Rook and Ronin Box Set: The Complete Alpha Billionaire Series (Books 1-5)

by Huss, JA

  I put the hand up. Both hands, actually, since Lacy is on one side and Mike is on the other. “Sphere of privacy, people. Now.”

  Lacy laughs and turns to Ashleigh. “He was always doing that sphere stuff when we were kids. Keep out of my sphere, back off my sphere. No one was allowed in his sphere.”

  She laughs again and this time Ashleigh joins in. “He’s cute like that, isn’t he. All weird about his sphere. It’s like his Jedi power!”

  “OK, we’re done here.”

  “Wait, Ford, I’d like to chat with your old friends,” Ashleigh says with a fake innocence.

  “Ashleigh?” the voice calls her from across the street near a Bavarian pretzel shop.

  “Oh, shit.” Ash winces. “Mrs. fucking Pearson. Let’s get the hell out of here.” She holds her hand up like I just did. “Sphere of privacy, Mrs. Pearson. We’re in the sphere.”

  I laugh and pull on her. “Not so fun when you’re the target, is it? Just start walking. They’ll leave us alone, I’ve perfected the detached getaway. It’s my signature move.”

  “I guess it is. Can we ride that gondola? I’d like that. To see the mountain.”

  “Sure, we need to drop the stroller off at the van and take a bus over to Lionshead though.”

  “Is it far?”

  “No, a few minutes’ ride. We can go. Might as well see the place since you’re here.”

  We get on the bus after dropping off all the excess crap and I look at Ashleigh with her bundled baby in her arms as we ride over to Lionshead. “See, that snowsuit was a good idea. Otherwise you’d have to bring all those stupid blankets.”

  She sighs. “What would I do without you, Ford. You’re a genius.”

  I smile. “Damn right.”

  The walk to the gondola is short—this place is not big. And when we get there I have no Vail ID to prove I’m local and no one I recognize is working the lift, so I end up having to pay anyway. Our car is packed, the full capacity of ten people.

  Ash sits by the window facing backward and I sit across from her facing forward. We’re squished by some rowdy teen boarders. “You look tired,” I say. “This ride might make you fall asleep.”

  “It just might, because the baby’s getting fussy and she needs to eat. And that’s like my sleep button.”

  “It’s a seven-minute ride up, and then these guys will get off and we’ll have the car to ourselves on the way down. The baby can eat then.” No way is Ashleigh nursing with these assholes in here.

  She rests her head against the cool window and I turn to look down at the mountain. We’ve gotten a lot of snow this year, so it’s nothing but white and green.

  “It’s beautiful,” she says softly.

  “Very,” I say back. Her cheeks are flushed red from the cold and her eyes are heavy. She’s prettier than I first thought. And she’s smart. I like smart girls. I’ll fuck a dumb one, but I prefer them smart. Her hair is very dark, almost black. But unlike Rook, she has dark eyes to match. I like that too. Her lids slowly close and I stare at her until we get to the top. She jolts awake when the doors whoosh open and the boarders get off. The baby is sleeping again, so even though we have the car to ourselves for the ride down, the privacy is not necessary.

  “You’re missing the view, Ashleigh,” I tell her when the doors close again and we start the descent. “Come sit on my side so you can see it going down.”

  She hugs the baby and settles on the bench next to me, totally within my sphere. “I like it here. I bet it was fun growing up in such a beautiful place.”

  “It was. Where’d you grow up?”

  “Hong Kong.”

  “No shit?”

  She laughs. “Yeah. My dad is half Chinese and he worked there until I was twelve. Then we came back to the US and lived in a bunch of different places.”

  I chew on that for a few minutes and the next time I look, her eyes are closed again. Her head slumps over on my shoulder and instead of freaking out and pushing her away, I let her stay.

  She’s warm.

  And it feels kinda nice.

  By the time we walk back to the van and she gets the baby belted in and is settled in her seat, she looks completely wiped.

  “Too much excitement for you today?”

  “I’m boring, I know,” she says with her eyes closed.

