Page 25 of The Wrong Bond (Wolf Billionaire #4)

CHAPTER 25

SHAWN

T he ride back to Arlene’s home was eerily silent, the streets of her new hometown completely different from the streets downtown.

There were no potholes, no rogues lingering in the streets, and most of all, the streetlights were working. I was glad that she was somewhere safe and had made something of herself these past five years.

I also wondered what she would think if I told her about the project I’d been so passionate about. Did she ever go back and see what I’d done to the downtown district? It was my only real tie to her and I wanted to make her proud with everything in me, even if she wasn’t there to see it.

I hoped I did make her proud. I wanted to, but for now, I had bigger fish to fry. We needed to talk about the past five years and why I’d never checked in.

It was hard to check in when I was fighting for my life every other day with the series of experimental treatments, and the pain I was facing on a daily basis. I’d endured all this and more so I would be able to be close to her without any repercussions.

But I had my men give me weekly updates on Arlene’s life. It might seem creepy to some, but I wanted to be a part of her life in any way possible.

The Shawn she knew five years ago had changed. Not of my own free will, but because I had to change. I had to see things differently, to be different, in order for the experiment to work.

It had taken so many tries, and even more resilience. The thought of how much I wanted to be better for Arlene was why I’d never backed down.

Lora had taken my advice and was traveling the world, doing things she loved and sending me postcards. As I underwent the experiments at the hospital, my bond with her weakened every day until she was finally free of the bond forever.

Now my mindset had changed, my body had changed, and my thinking had changed. But the one thing that hadn’t morphed and bent with time in those five years was my feelings for Arlene. They were even stronger when I looked at her now than they’d been back then.

I glanced at Arlene, whose eyes were fixed on the road, or maybe she was just avoiding looking at me, I couldn’t tell.Her profile was highlighted by the soft glow of the dashboard. She looked different, stronger, but she still had that vulnerability in her eyes.

“Why did you leave, Arlene?” I finally voiced the question I’d been dying to ask for years.

I knew one version of why she had left because my parents and Lora had told it to me, but I wanted to hear the reason from her own lips. I wanted to know why she’d left me without so much as a goodbye.

I watched Arlene stiffen, her grip tightening on the steering wheel.

“It wasn’t as easy as you might think,” she replied.

I nodded. “I know, which is why I’m ready to have a difficult conversation.”

I wasn’t going to let it go so easily.

We drove in silence for a few minutes, and then, finally, she spoke up.

“You came to me that morning, telling me things I’d been wanting to hear for weeks, Shawn. If you haven’t realized it already, I’ve probably loved you since the first moment we spoke.”

I swallowed. “I had no idea.”

“Well, you do now. It was scary knowing that I was always going to be around you but never by your side, especially with the way I felt. The way you treated me wasn’t any better either. You made me feel loved and valued, and that really blurred a lot of lines for me.”

She took a deep breath and continued. “Lora came to me the next morning, while my head was still completely scrambled, and told me about your mate bond and the consequences of you rejecting it. I love you and I didn’t want anything to happen to you, so I decided to save you from yourself.”

I gritted my teeth. “By taking the money?” My voice came out sharper than I intended it to.

She glanced at me, hurt etched into her features. “I was going to leave you anyway. The money was just something that I needed, so I took it.”

“I understand that, and I don’t want you to think for one moment that I’m here to apportion blame, but why didn’t you leave a goodbye note or text?”

Arlene pulled up in front of a building that I suspected was her apartment. She turned off the car and turned to me.

“Because it would’ve been too hard. If I sent a text, you would have responded, and I would’ve had no choice but to respond too, and the back and forth would begin. My heart belonged to you and I didn’t want that to cloud my judgment.”

“I understand,” I said simply.

She stepped out of the car and I followed. “This is my apartment building,” she announced.

“Very fancy,” I responded, taking in the apartment in front of us. It was very modern and neat.

