His Pretty Toy by Shanna Handel

Chapter 17

Trent

I can’t torture her any longer. It’s killing me. I pull her up, sitting her on my lap. I grab her face in my hands, demanding she meet my gaze. “What’s happened, Ashley?”

She just shakes her head, crying harder.

I take her in my arms, rocking her, smoothing my hand over her hair, topping her head with kisses. I suddenly feel terrible for how I’ve treated her. She came here for my help… “Tell me, baby girl. Tell me everything. I’ll fix it for you.”

Her voice shakes. “I… I don’t know where to start.”

“Just start at the beginning.” I try to soothe her.

We get her cleaned up, her clothing back in place and her face washed. We sit down at the table in the kitchen, red wine and Chinese food between us.

She shakes her head as she twirls a noodle around her chopstick. “It’s all so crazy. I can barely believe it myself.”

She tells me of her sister’s past. How Holly got pregnant after high school and moved in with their mother. She met another man, Derik, got pregnant again, had a courthouse wedding, gave birth to the baby, then took off on her honeymoon.

In New Mexico.

In her husband’s green Camry.

My skin feels clammy. The only communication they received from the newlyweds was one letter with no return address; Sorry there’s been an accident. Burn this after reading and please, don’t try to find us.

My throat goes tight. I clear it. “It was your sister and her husband in the car that hit us that day, wasn’t it?”

“It was. And when I realized it, I was scared you’d kill them if you found out.” Her gaze guiltily rises to meet mine. “But there’s more.”

I put down my chopsticks, opting for the wine. I drink half the glass in one gulp. “Tell me.”

She puts her chopsticks neatly across the bowl. “My sister came into the coffee shop this week. She told me she’s in trouble, that we’re all in danger. Apparently, Derik planned the whole thing. He meant to hit you and your brother.” She gives her head a sad little shake. “God, I’m so, so sorry.”

My brother was right. Derik meant to hit us. “It’s not your fault. You’ve been paying for your sister’s sins for a long time.” I twirl the stem of the wineglass between my fingertips.

Her brow furrows. “How’d you know that?”

“Sorry.” I shrug. “I’ve got people.”

She gives a little forgiving laugh. “I figured. I mean, you produced a passport in like half an hour.”

“Why?” I ask. “Why would Derik do this?”

The color drains from her face as she tells the story. “It was some get rich quick scheme. He’d been planning it for the entirety of Holly’s pregnancy. He didn’t tell her till that night, till their car was barreling toward yours in the desert. He planned the accident, and was going to make it look like you were at fault, being careless and racing your expensive muscle cars. He’d claim damages, suing you for all you were worth. He’d already bought them two neck braces to fake their injuries. Holly freaked. Derik couldn’t believe she wasn’t on his side. She grabbed the wheel, trying to avoid your car, but it only made things worse, making the accident worse, and they hit you instead of you hitting them like Derik had planned.” Her eyes rise to mine, begging for forgiveness even though it’s not her sins she confesses.

I can’t believe it, but I almost can. Money does strange things to people and money like our family has, well, it brings out the absolute worst in people. Our name and wealth are well known. This isn’t the first time someone has tried to extort us. Everyone wants their cut. “And your sister?”

“She wanted to come clean. Derik said he would kill her if she did. She found your brother wandering in the town the next day. She stole all the cash they had, and gave it to a kid to deliver to your brother. Then she went into hiding. She’s been running from Derik ever since.”

I make a guess. “But he finally tracked her down and she came to you to fix it?”

“Yes.” She nods. “She needs money. To pay Derik off, to pay him to leave.”

“And if you don’t give it to him, he’s threatened your family.” I drum my fingers against the table, thinking.

“Yes.” She heaves a heavy sigh, slumping back in her chair like a huge weight’s been lifted off her shoulders. “I’m so, so sorry. Have they heard from your brother?”

I smile. “Yes, they have.”

Her hand goes to her mouth. “Oh, my god. That’s great. Is he okay?”

“Memory loss, but they think he’ll be okay.” I don’t want to burden her with Nathan’s injuries, not when she already feels so much guilt. “You know, Derik is never going to go away on his own? Right? If you feed a wolf, it’s going to keep coming back for more.”

“I don’t know what to do.” Tears fill her eyes, threatening to fall.

I grab her hand. “Don’t worry about a thing. I’ll take care of it all. I want you and your family moved in here until we get this sorted out.”

“Oh! I couldn’t even think of—”

“I mean it. Don’t argue.” I give her a stern gaze.

She doesn’t argue back. Her ass must still be sore. “Well, we sure as hell don’t deserve your help after what we’ve put you through, but thank you.”

“You haven’t put me through anything, except hell when you left Paris that night.” I look away. “Explain.”

