Unconditional (Masters and Mercenaries #5.5)(47)

He was willing to endure her daughter. Her heart ached, but she had to be patient. He was still touchy, still not ready to open himself. She had to give him time, but her baby came first. “I’ll think about it, but I need time.”

He pulled away, taking her hand and leading her to the bed. “I have time. I’ve got nothing but time, Ashley. Would you move in with me if I married you?”

He sat down on the bed, pulling her in between his legs.

How could he be so casual about that? “You told me you didn’t want to get married.”

He leaned forward, kissing her nipples, one after another. “I don’t know that I do, but I want you. If you’re dumb enough to marry me, then I’m willing to do it.”

“That is the worst proposal I’ve ever heard.” But his mouth was doing amazing things to her. He tongued her nipple, making circle after circle around the little nub.

“I can try again later.” His eyes came up. “I wasn’t the best husband.”

It was the first time he’d willingly talked about it. “You were probably very young.”

“Get on the bed. Hands and knees. If you want me to explain, then I get to play while I talk. I’m not good with the whole self-expression thing. It’ll be easier if I have something to distract me.”

She was willing to do just about anything to keep him talking. She crawled on top of her comforter. Almost immediately, she heard him rooting through his bags. He’d shown up this evening with an overnight bag and his kit. She was betting he wasn’t looking for spare clothes.

“Ask me your questions.” The bed sank beneath her under his weight.

“How old were you when you got married?” She gasped a little as he put a hand on her ass.

“I was twenty-one. I met her in college. This might be a little cold.” He parted the cheeks of her ass, and she nearly screamed when the cold lube hit her *. “Her name was Lena. She was pretty and submissive in bed.”

She closed her eyes even though it wasn’t like she could see what was happening behind her. “She sounds perfect for you.”

“Maybe not so much. I was a kid. I was impatient. I had already started my business even before I graduated. It seemed like the next step. You see, in my head, there were these steps and if I took them I would be happy. I watched my mom and dad. They were happy.”

He’d never talked about his parents before. If she hadn’t read Karina’s report, she would guess they were gone. “You sound like you were close to them. Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

A hard hand smacked her ass, making her gasp. “You know damn well I’m an only child. You got a report from Karina. Are you going to lie to me and tell me you didn’t read it? Because I warn you, I already know the answer to that.”

“Okay, okay.” She tried to relax again. Her backside was on fire. He’d meant business with that slap. “I know. I know you were close to them and you haven’t talked to them in a very long time. Is it because of what happened?”

He’d said something about being hard on the people who loved him. She couldn’t think of anyone who would love him more than his mom and dad.

His fingers rimmed her *, a lazy little motion as though he was considering what he would say. “Yes. I was close to my mother and father. They were good parents, but they were keeping a pretty big secret from me. I’m going to press in. Don’t clench.”

A finger started to breach the tight muscles of her * and she clenched. She told herself not to, but it happened anyway. It was perfectly normal to try to keep him out.

He smacked her ass hard three times in rapid succession. She couldn’t stop the groan that came from her mouth because her * was getting wet and wanton. She was just about ready to forgo the talking portion of the evening.

“Don’t you even try to keep me out,” he growled her way. “Your ass is mine the same way your body is mine. It all belongs to me and I’ll f*ck you wherever and whenever I want to. I’m only playing tonight. I’m going to plug you and then f*ck your incredibly tight *.”

She felt him try again, pressing his finger to her lubed-up *. “Why don’t you talk to your parents anymore?”

She needed to know. She needed to know why he no longer spoke to people who loved him.

His finger pressed in, making her squirm. “They didn’t tell me.”

He was killing her. He rimmed her ass, pressing in and gaining ground.

“About your condition?”

“Yes, about the problem with my DNA. They knew there was a possibility that it could happen and they didn’t tell me.” He pressed in, opening her up. “It runs in our family. They lost my brother. They thought because I was normal, they were safe. I didn’t even remember that I had a brother. I was two at the time. They never talked to me about him.”

“Why wouldn’t they tell you?” It was difficult to breathe. She could feel hard plastic or glass against her *, working to get inside her. She wasn’t sure which.

“There was only a twenty-five percent chance that I would pass on the faulty gene to my kid. They knew me. I wouldn’t like those odds. I would never have tried, very likely never even have married if I knew the truth.”

“But you’re willing to get married again.”