by M. S. Parker
As much as I supported Ashlee talking to Finley tonight at dinner, I couldn’t deny that I was more looking forward to what would be happening after dinner. My appetite for Ashlee was insatiable.
I was accustomed to a ‘honeymoon period’ whenever I found a new partner, a time where everything was new and exciting. It lasted different lengths with each woman, but something told me it was going to be different with Ashlee, like everything else was.
My doorbell rang, and I made my way over to it with a smile. She was early, which meant the two of us would have at least a little bit of time alone. Not long enough to do all the things I wanted to do to her, but I was happy just being with her.
The moment I opened the door, however, I knew that Ashlee and I weren’t going to have a relaxing chat while I finished making the salad. Worry lined her face, and she was already wringing her hands. If I had to guess, she’d changed her clothes at least half a dozen times before deciding on a cute, springy dress that was neither too dressy or too casual.
“You look good,” I said as she came inside. She nodded an absent thanks and went straight to the kitchen.
Yeah, this wasn’t good.
I followed and found her leaning against the counter, playing with the lid to a bottle of water she’d gotten from the fridge.
“Are you all right?” I asked as I crossed to where I’d left the veggies for the salad. I didn’t look directly at her as I started to put things together. “I mean, you seem like you’re…tense.”
“No shit,” she muttered as she opened the water and took a long drink.
“That’s some mouth,” I said, turning toward her, salad forgotten. “I think you need a reminder of how best to use it.”
Her lips parted, soft skin glistening. I held out my hand and waited to see if she’d accept her punishment or if she’d use her safe word. We hadn’t been together long enough for me to be able to predict what her choice would be with any sort of accuracy. Some subs easily slipped into the right mindset, making a punishment just as good a distraction from nerves as getting off. Ashlee was new enough that she might see my suggestion as out of place.
She put her hand into mine, and I led her from the kitchen to my bedroom. The tile in the kitchen would’ve been too hard on her knees. If this had been the beginning of a night to ourselves, I might’ve had her kneel right there despite the discomfort. If we’d been together longer, I might’ve had her do it because it would hurt. Not tonight, though. I was using punishment to get her out of her head, not to teach her a lesson.
I sat on the edge of the bed, my eyes on hers as I quickly opened my pants and pulled out my still-soft cock. Ashlee licked her lips, and my dick twitched. Damn. The things this woman could do to me.
“Down.” The single-word command came out rougher than I’d intended, but she didn’t seem to even notice it as she went to her knees in front of me.
She was wearing her hair back, giving me a clear view as she bent her head. Her tongue immediately began tracing patterns on my skin, though what I couldn’t tell. Blood rushed into my cock, making it grow, but before I was fully erect, she took all of me into her mouth.
“Fuck,” I groaned as I fought to keep my eyes open. I wanted to bury my hands in her hair, hold her in place until she was taking me down her throat, but I knew messing up her hair would add to her stress, not take from it.
One hand snuck into my pants and cupped my balls. I cursed again, grateful I wasn’t trying for stamina. Her mouth felt too good. And then she started sucking on it, and I had to grip the mattress to keep from grabbing her. She moved her head slowly, letting me inch out of her mouth until just the tip remained. Her tongue flicked across the head, then circled the crown before she went down again.
I moaned her name and felt her smile. Her tongue rubbed along the bottom of my shaft, pressing it against the roof of her mouth even as her fingers massaged my balls. She was a fast learner, immediately applying anything that received a positive response so that, in no time at all, she had me on the edge.
“You can finish me however you want.” I was barely able to get the command out. “I’m close.”
Her free hand closed around the base of my dick, pumping it as she increased suction. My entire body jerked in warning, but she kept going, working me until I exploded in her mouth. Without pulling back, she swallowed, lapping at my sensitive skin until it became too much, and I stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. I slipped out of her mouth, and my entire body shuddered at the sudden chill.
I cupped her chin and tipped her head back. I felt her surprise right before my mouth covered hers. My tongue danced with hers, and I tasted myself. Some men refused to kiss after a woman went down on them, but in my opinion, if they expected their woman to use their mouth, they could damn well thank her properly.
When I was satisfied, I stood and helped her to her feet. We went to the guest bathroom and cleaned up. I finished first and kissed the top of her head.
“Finley should be here soon. Take your time. I’m going to get some drinks ready in the library. Join me when you’re ready.”
I was almost at the door when she spoke. “Thank you.”
My heart twisted in a new, unfamiliar way. “You never have to thank me for taking care of you.”
I left before I could change my mind about Finley coming over. Not that I honestly considered telling him that I didn’t want to share Ashlee’s attention. Tonight was about giving Ashlee the support she needed to tell Finley who she was. And if she decided she wanted to wait, that was okay too. I would do whatever she needed of me.
I’d just finished setting out the glasses and my best bottle of Bowmore Scotch Whisky – Finley’s favorite – when the doorbell rang. Ashlee was still in the bathroom, so I went to let my friend in. We exchanged pleasantries as we walked to the library, and I poured us both two fingers of the dark amber liquid.
