Unconditional (Masters and Mercenaries #5.5)(34)

So did she. Power and arousal swamped her as she rode him. Awkward at first, but his hands helped her find the rhythm.

Instinct took over, all her insecurities and worries fleeing in the face of raw desire. His hands came up to cup her breasts, tugging at her nipples and adding a layer of sensation. She moved her hips, rocking on him until she found the perfect spot and went flying.

She called out his name. Pleasure swamped her, making her forget every bit of good sense she had. “Keith. Oh, god, Keith, I love you.”

He bucked beneath her, his gorgeous face grimacing as he held her tight and poured his orgasm out.

She fell on top of him, blood thrumming through her as the last of the orgasm faded and reality settled in.

Maybe she hadn’t said it out loud. Maybe he hadn’t noticed. Maybe they could just go on like she hadn’t said anything at all.

He was still underneath her, only his chest moving up and down with the force of his breaths.

She rolled off him, feeling every bit as awkward as she had the first time she’d had sex. That first time had been painful for her body, but she got the feeling her heart might get torn up this time around.

Smile. She could smile her way through it. If she acted like it didn’t mean anything, it would free him to do the same. She took a long breath and turned on her side, placing her hand on his chest. “Well, that made up for all the bad sex from before, Sir.”

His whole face tightened. “Ashley…”

She was saved by a hard knock to the door and her sister’s voice. “Ashley? I’m sorry to interrupt, but I need to talk to you now.”

Her heart nearly stopped. “Is something wrong with Emily?”

It was the only reason her sister would disrupt her night. She rolled out of bed. There were two robes hanging on the wall near the bathroom, and she quickly shrugged into one of them. All thoughts about her awful scene were shoved aside as she opened the door.

She could hear Keith moving in the background, but all she could see was her sister’s pale face. Her heart dropped. “What happened?”

Jill held out a hand. “Emily’s safe for now.”

“What do you mean ‘for now’?” She didn’t like the sound of that.

“Karina needs to talk to you. Keith, you should come, too.” Jill nodded to the man who walked up behind Ashley.

“I don’t want to interfere with family business,” Keith said, keeping a noticeable distance.

Ashley couldn’t think about that now. Karina had found out something. Something that affected Emily. Keith never even wanted to talk about her daughter. He wouldn’t want to get involved in whatever was going on with Emily. “You don’t have to come. I’ll see you when I see you.”

“He’s your Dom,” Jill argued. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at him. “Is this what being a Dom means to you, Keith? You f*ck her and then walk away and leave her to deal with everything else? Well, I guess you’re not much better than her last boyfriend then. Come on. They’re set up in the conference room, but you need to change into street clothes.”

“Why?” She didn’t want to take the time to get dressed. Karina wouldn’t care if she was naked.

“Because they caught your stalker and he’s talking up a storm,” Jill explained.

“Stalker?” Keith asked, his voice going dark. “What the hell is she talking about?”

“She didn’t tell you?” Jill softened a bit. “I should have known. She’s had someone following her for days.”

“No. She didn’t bother to mention that to me,” Keith replied. “Does Taggart have him?” He walked out of the room and started down the hall, obviously expecting them to follow.

“Yeah, the boss caught him taking pictures of the club from his truck. He was parked across the street, but Ian owns that building, too.” Jill paused, going a little white. “He was unhappy about that.”

“You don’t have to come with me.” She couldn’t get that look on his face out of her head. He didn’t want to be here. Anything he did now was because he didn’t want to look bad in front of her sister. She’d been right to keep the information from him. He didn’t want to take care of her in that way. He didn’t want the burden of her problems. He just wanted a sub, not the real woman.

He turned and there was nothing blank about his face now. “I suggest you keep your mouth shut, Ashley. We have to get through this and then we’ll have a real discussion about the meaning of the word submission. You should have told me what was going on. I’ll be in the conference room after I change. I expect you to talk then.”

He stalked off, leaving her with Jill.

Her sister took her hand. “That was one mad Dom. I’m glad he’s going to be there though. This looks complicated. Honey, I have to tell you something and I want you to hear it from me and no one else.”

Tears pricked her eyes. “What?”

“There’s a reason the child support payments stopped.”

“Because Trevor is an * who can’t remember to send me a check from his trust fund?” She had to hold it together. She had to get through this night because whatever Keith had been about to say wasn’t going to go away, and she knew she wouldn’t like it.

“Trevor’s dead.”