Page 40 of Trial of Deceit (The Family’s Oath #1)

Chapter twenty-three

“A h!” Jediah screamed. His hand darted to his shoulder, doing nothing to mask a hot flash of pain as he got the wind knocked out of him.

Blood seeped through the creases of his fingers.

He looked at Ashari over his shoulder, sucking cold air through his teeth while she grinned. “Yu just shoot me?!”

“Would’ve rather if I actually killed you?” she asked.

Jediah’s throat dried. He swallowed the bitterness that surged in his mouth. He couldn’t say the words that had formed on his tongue. He wasn’t sure how Ashari would react, and that scared him more than his admittance to himself.

Her grin faded as she placed the gun beside the whip. The door flew open, slamming into the wall. Ashari looked at Bryony and Reine. Bryony’s eyes widened as she froze at the door.

Standing behind Bryony, Reine demanded, “Ask him weh Dim—” A scream cut her sentence short.

“Jed!” She almost pushed Bryony to the floor in her haste to maneuver around her.

She rushed toward Jediah and dropped to her knees before him.

Before Jediah could reply, she pried his hand away and inspected the wound.

She pressed her hand against it. “Wa happen?!” she hissed at Ashari, who didn’t answer.

“Mi good. I made her do it,” Jediah gritted out, his shoulder numbing as Bryony appeared with a first aid kit.

When had she left? Why were there two of her?

He wasn’t losing enough blood to be this dizzy.

What was happening to him? Jediah groaned and blinked away the dizziness.

As Bryony searched for the exit point, his eyes narrowed on Reine.

“Why are you so concerned about Dimitri?”

“I… I…” Reine fumbled for words, and anger coursed through Jediah.

Numbness and dizziness evaporated from him. He declined Bryony’s help and stood. He began to barge down the stairs with newfound strength while footsteps rushed behind him.

“A no wa yu think, Jed!” Reine exclaimed as they reached outside, and he stopped suddenly.

He halted. Glowering, he spun around. “Yu don’ in a dealings with him?”

Reine licked her lips. “N-no…”

Jediah’s scowl returned. He yanked a gun from a guard and continued toward the warehouse, then into the dungeon.

“Why you a go down here?” Reine locked her fingers around Jediah’s arm, failing to bring him to a stop. Cold air brought goosebumps to their skin. “You a keep Dimitri down here?!”

“Bring her up,” he ordered a guard while another opened the door to a chamber.

Reine fought against the men as the door opened. She froze as her eyes landed on Dimitri. His back was turned toward them. He was unmoving as the children laughed with each other. He didn’t jump as a gunshot went off.

“You a touch mi likkle sister?” Jediah asked from the doorway through gritted teeth.

Dimitri turned his head to the side. Jediah doubted the man could manage to glance over his shoulder.

“He’s not!” Reine cried, flailing as the men tried to drag her away from the door. Her head smacked into the wall.

The men froze.

Reine’s cries died down as she winced, disoriented.

The men gulped as their gazes snapped to Jediah.

Jediah scowled. Usually, under no circumstances would he have allowed anyone to manhandle his sister. But this time was different. Who did Reine think she was to be running around with Dimitri when she should’ve been concentrating on school and the books?

Reine’s focus returned. Her lips trembled. Her eyes watered, as they settled on Jediah. “Ash… Please… Don’ mek him do it,” she begged.

Jediah looked around, realizing Ashari was half-way into the room with him.

She had her attention fixed on Dimitri. Her eyes were wide. They returned to normal as she looked at him. “Don’t kill him, and I’ll forgive you.”

Jediah’s heart stopped beating. His grip loosened around the gun. Then, it tightened. “Stay out of family matters, Ashari.” He stepped into the room while saying to another guard, “Bring her up, too… Carefully.”

“I’m your wife,” Ashari stated, and Jediah paused to look at her. Her eyes were cold. “Ashari Richardson is my name. You meant what you said earlier, right?” she asked, and his jaw tightened. She held out a hand. “Don’t, Jediah…”

He looked at Dimitri, who was still trying to see what was happening behind him.

His scowl faded as he reached for Ashari’s hand.

While handing the guard the gun, he gave the order to release Reine.

Reine almost tripped over her feet as she rushed into the room and began working on Dimitri’s restraints.

Ashari led Jediah away. Brought him to their room. Sat him on their bed. Tended to his bullet wound.

“Why’d you do it?” he asked as she finished up.

“Because you remind me of Romar… He was upset when he found out that I like women too.”

Jediah’s brows furrowed. “Why did that make him angry?”

Ashari shrugged after a pause. “Back then, I didn’t know why.

