“Give me your phone,” I stated firmly and held out my hand.
“Why?”
I shot her an exasperated look, and with a huff she handed over her phone after unlocking the screen. With a few clicks, I went to her photo album and found the photo we took on the pier.
I lifted the phone and showed it to her. “This is what I want you to remember from the weekend. This photo and what led to it. Not this fucked up argument, or misunderstanding, or whatever the fuck it is. I don’t want you moving to London, it’s as simple as that. I want you here where I can see you every day, and not have to worry about fucked up time zones, or planes, or asshole British guys trying to get in your pants. I’m going to be selfish about this, and I won’t be sorry about that fact.”
Her eyes softened as she looked from the phone to me. “London is only eight hours away,” she said softly.
“And your apartment is only eight yards away.”
“Can we just enjoy our time together before I leave? I don’t want to be arguing when we could be . . .” she said wistfully.
“Could be what?”
“Enjoying my last couple of days here.”
“We better make the most of it then. Last night was fun, Ashy. Really fucking fun,” I said softly as I moved toward her.
She watched every step and pulled her lip between her teeth. “You are making it very hard for me to stick to my no-men rule. You, your fingers, and your mouth are dangerous. I need to get back to my apartment so I can gain some strength,” she said, not hiding the fact that she allowed her eyes to freely roam over my face and land on my lips.
“Me, my fingers, and my mouth crave that sweet body of yours, so there’s no way I could stop, even if I wanted to.”
“Damn it. Stop with your swoony talk. We have a guest. Do you really want Duke to witness me visiting Josh Land?” she quipped with a raised brow, and my chest swelled with pride at hearing her use the term Josh Land.
“Fuck no.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
Silence fell between us, but our gaze remained locked. I had been replaying the previous night continually in my head. I refused to allow one moment to destroy what was pretty fucking awesome. “Are we good?” I asked hopefully.
“We are good.”
Her eyes darted away from mine, and it immediately grabbed my attention. When she avoided my gaze, it was usually because something was bothering her.
“Lachlan messaged me earlier,” she whispered.
My jaw ticked at the mere mention of his name, yet I was glad she didn’t feel the need to hide it from me any longer. Her eyes glazed over, as the demons she was fighting started showing themselves. She met my stare, and I got lost in the emotion circling her stunning green eyes. She was fighting something. He had said something that was bothering her.
“What did he say? What can I do?” I asked softly.
She smiled sweetly, then grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the kitchen and back into the living room. “Eat pizza, sit beside me on the couch, and watch the game.” Her avoidance was on full display.
“Is the lovers tiff over?” Duke asked when we both sat on the couch. “I thought I’d have to choose between you two. And I’m sorry, Josh, but Ashlyn would win. She has something you don’t.”
“You are an asshole,” I shot and glared at him.
“What? A pussy is a huge bargaining tool,” he stated and shot Ashlyn a wink for good measure.
“Are you seriously talking about my pussy?” Ashlyn laughed from beside me.
Duke hooted. “I fucking love the fact that you say pussy.”
“What else would I call it? Vagina doesn’t sound as sexy as pussy, and I refuse to call it the c-bomb, because that just makes it sound dirty, and believe me there is nothing dirty about downstairs.”
She shot me a quick look that screamed of my knowing exactly how perfect her pussy was, and it made me feel like I was a fucking king, ready to work my ass off to make her my queen.
Nothing would stop me from making her mine.
Be ready in an hour. Wear the dress and shoes. I’m taking you out.
The last night of staying with Josh had arrived and, what I thought would be a quiet night in, now seemed like it was turning into a night of the unknown. I had the urge to text him back and beg for him to tell me what we were doing, but I knew it would be pointless, and I would just waste getting ready time, so I tapped in a simple response.
Okay. You have me intrigued.
Immediately I received a response.
Good. See you soon, Ashy.
My stomach flip flopped at the thought of the nights activities as I rushed down the hall toward the guest room. Thankfully, I had already showered, so I had some extra time to pretty myself up. As I focused on my hair, working on the perfect loose curls, I heard the front door open and close. My hand froze. Josh was home. I waited to hear him come down the hall. I expected him to appear in the bathroom behind me and meet my gaze in the mirror, but he never came.
“Thirty minutes, Ashy,” he called from the other end of the hall, near his bedroom.
I left my hair down in loose curls, and decided on smoky eyes, soft lips, and a spritz of my favorite perfume. After I slipped into the red dress that Josh had picked out and stepped into my heels, I was ready for the unknown. Moving up to the mirror, I gave myself the once over and nodded in approval.
“You ready?” Josh’s voice echoed down the hall.
I took a deep breath, grabbed my clutch from the bed, and switched off the light.
Josh pulled his attention away from the television and flashed to me as I stepped into the living room. I sucked in a breath as he stood from the couch, while his eyes greedily ran the length of my body, lingering a moment too long on my hips, and then again on my breasts that were displayed nicely, thanks to the tightness of the dress.
“Christ, Ashy,” he muttered when his heated gaze finally landed back on mine.
“Nice choice of dress,” I said in a breathy tone and did a twirl for good measure. It helped to break the extreme stare we were embedded in.
