by Zoe Dawson
They went into the hotel bar and Kid ordered them each a meal once they were seated. A beer for each of them after asking her preference. He raised the bottle. “To keeping it simple,” he said.
She nodded and clinked his bottle.
“You have some baggage then?”
“I think it’s a good idea we’re keeping this casual. I’ve had some breakups that have been pretty tough. He told her about Caitlin, the memory old but his emotions a little rawer since Mia gave him the boot.
Paige leaned forward. “I’m so sorry. Man, that must have been so hard.”
“It was, but it’s old news. I just don’t want to be one of those guys who doesn’t give you an honest answer to a question.”
“Well, isn’t this cozy.”
Anderson’s snide voice cut across the conversation. “Bryant,” Paige said by way of greeting and Kid fully expected him to move on, but instead, he pulled up a chair.
“So, we haven’t had much time to converse, my young friend.”
Kid took a sip of his beer, his jaw clenching. “I’m not your friend,” he said succinctly. “This is a private party,” he added.
“Yeah, I bet it is,” he said giving Paige a suggestive look making Kid’s irrational anger at this guy form into a ball in his gut. Anderson sat back. “Had a little trouble at the warehouse last night. Two drug dealers stirring things up. Cris was pissed, but I calmed him down.”
Paige glanced at Kid. “Drug dealers?”
“Yeah, put the moves on Dean and took both him and Reggie down. Pretty slick moves for a street rat, huh?”
Kid gave nothing away. His deadpan was iron clad.
“So, what are you doing with your life, Ashe?”
“This and that,” he said. “I help people for a living.”
“Do you? And what does that entail?”
“Long hours and dedication.”
Anderson smirked. “You didn’t follow in your old man’s footsteps? You know, being a hero for a living, like a SEAL maybe?”
“Why don’t you go outside and play hide and go fuck yourself. I’ll stay here and count to infinity.”
Paige reached out and put her hand on his forearm. This guy was an asshole, and he was fishing. Ashe flashed him a grin and took a sip of his beer. He set his bottle down and looked at Paige. “Let’s go.”
“I’m sure all you’ve heard about your dad were great things. Maybe you should live in the real world. I can tell you who he really was and his lack of total commitment.”
Kid stood and grabbed Bryant by his shirtfront and got into his face. “I don’t give a flying fuck what you have to say about my father. I’m not interested.” He shoved the guy back into his chair.
But before he could take a step, Bryant threw a punch that knocked Kid back against the table, cracking his back against the chair behind him. He ducked the next one and came up swinging, punching Anderson so hard in the jaw, he reeled back. The man had forty pounds on him, but when he came charging back toward Kid, he pushed off with his legs and planted his feet in his chest, drop-kicking Anderson hard enough for him to end up on this back, dazed. From his position on the floor, Kid saw a blur, and did a quick, powerful kick-up using his hands and lower body, landing firmly on his feet, then backflipped to avoid the first blow by Anderson’s lackey. He turned to engage the blond man, immediately remembering him from last night. He took some punishing blows to his face and mid-section. Without hesitating, Kid got under his guard with lightning quick moves and, with one shot to the temple, he went down as Anderson recovered and came at him again.
That’s when the bartender got a hold of Anderson and the manager of the hotel screamed at them to stop. Well, he was screaming the whole time, but Kid was getting double-teamed and couldn’t exactly respond. Bryant held up his hands and pulled out his wallet, shoving money into the manager’s hand. Apologizing left and right, stating it was just a little misunderstanding. Kid didn’t let his guard down until Anderson helped Blondie up from the floor and they exited the bar.
The manager came up to Kid and said, “I’m sorry, Mr. Wilder, but you must vacate the premises. We can’t tolerate this kind of behavior from our guests.”
“Damn, I’m sorry. I’ll clear out.”
Outside, Bryant turned to Dean. “Well?”
“It’s him. Same moves, same agility and lightning speed. This guy is trouble, Bry.”
