Forced: A Bad Boy Billionaire Romance (The Blackthorn Brothers Book 1) (5 page)

I knew she’d still be angry with me—just like I knew she wouldn’t want to marry me. Unfortunately for her, she had little say in the matter, as barbaric and backward as that sounded. But the truth of the matter was that she didn’t come from a normal family that followed the normal rules of society. And given who her father was, there was no real way out of this sort of life. She might try to escape it, but there’d always be someone there to pull her back into it—like me.

“I know you’re not happy about this, Wren, but you have no choice. Who pays your rent? Who puts money in your account so you can buy clothes and go out drinking? Where does the money come from when you decide you want to go for a swim in Bali or you want to spend springtime in Capri? Who pays for that shopping spree in Paris and Milan? Because if you think your father won’t cut you off, you can guess again.” It was nothing but the truth.

“I’ll manage just fine on my own. I don’t need you or my father to take care of me.” Wren had gone to college and gotten her degree, but as far as I knew, she hadn’t worked a hard day in her life. Teaching the occasional yoga class or picking up a dog-sitting gig every now and then didn’t exactly pay the bills, and those were done out of boredom, not need.

“You know that’s a load of shit, Wren—and frankly, it doesn’t matter, because I’m still going to do whatever it takes to keep my family safe. And if that means dragging you to some priest or JP who’ll do your dad’s bidding and ignore the fact that you’re not exactly there of your free will, then that’s exactly what I’ll do. But I can tell you right now that we’re getting hitched, whether you like it or not. So pack a bag or I’ll do it for you, and I make no guarantees about my fashion sense.”

“You’re hysterical. And even though I get that you want to keep your family safe, I’m not doing this, Ash. No fucking way. You need to find another way.” She shook her head no and took a step away from me, looking ready to bolt. “You don’t get to come into my home and force me into something I want no part of.”

“You can blame your dad for that. Unfortunately, I’m not the one who set the rules to this little arrangement—and believe me, I’ve done all I can to figure out who’s behind this, and it’s not making sense, which means your dad’s offer is my only option. Trust me when I tell you, this isn’t exactly my idea of a happily ever after, either.” Settling down and getting married was the last thing I’d been thinking of, even if seeing Wren again was stirring up feelings I’d thought were long gone and well forgotten.

“You know I love your family—but marrying me is not the answer to your problems—especially since it’s not fucking happening.” Her mistake was telegraphing her move by glancing in the direction she was going to run.

I caught her in my arms as she screamed and tried to get free of me, my cock going hard as I pressed her body to the wall, trapping her against me. And fuck, but it was like the years apart evaporated in that moment, the familiarity of her body against mine making it so I could think of nothing but sinking my cock into her as my mouth caught hers in a heated kiss, my tongue clashing with hers as she kissed me back with a passion I hadn’t realized I’d missed.

Gripping her wrists, I raised her arms up over her head and grabbed them both in one hand so the other could dip down to her sweet cunt, my words spoken against her lips. “Fucking hell, Wren…you’re so wet.”

“And what the hell are you going to do about it, Ash?” Her cheeks were flushed red with need, her words spoken on a gasp as I plunged my fingers inside her, knowing full well the games she was playing. She might hate my guts, but she’d always want me—just like I’d always want her; the attraction between us undeniable. “Are you going to just stand there or are you going to take what you want?”

“Fuck, Wren…” She’d always liked things really rough—
too rough
—and it looked like some things hadn’t changed. “I’m not doing this—not like this.”

I let her go, not willing to go down this road with her again, even if every part of me ached to have her back, the absence of her curves from my body impacting me like a physical pain.

“You’re not going to fuck me—and I’m not going to marry you. See? We both have things we won’t do.” Her smug smile made me curse under my breath as I fought the need to carry her off to her bed, and fuck her until she didn’t have the energy or desire to deny me anything.

“You make it sound like either one of us has a choice when it comes to this.
We don’t
. And you should know damn well by now that your father always gets what he wants. So, believe me when I tell you, that you want to come along willingly. ’Cause I can guarantee you won’t like the alternative, sunshine.” My car was parked just outside, and I had no doubt I could have her bound and stuffed into my car before anyone noticed.

