If Adrian loses, well, it’s even easier. All this nonsense with political conspiracies becomes a non-issue.
In the evening, I work late finishing a press release. Everyone else leaves, and Liam appears in his office doorway. He nods his head for me to join him, and then disappears in his office. I follow him, closing the door behind me.
“Yes, boss?”
He growls. “Don’t call me that. You know how it turns me on.”
I grin, taking a step toward his desk. “What if I want to turn you on?” My heart thumps as Liam leans back in his chair, his eyes sweeping over my body. No one else has ever made me feel as sexy and fearless as he does. When he’s around, I feel invincible.
“The election is tomorrow,” Liam says.
I plop down on a chair and nod. “I know.”
“The polls are giving my brother a good chance. It’ll be close, but they’re saying he could win.”
Liam’s tone is neutral, but alarm bells start ringing in my head. It kind of sounds like he’s preparing to break up with me.
“Okay…”
Liam swallows, sighing. He runs his fingers through his dark hair and flicks his eyes in my direction. “We need to talk about what’s going to happen after the election.”
“I thought we already did. We’ll explain that I have nothing to do with the police force. He’ll be mayor, and it won’t matter who I am anymore… right?”
Liam chews his lip. “It’s… more complicated than that.”
“Why?” I twist my hands together, forcing myself to keep my eyes steady on Liam. He won’t meet my gaze. He looks at his desk, shuffling some papers, and then taps on his keyboard.
“Liam.”
“Yeah?” He finally glances at me, and I arch my eyebrows.
“Want to explain? Or should we just keep speaking in riddles?”
Liam takes a deep breath. “I… I can’t say anything right now. Not before the election. I just want you to know that I care about you. I care about you a lot.”
My heart starts to thump. I swallow. My eyebrows inch closer together and I stare at him. This is sounding more and more like a breakup speech.
“What are you saying, Liam?”
“I’m saying I don’t know that we’ll be able to just explain that you don’t like the police chief and this will all go away. I don’t… I don’t know. There are things in the works that my brother wants to build…”
He sighs, pushing himself off his chair. He turns around, staring out his office window. His arms are crossed, pulling the fabric of his shirt taut against his back muscles.
I hate that I still find him attractive, even when he’s being like this. After all these weeks! All this time telling me to just wait for the election, telling me that he cares about me, telling me that I’m special.
It’s all bullshit.
He’s just like the rest of them. He might not be burning me with cigarettes and smacking me around, but he’s been using me. He’s not different at all. He made me feel special and he got what he wanted, and now he’s doing his best to let me down gently.
Well, there’s no such thing as being let down gently.
I take a deep breath to try to slow down my racing heart.
“Say what you need to say, Liam.”
He sighs. “I don’t know what I’m saying.”
Frustration builds inside me. He’s going to make me do it! He’s going to make me ask if we can still be together. He can’t even work up the courage to say the words himself. He doesn’t even have the decency to give me that. No, I have to do the hard work. I have to say the words. I have to be the bad guy.
Well, I’m not going to. Fuck it! It might be childish, but I’m not going to just bend at his will. If he wants to break up, he’s going to have to man up and do it himself.
I swallow, take a deep breath, and stand up. “Okay, well, I have work to finish. Good chat.”
I’m almost at the door when I feel him behind me. His arms snake around my waist and he buries his face in my neck.
“Ash, wait,” he whispers. He rolls his hips against me and I feel his hard length against me. “I can’t let you go.”
“But you want to.” I bite back tears.
“I don’t want to. It’s the last thing I want to do, I’m just afraid that I’ll have to.” His voice is so low, so vulnerable, that I start to feel my heart melting for him. His arms slide under my shirt as he pulls me closer to him. I can feel his shaft pressed against my ass, and my body starts to respond despite myself.
When he growls into my ear, I exhale. I wish I was stronger. I wish I could just walk away, but I want him.
I need him.
I sigh, arching my back toward him. His hands reach higher, cupping my breasts as he pushes his hardness against me.
I push back with my ass, and it’s all the invitation he needs. Clawing at my skirt, he pushes it up to my waist and kicks my heels apart. I fall forward, leaning my palm against the door. I can hear him fumbling with his belt, and then I feel it.
His cock, hard and hot and thick, pressed between my ass cheeks. He pushes my panties to the side and slides his swollen head toward my opening.
“You’re so wet,” he growls.
“I know.”
Then, without warning, he plunges himself inside me. I lean against the doorway, arching my back and accepting his length. He thrusts hard, over and over until pleasure overcomes me. I scream, bucking like a rag doll in his arms as he fucks me against his office door.
He growls wordlessly, reaching up with one hand to tangle his fist into my hair. Pulling back, he drives his cock deeper inside me.
It’s wild, animalistic, primal. It’s savage. Our bodies collide together as the tension crackles between us. He pulls my hair back, and the pleasure and pain mingle inside me.
“That’s it, dirty girl, scream my name,” he growls in my ear.
And I do.
I scream his name, panting and crying out as wave after wave of pleasure crashes into me. Just as another wave of pleasure crests, I feel him come.
