Deceit (Gallows Hill Book 1), page 33
Asher being the arrogant asshole he is doesn’t budge an inch, in fact, I think he moves in just a hair closer as his eyes remain on me.
“I’m not hearing any complaints from her.”
The way his mischievous smile curves his face has a rush of butterflies fluttering through my stomach as I do my best to bite back a smile in return.
Vincent doesn’t say anything as Asher continues staring at me, that smile still in place when Liam steps into the room. His footsteps pause, as he no doubt takes in the scene before him.
“Oh shit, what did I just walk in on? The tension in here could choke a fucking horse.”
I wrinkle my nose at that and turn to face him.
“What?” I ask.
Liam laughs and shrugs his shoulders.
“Ha! I don’t know. Shit was feeling a little too heavy for my liking, though.”
Vincent scoffs and I shake my head as I steal one more glance at Asher. He’s dropped his arm from the doorframe, but his eyes are still on me before he finally breaks eye contact.
“I’m driving the princess,” he says to the room.
“Like fuck,” Vincent laughs hollowly.
Asher gives him an unimpressed look.
“Down boy. You guys can ride with me too.”
“I don’t want to squeeze into the Maserati’s tiny as fuck backseat, Ash,” Liam whines.
“I brought the Rolls. Will everyone just shut the hell up and get in the fucking car?” Asher snaps, before blowing out a slow breath and looking at me.
“You ready, Princess?”
Nodding, I reach for my purse, but Vincent is already there, handing it to me with an appraising look.
“What?” I ask him.
He stares for several more seconds before he leans forward, pressing his lips against mine. I sink into the kiss, never getting tired of the overwhelming feeling that consumes me with each kiss.
When I open my eyes to pull away, I see that his eyes are wide open and firmly trained on Asher in a taunting way. Pulling away from him, I smack his chest as I shake my head.
Before I can say anything, Asher is gone, storming off down the hall.
“That was really shitty, Vincent,” I say with a frown, before I start after Asher.
The elevator doors begin to shut, and I have to squeeze myself inside, my sweatshirt getting trapped between the doors as I do.
“Oh shit!” I gasp before Asher’s hands wrap around the material, yanking hard and freeing me.
I tumble a few steps and he’s there as well.
He’s everywhere. All the time.
His hands are resting on my forearms, head tilted down to look at me in concern.
“I’m sorry,” I say softly.
Asher’s eyes scan mine like he’s confused about why I’m apologizing, as if he forgot why he stormed away for a moment. He shrugs it off, releasing his hold on me as he leans against the back wall of the elevator.
“You’re my fiancé, Asher. Soon to be my husband, tomorrow soon. That wasn’t okay. Vincent needs to respect you, at least enough not to pull petty shit like that,” I continue, despite his eyes being now closed and his head tilted up.
When the elevator stops, the doors pop open, and he pushes away from the wall.
“It’s whatever,” he says as he brushes past me, stepping into the hall before taking a right and making his way outside.
“It’s not whatever. I’m trying to apologize and validate your feelings here! The least you could do is stop walking for two seconds,” I huff as I follow after him.
A bitter sounding laugh escapes his chest as he shakes his head, his eyes still forward.
“What feelings?”
I blink at that, before hurt and irritation flicker inside me. I jog the remaining distance between us, catching him by the arm before I force him to face me.
“For me! Don’t lie and say that you don’t have them, I’m not stupid.”
He looks down at me, assessingly, before trying to walk away again.
“Asher!” I snap, yanking on his arm and refusing to let go as he turns, throwing his arms out and screaming at the top of his lungs in the middle of the empty courtyard.
“FINE! You want me to admit that I have feelings for you? That I’ve fallen so fucking hard for you and I don’t know how to get up? You want me to sit here, and tell you how I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you from the moment I met you? How you have always occupied a majority of my headspace, but now…” he takes a long pause as he laughs hollowly.
“Now, I’m absolutely FUCKED. There is no room for anything except you. Skyla Parris, is practically inked into my DNA, there forever, and I can’t have her,” he shakes his head, taking several deep breaths before those chocolate brown eyes come back to me.
“You know what the worst part is?” he smiles angrily. “We’re going to be married tomorrow, you’re going to be my wife and I still won’t have you. Not in the way that counts, not in the way I want you.”
I blink at him several times but I don’t speak. How can I when my mind is racing a million miles a second. I was hoping he’d admit that he’s been having some feelings for me, but I didn’t expect all of…that.
Asher watches me carefully, his body language rigid and guarded but his eyes so expressive and so sad. Hesitantly, I take a small step towards him, softening my voice to match the emotion behind my words.
“What if…you could? What if…we could?”
His brows pinch together, not in confusion but almost like he is in pain.
Shaking his head he looks away as I take another step forward.
“Your roster is full, Princess. There is no room for me, and I wouldn’t exactly be welcomed by your little fan club.”
I reach a hand up to his face, forcing his cheek to look at me. Surprisingly he lets me, his jaw tight and those three golden flecks practically shining in the October morning.
“What if none of that mattered?”
He frowns but doesn’t respond.
“What if both of those excuses were gone, then what would you say?”
