Chapter 13

Irun my hand down my face, pissed off at myself. My fucking emails aren't helping with my temper either. The Woods are pressing hard for any information on their daughter. Threatening to hire someone else to find her.

They can fuck off. They'll be lucky if I ever let them see her again. I could erase her from their lives and give her a whole new one. I slam my laptop shut.

I got Paisley's dinner done before she made it back to the kitchen. I left it on the counter and made myself scarce, trying to get my temper under control. Time isn't working to cool me down. I need something else.

There's no way my little princess is going to help me burn off my aggression. I shook her up as much as that fuckhead did. I swear I want to track him down and finish what I started. It's taken all of my self-control not to.

I knew that wouldn't be a good idea, but I did tell Blu to check into him. There is no way this was his first time going after a woman, but I'll damn well make sure that it will be his last. Blu can handle it for me.

I'm thankful when I exit my office that Paisley is nowhere in sight. I don't want to face her right now. I'm being a fucking coward. But when she told me I was scaring her, it was like I stepped on a landmine. Then, the second my eyes met hers, wide with fear, the mine went off. Something switched inside of me at that moment. It's a look I never wanted to see again.

I look to make sure she ate her food before I check her sugar readings on my phone. Then I head outside to the casita behind the house. I have a whole workout area out here. I push open the bay doors to let some fresh air in before changing my clothes. Once finished, I jump onto the treadmill to burn off some of what happened tonight.

After three miles, I know this isn't going to do shit to help me, so I go to the bag next. I don't bother to wrap my hands. It's stupid, but the burn of the bag on my knuckles might help.

A sound catches my attention. I spin around to see Paisley standing in the open doorway. Her puffy eyes are red, letting me know she's been crying.

"Paisley?" I walk toward her. "You okay?" It's a dumbass question.

Of course, she isn't okay. Some fuckwit tried to assault her tonight. Then I went and almost killed him in front of her. Paisley is so sweet and soft. I'm sure my actions were a shock to her system. Her parents might be shit, but they've managed to keep some of the darkness from the world away from her. I hate that I had to show her that side of me, but I wouldn't take it back. I will always do what needs to be done to protect her at all costs.

"Just checking on you." She shrugs, dropping her head when I get close. I don't want her hiding her face from me.

"Look at me," I order and inwardly curse myself. She's not one of my men that I can bark orders at when shit goes sideways.

"Never mind," she huffs, turning away from me. Or she tries at least. I don't let her. Without thinking, I grab her wrist, halting her from trying to run from me. That wouldn't help with how I'm feeling right now. It would be fuel to the fire that is already raging inside of me.

Seeing her red eyes, however, does temper me. So does touching her. The thing I've been trying not to do since the bathroom. I didn't know how that would go over for either of us. Which scared the shit out of me. That's saying a lot since nothing scares me.

Until her.

I gently put one finger under her chin, making her lift her face for me. "You've been crying."

"It doesn't matter." She sniffles. Fuck, I'm a piece of shit.

"You want me to call June?" She probably needs comfort or to talk to her. Not me who scares her.

"No." Another little sniffle leaves her. The sound cuts through me.

"I'm sorry for the shit that went down in the bathroom." Should have thrown him out the second I noticed how much of his attention had been on her.

"Why are you sorry? You saved me." I study her face. Her full cheeks are flushed.

"I'm not sorry for saving you. I'm sorry that you had to see me that way."

She tilts her head to the side, her nose scrunching. "What way?"

"You were scared of me."

"What?" She shakes her head, sending her ponytail swinging back and forth. I want to grab it and release her long locks. The same ones I got to see spread across my pillow in my bed last night. A bed where I lay down next to her while she slept. "I'm not scared of you." Paisley places her hand on the center of my chest. "But I don't care much for how you're treating me now." She licks her lips. "You're being cold."

"The last thing I feel right now is cold, princess." If she only knew the feelings her touches ignite inside of me. Or the thoughts that I've been having since I first set eyes on her, she may rethink not being scared. I bet she would be running for the hills if she knew all the dirty damn thoughts I've had about her.

"Okay, then mad at me?"

"Nothing to be mad about with you."

"Stop talking in circles." She stomps one foot, making a smile tug at my lips at her adorable outburst. "Stop smirking too." Paisley's eyes narrow on me. There are no more tears to be seen. "Now, tell me why you're avoiding me and giving me short answers."

Most of what I say is in short responses. Only her and my family get much different. I'm not a man of many words. I'm direct. With Paisley I have to hold myself back, so words are all I got.

"You sure you wanna know, princess?" The hold I still have on her wrist tightens. I feel her pulse pick up. That pink little tongue of hers swipes across her plump bottom lip. Not helping my hard-on, which she thankfully hasn't noticed in these gym shorts.

"Please." The one word comes out as a plea, snapping any control I was hanging on to. I pull her into my body as my mouth comes down onto her. My other hand goes to her ponytail to pull her head back more so that I have full access to her mouth.

When I give her hair a tug, a gasp leaves her, making her soft lips part for me. I slip my tongue inside her mouth, wanting to deepen the kiss. To make sure I get a full taste of her before she can push me away. Fuck she tastes good. The little sample I snuck earlier can't hold a candle to this.

To my surprise, she doesn't try to escape. Instead, her hand slips up my chest and around my neck. Paisley must lift up on her tiptoes because she pushes into the kiss, too, opening her mouth wider for me, her own tongue tangling with mine. I'll never be the same after this. My little princess has no idea that her acceptance has just sealed her fate. She's mine. Forever.

A sweet moan comes from her as her small body wiggles against mine. My cock presses into her soft stomach. That's not where I want it to be, and from the way she's moving, I don't think she does either.

My hands go to her ass, lifting her off her feet. She wraps her legs around me, her pussy lining up perfectly against my cock. Where it belongs. Paisley might be tiny compared to me, but we fit perfectly together. If she didn't have any clothes on, I could easily slide my cock inside of her and bounce her on it like I'm doing now. I rub her pussy, making sure my cock hits her clit with each stroke.

"Jackson." She whimpers, breaking our kiss. I don't want to stop tasting her, so I go for her neck. Her fingers sink into my hair. She tries to move her hips with me, but I don't let her.

I pin her to the nearest wall, keeping control over her. Her breasts push against my chest, letting me feel her hard nipples through the thin shirt. I want to make her come. It might be selfish, but I can't stop myself from doing it. I grind against her as I lick and suck at her neck.

Her breathing grows faster, and more delicate moans start to pour from her lips until her body contracts, the orgasm hitting her. She cries out my name. The sweet sound is more than I can take.

I groan into her neck, coming right along with her like a teenage boy touching a girl for the first time. I didn't think it was possible to come from dry humping, but here I am, proving that it most definitely is.

I keep rocking my cock against her to draw out her pleasure, wanting to get all of her orgasm. When her body fully relaxes again, I lift my head, the chaos that I'd been feeling since shit went down tonight finally subsiding a bit.

Fuck me.

Paisley"s cheeks are flushed, her lips puffy from our kisses, her eyes heavy-lidded. Seeing her like this causes a whole new sense of mayhem inside of me. "So you're really not mad at me?" A smile spreads across her face. One that I hope I get to see every day for the rest of my life.

I don't think I could ever be mad at her, but I have a feeling that isn't going to be mutual.