I feel his seed splash against my womb as he grunts, thrusting into me harder. He empties himself into me. I gasp, loving the feeling of his cock inside me, loving the rawness and the wrongness of it. I love feeling his seed fill me up. When his cock slips out and he slips my underwear back into place, I love feeling his cum soaking the fabric of my panties.
It’s so deliciously dirty. So deliciously naughty. So deliciously him.
I turn around, leaning against the door. He plants his palm next to my head and kisses me hard. He growls into my mouth.
“I’m not letting you go, Ash. You’re mine, no matter what anyone says.”
I sigh, draping my arms around his neck and I kiss him again.
26
Liam
I was supposed to break it off with Ashley, and I ended up having the hottest sex of my life. I lean my forehead against Ashley’s and sigh.
“We didn’t use a condom.”
“I know.”
“Are you on the pill?”
She shakes her head. “I was just on my period a few days ago.” She frowns. “I think it was a couple days ago. I’ll get the morning after pill just in case.”
I groan, kissing her velvety lips once more. “I loved it. I loved feeling you like that.”
She smiles. “So did I.”
We straighten ourselves up, and Ashley sighs. “I’ll be done with work in about fifteen minutes. You still have that thing at your brother’s office, right?”
I groan. “Unfortunately. I wish you could come.”
“I don’t,” she laughs. “I’m not really big on politics.”
“It’ll just be a lot of schmoozing. I need to go get ready.”
“So you’ll be great.” She clucks my chin with her fingers and lays a soft kiss on my lips. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I’ll be at the election thing all day tomorrow, but maybe in the evening?”
> “Sure,” Ashley smiles. “Have fun.”
I groan. “Not expecting to.” I watch her walk back to her desk and I gather my things. She smiles at me as I walk out and my heart squeezes.
I wish she could come with me. I hate hiding her away like this. She’s not the type of girl that you sneak around with. She’s the type of girl you want to show off everywhere you go. It’s killing me to keep her out of sight, except for the moments we can steal together.
At least we have nights together.
I sigh, heading home for a shower and then to my brother’s office. He has one last event before the election tomorrow—a television appearance and then a dinner with Denver’s elite. It would be a lot more pleasant if Ashley could come to this dinner with me, but I’ll have to deal with it on my own.
By the time I get to the dinner, most of the guests are already there. We’re at an old hotel in downtown Denver, in a huge ballroom. A stage is set up, with thousands of my brother’s pendants and placards all around the room. I spot my mother from across the room and start making my way toward her.
Before I can get there, I feel a hand on my shoulder.
“Liam,” Adrian hisses. “We have something to discuss.”
Tension zips up my spine. I follow my brother wordlessly as he leads me out of the ballroom and down a dark hallway. We get in an elevator and start riding up.
“What’s going on?”
“There’s someone I want you to meet.” My brother doesn’t look at me. He keeps his arms loose by his sides, his face staring straight ahead until we reach the twelfth floor. Then, the doors slide open and he gestures for me to step out. Without another word, he turns down the hallway and slides his key into a door. We enter a tidy hotel room with a great view of the city. There’s a desk in the corner and a small seating area, and a bed around the corner.
A man is sitting on the couch. He’s got curly grey hair and a bit of stubble along his jaw. He’s got a thick, grey moustache. He’s wearing a faded polo shirt and cargo pants with no-nonsense shoes.
He looks out of place.
My brother gestures the chair across from the man.
“Liam, this is Barry Madden. Barry, this is my brother, Liam.”
“Barry,” I say, nodding my head. I lean my elbows on my knees as I wait for my brother to explain what the fuck is going on.
Instead, Barry clears his throat. He takes a folder out of the bag at his feet and hands it to me.
“I’m a private investigator. Your brother asked me to give you this.”
I frown, taking the folder. I glance at my brother, but his face is unreadable.
“What’s this?”
“That, little brother, is everything that you need to know about your little girlfriend.”
“My g—”
“Yes, I know about her. Did you really think you could sneak around with her? I told you to get rid of her! Instead, you take her into your bed? What were you thinking?” He snorts, putting his hand up. “Wait, I know the answer to that. You were thinking with your fucking cock, that’s what. She’s a hot little piece, I’ll give you that. But come on, Liam!”
“Adrian…” A growl rumbles in my chest. “Careful.”
“What, is that a threat?”
“Yes!” I raise my voice, squaring my shoulders toward my brother. He paces back and forth along the windows and I take a deep breath to steady my voice. “She’s not a threat to you or your campaign. She has no idea what’s going with Hansen Constructions. She doesn’t even like the police chief!”
“Why do you think that is?” Adrian whips around toward me. His eyes are blazing, and his chest is heaving up and down with every breath. “Huh? Did you ever find out why? Did you stop to think for a second that maybe the police chief has some dirt on her?”
“Dirt?” I shake my head. “It’s personal.” Like fuck I’m going to tell my arrogant, power-hungry brother about Ashley’s past. I glance at the folder and toss it back to the private investigator. “Take it back. I don’t want to know.”
