“I can’t let you go.”
He reaches for me, and this time, I reluctantly give him my hand.
“What’re you going to do? Pick me up over your shoulder, and carry me to your home?”
“I’m thinking about it.”
“I need to do this. I need to be on my own. Just say good-bye. Please.”
Slowly, he lets my hand slip from his fingers, and I turn to leave Burke behind me. I don’t know where I’m going to go from here, but this is what needs to be done.
Burke speaks before I’m out of range, “Good-bye, Paisley.”
I keep walking, and I swear, he utters the words, “I love you,” to my retreating back.
Burke
Teagan has been in the hospital for the last two days. Between Kai and me, one of us is at her bedside at all times. The uniformed security remains stationed outside her room for the duration of the stay, not that we’ve needed them for anything. Teagan has been too tired and on too much pain medication to even be awake for longer than a few hours at a time. My limited time away from her has been spent sleeping, eating, showering, and putting some extra precautions in place.
Earlier today, I checked on things at the house in order to prepare for her coming home. The place in no way resembles the warm and comfortable home anymore, but at least all the vandalism and blood have been cleaned up.
Kai and I tried to do this on our own, and after admitting just how miserably we’d failed, we decided we needed help. J. Spencer is officially our new PI, and he is providing us with a large team to be at our disposal. He’s still going to see what he can dig up, but his extra guys are going to be our personal security at both the house and at the warehouse. I’m not really concerned about myself or Kai; it’s Teagan I’m worried about. I don’t care if Paisley doesn’t think she wants to be with me; I have someone on her, too.
I haven’t heard from Paisley since she walked away from me, and she sends all my calls straight to her voice mail. She’s been on my mind more often than not. Nothing about the beginning of our relationship was simple, but I never predicted the end would come like this.
When I sat down with her on the bench, I thought she would be upset, maybe even angry. I told her the truth though. I couldn’t lie to her about how I felt, and I couldn’t lie to her about what I thought she had done. I never planned for her to walk away.
Teagan hasn’t asked about Paisley yet, but that conversation is coming. I’m not sure if she’s going to ream me out for screwing things up or resent Paisley for giving up so easily. Maybe she’ll say we’re both idiots and call it a day.
I think about that while I help Teagan lie down. The bed and even the sheets are brand-new. I had to trash her furniture and only recently got around to buying the bed. The room feels different. It’s more open; it’s less welcoming. Teagan winces from the pain in her ribs as she tries to get comfortable. Every single one of her discomforts and pains is a reminder of my failure.
“Get Kai. We need to talk.” Teagan’s voice is stern.
“Whatever it is can wait. You need to rest first.”
“It can’t wait. Go get him. He needs to hear what I have to say.”
I search her tired face, which is set in a stubborn scowl. She won’t give up until I relent, so I take the lazy way out and shoot him a quick text, telling him to come upstairs to her room. Whatever she needs to tell us is obviously important, and she’s been waiting to get us alone.
Kai’s heavy steps get louder, and then he enters the room. “What’s up?”
“Take a seat. Teagan needs to speak with us.”
Kai sits at the foot of her bed while I rest near her head.
“Okay, you’ve got our attention. What is it?” I ask.
“While I was being held, I overheard things. Things I probably wasn’t supposed to, but he wasn’t necessarily worried about it at the time because it wasn’t their intention for me to make it out alive.”
Teagan looks over at Kai. I can already tell from the look on her face that whatever news she has to tell us has more to do with him than me. They communicate without words, and I begin to feel like I’m being left out of the conversation.
“What is it, Teagan? What did you hear?” I press.
“The guy who tortured me fielded a lot of phone calls that day. On one, he was talking to someone about Kai’s dad being released from prison soon.” She turns to look Kai in the eyes. “He was laughing about your dad being on the outside while you rotted away for my murder. The guy wa–”
“That’s impossible. He’s got a life sentence,” Kai interrupts.
“Is anything really impossible right now?” Teagan defends.
