Hard Night

by Jackie Ashenden

Slowly he looked up at her and that light was still in his eyes. It wasn’t dying and she didn’t understand that, not at all. She’d maybe killed his brother and he was still looking at her like he didn’t see the darkness inside her. “You wanted an explanation for the sabotage, that’s what you said.” His voice was rough, a vibration she felt deep in her soul. “You wanted to know why. He was your friend and he betrayed you.”

  “I shot him. I didn’t even hesitate—”

  He grabbed her chin, forcing her head back. “Why didn’t you tell me he’d pulled a gun on you? Why didn’t you say he’d shot you?”

  His body pinned her to the wall, his heat scorching against her bared skin. So much power there, so much strength. And passion, too, it blazed from him. Anger and something else she didn’t understand.

  “Why does that matter?” she demanded, her own anger rising to meet his. “I was the one who was there to kill him. And I’m pretty sure I did.”

  His fingers tightened, his eyes searing as they stared down into hers. “I know what you’re doing, don’t think that I don’t. You’re trying to goad me. Why?”

  Shock pulsed down her spine. “I’m not goading you. I’m only trying to make you see, you fucking idiot.”

  “See what? That you’re a killer? Tell me something I don’t know already, Ms. Lynn.”

  Her throat closed. Because it wasn’t only that, was it?

  “You don’t know I’m not Faith,” she said hoarsely. “You keep thinking I’m her and I’m not.”

  He said nothing, staring at her, into her, as if he could see everything she was. Everything she was trying to hide. “And what is so very wrong with being Faith?”

  “Because she wants things she can’t have!” The answer wasn’t the one she’d meant to say, but now it was out, she couldn’t take it back.

  Something shifted in Jacob’s gaze. His stare was no less fierce, but the grip on her chin eased, his thumb stroking along the line of her jaw. “What things, sweet girl?”

  Jewelry. Pretty clothes. Passion. Pleasure. A prince. Him.

  Things she couldn’t have because she didn’t deserve them. That’s what her mother had always told her and somewhere in her heart, that’s what she believed too. Even though she tried hard not to.

  But there was no way she could tell him that. And there was no way she was going to let him get any closer to the truth than he already was. Oh, she could tell him more lies, but he’d never let her get away with them, which meant there was only one option left for her.

  She was going to have to fight him.

  And there was only one way she could fight Jacob Night.

  Joanna lifted her hands and pushed her fingers into his thick black hair and held on to it tightly. Then she pulled his mouth down on hers.

  It wasn’t so much a kiss as a declaration of war.

  She sunk her teeth into his bottom lip, biting down hard, fisting her fingers in his hair as he tried to pull back. Then she pushed her tongue into his mouth, the flavor of him going straight to her head.

  Fighting him this way was always going to be a risk, but it wasn’t as if she hadn’t had sex before with men. Faith might have been a virgin, but she wasn’t and sex didn’t have to mean anything if you didn’t want it to. It was just another weapon in her arsenal, nothing more.

  Except with Jacob she was going to have to be careful. He was so big and so powerful. So hot. Everything she admired physically in a man. And that edge to him, that darkness. That strength. Yeah, she liked that far more than she should.

  He remained still as she kissed him, his body a hard wall at her front, so she bit him again, wanting a reaction. And this time she got it.

  He gave a low growl and his hand was at her throat, long fingers wrapping around it and holding her as he jerked his head back and free from her grip.

  There were flames in his eyes but she didn’t give him a moment for any more goddamn questions. She reached for the fastening of his pants, ripping them open, then shoving her hand down and into his boxers, her fingers circling his cock. He was hard and ready for her, just as she knew he would be.

  “You want a fight?” His voice was as rough and dark as her heart. “Is that what you’re after? Because if you do, believe me, I have no problems with that at all.”

  The thrill that grabbed her was thick and hot. Yes, a fight. That’s exactly what she was after. That way she could show him who she truly was and it wasn’t pretty little Faith, who seemed to think she could have everything she’d always wanted without any consequences at all.