I get up to leave, when Adrian pins my feet to the floor with four words:
“She’s killed a man.”
I freeze.
She what?
I frown, staring at the carpet as I try to make sense of my brother’s words. Adrian starts laughing.
“Yeah, she didn’t tell you that when she was done sucking your cock, did she?”
“Shut the fuck up, Adrian. Don’t talk about her like that.”
His eyebrows shoot up and a cruel smile stretches across his lips. “Wow, she’s really got you by the balls, hasn’t she? I don’t think I’ve ever heard you defend a woman’s honor before.”
“Fuck you, Adrian. You’re going to win this election anyways, and then you can fire the police chief and build your stupid river development.”
“It’s not that simple, idiot,” he sighs. “I can’t just fire the police chief. And he’s so strait-laced that he wouldn’t hesitate to lock me up on charges of corruption for giving that contract to Hansen Constructions.”
“Well, he wouldn’t be wrong…”
“Fuck you. You were a fuck-up when you were a kid, and you’re still a fuck-up now. You think because you’re raising money for some sick kids that you’re some kind of saint? If you could trade every one of those kids’ lives for a chance to run again, don’t tell me you wouldn’t do it. You’re not fucking Mother Theresa.”
My heart burns.
He’s right.
I don’t give a fuck about the foundation—or I didn’t, until just over a month ago. Until Ashley came on board and gave me a reason to go to work. She gave me a reason to care, and now… well, now I do care.
Adrian sighs. His eyes are blazing, and I still can’t move from my spot on the floor. Barry is glancing between the two of us, holding the folder on Ashley King’s past between his thick, hairy-knuckled fingers. I lift my eyes up to Adrian’s and shrug.
“So who’d she kill? Her husband?”
“You knew?”
“Lucky guess.”
I saw her scar—and I can see the scars that aren’t physical, too. Every time she thinks I’m not serious, every time she thinks I’ll walk away, every time I get too close, I see her scars. That motherfucker ruined her, and I’d kill him myself if I had the chance.
“He deserved it,” I grunt.
Adrian chuckles. “I don’t give a fuck about that piece of shit. What I do care about is the fact that the fucking police chief helped cover it up.”
My jaw drops. I close my mouth, and then it opens again of its own volition. I frown, and then bring my hand up to my forehead, and finally swing my eyes over to my brother.
“What… how do you know?”
“It’s all in that file. Evidence went missing, the timeline of the crime scene investigation, the chain of custody for the murder weapon. There’s not enough to bring charges against her and the chief—probably not even enough to get anybody to take a second look. But judging by the expression on your face, you know it’s true.”
“I don’t…”
I frown. Suddenly, I realize how cagey Ashley has been. She never told me what happened to her husband, except that he died in the line of fire. What if she…?
I shake my head. “I don’t believe you.”
“Well, then you’re a bigger fool than I thought you were.” Adrian grabs the folder from Barry’s hands and pushes it against my chest. “Take that, read it. Then come tell me she didn’t do it and White didn’t cover it up.”
My brother stares at me for a few moments, and then dips his chin down.
“Get rid of her. She’s poison. She’ll ruin me, and she’ll ruin you, too.”
27
Ashley
Red is having a party at her place tonight, and I ask my sister to come with me. Stella broke it off with her carpenter boyfriend, and she’s been sulking for a week. When she shows up at my door, she’s dressed to kill.
“I see you’re pas
t the depressed stage of the breakup,” I grin. “Looks like you’ve moved to ‘revenge hookup’.”
“I need a drink.” I hand her a glass of wine that I’d already prepared and she sighs. “You know I’m going through some shit when I agree to go to a house party with people half my age.”
“Half your age! Red is only what, six or seven years younger than you?”
“The difference between twenty-four and thirty feels like a lot more than six years,” she grins. She takes a big gulp of her wine and nods to the couch. Liam’s hoody is draped over the back of it. “How’s lover-boy?”
“He’s good,” I say, shrugging. Whenever I talk about Liam, it feels like I’m just rubbing my happiness in her face.
She tilts her head, grinning. “You’re allowed to be happy, Ash. Is he good to you?”
A grin twitches at my lips and I nod. “Yeah. His brother is still weird about us, but I think that’ll blow over after the election tomorrow.”
Stella drapes her arm over my shoulder and kisses my temple. “I’m happy for you. You’re going to have to introduce me to him at some point.”
“I know, I want you to meet him! We’re just taking it slow until his brother comes around.”
“I’m not his brother, you’re allowed to bring him around me,” she grins, staring at me above the rim of her wine glass as she sips.
I bite my lip. “I guess, in a way, it feels like until he meets you, it’s still not serious. Like I can still back out.”
“Are you still feeling nervous about having a relationship?”
“It’s just weird to recalibrate my brain. After everything with Randy…”
“You don’t want to jump into anything.”
“Exactly.”
“You don’t trust your instincts anymore.”
“Yes!”
“Well, what do your instincts say about Liam?”
“That he’s a good guy. That he cares about me. That I… that I could be happy.”
Love/Hate: The Complete Enemies to Lovers Series Page 31
