“What?”
Aton grinned. “I figured if you saw her. Saw her address. You know, you’d go check things out. I know you, Wes. A beautiful woman is hard for you to resist. I thought you’d get close to her and give me something to work with. Never thought you’d fall in love with her.” Aton looked at me. “Or that you’d lie to me about being married to her.”
Every muscle in my body tightened. “I didn’t mean to, Aton. I didn’t know what to do. I checked on her and I got shot at. I had to get her out of there. Then it all went to hell. I panicked. I wasn’t thinking.”
“You were thinking. With your heart.”
“Maybe I was.”
“Love at first sight, Wes.”
“I don’t know what that is,” I said.
“I do.”
“Aton, I’m sorry. I never meant…”
“See, we’re going to end Danny soon,” Aton said. “The thing about a rat - a true fucking rat - is that they don’t like pain. They’re afraid of dying. So they chase their tail around and around. Luke had it set up to kill us all at the fight. I knew it. My guys were waiting. We took out all of Luke’s men. We got Danny and brought him here for a little fun. Actually, it was kind of fun to see him negotiate deal after deal… which we, of course, broke. Along with his toes. His ankles. His knees. His arms. And then his face.”
“Christ,” I whispered. “Well, he fucking deserves it.”
“Yeah. The thing is, Wes, you deserve it too.” Aton lifted his cane and I saw another set of chains hanging from the ceiling. “You understand that?”
I stiffened and nodded. “Okay. I accept it, Aton. I deserve it. I fucked up. I fucked everything up. But here’s the thing. You can’t do it to Rose. You can’t hurt her, Aton. You can cut me limb for limb if you want. You can kill me. I deserve it. But not her. She was…”
“Wes, I’m not going to kill you,” Aton said.
I opened my mouth and then another voice spoke. “He’s not going to kill you, but I am.”
45.
(Rose)
I walked up behind Wes and pushed my finger to his back. He turned, looked at me, and then wrapped his arms around me. He carried me out of the room of death and walked me to the hallway. He then put me against a wall and started to kiss me. It was hot, it was wild.
I grabbed his face and thrust my hips at him. I never wanted someone as bad as I wanted Wes right then.
The only reason we stopped kissing was because Aton cleared his throat.
Wes put an arm around me and held me tight to his body as we faced a man who could have us killed in a heartbeat.
“You both lied to me,” Aton said. “A cruel lie. Faking a marriage. Knowing it would hit me in a tender spot.”
“Aton,” Wes said.
“No,” he said. “You’re no longer invincible, Wes. You have a reason to survive. A reason to fight. She’s next to you.”
“I love her,” Wes said.
I pulled at Wes. I loved hearing him say that.
“Rose,” Aton said and gave a nod.
I watched as Rose reached into her pocket. She took out a ring and showed it to me.
“You can’t have a proper marriage without a ring,” Aton said. “That’s an important ring to me. You two best take good care of it.”
“What are you doing?” Wes asked. “Is this…”
It was the ring Aton gave his late wife. And now it was in my possession. As long as Wes wanted me to actually wear it. No matter what it actually represented.
“Aton,” Wes said. “I can’t.”
“You can and will,” he said. “There’s a lot of noise coming my way. I have a lot of business to tend to. I expect you both to disappear for a long time. Until I call for you.”
“When there’s a fight?” Wes asked.
“Yes.”
“Can’t Wes work for you?” I asked. “After everything…”
“There’s rules,” Aton said. “He smells of an Irishman. I can’t control that.” Aton flickered a grin and then dropped his cane. He opened his arms and nodded to Wes. “I can give you love, Wes. Come here, son.”
Wes stepped forward and hugged Aton. This was a big deal. Aton touched Wes’s face and kissed both cheeks. He patted Wes on the cheek and then pulled him close and whispered something in his ear. Wes gave a nod and then set his sights on me.
A second later, I was pinned up against the wall again, Wes’s mouth against mine.
~
My nails dug at Wes’s ass. God, his fucking ass was perfect. I wanted him harder, faster, and deeper. He fucked me so hard the bed slammed against the bedroom wall with thundering booms. We were in the cabin, tucked in the woods, and I’m sure my screams were enough to scare away animals for miles. We were wild, feral, tearing at each other like this moment should have never been allowed to exist.
His right hand cupped my breast hard. His tongue slithered along my neck and when he found my lips, my body was set back on fire. The orgasm was endless; it was the only way to describe it. From the first thrust of his cock, my body quivered and ached with the most intense pleasure possible.