“That means the woman who was there was most likely Paige,” Anderson bit out. “Look into them both. I want to know everything about them down to the brand of their underwear. Use our contact in DC.”
“You got it.” They took a few steps and Dean halted Bryant with a hand to his shoulder. “Can I have her when the time comes?” He licked his lips. Dean was one of his former colleagues, but he was one sick son of a bitch. That’s why he kept him around.
“As long as she dies.”
“Oh, she will. I promise.” He wheezed out a soft, maniacal laugh. “How about the SEAL?”
“No, leave him to me. Ashe Wilder needs to be schooled about who his father really was, and what reality is all about.” Bryant smirked. No one, not that pathetic girl or Pete Wilder’s wet behind the ears kid was going to stop him from saving his ass from the Golovkins.
9
Paige gave him a worried look on the way up to his room. Once inside, he just stood there, face stinging and throbbing from the blows. Clenching his jaw, the intensity of his emotions threatening to overtake what he knew, what he damn well knew to be true about his dad. His mind and heart reeling. Anderson and Blondie tried their best. Both of them were former CIA and they fought like pansies.
But the CIA’s strength was always their mindfucks. He didn’t want to let Anderson get into his head. He knew who his father was, and he didn’t have to listen to some asshole trying his best to get at him through his connection with his father. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The pain of his father’s death, his loss felt in every aspect of Kid’s life spun on its axis and came back at him with even more pain. Commitment. Was that all tied up in this somehow? Was he not committed to the people in his life? To the SEALs? His gut tightened.
He reached for his duffel, but Paige’s hand clasped his wrist. “Sit down,” she murmured.
He turned to look at her, and it struck him right in the solar plexus that Mia would never have done this. She would have been passive, following his lead. Caitlin as well. They didn’t challenge him, ever.
But Paige did. Every step she had a mind of her own. He didn’t like to think he ever felt fear, but if there was fear, and he wasn’t admitting to it, it came from clashing with a strong woman who would make him look harder and deeper.
Hell, this woman scared the crap out of him. But, with that and the doubts, he still wanted her.
Maybe all this time, all this damn time he’d never been committed, fully committed. His recklessness was his way of flipping his finger at the world that had taken his father, and he dared it to take him. Did he have a secret death wish? Was his military service nothing but a means to an end? Did he want to go out in a blaze of glory like his father so that, deep down, he would feel worthy of his sacrifice, his service, him as a man? Did he have to die for it to matter?
Did he pick weak women like Caitlin, superficial women like Mia on purpose? Did he even know what to do with a strong woman like Paige?
If he didn’t face these fears, these truths, would he die inside? Die on the battlefield? Was it possible to have a life after this was over, this turmoil and pain? Anger and fear trapped with nowhere to go. He would have to forge a path if he was strong enough.
As these thoughts streaked through his head, she tugged on his wrist. “Come on. Sit down.”
He let her lead him over to the chair in the room. He sat down, lost in his thoughts again. Next thing he knew, she was pressing a cold, wet washcloth against his bruised face, wiping away the blood and soothing the pain.
With every tender touch, she quieted the ach
e in his core.
Slipping her fingers along his jaw to his chin, she lifted it so he would look at her. “Are you okay?”
He stared up at her, then wordlessly, he reached out and pulled her down to the chair. She curled onto his lap, wrapping an arm around his neck.
His chest contracted when she smoothed his hair off his forehead, caressing him, supporting him. He inhaled unevenly and turned his face against her soft neck, his body heavy, his muscles slow to respond. Sensation wrenched loose in his chest, and he closed his eyes and rested against her.
“Don’t listen to what Bryant said. He’s such a jerk. Really, Ashe. He was just trying to get at you.”
He swallowed. “I’m okay, Paige.”
She let out a breath that told him she was disappointed with his answer. He owed her more, he knew he did, but right now he was much too raw to open up about it. He needed time to get his shit together. He squeezed his eyes closed. He didn’t want to act like a fool in front of her. Dealing with fear was a new element, something he hadn’t done before.
