Page 19 of His Weekend Wife

“The road goes both ways, Declan.” She straightened her spine.

“Oh, so you left and I was supposed to chase after you? Amazing.” He sniffed loudly.

“You were the one who told me to go. Have you forgotten?”

“Have you forgotten why I told you to leave?” His lips dipped at the corners.

“You never understood that I had an obligation to help my sister. She was going through a lot—”

“You didn’t give me the chance to understand, or to help. Every time I turned around you were running off, picking up the pieces of your sister’s mess. I had to wait in line if I needed to speak to you.” His voice grew huskier.

“That sounds a lot like jealousy,” she snapped.

“Jealousy? Think again, buttercup.” He swiped a hand through his hair. “I saw how Abby used you, manipulated you, made you feel like you should carry her burdens. I bet you’re still cleaning up her shit.”

She lowered her gaze to her hands. Her fingers were red from her crushing, tight hold.

“Aww, just as I thought. You don’t need a thing, but your sister does.”

She brought her gaze back up, refusing to cower under him. Needing his help was one thing, but being humiliated was another and she refused to allow it to happen. “I’m the one here, aren’t I? I’m the one who needs money.”

He scoffed. She felt his fury cloud the room, tug at her chest. His jaw was tight and his eyes narrowed. “Money?” He sat back, his expression still hard. “How much?”

“Thirty thousand.”

His expression went from hard to an arctic blast in seconds. “Thirty grand. That’s more than a favor, bella. What happened? Are you in trouble?”

She gave her head a quick shake. “I-I can’t tell you.” She was squeezing her hands so tight her arms were falling asleep.

“You come here, ask for that much money and you can’t tell me the reason?” He scrubbed his jaw.

“You have to trust me. I’m only asking for a loan. I’ll pay you back every cent, with interest. I wouldn’t have come here if I’d had any other choice. You know that.” She swallowed against the constriction in her throat. “I’m not your responsibility.”

His lips thinned. “As your husband, I beg to differ. I wanted to help you before, I did, but you’d never let me in. So, after all of this time I have become just a man with money to you.”

“That’s not true.”

“Did you think coming here, wearing seduction in cotton and spandex and fuck-me heels would persuade me to write a check?”

“Go to hell, Declan!” She jumped up from the couch and her heels pounded the floor as she raced toward her exit. She’d been wrong to ever come. How could she have believed he’d consider helping her?

Before she reached the door, he was upon her, dragging her back against his wide, linebacker chest. She swore she could feel the heavy beating of his heart in her shoulders, but maybe it was a combination of both of theirs. He snaked a hand around her waist, flattened his palm against her stomach and pressed her against him. She could feel the lean, muscular solid line of his body, but the thick bulge pushing into her bottom made her womb spasm and her clit throb. She couldn’t fall victim to his passion again, but she wasn’t sure she could resist the temptation.

“You need taken care of, bella,” he whispered next to her ear. “The dark circles under your eyes tell me you don’t sleep, never had. You’re too skinny. Your hair, although smelling like Georgia peaches, needs cut. Your fingernails are broken and the polish chipped. You’re not asking for the money to grab a pedicure and a new wardrobe.” He tangled his fingers in her hair and pulled them back from her neck. His breath was warm against her skin and tingles shot through her body, nestling like beads of heat in her core. Oh, she could easily let her body go, ease back into him and allow human nature to take its natural progression. “Tell me, sweetheart. Why?”

“I told you, I can’t tell you why I need the money,” she whimpered, wishing her pussy would stop pulsating.

“No. Why did you not come back?” He inhaled deeply and he dropped his hand to her breast, gently squeezing.

She gasped and her knees weakened. She had no choice but to lean into him. Her voice wouldn’t work.

“I took care of your every need.” The hand he had on her stomach slid downward, slowly, lower on her thigh. She barely registered that he tugged the hem of her skirt higher until she felt his touch on her quivering inner thigh. Her heart raced and goosebumps scattered her flesh. “I would have continued to take care of you.” His long fingers were at the elastic of her panties and he slid the material aside, gliding his warm fingers along the seam of her body. “Still groomed and soft like the wings of a butterfly. I’ve sucked your quivering, juicy flesh until you begged me to fuck you hard. A man can never forget such a thing. Never would I want to.”

Ash couldn’t deny that what he said was true. She wanted to plead for him to take her now, but that’s what he wanted. He wanted to see her weak and aching for him. “I wanted to come back,” she admitted. It was the truth. “I wanted to hear your voice.”

“And yet not enough to come home.”

“I only did what would have eventually happened down the road. You knew we didn’t belong together.”

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