Tagged & Ashed (The Sterling Shore Series #2)

by Owens, C. M.

  “I’ll be here.”

  With my son. My son.

  ***

  Ashiara

  I’ve never spent a night away from Trip, and even though I’m just a little bit away, it’s torture. I’ve spent the entire night crying and listening to the monitor that was once in Tag’s room.

  Hearing his soothing voice calming our crying child stabs me, especially since I know he truly does hate me. This entire thing is fucked up. He can’t force me to let him keep Trip in his room. He can’t force me to stay here either. I can go to Melanie's, and I can live there without him having any rights. It’ll take him forever to even get the paternity test he would need to prove Trip’s his child.

  So why am I staying?

  Because I owe him that much.

  Breathing in heavily, I go to sit in the kitchen and stare out the window at the world that has forsaken me. This morning, I thought of all the ways we could be together. Tonight, I’m thinking of all the reasons we never will me.

  A flash of light draws my attention, and I watch the security guards rush over to take something to the ground.

  Shit. It’s a person.

  “Tag,” I squeal, and he rushes out of the room with Trip cradled to his chest.

  “What?” he angrily rattles out, and then his eyes fall on the crazy scene going on in the front yard. “Shit. Call the detective, and here, hold Trip.”

  He hands him to me, and then he rushes outside as I pull the card off the fridge and dial the number with shaky fingers. But before anyone can answer, blue lights start flashing outside as sirens whoop their presence.

  I drop the phone as I stare at Tag, worried what might happen to him if it’s this son of a bitch after me. I see his hands clasp together behind his head as the cops jerk three figures around and cuff their hands.

  My heart races as I stare at Tag in his track pants—shirtless as he talks to the cops. I hold Trip to my chest as my lips stroll over his forehead very gingerly. I’m praying this is finally over.

  ***

  Tag

  “Thanks for coming out here so fast,” I sigh.

  “Your guards called us the second they saw someone trying to break in. We’ll let these guys spend the night in jail. Let me know how you want to proceed, Mr. Masters.”

  “I will,” I huff as I jog back up to the house.

  I’m sure this is going to be tough for Ash to swallow. She’s probably been on the edge of her seat. As mad as I am, I hate she has to go through this.

  As I round the corner, those stormy blue eyes meet mine with tears falling.

  “Is it finally over?” Her shaky voice crackles.

  I want to pull her in my arms and tell her everything is going to be okay.

  “No,” I say in a nearly muted tone. “There were just a couple of kids trying to see if someone famous lived here. The guys let them breach the fence so they could trap them. I’m sorry, but it wasn’t the guy after you.”

  She looks down at our son, and more tears fall from her eyes as her body visibly shakes to show her true terror. She’s been holding back, hiding it, even appearing strong, but now, this is breaking her.

  “Let’s get back to bed,” I murmur as I head toward her, and she lets a brief whimper free as I take Trip from her arms.

  She stares down at her empty hands, more tears falling, and I walk away with a terrible feeling. Despite what she has done to me, this is her son, too. She just stared out and had hope the monster under the bed was gone, only to have reality slap her in the face. I can’t just leave her in here, knowing she won’t sleep - knowing she’ll be worried all night about the son she can’t touch.

  I sigh hard while turning around, and I head back toward her.

  “Come on. You’re sleeping in my room tonight. You can sleep by the crib, and I’ll stay on the other side.”

  She shakes her head while drawing her knees to her chest. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen her so vulnerable, and it’s damn near my undoing.

  “No. I’ll be fine,” she murmurs, trying to feign a strong tone.

  “Ash, it wasn’t a request. We both need to sleep. In all honesty, you need to eat and sleep more. Now come on. You’re sleeping with me. We have a son, and we’re going to have to learn to raise him together no matter how hard it might be. We’ll figure it out one day at a time.”

  She peers out from under her lashes, and then she sighs as she stands to her feet to follow me. I put our son to bed, and she leans over to rail to kiss his forehead. I stare at her, looking at her a little differently.

