by Roxy Sloane
“You like that, naughty girl?” A laugh rumbles low in his throat.
My cheeks are burning up, but I don’t want him to stop. I give silent thanks for the blindfold, hiding how my eyes roll back at the delicious intrusion. He licks again, swirling his tongue around me, and it’s a sensation like nothing else.
I’m shaking, trying my best to hold position despite the tension coiling in my spine.
“Don’t let go,” he orders, and there’s steel in his voice.
I whimper, writhing as he pushes his fingers deep inside my pussy. His tongue finds my asshole again. Oh my god!
This is insane. I can’t take it much longer. My body is screaming for release, but I know I can’t let go.
Not until he gives me permission.
It’s never been like this before: so hot, so wild, pushing all my limits. Not since…
Ashton’s face suddenly comes into my mind. He was the only one who ever made me feel so free. The man between my thighs licks again, and suddenly, I imagine it’s Ash’s strong hands pulling my thighs apart, his soft, dark waves of hair tickling my thighs, rubbing against my fingers. His hot tongue probing my forbidden entrance.
Oh!
I moan out loud again, I can’t help it anymore.
“That’s it, my dirty girl, just fucking take it.”
The tip of his tongue pushes into me and I whimper, reaching past my trembling thighs to spread myself open for him, needing him deeper.
“That’s right, spread your ass for me,” he whispers against my damp skin. “You want it, I know.”
He licks and swirls, and I’m helpless in his grasp. Everything is too much and yet I still need more.
“I love this ass,” he breathes, “I think about it every day while I’m at work. I sit in meetings and think about how tight it’s going to feel wrapped around my cock. Maybe when I’m done claiming your sweet cunt, I’ll fuck your ass too. Would you like that?”
“Yes!” I sob. An incredible pressure is rising. I’m dizzy, helplessly in thrall. “Please, I need to come. Let me come!”
“Hmm…” he dips his fingers into my juices then rubs them against my clit, deep, gorgeous strokes that send me to the edge. Everything melts away, nothing exists but his tongue and fingers and the shudders of pleasure crashing through me.
“You’ve been such a good girl,” he murmurs. “You played by the rules, and now it’s time to take your reward. Come for me, darling. Now!”
His tongue pushes into my asshole as his fingers thrust deep, flexing up against my G-spot and rubbing, hard. Relentless.
The world tilts on its axis. I arch off the bed and shatter with a scream.
The climax rips through me, but he doesn’t stop. He pumps again and again, rolling my clit as he nudges his tongue deeper.
It’s the dirtiest, most mind-blowing orgasm of my life.
I drift in the afterglow, my limbs heavy, my muscles trembling with release. I’ve never felt more satisfied in my life before. I couldn’t move if I tried.
As I slowly come back out of the haze, I feel his hands stroke over me and draw the cool sheets over my naked skin.
I feel a tender kiss on my shoulder before a voice whispers, warm against my skin.
“Good night, darling. Sweet dreams.”
It’s not until I hear my front door close that I remember to take off the blindfold.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
I sleep like a baby, totally exhausted by my amazing night with my mystery man. I’m kicking myself for not ripping off the blindfold in time to see him, but somehow, the intrigue only makes me want him more.
I can’t imagine how good it’ll feel when I finally discover his identity, and can look him in the eye. The man who’s driven me crazier than I ever thought possible, the one who’s taken my body and made it sing.
It’s Saturday, so I decide to put my case files aside and call up Keely for a day of good old-fashioned retail therapy. She jumps at the idea, and arranges to meet me in the shoe salon of Bergdorf Goodman.
“You’ll love it,” she promises, and when I step into the store, I see why.
It’s my own personal heaven: a sleek room filled with designer shoes in every color of the rainbow. I clap my hands together, feeling like a little kid.
Keely comes over to join me, laughing at my glee. “I figured this was the place for you,” she says, greeting me with a hug. “Ready to do some damage?”
