SWNOVELS Tirone: Chapter 15
“Where are we?” Jo held my hand as I led her into the forest by the lake.
“Lake Conroe.” Cherishing every second her hand was in mine, I filled my lungs with the calm breeze, leafing through memories. “I used to come here when I was a kid. The only thing I missed about Texas. That and Sammy.”
“Your aunt?”
“Yeah. She used to come here with us, too. Have you met her yet?”
“Haven’t had the chance. Laius told me they made her stay at the hospital the last time she was there and hasn’t been out yet. I asked to go visit, but he said she preferred to meet me for the first time outside hospital walls.”
“Sounds a lot like her.”
Jo smiled as she glanced at the late afternoon sun, taking in the picturesque view of this side of the lake next to the forest. “It’s beautiful.”
“The MC used to have barbeques and bonfires here all the time. All the kids gathered and played together. Sammy played with me all the time. She’s just a few years older. Furore taught us how to fish. There was music and dancing…and lots of beer.” I chuckled.
“Good times.”
“The only ones I can remember about my childhood with Furore.”
“You should hold on to them then.”
“No amount of fun can erase the sight of my mom battered and bleeding or the sight of him cursing at her, threatening to kill her at the courthouse when they convicted him.”
Her head lowered with a sigh as she rubbed my arm. “Ty, have you ever considered that your father might be innocent?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I saw how badly she was beaten up with my own eyes. She said he did it, and the court ruled in her favor. How could he be innocent?”
“She said he beat you, too. Do you remember that?”
“I was too young.”
“But you vividly remember coming here with your parents at the same age. If you can remember something that nice for a man you hate, do you not think it’ll make more sense if you remember the terrible things that made you hate him in the first place?”
My gaze narrowed at her. “My mom isn’t a liar, Jo. He is. What fucking lies has that monster been telling you?”
“He never gave me any details, but he mentioned Delilah always wanted to marry someone richer. She tried to run away with you, but he wouldn’t let her. That was why she put him in prison so she could leave and be with someone else.”
“That’s bullshit. If that’s true, who beat the shit out of her that day?”
“I don’t know, but why don’t you ask him? Perhaps if you listen to his side of the story, you’ll—”
“I’ll what? Forgive him? Love him?”
“Yes, Ty.”
I scoffed. “Even if he didn’t do it, even if Mom did what he’s saying she did, do you think I’ll forgive the man who stole my girl away from me?”
She winced, her lips puckering with sorrow. “He didn’t. None of this is his fault. If you want someone to hate and punish, I’m standing right in front of you.”
“Hate you?” I took her shades off and put them in my pocket. Her beautiful eyes that were brighter than the sky were glistening with tears. “You’re the love of my life, Jo.”
She winced again, averting her gaze. “Ty, please, stop.”
I tilted her chin so she’d look at me when I said it. “I’ll never stop loving you, and I’ll say it until I take my last breath. I. Love. You.”
She buried her face into my chest, freeing her tears. “I’m sorry. This is all my fault.”
Closing my eyes, savoring the feeling of her body on mine, her scent that brought me to my knees, her warmth that silenced the darkness and shut the whole world away, I wrapped my arms around her, enveloping her in my embrace, wishing it could have been forever. “It’s okay, my little faerie. There’s nothing we can’t fix together.”
“But I ruined everything. I’m sorry, Ty. I didn’t know what you were doing.”
I kissed the top of her head, holding her tighter. “How could you not know, baby? How could you think I just left you?”
“You know how. You know why. I was feeling so guilty, so ashamed. I thought you realized we were nothing but a mistake. I thought you hated me. I thought you didn’t want me anymore.”
“I want nothing but you, Jo. You’re everything. Everything, baby. How could you feel that way? I didn’t make you feel loved enough?”
“I…I don’t know. But I know it’s not your fault. In a way, it’s what I always thought you were going to feel in the end because it’s how I’m wired to feel about myself, unwanted, unworthy of love.”
“You’re worthy of nothing but love. You’re my little faerie.”
“Ty…”
“Hushh. It’s okay. I’m here now.” I rubbed my nose and cheeks against her head. Then I cradled her face between my hands. Her eyes were puffy and red and wet and so was her nose and cheeks, but she never looked prettier. “I’ll make it up to you, baby. I promise.” I showered her face with little kisses. Then my gaze dipped to her lips as my thumb brushed right above them. Her eyes flickered between mine and my mouth. Breath accelerating, I leaned in and feathered my lips on hers.
She gasped, the softness of her trembling lips sending a tingling in my skin and a twitch into my cock. I pressed my flesh against hers, harder, greedier. A kiss of light. A kiss of darkness. One of an angel. One of a demon.
“No,” she panted, pulling away.
I blinked once. “No?”
“I did make a mistake, thinking you left me. I should have had more faith in our love, but that doesn’t change what happened.”
“It changes everything. How could you… Look me in the eye and tell me you don’t love me, Jo.”
Her lips quivered, and then she gulped, her breath stuttering out of her chest. “I… I can’t,” she whimpered. “There will always be a part of me that loves you, Tirone. That can’t be undone.”
I grinned, a deluge of emotions flooding me. “See, baby? You don’t love him. You were just angry.”
