by K. L. Kreig
Crap, Livia. Get. Out. Now.
“I think I may be sick, Kam. I’d really like to get home before I lose those little shrimp thingies I just ate.” Not so much of a lie this time. My stomach is doing somersaults.
I turn and flee. I hear Kam call after me, but keep going this time. Making it to the safety of a cab before he reaches me is paramount.
Damn Kam and her insistence that I wear her four-inch Louboutin heels. So what if the fire engine red is a perfect complement to my also borrowed black leather strapless sheath. The shoes are still half a size too small and pinch my feet, making a hasty escape nearly impossible.
I should ditch the damn things like Cinderella. I bet she didn’t even ‘lose’ her glass slipper. She was no doubt trying to escape this supposed Prince Charming because he was an arrogant asshole, and it fell off in her urgency to get away. In traditional antifeminism fashion, a man weaved an elegant story about how much better a girl’s life would be with a boy in it. He would swoop in and save her from her persecuted life and they would live happily ever after.
Bullshit. All of it.
There is no happily ever after. Not for me anyway. That childish fantasy was ruthlessly shattered over five years ago.
I make it out of the ballroom, down the stairs and have the front hotel door halfway open when a strong hand clamps down on my shoulder, effectively stopping my forward movement. An electric current runs through my body and I feel him everywhere. His hand may as well be between my legs for all my body cares.
Damn you, Louboutin and your impractical shoes.
“Hello, Livia,” a deep sensual voice drawls behind me. His voice and touch combined almost make my knees buckle. After all these years, he still has the same effect on all of my senses like the day we met. He sounds the same, albeit a bit more grown up. And a lot more sexy.
Jesus, I don’t think I can do this.
You can do this, Livia.
You have to do this.
Be cold.
Be unaffected.
Lie.
I take a deep breath, will the tears back, and steel myself before turning to face him.
“Hello, Gray. Fancy seeing you here.” Holy…breathe, Livia, breathe. I am almost taken aback by how utterly gorgeous he is. He had been stunning across the room and he was always beautiful, but up close he’s like a golden angel sent directly from heaven—or hell—to tempt me. His face is no longer boyish, but all man, complete with the sexiest scruffy whiskers I have ever seen. This is more than a five o’clock shadow, but not quite a full beard. I’m a sucker for scruff. Especially on Gray, but he’s never worn it like this. It’s downright sinful.
Double damn.
“What are you doing here, Livvy?” Livvy. I haven’t heard that name in over five years. It sounds so damn good I want to weep.
Dig deep, Livia…maintain the façade you’ve perfected so very well.
“I came for the same reason you probably did: the animals.” Bravo for me. I sounded very confident…and very stupid. My internal head is shaking at me sadly.
He says nothing, remaining stoically silent, his eyes searching mine for the truth.
Subject change, before he asks too many more questions, for which I’ll have to build lie on top of lie. I’ve told so many lies I need a cheat sheet to keep track of them all. “So, why are you in Chicago?”
His penetrating gaze makes me even more nervous than I already am, and I start to squirm. I never intended to run into anyone I knew here, let alone him. I would have never let Kam talk me into this stupid fundraiser otherwise.
Shit. Shit. Shit. This is so not good.
“I took over my father’s company, and we moved the headquarters from Detroit to Chicago last year.”
He lives here? In Chicago? My mind is spinning. I’m trying to process the fact that my ex-fiancé lives in the same city as I do and that he took over his father’s company already. I didn’t remember Frank being that old. I shouldn’t be engaging him in conversation, but I can’t help but ask, “Did he retire?”
“No. He died.” I gasp and my heart sinks.
“God, I’m sorry Gray, I had no idea. Your dad was a wonderful man.” He was like a father to me, more so than my own, who essentially sold me to save his own life. I loved that family. They were like my own until they weren’t anymore.
