by KB Winters
His words made me curious in a way I had never been before. Even when he taught me to fight, I never asked about his life. About why he never took vacations or left the compound. I didn’t give a fuck, back then.
“I’m not looking to be your father or any fucked-up shit like that. Hell, I’m not even looking to be your business partner. That’s you and Sadie. But I am here, to listen, to protect, to do what’s needed to keep everyone safe.” His gaze was intense, serious.
He meant what he said.
His words made me feel like the shit he’d accused me of being. “I know.” Thomas wasn’t family, but he’d been a better father to me, hell to all of us, than Colm Ashby had ever fucking been.
Thomas produced another of his fancy fucking handkerchiefs to dab the blood on his mouth. “I’m going to go sit with Sadie for a while.” He finished his drink and gave the messed up dining room a scan, and shook his head before he walked out.
“Hold up,” I called after him and finished my own tumbler. “I’ll come with you.”
Thomas nodded and waited until I was at his side to start walking again, in silence.
“Seriously, those leg kicks fucked me up. You still fight like a younger man.”
His lips quirked into a smile. “I’m happy to kick your ass whenever you start acting like a bitchy little brat.”
I smiled, still pissed that he kicked my ass. “Yeah, well, the fuck you still stands.”
“Sticks and stones, Jas. Sticks and motherfucking stones.”
I smiled at those words; they were the same ones he said to me whenever I got into a fight at school because some asshole thought he could talk shit about Sadie. About my shitty dad. My family in general.
“They hit you with meaningless words, you hit ’em with a jab to the mouth to shut them up, Jasper. Sticks and stones break bones, my boy. Sticks and motherfucking stones.”
I never forgot those words from that moment forward. It was a lesson that served me well throughout my life.
Chapter Eighteen
Mo
After another shift at Midnight Mass, yet another late-night shift at Lucky Lopez, and an hour and a half at Sadie’s side, I managed to fall asleep sometime just before the sun came up. This schedule was exhausting, and like I already told Jasper, I couldn’t keep it up. Not for more than a few more days.
Hell, even that might kill me.
But it wasn’t thoughts of my pregnancy or Jasper that had me awake just a few hours after my head hit the pillow. It was a sound that, as I slowly came to full consciousness, I realized was someone pounding on my door.
Pounding like they were the goddamn police. I stayed under my comforter, clutching my pillow like a security blanket for another minute, waiting for the nausea to take over the way it always did first thing in the morning. After two minutes of waiting—and knocking—the nausea didn’t come, so I swung my legs over the bed and reached for my black silk robe before I went to see who was trying to beat my door down.
Jasper. Of course, it was fucking Jasper, looking hot and angry and torn up about Sadie and like he hadn’t slept for days. My heart leaped, my ovaries pulsed, and my pussy leaked at the sight of him.
“Jasper? What are you doing here?” I shook my head. “And so goddamn early?”
“You alone?” He growled the question, almost jealous. Almost as if the answer mattered more than he would ever admit.
I tightened the robe around me and sighed. “Not that it’s any of your business, but yes, I’m alone.” It would be nice if he actually cared, but this was likely about work.
“Oh, and thanks for the flowers and chocolates, but it was completely unnecessary.” If I got a gift every time he hurt my feelings or fucked someone else, I’d be even more flush than I already was.
“Glad you like them,” he said dismissively, his gaze scanning the space behind me just in case there was another man lurking around. Finally, he pushed inside and looked around the living room and the kitchen, low-key peeking inside my bedroom. Just in case.
“What do you want, Jas?” He was acting strange, which was expected given all the stress he was under, but I wasn’t what he wanted. Or what he needed.
He turned with that smile that was guaranteed to incinerate my panties if I’d been wearing any. “You.”
I let out a sigh and shook my head. “Thanks for the offer, but I’m not in the mood.”
He stepped in close, his big hands going to my tits over the robe, squeezing and kneading while his mouth worked my neck and collarbone, sending shivers down my spine. His lips were fire and magic, and my pussy pulsed to life. I trembled under his touch, and Jasper laughed, the sound deep and gravelly like honey poured over rocks.