Kai’s fist hits the bed, and Teagan startles.
“Keep your cool, bro. She doesn’t need to be upset right now.”
“Don’t treat me like I’m broken glass, Burke. He has a right to be upset.”
My sister is incredibly difficult sometimes. Fuck!
“He can be upset without scaring you. Don’t fight me right now, Teagan.”
“And you yelling at her isn’t upsetting at all? Just scream at her to get your way.”
Kai makes a good point, which doesn’t sit well with me. I clench my fist. I’m pissed the fuck off at myself, at him, at the whole fucking situation.
“Can we just discuss this without jumping down each other’s throats?” Teagan pleads.
We settle down and look back and forth between one another.
Kai speaks up first, “Did you hear anything else?”
“Nothing else important. That was the only thing I heard that stuck out as a clue.”
I reach toward the nightstand and grab her painkillers. “Take these. If there is nothing else, then you need to rest. You’ve been through a lot. We can talk more about this later.”
She doesn’t fight me for once. She takes the pills from my hand and swallows them down with some water.
I kiss her forehead and then rise from the bed. “Get some sleep. I love you, Teagan.”
“I love you, too, Burke.”
I head out of the room, and Kai stays behind. I give him a moment with her and head down to the living room.
Kai’s dad.
We probably should have known. He’s got something to do with this, if not everything to do with this. It doesn’t seem like this vendetta against us has anything to do with greed or our business after all. It’s a much different kind of revenge. Just days ago, we were sent to the same prison Kai’s dad is held at. Kai was set up for crimes he hadn’t committed. I don’t need Kai’s analytical brain to see that whole orchestrated scene at the farm was arranged for Kai’s downfall, his punishment. Fuck, this is so much more complicated than someone wanting to put us out of business.
Kai barrels down the stairs and storms past me.
I sprint to catch him. “Where the fuck are you going?”
“Where do you think? To the fucking prison.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be the smart one? You can’t just storm into a prison. What do you think you could even do with him in there? Get yourself shot?”
“Fuck! Hasn’t that bastard done enough? Why the hell is he coming after me now?”
“I don’t know. Come sit down. We need to talk.”
“Why does everyone keep fucking saying that today? What else, man?”
We both take a seat on the sofa, and Kai cradles his face in his hands.
“Can you think of any way your past and family could have anything to do with Paisley?”
“What? No. What are you talking about, man?”
I fill Kai in about the flowers on the wall in the room Paisley was kept in. I remind him of her nightmares. Paisley’s past and Kai’s have both come back to haunt us with whatever happened at that fucking farmhouse.
“None of this makes any fucking sen–”
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
We look from one another as the knocking continues. Taking a dee
p breath, I rise from the couch to see who is at the door. Kai follows behind me. Checking out the peephole, I shake my head at my own paranoia and open the door. It’s the freaking mailman.
“Good afternoon! I have a certified letter for Kai Grant.”
Kai steps forward. “I’m Kai.”
“Great, just sign here.”
Kai scribbles on an electronic clipboard device, and the man hands over an envelope. I slam the door as the mailman turns to leave. Kai quickly rips open the letter, and I wait. He scans the paper. Reads it for too fucking long while I wait, holding my fucking breath. His eyes move back and forth across the page, and I grow impatient.
“Well?”
“It’s a notice from the parole board. My dad has an appeal for his case in three months. It says they have new evidence indicating his innocence. How the fuck could they have evidence of his innocence when the fucking man couldn’t be more guilty?”
“They had evidence against you when you were innocent. How much harder could it be for someone capable to plant evidence to prove his innocence?”
“He won’t get out. I’ll make sure of it.”
“Maybe we should hope he gets out. Then, we can kill him ourselves.”
Burke
Whiskey for breakfast is understandable after the events of the last week or so. Kai enters the kitchen and watches me with judgment. Fuck him. I can tell he has more news, and it’s probably bad. I grab a glass, fill it with ice, and bring the bottle with me to the kitchen table, anticipating I’ll need the load.
