Chapter 26 #2
“Like this?” She throws a punch at the bag, and it barely moves, dust puffing from the edge.
“Come on, love, you can do better than that. You know you can.”
She tries again. Better, but still holding back.
“What are you afraid of?” I ask .
“Hurting myself, I guess.”
“You won't. Trust me.” I move in front of her and hold my hands up. “Hit me. Right here.”
“What? No, Ashland?—”
“Hit me.”
“I'm not going to?—”
“Pretend I'm Marcus.” My voice goes hard. “Pretend I'm the bastard who grabbed you and tried to kill you. Now hit me.”
Her eyes flash. She winds up and throws a punch that connects with my palm, hard enough to sting.
“That's my girl.” I grin. “Do it again.”
We work for an hour. By the end of it, she's sweating and breathless and glowing. I'm hard as a rock, watching her fucking move. Watching her fight. Watching her become stronger, right in front of me.
“That's enough for the time being.” I kiss her hard and deep, and she melts into me. “Shower,” I growl against her mouth. “Now.”
But we don't even make it to the shower.
By the time we get to the room, my mouth is on hers, my hands are everywhere, mapping every curve, every soft inch of her.
“Ashland,” she whispers as I drop to my knees and hook her leg over my shoulder, dragging down her knickers and leggings in one quick tug.
I love eating her fucking cunt.
“Let me taste you, love. Let me make you come.”
I feast on her like a man starved, my tongue working her clit, my fingers curled inside her. She's so fucking sweet, so wet for me.
Her hands grip my head as she rides my face. “Oh god, Ashland, I love that. Don't stop. Don't fucking stop.”
She comes with a cry, her thighs trembling, her pussy clenching around my fingers. I don't stop until I've wrung out every last aftershock and she's whimpering.
“Wrap your legs around me,” I whisper in her ear, hard as fuck.
I pin her against the bed, then line myself up. “You want this?”
“Yes,” she begs. “Please. Love me. Take me. I want you.”
I sink into her in one hard thrust, and she gasps at the intrusion. She's so wet, so hot, so tight. I groan into her neck. She's so perfect, her body made for mine.
I fuck her hard and deep, her nails digging into my shoulders.
“You're mine,” I growl in her ear. “Fucking say it.”
“Yours.” She gasps. “Yours, Ashland. ”
“That's right.” I mark her with a sharp slap of my hand against her arse. “That's my girl.”
I bite her neck, marking her, claiming her. “Come for me again. Come on my fucking cock.”
She does, and her body seizes, her cries echoing in the room. I follow her over, emptying myself into her with a roar.
We stay like that for several heartbeats, both of us breathing hard, her forehead pressed to mine, sweating skin to skin.
“I love you,” she whispers, and the words still hit me like a punch to the gut.
“I fucking love you too,” I say. “I love you, and I don't know how to do this. I don't know how to be what you need, but I'm going to spend the rest of my life trying. I know that much.”
“You couldn't tell a lie if you tried, Ashland McCarthy.”
Then she kisses me, soft and sweet and full of promise, and for the first time since my brother died, I think maybe, just maybe, I can be the man she deserves.
The next day, we have dinner with the whole family. It's loud and chaotic as always, and she fits right in .
Bianca sits beside me, her hand in mine under the table, and I watch her laugh at Seamus's terrible jokes. Watch her hold her own in a debate with Declan about American politics.
“She's lovely,” Aunt Caitlin says, catching my eye. “Don't let her go, Ash.”
“I won't.”
“Good,” she says. “Your parents will like her.”
My mum and da haven't come yet. We're keeping things quiet—not a lot of in and out of the house. But now that Crowning's gone into hiding, I've been thinking about bringing them round.
“Ashland,” Bianca says softly, leaning toward me. “I'm thinking I want to help with the family business.”
I tense. “Bianca?—”
“I know I don't have the skills that Erin has or the training like you do, but I can learn. I want to learn.”
“You don't have to?—”
“I want to.” Her chin lifts, stubborn and beautiful. “I don't want to sit around and be protected. I want to be useful. I want to be part of this.”
“Right.” I'll talk to Erin, see if she has any ideas.
“I have a degree,” she tells me. “I studied, you know.”
“I know. ”
“I'm not exactly sure how my history degree is going to help you,” she says with a grin.
“Better than the degree I have, isn't it?”
“Which is?”
“None.” She grins wider.
“But if you work for us, you'll listen to me.” My voice goes hard. “You follow orders. My orders. Seamus's orders. If I say something's too dangerous, you listen to me, lass. Do you understand?”
“I understand.”
I pull her close and breathe her in. “I never thought I'd have this,” I whisper. “Someone to come home to. Someone who sees all of me and stays.”
“I'm not going anywhere, Ashland McCarthy,” she says. “You're stuck with me.”
“Good,” I whisper.
I couldn't save my brother. Couldn't protect what mattered most. But I'll be damned if I fail Bianca.