Chapter 7
Paisley
It’s really not fair that I can’t even focus on my math test. It’s quite a bit of bullshit actually that the only thing I can think of is Royce. He ignites me, leaving behind the remnants of a fiery explosion. Every time he gets me naked, he marks me. Not just on the surface either, but underneath that. He’s marked me so deep that I know I’ll never be the same.
No matter what happens from here, I know I will always look at my life as before Royce and after Royce. Up until now, it was before I was adopted and then after. Even before that, it was before my parents died and then after.
But now, none of the other stuff matters. The loss and the letdown doesn’t exist for me anymore. What does, though, is Royce. He says I’m his, but he’s more mine than he even knows.
When he dropped me off at class this morning, he was acting weird… like he was trying to hide that he was mad. When I texted him halfway through to make sure everything was okay, he immediately replied with just yeah. We’ve been friends for a long time, and he’s never replied with a one-word answer when we’ve texted before. I know because I just looked back at our conversation thread instead of listening to the lecture.
I get that coiling feeling in my gut. Something is definitely wrong.
The moment class is done, I rush out of the room and run down the hallway, my shoes clacking on the white tiles. Past the trophy cases and administration offices until I get outside. Glancing around frantically, I look past the people, through the trees, and beyond the sidewalk, trying to find him. Panic trips me up when I don’t see him, and I push off a wrought iron bench, so I don’t fall.
It’s funny because even when I didn’t know he was here, I felt this weird sense of security… like my body subconsciously knew he was close. But right now, I’m not laughing. Knowing he’s here and with me and that we’re together, yet afraid that something happened to him and I won’t get to see him again, makes me physically ill. Maybe he changed his mind, maybe he got in a car accident, maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe.
I grab my hair as my belly dips and my palms dampen. The voices surrounding me muffle as my eyes dance around, looking for the one glimmer of clarity that is Royce. The only clarity that I ever saw and will ever need. A hand settles on my shoulder, and I whip around, my irrational tears blocking my vision for a moment of panic.
“You okay, precious?” Royce asks, calm and collected and perfectly okay.
Hearing his voice and the low rumble makes my knees weak, and I practically collapse into him.
“Whoa.” He puts an arm around my waist, and I cling to him. He holds me tight and carries me to his car, my face buried in his neck. After he sets me inside, he puts a fist beneath my chin and tilts my face up to look at him. “What the hell happened?”
“You weren’t there.”
“I was.”
My head shakes as I answer. “I looked for you, and I couldn’t find you, and I didn’t know where you were.”
“Well, I’m right here. Christ, I’m not goin’ anywhere. I’m here.”
He brings his hand up and wipes under my eye, and when he brings it back down, I grab it. He tries to pull away, but I don’t let him. “Why are your knuckles all red?”
“They’re not.”
“Don’t lie to me, Royce.” I hold them both up and notice the left is worse than the right, which would make sense because he’s a leftie. “What did you do?”
“You don’t—”
“Want to know?” I guess.
His lips press together, and he gives me an imperceptible nod.
“Are you okay?” I ask. “Is anything going to come back on you?”
Right before my eyes, his face softens. “You’re so sweet, baby. Nothing’s coming back on me, I promise.”
“You didn’t tell me if you’re okay.”
“No, I’m not.”
My heart thunders as I sit up and grab his face, twisting and angling to get a better view. “Why? What’s wrong?”
“I’ve been with my girl for five minutes, and she hasn’t kissed me yet.”
I lean over to rectify that, and then he walks around to his side and climbs in. Pulling away, he holds my hand as he drives us home. His fingers twisted in mine relax me, and I lean my head on his shoulder as he drives.
When we get back to the apartment, he leads us to the elevator. As soon as the door closes, he slides his arms around my belly and pulls me back so not a centimeter of space exists between us. “I thought we could go out tonight? Maybe you could wear a little black dress.” His lips tickle my ear. “And maybe I could take it off you later.”
A super girly giggle bursts out of me, the fear long gone, and he chuckles, the vibration shaking my entire body. The doors ping open just as his mouth closes over my neck.
“What the…?”
Royce’s body tenses, and I look up just as a familiar man—tall, dark, and totally handsome with a chiseled jaw and huge arms—reaches for me. His intense dark brown eyes blacken.