  She tightened her grip on his dick, running her thumb down the smooth, hard length of it, then squeezing, watching the bonfire in his eyes leap higher. “You’ve got no idea what you’re taking on.”

  He laughed at that, the bastard. A deep, dark laugh that felt like it shook her right down to her foundation. Then the powerful hand around her throat tightened, pressing her against the wall, and he leaned in so his mouth was right next to her ear, seemingly not caring that she still had her fingers wrapped around his cock. “You seem to be suffering under a delusion, Ms. Lynn. You seem to think that I couldn’t possibly handle Joanna. That maybe, even, I wouldn’t want her.”

  She opened her mouth to deny it, but quicker than a snake striking, his hand left her throat and came down over her mouth, silencing her.

  “Maybe you even think that it’s Faith I’d prefer,” he went on, his warm breath brushing over the side of her neck, making her shiver. “The truth, sweet girl, is that yes, I want Faith. But I want Joanna, too, and I don’t care what she’s done. I don’t care that she shot my brother, maybe even killed him. The truth about that will come out eventually. But until it does, make no mistake. Both of you are mine.”

  His smoky scent was everywhere, his heat burning through her clothes, his palm against her mouth searing.

  And those words, those rough, possessive words hooked into a vulnerable place deep in her soul. A place where she was weak. Where she was Faith, wanting things she couldn’t have and didn’t deserve, because she would only break them.

  She couldn’t be that weak. She couldn’t want those things. She couldn’t afford to believe him when he said she was his either, because men lied. People lied.

  They said they wouldn’t hurt you, but they did. All the time.

  The only person you could trust was yourself and sometimes not even then. Not when it was your own feelings that were suspect.

  Joanna opened her mouth, bit his palm hard.

  He didn’t make a sound, nor did he remove his hand. “A fight then? Is that what you want? To push me away? Stop me from getting too close?” He smiled, white and sharp in the dim room. “Well, it’s too late for that, Ms. Lynn. Too fucking late.”

  Excitement deepened, that wild thrill pulsing through her, and it must have shown in her face because he gave another of those dark, sexy laughs. “I know, you like that, don’t you? You’re desperate for a fight. You want to see how far you can push me before I’ll let you go, see what my limits are.” He leaned down, his forehead resting on hers, his gaze filling her entire world. “Well, I’ll save you the trouble. I have none. And if I want you, I’ll take you. And I’ll keep you, understand?”

  She didn’t know why she was standing there letting him keep his hand over her mouth. Letting him pin her to the wall. Letting him say all these things to her, things he didn’t mean. Because no one else had meant them, so why should he?

  Jesus Christ. You do want him.

  No, that was the whole point of this, wasn’t it? She didn’t want him. She just wanted to get the fuck away from him.

  She squeezed the hard length of his erection, then ran her thumb around the sensitive head of his dick, a subtle reminder of her power.

  Yet that smile of his only got wider. “If you want the fight you only have to tell me, sweet girl. But you do have to tell me.” His hand lowered, giving her an opportunity to speak.

  She took it. “I want it.”

  The bl
ack bonfire in his eyes burned high, and she could feel it burning inside herself, too. Heat and that wild excitement, that thrill. The anticipation coiling tighter than a clock spring.

  Here it was, fucking finally. The chance to prove that all his arrogant assumptions about her were wrong. That she didn’t want him and didn’t care if he wanted her or not. He wasn’t going to take her and he wasn’t going to keep her.

  Time to show him what Joanna was really made of.

  CHAPTER 14

  His heart was beating very fast, adrenaline starting to build, along with an anticipation he could see mirrored in her eyes.

  Yes, she wanted it. And he did too. God, how he wanted it.

  Her T-shirt was hanging half-open from where he’d ripped it, exposing her plain black sports bra. But it wasn’t the sight of her bare skin or the bra that was driving him crazy. It was the angry red scar near her shoulder.