Before he took a drink, Finley looked at the bottle and chuckled. “You do realize that bottle is older than your girlfriend, right?”
I nearly choked on my scotch. He was right. It was two years older than Ashlee. For the first time, I realized just how far apart we were in age.
“Don’t feel bad,” Finley said with a grin. “Between her being mature for her age and your immaturity, you probably even out at about the same age.”
I glared at him. “Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.”
“I feel like I missed something,” Ashlee said as she came into the library. She crossed to me, automatically reaching for my hand.
“Finley’s just giving me a hard time,” I said.
A thought hit me. If Finley was already getting on me about Ashlee and my relationship, how bad was it going to be when he found out she was his daughter?
Shit.
“Here.” I handed her the glass I’d poured for her. Only a finger because she was a lightweight when it came to anything harder than wine or beer. She wanted to be relaxed, not drunk.
She thanked me and took a sip.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to check on dinner.” I kissed her temple and squeezed her hand to let her know that I was here for as much of this conversation as she wanted. She nodded at me, and I left, wondering exactly how my friend was going to handle this news. I could only hope I knew him as well as I thought I did, because if he was anything but sweet to Ashlee, our friendship was going to come to an ugly end.
Twelve
Ashlee
I almost told Nate not to go, but I didn’t want dinner to be ruined because I was a big old scaredy-cat. It wasn’t even like I hadn’t talked to Finley before, or had this conversation in my head a hundred thousand times since I’d learned his name.
Nate was doing so much to make this easy on me too. He’d sit with me when he came back if that was what I wanted. Or if I decided I needed more time, I had no doubt he’d support that too.
But I wasn’t going to wait past tonight. I’d put it off too long to begin with. Now, Mo
m knew, and I had her blessing. Nate knew, and I had his backing. This was the right time.
Still, I stalled.
I kept my drink in hand as I roamed the library, feigning interest in what books Nate owned. I’d already looked at them in the past, and at the moment, my brain didn’t take in a single title. I sipped at the scotch, appreciating the fact that Nate hadn’t given me a lot. I was anxious enough that I would’ve drunk whatever was in my glass, no matter how unwise it would’ve been. Because he’d only given me a little, I’d be able to take the edge off but not risk getting drunk.
“It surprises people when they find out how much Nate likes to read,” Finley broke the silence. “And by what he reads too.”
“He doesn’t really seem like the type to be a big fantasy reader,” I agreed.
“I’m enjoying Desi’s Dream Harem.”
I froze. What. The. Hell.
Finley chuckled, like he’d intentionally dropped that comment the way he had just to see what I’d do. “Don’t you remember telling me that you were reading it?”
Fuck me. Now I remembered. What had I been thinking? Even if he hadn’t been my father, he was my boss – sort of, anyway – and telling him I’d been reading a reverse harem book was not the best thing to do. Heat flooded my face, and I wondered if it’d be too much to ask the floor to open up and swallow me.
“No need to be embarrassed,” Finley said. “We all like to read something a little…naughty at times.”
He didn’t just say naughty. That couldn’t have just happened because, if it had, I was fairly certain that I would need to lock myself in a bathroom and not come out until I was dead.
“You know, that sounded funny in my head,” he said. “Like the sort of thing that could break a potentially awkward silence. But I was wrong. It just made it more awkward.”
Good to know I wasn’t the only one thinking that.
“So, how about we pretend I didn’t say any of that, and we move on to another topic?”
I nodded. “That would be good.”
Except the only other topic I could think of was one that made my stomach flip. It was going to come up tonight, but I wasn’t sure this was the best segue.
“I like Nate,” Finley said quietly, his voice suddenly serious. “But I know how he is with women. Are things between you two…legitimate?”
His question startled me. I’d assumed that his interest before had been out of a need to protect the company and Nate, but maybe he really did want to look out for me too.
“Not quite sure I’d ever refer to a relationship as legitimate,” I said. “But it’s real, if that’s what you’re asking.”
He came over to stand next to me. “He’s not pressuring you or coercing you?”
“Nate would never do that,” I said quickly. A little voice in the back of my head reminded me that, technically, he had done that to me the first time, but the more I got to know him, the more I believed he never would have fired me even if I’d refused to go along with his ‘date.’
“I’d hoped that was why he’d set up that freelance contract.”
“It is.” I turned to face him. “Can we sit down? I have something I want to talk to you about. It’s actually why Nate asked you to come tonight.”
He looked curious, but not worried, and when I moved to the pair of plush chairs a few feet away, he followed me. I waited until he was settled and then I laced my fingers together and prayed to not completely fuck this up.
“My mom wanted a baby, but she’s a lesbian.” I mentally smacked myself. That was the absolute most awkward thing in the world to have said, but I forged ahead, knowing that now that I’d said it, I had to explain or risk looking like a complete idiot. “I mean, she didn’t like guys, so pregnancy wasn’t going to go the normal route. She had artificial insemination.”