  I pull out of the parking lot and get on the freeway and then get off a few seconds later at our exit. When we get to the house she’s already asleep but the baby is just starting to realize she’s hungry. Ashleigh pulls herself awake and grabs the baby. She heads straight to the bedroom when we get inside, not even a see you later for me. I stand in the kitchen for a few minutes, just listening. She talks in a low voice to the baby as she does something that is not well-received. Changing a diaper maybe. Then I hear the bed creak and everything goes silent. Must be nice to have someone with you at all times like that. I see the toll it’s taking on her, but still. That baby just loves her. No questions asked.

  I grab a beer and go downstairs and stretch out on the couch. I wonder what Rook is doing. I wonder what Ronin thinks? I take out my phone and press Spencer’s ugly face.

  “Yeah.”

  “Spencer,” I say.

  “I’m sorry, do I know you?”

  I roll my eyes. He is such a child. “What’s going on?”

  “You mean besides the fact that you broke my Blackbird’s heart? What was that, Ford? I mean that was low, even for you. So she’s not interested in you. Get over it.”

  “She is interested in me, Spencer. That’s the problem. If I stick around I might—”

  “Whatever. She’s upset and I don’t like it. You handled it all wrong, dude. There are better ways to get your point across. You could’ve just said, Hey, we need to take a break. I can’t handle this right now. But I’m still your friend and I’ll be back when I figure this mess out. I mean, what the fuck, Ford? You just talk shit to her and leave?”

  “That’s not what happened.”

  “No? Well, those words came out of her mouth. So that’s what she thinks happened, regardless if it did or not. She said you told her hurtful things to make her go away. And it’s fucked up. You don’t do that to her, of all people. And now she’s worried you’re not gonna be around for the trials. If you leave us hanging, Ford, I swear—”

  “I won’t. You know me better than that.”

  “I get that you’re Mr. I don’t-give-a-shit with everyone else, but that’s not who you are to us. You understand? We are tight. We don’t fuck each other over. We stand together. And Ronin is not happy. He might never say anything, but you’ve lost a lot of credibility in his eyes. And it’s not because you want her, Ford. It’s because you hurt her. And you did it on purpose.”

  I sigh.

  “That’s it? That’s all you have to say, Ford? A long, pitiful breath of air that tells me you’re feeling sorry for yourself? Well, get the fuck over it, asshole.”

  And then the line goes dead.

  Chapter Seventeen

  It seems like hours pass until I finally hear Ashleigh moving around upstairs. It’s dark now. I grab my phone off the coffee table and check the time. Past seven. I’ve been down here all fucking day thinking about Rook and I just don’t get it. How do I get the blame when she’s the one who’s driving me crazy? I mean, what the hell is wrong with Ronin? He should be mad at her, not me. He should be asking her why she cares so much. Because if the situation was reversed, I’d sure as hell want to know how she felt about him. Doesn’t he ask her? Doesn’t he care that she has feelings for me? If I was Ronin, I’d be happy I was out of the picture.

  I pick up my phone and press Ronin’s face. He picks up on the fourth ring, just before it goes to voice mail.

  “What?” he barks into the phone.

  “How is this my fault? I left. Why do you even care?”

  “Because, Ford—” I can hear Rook in the background talking in a low voice. “We’re friends. You never did understand that. And
I get that you have trouble in the relationship department, but this—this, Ford? I’m not sure who the hell you are right now.”

  “I just can’t do it, Ronin.”

  “Fine, we get that. Obviously. But dude, you’re almost twenty-six fucking years old. You can’t manage a fucking friendship? I’m sorry you’re infatuated with her. Sucks to be you, right? But you’re the one who wanted her to depend on you. And you got your wish. She depends on you. She cares about you. Maybe not in the exact way you want, but she fucking cares, Ford. And you just shit all over her. She’s worried about you—even after all those things you said, she still wants me to make sure you’re OK.”

  “Put her on the phone then.”

  “Fuck you. You don’t call up here and say put her on the phone. If you want to talk to her, show the fuck up and talk to her.”

  “I can’t, I’m on my way to LA.”

  “Yeah, with some girl you just met. So this new pet is more important than us?”

  I ignore the derogatory remark about my women, because he’s baiting me and I don’t take bait. “I’m not coming back and that’s the end of it.”