“Oh, I can get you in the mood, Mo.”
He knew I was thisclose to giving in, to submitting to his sexual needs. I knew it too, but today I hated myself for giving in.
His fingers found my pussy bare and soaked as they slid in, testing how ready I was for his thick cock. Two fingers pumped in and out of me, right there against the wall beside my bedroom. My hips swirled and silently begged for more while Jasper licked my collarbone, pulled my sensitive nipples in his mouth.
“Fuck, Mo. These tits…so fucking perfect.”
I closed my eyes and listened to his grunts and groans, his sounds of satisfaction as he explored my body with his mouth and tongue and teeth. Explored the expanse of skin like it was something new instead of something he routinely used and discarded. Jasper kissed his way down my body, taking extra time on my tits before sliding down my belly. One kiss on my left hip. The right hip.
He gripped my thighs tight, spreading them wide before he slung one over his shoulder, burying his tongue deep in my pussy. He fucked me with his tongue and swirled his tongue around my swollen, slick clit. It was the best kind of torture, heaven and hell as fire swirled around us. He licked and sucked, laving at my pussy like it was the only thing in this whole world he wanted. I gripped his hair tight, fucking his face until my body started to tremble.
My legs shook, and I looked down, watching Jasper as he watched me. He ate my pussy and stroked his cock, putting on an erotic show that was just for me. His eyes smiled, and that was it, the thing I needed before my control snapped, and the honey from my pussy slid down his tongue. He lapped up every drop, until my legs were weak.
“Jasper,” I moaned even as he kept licking my clit and nipping his teeth into the sensitive skin.
“Mmm,” he growled and sucked long and hard until he ripped another orgasm from me, taking another piece of my heart with it. Jasper grinned. I could see the shimmer in his eyes as if he knew exactly what he was doing to me.
“Fuck,” I growled as the last bits of pleasure fled my body.
“Oh, I plan to fuck.” Jasper scooped me in his arms like he was some fucking white knight, and I was some damsel in distress, and I reveled in it for the few moments it lasted. Because when he laid me on the bed, he looked more like a fallen angel, maybe the devil himself with his cock jutting out, the pearly bead of pre-come perched at the tip.
“I plan to fuck that pretty little mouth of yours. Been thinking about her all night.”
I slid to the edge of the bed and let my head hang over because I knew what Jasper liked. I liked I too. Fuck, that was a lie. I loved it. I loved it when he stepped close enough that I could lick his balls, trace my tongue over the sac while his thigh muscles screamed with the need to collapse or fall. I loved the way he stroked his cock into my mouth, easing it in slowly so I could tease and wet every inch of him.
Most of all, I loved the sounds he made when I took him deep, and he grabbed my tits hard and squeezed as his hips pumped in a slow, rhythmic motion that sent my pussy leaking down my ass and onto the bed.
“Oh fuck, Mo. Yes!”
The harder he squeezed, the more he enjoyed it, and I already knew my tits would be sore for days.
“Mmm,” I moaned until the back of my throat vibrated around his tip.
“Fucking, tease. Yes.” He pumped deeper and faster, damn near choking me, and I ate it up, sliding one hand down my body to give my clit some relief.
“Mo,” he growled as his sac tightened and his cock grew harder. Thicker. “Ugh!” That one guttural grunt came a moment before he yanked his cock from my mouth.
“Turn around. On your knees.”
Another woman might have been put off by his tone. Might have found it demeaning, but I loved his harsh commands.
“Like this?” I wiggled my ass and arched my back, so my slick cunt was all he could see.
“Yes. Just like that.” Then he buried his long, thick cock deep. Balls deep. His hands gripped my hips, smacking my ass between deep strokes. He fucked me, hard and fast, and oh so good that I came again within seconds.
“Oh fuck, Jas, yes! Harder. yes!” My pussy clenched as my body convulsed, and I collapsed onto the bed.
He growled and got on top of me, closing my legs so there was nothing but friction as he fucked me from behind, fast and hard. He pulled my hair with one hand and pressed down on my back with the other, fucking me like a wild man until he froze and the warm splash of his come flooded my body.
