They had also shown her own family wasn’t just dysfunctional, it was nonexistent.
It would have been better for all of them if twenty-eight years ago, Claudia had chosen not to have her baby. Lissa had often wondered why she hadn’t.
The tension left Lissa’s body as she slumped back against the wall. “Nice of them to let me know.”
Ash hated seeing that pained look in Lissa’s eyes as he watched the fight go out of her. Fuck Claudia and Jack for hurting her this way.
“Melissa?” he prompted teasingly.
She glanced up at him. “Typically, Claudia refused to accept the diminutive I chose to use when I started school.” A humorless smile curved her lips. “How did Malcolm react to Jack’s arrival?”
His eyes widened. “You know about the two of them?”
“Oh yes.” She grimaced. “He may only be my age, but it seems even a robot like Claudia has physical needs.”
“And you, do you have physical needs too?”
Her throat moved as she swallowed audibly. “This isn’t a good idea, Asher.”
No, it wasn’t. But Ash wanted it anyway.
“I need to take a shower and get dressed, and I’m guessing you need to go home and get some sleep if you’ve been up all night,” Lissa’s protest seemed halfhearted as Ash’s hands moved up to cup either side of her face.
Ash knew his brother was still outside in the hallway, no doubt monitoring the amount of time Ash spent inside Lissa’s apartment. A detail Ethan would have to put in his report, which would no doubt result in Ash being called into the office later today and raked over the coals again by Gabriel.
But for the moment, Ash didn’t give a damn about any of them. Here and now with Lissa, the hurt she hadn’t been able to hide at her parents’ selfish attitude toward her, and the musky scent of her arousal invading and capturing his senses, was all Ash cared about.
He gave a low groan as his head lowered and he claimed her slightly parted lips with his own in a full-on kiss that demanded her response rather than asked for it.
The kiss they’d shared yesterday had nowhere near satiated his hunger for this woman. He stroked his tongue against and then between her parted lips, claiming the moist heat inside as his tongue slid erotically along the length of hers.
Ash’s tongue went deeper still when Lissa gasped and he moved his hands to cup her bare bottom. He enjoyed squeezing those delicious orbs before lifting her up and leaving her no choice but to wrap her legs about his waist, the heat of her pussy pressing against the hardness of his cock. Just as he’d imagined minutes ago.
Except the reality was so much better than mere imagining.
Lissa’s arms moved up over his shoulders, and her fingers became entangled in the hair at his nape. Her breasts were pressed against the hardness of Ash’s chest, and he began to rub his cock slowly along the length of her heated core. From the hitch in her breathing and the increased scent of her arousal, he knew he was hitting her clit with every stroke.
He stepped forward, pinning Lissa in place between him and the wall, freeing his hands to pull her robe open and then taking it off completely. He broke the kiss, his lips traveling the length of her bared throat as he saw she now wore only a white cotton nightgown. Her breasts were full beneath it, nipples dark and swollen as they pressed against the material.
Ash slipped off one of the thin shoulder straps and pulled the neckline down and underneath her breasts, baring them to the caress of his mouth and hands.
She had the most gorgeous breasts. Full and round, and tipped by dark and aroused nipples that were begging to be played with and suckled.
Lissa’s head dropped back against the wall, her fingers gripping his shoulders as she watched Asher part his lips and suck her nipple into his mouth. One of his hands continued to squeeze and caress her bottom. The other cupped her breast, squeezing and rolling the engorged nipple in the same rhythm that his mouth drew on its twin, both just short of pain.
Her legs were still wrapped about Asher’s waist, the full length of his cock pressing against her throbbing clit as he pushed her farther up the wall with each powerful thrust of his hips. Her nether lips were swollen, her channel aching and open as she met each of those thrusts. More than anything, she wanted to release that hard and throbbing cock so that Ash could bury it deep inside, filling her, claiming her.
“Ash, please…” she choked. “I need—”
“I know what you need, baby, because I need it too,” Ash soothed as he raised his head, both hands cupping beneath her bottom to lift her away from the wall before he carried her toward the hallway leading to the bedrooms and bathroom.
The doors were slightly ajar, allowing Ash to see that the room on the right was Lissa’s bedroom. Discarded clothes lay over the bedroom chair; several photographs sat on her dressing table.
He nudged the door open all the way with his foot before carrying her inside, narrowed gaze noting the bedclothes were only disheveled on one side of the double bed. Confirmation—if he had needed any—she had slept alone last night.
His earlier jealousy had been completely out of order. Lissa didn’t owe him any explanations for anything she did. He had no claim on her, apart from a single night spent together a year ago. His accusations had also been totally unfair to Ethan, and Ash owed his brother an apology later today.
None of which was of the least importance when he had a half-naked Lissa in his arms and a bed they could share.
He was also totally overdressed.
They both were.
He lay Lissa down on the bed, his gaze holding hers as he slowly pulled the nightgown the rest of the way down her body before straightening to look down at her.
A completely naked Lissa was exquisite.