“Paisley’s on her way over.”
So, I lied. I wasn’t ready.
I take a pull straight from the bottle before I fill my glass. “For what?”
“Seriously? For what? Lose the badass front, and man the fuck up. You’ve been a dick since she walked away, and you’re not fooling anyone with that garbage. Get her back, so we’re all spared the extra drama. She’s coming over to get her things. Stop her before it’s too late. Honestly, man, Paisley thinks you’re not home. She wanted to sneak in and out. I did you a solid and told her you weren’t here. Don’t fuck up my gift to you. I’m going to spend the day trying to figure out what the fuck my dad has to do with all this. Spend your day working shit out, too.”
With more dramatic effect than I care for, Kai pushes from the table and leaves me to contemplate the bomb he dropped.
Is she avoiding me because she doesn’t want to see me, or is it because she’s worried she’ll change her mind if we come face-to-face? My money is on the latter.
My phone vibrates on the table. I look down and see a text from a blocked number.
Blocked Number: She’ll never forgive you, but it won’t matter once I finish what Braelyn screwed up. Your day will come. Give my best to Kai. —Sonnelion
What. The. Fuck?
The doorbell rings, and stupidly, I abandon the phone. First things first. I’ll make her see we’re stronger together.
I walk through my home and pause for just a second before reaching for the knob. Paisley stands just on the other side, surprise clear on her face. I pull the door open wider and gesture for her to come in, which she does, sidestepping wide around me until I can close the door behind her. She fixes her expression and hardens her features. We stand, staring at one another from opposite sides of the room.
“I’m here to get my things, but I guess you already know that. I would have waited, but Kai said you were taking Teagan to physical therapy.”
“He lied. That’s tomorrow, and they come to the house.”
“Looks like I can’t trust him either.” Her words fall away, and her feet stop. She looks back at me. “Is Teagan here?”
Of course she wants to see Teagan. She left without saying good-bye to her.
“Yeah. She’s asleep up in her room, but you’re welcome to go and check on her. She took pain medication not that long ago, so if she wakes, she might be groggy. Come find me when you’re done. Your stuff is in my room.”
She nods and returns to her brisk pace, putting more distance between us, until she disappears from view. I then blow out a harsh breath.
Taking the stairs two at a time, I head to my room to wait for her. The seconds drag by, and minutes feel like a lifetime. I go over my game plan in my head, trying to memorize a script. It’s all garbage. The longer it gets, the more confusing it is, but the shorter versions don’t get my point across. Mapping things out isn’t my style. Articulating pretty words isn’t how I get what I want. I’m an act-first-and-think-later type of guy, and I need to do what I do best. Take what I want.
What I want is Paisley.
The knock on the door is so soft, I almost miss it, especially while trapped within my introspection.
It’s time to man up. Time to get what I want. Time to make Paisley see what is blatantly obvious to me.
Her eyes are red and glossy when I let her in, and although I can tell she’s trying to hide that she’s been crying, it’s clear her visit with Teagan upset her. Much like she did when I opened the front door, she walks by me without actually looking at me. Her stuff is all piled together on my bed. She won’t be leaving with it if I have any say.
“Paisley.”
She ignores me and pulls open the zipper on her bag. Of course she does. Paisley’s as stubborn as they come, but she’s also bold and courageous. I love each of these parts of her, but today, I hope her stubbornness wanes a little.
“We need to talk, Paisley. Quit being unreasonable, and let’s fix this. We need each other. I need you.”
“We said all we needed to say the other day outside the hospital. I’m not interested in any more words.”
I’m not going to lie; her cold shoulder hurts. She’s so quick to shut me down.
“You know what? You’re right. I’m not interested in more words either.”
Without second-guessing things, I spin her to face me and then crush my lips to hers, releasing everything that’s built up in the last few days. I’m hungry for her. I’m pissed at her. All of these emotions battle together as our lips brush against each other’s. There isn’t a second of hesitation on Paisley’s end. She kisses me back with as much aggression and hostility and honesty as I kiss her. My lips bruise hers. Her teeth scrape mine. Our tongues battle in this moment; our wants are winning out.
