by C. A. Harms
Lex would not let up. He was almost as persistent as his boss.
“Fine,” I said in defeat. “But no funny business,” I warned as I pointed at him accusingly, and he only chuckled as he gave me a one-armed hug.
“Six o’clock at Marino’s,” he squealed before he rushed off toward Montgomery Enterprises. It didn’t escape me that he gave no assurances that he and I would be the only ones there.
I suddenly regretted agreeing to meet him.
I had been on pins and needles all day, wondering what tonight was all about and what I would be faced with when I arrived at Marino’s. Lex was a sneaky shit, and so was his boss. To quote Ashton, I don’t give up until I’ve won. I had every reason to feel as though tonight would be just another setup.
So when I arrived and was led to a table occupied only by Lex, I was a little surprised and instantly felt guilty for doubting his motives.
“You suspected I was pulling a bait and switch, didn’t you?” Lex said as he stood up and pulled out the chair across from him.
I shrugged and sat in the chair he was offering, then tucked my purse safely away on the floor at my side. “Well you can’t blame me for doubting you.” I arched my brow, almost begging him to argue.
“Oh, sweetness, you are such a treat,” he said, sounding almost too giddy. “I thank the heavens every day that I was at the office when you came in that first time. You are a gift, a gem, I tell ya.” He continued to gush, and something told me he meant to say that he wasn’t the only one who saw me this way.
“Can I get you something to drink, miss?” our waiter said from my left.
“Yes, please,” I replied as I lifted the wine list. I was just about to choose the cheapest glass when a dark, soothing voice interrupted my thoughts.
“Good evening, Fernando.” I looked up to find Ashton standing at the edge of our table, wearing a dark suit that highlighted the bright blue tie that accompanied it. “Why don’t you get Lexington and his guest a bottle of Cheval Blanc 1947.”
Our waiter, who I now knew as Fernando, scurried off, leaving me staring up at Ashton as he eyed Lex, still avoiding turning to face me.
“Good evening, sir,” Lex said, batting his eyes, which only caused Ash to smirk.
I couldn’t look away from that strong jaw and those prominent cheekbones. Ash was a delicious man. I pressed my thighs together just a little tighter as I thought of running my fingers through his hair while he. . . .
A delicate hand with long, pointy, fire-engine-red nails slid around Ashton’s shoulder, interrupting my thoughts. For some reason, I felt the desire to wrench her hand from him and stab her with her own nails.
“I thought I’d lost you,” she cooed in a whiney voice.
I meant to keep my thoughts to myself, but when all three of them turned to face me with questioning looks, I realized that my humph of laughter was loud enough for them to hear.
“Did you say something, Ms. Masterson?” Ashton asked.
Oh, so we were back to formalities?
“No, Mr. Montgomery,” I said as I lifted the menu and pretended to be completely unaffected by him and his current fling—or at least I hoped it would look that way. “I was just thinking I would much rather have a bottle of Château d’Yquem.”
I didn’t look at Ashton to see his response, but judging by Lex’s shocked look, I could only assume my knowledge of overpriced wines had surprise Ashton as well.
It was a slipup on my part. I was Kiera, the girl that came from the suburbs of Chicago, not Kinsley, who had been married to one of the richest, most powerful men in Miami.
“Fine choice,” Ashton finally said, and I looked up to find the bottle blonde with tits the size of Mt. Everest staring at me through narrowed eyes. Apparently she didn’t like that I was taking attention away from her.
I didn’t like it much either. In fact, I wanted both Ashton and his whore to go far, far away.
“If I found you sharing dinner with someone other than Lex, I may have been a little jealous,” Ashton said, shocking both me and the woman at his side.
He was on a date, for Christ’s sake. How rude.
“Enjoy your evening,” he said before offering a gentle nod in Lex’s direction and moving toward a table in perfect view of ours.