“Ty, you don’t understand. I’ve fallen in love with Laius. That, too, can never be undone.”
“No.” I shook my head violently. “You only think you do because I threw you into his arms when I left. The biggest mistake of my life.” My fists clenched and unclenched endlessly. “Looking back, I should have never gone. I should have done what they’d asked me to do. We could have fooled them, and I could have bought us some time to come up with a better plan to protect you.”
She pursed her lips. “I wish you had, but what’s done is done.”
“No,” I snarled. “I’m not giving up. It’s why I’m back here. That’s why I’m a Night Skull now, to learn their ways, to know how to deal with the mob, to know how to play their fucking game, to be the man you need, the man that can truly protect you.”
“We can’t do this. Not anymore. Maybe if he were someone else, but he’s your father.” She bit her lip, her face contorting as if she was going to cry again. “You have to let me go.”
“Shut up, Jo.”
“You’re young. Your whole life is ahead of you. You’ll meet a hundred beautiful girls, and you’ll fall in love with someone who’s right for you.”
I banged my knuckles against the tree behind her. “Don’t say that shit.” I slammed the other fist, too. “Fuck.”
“Ty, just calm down. Please.”
“I don’t think you understand, Jo.” I held her waist and backed her against the tree, my stare glued to hers. “I want no one but you. You’re the only one for me. Do you hear me?”
“But—”
“No buts.” The demons only she could silence rumbled inside. “I don’t just love you, Jo. I need you. You don’t know how much power you have over me. Only you have the power to make me happy, to make my world run right or destroy me and the world around me.”
Her eyes clouded with alarm. “You can’t think like this, Tirone.”
“It’s all I can ever think about. You.”
“This isn’t love.”
“Yes, it is. For me, it’s the only love language I can speak. At my side the demon writhes forever, swimming around me like impalpable air. As I breathe, he burns my lungs like fever, and fills me with an eternal guilty desire. Call it sickness. Call it obsession. Call it pure darkness from hell. I don’t care. I want you, Jo, and I will have you no matter what.”
“Ty…” she breathed.
“One night, my little faerie.”
“What?”
“Give me one night, Jo. You owe me that much. One night, all of you, all in, and you’ll know it’s only me you belong to. I’ll show you he’s nothing to you.” I placed my palm on her frantic heart. “I’ll show you it’s all me in there.”
She paled. “No. This is cheating. On your father.”
“Cheating is when you let him touch you.” Fury spilled out of me, but I took a second to smother it in. I didn’t want to scare her anymore. “You’re mine. That never changed for me. You’ve always been.”
“I can’t. Please. You have to understand how terrible this sounds.”
“He doesn’t have to know.”
“I will. I can’t—”
“Can’t what? Lie to him? Hide things about us from him? Newsflash, you already do. It’s just gonna be one more secret to add to a long list.”
Her gaze wandered, bouncing among the lake and the trees. I knew deep down she wanted me and that night as much as I did. I could force her into it, but for this, I wanted her to come to me willingly. I wanted her to see it for herself so she wouldn’t have any excuses, doubts or blame. She was just too good to do what needed to be done; she needed some motivation.
“Can you look yourself in the mirror and say you’re one hundred percent certain you only love Furore because of him, and not because of me, not because you were acting out of hurt or because he reminded you of me? I mean, what are the odds, Jo? The only man that has your attention after me is my own father?”
She swallowed, and I knew I hit the right spot.
“You owe it to yourself before you owe it to him to know the truth, to be sure of your feelings. You’ll be doing him a favor or do you want him to live a lie his whole life?” I didn’t give a fuck about him, but that was what she needed to hear. I’d do and say anything that would make her come back to me.
She pressed the heel of her palm over her forehead. “You’re unbelievable.”
“If you’re so sure you love him, what are you afraid of?”
“I’m not afraid.”
“Yes, you are. Because he doesn’t know you like I do.”
“Knowing how I take my coffee doesn’t make you better than him, Tirone.”
“It’s not just the coffee, baby. He doesn’t know your head, how stubborn you can be. He can’t tell when you’re bluffing or when you’re not. He fucking let you drive into a gate, thinking you’d just back down.” God, I wanted to rip his head off his shoulders for doing that to her. “He was shoving his fucking cock into you while you were screaming no,” I said through my teeth, my blood simmering.
“Don’t go there. You’ve been rough with me, too, and you forced me into many things. Most of the time I didn’t mind because I somehow liked it. I still do like it rough.”
“You were a virgin when I met you. You didn’t know what you wanted. I showed you things. We explored a lot. You might have liked it rough, but it wasn’t what you needed.”
She mused, licking her lip. She must have been remembering.
“Does he know your body like I do, Jo? Does he know what you need?”
“He’ll get there. We haven’t had much time together.”
“You shouldn’t have any time together because I’m here, and you love me like I love you, and I can give you everything you need.” I groaned, resting my forehead against hers. “I’m here, Jo. I’m all yours.”
Her moaning breath seared my neck. “It’s getting late. We have to go back.”
“Not before you promise me.” I snatched another kiss from her sweet lips. “One night, my little faerie. It’s all I’m asking for.”