I’m not good with words, but I’m good at this. I can show Paisley how much I need her and make her realize her mistake in keeping us apart. Before long, clothes are being torn off. Her nails rake down my flesh. My grip yanks on her hair. Her body clings to mine. My teeth graze her neck.
Our connection is violent and angry, but it’s all us. Stripped of our egos and bullshit, we collide into each other, wanting the other’s touch. I’m going to fuck her into compliance. Hateful, angry sex will be good for the both of us.
I spin her around, her back to my front. My hand slides down her body, and she squirms against me, anxious for my touch to reach a little lower. I crave how she feels when she’s at mercy and take pleasure in winding her up. Finally reaching my destination point, I use my hold between her legs to pull her tighter against me. My hips grind against her backside, and two of my fingers make a slow and steady rotation on her clit. A carnal moan leaves her lips as I assault the curve of her neck with my mouth. I leave bite marks in my wake, but she doesn’t shy away.
Her hands rise and grip the back of my head with a rough touch.
“I love feeling your wetness drip onto my fingers.” I grind my dick into her ass. “I want you so much.”
I live to please her. I live for this and everything that comes along with it. Paisley’s breathing escalates to a hurried pace, letting me know she’s on the verge of coming. Her body shakes, and I increase the speed of my touch before sliding a single finger inside her. She pants with the back of her head resting against my neck. I have to adjust my hold when her knees go slack, and she lets out a series of loud moans. I release her, and Paisley almost falls to the floor from suddenly havi
ng to use her legs to hold herself up. I don’t let her gain her bearings though.
“Bend over. Hands on the bed. Feet on the floor. Ass up.”
Paisley looks over her shoulder and gives me some smart little attitude with a pout to her lips and disobedience lighting up her eyes. I hold my stance. Arms folded. Naked in all my glory. She holds my eyes as she moves, placing both her palms flat and giving her ass a playful little shake once she’s in position. I move behind her and take a moment more to enjoy her skin beneath my palms. My hands move from the top of her spine to the bottom. I graze her ass with intent to go back there once I have my fill of her skin, and my fingertips move to her hips and thighs.
Impatient, she wiggles her hips again, but I’m not ready. I want more before we move on. I stand behind her, taking in the view of her fully exposed to me. My hand grabs my cock as she glances back at me, watching me stroke myself while I take in the sight of her. She licks her lips, and the once-unwavering cockiness inside me rises back to the top.
“I don’t have it in me to be gentle right now, Paisley.”
I need her to hear the words before I go forward. I need confirmation.
“I don’t want gentle, Burke.”
Permission granted.
Paisley lets her eyes drift closed, as if the sight of me stroking myself is too much for her, and I deliver one sharp swat to her ass with my free hand. Her skin pinks, and being the asshole I am, I get off on the startled squeak that leaves her lips. My hands soothe the stinging skin before I bring another hand down on her pink cheek. Paisley returns her eyes to mine, and the fire within them sparks back to life for the first time since she walked into my home today.
“Better,” I murmur.
Her hands grip the sheets while her teeth tug on her bottom lip, and she arches her back. The arousal she feels is clear on her face, making it hard for me to hold off any longer.
I line myself up with her with one hand and hold on to her hip with the other. I tease her entrance with the tip of my cock and chuckle when she tries to push back onto me. She deserves every last bit of anticipation for walking away from us. I push slowly inside her, displaying the only bit of restraint I have left. She pushes back against me before I can slow her, and we’re connected to the hilt, skin against skin. My fingers dig into her hips as I move in and out of her. Her wetness coats me, and that sight undoes me. I thrust inside her hard, and Paisley loses the placement of her hands. She falls forward onto the bed while I continue to pound into her.
Vengeance in Bloom (The Love Unauthorized Series Book 2) Page 5