by Levine, Nina
She doesn’t follow me, and I manage to exit the room without further delay. Fifteen minutes later, I finally find Lorelei. She’s deep in conversation with a guy I know only by reputation, and by the looks of it, whatever they’re talking about has her excited.
“Ashton!” she exclaims when she sees me. “Come and say hi to Ryan Shandwick. Do you two know each other?” Definitely excited about something. Every inch of her is alive with it.
My arm circles her waist as I shake Ryan’s hand. “I’ve heard a lot about your developments.” He’s only been in Sydney for about a year. Prior to that, he was working out of Melbourne. His business has grown fast, and he’s been plagued by rumours of shady operations.
Shandwick grins. “Lorelei sings your praises, Ashton, but she doesn’t have to—I’ve been following you and your business for years. Great to meet you, man.”
“Ryan’s been telling me about the project he’s currently working on—an apartment complex in Bondi,” Lorelei says, the excitement still clear in her tone, and I wonder at that. What shit has he been spinning her?
Shandwick’s still grinning at me. “We’re in the early phase of it, but it’s shaping up to be something—” His phone rings, cutting him off, and he says, “Sorry, guys, I need to take this. I’ll be in touch, Lorelei.”
I watch him for a moment as he walks away. Even if I hadn’t heard the rumours about him, I wouldn’t trust him. He gives off a vibe, and my gut instinct is to avoid him. I always make it a point to go by that instinct—it’s never let me down yet. The fact he told Lorelei he’d be in touch concerns me, but I decide to leave that for a conversation with her later. I’ve got much more important things on my mind right now.
Shifting my gaze to her, I say, “I’m ready to dedicate some serious time to getting this dress off you.”
Her eyes sparkle and she laughs. “Here? Now?”
“I’m easy.”
“Okay then,” she plays along, still laughing. Reaching her arms around to the back of her dress, she says, “You want me to undo the zip and get you started?”
I tighten my hold on her. “Don’t you dare,” I growl. “There’s no fucking way any man in here is getting his eyes on you.”
Her eyes smoulder with desire. “You should take me home, but I need you to know I wasn’t joking when I said you wore me out last night. This isn’t going to be another long night.”
“Don’t count on that, beautiful. You’ll be begging me for more within the hour,” I promise.
“Oh, God,” she groans as I lead her outside. “I’m pretty sure you’re going to kill me with sex, Ashton.”
I watch the slow blink of her eyes as she says this and take in the way her breathing picks up. I see the rise and fall of her chest, the flush that covers her skin, and the way she bites her bottom lip. Everything about this woman intoxicates me. I wasn’t exaggerating when I told her last night how much power she holds over me. What she doesn’t know, though, is that I’ve never given this kind of power to any woman in my life.
35
Lorelei
“Mmmm, good morning,” I say as Ashton trails kisses down my stomach. Scrunching my fingers in his hair, I try to stop his progress.
When he looks up to meet my gaze, he says, “You want me to stop?”
“Yes… no… but really, yes. I can’t take any more of you at the moment.” At the twitch of his lips, I widen my eyes and say, “Seriously! I am sore in ways you can’t even imagine. I told you I couldn’t handle much more last night, but you just kept on going.”
He positions himself over me so our faces are close. “And I heard no complaints from you then. In fact, I recall you screaming out my name a few times. Just so you’re aware, that’s the kind of feedback that tells a man to keep going, not to stop.”
I smack his arm. It could be because of what he just said or it could be the huge smile spread across his face that makes me smack him. Either way, he deserves it. “I’ll be sure not to scream in future.”
He moves a strand of my hair off my face and drops a kiss on my lips. “Don’t you dare stop screaming.” Shifting, he lies next to me on the bed and lazily traces patterns on my stomach. “What have you got planned for today?”
I love this side of Ashton. Fun, playful and a little softer than usual. I wouldn’t trade his dominant side for anything, but it’s nice to have this part of him as well. “I’m in the office all day. How about you?”
