After the visit with Bryce, Russell had gone straight to his side of the house to decompress. He couldn’t believe absolutely no one remembered his brother from that night. His brother’s cell phone’s last location was at the party. It was the only thing the police had found. Rodrick had been there, but not a single person who’d attended knew anything.
He refused to accept that he’d never find out what happened to his brother. Refused to accept that Rodrick was gone without a trace. If he had to track down every single person who attended that party to get a hint of what happened, he’d do that.
Ashiya hadn’t followed him to his side of the house and had given him the space he needed. He remembered she was perceptive like that. She never pushed him when he was lost in thought. She’d wait him out and then listened without judging when he was ready to talk. It was one of the reasons he’d fallen for her before.
One of the reasons he was having a hard time not falling again.
The beat of the music picked up. Answers about the source of the music wouldn’t come if he continued standing in the hall. He followed the sound of the bass. As he got closer, he recognized the lyrics of “Lucid Dreams” coming from the back lanai. Russell opened the double doors and blinked several times. The back lanai had been converted from a basic functional outdoor space to a festive, celebratory space.
Red, yellow and blue balloons floated from the backs of the patio chairs. Tiki torches mounted around the space added to the golden glow from the porch lights. Red and yellow confetti covered the tables, and a large speaker changed colors with the beat of the music.
Ashiya stood behind the gas grill under the pergola on the side of the lanai. She’d changed into cutoff shorts and a white tank top. A Superman apron protected her clothes. She swayed and rapped along with the music while flipping something on the grill. The mouthwatering aroma of burgers drifted to him.
He shook his head to make sure he wasn’t imagining things. When the scene didn’t change or magically disappear, he walked out and over to her.
She looked up from the grill. Her bright smile hit him dead in the chest and pushed him farther down the hill of falling back in love with Ashiya.
“Hey, I hope you’re hungry.” Her hips moved to the beat. She flipped what he could see was a burger with one hand and picked up a champagne flute with the other.
“I am,” he answered slowly. “What’s all this?”
She sipped her champagne then threw out her arms. “A celebration!”
“What are we celebrating?” He was not in the mood to celebrate, but her enthusiasm and smile were working really hard to improve his disposition.
“Surviving my first board meeting,” she said as if the answer were obvious.
Russell let out a laugh. The board meeting felt like something that happened a month ago. He’d gotten so caught up in the bitter disappointment of not learning anything new about his brother that he’d forgotten about the one win of the day.
Ashiya took another sip of champagne and licked her lips. His stomach clenched as if she’d run her tongue across his abdomen. He’d forgotten about that kiss, too. Almost.
He glanced around at the balloons and confetti. “This is what you’ve been doing while I was—”
“Sulking. Yep.” She put down the champagne flute and picked up a plate.
Russell crossed his arms over his chest. “I wasn’t sulking.”
“It’s okay. You have every right to sulk. I wanted to sulk after meeting with that guy. He knows something. I feel it.”
“I agree with you,” he said, his mood souring again.
“He can lie today, but we’ll get the truth tomorrow. Even if we have to hunt down everyone who was at that party. I’ve got the resources now to help you find them. So that’s what we’re going to do.”
“I didn’t ask you to help me track my brother down.”
“I know, but I already told you I want to help.” She lifted a shoulder and used a spatula to take the burgers from the grill to the plate in her hand. “Just accept my help and get over it.”
He couldn’t stop his smile any more than he could stop the warmth spreading through his chest. There she went being irresistible again. This was why he’d avoided her for so long after they’d broken up. He had a hard time fighting his attraction to her.
“What made you decide to grill? We could have ordered food.”
“I really want a hamburger, but I didn’t want anything greasy. Brianna reminded me of the grill out here. I thought I’d give it a try.” She pointed to the table. “There’s buns and other fixings over there.”
She turned the dials on the grill to shut off the gas and came around. Russell followed her over to the table where sliced tomatoes, lettuce, onions and pickles along with ketchup and mustard and a variety of cheeses sat on plates. He tried, and failed, to keep his eyes off the way the fringe on the cutoff shorts brushed the back of her thighs.
“Who else is eating? Is Brianna inside?”
Ashiya shook her head. “No, she had something to do. It’s just us. I hope you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind.” He meant the words. Ashiya’s light was enough to lift his mood, but he wasn’t in the headspace to entertain a lot of people. Since Brianna had eaten with them almost nightly since he’d arrived, Russell was pretty sure Ashiya had sent her away. Instead of being annoyed by the thought, he was pleased. Once again, Ashiya knew what he needed.
“Good! Let’s eat. I’ve got chips inside. I’ll be right back.”