“Of course not, Livvy. How could you possibly when you fucking disappeared over five years ago, without a trace, without a call, without a forwarding goddamn phone number?” His retort is ripe with barbs, and it stings the way it was meant to. I deserve some of his ire yes, but not all of it.
Gray has no clue the living nightmare I’ve endured. What I did for my family or for him. And it will stay that way. I have to get away from him before I do something stupid, like spill my guts. He is my past, and as much as it deeply pains me, he has to stay that way. Too much has happened in the last five years that I simply can’t overcome. I am damaged goods now, and Gray would never want me if he knew the truth. I need to get the hell out of here before I break down. I can’t keep the tears back much longer.
“I have to go. It was nice to see you again, Gray.” I need to get out of here before I throw myself at him and beg for his forgiveness. Because even though I don’t quite deserve it, a small part of me desperately craves it. Gray is my first love. The only man I will ever love. And that young, naïve woman now buried deep inside me will hold tightly to the memory of her first love with her last dying breath. It’s all that has gotten me through the worst days of my life.
And it’s all I have left.
I spin to leave when a strong hand pulls me back once again. Every time this man puts his hands on me, I bend to his will, and right now I feel like a torch has been set to my bones and they are far too pliable. My eyes flit between it and his ever-so-handsome face. He gets the gist and lets go.
Although his voice has softened, his annoyance clearly rings loud when uttering his next words. “How can I get ahold of you, angel? I’d like to have dinner. Catch up.”
My heart skips a beat. I haven’t heard that endearment in so long, I have to blink back the tears threatening to fall. I want to agree. I nearly do. But then, common sense slams back into my frontal lobe at a hundred miles per hour. If I spend time with Gray, he’ll pepper me with questions. Questions he has every right to have answered. But those are answers I won’t give. I can’t. He can never know.
Gone is the young, naïve, rosy-colored glasses woman he fell in love with. Gone is the carefree, idealistic woman he asked to be his wife. What stands in her place, instead, is a cynical, horribly used, and hopeless one. Shattered beyond all repair.
“I can’t,” I whisper. Then I do turn and flee. Luckily, there are several cabs waiting out front and I hop in the first one, yelling at him just to drive. As I turn around, I see Gray standing on the sidewalk, breathing hard, watching me drive away. Déjà vu cuts me like a sharp knife and I begin to sob silently. These are the first tears I’ve allowed myself to shed in four and a half years.
Once again, I am leaving the only man to ever make my stomach flutter and my heart race. The man who pursued me relentlessly for that first date by returning for six straight nights to the pizzeria I worked at until I said yes. The man I dreamed of having children with. Growing old with. The only man I have and ever will love.
All because of him. Always because of him. As with every day for the past five years, I curse the day Peter Wilder set foot into my life. And I curse my father for bringing him there.
UNDENIABLY ASHER (Available Now)
Alyse
A quick glance at the clock shows it’s almost noon. I ready myself for my next meeting, wondering what the hell Asher Colloway thinks he’s trying to pull and why he didn’t just put his name on my calendar instead of his holding company. Clearly he’s trying to surprise me.
Well, the surprise is on him. Not only do I know it’s him I’m meeting with, I know that he asked for client references, and I know
he’s already called each and every one of them. We’re a small office and Heather keeps nothing from me, not to mention we like to give our clients a heads up when we know they’ll be called by a potential customer.
The thing is, I have no idea what he would possibly want to hire my small firm for, but since I’m desperate for revenue, I can’t not take the meeting. I have more to think about now than just my pride. I have three employees counting on me to feed and clothe themselves and their families. That’s a heavy burden.
I thought about having Al sit in, but decided against it. I already know Asher and he knows me, so having another male in the room isn’t a necessity. Besides, a little part of me is thrilled to spend a few hours alone with him, even if we are just discussing business. Okay, a big part of me.