“I’ve got a couple of meetings this morning, and then I’m spending the afternoon with Jack.”
“Have you guys got something fun planned?”
“That depends if you classify golf as fun.”
“God no! Don’t ever ask me to go golfing with you. Bost—” I cut myself off when I realise I’m about to mention Boston to Ashton while in bed with him. Definitely not something I want to do.
He’s silent for a beat. “Lorelei, you can talk about your ex with me. He was a huge part of your life. I don’t expect you to never mention him.”
Guilt slices through me that I didn’t tell Ashton about going to see Boston yesterday. I contemplate telling him now, but I don’t want to ruin the easy mood we’ve got going. Instead, I roll to face him, slide my hand over his waist and down to his ass, and say, “Okay, but at this point, I’d rather talk about you.”
His erection presses against me, and he groans. “If you keep your hand on my ass and your body next to mine like this, we’re going to have to renegotiate me fucking you.”
“Did we actually negotiate that or did I just tell you it wasn’t happening?”
“The negotiations took place last night. I won if you recall.”
“Oh, so this morning when you tried to have your way with me, that was just you trying to squeeze more out of the deal?”
A slow sexy smile hits his lips. “She’s finally learning how I like to do business.”
“Let me see if I’ve got this right? Negotiate hard. Don’t ever lose. And get everything you can out of the deal. Does that about cover it?” I make sure to keep my hand on his ass as I throw a leg over his body and press myself against him more than I have been.
“Fuck,” he hisses. “You’re sexy when you talk business.”
I lean forward and kiss him, right before I leave the bed. Looking down at him, I smile. “My turn to negotiate now. I’ve got two tickets to an advance screening of Mr Alpha tonight. I want you to take me. And before the movie, I want you to take me to dinner at Agostino’s.”
He moves off the bed and joins me. I can’t be sure, but I think there’s approval in his gaze as he says, “You want me to take you to a chick flick?”
“Yes.”
He crosses his arms in front of him. “What do I get out of this deal?”
“Time with me.”
His lips twitch. “I can get that whenever I want, Lorelei. You’re going to have to negotiate harder for this.”
“Maybe you can’t get that whenever you want.”
“Ah, so you’ll withhold yourself from me if I don’t agree to this?”
“I might.”
He shakes his head. “No, baby, you need to be firm. Hard. You have to stick it to me to win here. Remember rule number two—don’t ever lose.”
God, negotiating with Ashton is hot. I need to do more of this. Straightening my shoulders, I say, “Okay, yes, I won’t agree to see you for the rest of this week if you don’t agree to this.”
His brows lift. “You won’t win if you try to bargain with something unbelievable.”
“I’m not!”
He chuckles. “Yeah. You are. We both know there’s no way you’ll go without seeing me for that long.”
His smugness makes me want to fight harder for this. Summoning the firmest voice I’ve ever used, I say, “I’m telling you right here and now, that if you don’t agree to take me to a chick flick tonight, you won’t be getting any pussy for the rest of the week.”
Heat flares in his eyes. “One night.”
I frown. “Huh?”
“If I don’t take you to the chick flick, there’ll be no pussy for one night.”
“Uh, uh. No. One week.”
His eyes drop to my lips. “Three nights.”
I realise he has no intention of backing down. I should have known he wouldn’t go easy on me. Hell, it’s one of the reasons why I love spending time with him. He treats me like an equal. But damn if I’m not winning this today.
I run my finger lightly over his lips. “Let’s see about that.” I drop to my knees and take his cock into my mouth. Slowly. All the way in. And then I take hold of it as I slide it out. After I lick it from one end to the other, I look up and say, “You agree to take me to dinner and the chick flick tonight, and I’ll suck your cock right now and make you come.”
He grins. “That’s how you do it. Deal.”
I stand. Keeping hold of his cock, I say, “On top of that, I’ll blow you on the way home from the movie if you agree to do whatever I want tomorrow night, too.”