When I turned back to face him, I allowed myself to take him in. His hair was still wet and, even though he had showered, he hadn’t shaved. Seriously, did he know that I had an unhealthy obsession with rough, stubble-faced Josh? He was dressed in a black button-down shirt that was opened at the neck, a black belt, and charcoal slacks that hugged his hips and showed off his muscular thighs. I felt the familiar tightness in my stomach, and I knew my body had officially switched from intrigue to need.
“You ready?” he asked in a voice ravaged with seduction.
“What exactly am I getting ready for?” I replied, raising a brow in question.
“The unknown, Ashy.”
So much promise and intent rested in his words. The unknown was dangerous, yet exciting. It was life altering, and the epitome of confusion. The craziest thing, though, was that it made me, the girl who got lost in fairytales every night, believe that maybe one day my heart would succumb to the silly scenarios that swirled around in my head. Scenarios that had most recently involved Josh, the man who lived a life of casual, non-committal sex, and who had always said that monogamy was never for him.
Why was I even thinking of this? I shook the absurd thoughts out of my head and pushed my shoulders back, lifted my head high, and headed to the door with an extra bit of swing in my step.
“What just crossed your mind?” Josh asked as we stepped out of the apartment and moved to the elevator. He pressed the button for the ground floor and moved back beside me.
“Huh?”
His eyes narrowed. “Just then, before you headed for the door, a look flashed over your face.”
Fuck, he could read me too well. Josh could never be faulted for not paying attention. I glanced at him and noticed his brow pulled tight, as if he was trying to penetrate my mind and find out exactly what was swimming around in there. I had to think quickly on my feet, because
I certainly couldn’t bust into to a conversation about my one-time dream of having a relationship with him.
“Just wondering what we were doing tonight, you have me intrigued,” I replied, with a smile.
He shook his head dismissively, and I swear I saw him roll his eyes. Under his breath he muttered, “Fucking lies.”
I chose not to bite because . . . well, technically it was a little fib I had chosen to feed him. I should have realized he would see straight through me, but some things just didn’t need to be said out loud. We remained in a comfortable silence as we made our way to the ground floor. Josh placed his hand on the small of my back as we walked through the foyer of our apartment building, then he led me to an awaiting cab.
The cab ride was a quiet affair of sneaky glances and soft smiles. As we weaved through busy streets, I paid attention to every little detail and tried to figure out exactly where we were going. The longer we were in the cab, the more antsy I got. I felt like a little kid waiting to open up her Christmas presents. I just wanted to know.
“I have something to ask you,” Josh said beside me.
I turned to look at him, and immediately found myself lost in the sharpness of his features and his warm brown eyes.
“What do you want to ask me?”
His voice dropped dangerously low. “Do you trust me?”
I didn’t hesitate in my response. “Yes.”
His eyes softened and, without a moment of hesitation, he lifted his hips off the seat and his hand disappeared. I watched with piqued interest as he pulled out a sash of red satin from his back pocket and rested it on his lap. The air shifted around us, and my body switched on as his eyes blatantly ran over my body. I felt drunk on lust.
“I could only choose a red blindfold to match a red dress,” he muttered, shifting across the seat until he was flush against me.
Blindfold?
“I didn’t know you were into that kind of thing,” I said in a teasing tone, desperate to conceal the high pitch threatening to take over my voice at the thought of him blindfolding me. “I am learning more about you every day.”
His smirk was almost territorial. “One day I’ll show you just what I’m into.”
And there goes my body: flushed, wet, and ready to be shown exactly what he could do. I needed a damn off switch when it came to him. I swallowed the need that I knew would show through in my voice and said, “Friends don’t show friends. Friends tell friends.”
“Our kind of friendship allows it.” He leaned in and the smile he shot caused a shiver to run frantically down my spine.
Sight no longer existed, as Josh gently placed the red satin over my eyes. My senses exploded. My hearing went from soft to loud, and suddenly every breath we took thundered to life. I inhaled sharply as my sense of touch was ignited by his fingertips sweeping down my cheek and over my lips. It was too much to comprehend at once.
“Shit,” I whispered as my hand shot out, desperate to grab onto his hand, arm, anything to use as an anchor. “Josh, this is too much.”
“Just relax, Ashy.”
His fingers entangled with mine, and we remained linked for the rest of the trip. I continued getting swept away by the sounds around me. I heard every hoot and holler from the street as the cab weaved through the city to a destination unknown. Sensing that the cab began to slow, I focused harder, then we came to a stop. Josh released my hand, and I was hit by cool air as a door opened and Josh exited. I sat in silence and warmth until the door beside me opened. Josh’s fingers tangled with mine again, and I was slowly led out of the cab, still in complete darkness.
“You ready?” His soft breath danced over my ear like a seductive waltz, sending a shiver more intense than ever through my body. This whole blindfold thing was freaking amazing.
“I think so.”
His arm wrapped around my waist until his hand was resting on my hip, and we fell into step. We must have looked crazy. A woman, blindfolded, dressed in a red dress that was tight in all the right places, with killer heels, being led along a street by a man who could fill out a pair of slacks and shirt better than 99.9% of the world’s population.
