All breath left me because I thought he was going to try to kiss me, but instead, his hands went to my hips, lifting me clean up and tossing me over his shoulder.
“Put me down!” I shrieked, wriggling my body like crazy to escape his vise-like grip.
His reply was a sharp slap to my ass, and a grunted, “Shut your fuckin’ mouth, Aislynn, before I pull down that sexy-as-fuck skirt, spread your thighs, and slap that needy little pussy into submission.”
My screams caught in my throat because I knew it was no use; nobody could hear me, and Pagan was way too strong for me to escape.
Nobody was coming to save me.
I was screwed.
CHAPTER 19
PAGAN
It had been six weeks. Six weeks since I’d seen her, smelled her, touched her, or spoken to her. Six weeks since she’d smiled at me and called me honey in the soft, sweet voice I missed so much.
I knew Aislynn was mad at me, but I was mad at her too for not giving me the chance to explain. Still, I never expected her to fly thousands of miles away and leave me hanging the way she did.
I was so angry the night she walked in on me and that bitch that I knew I needed to cool down, and more to the point, she did too. By the time I got to Hambleton the next day, she’d already left for the airport. She didn’t even tell me she was leaving; I had to go to her brother’s bar on the pretense that I wanted to change a drinks order just to find out where she was. She’d switched her cell phone off, so I couldn’t even track her down and make sure she was safe.
In the end, Wiki hacked into her bank account and pinpointed where she traveled through her purchases and hotel bills. It was the only way I knew she was okay.
When I found out she was coming to Vortex for Maeve’s bachelorette party, I arranged for the waitress to spill a drink onher just to get her away from the table. What I had to say was private, and I knew I had to play it cool because her brothers and the Speed Demons were just feet away and wouldn’t hesitate to fight for her. Though I assumed they didn’t know what had happened between us because they hadn’t canceled their bookings, which, if I was honest, I’d half-expected.
I carried her into my office and gently put her down. My gut wrenched when she shrank away from me, but I ignored it and instead grabbed her purse out of her hand and rummaged inside, taking out her phone.
“What are you doing?” she demanded, her cheeks flushing with anger.
I wound the back of her hair around my fist so I could hold her steady, then angled her phone in front of her face to unlock it before I went to her message thread and typed,
Hey, Tris. I bumped into Pagan, and we’re having a talk. Cover for me, honey?
Within seconds,a message came back.
Tristan: OMG!!!!!!!!!!!! On it! Be good!
I tossedher cell back into her purse and dropped it onto the desk before I turned back to her, smirking.
Her gorgeous eyes flashed, and she cut out, “I can’tbelieve you!”
“Believe it,” I retorted. “You think you can just fuck off for six weeks and think that’s it? I told you, once you’re in, you’re not gettin’ out unless I agree, and I don’t remember agreein’ to shit.”
Her body snapped taut, and she shrieked, “You cheated on me!”
“I didn’t cheat on you!” I roared back, then I backtracked and rasped, “You’re not even my ol’ lady. Yet.”
“I’ll never be your ol’ lady,” she bit back. “I wouldn’t piss on you if you were on fire.”
“Liar,” I hissed. “You care, or you wouldn’t be so fuckin’ mad at me.” The fight left my body, and my shoulders slumped. “What if I guarantee I wouldn’t touch another woman? What if I gave you that?”
Tears filled her eyes, and she shook her head. “It’s too late.”
“I never made you any promises, Ash, but I will now. I’ll do anythin’ you want. I just need you to give me one more chance.”
She stared me straight in the eyes and said, “No.”
My jaw clenched.