“I’m. Not. Going.” Her hands curled into fists, and she glared at me, but the reality of it all was that her protests were useless.

“Grab your things, Wren.” When she gave me the finger, it sealed her fate. My hand closed around her wrist as I carefully twisted it behind her back, and got her moving toward her bedroom. “You need to pack. And I suggest you don’t push me to more extreme measures—’cause if you think I don’t have ways of restraining you, you can guess again.”

She cursed up a storm, standing in the middle of her room, refusing to budge. “I want to see my father. ’Cause this is not happening.”

I couldn’t help but sigh, knowing it wouldn’t do her any good. “I’ll happily take you to see him, but you know what he’s like, and if you think he’s going to change his mind about this, you’ve clearly been away too long and don’t remember what he’s like.”

“I have no problem working and paying my own way if he doesn’t want to help me financially. Because after all you put me through, it’ll be a cold day in hell before I marry you.” She glared at me with such hatred—not that I could really blame her.

When I left Seattle, I’d half expected that I’d be able to bring her around and make her see that this could work. But with her eyes shimmering with threatening tears, I realized just how much I’d hurt her.

I couldn’t help but cross to her side, reaching out to run a hand down her arm. “I’m sorry, Wren…”

She shrugged away from my touch, her tears replaced by more anger. “If you were truly sorry, you wouldn’t have come back here to rip open old wounds.”

There was no point in telling her yet again that I had no choice in the matter. She didn’t want to hear it—nor did she care when the results were the same. She still had to deal with me—and I had no doubt things were only going to get worse between us.

I found a large duffel bag in her closet and plopped it on the bed. “Do you want to do this or do you want me to do it for you?”

“You’re an asshole.” Yet she went to her closet and dresser and started throwing clothes in the bag, making sure to glare at me the whole time.

By the time she finished packing, my mood had turned and my frustration with the situation was getting the better of me. I was being railroaded into this situation, same as her. But I had no choice. I’d tried to figure out who was after my family, and it had been impossible. Every clue, every road I’d followed, had come to a dead end. The clues we had didn’t make sense, and that meant my family was still at risk.

I zipped the bag shut. “Ready?”

Wren plopped herself down on the edge of her bed, looking miserable. “Please, Ash… Don’t make me do this. There’s got to be another way to keep your family safe…another way to make my father see sense. I just can’t…”

Fuck, I hated seeing her like this.
Especially when this was my fault. Knowing she was hurting, I dropped to my knees before her so I could look at her face to face. “I know you hate me, Wren. But you have my word, I’ll try to do right by you.”

“Like you did before?”

“I guess I deserve that.”

With Ash just a heartbeat away, my emotions were a tumultuous mess. I’d done my best to get over him, even if the wounds to my soul had never healed. And though the wounds weren’t all of Ash’s making, enough of them were, and for now I was happy enough to hold him responsible.

“Come on, Wren. Let’s just try to get through this. Maybe you’ll have better luck convincing your father that this is an insane plan.” Still kneeling in front of me, he made it impossible for me to ignore him. And when he brushed the hair from my eyes, his touch was far too familiar, especially when I could feel the echo of his hands on my body, my lips still tender from his hungry kisses. “And if we can’t get him to change his mind…maybe we can figure out a way to make this work.”

So he could send me into a downward spiral I might not ever escape? No fucking way.
“It won’t work, Ash. The two of us together… It was nothing short of disastrous.”

“That was ages ago, love. We’re not kids anymore. And you can’t deny that there’s always been something between us.” His hands slowly slipped up my thighs, making my breath catch with a gasp as my eyes slipped shut and my head fell back, even as I told myself I should put a stop to this before it was too late.

And yet, I couldn’t…not when he was biting my nipples through the thin fabric of my dress, and his thumb was stroking my clit, my panties long gone. I knew I’d regret this and I’d end up hating myself for it afterwards, but I couldn’t stop him, knowing all too well what Ash was capable of. And I might still blame him for everything he’d put me through, but pushing him away took more determination than I had at the moment, especially when he was trying to prove a point.

He caught my mouth in a hungry kiss as his fingers dipped deep inside me, filling me and stretching me tight as I moaned into his mouth, leaving me wanting so much more, even as I told myself it wasn’t too late to put a stop to this. But he was far too skilled…and knew me far too well, even after all these years apart.

