Tirone (The Night Skulls MC #2)(27)

Her eyes clouded with alarm. “You can’t think like this, Tirone.”

“It’s all I can ever think about. You.”

“This isn’t love.”

“Yes, it is. For me, it’s the only love language I can speak. At my side the demon writhes forever, swimming around me like impalpable air. As I breathe, he burns my lungs like fever, and fills me with an eternal guilty desire. Call it sickness. Call it obsession. Call it pure darkness from hell. I don’t care. I want you, Jo, and I will have you no matter what.”

“Ty…” she breathed.

“One night, my little faerie.”

“What?”

“Give me one night, Jo. You owe me that much. One night, all of you, all in, and you’ll know it’s only me you belong to. I’ll show you he’s nothing to you.” I placed my palm on her frantic heart. “I’ll show you it’s all me in there.”

She paled. “No. This is cheating. On your father.”

“Cheating is when you let him touch you.” Fury spilled out of me, but I took a second to smother it in. I didn’t want to scare her anymore. “You’re mine. That never changed for me. You’ve always been.”

“I can’t. Please. You have to understand how terrible this sounds.”

“He doesn’t have to know.”

“I will. I can’t—”

“Can’t what? Lie to him? Hide things about us from him? Newsflash, you already do. It’s just gonna be one more secret to add to a long list.”

Her gaze wandered, bouncing among the lake and the trees. I knew deep down she wanted me and that night as much as I did. I could force her into it, but for this, I wanted her to come to me willingly. I wanted her to see it for herself so she wouldn’t have any excuses, doubts or blame. She was just too good to do what needed to be done; she needed some motivation.

“Can you look yourself in the mirror and say you’re one hundred percent certain you only love Furore because of him, and not because of me, not because you were acting out of hurt or because he reminded you of me? I mean, what are the odds, Jo? The only man that has your attention after me is my own father?”

She swallowed, and I knew I hit the right spot.

“You owe it to yourself before you owe it to him to know the truth, to be sure of your feelings. You’ll be doing him a favor or do you want him to live a lie his whole life?” I didn’t give a fuck about him, but that was what she needed to hear. I’d do and say anything that would make her come back to me.

She pressed the heel of her palm over her forehead. “You’re unbelievable.”

“If you’re so sure you love him, what are you afraid of?”

“I’m not afraid.”

“Yes, you are. Because he doesn’t know you like I do.”

“Knowing how I take my coffee doesn’t make you better than him, Tirone.”

“It’s not just the coffee, baby. He doesn’t know your head, how stubborn you can be. He can’t tell when you’re bluffing or when you’re not. He fucking let you drive into a gate, thinking you’d just back down.” God, I wanted to rip his head off his shoulders for doing that to her. “He was shoving his fucking cock into you while you were screaming no,” I said through my teeth, my blood simmering.

“Don’t go there. You’ve been rough with me, too, and you forced me into many things. Most of the time I didn’t mind because I somehow liked it. I still do like it rough.”

“You were a virgin when I met you. You didn’t know what you wanted. I showed you things. We explored a lot. You might have liked it rough, but it wasn’t what you needed.”

She mused, licking her lip. She must have been remembering.

“Does he know your body like I do, Jo? Does he know what you need?”

“He’ll get there. We haven’t had much time together.”

“You shouldn’t have any time together because I’m here, and you love me like I love you, and I can give you everything you need.” I groaned, resting my forehead against hers. “I’m here, Jo. I’m all yours.”

Her moaning breath seared my neck. “It’s getting late. We have to go back.”

“Not before you promise me.” I snatched another kiss from her sweet lips. “One night, my little faerie. It’s all I’m asking for.”





CHAPTER 16


Tirone



A Few Months Ago



My fingertips drew aimless shapes on Jo’s shoulders and back as she lay in her bed—our bed for the past week—curled in my arms. Her breath hadn’t gained the slow, steady rhythm of sleep yet.

“Tell me what you like,” I said.

She stirred. “In?”

“Bed,” I answered blatantly. I’d been studying her details for the past week like she was a hard test I had to pass, and I couldn’t figure out that chapter yet.

Even in the pitch black room, I could imagine the incredulous look on her face and the accompanying glare as she rolled out of my embrace and sat on the bed. “That’s none of your business and completely inappropriate.”

“Don’t use that word with me again, Miss Meneceo. We’re way past inappropriate.” I wrapped my arms around her waist and tugged her back into my embrace. She resisted at first, but I managed to bring her back to me like I always did.