  Joshua might be dead and she might have killed him, yet all he could think about was that his brother had shot her. She’d said he’d been her friend and yet he’d pulled a gun on her, tried to take her prisoner.

  He’d betrayed her.

  Jacob had tried not to think about his brother turning into a bad guy, not even when it had become clear that Joshua was linked to this arms ring. It had been the search that had consumed him, the finding of Josh that had mattered, not what he’d find when that search was over.

  But he should have thought about it, because now everything had become infinitely more complicated.

  She was everything he wanted and every damn thing she said, every damn move she made, was further proof of that.

  Faith with her passion and her heart. Joanna with her fury and her iron determination. She could deny it all she liked, pretend to herself that he’d never want Joanna, but she was wrong.

  Joanna was the armor she wore. Tough and spiky and hard, protecting the softness and heart that was Faith.

  It was a combination that intoxicated him, fascinated him.

  He’d always found Faith’s emotional honesty intriguing and now that was mixed with Joanna’s physical strength and will, well, fuck . . . He was gone.

  She was never getting away from him, never ever.

  But that was the complicated part. Because Josh had hurt her and Jacob’s first reaction to that was rage. Even though she was the one who’d shot Josh. Even though he might be dead.

  You don’t care that she might have killed him?

  Of course he cared. But there were extenuating circumstances.

  She might have been sent to kill his brother, yet she’d wanted to talk to him first. Yes, she’d shot him in the end, but that was after Josh had shown his true colors. And then there was the fact that she hadn’t even mentioned that the gunshot wound in her shoulder had come from him.

  He could only guess that was because she was so fucking hell-bent on showing him what a bad person she was. Letting him think that she’d been the one to take that shot, all the while never mentioning that she’d been shot too.

  That mattered for some reason. That mattered a great deal.

  Not that she gave him much of a chance to think further about it.

  He saw the shift and change in her eyes, felt the tension in her body gather tight.

  She could hurt him right now and badly, seeing as those long, delicate fingers were wrapped tightly around his dick. But he didn’t think she would. She might be furious and hurting, but he trusted that she wouldn’t do anything to permanently maim him.

  Maybe that was stupid. He guessed he’d find out soon enough.

  She didn’t leave him wondering long.

  Jerking her hand from his pants, she dropped down, sliding to the floor, then darting sideways.

  He had no time for relief or satisfaction that he’d been right, whirling around in time to find a punch being launched at his gut. He blocked it and the one she aimed higher, at his throat, then ducked the roundhouse kick at his head.

  Her recovery was quick, but he was quicker, delivering a short, hard kick at the inside of her knee to put her off balance.

  It connected, but she went with it, turning a fall into a roll that had her coming up and facing him, fists ready.

  A savage excitement burned hot in his veins, made all the more intense by the hunger mixed in with it. She was so fucking beautiful. So fucking lethal, standing there with her cheeks flushed, the same kind of excitement that gripped him glowing in her eyes.

  He came at her, but she dodged his punches and avoided his kicks, her movements athletic, graceful. Christ, he could watch her in a fight all goddamned day.

  She was faster than he was, but she didn’t have his reach or strength. Not that she wasn’t powerful—shit, she’d knocked him out cold after all—but she was smaller than he was and had less bulk. Still, she used it to her advantage, getting in a couple of strikes he wasn’t fast enough to block.

  It hurt, but he didn’t give a shit about the pain. It only added extra spice to his desire anyway.

  He was getting impatient though.

  Letting his guard drop on his left side, he took a punch to the gut, but before she could pull back, he snatched her wrist from the air and turned hard, using her momentum to pull her forward against him, then twisting her around so her arm was held up against her spine.

  A soft gasp of pain escaped her, but he didn’t release her.

  Instead he hooked his arm around her neck, dragging her head back against his shoulder.

  “Enjoying this, Ms. Beasley?” he asked conversationally. “Because I’m fucking loving it.”