Now, I do. Either way, I never cared ’cause I was with a person I loved.

She taught me to be comfortable about who I am, but I hurt her…

” She trailed off. A distant look erased the light in her eyes before she looked at him and said, “Take out your anger about Dimitri on me.”

“What?” he asked, wondering how he could possibly kill her. He’d thought about it on several occasions, but each time, he’d ended up doing something that tied her more to him.

Ashari shrugged off her dress and sat on the bed beside him.

His eyes raked down her body as she said, “I know how Reine feels to have a big brother very mad at her, and trust me when I say, it’ll hurt you more than her if you try to get between them.

You took my brother away from me, but you don’t deserve your sister taken from you… No matter all that you ever did to me.”

He pondered her words, then he stood and towered over her. “I won’t be gentle.”

“I don’t want you to be…” she said, parting her legs while leaning back.

“No.” Jediah’s hand shot out, holding her shoulder to stop her. Her brows crinkled as he helped her onto her side. “Don’ wan’ yu hurt yuself before yu heal.”

“Hmm,” Ashari hummed, bitterness lacing her tone. “Wouldn’t have to heal if—”

“Ash,” he interrupted with a sigh. She rolled her eyes at him while he stripped. Now naked, Jediah lay before her. He pushed his hand beneath her body, then tugged her closer to him. Being mindful of where the worst of the scars were, he ran his hand up her back to rest on her nape.

His heart began to slam hard against his chest as she threw a leg over his body, the ankle bracelet brushing against his skin. She settled her leg inches above his waistline.

“You okay?” he asked in a breathy whisper.

“Yes,” Ashari panted. Her tongue darted out to trail along her bottom lip.

Jediah’s lips followed the action. He leaned forward, his eyes darting between her plump lips and eyes. Her irises were dilated from her arousal, making her more beautiful than he remembered.

She leaned in. They stopped shy of each other, their lips brushing as they breathed hard. Ashari’s eyes fluttered closed, and Jediah used the moment to capture her lips.

His lips pressed hard against hers, and Ashari kissed him back immediately. Her lips parted, and his tongue darted inside, tasting the sweet aftertaste of strawberries.

He used his free hand to grip the softness of her ass, caressing it while she moaned.

Jediah stroked her nape with his thumb, loving how goosebumps rose beneath his fingertips.

She rolled her hips against him, her pussy soaking into her panties.

Jediah groaned into the kiss, his dick hard to the touch as his wife’s sweet moans and scent warped all of his senses.

Releasing her ass, he felt along the bed until his fingers hit a pillow. He placed it behind him, giving Ashari’s leg something to rest on while making her open up more for him. She broke the kiss, her fingers roaming his skin as she panted toward the ceiling.

“You smell so good,” he murmured, trailing the tip of his nose between the valley of her breasts.

“I smell like ointment.”

He chuckled. “Don’t ruin the moment.” He reached between them and cupped her pussy, causing her to shudder. “And feel good,” Jediah added as he slipped her panties to the side, then sank a finger inside her. He released a shaky breath as her warmth clenched his index.

How he missed this.

How he missed her.

“More,” Ashari begged, looking from the ceiling to him.

Jediah held her stare. “Beg me.”

“Give me more.”

“I said beg .”

“Please!” Ashari cried, her nails sinking into his arm.

Jediah sucked in a breath while shoving another finger inside her pussy. A long moan escaped Ashari’s mouth.

“Are you going to be a good wife and come on my hand?”

“Yes,” Ashari answered, nodding quickly. She rolled her hips, matching the quick thrusts of his fingers. “Yes… Jed!”

He smirked and leaned in to kiss her. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she kissed him back. As her mouth parted, desperate for his tongue to overpower hers, Jediah pulled away.

“That’s my good girl,” Jediah praised.

Ashari smiled against his lips. “Stop,” she laughed.

He trailed his lips from hers to the crook of her neck.

Ashari’s breasts rubbed against his hard chest as her breathing evened out from the high of her first orgasm.

Jediah withdrew his fingers from her pussy, rubbing them along the tip of his dick before he gripped his shaft.

He sought her entrance, disoriented from being with her again.

Ashari chuckled. “It hasn’t been that long since we had sex, Jediah.” She grinned and reached between them. Gripping his dick, Ashari found her hole, and sank onto him. She chuckled as Jediah released a long moan as her warmth welcomed him. “Gonna come already?”

“Shut up,” he gritted out, stroking her slowly. “You’ve never been inside yourself, Miss Good Pussy.”

“Mm,” Ashari moaned, squeezing her eyes shut as his strokes became feral.