“Oh. Fuck.” He trembled and jerked before he collapsed beside me, chest heaving from exertion.
My face was buried in the mattress, a satisfied smile on my face. I didn’t look up, didn’t dare look over to Jasper because I wasn’t ready for the bubble to burst. Eventually, the bed moved as he made his way to my bathroom. I let myself drift off to sleep, sure he would be long gone by the time I woke up again. And it was a good thing because I didn’t want to hear his dismissive words or see the way he got dressed and left without a word.
“What the fuck is this?” His angry question startled me awake, and I sat up—too fast-and laid back down, covering my eyes as nausea sat on me like a weighted blanket. I inhaled deeply and let it out as slowly as I could before daring to open my eyes again.
“Be. More. Specific.” The words were slow and punchy to keep the nausea at bay for as long as I could.
“All of this shit in your bathroom. Pregnancy books. Empty pregnancy test boxes. Prenatal vitamins. Don’t tell me you were stupid enough to get yourself knocked up?”
His derisive tone was like a punch in the face. It was just another reminder of what he thought of me.
“I didn’t tell you anything,” I reminded him with as much attitude I could muster while fighting off sickness.
“Yeah, well, now I’m asking. Are you pregnant?”
“And that’s your business how, exactly?” I glared at him with hate at his words. “Well?”
“We just fucked, Mo.”
“I know. It was incredible, as always.”
“Mo, don’t get cute with me. Answer the fucking question. Are you pregnant?”
“Yeah, I am.” I kept my eyes closed in hopes it would stop the room from spinning. My nipples still tingled from my orgasms, but they started to itch and pinch with pain.
“And who is the father, or do you even fucking know?”
And there it was, the reminder that I was nothing more than a whore.
“Back to the whore thing again, are we?”
I sat up slowly and glared at him. “You’re happy to be the recipient of my services, but you love to throw it back in my face just to hurt me.”
He said nothing, which was good because I was on a roll.
“Since I’m such a whore, let’s just pretend I don’t know who the father is. All right? Does that work for you?”
He let out an angry growl and crawled on the bed until he was right in my face until all I could see were the flecks of color in his green eyes.
I winced at the motion. “Don’t wobble the fucking bed!”
I slapped a hand over my mouth; the yelling was too much. I pushed Jasper away and fled from the bed like my ass was on fire, making it to the bathroom just in time to avoid a lengthy clean-up session.
“Fuck,” I groaned to myself and pushed up to my feet, rinsing my face and my mouth with cold water.
Jasper stared at my reflection in the mirror from the doorway, arms folded, his king of the world expression firmly in place.
“Who is the father, Mo?”
He didn’t want to know the truth. I knew it even if Jasper didn’t. With a sigh, I turned to him, took in the sight of him, knowing that after I told him the truth, this might be the last time we were together like this.
“Despite what you think you know about me, I haven’t been with anyone in months. Until you fucked me a little over two months ago. And then just now. Figure it out for yourself since you know so much.”
“Me?” He threw his head back and laughed as if it was the funniest thing in the goddamn world. Disbelief was written all over his handsome face. “You have to be fucking kidding me.”
I shrugged off his words. “Okay.”
“What the fuck does that mean, Mo?”
“It means you will believe what you want to believe, Jasper. I haven’t even decided if I’m keeping this baby, so what you think doesn’t matter to me. You’re so sure it’s not yours, then it’s really none of your business. So if you don’t mind, get the fuck out.”
How I managed to stay so calm, I’d never know. Maybe it was just protecting my baby and my heart.
Jasper got in my face, so close the kitchen vanity dug into my back. “If that’s my baby, there is no fucking way in hell you’re killing it.”
I pushed at his chest and ignored the tears that stung my eyes. “You don’t believe this baby is yours, so it’s nothing for you to worry about.”
“Don’t fuck with me, Mo.” He was serious and angry and so hot I wanted to grab his cock to see if it was hard again. Or still hard.
