we’d never have caught those two men stealing you out of your bed in the middle of the night.
I should never have watched you during those intimate moments.
I know that was wrong, but the cameras, and my decision not to remove them and not to tell you about them, saved you. ”
She hugs her knees tighter, and I risk taking a seat on the edge of her bed. “I’m not trying to excuse my actions. I guess I’m just hoping you might try to see things more from my point of view. It’s my job to keep an eye on things around here.”
She lifts her chin slightly and catches my eye. “You spying on anyone else having sex?”
“No,” I admit. “Just you. I tried to stop, but I couldn’t. You’re like a drug, Camile. Not just to me, but clearly to Ace, Rook, and Jack, too. You’ve made me obsessed. I… “
What can I say? That I want to watch her, Ace, and Rook again, but be in the room, and be the one in control. The one telling them what to do. That’s fucked up. It’s not normal.
“You want me?” she asks, her pink tongue flicking across her lower lip, wetting it.
“I think… fuck, I think I want all of you. It. The thing you three have. I want that. As in, I want to be part of that, but kind of in charge. I want to be the one who tells Ace to slide down your body and kiss your perfect tits as he goes. I want to tell Rook what you need.”
Her breath catches and the look in her eyes changes again. “You’d actually be in the room and watch?” She scoots back so her spine is against the headboard.
“I’d watch and direct.”
“Oh, God.” Her voice sounds ragged.