Oh yeah. To fucking tell him it was over.
But had she done that? Told him it was over?
The guilt didn’t make his angry thoughts go away. He was angry at the situation. Angry at her bullshit ex. Angry at her for feeling like she had to take the high road with a man who obviously didn’t give a shit about the high road. Or the middle road. Or any fucking road. No woman had ever meant to him what Kallie did, and the jealousy within him was too much to bear. Seeing her lips on another man. Watching the way he had a grip on her wrist.
Her wrist.
Holy fuck, that man had forced himself onto Kallie.
“Are you okay?” Ash asked.
Kallie pressed her back into the wall and didn’t respond to his inquiry. This was why he only hooked up and never saw the girl again. This was why his vacation romances were short-lived. He couldn't handle it. He couldn't handle not being chosen by the woman he’d given himself over to. He raked his hand through his hair and turned around, facing the wall before whipping back around to face her. She wouldn't meet his stare. She wouldn't take a fucking step toward him.
Kallie was so much more than just a simple vacation romance.
And the knowledge that another man had touched her like that. Forced her around like that. A man she was set to marry. A man who had cheated on her and broken her fucking heart.
Ash wanted to beat the shit out of that asshole.
“Get out,” Kallie said.
Her soft voice pierced his raging thoughts and his vision focused onto her.
“We aren’t done talking,” Ash said.
“We aren’t talking at all. You’re accusing me of doing the same thing my ex did to me. That kiss wasn’t consensual. It never was and it never will be. And if you don’t trust me now, you’re never going to, Ash. I broke up with James. I went there, looked him dead in his eye, and told him it was over. I gave back that necklace and I tried to leave, but he wouldn’t let me, Ash.”
He watched tears well in her eyes and it tugged at the small part of him not soaking in frustration.
“He grabbed me without my permission and kissed me without warning, and I shoved him away. Left, despite his insistence that I come with him. That’s what happened, regardless of what any articles say. I’m not the kind of woman who cheats. We’ve already had this discussion. For Pete’s sake, Ash. I ended things with my fiancé because he was a cheater!”
Ash’s mind wafted back to the island. Back to those flowers sitting on her bedside table. He hadn’t trusted her, and he’d been wrong then. Was it possible he could be wrong now? Since he’d found Kallie and gotten her back, she’d been in high spirits. Better tha
n the spirits she’d showed him on the island. She was happy. Giggling. Laughing. Curling into him and kissing his lips again. Enjoying his presence.
Yes, Ash decided.
He was wrong now too.
He walked across her small office, no bigger than half the size of his own bathroom. His hand brushed a tendril of hair away from Kallie’s face and he tucked it behind her ear. She stepped away from the wall, just enough for him to slip his arm around her waist. He pulled her body close to his. Felt her heat against him as her hands slid up his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and stared into those beautiful eyes. Fiery with righteous indignation and unforgiving of whatever his opinion of her was. And in that moment, he knew she was telling the truth.
Which made him want to strangle her ex.
Ash took her chin within his hands and brought her lips closer to his. He pulled her tighter into his body as his cock began to throb to life. His thumb stroked her skin and his eyes fell to her lips, and he left out the breath he didn’t realize he was holding until that very second.
“I believe you,” Ash said.
He pressed his lips to hers gently, nuzzling their noses together as she melted into him.
“I’m sorry for assuming the worst,” he said with a whisper.
Kallie’s hands curled into his suit coat and she pulled him closer. Their gentle kiss deepened until her tongue was swiping across his lips. She wanted him. He could feel it. His hands untucked her shirt from her pencil skirt and planted into her waist. He took in the heat of her skin as her arms wrapped around his neck, backing her into the wall.
He slid his leg between her thighs and he felt her grind down onto him. Her panties were damp and her heat was fierce, and the angry animal within him rose up.
He ripped her clothes off, sliding her shirt down her shoulder. He sank his teeth into her, marking her as his own. Her moans filled his ears as his hands commanded her body. Tossed her around like a rag doll as he tried to find the best spot to take her against.
He twisted her around as his arm reached out. He slid it across her flimsy desk, watching as everything piled onto the floor. He bent her over her own damn desk and cracked his hand against her ass, watching as she jumped. Over and over, until he knew her skin was buzzing. Her legs trembled, and he watched as she bucked her ass against him. His cock strained against his trousers. A pulsing ache he needed to relieve. He grabbed the small zipper of her pencil skirt and slid it down, then pulled her skirt all the way to her ankles.