Instead, I shrugged. “Don’t threaten me. It’s not your choice to make, Jasper, so I will do what I need to, what I have to do, for me. No one else but me.”
His chest pressed against mine, his face twisted into an angry scowl.
“Oh, I haven’t even begun to threaten you, Mo. Not yet.”
His gaze raked over my body, as real and as visceral as the way his mouth had earlier. I shivered at the memory, at the heat in his gaze. He wanted to hate fuck me right now; I could feel it. And I wanted it.
But Jasper took a step back and then another, and another, a wicked smile on his face as he disappeared from view. Moments later, the front door opened and then closed. My body relaxed when I confirmed that he was gone, but my heart raced like crazy.
Now that Jasper knew I was pregnant, I had to figure out what the fuck my next step would be. He wasn’t a man to fuck around with, but I wouldn’t let him force the decision before I was ready to make it. It was mine to make and mine alone.
Fuck what he thought.
Chapter Nineteen
Jasper
Mo was pregnant. Fucking pregnant and claiming that the baby was mine. Un-fucking-believable. With all the shit I had going on in my life, this was the last goddamn thing I needed.
I didn’t believe her, of course. I had a shit ton of money, and it was no secret Mo appreciated the finer things in life. Having a baby with an Ashby would set her up even better than she already was, but she hadn’t said a thing. She already had books and shit about being pregnant, which meant despite her flippant words, she was planning on keeping it.
Mo was going to keep the baby, and she hadn’t said a fucking word to me. Which begged the question, would she have said a word if I hadn’t shown up for a quick fuck? Was she more afraid of my fucked-up Ashby genes than the allure of my wealth and influence?
Or was she worried that I wasn’t a man capable of stepping up to take responsibility for my actions, that I wouldn’t take care of her and the baby? That was a lot of shit to unpack, and I didn’t have the time or mental energy to deal with it right now. I needed to move some of this shit off my plate, so I could deal with Mo and my possibly, maybe, baby.
A knock sounded, pulling me from my thoughts. I
’d come straight to Midnight Mass after visiting with Mo at least a few hours ago, and I hadn’t accomplished a damn thing. “What?”
The door opened and Terry appeared. With Ellison. “You sound like a big ball of sunshine.” Terry smirked and stepped inside, Jameson right behind him.
My attention went straight to Jameson. “It’s not payday yet,” I growled. “And don’t even fucking think about asking for more money.”
Everybody had a fucking hand out now that Sadie was still in a coma, and the local news talked about it nonstop.
Jameson wasn’t in uniform as he walked further into my office and dropped down on the leather chair directly in front of me.
“Damn, you are in a good mood.” His ever-present smile fixed in place, Jameson shook his head. “Relax, Jasper. I know you have a lot on your plate right now. I’m not looking to add to it.”
I nodded my appreciation.
“I was over at Pomodoro’s, you know that deli right off the Strip that caters to cops? They have the best roast beef and cheddar with fresh horseradish. It’s so fucking good, and I can’t get enough of it, but the smell makes Maddy sick, so I’m not allowed to bring it home until after the baby is born. And you know they put malt vinegar on their fries. Steak fries. That shit is unbelievable.”
“Get to the fucking point,” I growled.
Jameson grinned, not bothered by my bad attitude. “The fries are so damn crispy on the outside and almost like mashed potatoes on the inside. No idea how they do it, but it’s so good I damn near came in my pants.”
He chuckled and shook his head, gaze far off as if he was reliving his goddamn lunch.
“Ellison.”
He smiled again. “There was this cop there, Robinette, you know him? Anyway, he tells me to add a little extra malt vinegar until it’s almost soaked, and you know what? Fucking incredible. Know what else he told me?”
“You’re getting on my nerves, Ellison.”
“Told me about some plucky redheaded federal agent with a hard-on for the Ashby family. She dropped a tip that Lucky Lopez has underage girls working the stages. He didn’t believe it, of course, but Robinette has two ex-wives and is desperate for the overtime, so he’s suiting up for the planned raid tonight, right before shift change so between eleven and eleven-thirty would be my guess.”