I managed to close one deal earlier this week and am waiting to hear back from the other client, hopefully by the end of the day. That one doesn’t look too promising as we’re a bit apart on pricing for our services. I have a small office and can’t afford to be quite as flexible as other, larger firms that have more capital to work with. Another thing I did not take into consideration when I jumped into this dream of mine headfirst. Ugh.
My speakerphone squawks, and Heather’s voice floats through. Her normally quiet, soft demeanor has clearly been ratcheted up a few degrees, because she actually sounds excited. I can hear the smile in her voice. Yes, Asher Colloway will do that to a woman, at least any straight one. “Ms. Kingsley, your noon appointment is here.”
Ms. Kingsley? Heather hasn’t addressed me as Ms. Kingsley since our first interview, and even at the end of that meeting she was calling me Alyse. I keep the laugh from my voice as I respond, “Thank you, Heather. Please send Mr. Colloway in.” Once I disconnect I do chuckle. Heather usually has me on speakerphone when she buzzes my appointments in, so Asher’s little surprise has just been turned around. Ha! Boo-yaa!
I’m still laughing when Asher opens my door. The moment my eyes land on him, though, it stutters a slow death. My gaze slowly travels down his insanely fit body and I realize he’s watching me watch him, but I don’t care enough to stop.
He’s absolutely breathtaking in his fitted charcoal suit and crisp white shirt, which he’s left open at the throat, sans tie. And the tiny bit of chest hair I see peeking through against his golden skin makes me water in more than one place. I’ve never seen him in anything but jeans and henleys or polo shirts, but hot damn if he doesn’t look even more mouthwatering when he’s dressed up. My entire body feels warm and tingly, inside and out.
I gravitate toward men with dark looks.
Dark hair.
Dark whiskers.
Dark eyes.
Dark personality.
Asher Colloway fits that bill to a perfect “T.” At a little over six feet, he’s tall, at least for me since I hover around the five-foot-four mark, give or take a half inch on a good day. And he’s downright beautiful. All of the Colloway brothers could effortlessly grace the cover of a magazine, but Asher is different. He’s a guy you could easily get lost in before your brain catches up to remind you why you shouldn’t. He has an aura about him that’s nothing short of magical and when you look at him, a spell is woven that you can’t escape. You don’t want to.
When I met him for the first time at seventeen, I thought he was the best thing since sliced bread. I even thought I was in love with him, but we were in very different places in our lives. Then I met Beck and I moved forward instead of looking back. Now, though…now, I can honestly say that at twenty-nine, Asher is the sexiest man I have ever laid eyes on, hands down.
I want him. Desperately.
And desperation makes you do stupid, stupid things.
“Get your fill yet?” A smug smirk turns up one corner of his kissable mouth.
Damn him. I have absolutely no snarky comeback to that, because I’ve been openly ogling. I only hope I don’t have drool dripping down my chin. I nonchalantly reach up to check, faking a cough.
“Why the secrecy?” I ask, changing subjects, not taking my eyes from him.
He closes the door before taking a seat in the chair across from my metal desk, throwing one foot onto the opposite knee. He steeples his fingers in front of his chin. The arrogant glint in his dark eyes makes me want to drop to my knees in front of him, unzip his pants, and wipe it off.
“You knew it was me.”
I knew Asher had taken over as CEO for his father’s company—I may have asked Livia what the Colloway brothers were up to after she’d reunited with Gray. In preparation for this meeting, when I researched GRASCO Holdings and found that CFC fell under them, I was irritated at first that Asher wanted to catch me cold. I never attend a client meeting without doing my homework first, especially since I’m fighting for the very existence of ARK Consulting. But then I quickly decided to turn the tables on the self-assured SOB.
Knowing that I would be meeting with Asher today, I’ve dressed particularly sexy in a short nude pencil skirt paired with a sheer royal-blue blouse and a matching low-cut cami underneath. Definitely not how I would dress for a normal client meeting, but I went all out for Asher. I let a slow smile turn my lips as I sit back in my black vinyl chair and casually cross my legs.