“My bank account is going to hate me tomorrow,” I smile. “But it’s going to hurt so good.”
We get settled on a couch in the corner, and Keely orders sparkling water and cupcakes from the personal shopper who hovers eagerly.
“What?” she catches me looking at her.
“Nothing,” I shake my head. “I just forget sometimes that you’re filthy, filthy rich.”
Keely blushes. “Don’t tell me I’ve changed.”
She looks panicked, so I quickly shake my head. “Don’t worry, it’s not you, it’s how everybody else acts around you.” I look at the assistants hurrying to bring our sizes. It reminds me of the way everyone flocks around Ash, hanging off his every word.
Ash.
My cheeks flush, remembering last night – and how I found myself imagining he was the man in bed with me.
What was I thinking? I don’t want to be with Ash. It couldn’t be further from the truth.
Liar.
“OK. What’s up? Spill,” Keely fixes me with a look.
“What do you mean?”
“Something’s going on with you,” Keely declares. “You’ve barely looked at the shoes, and the girl I know would have drooled all over those Jimmy Choos by now.”
I look. There’s an amazing pair of sinfully red heels right in front of me, and I didn’t even notice.
“Is it the case?” Keely pushes. “Or that mystery man you’ve been seeing?”
My head snaps up. “No. What? What do you know?”
Keely laughs. “Bingo. Don’t worry, you didn’t tell me anything,” she adds. “Come on, I’m dying for details. I’ve been starved for gossip,” she adds, trying to put on a plaintive look.
I laugh. “You’ve been living inside a soap opera,” I point out. I pause. I want to tell her, but I don’t know how she’ll react. Anonymous invitations, blindfolded rendezvous… it’s extreme, even for me.
I sink lower into the overstuffed couch and take a gulp of champagne for strength.
“Last night, I had the kinkiest, dirtiest, most mind blowing sex of my life,” I confess.
Keely squeals. “I knew it! I didn’t want to say anything, but you’ve got that glow all over you. Tell me everything. I want to hear it all. Well, almost all,” she adds quickly. “Boundaries.”
I laugh, relaxing. I call over a clerk and ask him to get me the red shoes in an eight. If we’re talking, we might as well try out the goods. Like I told Ash, I can multitask.
“Now, tell me about the guy who rocked your world,” Keely demands. “Who is he? Is this blind date guy? What’s his name?”
I pause.
“It can’t be that difficult to answer,” she says. “Do I know him? Oh my God, it’s not Cam, is it?”
“No,” I answer slowly. “It’s not Cam. At least I don’t think it is.”
Keely frowns. “What do you mean?”
I pause. “No judging?”
“No judging, you know that.” Keely waits, expectant.
“I don’t know him,” I admit. “I’ve never seen his face. He could be anyone at all. Cam. My client. Even Ash. Or someone else completely. I have no way of knowing.”
“But you’ve had sex?” She looks confused.
“Blindfolded,” I explain. “I never saw his face. He gave me the most intense orgasm of my life, and I have no clue who he could be.”
I sneak a look at Keely, wondering what she thinks of me, but she just looks excited.
“Start at the beginning,” she orders me, flagging down the clerk for another round of drinks. “And don’t
leave anything out.”
Over the next hour, the clerks bring a dazzling array of shoes for us to try, and I tell Keely everything - about the gifts, the notes, the vibrator and the sex club. About wearing the blindfold and how I don’t recognize his voice. And about how he came to the apartment and I surrendered to his every order, but he wouldn’t let me touch him, I had to keep my hands on the bed.
“Holy shit,” she whispers, her eyes wide with amazement. “That’s insane.”
“I know, right?” I ask, happy I finally get to share the mystery with someone. It’s been driving me crazy keeping it to myself, and I definitely need some outside perspective now.
“Who does that?” I wonder, stretching my leg to admire a pair of sexy pink sandals that criss-cross all the way up my calves. “Every guy I’ve ever been with has been just as interested in getting themselves off as they are in getting me off.”
“Usually more,” Keely smirks.