“Gio! What are you doing here?”
He tries to grab me, but Royce blocks his hand. “You don’t get to touch her.”
Gio leans in, an entire head taller than me so I only see his neck, the veins in it throbbing as he loses his temper. “And you do?” he roars.
Royce pulls me behind him. “Back the fuck up, man.”
I peek around him, and Gio continues staring him down but finally drops his head and takes a step away. Royce grabs my hand as he walks out, pulling me in front of him. I look over my shoulder as we make our way down the hall to his apartment and find Gio following us. The look on his face, if I didn’t know him, would scare the shit out of me. He’s one of the bodyguards who always seems so serious.
But the times I’ve talked to him, he’s always been nice. Funny. Serious but super sarcastic with an underlying sadness that he tries too hard to cover up.
Royce’s hand stays on my waist, his palm flat. He opens the door to his place and gives me a gentle shove inside and shuts the alarm off.
Gio follows us in and slams the door behind him, then paces in the kitchen. “Are you serious right now?” He runs his hands through his thick black hair and stops. “What the fuck, Royce?”
“Not the time.”
“Oh, I think it’s the perfect time.” He looks at me, and he smiles just enough for his bright white teeth to shine through his goatee, hair as dark as the top of his head. “Paisley… this can’t happen.”
Royce steps in front of me. “Hallway,” he demands.
“No.” I peek around him and look at one of my dad’s most trusted bodyguards. “It’s fine, Gio.”
“It’s not. This isn’t cool.” He directs his disappointment at Royce. “She’s nineteen.”
“I’m an adult, and I can make my own decisions.”
Gio laughs. “If you’re so grown, then why did your daddy pay someone to follow your ass around and—”
“Last warning,” Royce growls. “I won’t do it in front of her, but I’ll drag your ass outta here and break your fuckin’ jaw if you talk to her like that again.”
“You’re the one who’s gonna have a broken fuckin’ jaw when Erik finds out you’re fucking his daughter!”
Oh, my God. He thinks I’m a slut. Why didn’t it occur to me? All the guys are going to think I am. As if someone punched me in the stomach, the wind gets knocked out of me, and if it weren’t for Royce’s support, I wouldn’t still be upright. He practically drags me to the chair in the kitchen and sets me in it, then points at me. “Stay here.”
Royce
Gio follows me into the hallway, and once the door is closed, he holds his arms up in a neutral gesture. “I’m not gonna fight you, but you do realize Erik will kick your fucking ass, right?”
“I’m fully aware of the fact he’s going to want to try.”
“You’ve gotta let him get at least one good one in, Royce. You’re fucking his daughter.”
I don’t correct him because it’s none of his business what happens between Paisley and me. I shrug. “Depends on how much he pisses me off that day, I guess.”
“Damn, man.” He tucks his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. “How the hell did you two…”
“It’s not like it happened overnight.” Again, nobody needs to know what goes on between me and Paisley. We’re still figuring it out, and I know this is just the beginning of the shit we’re gonna get from everyone. I’ll do my best to shield her from it, which shouldn’t be hard since everyone’s gonna want to rip my balls off. “We’ve both wanted it for a while now.”
He shakes his head and grunts. “It’s Paisley.”
“I know.” It’s the boss’s daughter, and the little sister to all the guys at Ace. The one who we always joked about would stay single forever because nobody would have the guts to face the wrath of not only Erik, but also all the men at his back. “Why are you here in the first place?”
“Q called me.”
Of course, he did. “He said everyone was busy.”
“For this, I got unbusy.”
Not surprised. Everyone loves Paisley and wants to see the asshole who hurt her locked up. “I already took care of it.”
He glances at my hands. “I see that.”
“It’s not like it was hard. The guy was so high he didn’t feel anything until I broke his arm.”
“Well, then. I guess I can get out of this shit hole.”
I nod in total agreement. “I hate this city. Can’t wait to go back home.”
“Yeah, what’s gonna happen with that?” He nods toward the apartment.
“She’s with me.” I shrug like he’s an idiot for asking me that. “We’re together. Not too hard to figure out.”