  He hangs up on me and I pull the phone away and just stare at it.

  “Wow, you’re on a roll with these people.”

  Ash is standing at the bottom of the stairs in a t-shirt that says ‘I’m not a ski addict, sometimes I have sex too’ and nothing else as far as I can tell. The shirt hits her mid-thigh so she may or may not have panties on. I’d like to find that out right now. “Ready?” I ask her before she can comment further.

  “I’m ready,” she says with a sly smile.

  “Where’s the baby?”

  “Finally sleeping.”

  “Finally?” She walks over to me slowly and I stand up. “You’ve been up in the fucking bedroom all damn day.”

  “Yeah, but she wasn’t sleeping. I was.” Ash laughs at that. “Well, I was trying anyway. She was babbling almost the entire time. I’m surprised you didn’t hear her.”

  I find the timer function on my phone and set it for fifteen minutes. Ashleigh glances down at it then looks back up at me. “So, fifteen minutes?”

  I don’t smile, on the outside anyway, but I do on the inside. “That was the deal.”

  “And I’m gonna be satisfied?”

  “Well, that’s up to you, I guess. I promised you a satisfying answer to your one question. You turned down the promise of an orgasm if I recall correctly.”

  “Hmmm…”

  I want to laugh because she just has no idea how I work. But I don’t laugh, because she’s about to find out and I want to watch her reaction when it hits her. I like to read their minds as they try to figure shit out.

  “Well, what do I have to do to get satisfaction?”

  “Follow directions.”

  “Sounds easy.”

  “Then you should be wildly satisfied in fifteen minutes, Ashleigh.” She shivers when I say her name and I know she’s been thinking about this all day. I press start on the timer. “Take your clothes off and don’t talk. I’ll be right back.”

  She’s got the shirt off before I can even turn away. It stops me dead for a moment, because even though I’ve seen her breasts on several occasions, I’m just not ready for how spectacular they are when bared specifically for me. They almost look fake.

  “They’re not fake,” she says. Like she’s reading my mind.

  “No talking.” I point to the pink panties. “Remove those and present yourself to me, I’ll be right back.”

  “Timer’s running, Ford. So chop chop.”

  I look back at her as I get to the stairs and shake my head. “I own you right now, Ashleigh. I’d be careful.”

  I’m quiet when I enter the bedroom. The baby is lying on her back, arms out, mouth open and breathing deep with sleep. I fish around in my dresser drawer until I find the black silk scarves, then quietly leave the room and go back downstairs.

  Ashleigh is standing naked all right. She’s shaved clean down below and she’s got her hands behind her back, her chest out. She’s wearing a big smile and she’s swaying back and forth a little, like she’s the one in control here.

  I smile too. “Well, you’ve almost got the position down, but your form is a little off. So I’ll correct that later.”

  “With those?” she says, looking down at the scarves.

  “Shhh. That’s three now. You’re gonna be sorry if you keep this up.”

  “You just wasted four minutes, Ford—”

  I cup my hand over her mouth and put my other hand firmly on the back of her head to hold her still. Her eyes widen and look up at me. “I don’t like to repeat myself. When I tell you to be quiet, I expect compliance. I own you, Ashleigh. That was the deal. And if I want you to open your mouth, believe me, I’ll let you know when to do it and where to place it.”

  I remove my hand from her mouth and take my attention back to the scarves.

  “Yes, sir,” she quips softly.

  I smack her on the ass. Hard. She yelps and tries to move away, but I have her wrists and I bind them up behind her back with one of the scarves. “I warned you. Now stop.”

  She looks up at me, her brow crinkled, but I just slip the other scarf around her eyes and that takes care of that. “Follow me.” I take her by the elbow and lead her over to the far side of the room. I hold her at the waist, then put my hand on her forehead so she doesn’t crash it on the window as she bends. “Lean forward.”

  “Am I facing the windows? With the lights on?”

  I smack her ass and it makes a nice loud crack sound.

  “Ow!”

  Another smack and now her entire ass is bright red. “Stop talking, Ashleigh. And then I’ll stop the spankings.”

  “What if I like the spankings?” she purrs.

