by Esme Beal
“He wouldn’t be raising him by himself. You could still send him funds. That kid would live in more luxury than any child in Snow Falls.”
“But what would it matter if I never got to see him? I could never claim him as my own. It’d be even worse if I walked away. A stain on my record the media would be more than willing to point out. An imperfection in the oh-so-perfect Ashton Webb.”
“You have an obligation to the company. People look up to you. WET just won’t be the same if you decide to resign. There’s no telling what will happen once the board takes over. They could put someone in charge who’s completely incompetent.”
“You’re not exactly making this decision easy for me, Donna.”
“You know this decision wasn’t supposed to be easy.”
I swallowed my glass of liquor down. The sting of the alcohol down my throat wasn’t enough to make me forget about the decision I had to make.
“How much time do you have?” she asked.
“The board will make their decision in a few days, if I don’t make their decision for them before that.”
“You still have some time to think about what you’re going to do.”
“More time to think about it isn’t going to help me.”
I stared at my empty glass. The bartender held the bottle up to it but I put my hand up and stopped him.
“I remember what you said to me before,” I said. “You told me that it was something special to be with your wife. You said it before and you just said it again now.”
“I did say that.”
“I know what you meant. I understand where you’re coming from. I know what I have to do.”
“You do?”
“Yes. This decision was never about me. It was never about the company. It was always about Noah. This…”
I laughed softly when the realization hit me.
“This is the easiest decision I’ve ever made in my life. Thank you, Donna.”
“You’re welcome… I… I don’t know what I did.”
“You did everything for me. I should go tell Noah right now.”
I got up from my seat and my knees buckled.
“Whoa!”
Donna caught me and put me back down on my seat.
“It looks like you’ve taken a little too long to make your decision,” she said. “Why don’t you take a break tonight? I’m sure Noah is just fine where he is. You’ve still got some time. No need to rush into it.”
“I suppose you’re right. My assistant. Always looking out for me.”
“That’s what I’m here for, boss.”
She held her glass up and gave me a wink before taking a sip.
Despite how much alcohol I had and how my body was responding, my thoughts had never been clearer. Noah was the only thing on my mind. I couldn’t wait until I saw him again.
“Does your wife know where you are?” I asked. “Staying out late watching your boss get drunk… I can’t imagine that’s something she’ll want to hear.”
“My wife understands who I work for. Believe me. Watching over you while you drink yourself into a near-coma isn’t something she’ll lose sleep over.”
“Thank you, Donna. For everything.”
“I’ll always be here for you. You might not have a lot of friends but I’m one of them. You know you can count on me.”
Donna nonchalantly took another sip of her drink and started looking around the bar.
“So… This is what the Southern Block is like, huh?”
“What’s wrong? Not fancy enough for you.”
“I guess I shouldn’t have expected much. But it’s got a certain… charm to it. I kinda like it.”
“It’s a shame most people from the Northside don’t feel the same way as you.”
“Maybe if they just came over and saw it for themselves they’d changed their tune. All you’d have to do is convince them they wouldn’t get shot or mugged or robbed.”
“If a man like me can walk the streets of the Southern Block without a care in the world, any man in Snow Falls can do the same. Not today. Not tomorrow. But they’ll understand soon enough.”
I had my mind made up. All of the reasons I could come up with weren’t enough to change them.
The board was making their decision in only just a few days. That was more than enough time to get to Noah and tell him. I couldn’t wait to see him again.
Chapter 22
NOAH
Two days later…
The two constants in my life were work and the shelter. They were the only things I needed. There wasn’t a single day that went by that I regretted how things were. I was grateful for everything.
But ever since I met him, things changed. A constant distraction in my thoughts that I just couldn’t shake. This wasn’t high school but it sure felt like it. With his child growing in my belly, there was no way I would ever be able to forget about Ashton.
I knew that it was something I had to get used to though. I didn’t want to consider it but I had no choice.
It had only been a couple of days since I last saw him but it felt like an agonizing eternity. I was happy at work. I was happy at the shelter. But it still felt like there was something missing somewhere inside of me without him.
It was later in the evening when I was back in my apartment. I sat in the darkness next to the window, enjoying the breeze to keep me cool during the warm night.
A glass of liquor would be real nice right now…
I laughed at the thought of having a drink. My hand palmed my belly. Nothing else mattered except my child though. Especially when I knew I would wake up in the morning still thinking about the father of my child.
There was a sudden knock at the door. I jerked my head and stared.
Who could it be?
I was squeezing my phone in my hand so tight but when I looked at it, there were no messages or missed phone calls.
Charlie?
I hoped it was Charlie. Anybody else and I wasn’t sure if I could handle it.
Another knock at my door forced me up out of my seat. I slowly inched toward it and sighed before slowly creaking it open.
“…Hello.”