“Why is it that every time I allow you to convince me to do something, I end up regretting it later?” I hissed as I focused yet again on the menu.
“Hey,” Lex said, “this time I had nothing to do with it.”
“You expect me to believe that?” I asked, looking up at him as I narrowed my eyes.
“Is it my fault he checked my calendar?” Lex challenged. “It probably didn’t help that I wrote Dinner with Kiera in bold letters and highlighted it in bright yellow, but still he shouldn’t snoop.”
“Don’t the two of you sync your schedules daily?” I asked, already knowing the answer. Lex had complained on more than one occasion during our many phone conversations that Ashton would change his calendar without warning or making sure it was okay with him. I regretted giving him my phone number after the first call, where he spent almost an hour complaining about how Ashton just assumed Lex had no life outside of his job and never asked him if he had plans before scheduling something.
“Oh yeah, that’s right,” he said with a shrug, and I bit my lip to keep from yelling at him. He was lucky there were witnesses, because I really wanted to beat him with the menu I was clutching so tightly that my fingers hurt.
I took a chance and looked up at the table Ash and his friend now occupied, and I regretted it instantly. He was looking right at me, and as our eyes locked, a cocky smirk covered his lips. I wanted to look away, I needed to look away, but damn it, I couldn’t. His gaze held mine, even when the woman ran her finger along his jawline and leaned in to kiss his neck.
A streak of jealousy I had no right to feel shot through me.
I could be the one kissing and touching him. I could have all of him, only I resisted it.
Why?
Would it really be that awful if I gave in to the desire I felt for Ash? Would it be wrong to allow him to distract me from the fear and anxiety I felt daily?
Would it be wrong to finally allow myself to live?
ASHTON
I TRIED TO APPEAR CALM as Nina continued to touch me, even though I honestly didn’t want her hands on me. Sitting this close to her was taxing enough. Yes, she kept her touches subtle, but she’d made her point—she hoped the evening would end with us in bed, sweating and sated. But I was only here tonight because I was grabbing at straws.
I had to make Kiera want me the way I wanted her, and my assistant had suggested I try to make her jealous.
The asshole sat at a table with the woman who had me fucking tied in knots and enjoyed the food and drink I paid for while I sat here, fighting the urge to toss Nina to the side and insist that Kiera leave with me.
I knew that shit would get me nowhere though, because Kiera didn’t give in to my demands. That was a huge adjustment I was still trying to deal with. I had never felt so dismissed in my life as Kiera made me feel. She was the biggest fucking challenge I’d faced in years. But something about her made it all worth it. She was definitely testing my theories about what women want.
When I looked up to see Kiera stand from the table and move toward the restrooms, my stomach tightened in anticipation. Here was another chance to get her alone.
“Excuse me,” I said as I removed Nina’s hand from my thigh and stood.
“Do you want me to give you a hand?” she asked before biting her lower lip suggestively.
A month ago I may have given in to that offer, but today it just sounded foolish.
“No,” I simply replied before following Kiera without a glance back.
When I rounded the corner, the long, narrow hallway was empty. At the end, it turned to the left and led to the women’s restroom. The men’s was in the opposite direction.
I leaned back against the wall
just outside of the door to the ladies’ bathroom and crossed my arms over my chest as I bounced my foot to relieve some of the tension building inside me. I had never in my life had to fight so hard to remain calm. I was usually laid-back and unaffected by anything. But since the moment Kiera had first given me that attitude of hers, I’d been a fucking mess.
The roar of a hand dryer just beyond the door pulled me from my thoughts. Growing even more anxious, I watched the door, waiting for the gorgeous woman to exit. And when she did, I no longer hesitated.
Her eyes locked on mine with a look of shock as I hooked her waist and spun her around so her back was pressed to the wall. Caging her in, I lowered my face, bringing us even closer together as I pressed my body close to hers.