I forced myself to keep looking at his face, waiting to see when he’d finally make the connection. So far, he wore a slightly puzzled look, as if he couldn’t figure out why I was giving him this insanely personal information.
“Mom was always open about where I came from, and I never really wanted to know anything about my father…until my mom got sick. Her family had disowned her when she came out, and her partner left when I was fourteen. We had a few friends, but most of the responsibility was on me. Mom hated it, but…” I shook my head. “It wasn’t until then that I realized she was all I had. If she died, I wouldn’t have anyone. No family at all. So, I decided to find my father.”
Finley set down his glass, and I saw his hand shake as he rested it on his knee. He still didn’t speak, but I knew he’d figured out where this story was going next.
“I kept going back to the clinic until I found a name. Your name.” I gave him a small smile. “There aren’t many Finley Kordells in this world, so you were easy to find.”
“You knew who I was when you came to Manhattan Records,” he said after a long moment. “That’s why you came.”
I nodded. “I couldn’t figure out how to approach you. I didn’t know the sort of man you were. My mom went into remission, so I wasn’t scared anymore. I could take my time to figure out if I wanted to know you.” I flushed. “I know that sounds awful, knowing what a good man you are, but I didn’t know that when I first came to Manhattan Records.”
I fell silent and waited for him to respond. It was a lot of information to process, I knew that, and it wasn’t as if I’d given him much in the way of warning.
“When I was in college, my idiot roommate decided the best way to make money was to donate…well, you know.” Finley flushed. “He didn’t want to go alone, so I went with him. An impulsive decision that I haven’t really thought about since.”
“I expected as much.” I hurried to reassure him. “I didn’t come to find you because I wanted something from you.”
He smiled. “No one who’s spoken to you for more than two minutes could ever think that about you.”
From anyone, that sort of compliment would’ve made me smile. From a boss, it would’ve been great. From my father…I beamed. I wasn’t naïve enough to think that this was going to be some sort of sitcom thing where we’d be going to father-daughter dances or anything like that, but maybe, just maybe we could have something.
“I’m sorry I came to the company with ulterior motives.” He hadn’t mentioned anything like that, but after how Nate had reacted, I wanted to get out in front of things. “Manhattan Records is a great place to work, but if you think it’s a conflict of interests to have me there or if you’d rather have someone who came with the business as their primary focus, I’ll quit.”
Silence bloomed between us, as we just stared at each other. It wasn’t awkward, exactly. It was actually nice. I breathed out a half sigh of relief.
“When I found out that you and Nate were involved, I took a look at your work history.” Finley’s tone reassured me as much as his smile. “You’re one of our best employees, and I think I can honestly say that without any bias. You work hard when you’re there, and you rarely take time off. You’re never late or ask to leave early. The quality of your work is exemplary.”
The knots of tension that had still been twisting up my insides eased. He wasn’t angry at me for keeping this from him for so long.
But even as my shoulders relaxed, his eyes narrowed. “Ashlee, why did Nate fire you?”
Shit. I hadn’t even thought about that side of things.
I had to answer as honestly as I could without making Nate seem like a bad guy. Yes, he’d overreacted, but I refused to be one of those women who pulled other people into her relationship squabbles.
“He found some articles about the company, including a picture of the two of you together and some notes where I didn’t refer to you by name, so he thought I’d come to Manhattan Records with the intention of seducing him.”
Finley’s eyebrows shot up. “He thought you did what?!”
“We’ve worked it out,” I said, holding up a hand. “When he came
to talk to me about the flash drive, I told him the truth, and we worked it out.”
“Still…”
“I just want to move past it,” I said, silently pleading with him with my eyes. “Please.”
“All right,” he agreed, but his face still held lines of concern. “Is it okay if I ask a couple questions?”
“Of course. Anything you want to know.” I was almost as excited to tell him about my life as I was to hear about his. I hadn’t wanted to let my expectations get too high, but now that we were here together, talking, and he wasn’t pushing me away, my previously restrained hopes were soaring.
“Does your mom know you found me?”
“Yes, and I have Nate to thank for that. She was there when I told him.”
“And she’s okay with you meeting me? As much as I want to get to know you, I don’t want to come between you and her.”
Any hidden doubts I may have had about the sort of man Finley was disappeared with that declaration.
“She is,” I assured him. “She gave me her blessing.”
“Good.” Something like relief crossed his face. “Then I guess it’s up to us to figure out where things go from here.”
He was right, I realized suddenly. It was entirely up to us.
Thirteen
Nate
I hadn’t asked Ashlee if she wanted me to be there when she told Finley, and she hadn’t said anything either way. She was strong enough to do it without me, I didn’t doubt that for a minute, but she’d lose none of my respect if she wanted my support. The more time I spent with her, the more I saw what an amazing woman I’d had working for me without me even knowing it.
I did need to check on dinner, which gave me the chance to let her and Finley have a few minutes to talk alone if that was what she wanted. After checking the salmon, I set the timer for a few more minutes before heading back to the library.
