Jagged Hearts (12 page)

“I’ve arranged my whole life around you. Everything, I’ve done has been for you!”

“Nothing was for me,” Paisley reiterated. “How many times did I beg you not to make me go to a photo shoot or audition?”

“You were a child. You were selfish then and selfish now. It was my job to take care of you.”

“What about love?” Paisley whispered.

“Don’t be foolish, Paisley. Everything I’ve ever done for you was out of love.”

“Really? Because it looks like greed from where I’m standing.”

“I don’t have to listen to this,” Vivian said, grabbing her purse and holding it in front of her. “It’s obvious you’re stressed right now and not yourself.”

“Don’t you mean brainwashed? Isn’t that what you were yelling earlier after a gunman tried to shoot me? I was brainwashed.”

“I won’t speak to you when you’re like this. I’ll have a joint statement drawn up and released to the press. We’ll talk in a few days when you’ve gathered yourself and remembered who you are.”

“I know who I am,” Paisley said. “I’m Paisley Knight, and I’m warning you not to push me. Do. Not. Release a press statement with my name on it. You think today was bad? You have no idea what I’m capable of. Push me, and you’ll find out.”

Vivian glared at her. “I don’t even know who you are anymore.”

She stormed from the room, door slamming back against the outside wall in her burst of anger.

“You never did,” Paisley replied to the empty room and wiped away the tear that spilled from her eye. It shouldn’t hurt, but it did. It had taken her longer than it should have, but she was finally following through on what she’d decided to do five years ago when she’d been planning to run off and elope with Lance. She’d stood up to her mother and severed the controlling strings her mother clung to.

She headed out of the room and back to her dad’s office to wait. Seth and Jagger were in there, and she had the feeling they’d been watching for her.

“Wow,” Seth said as she entered. “We heard the door from here. I guess you do take after your dad.”

Paisley stared at him for a moment, taken totally by surprise. Then she saw the twinkle in his eyes and lost it. She let loose with a belly laugh that had her collapsing on the couch in a giggle fit. It was so inappropriate for the situation, but she appreciated Seth giving her an outlet other than tears.

“Yep, you can see she’s just as mean as her dad,” Jagger teased, plopping down beside her and draping an arm around her shoulders. He tugged at her hair. “You okay?”

She nodded. “I am.”

“It’s good to hear you laugh like that,” Jagger said. “You should do it more often.”

“I feel… I can’t explain it.” She shook her head.

“You don’t have to,” Jagger assured her. “Your face says it all.”

He gave her another squeeze just as Bare walked in. He flicked his glance over her and Jagger then held out his hand to her. She rose and went to him, loving the way he wrapped her tight against his chest.

“I hear you had a run in with Vivian,” Bare said.

Jagger snorted. “Sent the bitch barreling out of here as if the place was on fire.”

“You okay, baby?” Bare asked, his lips feathering the hair at her temple.

She nodded. “Surprisingly, yes.”

“Find anything?” Jagger asked Bare.

Paisley looked up and saw Bare give slight jerk of his chin. “There was too much chaos with the crowd when the shots were fired.”

“Shots?” Paisley asked.

“Two shots from a high-powered rifle. Shooter was across the street. Sterling’s checking now.”

“The gym?” Jagger asked.

“Yeah,” Bare said. “Easy in and out. Break the gun down. Carry it in a bag with workout gear. They’d never know.”

“Jamison made a call,” Bare said. “In a few hours, we’ll have access to everyone who entered and left that building today. Everyone who enters is scanned in. Plus there are cameras set up to monitor hallways and some of the member-access fitness rooms.”

“Do you think it’s the same man?” Paisley asked. She knew they all understood who she referred to.

“I don’t know,” Bare said. “Can you think of anyone who might shoot at you?”

Paisley snorted. “My mother.”

“That good, huh?” Bare said, one side of his mouth tilting up.

“She’s putting a joint statement together, one where I retract what I just said.”

Bare lifted a brow.

“Not happening,” Paisley said.

“About what you said out there,” Bare said, slipping his hands down her sides to curve around her waist.

“Yes?” she asked.

He pulled her up to him until their lips met. His teeth nipped, and she parted on a groan that allowed his tongue to plunge inside, meeting and meshing with hers. She lifted her hands to cup his face, practically climbing him as she pressed impossibly closer.

