Page 23 of Wild Card (Royal Bastards MC: Cody, Wyoming #1)

I take the stairs down into the cool, damp cellar, and rest my ass on one of the kegs.

At least it’s quiet down here; that jazz band is starting to give me a headache.

Taking out a smoke, I light it up and decide to give myself a few minutes' peace. Nothing I say seems to be getting through to Ruby; not even her best friend is making her see sense. Any thoughts of me sticking around here are stupid. Life was much easier when all I wanted was to be alone. I crush out my smoke when I’m done, picking up a crate of Bud on my way back up the stairs, and when I get to the top and see Ruby coming out the ladies' room, we both pause in our tracks and there it is again, that undeniable urge I have to put my hands all over her.

“Having a good night?” I ask her politely. Looking at her seems to hurt even more now I know how it feels to be inside her.

“What do you think?” She smiles sadly and goes to move on.

“I think you're fuckin’ crazy.” I give her my honest opinion, and it makes her pause and turn around.

“Don’t judge me, Ash, not when you have no idea about what's going on.” She goes to move on again, but I quickly put down the crate and stop her.

“Then tell me.” I let that desperation come out in my voice again. “Tell me what the problem is and let me help you.”

“You really think you’re God, don’t you?

” She laughs. “You came into town to fix a drug problem, not me. Quit, Ash. Forget all this and just accept that this is how things are gonna be. You don’t know me; I’m nothing to you.

Why do you even care?” She looks so frustrated, and all I wanna do is kiss her.

She always seems to forget her problems when that happens.

“I know you better than any other guy in this town,” I remind her.

“That was a low blow.” She points her finger at me, and this time, I laugh at her.

“You have no fuckin’ idea, do you…? You think I usually act this way?

You think I like how this feels. Ruby, I hate the person you’re turning me into.

” I try not to raise my voice, but it comes out so angry.

“I don’t want to care about you. I don’t want the things you do with him to hurt me. I was fine how I was.”

“Then go back to being that person.” She goes to walk around me, but I grip her arm. I grip it far harder than I should because I’m not ready to let her go yet. Truth is, I don’t think I’ll ever be.

“I can’t,” I admit, closing my eyes and trying to disguise how weak this girl has got me.

“Ash, you’re acting crazy, you’re acting like…” She pauses and takes a breath. “We shared one night, and it was a mistake.”

“A mistake.” I drop my grip and stare at her. “You can call it stupid, or reckless, but don’t call it a fuckin’ mistake. Not when you begged me so hard for it… and not when you want, more than anythin’, to do it again.” I point my finger at her.

“I…I…You're so wrong.” She shakes her head stubbornly.

“I’m wrong, huh? So you haven’t thought about it?

You haven’t once thought how it felt when I made you come?

” I step into her space and use the fingers she came all over to stroke the skin on her neck.

“You haven’t bitten on that cute little lip each time you’ve felt sore from when my cock stretched your pussy?

” I press my body tight against hers so she feels that cock against her stomach.

I watch her lose herself as her eyes close, and when I breathe her in, she smells like him.

I fuckin’ hate it.

“If I slide my hand up under this pretty dress, I wouldn’t find you wet, just from thinkin’ about me doing it again?” I tease my fingers along the hem of her lace, and it makes her gasp.

“You can fool your fiancé, Ruby. You can fool all the people out there. But you can’t fool the man you belong to.” I go to walk away, but this time she’s the one who pulls me back. Taking me by surprise when her lips slam over mine, and she guides my hand between her thighs.

“You're a real pain in my ass, Wild Card,” she tells me, reaching behind her for the cleaning closet door and pulling me inside. I close the door and pull the light cord, while she slips her panties off from under her dress and presses her back to the wall.

“Well, look at the virgin bride,” I smirk at her, but she clearly has no patience for humour when she grabs the front of my t-shirt and drags me back onto her lips.

“Make me yours, Ash,” she whispers, sounding breathless as I grip under her ass cheeks and lift her up against the wall. Reaching between us, I take my cock outta my jeans and line it up with her entrance.

“You are fuckin’ mine,” I remind her, pushing all the way inside her and making her moan. I should be gentle with her; she’s still new to all of this, but she sounds much more relieved than in pain, and when her kisses continue and she tugs at my hair, I thrust my hips and fill her again.

I’m not wearing any protection, but I don’t fuckin’ care. Ruby doesn’t seem to have noticed, and if I stop this to remind her, she might start second-guessing herself again. I’m not gonna risk that, not when I want so badly to send her back into that barroom smelling like me.

“Say it.” I grip both her ass cheeks as I fuck her against the wall. “Tell me who you belong to,” I growl in her ear, cause I need to fuckin’ hear it.

“You,” she whispers, still sounding adorably cute even when she’s sinning.

“Damn straight, you are. Don’t lie to me again…

It hurts.” I still myself inside her, suddenly realizing that no one else has ever done that to me before.

I’ve made it to the age of twenty-seven without having a single expectation from anyone.

I’ve worked hard to protect myself from this kinda shit, and in three days this girl has broken all my defenses.

“I’d never intentionally hurt you,” she tells me, looking deadly serious and like she’s about to cry.

“I know that.” I get back to kissing her before things get any deeper with her.

I don’t want her memories of me to be sad ones, and when she starts to tremble and lose control of herself, I pull back so I can watch her.

I don’t cover her mouth to silence her when she comes for me this time.

I hope her cries are loud enough for her fiancé to hear over his fancy jazz band.

“Ash.” She shakes her head at me when she starts to come down, and when I feel myself starting to brim, I force that lace dress higher up her body, revealing her stomach.

“Ash, what are you doing?” She watches me take out my cock from inside her and land it on her belly, coming all over her soft skin as I growl outta frustration and pleasure combined.

“ASH!” She looks down at the mess I've made in shock.

“It was there, or inside you. I didn’t want to land us with an even bigger problem. Not yet, anyway.” I wink before I go to kiss her, and she pulls herself back from me, still looking shocked.

“You did that on purpose.” She tries to hide the smile from her lips as she calls me out.

“You better get back to your party, let Brett enjoy showing you off while he still can.” I remind her of what's waiting for her on the other side of the door, and I’m not too sure if it’s worry or sadness that takes that smile away again.

“This can’t change anything. I admit… I wish things could be different, but?—”

“Sssshhhh.” I place my finger over her lips before I carefully set her back on her feet and pull her dress back down.

“A lot can happen in three weeks; you wait and see,” I promise her, leaving her alone in the closet to gather herself back together and getting back to work.