His arms snake around me and he pulls me against his body. Our faces are so close and my heart is beating so fast at the raw need and respect radiating from him. Having Ashton watch me like this awakens something deep inside me. Something so erotic and pleasurable that I never want him to stop looking at me like that.
“That’s right, beautiful, get everything out of the deal that you can,” he says, his voice deep and sexy.
“So that’s a yes?”
He kisses me slowly and so very thoroughly. By the time he ends the kiss, my knees are weak, and I’m not sure I would still be standing if he wasn’t holding me up. His eyes find mine as he says, “I’ll agree to all of that with one stipulation—after we get home, you fuck me all night long again.”
I hold his gaze for a long few moments before finally nodding. “Deal.” I press my lips to his and kiss him before saying, “And that last bit I agreed to… that’s called a compromise. Because sometimes when you negotiate with people, you have to do a little give-and-take. Just so you know.”
His arms tighten around me. Not that they weren’t already around me firmly, but it’s like he’s trying to clear every last obstacle between us. Like he’s trying to get as close as he possibly can to me. “Fuck, you’re something else.”
I’m about to kiss him again when my doorbell sounds. “They’ll go away,” I say, bringing my mouth to his.
“Who would it be so early in the morning?” he asks as I try to kiss him. “I imagine it wouldn’t be just anyone.”
Shit, he’s right. It might be my neighbour looking for help. Letting him go, I say, “Okay, wait here. I’ll go see what they want, and then I’m coming back to make good on our deal.”
I pull on some clothes and make my way out to the door. I expect to see my neighbour when I open it, but am surprised when I discover it’s Alessandra. My surprise turns to concern when I see she’s been crying. Her face is puffy and her eyes are bloodshot.
Reaching for her, I say, “What’s wrong?”
She allows me to pull her into a hug, but it’s like she doesn’t even realise what I’m doing. “I’ve been trying to call you and Ashton, but neither of you answered your phones.” She’s so disoriented that alarm slithers through me.
“Aly?” Ashton joins us. “What’s going on?”
She lets me go and moves to him. Tears stream down her face as she says, “Mum has had a heart attack. She’s in the hospital.”
Ashton’s face pales as he pulls his sister into his arms and holds her while she cries. Alessandra is completely devastated, and for the first time since I’ve met him, Ashton appears bewildered. It’s the kind of reaction to be expected, but it throws me to see him like this. And when I realise that not only is his mum not well, but that this means he’ll have to see his father, I know that life is about to be turned upside down for my man.
36
Ashton
“Aaron Steele called. He wants to bring your next meeting forward to tomorrow,” Jessica informs me over the phone an hour and a half later when I check in with her.
Alessandra, Lorelei, and I arrived at the hospital to find Dad pacing the emergency room while Mum was still with the doctors. I took his pacing and concern as a sign that he was worried about Mum; however, it turned out he was more worried about missing business meetings today. I shouldn’t have been surprised, but it seems there’s still a part of me looking for a father who cares about his wife and family. That was what surprised me the most—that after all this time and everything we’ve been through, I’m holding onto misguided hope.
“Let Steele know I’m out of the office until further notice. And cancel everything for today. I’ll let you know about tomorrow when I find out what we’re dealing with here.”
She’s quiet for a moment. “I think he’s ready to negotiate, Ashton. He hasn’t asked for any more information after everything I sent him yesterday.”
I know what she’s not saying. If I don’t meet with him, he may find something else to invest in and walk from the deal. I need him on this one, but more than that, I need to make sure my mother is okay.
“He can wait.”
“I’ll take care of it all.” She pauses briefly. “How’s your mother?”
“She’s still with the doctors. We don’t know much more than we did when we arrived.”
“Keep me updated, Ashton.” The sombre tone in her voice is something I don’t often hear from Jessica. It matches the mood at the hospital.