“Why do you keep fighting this?” I asked. “I know you feel it too. I can see it in the way you look at me. The way your eyes haze over and that sweet mouth of yours opens just slightly, as if you’re lost in some erotic fantasy.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she insisted, but the vibration of insecurity in her voice told me I was right.
“I told you I don’t give up,” I stated. “I don’t let go of something I want.”
“Is that why you’re on a date?” she challenged, her feisty attitude fighting to overpower the desire in her eyes.
“It was only to make you jealous. And from the way you’ve been unable to take your eyes off us, I can see it worked.” I chuckled when she narrowed her eyes and glared back at me without denying my accusation. “I didn’t plan for Nina and me to do anything but go to dinner together. I’ll be leaving here alone—unless you decide to go with me, that is.”
“Don’t hold your breath,” she shot back.
I chuckled at her quick response.
“What would it take for you to give in to those thoughts that I know have been running through your mind? What do I need to do?” I asked as I focused on her lips and the way her tongue licked and moistened them. I grew even more aroused just thinking of what it would feel like licking along my stomach, moving even lower.
“I just—”
I leaned in before she could give me another shit excuse, wrapped my hand around the back of her neck, and covered her mouth with mine. She resisted only for a few seconds before brushing her sweet tongue against mine.
I groaned and she whimpered, both of us forgetting where we were. I had imagined what she would taste like, what her lips would feel like against mine, but the illusion was nothing compared to the reality.
Fuck, she felt so good, and I had never in my life tasted anything sweeter.
I nipped at her lower lip and sucked gently as I ground my hips against her, showing her just what she was doing to me. “Stop fighting me,” I whispered before kissing along her jaw. “I want this, I need this. Please don’t deny that you do too.”
“It’s not that simple.” Her voice was laced with desire, a breathy whisper much different from her defiance only moments ago. “I won’t lie and say I’m not attracted to you. But I just. . . .” She lowered her head, hiding her mouth and taking away my ability to distract her.
After a moment she shook her head as if to clear her thoughts. She pressed her hand against my chest, causing me to step back.
I was losing her.
“I don’t have room in my life for a relationship,” she said as she stood tall and smoothed her shirt, erasing all signs that I’d had her pressed against the wall only seconds ago. “And I’m not the girl you want. I’m just a challenge, and once you’ve conquered it, you’ll move on. I can’t allow myself to be just another one of your many women.”
She moved past me so quickly I was unable to stop her.
And then she was gone.
I waited near the bathroom until I was calm enough to rejoin Nina. The last thing I wanted to do was go back to our table, but I had to settle our bill.
When I exited the hallway, I glanced toward Lex and Kiera’s table and found it was now empty. Panicked, I began scanning the room, and when I didn’t find them, I reached into my jacket to retrieve my phone. I typed a quick message, hit Send, and held my phone tightly in my hand.
Me: Where are you?
By the time Lex responded a few long moments later, I was barely hanging on to my cool.
Lex: In a cab on our way to Kiera’s. Not sure what you did to her in that hallway but she came out and insisted we leave that second. You know how demanding she can be.
As I was reading his first message, another came through.
Lex: Wanted to make sure she made it home safe.
Me: Where is home?
I must have looked like some crazy man, standing there at the end of the hallway staring down at my phone raptly. At the moment it was like my lifeline.
Lex:?
Me: You are not my only form of information. I can find out with one phone call, it would just be easier if you told me now.
All I had to do was call either of my brothers, Knox or Beckett. They both had the ability to search through their computers and tell me where she lived. That was one of the perks of having a PI and a detective for siblings.
Lex: Fine! Walton Ave.
He fired off her building and apartment number, followed by a stream of nasty comments about me abusing my authority and so on.
I didn’t give a shit. He’d get over it.
I needed Kiera to know I didn’t see her as just some quick fuck I’d forget by morning.
For the first time in my life, I wanted so much more.