  She’s no longer just the girl of my obsession, she’s the mother of my child. I have to show her respect no matter how pissed I am.

  Chapter Twelve

  Too Weird

  Ashiara

  “So he’s still not talking to you?” Billy asks.

  I adjust the phone on my shoulder as I snap together Trip’s little suit pants.

  “He’s not talking to me unless it’s directly related to Trip. He’s not looking at me, or even sitting in the same room as me very often-”

  “But you’re sleeping together?” Billy asks, interrupting me.

  “We’re sleeping in the same bed, and have been for two weeks. He says he understands I’m his mother and I want to be close to him.”

  “I swear I don’t know this guy. It sounds like you’re talking about a stranger instead of Tag.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m living with a stranger most days. We’ll be there tonight though. I wish he’d invite a date or ride separate from me, but he and I both want to arrive with our son to reveal him to all the eager people waiting to suck up to Tag and your mom.”

  “Yeah, sorry. Mom wouldn’t have it any longer. She thinks of Trip as her grandson. Have your parents seen him yet?”

  “They’re in Florence right now. They’re coming in next week to see him. They’re a little pissed, since they didn’t know I was pregnant.”

  “What’d you say?”

  “I told them to get in line behind his father.”

  ***

  Tag

  I’m actually nervous and excited as we pull up to Melanie's house. Ash has stared out the window for the majority of the time. I’m sure this isn’t exactly how she wanted to spend the evening, but she wouldn’t let me take him by myself.

  Living in hiding has made her a bit of a recluse. It’ll be good for her to get out.

  “You okay?” I ask as we pull up to the gathering of people eagerly awaiting our arrival.

  “Yeah,” she answers briskly, no warmth in her tone at all.

  I suppose I’ve been a little too cold, making her a little tougher than usual. Now, she’s scared to even look at me.

  “Um, the bodyguards know to keep their eyes on him no matter who is holding him, right?” she worries.

  “Yeah. It doesn’t matter what anyone says, they’re to stay glued to his and your side all night.”

  “I’m not worried about me,” she says as she climbs free from the car, her tone distant now as well as cold.

  “You should be. Your son will need his mother.”

  “My son has his father who could easily replace me the way my mother was easily replaced. He’d never know the difference,” she says as tears glisten in her eyes.

  Shit.

  She went from vulnerable to numb in two weeks. Is this my fault?

  “Ash, listen, just-”

  “Here, you can carry him in,” she says while pulling out our adorable little boy dressed in a flashy suit. “I’m sure everyone will want to see you holding your son for the first time. I’m going to go find Billy and Shannon.”

  “You don’t want to walk in with me?” I ask, a little surprised as the flocks start rushing in.

  She cringes each time someone’s hand brushes up against her, and then she shakes her head before disappearing into the mass. I hadn’t thought of how hard this is going to be for her.

  ***

  Ashiara

  Shannon walks u
p, and I take the champagne from her hand to guzzle it all in one gulp.

  “Thirsty?” she jokes.

  “Very.”

  My eyes turn back to see Tag jubilantly displaying our son as he heads toward us.

  “Arrogant, stupid son of a bitch,” I grumble aloud while brushing past her on my mission to find more booze.

  “Okay... So I guess I don’t have to ask how things are going.”

  “I can’t do it anymore. I’m sleeping in my own damn room tonight,” I mumble while jerking a glass of champagne from the waiter’s table, and I drink it just as quickly as the last before taking the whole bottle from his hand. “I mean, of all the stupid assholes in the world, I had to fall in love with that one.”

  She laughs a little at my rambling rant, and I roll my eyes while refilling my glass. Melanie giggles as she rushes by me to rip Trip free from Tag. He laughs as he relinquishes him, and he follows her toward the door.

  “I don’t even get a hello anymore,” I grumble as I turn the whole bottle up.

