by Aspen Drake
I scoot forward so my mouth is just inches away from Sebastian’s, and my eyes lock on his. “So, now what?”
Sebastian smiles, and my insides tingle because it’s directed at me. “Now I kiss you, and you agree to give me a chance. Just me. No one else…for work or for pleasure.”
My eyes drift closed just as Sebastian’s lips press against mine. For minutes or hours—I don’t know how long—his kisses convey all the words he still struggles to say out loud. And I accept them, giving as well as taking from him as our tongues explore and our lips close over every bit of skin they can touch.
I close my teeth over Sebastian’s earlobe then gently pull off, leaving a kiss behind to soothe the sting. “I love you too, Sebastian James. And for the record, there could never be anybody else. You’ve ruined me for other men, and no matter how desperate I am for cash, I would never sell my body. Not after knowing what you can do to it.”
Sebastian turns his head and captures my lips with his. He smiles against me, his tongue tracing my lower lip before dipping inside across my teeth. “You will never be desperate for any kind of cash. Whether things work out with us or not, I promise I’ll always be there for you. I don’t want you to feel desperate for anything…ever.”
I kiss the corner of his mouth then rest my forehead against his. “Even for you?”
His laugh is low and husky and sends a tingle right through my core. “Oh, no. I plan to make you desperate for me every day for as long as you’ll let me.”
Chapter 24
Sebastian
The water in the bathroom turns off, so I pull away from Emma just as my fingers are about to graze the underside of her breast. “Do you want to go to my place?”
Emma bites her lip and glances toward the hallway where her brother is finishing his shower. “Yeah, that might be a good idea.”
She scribbles out a note to Eli then opens the front door right as a man with a bag of food walks up. “Oh, I forgot I ordered lunch.” She takes the food and then hands it to me.
I peek inside the bag and raise an eyebrow. “You hungry?”
“Not for food.” Her eyes shoot toward mine, and I see her need reflected in them.
“Good.” I grab her hand and pull her out the door. “Let’s go.”
~**~
I’ve never brought a woman back to my house. As a teenager, I had friends over but never anyone I wanted to introduce to my family. And since I’ve moved back, there hasn’t been anyone serious. No one I wanted to invite into my life in such an intimate way.
But things are different now. The days when I thought I’d lost Emma were unbearable. I wanted to respect her and give her space, but I knew there was no way I could just forget about her. Admitting my feelings to both myself and to her was a big step, but it was one I had to make. Making her believe she was just another hookup wasn’t fair to her. And if that gave her free rein to be with other men, that wouldn’t have worked out.
At all.
Honestly, this feels right. I know she isn’t after my money because even when she was in desperate need of it, she never asked for a penny. She didn’t even accept the money when I gave it to her with no strings attached. So, as I open my front door and invite Emma inside, I can appreciate that she is who I’ve been missing.
She completes the home that I’ve been searching for my entire life. Even in a huge house with lots of staff and access to all the things I could possibly want, having someone who can see past my flaws and love me for me, is priceless.
I take her hand and guide her through the foyer. “I can give you the tour now or…”
She shakes her head. “Bedroom first.”
Who am I to argue? The woman knows what she wants. And for the first time in my life, I’ve found a woman who knows what I want and is freely giving it to me.
As I open the door to my room, a slight twinge of embarrassment fills me. I haven’t moved out of my childhood bedroom because there hasn’t been any need to. This room is large with a beautiful view of the grounds and a large en suite bathroom. I let Emma take a quick look around before pulling her to my chest and closing my mouth on hers. A deep need to claim her is like an ember smoldering in my belly, just about to catch fire.
I slip my hand underneath her shirt and pull it off, bringing her sports bra off with it at the same time. As soon as her breasts are exposed, I dive between them, nuzzling the warm skin between her perfect tits before paving a trail with my tongue up to the very tip of her left nipple. Sucking her tight skin between my lips causes Emma to buck into me, feeding me more of her tender flesh.
“Yes, Sebastian, like that.”
As I trace over her tit, flicking it between licks, I work her yoga pants and panties down her thighs. I’m still fully dressed, but I don’t want to stop long enough to take off my clothes. Not yet anyway. I slip my middle and ring fingers inside Emma’s wet opening and circle her clit with my thumb. She whimpers and presses harder against both my mouth and my hand, riding me vigorously.
“Oh god. I’m going to come already.”
I pull off long enough to drag my tongue across her chest to her other breast. “Come for me, baby. I know you need this. And then, I need you.” I gently bite the tip of her nipple as she comes on my hand, humping me as soft curses escape her lips.
