Observing her now, away from people, as she examines my life’s work, I see Hadley in somewhat of a new light. She’s young, maybe a little unsure of herself, and curious about her surroundings.
“Come on.” I hold out a hand for her. When she takes it, I pull her upstairs to my office and head straight for my chair. Dragging her into my lap is easy; capturing her mouth is a damn pleasure.
Pushing her legs apart, I don’t hesitate to slide my hand up her sleek thigh and under the hem of her shorts. “Are you fucking insane?” I hiss when I feel her bare lips. “No fucking underwear?”
The spunk is back as she narrows her eyes at me. “Keep calling me insane, and we’re done before we start, Ashton.”
“Excuse me?” Hadley stands and steps away from me. “How in the hell can you think I’m fucking okay with you waltzing around in those tiny goddamned shorts of yours with your bare pussy on display?”
Steam about blows out of her ears as she plants her hands on her hips. “Do you wanna know something about me, Ashton?”
“Depends on if you’re going to be glib or honest,” I bark back and almost regret it when her chin wobbles slightly. “Lamb–” She cuts me off.
“No, don’t try and be sweet with me now, Ashton. If you haven’t noticed, people don’t exactly treat me with respect or even like a person half the time. I’m an Adair, plain and simple. Once they find out which one I belong to, I’m nothing to anybody. My whole life has been a series of are you King’s girl or Castiel’s, and that’s it.”
“What’s your point?” I genuinely want to understand because she’s going somewhere with this, and for once, I think she’s being real with me.
She exhales a deep breath before answering. “Nobody has cared about what I’ve worn one way or another. Ever. Because there’s never been a doubt that my brother or one of my cousins would be there to make sure nothing happens to me.”
“You make it sound like a bad thing.” My head starts to spin.
Her spine stiffens as she spells it out for me, and what I learn has me so filled with rage and nowhere to direct it that I can almost feel my heart ready to explode out of my chest.
“Aria was set on fire. Lake was…well, we don’t know what happened to her, but something did, and it was horrific. It had to be, because she’s scared of her own shadow. Scotlyn…” She looks down, shaking her head as she remembers. “Scotlyn was beaten to within an inch of her life a year ago.”
Now I get it.
“And nothing horrific has happened to you. Is that your point?” Storming towards her, I grip Hadley’s shoulders in my hands and drag her into my chest. “Are you looking for someone to hurt you, Hadley?”
So help me fucking god, if she says yes, I’m not responsible for my actions.
“Why were they hurt and not me? Why was I spared? Is it because I’m weak? I’d break, right? And never be able to see the light of day again. Why was I spared, and they weren’t?” Her tears flow generously down her cheeks, and I understand now. I finally fucking get her.
“Sweet lamb, no.” Picking her up in my arms, I make quick work of the distance between us and the couch along my office wall. Sitting with her in my lap, I brush my fingers through her silky hair and tilt her head up to look at me.
“You are a protector. Their protector. You are so fucking strong. Do you not remember the way you defended Lake last night? You made a man piss himself because he was afraid of you.”
She scoffs. “He was afraid of my uncles.”
“Maybe so, but it was your hand crushing his balls, making him squeal like a little bitch.” Wiping the tears off her face, her smile is what I’m after. “Just because horrific things happened to your friends does not mean you deserve to have them happen to you, okay?” She nods her head, but I don’t think she’s actually hearing me. “Now, dinner, you got anything red you can wear?”
A sly smile works across her lips, and I almost regret my question.
* * *