A throat cleared behind them.

“You might want to find a room before Jamison walks in,” Jagger said. “Something tells me he might not be as amused by this as I am.”

Paisley sank back down off her tiptoes and buried her head in Bare’s chest while she worked on catching her breath.

“You were amazing out there,” Bare said. “I was so proud to be the man standing beside you.”

She glanced up at him, and her heart melted. How had she been lucky enough to find another man who made her feel so alive?

“I swear to God!” Her dad thundered as he walked in, slamming the door behind him. “That woman is going to drive me to commit murder.” He glanced at Bare and Paisley then Jagger. “And I expect all of you to make sure I don’t go to jail for it. It would be a mercy killing for the rest of the world anyway.”

No one had to ask who he referred to.

“And you.” He crossed to Paisley and swept her away from Bare and into a hug. “You were amazing. I’m so proud of you. You had them all eating out of the palm of your hand. And your speech—brilliant! You put the attention exactly where it needed to be, on your attacker. And you put Vivian in her place at the same time.”

“From what you were saying on the way in, I’m guessing you ran into her,” Paisley said.

“Unfortunately, not in my car,” her dad muttered.

Paisley opened her mouth to reprimand him then snapped it closed. Severing ties meant severing ties. Perhaps, there would come a time down the road when she and her mother could be civil to one another again. That time wasn’t now. Paisley had to hold her ground and make her mother see she was serious. Basically, her mother had a choice, accept Paisley on her terms or forfeit any place in Paisley’s life.

“So who’s this Andromeda?” Bare asked.

“Andromeda Eisley,” Paisley said. “She’s a public relations specialist. She worked with Lance, and I hired her at his reference. She’s an amazing woman, and more importantly, I trust her. She’s reached out to me several times since Lance was killed. I thought it was time I reached back. So I called her while I was getting ready. She should be here next week.”

“Any chance you’ll be making a trip back to LA?” Bare asked.

“Not if I can help it,” Paisley said. “My life is here now. If the press wants me, they can come to me.” She glanced back to her dad. “How’s Tuck?”

“Mad as hell, but at the ER now,” her dad said. “I left Marco with him. They’ll stitch Tuck up and get him some antibiotics and pain meds.”

“He pushed you out of the way,” Paisley said. “Why would the shooter target you?”

“I have my fair share of enemies,” her dad admitted. “And I was the one who was supposed to be giving the conference.”

“So the gunman might have nothing to do with me,” Paisley said.

“We won’t know until we catch him,” Bare said. “And we will.”

“Are you staying with Gilly again tonight?” her dad asked.

Paisley glanced at Bare, who shook his head.

“I’d rather stay at my place,” Bare answered. “That okay with you?” He directed the question to Paisley.

“Sounds good,” she said. “I could use a hot shower, some food and a beer.”

Bare grinned. “We better pick up some food on the way. I can’t promise there’s much in my fridge right now, except the beer.”

“I’ll check in with you when I get Tuck home,” her dad said, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. “Keep her safe,” he ordered Bare.

“I plan to keep a close eye on her,” Bare promised.

Visions of the previous night filled her head. Visions of how they’d started their morning, too. She sincerely hoped he planned to keep more than his sexy blue gaze on her.

Chapter Eleven

Paisley was a bit disappointed when Bare sent her off to shower while he ordered food. He’d dropped a kiss on her lips and waved her toward his bedroom. She grabbed her bag from where he’d dropped it just inside the door and went. She shouldn’t have, but she took a few minutes to look around his bedroom. It was her first time here, and curiosity got the better of her.

His bed dominated the room. Dark wood with what definitely looked bigger than a king-size mattress covered in a dark gray comforter. She couldn’t resist running her hand over it. It slid easily, and she peeked underneath to find blue silk sheets. Bare? Silk? She wouldn’t have imagined he’d like silk sheets.

She moved over to his dresser where a few framed pictures sat. There were a couple of Bare with a group of men that must be from his military days. There was one of a laughing older couple she thought might be his parents. She could see Bare in both of them. There was a picture of a woman, looking young and carefree, and somehow Paisley imagined this was of his late wife. She paused over it, looking at the woman who’d once owned Bare’s heart, the one who’d cherished and loved him.