I laugh. “Exactly! But this guy, he didn’t even try. He didn’t even want me to touch him. And believe me, I tried. But it was all about me and making me feel good...”
I shiver at the memory. I didn’t have to think, or act, or do anything except fall headlong into the exquisite pleasure.
“Why do you think he doesn’t want you to see him?” Keely asks. “Maybe he’s really ugly. Or he has problems getting it up and he doesn’t want you to know. Or he’s, like...”
She wiggles her pinky finger at me.
“I don’t think so.” I pause, thinking back over our encounters. “The way he’s planned everything so far, it’s confident, like he knows exactly what he’s doing. And he keeps promising what’s going to happen when he finally fucks me. A guy doesn’t do that unless he knows he can deliver.”
“So you think there’s going to be a next time?” Keely looks thrilled.
“He says so. I mean, he likes talking dirty, describing everything he’s going to do.”
Keely sighs. “I love it when they do that.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “Vaughn? Really?”
“Oh yeah…” Keely sparkles. “He’s got a filthy mouth. But, back to you. I still can’t believe he hasn’t revealed himself yet. Do you have any idea at all who it is?”
“Not a clue,” I sigh. “I have a list of suspects I’ve been over a hundred times, but nothing adds up.”
“Try me,” Keely says. “Maybe I can help.”
“OK,” I start. “There’s your friend, Cam. He’s the one who arranged the apartment, so he would have access there. Plus, he recommended that bar. You know him better than me. Is this his style?”
Keely looks thoughtful. “I don’t know, he keeps his personal life pretty private. But you guys have never met, right? Not that a guy wouldn’t fall for you from a distance,” she adds with a grin.
I laugh.
“You’re sure it’s not Ashton?” Keely broaches carefully. Her eyes flash with concern. She knows the history between us, and how confusing it’s been for me seeing him again.
“I don’t know,” I say honestly. “I’ve thought about it, but the voice doesn’t click. His accent is so recognizable, and he always sucked at imitating an American accent.”
“So what are you going to do?” Keely asks, as the clerk wraps our purchases. Even with all the girl talk, we still both managed to find plenty to buy.
“Wait for the next invitation, I guess,” I reply. I check my phone, but there’s no new message. “He’s the one in control now. I’m following his lead.”
“And you’re OK with that?”
“For now,” I shrug. “And, hopefully, he’ll reveal himself soon.”
“That seems very un-Justine,” Keely remarks.
“Believe me, I know. But there’s something really hot about it,” I confess, feeling a glow. “It’s an adventure.”
* * *
After lunch, I head back to the apartment and settle in the office space, turning my attention back to the lawsuit. I’m missing something, I just know it, but no matter how hard I search through the depositions and case files, I can’t find the proof we’re looking for.
I sit back, trying to approach the problem from a new angle.
Adam wrote most of the code. Kellan is all flash and style, he always said he was better at raising funds and schmoozing investors than the technical stuff, so how is he bluffing his way through the development, now that he has a whole company behind him?
I know Ash. He does his due diligence. Kellan may have pulled the wool over his eyes for now, but a guy like Kellan doesn’t pay attention to details.
I call Adam. “How closely did you check the code?”
“For VideoMine? I went through it with a fine-tooth comb,” he replies, sounding confused. “That thing was almost perfect, almost ready to roll – before Kellan made off with the hard drives.”
“No, I mean the code on the program Kellan is passing off as his,” I explain. “The judge finally forced them to hand it over last week. I thought you said you would check it for us.”
I can handle the legal stuff, but when it comes to the tech side, I’m useless.
“Oh.” Adam sounds guilty. “Umm, I didn’t get very far. It was identical, anyone could see. It just made me so mad he was pretending he wrote it.”
“Is there anything he might have missed?” I press. “A bug or flaw you didn’t have time to solve before he took it?”
“I don’t know…” Adam sounds thoughtful. “I mean, he wouldn’t be so stupid—“
He stops.
