I considered the question. If I stalled him, sooner or later I’d get my car back. I could still go after Teeny.
“Answer the fucking question, Becca.”
“I wanted to get her ashes.”
“You know I’d help you.”
“Your help comes with strings.”
“I get it,” he said suddenly. “You think if you attack me enough I’ll give up. Answer. Now. Why were you going to California?”
“I was going to kill him,” I admitted. “I don’t feel like I’ll ever be free unless he’s dead. Maybe it sounds crazy, but he’s an evil, evil man and he doesn’t deserve to live. That’s why I didn’t talk to anyone—I didn’t want to turn you into my accomplices.”
Puck growled, then pushed away from me to stalk toward the window. He leaned forward on it, fingertips turning white as he squeezed hard. I supposed I should be glad he wasn’t squeezing my throat.
“Did it occur to you that I could take care of this?” he said, teeth clenched. I looked at him blankly.
“What do you mean?”
“You asked once what I do for the club. I fix problems. Teeny is a problem.”
I swallowed.
“You can’t do that.”
“Yeah, I can,” he replied, turning back to look at me. His eyes darkened, and I shivered. I’d only seen him like this once before, the morning he’d stolen me away. All hot anger burning under a surface of cold purpose. So dangerous. “If you want him dead, I’ll make it happen. But you have to fucking talk to me about it.”
“You sound like a sociopath,” I blurted out. Shit. “I can’t believe I said that.”
Puck came over and caught the back of my neck, jerking me into his body. The air had changed between us—there’d been anger before. Now there was more.
“You belong to me,” he growled, cupping the side of my face with his other hand. I felt his fingers wrap around my jaw, oh-so-close to my throat. “That means I take care of you. I thought you were safe from your stepdad. He’s still hurting you, though, so you’re not safe. Now I’ll solve that problem so he never hurts you again. That doesn’t make me a sociopath—that makes me your old man.”
Then his mouth took mine, tongue thrusting inside brutally. The horror of the day, all the adrenaline, everything hit me all at once. I’d been dying slowly inside all afternoon, but now I felt alive again. I reached up and caught his hair in my hands, pulling him into me with a force I’d never used before. Puck groaned, then shoved me down and back onto the bed.
The mattress was spongy and soft. The blankets were old and faded. God only knew the last time they’d changed the sheets.
I didn’t care.
All that mattered was the feel of him as he shoved my legs apart. Then his hand was down between us, digging under my thong. His fingers found my center like a target, shoving deep inside.
My back arched and I convulsed against him. It wasn’t an instant orgasm, but it was something damned close. Like all the tension I’d been carrying that day was desperate to escape but couldn’t quite pull it off without his help.
Puck broke free from my mouth, then dropped his head and grabbed my bra with his teeth. My breast popped free and he sucked it in almost painfully. Need exploded between my legs, a tension that ran from my breast to my clit, where his thumb started working me.
“Puck,” I moaned.
He pulled back and gave a harsh laugh.
“Nothing like an angry fuck, huh?”
His words struck me.
Angry fuck. That summed up what I wanted perfectly . . . Something dark and rough and free from any kind of concern for his needs.
I pushed up, catching his chest with my hand and shoving him over. The move caught him off guard and he went down.
Then I was on top of him, straddling his body as I tore at his shirt. Puck was a smart man—didn’t take him long before the fabric was up and over his head. I reached behind my back, trying to find my bra hooks but my fingers turned awkward. Finally I just pulled the whole thing up and over my head. Then I was down across his chest, rubbing my nipples into his as I ground my clit against his cock.
“You aren’t my old man,” I growled, staring into his eyes. Puck bared his teeth at me as his hands caught my ass, fingers digging deep into the flesh. His hips bucked up.
“You’re mine. Pretend all you want, but this is my cunt, my ass, and I don’t share you with anyone. I’ll protect you and you’ll take care of me and there’s not a goddamned thing you can do about it.”
My back arched when his fingers stabbed me again. Then I was flying over and onto my back, legs up and around his body while his hips ground me down into the mattress.