“Be careful, you need to take three steps down,” Josh said, his arms pulling me close to his body as we stopped walking.
Carefully, I did as he said, and was immediately hit by warm air, the smell of garlic, and the sound of laughter and chatter. Where the hell were we? Josh grabbed my hand and led me through the darkness provided by the blindfold. As I concentrated on every step I took and the feeling of Josh holding my hand, I lost all sense of awareness and bumped into his back when we stopped suddenly. I stumbled, and his arm shot out protectively, diverting me from crashing to the ground.
“Watch out, Ashy. I’ll think you’re falling for me if you’re not careful.”
Oh, dear lord.
Gently, he moved me until my legs hit the back of a chair, and I lowered myself.
Josh’s voice sounded from opposite me. “I’m about to remove the blindfold, but don’t open your eyes until I say. You okay with that?”
“Yes,” I replied, more breathy then intended.
With a featherlike touch, the blindfold was removed, and it took every ounce of strength I had not to open my eyes. I counted to ten, and then started singing the national anthem in my head to distract me from disobeying and looking.
“Show me your eyes, Ashy.”
My eyes fluttered opened, and I was hit by low lights. Josh sat across from me with a smile that could light up the world. My eyes frantically darted around the space, and my hand shot to my mouth as a million emotions hit me at once. This couldn’t be real. I had to be dreaming. My mind had to be playing games on me, because this kind of thing only happened in my favorite novels.
We were in Rosie’s Bar, sitting at the exact same table we’d sat at five years ago to the day when we first officially met. On the table between us was a pepperoni and mushroom pizza, along with two beers. The exact same kind of pizza and brand of beer we had five freaking years ago. I was spinning out. This was just . . . holy shit.
“Do you really think I’d forget that it was five years ago today that we sat at this exact table, eating this exact pizza, and drinking this exact beer?” Josh leaned over the table and linked his pinky with mine. I looked down at them before meeting his gaze. “Happy rocking-my-world Anniversary, Ashy.”
I was at a complete loss for words, and all I could do was stare at him. What could I possibly say? His eyes were soft as he stared back at me. There was no cockiness, no arrogance, and no obvious innuendo. It was just Josh. For the past five years, I had lived with the assumption that what we shared was just a night we spent together, that he had put into his memories of one-night stands and moved on. I was beyond shocked that he remembered even the finer details, right down to the pizza and table we sat at. My chest tightened. Oh fuck, were my eyes watering? This was hands down, without a doubt, the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for me.
“You look shocked.”
“I am,” I replied, finally able to put two words together.
“You thought I didn’t remember?”
“To be honest, yes.”
“I remember everything, Ashy. Absolutely everything. That night you gave me the best gift anyone has ever given me.”
He remembered, and just that thought alone did something unexplainable to me. My body started to react, and my cheeks felt like they were on fire. Oh god, I was swooning. I averted my eyes from his and focused on the pizza.
“I think about it a lot,” he continued, and leaned over the table toward me. With his thumb and forefinger, he moved my face back so I had no choice but to look at him. “I think about why this beautiful girl gave me the one piece of her no one else would own. I think about whether I was good enough to you. My constant thought is whether it was what you expected and deserved?”
“It was perfect,” I whispered in a truth I never knew existed. “I’m glad it’s you that owns that piece of me
.”
“Believe me when I say it’s cherished.”
Josh released my face and shifted back into his seat, then lifted the beer to his mouth. I chanced a look around the bar. It hadn’t changed a bit in the past five years. Young professionals, couples who looked to be out on dates, and groups of people watching the game filled the space. I still couldn’t believe that he actually did this.
“So we are here to celebrate Ashlyn’s Closet and our five-year anniversary. You better watch out, Ashy, five years is a long time. I might be giving you a ring next time.”
My laughter filled the table, and I snorted at his words. His ridiculous statement calmed me down, and immediately settled the tension in the pits of my stomach. I lifted my beer to my lips and took a sip, while my gaze remained locked on him. He stared back at me with a wave of possession flicking through his chocolate brown eyes. It was unnerving, but in the best possible way.
“It better be a damn big one,” I stated, after lowering my bottle and placing it on the table.
“Noted,” he said with a wink.
We dug into the pizza, and my taste buds shot into overdrive with garlic and cheesy goodness. It was just as good as I remembered, or maybe even better, just like kissing Josh seemed to be better than last time. No. No. No. I could not think of that. I focused on my third slice and couldn’t contain my low moans of satisfaction. It sounded a little too sensual to be about a piece of pizza. Amusement hit my gaze as Josh shot me a warning look, which only encouraged me further.
“Stop with the sex noises!” He sighed, and I moaned with more vigor in response.
I wiped my hands and picked up my beer. The music continued around us, and I felt my body relax as beer flowed through my veins. Not having to sit on the knowledge that Ky and Eden didn’t know about Lachlan and me felt amazing. The weight on my shoulders had lifted, and now it might be possible for me to completely shut the door on that huge mistake.
Be My Temptation Page 18