“They aren’t excuses, Skyla. It’s the facts. It’s—”
“Answer the question, Asher,” I snap.
His eyes roam over my face before he shakes his head.
“Then nothing could stop me from having you.”
My heart beats out of rhythm, the air practically buzzing around us as someone comes to stand between us.
“Everything okay? I heard yelling.” Liam asks cautiously.
Asher’s eyes close, as if he were to say, ‘See?’.
He pulls away from my touch and a stupid part of me hurts because of it. Asher faces Liam nods his head.
“It’s all good. We’re fine. Right, Skyla?”
I know it started out as a sarcastic nickname, but I can’t lie, I like it so much better when he calls me Princess. Maybe that makes me a little fucked up. I honestly don’t really care.
“Sure. We’re fine,” I say slowly, giving him the opportunity to speak up. Not that I’d really expect him to.
Asher gives me a tight lipped smile, as he nods and moves to where a black Rolls Royce is parked slipping into the driver’s seat. Liam follows after him and I’m about to as well when a hand comes to my back.
I turn to see Vincent there, his black hair falling into his face. I’m about to walk away because I can’t deal with him right now when he stops me, gripping my cheeks together and squishing them with one hand as he speaks through clenched teeth.
“If you’re gonna be pissed at me, be pissed at me, but never fucking walk away from me again. Do you understand?” he asks, giving my head a small shake as he emphasizes his seriousness.
“I’m gonna do shit that pisses you off and maybe even makes you hate me at times, but that doesn’t mean you go off on your own when there is someone out there watching you, Siren. So next time, just punch me or slap me or something, but don’t you fucking run away from me.”
He releases his hold on my face slightly so I can speak.
“It’s not like I was alone. I was with Asher.”
Vincent scoffs. “Yeah, I trust that Putnam with your safety about as far as I could throw a goddamn elephant.”
I frown at that. “Well, maybe you should. He’s going to be my husband.”
Vincent bristles at that, dropping his hold on me altogether.
“Don’t fucking remind me.”
He storms away, but not without taking me with him. His hand is wrapped around my bicep as he practically drags me to the car, opening the back door before ragdoll tossing me inside. Liam is in the seat beside me waiting and thankfully helps break my fall.
“What the fuck!” Liam snaps as Vincent sits in the passenger seat, shutting the door with a hard thunk.
Liam’s fingers are featherlight, dancing over my cheeks that are no doubt red. Anger transforms his features, a look I don’t often see on him as he reaches between the front seats and hits Vincent right in the face.
Vincent whips around, ready to leap for him as Liam speaks.
“Piece of shit! You hurt her!”
His attack on Liam pauses as his eyes come to me assessingly. He reaches out to touch me and I pull back slightly, causing his fingers to hang in the air. Regret splashes across his face, a look I’ve really never seen on his face before. He slowly turns around, speaking only to Asher.
“Drive,” he rasps.
Asher’s eyes come to mine in the mirror. Anger and frustration in them, before he puts the car into gear and pulls out of the parking lot. Liam lifts his arm up, allowing me to lean closer to him and I take every opportunity for his comfort. It’s not like I’m some battered woman who is terrified of Vincent. I know it was an accident, he was just trying to get my attention and keep his anger in check. He needs to do a better job of that, though.
Chapter Forty Seven
Asher
My knuckles turn white from the grip I have on the steering wheel. It’s taking everything in me not to shoot Griggs right in the head. Blow his brains all over this fucking car, because the world would be much better off without him in it. Fuck knows Skyla would be.
Liam had to physically pin me against the seat to hold me back. From the instant I saw him pinch her face like that, I was ready to kill him. Coming from the man that is so goddamn concerned about her safety, so protective, he sure is fucking rough with her.
No doubt, that comes from the double life he leads. It must be hard to murder people in cold blood, literally rip them to pieces then take a quick shower and be forced to obey normal social constructs.
Oh, did you think I was being sympathetic? Fuck no, I’m being sarcastic as fuck. Develop a split personality disorder if he has to, go to therapy, fucking whatever it takes, but something I will not tolerate is him letting that side seep over into my fiancée’s life. Absolutely the fuck not.
We ride the rest of the way in silence and thankfully, we get to Ronan’s in no time. I throw my door open first, stepping out as everyone else does the same.
“Siren, can we talk?” Griggs asks, his tone surprisingly gentle.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Liam says.
“I agree, fuck that,” I add in.
He shoots us both a dirty look, before softening and looking back at her. She bites the inside of her lip and nods, pressing a kiss to Liam’s cheek before moving over to the front yard of Ronan’s for some semblance of privacy.
Liam and I seem to be on the same page, neither of us wanting to give them privacy, though, and Skyla turns to us with a tired huff.
“Go inside. We’ll be there in a minute.”
We share a ‘hell no’ look with each other before she adds on an exasperated, “Please.”
Liam blows out a frustrated breath as he claps my shoulder.
“Come on, let’s let her and her boyfriend figure this out while we drill her other boyfriend as to why the fuck he’s been avoiding my girlfriend.”
I give him a sideways glance as we make our way up Ronan’s front steps.
“You realize how fucking weird that sentence is, right?”