Ashton smiled softly at me. His chin had more scruff on it than usual like he hadn’t shaved. His tie was undone with the top button of his shirt gone. His hair was messier than usual.
“Can I come in?” he said. “I need to talk to you.”
“Of course…”
I pulled the door open and he stepped inside. That’s when I realized how much of a mess my apartment was.
“Sorry,” I said. “Don’t mind my place. I’ve been meaning to clean up.”
“You don’t have to apologize for that. If you’re comfortable, you’re comfortable.”
“Still, it’s a bit of a mess here. I’m not usually this dirty.”
“The place could use a little cleaning up but you smell just as good as you always do.”
He smiled softly at me. After two days away from him, I felt more bashful than I usually did around him.
“Were you sleeping?” he asked.
“No. Why do you ask?”
“It’s completely dark in here.”
“Oh, well, I don’t need the lights to think. I was just sitting here… thinking…”
“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, too…”
“You look like you’ve had a long day at work.”
“The days are longer when you know you’ve got a board of directors who only care about their bottom line and investors who think the same.”
“It’s still your company. You make all the decisions, for better or worse.”
“You’re right. It is my company.”
He walked up to me and put his hands gently on the side of my head. His touch made me shudder. I closed my eyes, enjoying the way he caressed my skin.
“I missed you,” he whispered. “I missed us.”
He leaned forward and gave me a kiss. His tongue swirled around
in my mouth, stirring a desire in my belly for him that was always there.
“I’ve been thinking,” he said. “And I’ve decided that I’m not going anywhere.”
“Ashton?”
“I’ll be here by your side. I’ll be here for our child. I will be your Alpha. That is the man I was always destined to be.”
“But the board. The company. There’ll be all that pressure on you to leave me because of my criminal past.”
“Criminal past,” he scoffed. “A man steals food to feed those in need and he’s labeled a criminal…”
“But what will you do?”
“I will do what needs to be done.”
“But—”
“Hush, Omega…”
He put his index finger to my lips and quieted me. The way he stared at me with those striking gray eyes of his, shimmering in the darkness… calming me down to my core.
“It’s been two days since I’ve seen you,” he said. “That’s two days too long to stress over something like this. Let me be with you, Noah. Let me be with the Omega of my child.”
I nodded softly and let his lips find their way back to mine. Our passion was only dormant. His kiss re-ignited the flame and turned it into an inferno inside of me.
I worked my hands over his suit, ripping and tearing away at every layer of clothing on him. He did the same to me, pulling my shirt over my head and undoing my jeans until nothing but my underwear remained. A quick tug and my cock, hard and swollen, was freed.
We inched our way to my bedroom, our lips and tongues tangled in a messy dance. Wet kisses echoed off the walls of my small apartment until we were back inside of my bedroom.
He pushed me back suddenly. I gasped as I fell back on the bed. I looked up at Ashton and couldn’t help but admire him. The amazing man who’d worked so hard to get to where he was. His kindness. His compassion. His muscled physique was only a bonus to the Alpha I knew he was inside.
I could stare at his tanned muscles forever but Ashton had other intentions. He primed himself, pumping his thick cock in his fist. A drip of wetness leaked from his tip. I found myself lubricating in anticipation. The heat coming from between my legs was unbearable.
Another gasp escaped me when he grabbed my knees and spread them apart. He kept his eyes locked on mine as he took my ankles and tugged me toward him. His tip pressed against my asshole and a shudder shot through my spine.
He leaned forward on top of me, his muscled chest pressing against mine. He looked into my eyes and whispered the words I’d longed to hear for so long.
“I love you, Omega…”
I swallowed to keep all of my emotions down. Even though my desire for him was burning so hot, I wanted to just be with him all the same.
“I love you… Alpha…”
He kissed me, licking my tongue and reminding me of just how much I craved him.
His cock started to push into my asshole. I moaned into his mouth as every inch of him disappeared within me. My walls stretched to accommodate his length. I was so wet though that he was able to slide in with only a bit of effort.
He planted his cock firmly between my cheeks. My own cock pressed up against his hard belly as he started to grind against me.
Having a man like Ashton on top of me was like something out of a fantasy. Hard, sweaty muscles. Thick, masculine grunts. The smell of sweat filling my nostrils. The taste of his tongue constantly pushing between my teeth. His cock rifling in and out of me. I gripped his muscled arms and braced myself from all of the pleasure racking my body.
“Ashton… Ashton, I…”
I couldn’t take it for much longer. He trailed kisses along my cheek as I tried to breathe from all of the ecstasy pulsing through me.
Without warning, he suddenly picked me up and cradled me in his arms. I wrapped my hands around his thick neck and proceeded to grind against him. Ashton met me, thrusting up and into me. The loud smack of our bodies colliding against each other joined the squeaking of the mattress underneath me.
“Look at me,” he whispered. “I want to look into the eyes of the man I love when I come. I want to look into the eyes of the Omega I was destined to be with.”