“Erik doesn’t even know I’m here, and since you don’t need help, I’m just gonna pretend I don’t know what the hell is going on between you two.”
I laugh. “Scared?”
“Fuck yeah, I am. You’ve seen the way he gets. I don’t want to be on the receiving end of that shit,” he states even though I know it’s a lie. Gio is an ex-MMA fighter. He’s the one we all go to for sparring and training. I doubt Erik would even be able to get one hit in.
The door opens, and we both look over at Paisley. She leans against the doorjamb and holds her phone up. “That was Detective Barker. They caught the guy who attacked me because he turned himself in. Just walked right into the police station and confessed.” She crosses her arms. “Isn’t that convenient?”
I click my tongue against the roof of my mouth. “I guess the guilt was eating away at him.”
“I guess.” She smiles at me, and I feel my lips pull up in return. “Are you guys okay?”
“Yeah, babe. We’re good,” I answer right away.
She glances at Gio, then at me, then back at Gio. “Do you, uh… want to stay for dinner? I was thinking maybe something from the Italian place down the street.”
“Nah. I’ll take off. You guys—”
“Are you mad at me?” she interrupts him and steps into the hallway as all happiness falls from her. “I don’t want you to be mad at me.”
“Ah, cara, no.” He pulls her in for a hug. “Not mad as long as he’s treating you good, and you’re happy.”
She nods into his chest, and as much as I want to yank him away from her, I have to remind myself that the guys all see her like a little sister. At least they’d better see her that way. If not, then we’re going to have some major fuckin’ problems. “I am.”
“Good.” He motions for her to enter the apartment. “Let’s try this place out and I’ll tell you how good the food really is.”
* * *
Later that night, we’re lying in bed, me on my back and her head on my chest. We ended up going out with Gio, and he actually thought the food was really good. Though the conversation was a bit forced because Paisley wasn’t herself.
I tried to give her time to talk to me about it, but even though Gio’s been gone for a few hours, she hasn’t broached the subject. So I will.
“Paisley?”
“Yeah?”
“You want to tell me what’s bothering you?”
She sighs, her warm breath gliding across my bare chest. “Nothing, I just…”
“Just what, babe?”
“Just… is it going to be like that with everyone?”
“Like what?”
I let go of her when she sits up and crosses her legs next to me, her knees resting on my thigh. “Like everyone wants to pull me away and punch you in the face.”
“I won’t let anyone touch you.” I don’t include the fact that if anyone wants to punch me in the face, I’ll be happy to return the blow.
“I’m not worried about that.”
I love that she feels that way, especially after what I let happen. “What are you worried about?”
“They’re going to think I’m a slut.”
“Nobody will think that,” I promise her. “Because you’re not, and it pisses me off that you’d even say that about yourself, so shut it.”
“But—”
I interrupt her, refusing to listen to any of this bullshit. “But nothing. I know who you are. You know who you are. We know who we are together, and anything that happens between us is ours. Nobody gets to take any of that away, understand?”
“I guess.” She lifts her shoulders quickly. “But Gio thought that we were… ya know?”
This girl. “If you want me to set him straight and tell him I haven’t fucked you yet, I’ll be happy to.”
“No. That’s even worse.”
“It’d be worse that he knows we haven’t fucked?”
“No. God!” She squeezes her little fists together. “I don’t know. I just don’t want them to think badly of me. They’re like… they’re family to me, and I hate that I’d do anything to cause a riff with anyone.”
She’s right; they are family. And her family is loyal. Unlike mine.
I sit up and brush her hair off one shoulder and rest my hand there. “Nobody will think badly of you. Even if we were, even if Gio was right and I was fuckin’ you, it doesn’t mean he thinks bad about you. If anything, he thinks badly of me. They’re all going to be pissed at me, not you. I can guarantee that.” It’s definitely something I’ve prepared myself for, and as much as I hate that I know it’s going to be a shitstorm when everyone finds out, she’s worth it. I’ll take my blows from them, but I won’t allow anybody to be shitty toward her because of me.
“That’s not fair.”
“It’ll be fine.” I slide my hand up to cup the back of her head and pull her to me. I give her a reassuring kiss before I rest my forehead against hers. “I promise you everything will be fine.”