We both went up the stairs to the floor Arlene’s apartment was on. She pushed open the door and walked into the big apartment. I looked around, taking it all in and looking for familiarities of her that I’d seen in her previous apartment five years ago.

I could see the pictures on the mantelpiece of her and Leah, her and Coral, and finally, a series of pictures of a baby that had progressed over the years.

Ruby.

When my men had spied on Arlene and brought back news that she was a few months pregnant, I’d been devastated and assumed she had slept with another man immediately after leaving me. But when Ruby was born and I saw pictures, she was the spitting image of me and I knew she was my daughter.

I’d watched her grow up for five years, through pictures and video. I couldn’t physically be in her life, but that was the next best thing.

“You’re back,” I heard a voice call as someone headed into the living room.

“I told you I wouldn’t be long,” Arlene responded.

It was Coral. I’d never met her, but I’d seen pictures and heard so much about her from Arlene. When they’d left, I became a charity donor at the hospital Coral had stayed at in the downtown district.

Following behind Coral was five-year-old Ruby, her bright blue eyes shining inquisitively at me.

“Who is that?” she asked meekly.

“My friend,” Arlene responded quickly.

Ruby ran to me, her eyes shining as she flew into my arms. “Hello?”

I chuckled, lifting her up. “Hello. What’s your name?”

“My name is Ruby. What is your name?” Her small hands reached up and traced lines on my face, her eyes wide with wonder.

“Ruby is a very pretty name,” I said. “My name is Shawn.”

She smiled big and wide. “Thank you. I like my name.”

She was completely adorable, and I was a little floored and in disbelief that I had a child and Arlene had kept her away from me all these years. I had told my men to be on standby at the bar earlier, and when we left, they’d tailed Arlene.

I just needed to give them a signal and they’d be in here, ready to take my daughter back. But I needed a bit of time with her first before that happened.I didn’t want to scare my little girl.

“I like you,” Ruby piped up suddenly.

I raised an eyebrow at her. “Really? Why?”

“You are nice.”

I chuckled.

“Ruby never likes anyone or allows them to touch her,” Coral said, sounding surprised. “She must really like you.”

I gave her a tight smile, my eyes moving to Arlene, who I could tell was uncomfortable.

“Coral, why don’t you head to your room and give me and Shawn some space,” Arlene said, and Coral nodded and left the room.

I put Ruby down on the floor and crouched down to her level, my heart melting at how perfect she was. She was a beautiful mix of me and Arlene. She had my hair and eyes, and took Arlene’s button nose and gorgeous lips.

“How old are you, Ruby?”

“I’m five,” she responded with pride.

Five, signifying those five years Arlene and I were apart.

I ruffled her hair gently. “Ruby, it was a pleasure to meet you.”

She giggled and my eyes trailed back to Arlene again, who looked a bit shocked that Ruby had taken to me.

She had built this all by herself with no help from me. I could see the love she had for Ruby, , but I was a bit livid that I hadn’t gotten to love Ruby like that.

I needed a second chance to be in Ruby’s life and be the father she’d never had. I was determined to make the most of this opportunity and get back all the time I’d lost.

My eyes ran over Arlene’s body. She was as gorgeous as she had always been. I wanted her in my bed, now more than ever, and five years was too long to go without her. I wanted to see all the dips and curves of her body once again, to find out if her breasts would still feel as soft in my arms as they did before.

“It’s late,” Arlene started, breaking the silence that had settled in the living room. “Ruby and I have to go to bed.”

I quickly sent my men the signal to come upstairs.

I straightened up and met Arlene’s eyes. “You hid my daughter from me for five years.”

“Shawn, I can explain?—”

I cut her off gently. “I already know everything I need to know. You don’t have to fill me in on anything; I believe I’m all caught up. As for you and Ruby, I’m taking you both with me tonight.”

Arlene was about to argue, of course she was, but I cut her off again.

“She’s my daughter and I have every right to do this.”

With another signal, the men came into the apartment.