The darkness of her auburn hair was feathered out on the pillow behind her. Her skin was smooth and the color of ivory. Full and pert breasts were tipped with those surprisingly dark and engorged nipples. Slender waist. Fuller hips, that intriguing tattoo of a phoenix decorating her left hip bone. Trimmed darker auburn curls covering her mound. Her legs were slender and silky. Feet bare.
Ash held her gaze as he took a foil packet from his wallet and placed it on the side table before quickly removing his own clothes. He wasn’t sure he, or his aching cock, would be able to bear the disappointment if Lissa told him again this was a mistake. He needed to be inside Lissa as much—more—than he needed his next breath. Breathing was overrated anyway if it came to a choice between that and making love with Lissa.
“The demon cat isn’t going to stick his claws in my bare ass, is he?” he teased. But only halfheartedly. The cat had only tolerated him yesterday and would no doubt welcome the chance to physically demonstrate his place in Lissa’s affections.
She chuckled. “Sherlock went out exploring after he’d eaten his breakfast.”
“Good.”
Lissa’s heart pounded loudly as she watched Asher finish undressing. If anything, he was even more lean and muscular than he had been a year ago. As for his cock… Her memories hadn’t done it justice as it curved long and thick toward his navel, the bulbous top glistening with precum. “Asher—”
“Don’t.” He pressed his fingertips against her lips as he lay down on the bed beside her. “I want this, Lissa. You want this. We both want this, damn it.” His eyes were dark and fevered.
Lissa hadn’t intending arguing the point. How could she, when just looking at all that hard and muscled nakedness confirmed what she already knew: she had been wanting Asher again, desiring him, since the two of them met on Friday evening. Hell, she had wanted this, wanted Ash again, since the moment she walked out of his apartment a year ago.
She had accepted dates with half a dozen other men during that year. But it had been more because she thought she should rather than any real desire to do so. She had wanted to get over her lingering feelings for Asher.
But wanting and getting were two different things, she had quickly discovered, as none
of those men held any interest for her beyond the first date. She certainly hadn’t felt the least inclination to want to go to bed with any of them.
It seemed Asher had left his brand of ownership on her as indelibly as the tattoo that was now inked into her flesh.
“This is so fucking sexy,” Asher murmured as he moved farther down the bed, his fingers an arousing caress against the intricacies of her tattoo.
Lissa gave a groan as she arched up into that caress, her sensitive flesh seeming to burn almost as much as it had the day the tattoo was applied. As if the tattoo had become its own pleasure zone.
That pleasure intensified when Asher lowered his head and his lips stroked and his tongue licked against and over each sweep and curve of the red and gold ink.
Lissa’s fingers clenched into the bedclothes as her nipples hardened painfully, nether lips plumping and becoming slick with her juices, her channel aching to be filled.
“I’ll take it slowly next time,” Asher promised in a gravelly voice as he opened the foil packet and rolled on the condom before kneeling between her parted thighs. “Right now I just need to be inside you.”
Lissa wanted him inside her. More than anything. Any thoughts of all the reasons why this shouldn’t happen could come later. Much, much later…
“I need that too,” she encouraged breathily.
They both groaned as the bulbous top of Asher’s cock breached her entrance. Despite what he’d said, Asher entered her slowly, inch by pleasurable inch, careful to stretch those sensitive walls apart to accommodate his thickness and length, until his cock was fully inside her, filling her completely, his balls warm against her bottom.
“Okay?” He stilled above her.
“Oh God, yes.” It felt indescribably good.
Asher took his weight on his elbows as he looked at her. “You feel good.” His words echoed her thoughts. “This, being inside you, feels so good.”
“Asher…!” she groaned. Her hands moved up, fingers gripping his shoulders as he lowered his head to kiss and lick her nipples, before drawing one of them fully into his mouth.
The pleasure intensified as he suckled and laved her engorged flesh, Lissa gasping as he bit her nipple just short of pain, sending the pleasure coursing through her whole body before centering on her core. His hips began a slow and grinding thrust against her pussy as he continued to suckle her nipples in turn, pushing his cock deeper still, each stroke rubbing against that bundle of nerves inside her.
There was nothing else, only the two of them, lost in overwhelming sensations. The pleasure rose higher and then higher still, the walls of Lissa’s channel rippling, contracting, until she knew she was on the brink of an orgasm that was going to splinter her apart. Physically. Emotionally.
“Harder,” she groaned as she met each and every one of Asher’s powerful thrusts. “Oh God, deeper.”
“Lis— What the fu…?” Ash stilled and cursed beneath his breath as he heard the unmistakable sound of a loud pounding on the door to Lissa’s apartment.
“Ignore it,” she pleaded. “I’m so close, Asher. So damn close!”
“Asher!” The urgency of Ethan’s shout could be heard through the solid thickness of the door. “Open this fucking door. Now, damn it!”
Unlike Ash, Ethan rarely swore or shouted. Right now he was doing both.
Something had to be seriously, seriously wrong.
“No…” Lissa groaned.
“I have to,” Asher apologized as he carefully withdrew. “Ethan wouldn’t have disturbed us if it wasn’t something important.” He stood up, not bothering with underwear as he quickly disposed of the condom before pulling on his suit trousers.
Lissa couldn’t believe this was happening. They had both been on the brink of orgasm, Asher’s breathing ragged, his cock swelling and throbbing inside her as he thrust and stroked on the edge of release.