“Is this macho shit you’re shoveling at me?”
“A man needs to deal with macho shit in his own way.”
“Oh, for the love of God. All right, keep everything bottled up inside. That’ll help.”
“Paige—”
She cut him off. “Don’t Paige me, Ashe. It helps to talk about it.”
“Maybe, but I’m not ready.”
Her voice lost its edge, her expression softening. “I’m sorry. I’m pushing you just like my dad always pushes me. That’s not fair to you. He’s always worked so hard, been so hard on himself. I guess I got that from him.”
She leaned down and softly kissed his mouth. Kid experienced a rush of throat-clogging emotion. Grasping the back of her head, holding her to his lips while his other arm crushed her to him, he kissed her back.
That’s when everything changed and the tenderness turned into something else, something that coalesced into a thick, heavy feeling in his groin, that condensed in the air between them. An out of control, batshit crazy attraction that wouldn’t stay controlled or tame.
His heart jumped into overdrive, pounding so hard that it felt as if it would come through his ribs. With his mind teetering on meltdown, he shouldn’t want this. But he did. It was basic and primal.
Determined.
He already knew how this was going to end from the moment he set eyes on her. He knew they would be naked together. Struggling with the thick surge of desire, he clenched his jaw and rested his forehead against hers, his body painfully engorged. With a breathless catch to her breathing, she rose and dragged him up and to the bed, pulling his shirt out of the waistband of his cargo pants as he toed out of his boots.
This time there would be no brakes, no banter, no stopping.
Paige was already half undressed, going between pulling on his button and zipper to shimmying out of her pants. When she pulled her top over her head, exposing her bra, soft and see-through over her breasts, it was more than he could handle.
He reached for her, pulling at the rest of her clothes as she freed him of his pants and underwear.
She choked out his name and came into his arms. His heart laboring against the frenzy in his chest, he caught her against him and carried her down onto the bed. Heat to heat. Skin to skin. And it was too much. Dragging in a ragged breath, he closed his eyes in a grimace of raw pleasure as she shifted beneath him and opened to him. When he touched her with his fingers, she was hot and moist, so ready. In moments, she was gasping, her cry spurring him on. He wasn’t usually so turned on, he couldn’t wait. He was definitely a foreplay man, but her response, the need to seat himself inside her now was too powerful.
On a ragged groan, he settled himself in the hot cradle of her thighs. And lost himself in her tight, wet heat.
He could feel her tension, the delicious mounting moment when a woman let go. He shifted his hips, and her breath caught on an agonized groan as she clutched him tighter. Kid reveled in the way his dick fit to her, too perfectly, gloved in her warm, moist heat. He moved his hips again, maximizing body contact, and her sharp intake was his reward.
He slowed it down, flexing his hips with slow, deep thrusts. She arched her neck and closed her eyes, the pulse point in her throat beating erratically.
Watching her lovely face, he moved again, and he could feel the tension mount in her. He was so tuned into this woman. He had felt her climax only moments ago, but she was once again in Kid Chaos sensory overload that it would take nothing—nothing—to push her over the edge again.
His fingers tangling in her hair he whispered, “Stay with me babe.” Then moved again. His gaze locked on hers like a heat seeking missile grateful for his honed instincts and his hard, muscled body that he could give her so much pleasure. She clutched his arms, her hands palming his biceps, her eyes glazing even more, and she drew up her knees grazing his hips, her body arching with tension. His breathing turning erratic, he continued to move, watching her respond, her tightness driving him on. She gripped his biceps, nails digging, a desperate look turning her eyes dark and feral. On a fragmented moan, she twisted her head, and he felt her contract hard around him, her release shuddering through her. Feeling as if something wild and unbearably beautiful had been set loose, he closed his eyes and gathered her up in a fierce embrace, experiencing feelings that went far beyond sexual.
It took several moments for her to come back down to earth, and he grasped her by the back of the neck, holding her tight and secure. Finally, she shifted under him, letting go a long shaky breath.