After I saw a not-so-happy Nina to a cab and covered her fare home, I walked toward the awaiting Mercedes and gave Murray, my driver, the directions to Kiera’s place. My body hummed with the uncontrollable need to put this game of cat and mouse to an end.
I wanted Kiera, and I knew she wanted me too. It was time for her to let go of whatever the fuck was holding her back.
KINSLEY
“ARE YOU SURE YOU DON’T want me to walk you up?” Lex asked as I crawled from the cab.
“No,” I said, looking back over my shoulder at him. “I’m good. Just tired.”
I could tell he knew I was lying, but he didn’t push. Instead he offered a wave as I closed the car door and entered my building. It was quiet, which only gave my mind time to wander as I entered the elevator and hit the button for the sixth floor.
My lips still ached from Ashton’s whiskers brushing against them. That rough, two-day scruff felt even more amazing than I had imagined. And the heat of our kiss only left me wondering just how that roughness would feel on other areas of my body.
That man made my mind race with more dirty thoughts than I’d ever had before.
Why was that? Why could I so easily imagine giving control over to him?
As the elevator arrived at my floor, I mindlessly exited and turned in the direction of my apartment. My mind could not let go of the way Ash made me feel, and my body craved one more taste, one more touch. Each day I resisted him, I became more desperate, even though I knew giving in to my need for him would only leave me vulnerable.
I unlocked my apartment and entered, then walked straight to the kitchen and placed the teakettle under the faucet, let it fill, and returned it to the stove. Tea had a strange way of calming me, and right now I was unsettled and tense.
After changing into my pajamas, I gathered my blanket and had settled on the couch with the controller in hand and a warm cup of tea waiting on the coffee table when a loud knock came from the door.
Fear shot through me.
Only a few people knew where I lived.
I remained frozen, staring at the door, as if ignoring it would make them go away.
Another knock made me jump in surprise again.
“Kiera, open the door.”
The fear rushed from my body and pure shock replaced it. I remained seated on the couch, my mouth hanging open slightly as I thought about torturing Lex. Ashton’s visit had Lexington Russell written all over it.
“I know
you’re home, and I’m not leaving until you talk to me,” he said. “So you can make this easy on the both of us and move your stubborn ass, or I can keep you and your neighbors awake all night.”
I rolled my eyes and huffed in irritation as I tossed my blanket to the side and moved toward my door. After unlocking all the locks, which Rig, ever being the fatherly protector had insisted I install, I yanked open the door. Ashton’s hair was tousled, as if he had run his fingers through it multiple times. The tie he had on earlier was now gone, and the top buttons of his shirt were unfastened, revealing a teasing portion of his chest and neck.
He just had to show up looking so fucking good, didn’t he? As if I wasn’t already having the hardest damn time avoiding him.
“Can I come in?” he asked, placing his hands against either side of the doorframe. His large body filled the opening, and I suddenly felt small in his presence. The domineering look he was giving me both frightened and excited me, and I felt my nipples harden. He arched a brow, still waiting for me to respond. His head was tilted to the side in the sexiest way, and the way he watched gave me the chills.
Even though I wanted to say no, against my better judgment I moved to the side, allowing him to enter.
“I’d ask how you found my address, but something tells me a very loose-lipped assistant is the one responsible, so I’ll save my breath.” I closed the door and turned to face him. Allowing Ash into my small apartment where there was no buffer between us was a very bad idea, I knew it.
“I’d have gotten it regardless of Lex,” he assured me. “Both of my brothers are involved in one form of law enforcement or another. If he hadn’t helped me it would have just taken a little longer.”
His gaze roamed over me in slow, appraising perusal, and I suddenly felt exposed. But instead of scaring me, it only heightened my arousal. Ash had a way of making me feel sexy and desired with just one look. Jase always made me feel cheap and dirty, but nothing about the way Ashton looked at me made me have any of those same feelings.
In fact I had never felt so beautiful.
That was one of the reasons he scared me so much.
