Shit. Damn. Fuck.
William’s car is parked in the drive. There’s no way I can make it inside without him seeing me.
My only prayer is that he’s in his bedroom or in the game room with the boys and Harper.
As soon as I push the door open, I hear a heated conversation between Bella and my brother.
So much for slipping in unnoticed. Feeling like a guilty teenager who’s been caught past curfew, I try to slide by.
That’s when Bella’s big grey eyes land on me, taking in my disheveled hair and crumpled cami.
Giving them an awkward wave, I announce myself. “Hey, guys. What are you doing up so late?” Smooth move, Ashley. That only points out the fact that I was just outside so late.
William looks annoyed and doesn’t even spare me a glance. “We were talking about Dad.”
“So you finally told her about our cheating father?” I blink rapidly, surprised that he actually took my advice and came clean.
Bella’s face pales and her face whips over to William. “Your father was a cheater?” Her nose scrunches up and her eyes narrow.
“I mean…” I try to interject, but William shoots me a death glare. Got it. That’s my cue to exit. “It’s late. I should probably go to bed. Taking a monitor into the room with me in case the kids need anything. You two clearly need to have a talk.”
William scowls in disapproval. “We were having a talk before you came home. And don’t think you’re off the hook regarding your whereabouts tonight. We’ll be talking later.”
No, we won’t, brother. Not unless you want to end up on America’s Most Wanted after offing one of your best friends.
As I make my way back to my room, I can’t help but think that maybe it’s a good idea Titus and I agreed to a no strings attached fling.
Plopping down on my oversized king bed, I look at the evidence before me. Do happily ever afters even exist?
William is going through a divorce with a psycho, he and Bella are clearly heading down the path of a messy relationship, I’ve never had a successful emotional entanglement, and our parents… God, there aren’t enough minutes in the day for me to count all the things wrong with their relationship.
I groan into my hands as I roll onto my stomach.
“Ash? You okay?” William’s voice freaks me out, pulling me out of my self-pity.
I guess I must’ve left the door open. Note to self, don’t throw pity parties with the door wide open.
Looking up, I see he’s flustered. “Am I okay? I should be asking you that. You look like you’ve been through the ringer.”
He runs a hand through his hair, tugging at the ends. His tell-tell sign that things are not okay.
“The hospital called about Aiden. They want Bella to come in, so I’m going to take her. I was going to ask–”
“Don’t worry about the kids. I’ve got the monitors on and I’ll be here as long as you need me.”
“Thanks, Ash. I really appreciate it. I know Bella does too. The guards are posted outside and we’ve got the perimeter hooked up, but call us if anything out of the norm happens. I saw Heather today and she looked like she had gone off the deep end.”
“Oh my god!” My hand flies up to my mouth. “Yes, of course. I’ll keep an eye out and let you know if anything happens. Drive safe and keep me posted on Aiden.”
William gives me a curt nod before closing the door behind him.
Rolling onto my back once more, I stare at the ceiling.
Life is a funny thing. Within the past hour I’ve felt annoyance, bliss, embarrassment, and now deep concern.
Everything that we know of to be true can change in the blink of an eye. Poof, gone and changed forever.
Even if all I have with Titus are stolen moments, captured in between life’s chaos and upheaval, I’ll cherish them with all I hold dear. Because if life has taught me anything, it’s that nothing is constant and happiness never lasts.
I’m wrapping my wet hair in a towel when I hear a knock at the bedroom door. That’s odd, could it be one of the guards? Peeking out of the bathroom door, I check the monitors I left on the bedside table.
Huh. The kids are all asleep in their beds.
Quickly throwing on a robe, I head out of the steamy bathroom and straight for the nine millimeter in my closet.
Once I make sure the gun is loaded, I point and aim at the door.
“It’s open.”
The wood door creaks open before a broad frame steps into the dimly lit room.
My chest tightens and my thighs squeeze at the memory of this man assaulting my pussy not two hours ago.
“Titus? What are you doing here?” I lower the gun, dropping it to my side as I walk it over back to the closet.
I’m up on my toes, shutting the door to the safe when I feel strong hands wrap around my waist, sliding underneath my robe and working their way up to my bare breast, cupping them before squeezing the tender nipples.
“William called. Said he needed help keeping an eye on you. So here I am. Keeping an eye on you.” His breath tickles my neck and my entire body feels as if it’s on fire.
“I’d say you’re doing a whole lot more than keeping an eye on me.” My words come out ragged, unable to catch my breath with him so close.
“I can’t help it. Seeing you with a gun, ready to take care of yourself and everyone in this home. The fire in your eyes. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more beautiful sight.” He turns me around, whisking me off my feet and carrying me over to the bed before sliding in behind me.
“What about my brother? What if they come home and see you?” I turn to face him, my hand reaching up to touch the stubble along his jawline.
“I’ll figure it out. I don’t want you and the kids alone while his psycho ex is out there plotting revenge.”
“You know we have WRATH men watching over this house, not to mention our tricked-out security system.” I grin, knowing that this isn’t news to him and if he’s here in my bed it’s because he really must feel something more.
His eyes narrow, catching on to my teasing. “You’re safer with me.”
He presses me to his chest, his lips landing on the top of my head, placing a soft kiss. “Now go to bed. We don’t know what’s going on with Aiden and there’s a good chance you’ll be on kid duty tomorrow.”
Titus slowly runs his fingers up my arms and I flinch. “Ahh.”
“Damn it.” His growl stirs things in me even though I know he’s really upset. “I’m sorry, little treasure. I should’ve been gentler with you.”
My mind goes back to the blacked-out car where my arms were restrained by seat belts and I smile. “Don’t apologize for something I thoroughly enjoyed.” Nuzzling my face into his chest, I ask him something that’s been weighing on me ever since our last rendezvous. “Have you always done it like that, or was there ever a point in your life where your sex was vanilla?”
He chuckles, his chest bouncing up and down, making my face ride up and down with it. “Vanilla. Oh, min skatt. What we did tonight, or on the jet, that was as vanilla as I’ve ever been.”
I bury my face deep into his chest, feeling embarrassed for even asking. He must think I’m such a prude compared to the other women he’s been with.
I normally don’t care what men think of me, but this is Titus. No matter how strong I think I am, he will always find the kink in my armor.
“Hey,” Titus places his fingers under my chin, lifting my face to his. “Don’t get it twisted, little one. It was still the best sex of my life.”
His eyes bounce back and forth between mine, trying to convey the truth in his words, meanwhile I still hold an inkling of doubt.
“But why? It isn’t even what you like.”
“Turns out, it’s what I love.” His eyes narrow, darkening into that deep shade of blue I love so much. “Bondage has always been about control for me. Boundaries. Let’s just say that my childhood wasn’t the best. Trust was non-existent, and growing up, sex was just a form of release. Safe within the confines of my rules.” He blows out a breath, rolling onto his back while keeping an arm under me. “But then I started high school and met your brother and the rest of the WRATH men. That was the first time I trusted anyone. They showed me that not everyone was full of selfish desires. They showed me that a true brotherhood could exist. We were there for each other, no matter what.” He flings his free arm over his eyes and stills.
“This is why you find it so hard to be with me, isn’t it? You see it as a betrayal.” It’s a statement, not a question. It’s clear he sees being with me as stabbing my brother in the back.
Rolling back over to me, he hugs me to him, his forehead touching mine. “Get some rest, little treasure. Tomorrow’s going to be a big day.”
Well, that was a shut down if I ever saw one. I sigh, pursing my lips to the side. “Goodnight, big Daddy.”
He chuckles before kissing my forehead. “Goodnight, my treasure.”