God, she felt so empty without him inside her. Almost bereft.
“I’ll be right back,” Asher assured her before striding out of the room wearing only trousers, his chest and feet bare.
Which would alert Ethan to exactly what the two of them had been doing when he rudely interrupted them.
Lissa had no idea what she was doing.
Getting over Asher the first time had been painful enough, but a second time…?
Lissa gave a groan, knowing it was already too late. She was already involved.
And why was it taking Asher so long to speak to his brother?
She could hear the low murmur of their voices as she got out of bed and quickly pulled on her robe and secured it about the waist before hurrying out to the sitting room.
Both men turned at her entrance, their strained expressions confirming that Ethan hadn’t brought good news.
Lissa reached out and placed a supportive hand on the wall nearest to her as she swayed slightly, knowing instinctively she wasn’t going to like what they had to tell her. “What’s happened?” Her voice sounded hollow. “Is it Claudia? Jack? For God’s sake, will one of you tell me what’s wrong?”
Chapter 5
“I’ve already assigned Caleb in your place on the Claudia Reynolds protection detail—”
“You had no fucking right do that!” Ash glared.
The two men were once again in Gabriel’s office at Knight Security, Ash standing in front of the antique desk this time.
“I don’t?” Gabriel arched an arrogant brow. “Strange, I thought I said I’d already done it.”
“Well…okay, yes, you can do that,” Ash conceded begrudgingly.
The four brothers had decided when they formed Knight Security that there had to be one overall boss of the company. They were all alphas, and if one of them didn’t take charge, the whole thing would deteriorate into chaos. As Gabriel was the eldest brother, they had unanimously voted he would have the last word in decision-making.
Besides which, none of the others, Ash, Caleb, or Ethan, wanted to be cooped up in the office all day. Gabriel assured them he had seen enough death and destruction in the military to last him a lifetime.
“But if you remove me from this security detail,” Ash continued firmly, “I’m just going to hang around Lissa’s apartment anyway.”
“Which is precisely my point.”
“So if you think— What did you say?” He eyed his brother uncertainly.
Gabriel sighed. “You spent last night at the hospital, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
His brother nodded. “So much for your being able to remain professional?”
Ash breathed in deeply. “I was off duty, and I can do what the hell I like on my own time.”
“Well, now you’re back on Knight Security time,” Gabriel snapped. “I can see just from looking at you that you’re exhausted from lack of sleep.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time.”
“Ash, I’m not trying to be difficult—”
“You could have fooled me.”
“Stop being so defensive and listen, damn it. Better.” Gabriel nodded as Ash stepped back. “There is no benefit to anyone in you continuing as one of Claudia Reynolds’s bodyguards when it’s Lissa Forsythe you really want to protect. We now have definitive confirmation the shooter has followed Miss Reynolds to England. You seem to spend most of your time at Miss Forsythe’s apartment anyway, so for today, at least, I’m partnering you with Zander to protect her.”
“Makes sense,” he acknowledged gruffly.
Gabriel nodded. “Caleb and Jacob will be with Miss Reynolds and Mr. Arnold. Ethan and Liam will spend the rest of the day with Jack Forsythe. These arrangements are only temporary. I’ll be talking to Miss Reynolds later this morning regarding bringing in more men so that there are two bodyguards assigned to each of the vulnerable parties at all times. If she doesn’t agree, she’ll leave me with no choice but to suggest she hire another security firm. Again, I’ll leave you to inform Miss Forsythe of this new arrangement.”
Ash’s jaw tight
ened at Gabriel’s veiled acknowledgment of the fact he was well aware Ash had been in bed with Lissa yesterday morning when Ethan took the call from Ian.
A phone call to tell them Jack Forsythe had been shot.
Lissa was at the hospital with her father now. Had been since Ash drove her there yesterday morning.
Lissa had remained calm when he told her of the shooting. She hadn’t spoken a word before she turned on her heel and went back to her bedroom to dress so he could drive her to the hospital.
It had been obvious as soon as they arrived who was in charge there.
Claudia Reynolds.
Despite the police presence, she was the one in charge and issuing orders to the police and hospital staff, as well as Malcolm Arnold. She refused to talk to the police inspector until she had made arrangements for Jack Forsythe to be taken to a private room as soon as he was out of the surgery to remove a bullet from his left shoulder. She’d sent Malcolm back to Felton Tower to deal with any business matters that needed her attention.
Considering her ex-lover—lover?—had just been shot, Claudia hadn’t seemed to miss so much as a heartbeat.
Ash had taken the opportunity while Lissa was questioning her mother about Jack’s condition to speak with Ian about the shooting.
Apparently, Claudia and Jack had left Felton Tower midmorning. Ian had followed a discreet distance behind the couple as they walked across the park to spend an hour or so outside a French café eating croissants and drinking coffee together. Their stroll back was just as leisurely, the park full now with the usual Sunday morning joggers, skateboarders, horse riders, and people just out for a walk in the sunshine. Ian reported the couple had seemed…close, laughing and relaxed together.
Defying Asher (Knight Security 1) Page 5