  “Hey, whoa. Classy function,” she chuckles, while taking my arm and leading me into the gallant house decorated for a baby shower after the fact.

  There are so many gifts that they’re pouring off the tables set up for them.

  “Hey,” Billy says as he scoops me in his arms and twirls me around. Then he frowns as he puts me down. “You’re still too skinny.”

  I narrow my eyes at him as I grit my teeth.

  “Have a child with a man who doesn’t love you, get stalked and threatened and have your child stalked and threatened by some maniac, then go live with the guy you can’t tell you love him; have him find out he’s the father of your child, hide out for your life, and then tell me how hungry you are.”

  “Okay, okay,” he says while raising his hands in a surrendering motion. “Chill.”

  I shake my head as I pour my glass full, and I guzzle the fizzing bubbles quickly as Tag resumes control of our child and starts introducing him to the world of society.

  “I don’t even know why I came. I know Tag won’t let anything happen to him, but I have to be a psycho control freak.”

  “Psycho, definitely,” Billy drawls playfully, and Shannon elbows him hard in the ribs, making him puff out a harsh breath of air before laughing.

  “Hilarious,” I sardonically release.

  He laughs harder as I refill my glass once again, and I stagger lightly as the burning alcohol tries to catch up with me.

  “Easy, don’t get drunk in five minutes. It’ll make it look like you don’t enjoy motherhood,” Billy teases.

  “Motherhood is perfect. It’s my son’s father that’s driving me crazy.”

  ***

  Tag

  Ash is in the corner with Bity and Shannon, talking and ignoring the chaos of the party. I’m relishing the opportunity for everyone to see my handsome son.

  “Hey, Tag,” Alaina, one of my many conquests, gushes as she walks over.

  Who the hell invited her?

  “Hey,” I lightly offer while cradling Trip closer to me.

  “I cannot believe you’re a father. You were always so careful. Are you and the mother-”

  “We’re living together, if that’s what you’re asking,” I misleadingly interject.

  I’m not telling this crazy bitch I’m still single, especially since I’m in love with my son’s mother. I just don’t know if I can ever trust her again.

  “Well, that’s a shame. The world is going to be full of sad, crying women.”

  “I’m sure they’ll move on as though I never existed,” I murmur as I head away from her.

  I look back over to see a guy approaching Ash, his eyes hungry, wanting, and he smirks as he watches her from afar. He’s tall, not short like her attacker, but he’s a threat of a whole different kind.

  Wren and Kade walk up, and my head motions in the direction of the wolf stalking my lamb.

  “Who’s he?”

  “The guy with the blond hair?” Wren asks.

  “Yeah. The one who can’t tear his eyes away from Ash.”

  Kade stifles a knowing grin, and Wren shrugs.

  “He said he works for Mom. I spoke to him earlier when I saw him hanging around but not really talking to anyone. You jealous?”

  “Not yet. If he touches her, then we’ll talk.”

  Kade lets a bit of a laugh free, considering there was once I time I called him an idiot for going after Lyle Hughes simply because Raya was playing pool with him. I get it now. Completely.

  “If you want her, then why don’t you just take her? I think it’s rather obvious she’s in love with you and only you," Kade says, shrugging as he looks around the party for the girl who never leaves his side for long.

  “She’s not in love. She’s just confused… like me.”

  “Let me see that boy while you open this,” Wren says while handing me an envelope and pulling Trip free from my grasp.

  “What’s this?” I muse while staring at the large, manila envelope.

  He's interrupted when Raya comes swishing in, a little tipsy, and crashes into the waiting arms of Kade. A pang of envy strikes me when he loses control over his hellacious grin, and he pulls her to him. They forget the rest of the world even exists as they suddenly start devouring one another.

  “Open it,” Wren says with a shit-eating grin, shaking his head at the two showy lovers.

  I force a smile as I pull out a piece of paper. But my smile is banished by my shock, and my breath gets lost on its way to my lungs. My whole world changes as I stare down at the birth certificate someone had redone.