Despite how good it felt, I somehow managed to keep my eyes open. My vision was blurry. My hands squeezed tighter around the back of his neck. My back began to arch more and more from his thrusts. My cock was painfully swollen and on the verge of exploding.
Ashton rammed into me harder and faster than before. He impaled me completely on his cock. His shaft was slick against my asshole, the messy sounds of our union growing louder.
“I’m gonna come,” he grunted. “I’m gonna come.”
“Come with me… Come with me…”
My balls were so tight. My cock couldn’t hold back much longer.
“Noah…”
He grunted loud and suddenly pulled out of me. I looked down and watched as he started to pump his cock. A thick load of his cum spilled out of him and splashed onto my dick and belly. Seeing his cum beginning to cover me made me lose control.
I reached down for my cum-covered length and started pumping it.
“Oh, God… Ahh…”
I moaned softly as I started to come the same as him. Small spurts of semen mixed with every drop he poured onto me. We made a mess of one another’s bellies, losing control with every ounce of cum we had inside of ourselves. Through it all, I gritted my teeth and kept my eyes locked on that intense stare of his.
I wanted to keep coming for as long as I could. I wanted to cover my whole body with his seed. But we both slowly started to come down from our orgasms.
Skin covered in sweat and semen. Muscles aching. Bodies sore and dripping. Coming hard had drained the both of us completely.
Ashton moved his lips to mine and sealed our brief moment of passion with a satisfying kiss. I sucked on his tongue and tugged on his lips before he pulled away.
The look he gave me told me that this wasn’t over. Not yet. But his stare also gave me the confidence I needed to get through this.
Of course…
That’s when it hit me. There was something I could do about this whole situation.
“I know what to do,” I said.
“Noah?”
He gave me a confused look.
“I know exactly what to do.”
“Noah, I told you that I have everything under control.”
“I know you do. And I trust you. All I’m asking you now is to trust me. You trust me, don’t you?”
He smiled softly and nodded.
“I trust you,” he whispered.
Looking into Ashton’s eyes, I knew that he would do anything to keep me happy. I had to do the same for him, no matter what it took.
The time for thinking was over. Now it was time to do what we both had to do.
Chapter 23
ASHTON
The board of directors all sat at the conference table, their attention turned to the man in charge. Jon sat in his seat, his fingertips pressed together as he contemplated the undoubtedly big decision on his mind.
It had been several days since Queen came in and gave them information to try and ruin my relationship as well as potentially the company. It was just another day in Snow Falls but in the conference meeting room in the Webb Building where I was now, my entire future was about to be decided.
I planned on taking control of it for myself.
“Thank you for meeting with us,” Jon said to me.
“I always have time for the board,” I replied. “This company wouldn’t be what it is without all of us working together.”
“Indeed. We hope to continue that partnership.”
“Then I trust that the board has made a decision.”
“It has.”
Jon got up from his seat and walked toward me. I stood at the head of the table, staring right at him. Even though he was a man who had to do his job, Jon was still my friend. And I saw that right now, regardless of what he planned on tell
ing me.
“In light of recent information, the board has determined that it would be in the best interests of the company for your… situation to come to a resolution,” Jon said.
“It’s not a situation. I’m a relationship with a man. A man who made a mistake. A man who paid his debt to society and is no longer a threat to society.”
“Be that as it may, the media will say what they want to say. The public will form their own opinions. WET provides Snow Falls and cities all over the world advancements in science and technology. But it must maintain in good standing with the public. The investors and shareholders will lose interest if they learn that the head of a public company is in bed with a convicted criminal.”
I looked at Jon and turned to the rest of the table.
“So, you’re really doing it?” I said. “After trying to convince me that I should find an Omega for good PR, I found the man I was destined to be with. Now you’re trying to tell me that I shouldn’t be with him.”
“We aren’t telling you not to be with him,” Jon said. “But you can’t serve in the capacity you currently do if you were to maintain your relationship. It’s unfortunate—”
“Unfortunate. You throw that word around because you’re not in my shoes. But if it were any of you, you would beg and plead to remain where you are. Now you threaten to walk out on me. Now you tell me investors will leave the company. All because I decided to fall in love with the wrong person. What kind of PR is that?”
Jon sighed and shook his head.
“Better PR than you remaining with the convicted criminal,” he said.
He leaned close to me and whispered into my ear.
“I’m sorry, Ashton. There’s no other way. You have to do this. Pledge your allegiance to this board, to your company. You don’t have to lose anything. You can still be with your Omega. Just not in the public spotlight—”
“No!”
I pulled away from Jon and made my proclamation to the rest of the board.
“I refuse to treat Noah like a mistress. I refuse to keep the Omega I met in the Southern Block some secret to satisfy everybody else around me. I refuse not to acknowledge my son or my daughter as my own. I am with Noah, a criminal. And I will do what must be done to stay with him.”