  As he’d hoped, the use of her name made her twist in his grip, an elbow shoving hard into his gut. Good. He’d never wanted this to be easy.

  He tried to drag her arm higher, but her head came back all of a sudden, at the same time as she rose on her toes, aiming at his nose.

  Avoiding the head butt, he laughed and released her. Only to grab her by the hips as she tried to turn to face him, lifting her, then throwing her bodily onto the bed next to them.

  She was already springing up again, agile as a cat, but he was heavy and powerful, and she couldn’t quite avoid him as he came down on top of her, pinning her on her back on the mattress.

  “This is getting old.” Her voice was breathless, the look in her eyes electric.

  “I don’t agree.” He flexed his hips against her, pressing into the heat between her thighs. “This is just starting to get interesting.”

  “You wish.” She wriggled, somehow managing to get her knees up, her feet planting themselves hard in his stomach, the whole force of her body in her kick as she shoved him back.

  “Clever.” He reached for her as she turned, trying to get off the bed, catching her by the ankle. “But not quite fast enough.”

  She kicked at him, but he dragged her back, getting her under him again and this time straddling her so she couldn’t move her legs. Her fists rose, but he grabbed her wrists and shoved them down hard on either side of her head.

  But even then she didn’t give up. She lifted her head instead, finding his mouth and delivering another of those hard kisses, her teeth against his lip.

  Ah . . . yes. Fuck yes.

  He kissed her back, pushing his tongue deep into her mouth, tasting the heat that was Faith and the fire that was Joanna, a flavor he’d never get out of his head and never wanted to.

  She made a soft, hungry sound in the back of her throat in response, her body arching, pressing herself to him. He could feel the bare skin of her torso soaking through the cotton of his T-shirt and the hard points of her nipples against his chest.

  Jesus. Whether she liked it or not, she wanted him and it was obvious. He just didn’t know why she was so determined to push him away.

  No doubt, it had something to do with her childhood and the man she’d shot. His brother’s betrayal wouldn’t have helped either. He was interested to know why she was so certain people were lying to her, because he knew how that went. It had happened t
o him as well.

  Still, there was a truth she needed to understand first and that was that he didn’t lie. And he meant what he said when he’d told her he never gave up what was his; it didn’t matter how hard she pushed him away, he wasn’t letting her go.

  And second, she was allowed to have what she wanted. She was allowed to have him.

  He broke the kiss, looking down at her. “Are you done? Can we get to fucking each other now?”

  She looked back, panting. Then her whole body gathered itself, her wrists twisting out of his grip, a fist headed straight for his face.

  “I’ll take that as a no.” He dodged the punch and shifted his weight, trying to pin her once again.

  But she was too fast, wriggling away and rolling off the bed, heading for the door.

  Oh no. She wasn’t going fucking anywhere.

  He caught her just as she was pulling the door open, slamming it shut again with one hand while the other gripped the back of her neck, pushing her face first against the wood.

  She turned her head so her cheek was pressed to the door, her breathing wild. He probably shouldn’t get too close, not when she had such painfully sharp elbows, but he couldn’t resist.

  Sure enough, as soon as he stepped up behind her, she tried to jab him in the gut, but he took the hit, pressing the entire length of his body up against hers. She struggled a little, which was pure heaven since it involved the softness of her butt grinding against his hard dick.

  “Keep doing that and I’ll fuck you up against this door, right here, right now,” he growled in warning. Then with his free hand, he pulled her hair away from the side of her neck and brushed his mouth over her heated skin, lightly in contrast to the firmness of his hold. “Unless that’s what you want, in which case by all means continue.”

  She shuddered, the sound of her breathing loud in the silence, but didn’t speak, so he gave her another featherlight kiss, adjusting his grip on her nape so he could graze the sensitive area where her neck met her shoulder with his teeth.

  Her breath caught sharply, so he bit down to intensify the sensation, and she gave another shudder, a soft groan escaping her.