She put the burgers down and rushed inside. A few minutes later she returned with a variety pack of chips in one hand and the bottle of champagne in the other. They made their burgers and settled down to eat. The conversation flowed smoothly while they ate. They focused mostly on the board meeting and the next steps she would take to win over the board. From that it flowed to his work with Robidoux Holdings and his hopes to make similar changes there once Elaina accepted him as the new CEO.
“She’s running things on her own right now and relying on the rest of the various directors. She’s doing a good job, but she also wants to focus on her own investments. Eventually she’ll have to fill the position,” he said after they finished eating and were sitting back, enjoying the view of the river and the warm evening breeze, and popping the second bottle of champagne.
Ashiya was relaxed back in her chair. Her sexy legs were stretched out and crossed at the ankle while she dangled the champagne flute from one hand. “Elaina just needs time to trust you. You were Uncle Grant’s person, so of course she’s leery.”
“I respect your uncle and I hope he feels the same, but at the end of the day, my loyalty is with Robidoux Holdings and whoever runs it.”
She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. “Was respect the reason why you dated India?”
Russell’s spine straightened. “I didn’t date India. I went on a few dates with her.”
Ashiya twirled a finger at him. “You liked her. For a second there she was falling for you.”
“Was that what prompted you to call me and go in?” he asked without any heat.
Shortly after he and India both decided that they weren’t right for each other, he’d gotten a call from Ashiya. She’d accused him of trying to make her jealous by dating her cousin. And to warn him that he shouldn’t get too invested because India’s heart was pulled in another direction. He’d been so surprised at her audacity to say something to him about his dating life that he’d gotten angry and reminded her of the way she’d broken his heart.
“I didn’t go in. I was trying to warn you.”
“Is that also why you tried to push her in my direction?” he asked. “India mentioned you saying I was the most eligible bachelor in town.”
Ashiya shrugged and met his eyes. “You were.”
He leaned forward and rested his forearm on t
he table’s glass surface. “Still, if you didn’t want me with your cousin, then why did you push her toward me?”
Ashiya looked away first. “You’re a good man. You deserve a good woman. I know you hated me, and India was in search of a nice guy.”
“And what if we would have worked out?”
She shifted in her seat. She took another sip of her drink. “I would have dealt with it.”
“Would you?” He didn’t believe a word of that. “Because that conversation said you wouldn’t have.”
She sat up straight and crossed her legs at the knee. “I wanted you close. Even if you weren’t with me.” Her confession came out in a quiet voice.
His heart impersonated a jackhammer against his rib cage. He was slipping and falling. He wouldn’t be able to get up. Pursuing meant trouble. He asked anyway. “Why?”
“Apparently I hold on too long. Usually to the wrong thing. Or the thing I really want.” Her lips lifted in a sad smile. “I was trying to let you go even though I really didn’t want to do that.”
He wasn’t sure how to respond to the vulnerability in her sweet voice. He knew how he was supposed to feel. Superior, smug, scornful. He should be happy that she’d realized what she’d messed up. Instead his happiness came from a far different place. The place that hadn’t let Ashiya go no matter how much he’d ignored her calls, limited contact with her, and tried to forget her.
The music changed. Her recognized the song as wone with a new line dance associated with it. Ashiya’s smile brightened and she put down her champagne. “I was dancing to this with Byron’s daughter Lilah a few weeks ago. She had to show me there was a dance when I told her I didn’t know.”
She jumped up from the table and swayed her hips to the music. Russell watched her as she sang along. He knew her dancing was to deflect from the direction their conversation had gone. In all the time they dated, Ashiya flirted with him, seduced him and teased him, but he realized she never was vulnerable with him. She’d always held back a part of herself. He’d been so lost in her that he hadn’t noticed until it was too late.
Opening up wasn’t easy for her. He wasn’t satisfied with just the tiny morsels she’d given. He was starving for more of her, and if he went with the urge in his heart and body, he wouldn’t be satisfied if she wasn’t just as open with him as he was with her.
He watched her dance. Took in her delight and joy with just getting lost in the music. She was pulling him back in with just a smile, a gesture and a confession. Each one packed enough of a punch to throw his entire world into a tailspin. He’d sworn up and down that there was no way in hell he’d ever give Ashiya another chance.
Well, the devil was laughing at him now.
Russell pushed up from the chair. He came up behind Ashiya and put his hands on her hips right in the middle of her left foot slide. She froze and looked at him over her shoulder, her beautiful eyes teasing.
“You want to dance?”
He shook his head and picked up their conversation where she’d tried to drop it. “I don’t want you to let go of me. Not just yet.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
ASHIYA’S HEART, MIND, everything froze in the seconds after Russell spoke. She’d opened herself to him again, expecting to be shut down like before. She’d planned this impromptu celebration for the board meeting not only to distract him from the visit with Bryce, but to also find a way to avoid going over all the reasons the kiss earlier that day shouldn’t happen again. Especially when she wanted that kiss to happen again, and again, and again.
