Ruthless Sinner (Ashby Crime Family)

Her boisterous laugh slowly faded to a soft, sexy sigh. “Not really. Just perceptive. But if you’re labeling me, I’ve always wanted to be a badass.”

“You are a badass, Mo.” I leaned over and whispered in her ear, “And I can teach you more.” The shiver put a smile on my face, and my dick woke up again, eager to join the party.

Mo stood; hands fisted at her sides as she smiled down at me. “Let’s go.”

“Now?”

She nodded. “Sure, we just fueled up. Badass training.”

Her enthusiasm was contagious, and even though it screwed with my plans, I agreed. “Put some clothes on and meet me on the back porch in five minutes.”

Mo made her entrance just as I finished setting up, and she smiled at the look on my face. “Too much?”

“A bra? I’m not complaining, believe me. I just wasn’t expecting it.”

“That’s because you don’t know me.” A flash of sadness darkened her eyes but only for a moment before she smiled it away. “Now, where my gat?”

“Your gat?”

She nodded; expression mostly serious but her lips trembled with laughter. “Isn’t that what the gangsters calling it?”

I gave her a side-eye and put the gun in her hand, standing behind her so not even the wind could come between us as I whispered in her ear. “Legs apart, shoulders squared and chest out.”

Her body shook with laughter, her ass brushing against my dick.

“Sounds exactly like get down on all fours, arch your back and finger your pussy.”

I groaned and squeezed her hip. “Pay attention.”

“Okay.” Her smile slipped, and she focused on the metal in her hand. “I’m ready to listen.”

“Relax.” Her shoulders were tense, and she held her breath, classic beginners mistake. “If you relax before you pull the trigger, you have a better chance at hitting your target.”

Every part of her body relaxed before she squeezed the trigger again. “I hit it!” Mo turned in my arms, pressing her mostly naked curves flush against me.

“You did.” I smiled at her excitement, wondering when the last time was that I felt that excited about something. “Good job.”

She turned back to the other targets, empty cans, beer bottles, and milk jugs, knocking each one down with one or two shots. “Damn, I did it again!”

“You’d make a fine woman for a gangster, but you’re a little too slow to be a gangster.” It was the perfect transition into the first conversation I wanted to have with Mo.

Her smile dimmed, and she set the gun down. “You don’t have to say that, Jasper. In fact, I’d prefer if you didn’t.”

“If I didn’t tell you the truth?”

“I don’t need you to be nice to me, Jasper. I don’t want or need your pity either.”

“Good because I don’t fucking do pity.” It was a useless emotion that led to bad decisions.

“Fine, say what you want. It’s not like I can stop you anyway, but I do know what this is and what it isn’t.”

“I’m starting to think you don’t know a goddamn thing.” The words came out on a growl as I grabbed the gun and went inside the cabin. The woman was determined to drive me crazy. Out of my fucking mind. I was trying to tell her how I felt, and she thought she knew. I just figured it out; how could she know?

She followed me up to the armory, “I know more than you give me credit for, Jas.” Her bare feet stomped harder with every step. “I know you only show up for a fuck when you’re horny or having a bad day. I know you leave before the condom hits the bottom of the wastebasket. I know you’re hoping that this baby isn’t yours. So desperate for it not to be, you’ve probably even prayed about it.”

Her words hit the back of me like a dozen jabs to the spine, but I didn’t explode. I didn’t turn around, march to her and shake some fucking sense into her pretty little head. That was what I wanted to do, but I had a plan, dammit.

“Nothing to say? Yeah, that’s what I thought.” She let out a disgruntled sigh, turning away from me just as I turned toward her.

“Thanks for the lesson.”

Not this time. I reached out and snagged her arm before she could walk back through the door. “Like I said, you don’t know shit.”

“I know what I want in life and what I will accept, and it’s not your pity.”

“It’s not pity, dammit!” The words came out on a roar, but Mo didn’t even flinch. “You’re mine, Mo. As distasteful as you might find that, you are mine, so you better let that sit right with you, really quick.”

She shook her head and yanked out of my hold. “No, I’m not yours, Jasper. For years that’s exactly what I wanted—to be yours. To have you love me the way that I’ve loved you since the day I met you. But that’s not what this is. We were careless and got pregnant, so we’re having a baby together. You can be involved as much or as little as you like, but I refuse to be with a man who only sees me as an employee on some days and nothing but a fuck on others. Even if it means a better life for my baby, I don’t want it, Jasper. I’m sorry, but I just don’t.”