  Trip Tagland Masters is the name.

  “I thought his middle name was James,” I almost whisper.

  “Well, at the time, she couldn’t tell people what she really named him. She hired a lawyer to get the surname changed. She had the paternity tests done in secrecy, and now the birth certificate is fixed. I told her I knew a guy who could rush the process, and she hired him without question. In case you were wondering about the possibility he wasn’t really yours, now you know for sure he is.”

  My still evades my lungs, and it’s all I can do to stay upright. I’ve been an asshole with no real, legal rights, and yet she goes and has this done. Not to mention, she named him after me to begin with, she just didn’t give him my surname in the beginning.

  “I never questioned if he was mine once I found out. I should have questioned if he was mine the second I found out she was pregnant. She’s not the type to screw around like that.”

  “She screwed around with you,” he laughs. “How could you have known?”

  “It’s different with me. She always knew me better than any other girl I’ve ever been with, and she only knew me for three days before she got pregnant.”

  “Dude, hang it up. You’re in love. You haven’t even been with another girl since you met her. Just drop bullshit and be with her.”

  I smile a little as I stare at Trip’s scrunched face as his dreams carry him far and away from reality.

  Thinking about what Ash said outside makes me a little sick. She feels replaceable, expendable even, and she’s not - not to Trip, not to me. There’s no one in this world more perfect for me, and somehow I’ve got to get over what she did.

  Staring at the birth certificate she had redone, I know I’m getting closer to being over it.

  ***

  Ashiara

  A tall blond guy has been staring at me for far too long, and now I’m starting to feel uncomfortable. I’m worried I’ve got something stuck to my face. Of course, I’m rather drunk, so it’s possible I’m making some ridiculous expression.

  Oh well. Who cares? I don’t.

  I stagger off to head away from the eyeing blond and my friends, as I make my way toward the quiet patio. I grab a bottle of champagne from the chilled ice, and I smirk as I see the fountain Tag once crashed into.

  “Well, hello, mermaid,” I say to the statue in the middle. “Are you lonely? I�
��m available it seems.”

  “Are you now?” a voice says from behind, and I whirl around to face the blond guy who refuses to stop staring. Apparently he's resorted to following me around as well.

  “Really? Is my dress on backwards or something?” I slur out, and he laughs a little while coming to brush my hair from my face.

  “Not at all. Your dress is on perfectly, and it’s a very nice dress on you. Melanie tells me you’re still single, even though you live with your baby’s father.”

  That’s because we’re fucking weird.

  “Yep, single but not available. Sorry.”

  I turn to walk away, but he follows me.

  “Are you going to hang out behind me all night? I’ve already got one stalker, I don’t need two.”

  He tilts his head curiously, and then he takes a seat on the side of the fountain.

  “I’m sorry. I heard about that as well. I’m not trying to stalk, but you really are beautiful. I’ve heard of Tag - he’s rather infamous in our circles. I hate to see you’ve landed in his web. I’m just here to try and be a friend.”

  Recognition strikes, and the face on him becomes familiar. It makes sense now.

  “A friend,” I repeat with a sigh. “I need more champagne, not a friend. Tag Masters is my son’s father, so if you’re expecting me to say something bad about him to a guy I don’t know, you’re sadly mistaken. You see, I know who you are now. Jason Marks. You’re a reporter. I’ve seen your picture. You’re a long way from home, since you report in Chicago.”

  “Clever girl, but I’m not on duty tonight. I simply came to be a friend to Melanie.”

  “Or you’re here because Tag is about to launch his latest business which is still under wraps. I’ve been getting calls from newspapers all around. Everyone wants to get the first look at his latest project, and the competition is waiting to find out how to compete, wanting to beat him to the punch. Sorry, but I’ve got enough friends.”

  I turn to walk away, my champagne still in tow, and his hand gently tugs at my elbow to halt my retreat.