He shrugs as he pushes his way through the front door, not bothering to knock. I steal one more glance at Skyla only to find Griggs on his knees before her, his head hung in shame as she looks down at him, before I shut the door behind us.
Good. Little fucker.
Ronan is in the living room, a glass of scotch already in his hand as he nods in greeting.
“Hey. How you guys doing?” he asks.
Liam scoffs. “We’re fine. Skyla is the one that’s been fucking spiraling.”
“Why?” Ronan asks, as concern instantly takes over.
“Because of you, dumbass,” I scoff as Liam continues.
“You practically ghosted her, with no reason or explanation. She was freaking out, man.”
He frowns, nodding as he looks down at his drink.
“Where is she?”
“Making up with Griggs,” I answer.
Ronan lifts an eyebrow.
“What did he do?”
I shake my head, not feeling like getting into it.
“What’s up with this cryptic shit of ‘meet me at my house’,” I ask.
He sets his drink down, scratching at the back of his head as he looks at us.
“I have to tell you guys some shit and I’ve been trying to keep it to myself. I just…needed some space.”
My eyebrows pinch together, and my mouth screws up at that.
“You’ve got less than two minutes to polish up that apology, because that shit isn’t going to fly with Skyla.”
Nodding, Ronan looks up at the ceiling and shakes his head when the door opens, Griggs and Skyla walking hand in hand.
That was fast. Times up, Ronan.
They shut the door before she pauses, and Ronan stands. He moves to her but stops about a foot shy.
“Hi, baby.”
She stares at him, slowly blinking for several seconds.
“Hi, baby? Hi, baby. Is that really all you have to say to me? Ronan, what the fuck! One minute you were by my side, the next you were gone. I couldn’t reach you. I couldn’t see you. I was convinced you didn’t want to be with me, or you fell in love with someone else. Something! Anything, to explain why the fuck my boyfriend who professes his love daily would disappear on me like that?”
Shit. She’s torn into Griggs, me, and now Ronan all before ten in the morning. Liam better watch his back, the princess is on a warpath.
“Never, baby. You’re my everything. I just, I need to tell you some things and I’ve been fucking dreading it. I wanted to wait until the last possible minute because I didn’t want you to sit here and waste away worrying, but I couldn’t continue not being honest with you…” he says, trailing off with a shake of his head.
“Can you sit down?” he asks.
She nods, taking a seat on the couch opposite of him. Vincent takes his seat beside her, a possessive hand latched around her thigh as Ronan takes a seat on the coffee table. I sit in the armchair, in perfect view of Skyla and Ronan while Liam plops down onto the other couch.
“So, tomorrow,” Ronan begins, “Is your commitment ceremony. None of you have ever attended one, though, right?”
We all shake our heads as Ronan runs a hand through his hair.
“Traditionally, it occurs after the wedding, at midnight specifically. Though, yours has been moved up to before the wedding.”
“Yeah, we know. Get to the point,” I say.
Ronan cuts me an irritated look before turning back to Skyla.
“It’s so important that you’re a virgin on your wedding night, or in this case on your ceremony night, because there will be a doctor to verify before the ritual.”
“Ritual?” Skyla echoes.
He nods.
“It’s custom that when an Elder or Legacy takes a bride, he…deflowers her before all the Elders.”
“Deflowers?” Liam asks with a screwed up face, as Skyla’s face pales and my stomach twists.
“L-like sex?” she stutters. “In front of everyone?”
Ronan nods as she shakes her head.
“I can’t do that. I won’t do that. That’s so…disgusting! Humiliating. Embarrassing. In front of my dad?! In front of Asher’s?” she asks, her panicked eyes coming to me as if to ask, ‘Did you know about this?’. I shake my head as I continue staring at Ronan in disbelief.
“Once the…task,” he grits between clenched teeth, “has been performed, Asher will take the bloodied sheet before completing the next step. You’ll be able to go home after that. The next day you’ll be expected to move into your home, together.”
“We don’t have a home yet,” Skyla says.
“Actually, we do,” I say.
She whips around to look at me with a confused gaze.
“My father gifted it to me when he announced our official engagement,” I say, pulling out my keys and lifting up the one that goes to our new house.
“It’s not decorated yet, I wanted to leave it blank for you, so that you could make it your own,” I say with a shrug.
At least that’s the version that I go with. Truth is, it was fully decorated. I paid someone to furnish it when school began. Since that night at my father’s, the night she took care of me, I had every single piece removed and returned. She has lost so much freedom, so much say, even more than me. I wanted her to be able to control one piece of her life, at the very least.
“That was nice of you,” she says, though her voice is devoid of any emotion as she stares at her hands.
Her throat swallows roughly as she looks up to Ronan, tears brimming her eyes in a way that aches my fucking heart.
“I have to do this? There isn’t another way?”
Ronan shakes his head sadly.
“I’m sorry, baby.”
“W-what if I refuse?” she chokes softly.
Vincent’s hand squeezes her leg tightly before he shares a look with me, Liam and then finally Ronan.
We know what will happen if she refuses, and we all know that the task of removing her would be left to the man that is currently holding onto her like she is his life raft.