My legs fell open for him, giving him easy access, desperate for him to use my body any way he wanted, to take me rough, my head and my body too conditioned to wanting things fucked up.

And then there was my guilt.

I didn’t deserve any measure of happiness. Not that fate would put me out of my misery when it could continue to torment me, to remind me that my life had been a nightmare for a very long time.

Ash dragged his teeth down my neck and over my racing pulse while he finger-fucked me, thrusting into me as he sank his teeth into my shoulder, my pleasure melting into my pain. He already had me so close to coming, and I hated myself for giving in to this thing between us, my tears streaming down my cheeks as he pushed me over the edge and I cried out as I came, my body squeezing around his fingers.

But then his eyes met mine, and his smile faded the moment he spotted my tears.
“Little bird…”

Scooping me up in his arms, he sat back against my headboard and held me to him as I cried my heart out, not even sure what part of my fucked-up life I was crying about. But it was like he’d broken down my walls when he’d touched me.

His cheek rested atop my head as he murmured words of comfort in a futile attempt to calm me down. I cried until I could cry no more, but as my tears finally slowed, I became far too aware of Ash’s familiar body, his strong arms offering me a comfort that was nothing more than an illusion. Because, before long, Ash would realize I wasn’t worth the effort. I was damaged…broken…and not even he could put me back together.

Somehow, I found the strength to pull out of his arms, needing to put some distance between us before I compounded my mistake with an even bigger one. “Please, Ash…
just go
. Tell my father you couldn’t find me. Tell him I moved and you didn’t know where I’d gone to. Just please…don’t make me do this.”

“Wren…talk to me. I hate seeing you so upset.” His green eyes searched my face for some sort of answer, some truth, though it only left me feeling exposed and vulnerable, especially when he was still so handsome—and most of all, when he didn’t know any of my secrets.

“What do you want me to say? I came home from my date to find out you’d broken into my apartment and made some sort of asinine deal with my father. And to hell with what I want for my life. Why should I actually get a fucking say?” I got to my feet, needing to put some distance between us, and though I was giving Ash the most obvious answer, it was really nothing more than a distraction from the actual truth—a truth he could never know. “Well, this is
my
fucking life—and I refuse to have you and my father hijack it.”

“Last chance, Wren.” Ash shifted to the edge of the bed, sitting there with his elbows propped on his knees. But there was an underlying tension in his muscular form that reminded me of a panther stalking its prey and getting ready to pounce, his mood far too serious to bode well for me.

“Last chance for what? And why does that sound like a threat?” I knew the chances of making it out of my apartment without him catching up to me were slim to none. It’d never work—but could I really live with myself if I didn’t at least try to fight back against my father’s absurd plan? Because I already knew all too well what it was like to live with the guilt of fear and inaction.

“I’m not here to threaten you, Wren—and it fucking kills me to see you hurting. But there’s only one way this night’s going to end—and that’s with you coming back to Seattle with me. I’m just asking you not to make this more difficult than it has to be.” He stood and crossed to my side, his six-three height towering over me as his broad shoulders blocked my escape. “Please, Wren… And you never know. Maybe you can talk your father into seeing sense.”

I wanted to fucking scream. Because I knew he was right about how this would all unfold if I put up a fight. And I knew firsthand that sometimes it was a whole lot easier to just get it over with, especially when the end result would be the same—the only difference being that one road was less combative than the other.

And yet it didn’t mean I’d go down without a fight.

“I can’t do this, Ash. I’m tired of my life not being my own…tired of being a pawn in a game I want no part of…and I’m tired of being fucked around because people think it’s amusing, and they just want to have their way.” And though Ash had been the exception in the past, he was now demanding far more from me than I was willing to give. “I’d do a lot for you and your family—you know that. But getting married? The whole thing is insane—and trust me…someday, you’ll thank me for turning you down.”

With a shake of his head, he let out a ragged breath. “I’m willing to give you another day or two to come to terms with this, but there’s no way out of this, Wren. So wrap your head around it, because we’re getting hitched, one way or another.”

He was dead serious. And so I did the only thing I could, even though I knew it was an exercise in futility.

I ran
.