Page 87 of Forever Theirs

Overwhelmed, I shook my head, trying to make my thoughts make sense. Ripping out the band around my thick hair, I ran my fingers through the long strands, gripping it into a makeshift ponytail at the base of my neck. Gaze lowered, I inhaled deeply to center myself enough to respond to the delusional man I was once infatuated with.

“I can state with a hundred percent certainty that I am not yours, James. All I have ever been is a convenience, someone you only paid attention to when you needed me for something. You’re kidding yourself, seeing what you wanted to see.”

“Are you drunk?” He shoved off the couch, fake concern back on his face. “You’re not acting like yourself, Aspen.”

Nostrils flaring with a deep inhale, I released it slowly through pursed lips in an effort to calm the rage bubbling inside me.

“This, you and me, whatever toxic mess we were, is over.” His eyes went wide in surprise. “I didn’t leave to get your attention. I left because I walked into the conference room and found your head between Barbara’s thighs.” A shocked expression flashed across his face before it morphed into one of disappointment. “And you know what? I’m glad I did. It proved to me that I didn’t matter, showed me what a damn idiot I had been for years.Years, James.” I took a menacing step toward him. “I did your bidding, waited for the tiny crumbs of affection you gave me, all because I thought I loved you.”

“Aspen.” James sighed dramatically. “I’m sorry you had to witness that with Barbara. It’s not what you think.” I waved a hand, giving him the floor to explain. “You’re perfect for me, Aspen. We love all the same things, and your talent with mine makes us perfect. But don’t take this the wrong way?—”

“I’d be careful how you finish that sentence,” Aiden cut in. “Let me know if you want my gun, sweetheart.” His carefree wink my way was forced, but I appreciated it all the same.

“It’s just that… look at you.” I held out a hand, palm up in Aiden’s direction, and waggled my fingers for his firearm. “I love you, but I’m just not that attracted to you anymore.” A hundred-pound weight dropped in my stomach. His words didn’t matter, but they still hurt. “Maybe if you wore makeup more or fixed your hair some other way than that plain ponytail thing you do. You could try going blonde like I suggested last year?—”

Miles moved faster than I could track. One second, he was feet away from James; the next, a loud crack rang through the cabin, followed by James’s pain-filled scream. I gaped at Miles’s muscular back as it shifted with his labored breaths. On autopilot, I walked to his side, pressing a gentle palm to his lower back so I didn’t startle him. A barked surprised laugh escaped at seeing James on the floor, holding his jaw, blood dripping from the corner of a split lip.

Miles’s furious expression shifted to me, immediately softening. Wide palm cupping my jaw, he brushed a thumb along my cheekbone. “No one talks about you that way. No one.”

I nodded slowly, letting him know I heard him.

Scanning my face one more time, he shifted his attention back to James. “Aspen is perfect in every way, and it speaks to how fucking shallow and self-absorbed you are that you would even suggest she change anything about herself. And she was right. She’s never been yours and never will be.”

“And what?” James scoffed, pressing against the floor to sit up. “You think she’s yours?”

Aiden’s heavy arm draped over my shoulders and tugged, sealing me against his side. “Ours, actually.”

James’s blue eyes widened in shock. “You’re fucking kidding me. Aspen, you cannot be serious.”

I leaned more weight into Aiden, loving his support. “I’m not going with you back to Seattle, James. I’ve decided I’m staying here in Anchor Bay.”

“With us.” Aiden planted a kiss on the top of my head. “Miles and I will take good care of her.”

James shoved off the floor to stand and dusted off his designer jeans. “So what, you’re going to stay here because you’re getting gangbanged?—”

Miles gently caught me before I could fall when I stumbled to the side because Aiden’s body was no longer there to support me. The cabin vibrated, wood groaning when James’s spine slammed against the wall, held there by Aiden’s hand around his throat.

“What she does, what we do, is none of your concern. She’s happy, you fucking idiot. Can’t you see that? If you really loved her, then you would’ve seen how miserable she was back in the city.”

I released a slow breath to calm my racing heart and stepped out of Miles’s comforting hold. Hand on Aiden’s shoulder, I gave it a squeeze.

“It’s time for you to leave, James. Alone. I’m not going back with you?—”

“Why don’t you call your mother before you make any rash decision you can’t take back, Aspen?”

I pursed my lips and shook my head. Damn, he wanted to fight dirty. Should’ve expected this as a last-ditch effort to keep me doing his bidding.

“Did she tell you she called me to let me know where you were?”Of course she did.“She wanted me to come here to talk some sense into you. This isn’t just about you, Aspen. You’re being selfish. We could make this work. You just need to listen to us.”

Oh, they were a team now. How cute.

James’s wild blue eyes flicked to Miles, then Aiden before swinging back to me. “Do you think your mother will approve of this? Of her daughter getting railed by two fucking meatheads and staying in this Podunk, ass-backward?—”

Nope. He did not get to talk about them or Anchor Bay that way.

Pulling my arm back, I tightened my fingers into a fist and swung it at James’s face. Instantly, sharp pain radiated up from my hand, vibrating along my arm all the way to my shoulder. My sharp hiss whistled through my clenched teeth as I rapidly shook out my hand to ease the pulsing throb. It was Aiden’s laughter that had me stilling and finally taking in the aftermath of punching the bastard.

“Good girl,” Miles praised, running a hand down my spine in gentle strokes.

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