Then another framed photo caught her eye. She recognized it immediately. It was from her birthday two years ago. Her father had decided she needed to get out, and he’d dragged her to his house where everyone had already gathered. She’d put on a face that night, pretending to have fun—except for one moment. It had been when Bare had walked over and tugged her against his chest. He’d hugged her then asked her if she was starting a new fashion trend? She’d had no clue what he was talking about until he’d nodded his head down at her feet where she’d worn two different shoes. No one else had said anything, but Bare had made her laugh and someone had caught a picture of it. One Bare had framed and kept on his dresser.

He’d been there for her from the moment she’d woken in the hospital. A stranger then, who’d still offered her a shoulder to cry on. He’d been a protector and a friend when she’d been too deep in grief to realize or appreciate what he offered. At some point, it had changed for him, looking at the photo, it was easy to see emotion in the way he glanced at her. She’d still been too wrapped in herself to notice then. She was lucky he’d waited for her.

“I didn’t think I heard water running,” Bare said as he walked in to join her. He crossed the room, his glance taking in the photos before he cupped her cheek and turned her face up to his. “Adrenaline crash?” he asked.

She curled into him, wrapping her arms around his waist and dipping her fingers into the back pockets of his jeans. “I was waiting for you to join me.”

“In the shower or the bed?”

“Both,” she whispered and loved the way his erection throbbed between them.

He cupped her ass in his hands and lifted her, forcing her to jerk her hands up to cup over the backs of his shoulders and hang on. He turned and stepped quickly over to the bed where he dropped her and loomed over her. He grabbed the hem of his shirt with one hand and wrenched it up and over his head, revealing his hard chest and abs with a smattering of hair, light on his chest but growing thicker and darker as it trailed into the band of his jeans.

She licked her lips. “Going to strip for me?”

“Dinner will be here in twenty minutes,” he said, reaching for the button on his jeans and popping it open. “That might be just enough time for some foreplay.”

“I have a better idea,” she said, rolling onto her tummy then moving to sit on the edge of the bed in front of him. She gripped his thigh with one hand and reached out with the other to trace the length of his denim-covered erection.

“Fuck,” Bare grunted.

She licked her lips again and glanced up to meet his eyes. “I want to taste you. I didn’t get nearly enough last time.”

“
Yes
,” he hissed in agreement, lowering the zipper and shoving the material wide.

She reached in and wrapped her fingers around his girth, tugging him free as he jerked his jeans and boxers down to mid-thigh. She squeezed him and ran her hand from base to tip then back down. A bead of pre-cum leaked out the slit, and she tugged him closer until she could swipe her tongue across, capturing the drop and using her tongue to paint the crown of his cock with it. She moaned, wrapping her lips around the head and sucking while she used her hand to stroke up and down the shaft.

“Baby,” Bare groaned, sinking the fingers of one hand into her hair, gripping the strands. The other one cupped her face, and she knew he was watching her. She glanced up his body again, connecting with his blue gaze.

She moaned around him and bobbed her head, taking more of him into her mouth before pulling back to swirl her tongue around the head again. She began a rhythm that had Bare pumping his hips into her touch. His cockhead bumped the roof of her mouth and slid back toward her throat. She gagged a bit, and he pulled back. The next time he surged in she took him in, swallowing around the invasion before he jerked back.

“Fuck,” he panted. “I’m on the edge here, baby. Why don’t you slide that sexy skirt off and let me inside.”

She moaned around him and sucked hard. The next thing she knew, he was pulling away and flipping her back so her legs dangled off the bed. Her skirt went up, her panties were pulled to the side and Bare’s cock surged deep. She was so wet from the pleasure of taking him in her mouth, Bare slid easily in and didn’t stop until she felt the press of his balls against her. He pulled back and slammed deep again, but his movements were slow and jerky. She knotted her hands in the covers and moaned with need.

“Faster,” she pleaded, but he didn’t listen.

His girth rubbed her walls, giving her the sensation of being full, of being stretched. Each retraction of his hips had the mushroomed head tugging against the grasp of her snug channel. Then he’d slam deep again, making her moan and grind back against him.