“I put two and two together. I knew it was them who hit you. I mean—what are the chances you both had a mysterious accident in the desert the same September? I knew I had to protect my sister, but I felt loyalty toward you, too.” Her eyes hold mine. “Where do we stand now?”

“Where do we stand? I think…” I finish my wine and stand, offering her my hand. “This is the part where we have reunion sex.”

Her smile dazzles me, lighting up the kitchen and making my heart skip a beat. “Really? You forgive me?”

“There’s nothing to forgive.” I bring her into my arms. “Now let me kiss you all better.”

She giggles as I scoop her up into my arms, carrying her up the grand staircase to my room. I kick the heavy oak door open, laying her on the massive bed.

She sits up on her elbows, taking it in. “Gray walls, gray curtains, gray bedding. Hmm… classic bachelor pad. You know, while I’m staying here, I could repay you by doing a little interior designing.”

“Sounds great. But can we get to the sex part before you start redecorating the place?” I grab her hips, turning her over onto her stomach. “I have some boo-boos to kiss.”

She laughs as I smooth her dress up over her hips. I hook my fingers in the elastic band of her panties. “Lift.”

She raises up on her knees and I pull her panties down to her knees. She collapses against the bed with a sigh, her hands slipping beneath her cheek as she rests on the pillow.

I tug the panties the rest of the way off, tossing them to the floor. I run my hands down her back and over her curves. I spread her legs, crawling between them. Cupping her hips in my hands, I make a line of gentle kisses across the angry red stripes my belt made across her ass.

I kiss the full length of each stripe, smoothing my hand over her curves. I press against the soft flesh of the inside of the tops of her thighs, pushing her legs even further apart.

“Now to kiss it all better.” I rim her asshole with the tip of my tongue. She lets out a little moan as I travel downward, lapping up her juices. I lie on the bed on my back, lifting her up onto her knees and positioning her sex right over my mouth.

Her hands grab the headboard as she balances on her knees. “Oh, this feels so… dirty—” Her words turn into a strangled cry as I grab her ass in my hands, squeezing her punished flesh as I dart my tongue in and out of her sex.

“Oh, my god.” She rocks her hips as I lick her. “My god.”

I kiss her wet pussy till she’s rocking her hips back and forth, holding onto that headboard tight, fucking my face, greedy for all the pleasure my mouth can give her. And who can blame her after the orgasm denial I put her through? I keep up the good work until she’s had a second, a third, and a fourth orgasm.

She pushes me away, collapsing on the bed. “I can’t take any more!”

I rise, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. “Can you take my cock?”

Her eyes go to my hard, ready member. A naughty glint flashes in her eyes. “Well, maybe I can take a little more. Though there’s nothing little about you.”

I grab a condom from the nightstand, fully understanding why she was so careful to not get pregnant. She already had enough mouths to feed. I put it on right in front of her so she can see the entire application. She gives me a shy nod of approval.

I take her in my arms and I fuck her with every bit of my energy. It’s like all that time spent missing her over the past six months is healed in this moment, when we’re wrapped in one another’s arms. I move slow, kissing every part of her face as I fuck her. Her eyelids, her cheeks, her lips.

Afterwards, we fall asleep, her head on my chest just like that first night we were together on the yacht. No more nightmares. Is it because my brother is back? Or does having her in my arms keep the terror at bay? When she wakes me with her kiss, I give her a grateful smile.

We spend the morning lazily eating pastries and drinking coffee. We know we have a busy day ahead of us, getting her family moved in, getting Nathan settled when he returns from his apartment, so we relish the quiet moments we do have together.

We go back to bed and she takes me in her mouth in that way she so expertly did six months ago. I return the favor, then we fuck again. Only when we fuck, it’s starting to feel like more. I don’t know where this thing between us is going, and I don’t let myself worry over it.

I focus on the task at hand. Keeping them safe, getting my brother back, and most important, locking up this bastard, Derik.

Marcus calls me when we’re on our way to her mother’s house with a U-Haul trailer attached to my Silverado. “What’s up?”

There’s excitement in his voice. “We think we’ve found him.”

“And?” I ask.

“He’s… dead. His body’s been identified.” He clears his throat. “Someone else got to him first.”

I think of how desperate he was for my money. “He must have owed someone money.”

“Maybe.” He fills me in on the rest of the information he has. It’s not much.

I tell Ashley the news. She looks relieved. “What do you want to do?”

“Are they sure it’s him?” she asks.

“I don’t know.” I shake my head. I’m not yet convinced it’s him they’ve found. “I think you girls should come stay with me till we know for sure.”

She nods. “That’s what I was thinking. Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.” I won’t take no for an answer.

I didn’t know it at the time but this life-long bachelor cursed himself with that one-word answer. Before he had time to blink, there were five women living in his house, glitter in his hair, milk stains on his shirt, and Barbie shoes forever piercing the bottoms of his feet.