  “Lean forward and press your head up against the window,” I growl into her ear. This time she obeys and I rub her ass a little. “Good girl.”

  She lets out a grunt, but it doesn’t really qualify as speech, so I let that one pass.

  Her ass is beautiful and has just the right amount of firmness. I hate girls who are all muscle and Ashleigh, whether built this way naturally or carrying a few extra pounds from the baby, has a nice round ass.

  I continue caressing the red handprint on her cheek, then let my fingers slip between her legs briefly, but pull them back the second she reacts. I lean down into her neck, breathing in her ear until she shivers before I start to whisper. “You’re a very good girl when you behave, Ashleigh. You please me when you comply. You make me hard. You make me want to stick my fingers in you and make you come.” She moans again and I pull my fingers out. “Now let’s talk about what’s happening. I asked for control, you agreed. I told you to be quiet, you disobeyed. When you disobey, I have to punish you. Do you like the spankings, Ashleigh?” She says nothing and I smile a little. “You may answer.”

  “Some of them.”

  I reach around to her breast with my other hand and cup it gently. It’s hard and full. “Have you ever been spanked before?”

  “Yes.”

  “Have you ever been tied up before?”

  “Yes.”

  Well. I’m a little surprised. “Did you obey your master, Ashleigh?”

  “Sometimes.”

  “Will you obey me?”

  “Maybe.”

  At least she’s honest. But I’m not looking for honesty now, I’m looking for submission.

  “Let’s see if you want to play nice tonight, shall we? Spread your legs.” She complies and I smack her on the cheek, not as hard as before. She groans but doesn’t complain. I rub her ass with my full palm and let it tease her folds for a moment before pulling back. “That’s one. I owe you two more.” She stiffens but I don’t smack her again. I lean into her neck, breathing into her ear again. Then I let my mouth dip down to her shoulder and I bite her. She whimpers at this act. “I don’t kiss, Ashleigh. I bite. I don’t like to kiss, but I do like to bite. So when I
bite you, pretend it’s a kiss. Can you do that?”

  “Ye—”

  I bite her again and her word cuts off.

  I thrust my thigh between her legs and raise it so she’s off balance and teetering on one set of tip toes like she was last night. I grab her waist to steady her and she moans as my leg pushes against her bare pussy. I remove my leg and let her regain her balance. “Open wider, Ash.” She obeys. “I’m going to go outside so I can see what the neighbors see right now. Stay still for me now.”

  I study her from the side for a moment. Her breathing picks up and this makes her chest heave. Her tits hang, not freely, they are far too full to dangle. Her nipples are hard, her areolas are wide and dark. I move around to the back and look at her ass. I was wrong about her blushing. She’s into it. But I wasn’t wrong about how her ass in the air would make me feel. “Stay,” I command her as I open the basement door that leads out to the front of the house. I walk down the driveway a little and then turn.

  Fuck. She is like a sexy little goddess up in that window.

  The neighbors can’t see her. There’s a shitload of pine trees in the way. But she doesn’t know that, so the threat serves its purpose. She thinks people can see her all spread out against the window. And she’s still doing it. So she likes the thought of being watched.

  I take out my camera and snap a picture, then walk back inside. She’s shivering with cold since I left the door open. I grab her arm at the elbow and tug her back towards me. “Stand up straight now, keep your legs open.”

  She does and then I pull her back into my chest and put my arms around her. “Sorry for leaving the door open. Now you’re cold.” She sinks into me as I rub her tits and then her stomach. I breathe into her neck, trying to make her warm. My hand drifts around her body, and these light, feather touches make her shiver more instead of heating her up. Her nipples are incredibly hard and bunched. I twist one and she cries out, her whole body doubling over and recoiling as she tries to pull away from me.

  Too hard. “Sorry,” I murmur. “They’re sensitive?” She nods her head against my chest and I catch her holding back a potential sob. That’s it for her. She’s about done with this. “Come with me.” I lead her over to the back of the couch and push on her shoulders a little. “Bend over the couch, Ashleigh.” Her ass goes up and her bound hands are clasped tightly together near her waist. I slap her left cheek. Hard.