“What?” I demand, my heart rising.
“Listen, I’ll check the code again and get back to you.”
“Wait—“ I protest, but he’s already hung up.
Damn. I can only hope my call triggered something, because otherwise…
I have to face the fact, I’m losing. Bad. My dreams of a big, splashy win, returning to LA with a crown of glory, are getting further away by the minute.
And worse than anything, I don’t want to see the look on Ash’s face when I have to throw in the towel.
I walk over to the windows, lost in thought. I didn’t tell Keely the whole truth earlier. I don’t even want to admit it to myself, but I can’t hide from it any longer.
I want my mystery man to be Ash.
When he was here, touching me, driving me wild, it was Ash’s face I imagined; his hands I wanted to be clutching me, his mouth devastating me with pleasure.
I’ve tried to fight it. After everything he’s done, I wish I could just hate him. It would make things so much simpler, but our chemistry is too strong.
He’s sexier than ever. Magnetic. Commanding.
And more than that, I still like him too. It’s like he has a split personality: one minute, he’s infuriatingly cool, all business, putting me down with a smirk of amusement. But then the mask slips, and for a moment, it’s like we’re back the way we used to be. Laughing, joking. He always knew me better than anyone, accepted the real me with no judgment or criticism. Our friendship meant the world to me, and after our explosive night together, I knew, this could be for real.
And then he shut me out, and it hurt like hell.
It’s not all his fault. I’m the one who bolted from his apartment. Even then, I knew we were on the edge of something big, and I was scared. I’d never had a connection like that before, never felt so much for a man. He wasn’t part of my plans, and I knew I didn’t belong in his future either.
But even though a relationship was out of the question, I still wanted him in my life. I never dreamed he’d get on that flight to England and never speak to me again.
All this time, he’s been just a memory. Safe in the past.
Now, there’s nothing safe about him.
So who would I choose, if I had to? My mystery man, or Ash?
It should be no contest. Already, there have been moments when I had to decide, like when Ash invited me to dinner after our day at the racetrack. Then, I picked the game and my sexy anony
mous admirer. He’s the one pursuing me, after all, dreaming up wild dares to push me to my limits. Ash doesn’t have any feelings for me – at least, not that I can be sure of. For all I know, his friendly moments are just designed to throw me off my game and trip me up in the lawsuit.
But still, I can’t forget the tension that crackles between us. How my body responds to his voice. How good that night was, how I begged for more.
Stop!
I drag my thoughts out of the past. Ash isn’t an option for me. We’re different people, now. Too much has happened, too much time has passed.
He hurt me too much.
I’m finally admitting defeat and heading to bed when my phone rings. Adam.
“I think I found something,” he says, his voice rising in excitement. “I think I’ve found our proof.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
I call Ash first thing in the morning.
“It is Sunday, you know.” He sounds amused – and sleepy. I remember the hot model I saw him with, and flush. Is he in bed with her right now?
“Sorry, this can’t wait.” I barrel ahead. “I need to see you right now.”
There’s a pause.
“About the case?” he asks.
“Yes, of course,” I answer, confused. “What did you think I meant?”
“Nothing.” Ash clears his throat. “I’m home right now. I’ll text you the address.”
I hang up. A moment later, the details arrive, an address in the Village not far from the bar where I ran into him that night.
I grab my briefcase and jump in a cab. My nerves are growing. Not about the case, though – after what Adam told me, I know we have it locked up.
No, now I’m nervous about Ash. He promised me that if I showed him proof, he’d drop everything and give my client what he deserves.
Now I wonder, is he still a man of his word?
The cab delivers me to his front door, a brownstone townhouse on a secluded leafy cobblestone street. I ring the bell, and wait on the front steps before the huge front door swings open.
“Welcome,” Ash grins at me.
My heart stops. Damn, he looks good. He’s wearing faded jeans that hug his hips just right, and a casual sky-blue shirt that makes his eyes look devastatingly bright. Messy wet hair, bare feet.