“Ruby, go with them,” I said to Ruby, who nodded obediently as one of my men lifted her off the ground.

I turned to Arlene. “You can say goodbye to Coral and let her know that you’ll be with me for a while.”

She did that tamely, with no choice, and then we all headed to my house. When we got there, Arlene put Ruby to sleep in the room that had been set up specifically for her. When she was done, she came into my room.

As soon as she walked in, I grabbed her neck and pressed my lips to hers, hungry for her.

“Shawn,” she winced, trying to push me off, but she was not strong enough.

“I want you. Allow me to take you,” I told her, but she wouldn’t stop pushing me, so I knew I had to take her by force.

I hadn’t touched her since the last time we were together five years ago, and all I wanted in that moment was to see her eyes darken with pleasure again. To feel the softness of her body pressed against mine and hear her breathy little cries when she climaxed around me.

But that wouldn’t happen if she kept pushing me away.

I pushed her onto the bed and then pinned her hands above her head as I kissed her. She was whimpering against my lips, but I didn’t care.

I pressed my body on top of hers and pinned her hips between my thighs. Raw desire took over and the only thought in my head was taking Arlene.

I held the back of her head in place with one hand so I could deepen the kiss and keep her hands pinned above her head.

But the kiss wasn’t enough; I needed more of it, I needed more of her.

“Shawn.” Her soft cry rang in my ears as she struggled underneath me, but that only made me harder and more feral.

I felt my cock jutting out of my pants as I let go of her hands to take off my clothes.

“Stay!” I instructed her, and she did as she was told.

She watched me as I took off all my clothes, then hers. My hand trailed between her legs, and I felt her wetness.

“I thought you didn’t want me. But you’re dripping with wetness.”

She swallowed. “Please,” she panted as I nipped the soft skin of her inner thigh.

“Please what?”

“Don’t do this,” she begged, but her pleas fell on deaf ears.

I pushed her legs farther apart and sank in, sucking and eating like a man starved. Because truly, I had been starved of Arlene for five years, and I needed her now more than ever before.

I focused on her clit as I sucked and nibbled and licked, her cries resonating through the room. She tried to push me off, but I pinned her down harder, not letting go.

When I looked up, her eyes were wide, and they held a bit of fear that both excited and infuriated me. I wanted every single inch of her body to be mine. I wanted to claim her in a way that left no doubt about who was in control.

My hands tightened around her waist, a possessive grip that mirrored how much I wanted her. I’d cared about Arlene since I’d met her, but this woman with her trembling lip and desperate gaze was a creature I barely recognized. A creature I was dangerously drawn to.

I leaned in closer to her, my breath hot against her ear. “I know you want me,” I growled, the words both a promise and a threat.

She released a sharp breath as I turned her around so she was ass up, face down, and her back to me. I grabbed her hair and pulled it back while she buckled under me and I pushed the tip of my cock into her.

I stifled a groan from escaping me as my hard cock filled her wet pussy. I’d forgotten what it was like to be with a woman because my heart and body yearned for Arlene and Arlene alone.

I thrust into Arlene again and again, harder each time as her screams of protest filled the room.

Fuck, she felt even better than she had years ago. And it was even hotter watching her try to push me off her as I fucked her wet pussy.

I gripped her hips. “I’m in charge here, not you.”

“Shawn—” she gasped, completely burnt out from me pounding into her.

I rammed into her and her gasp made me smile. I slipped out of her only to thrust back into her with a punishing strength. My hands gripped her waist as I rammed into her over and over again. Her breathing became ragged and I could tell she was close.

“Do you want me to stop?” I asked suddenly, withdrawing from her.

Even with her previous resistance, I knew that part of her wanted this too, which she proved when she said nothing. I smiled as I slammed back into her without warning. Her gasp filled me with pride while her legs trembled.

I was so close, but I waited for her to come around me before I released myself into her. The relief was exactly what I’d needed all these years.

Arlene was mine, and she knew that.