A few moments later, I drop kisses down her belly to her center and gently lick her still pulsing opening before swiping my tongue across her nub and standing up.
“Now that we’ve got that out of the way…” My comment forces her eyes open, and with a sleepy smile, she watches as I take off my clothes. I pull a condom out of my nightstand before climbing back on top of Emma and slowly making love to her.
When she comes again, it’s with my thick cock buried deep inside her and my own release pouring into the condom as if trying to escape into her womb.
Maybe someday, baby. Maybe someday.
~**~
“I should go.” Emma stretches across my bed, and the sheet slips to her belly, giving me a view of her perfect tits.
“Why?” I flatten my hand across her stomach and gently caress her silky skin. “I want you to stay.”
She smiles. “I can’t stay here forever. I should go check on that idiot brother of mine. Who knows what kind of trouble he’s gotten into in the last…” She looks around the room for a clock, eventually focusing her sight on the alarm clock the dresser. “Four hours.”
I pull her against my chest, not at all wanting to let her leave. “He’s fine. And I’ll be lonely.”
She chuckles. “Don’t you have to go to work?”
I shrug. “They like it better when I’m not around to bug them. The face can take as much time off as it wants.”
Emma pushes out of my arm then stands up, displaying her perfect body to me in the process. “Well, as we’ve already established, I’m not just the face. I need to work. I’ve taken too many days off, so I’ve got to get to it.”
“Baby.” I grab her hand and gently pull her down into my arms. “I told you, you don’t need to work so hard. I’ll take care of whatever you need.”
“And I told you, I’m not gonna let you spend your money on my problems. After my old debts are paid off and I’ve got a little nest egg to fall back on, then I’ll consider cutting back my hours. God knows I’d love to work a regular eight-hour day instead of ten to twelve.”
I kiss her hard then let her slip away to get dressed. “I’m gonna hold you to that.”
Emma quickly gets dressed, and Gentry takes her home. As soon as I’m alone, I make the call that she should have anticipated. But I know she’s not going to like it.
Oh, well, she’ll get over it.
Tim picks up on the second ring. “What up, Seb?”
“I need a copy of Emma’s credit report with all her account numbers.”
Tim chuckles. “Um, okay. Are you moving into the lucrative world of identity theft?”
“Not exactly.” I clear my throat, bracing mys
elf for whatever ribbing I’m setting myself up for once I make this declaration out loud. “I’m paying off her debt so she has no excuse not to spend more time with me.”
“No shit?” Tim is silent for a few seconds then he barks out a laugh. “Abbott owes me a hundred bucks.”
I hold back a groan. “Why?”
“I told him you were serious about this girl, but he didn’t think you’d go for it. I’m happy to be right, yet again.”
“We all get lucky sometimes.” I’m not sure I want my friends betting about my sex life, but I’m too happy right now to worry about it.
“Yeah, some of us more often than others,” he says suggestively. “Right, bro.”
“Just get me her accounts, please.” I hang up the call before having to listen to any more of his annoying taunts.
Chapter 25
Emma (Two months later)
“Eli!” I sift through the pile of magazines stacked on my nightstand, looking for People. “Where’s my bible?”
“You mean that stupid magazine you’re always carrying around?” He’s lying on the couch in the living room, watching some game. “Check the toilet.”
“If you took my precious into the bathroom, you’re buying me a new one!” I peek into the bathroom we’ve been sharing for months, afraid to see how he might have defiled my favorite gossip rag. Thankfully, it’s not there.
On the way back to my room, I see a red edge poking out from behind my headboard. Oops. It must have fallen. “Never mind.”
“Whatever.” He hits the mute button on the TV, blessing me with a few seconds of quiet, then turns the sound back on. “Sebastian wants you to meet him in the lobby.”
“What?” I walk out to the living room and stand over my brother until he hits pause on his show. “What are you talking about?”
“Sebastian just texted and wants you to meet him in the lobby.”
“Why did he text you?” I go to the front window and look down at the street, trying to catch a glimpse of his bike. Unfortunately, my view is completely obscured by a huge truck parked where Sebastian usually parks. “Why isn’t he coming up?”
“I don’t know.” Eli resumes his show and looks over my shoulder. “Just go see what he wants.”
I have no idea what’s going on, but I’m not in the mood to deal with Eli. I just head straight out my front door, barefoot and makeup-free, and into the elevator.
When I get to the lobby, Sebastian is standing at the front door with a bouquet of roses and a wrapped box. It’s not my birthday so I don’t know what he’s doing, but I let him inside, happy to see him after a long day apart. “Hey, babe. What’s this for?”