Asher’s eyes follow my leisurely movements and widen at the expanse of bare thigh I’m now showing. He may have even seen a flash of the nude thong I’m wearing from his position. His heated gaze rises, capturing mine, and I have to actually talk myself into breathing, trying to remain unaffected by the intense desire he clearly wants me to see. It’s not working too well.
“It may surprise you to know that I do know how to use the Internet,” I finally manage to bite sarcastically.
“You haven’t changed a bit, Alyse.”
“I beg to differ,” I retort, knowing full well life has made me more cynical and closed off.
He rewards me with a small smile, which almost melts me on the spot. He’s like the sun. Warm. Inviting. Only more deadly if you spend too much time in his presence. He’s quiet for several beats, his eyes assessing me deliberately. “I like a woman with fire.”
“Do you?” I cross my arms, unsure where this conversation is headed, but it’s not about business anymore. I don’t miss how his eyes linger too long on my now-exposed cleavage.
“Yes.” He uncrosses his leg and leans forward, elbows on spread knees, hands clasped. His want-filled gaze burns my cocky attitude to ashes. “It makes her complete submission all the sweeter.”
A flash fire of heat scorches my lady parts. My mouth drops open temporarily before I think to close it. Asher is so good, so smooth, and I am waaaay out of my league trying to trade barbs with him.
“What are you doing here, Asher?”
He leans back again, resuming a casual position, a slight smirk on his face. His eyes twinkle like stars and I find myself getting lost in them again. “Besides getting you wet?” he drawls roughly. Even though he’s spot-on, his assumption angers me. I open my mouth to protest when he interrupts. “You still with Popeye?”
Huh? It takes me a minute to figure out what he means. Finn. I stare at him in complete and utter shock for several moments. Then, I can’t help it. I laugh. I’ve never been around a man who has kahunas as big as Asher Colloway. He was always direct, but in the years since I’ve seen him, he’s sharpened it considerably. It’s refreshing and unsettling at the same time.
I shake my head, still chuckling, but he’s stony silent. His desire has now clearly morphed into annoyance, which makes me laugh even harder. “And if I say yes?”
“Are you?”
I almost decide to lie just to see how he’ll react. Anger isn’t the type of response I want from Asher, though. I’m not really sure what I do want, but I know it’s not that. “No.”
As fast as his annoyance came, it went with my admission.
“Did you come here to question my relationship status? You could have just hopped on Facebook for that, saved yourself the drive.” I unc
ross my legs and lean on my forearms, the coldness from the steel desk seeping into my exposed pores through the thin fabric. It’s November in Detroit and very cold, but I still can’t regret my choice of wardrobe after seeing the appreciation in both Asher’s eyes and slacks.
“Because it’s not official until it’s Facebook official, right?”
“Right,” I drawl. “So, back to my original question. Why are you here?”
“I want to hire you.”
I assumed when he was calling references that was his angle. I’m thrilled, but at the same time, disappointed. I need this job, but I also want Asher, even though that’s not the best of ideas. And I can’t have both.
Why?…a little voice whispers.
Because it’s kind of a faux pas to sleep with your clients, I tell that little slut.
“For?”
“There’s someone embezzling within my company. I want them found and stopped and prosecuted.” He pulls an envelope out of a folder he set down on the edge of my desk earlier. “Our outside audit firm completed our annual audit and found a discrepancy in the books, but they aren’t equipped to take it further. We need someone who has expertise in ferreting out things like this, whose techniques will hold up in a court of law. I know you’ve worked on cases before where your work has supported a legal case.”
True. I live to bring down white-collar thieves. My dad was a thief; he just stole our childhood from my sister and me instead of a corporation or business. I think that’s one of the reasons I went into this field to begin with. “Is this a past or ongoing issue?”
“I have reason to believe it’s ongoing, but of course I can’t be sure.”
“Do you have any suspicions?”
“Yes. Unfortunately nothing solid, though.”
