Page 47 of Banshee
“Wait!”
His eyes showed disappointment at my halting, and I smiled. “You forgot the condoms.”
He growled low, and I felt it through my body, pooling at the juncture between my legs, making me wetter than I already was. Banshee turned around, stepping back to the counter where I grabbed the box and grinned.
“Got ‘em.”
He kissed me hard and carried me down the hall, telling Diesel to stay. This time, he barely acknowledged us, as if he’d been waiting as much as we had for this moment.
The moment when we would finally be together. As one. The way we were always meant to be. Banshee wasn’t the only one who’d known from the start that we were meant to be together.
I’d known the moment I saw him he was the one. My mother had known as well. I knew she had to be the one to orchestrate the notion of the alliance. My father never would have allowed it had it not been for her. Though he’d pretended he was acting alone.
He hadn’t asked for her input the second time.
Banshee laid me on the bed, towering over my body as he kissed me. His hands went to my jeans, slipping the button through the hole and releasing the zipper. His movements were frantic, hurried, as he freed me of my clothes.
“This is going to be fast and hard. Then I’ll take my time with you.”
I bit my lip as he removed his shirt. I’d seen his naked chest before, but this time was just as thrilling as the first. My eyes roamed over the tattoos that covered his pecs and shoulders, trailing down his arms, until I stopped on his side.
I quickly sat up, seeing a tattoo I hadn’t noticed before.
“What is that?” I asked, my brow scrunched in confusion. My fingers brushed lightly over the image of a woman draped in fabric holding a baby. Irene, the goddess of peace. I looked up into his eyes. “How long have you had this?”
“Ten years. I had it done right after I saw you for the first time. I was a goddamn fool to walk away from you, baby girl. Never again.”
I cradled his face in my hands and pulled him in for a kiss. Tears slipped down my cheeks as I whispered, “I love you. I’ve loved you from the moment you stood up to my father. I hated that you didn’t want me.” He opened his mouth, and I covered it with my hand. “Please... just listen.”
He kneeled on the floor, his hands on my legs as he waited for me to speak. The words were lodged in my throat. Caught in the emotion of the moment, and what I wanted him to know.
“No one has ever told my father no, except my mother.” The corner of his mouth lifted. My parents’ love was legendary in the biker world. “And as much as I wanted you, wanted you to claim me. When you told him no; when you said I didn’t deserve to be used as a pawn...” I took a deep breath. “Calling out my father like that was dangerous. But you did it anyway—for me. That was when I fell in love with you.”
“I’ve loved you since the first moment I saw you. Like I said before, you reminded me of my sister. Your spark, your light, was so fucking bright. I wanted you. But I was too fucking old for you. And when your father pulled that bullshit.” His jaw clenched.
I knew there was no love lost between my father and Banshee. I remembered the way they’d eyed each other that day. The only thing keeping them from beating the hell out of each other was the fact that we were in church. Church was sacred. It was something my father would never desecrate.
“I wanted more for you. I loved you so goddamn much I was willing to walk away and allow you to live the life you wanted. I wish I’d known then you wanted me.”
“Would your answer have been different if you’d known?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
“No,” he admitted with a heavy sigh. “You were so young. Even now I know I’m too fucking old for you, but I don’t give a shit. I want you, and nothing will stop me from having you, from claiming you.”
“I’m married,” I reminded him. My heart sank at the revelation I had to say out loud.
“You won’t be for long. And the moment you become a widow, my patch will be on your back.”
Chapter Sixteen
Aspen
Tears filled my eyes again. He was offering me everything I’d ever wanted. My father never wanted me to marry a club brother. But it was what I knew. I trusted his men. I trusted Banshee.
“I was never his old lady.”
“What?”
“Pepper never claimed me. I never wore his patch. He never even slept with me. I was his wife in name only.”