Her hands travelled to his shoulders as she turned her face against his neck, licking, biting, and kissing him until he gathered her hair in his hand and wrapped it around his wrist, pulling gently.
Paige whispered, “Ashe,” as she locked her legs around him, her movements urging him on, and Kid crushed her against him, white-hot desire rolling over him. Angling his arm across her back, he drove into her again and again, pressure building and building. A low guttural sound tore from him, and his release came in a blinding rush that went on and on, so powerful he felt as if he was being turned inside out. He wanted to let it wash over him, but he forced himself to keep moving in her, knowing she was on the verge again. She cried out and clutched at his back, then went rigid in his arms, and she finally convulsed around him, the gripping spasms wringing him dry.
His heart hammering, his breathing so labored he felt almost dizzy, he weakly rested his head against hers, his whole body quivering. The thin air hadn’t messed with his equilibrium, but this sweet babe was spinning him on his axis. He felt as if he had been wrenched in two.
He didn’t know how long he clutched her, breathing around the pleasure she’d given him and the aftermath of having her.
He was aware of her toying with his hair at his nape, then periodically running her palms up and down his back. Sex was always good, even bad sex was good, but this... He couldn’t really catalog this into anything but fantastic. He buried his face in her neck, kissing her collarbone, nuzzling her, getting her scent all over him. A feeling of overwhelming protectiveness rose up in him. He couldn’t let her go. Not yet.
Fuck, not yet.
He didn’t know how long they lay like that. Hauling in an unstable breath, he turned his head and kissed her on the mouth, her face flushed, her eyes sated. “We’d better get out of here before they come banging on the door.”
She nodded and tightened her arms around him. Sharply aware of her body so warm and slender underneath him, he cursed the fact he had to move at all. He wanted to lose himself in her again. This was…different from all the other times he’d been with a woman, any woman…it threw him, but he fought his instinct to withdraw. This wasn’t meaningless sex, he knew what that was. He’d engaged in it enough the last few…fuck. He popped up, his heart pounding. Protection. He hadn’t even thought about it.
“Paige, fuck.” He raised his head. “What a cluster.”
&nb
sp; “What?” Her body stiffened at what must be an alarmed look on his face.
“I didn’t use anything to…protect you.”
“Oh, God. We…you…I…you’re right, but I’m on the pill.”
He breathed a sigh of relief. “I just wanted in. I wasn’t thinking.”
“I wanted you in and neither was I.”
“I’m clean. Damn, I always take precautions. We have to take tests in the military all the time.”
She nodded. “I don’t doubt that. You wouldn’t ever compromise me in any way.”
“I wouldn’t.” Hit with a rush of affection for this beautiful woman, he nestled her tighter against him, stroking along her body, needing the feel of her against his hand. He felt her shiver again and melt around him, his heart rolled over.
After a long moment, he pushed up. “We’d better go,” he said, his voice low.
This time he went to his knees and backed off the bed. He reached out his hand, and she clasped it. He pulled her up and hugged her against him. She took a deep breath, then withdrew from his hold, reaching for her clothes. He wanted to watch her, but he looked away and got dressed in silence. He stuffed his shirt into his cargo pants, then went over to her, silently brushing her hands aside. He finished doing up the buttons on her shirt, then helped her into her jacket. Tucking her hair behind her ear, he tipped her face up and met her eyes, caressing her cheek. She smiled. Then he grabbed his duffel and packed up.
He wasn’t quite sure where he was going to go. This was a nice central location, and he wished he could shove his fist into Anderson’s face again for getting him kicked out.
Before they left the room, he crowded her against the door. Trying to sort through all these pesky feelings. With the rawness that Anderson rubbed open, he covered her mouth with a soft, searching kiss, trying to find a way to close up a wound he’d thought had healed a long time ago.
“I thought we had to go. So get going, Wilder.”
He tightened his hold on her jaw, his tone commanding as he whispered against her mouth, “Don’t tell me what to do unless you’re naked.”