Sebastian hands me the roses then wraps his arm around my back. “Just wanted to give you something beautiful, like you.”
“Aww, thank you.” I hold the roses out so he can press me close to his chest and kiss me like I love being kissed. Hard and needy and with so much promise of what he plans to do to me when we’re alone. “I love them.”
“I also have this for you.” He steps back and holds the present in front of his chest.
“Oh, thank you. Let’s go upstairs, and I’ll open it.”
He holds the box as I try to take it from him. “Actually, can you open it here?”
I look around the empty lobby, confused as to why he’d want me to open a gift here. But I indulge him and pull the lid off the box. Buried under some teal blue tissue paper is a four-inch rose gold key. “Oh, this is pretty.”
“It’s a key,” he says proudly, carefully watching my face.
“I can see that.” I turn it upside down and look at the front and back. “It’s heavy.”
“It’s symbolic.” He seems to think I know what he’s talking about. I don’t.
“Um, okay.” I look at the key again, noticing the small Tiffany & Co. imprint on the back. “Symbolic of what? Like, is it the key to your heart?”
Sebastian’s grin grows, and his eyes light up. “Well, yes, but that’s not what it’s for.”
I sigh and hold the key out in front of me. “It’s pretty, babe, but you need to just spit it out. You know I’m not good with these riddles.”
He laughs and finally decides to put me out of my misery. “It’s a key to my place. Well, not exactly since my house is all electronic, but it’s a symbolic key to my place. I want you to move in with me.”
“Oh.” I inspect the key more carefully now, taking the time to let his statement sink in. “Like, soon?”
He shakes his head then motions to the moving truck parked in front of the lobby. “Like now. I’ve been patient for months, but I can’t wait any longer. I want your skin to be the last thing I touch every night and your face to be the first thing I see every morning. Will you move in with me? We can have you packed up within the hour.”
“Sebastian…” I’m not sure what to say. Of course I want to move in with him, but I can’t just leave my apartment…in an hour. “What about my lease? And Eli?”
“Your lease is paid off, and Eli will put it in his name at the end of your term. If you want to do this, there are no excuses to stop you.”
I look at the key one more time then lean into Sebastian for a soft kiss. “I want to.”
“I’m glad.” Sebastian wraps his arms around me and pulls me off the ground, giving me a little twirl as he kisses me hard, smiling against my mouth. “Because if you said no, I’d have to send these guys to my place to move my shit in here.”
~**~
When I first saw that Sebastian had paid off my bills, I was mad. Like fire coming out of my nostrils mad. But Eli and Mercy both talked me off the ledge and reminded me that Sebastian wasn’t trying to buy my affection or control me by helping me out. He already had my affection. He just didn’t have much of my time. And when I thought about it logically, I realized that time with him was what I wanted most out of life too. So I didn’t try to return the money or pay him back.
For once in my life, I let it go.
And by letting go of my past mistakes, I’ve opened myself up to a future I never dreamed could exist for me. It’s surreal, but I can see it with perfect clarity in my mind.
A future in which the man I love loves me back just as fiercely.
A future with Sebastian James is the dream I never thought would come true.
A future where I can have everything I want and everything I need…and I never have to choose Oreos over tampons again.
About the Author
Born and raised in the California Silicon Valley, Aspen Drake has never ventured far from home. She loves to read, so much so that her husband has often lamented that he wishes he was a sentence so he could get more of her attention. She's working on a more balanced life...but until then, you can find her curled around her iPad or laptop for many hours per day. When she isn't writing the stories that come to her while sitting in traffic, she's hawking techy wares as a corporate marketing manager. Reach out to her at [email protected].
Also by Aspen Drake
Check out the bestselling Fierce Salon series.
When Nate Edwards left his drug addicted ex and his modeling career, he followed his other passion and opened up Fierce Salon. He's a player in every sense of the word but never steps over the line of professionalism when it comes to his staff. They are the only women off limits to him.
Amy loses her job and her boyfriend on the same morning when her salon shuts down unexpectedly and she catches her boyfriend cyber cheating. When she runs into an old friend working at an upscale salon, Amy’s desperate situation begins to look up.
It takes some convincing, but she lands her dream job and gets to spend her days looking at the most beautiful man she’s ever seen. If only he was willing to break his golden rule and see her as more than just an employee.
Written as a short sitcom, each episode provides glimpses into the different characters at Fierce and the daily drama they face as young, attractive millennials in Menlo Park, California. Each ep
isode creates as many new questions as it answers. Read as they are released or wait for the entire season to be published as one book.
Order Now