“Will do.” I end the call as Lorelei joins us in the waiting room after stepping out to take a call that looked anything but happy. Meeting her gaze, I say, “Is everything okay?”
Shaking her head, she says, “No. But my problems aren’t what matters today. Your mother is all that matters.”
“Talk to me, Lorelei. I can’t do anything else for Mum at this point, but I may be able to help you.” And God knows, I could use the distraction.
She sighs, and it’s like she exhales the weight of the world. Her shoulders slump at the same time, which lets me know that whatever she’s dealing with is causing her a lot of worry. “It’s the Willow Street building. I’m having problem after problem with it, and just when I think I’ve fixed everything, more issues pop up.”
I frown. “How long has this been going on? And what kinds of problems?”
“A few weeks. At the moment, I’m fighting with the insurance company about repairing the roof, and dealing with almost-daily vandalism of the building. I thought it was the work of one of my tenant’s exes, but now we’re not so sure. He’s been out of town for a couple of days so he couldn’t have done the graffiti that she found over the weekend. On top of that, I have a florist opening in one of my shops soon, and this morning the shop had been broken into and the walls inside were graffitied. Thankfully I have a handyman who I call on to repair stuff like this, but the bill is adding up each time I have to get him in.”
“It doesn’t look good to customers either,” I suggest. I’ve come across numerous businesses that have had to close up shop due to a bad reputation from crime in the area. I’m disturbed that Lorelei has to deal with this.
“Right. I’ve heard that some customers have taken notice, and that does worry me. I need to figure out what’s going on and fix it, but I’m at my wits end with it all.”
I can hear the frustration in her voice. And it’s clear to see the tension in her body. I pull out my phone. “I’ve got a guy who can look into this for you.”
Her hand closes over mine, stopping me from making the call. With a shake of her head, she says softly, “No. Leave it, Ashton. You’ve got far more important things to worry about today.”
“This won’t take long to organise.”
Her gaze drifts to Alessandra who is sitting alone. “And in that time, you could go and talk to your sister. She needs you.” I open my mouth to argue, but she silences me with a finger to my lips. “If I’m still having problems after your mum is better, I’ll l
et you know, and you can help me then.”
After my mum is better.
My brain fixates on that comment. After, not if. Lorelei’s mind works differently to mine. I’ve trained mine to always consider what could go wrong with any given situation. I don’t naturally gravitate towards what could go right. This morning has been no different. I’ve imagined as many scenarios as I could based around all the outcomes possible from my mother’s heart attack.
For the first time in a long time, I feel adrift. I have no control over this outcome. And that terrifies the hell out of me. My mind is scrambling to come up with options. But there aren’t any that we haven’t already put into action.
Lorelei moves closer. Her hand brushes my arm, and care laces her voice when she speaks. “Ashton, did you hear what I said?”
Before I can reply, my father cuts into our conversation. “Your mother had a lunch she was attending today for the Bright Foundation. I need to call and let them know she won’t be there. Do you know the number for the woman in charge?”
I stare at him, incredulous. My carefully contained anger at his behaviour this morning frays. He’s been on the phone with business associates since we arrived, unwilling to push his work aside for even a minute while his wife’s health hangs in the balance. “No, I don’t know the phone number for a woman running a goddam charity. That’s hardly in the realm of what I do with my time.” He always—always—does his best to downplay my business success. I have no doubt that him asking me for the lunch organiser’s number is his way of putting me in my place.
His lips flatten. It’s the only sign that I’ve angered him. My father is exceptional at hiding his emotions. This skill is one of the secrets of his business success. “I wouldn’t know what you do with your time anymore, son.” His voice is low and controlled. He’s always so damn guarded.
Neither of us moves. We simply stay where we are and watch each other warily. The tension of the situation has me on edge more than I usually am around him. I’m strung so tightly I know it won’t take much for me to snap. And that isn’t something I want to do while I wait to find out my mother’s prognosis.