“What do you mean?” Her voice came out as a shaky whisper. She was afraid to move or speak louder out of fear he’d realize what he’d said and move away.
He pulled her back against his front. His head lowered, and his lips brushed her ear. “I meant exactly what I said. Don’t let go of me.”
Her breaths came in short, choppy bursts. The momentary stun from his words melted away as desire slid across her skin like warm rain. Questions rose. Did he really mean what he said? Was he truly ready to give them a second chance? Was that really his erection she felt growing against her ass?
“Russell—”
His warm lips pulling on her ear cut off her words. Liquid heat shot from her ear down her body and straight to her sex. His tongue replaced his lips and traced lightly down the sensitive outer shell of her ear. Ashiya gasped. Her hand reached back and clutched the hard muscles of his thigh. She arched her neck to the side. His teeth nipped at her ear and she whimpered. Russell knew exactly what to do to turn her into a puddle of need.
“Tell me you missed me.” His warm breath caressed her ear. He snaked an arm around her waist and pressed his hand into her belly. “Because I sure as hell missed you.”
The emotion that rushed through her from those words was like an avalanche, smothering her in so many feelings she didn’t have the time to sort out. Missed him? That word wasn’t strong enough. She’d yearned for him.
“I missed everything about you,” she said with a low moan.
His fingers pressed harder into her midsection. His lips went from slow and languid against her ear to urgent and needy. He licked and nipped his way from her ear to her neck. His lips closed in on the soft spot over her pulse, and he sucked softly. Her knees buckled. Desire tightened her nipples. Warm wetness slid between her legs.
Russell’s hand ran from her stomach to her breast. He cupped the heavy weight and squeezed. The material between his hands and her flesh dampened the caress, and Ashiya wanted more. With shaky hands, she reached for the hem of her shirt.
Russell took over and tugged her shirt up and over her head. Ashiya unbuttoned her shorts and shoved them to a heap at her feet. He groaned his approval before he jerked down the cup of her bra. Warm air brushed her hard nipple before he took the tip between his thumb and forefinger. He pinched with just enough pressure to make her sex clench. The sensation swept through every inch of her body. Her head fell back against his strong shoulder. Russell’s other hand pulled down the strap of her bra, releasing her other breast, but he didn’t pull the straps down far enough to allow her to freely move her arms. The loss of control only fueled her need.
His warm hands cupped her breasts while his fingers alternated between tracing over her nipples and pinching and tugging them. She bucked against him, rubbing her ass against his dick and relishing in every sharp breath he sucked in.
“You have no idea how much I missed you,” he said in a shaky voice.
“Show me,” she demanded. “Show me everything you missed about me.
One hand left her breast and slid down her torso, across her stomach, and brushed the edge of her panties. She didn’t think it was possible for her breathing to get any faster. Anticipation and need pumped with each beat of her heart, driving her so fast she could have been running a sprint.
She bit her lip when he tugged her panties down her hips. The damp material slid down her legs. Ashiya hastily kicked them out of the way and pulled her arms free of the straps of her bra before taking it completely off. Russell didn’t waste any time. He jerked her body back against his, took one breast in one hand, and slid his other hand between her legs and cupped her sex.
Her legs opened wide. Russell didn’t hesitate. His finger slid across her clit like sweet perfection before pushing inside her. The breeze carried away the long, low moan Ashiya let out. She reached back, forced her hand between then, and cupped the hard length of his dick in her hand.
“I missed you, too. So. Damn. Much,” she said in a shaky voice.
Russell spun her around. Her arms wrapped around his neck, and his mouth covered hers. Their tongues glided across each other as they kissed. She drew everything from him—all his need, desire and longing—and savored each emotion. She’d craved him so much since letting him go.
“Inside,” she said against his lips.
Russell
nodded, grabbed her hand, and hauled her from the porch to the house. She tried to hide her grin as he made a beeline for his bedroom. But when he kicked open the door and swung her back into his arms as soon as they crossed the threshold, she didn’t bother to hold back her delight. He could see all her joy. All her need. She would never let Russell doubt her feelings for him again.
His lips covered hers in a heady, urgent kiss. Ashiya pulled on the waistband of his pants as they stumbled to the bed. They fell back on the mattress. Ashiya immediately pushed him over onto his back and straddled his waist. He loved it when she was on top, and she loved the way he looked at her when she rode him to ecstasy.
“Condoms?” Please, God, let him have a condom.
His body froze. Dread turned her body cold. Well, she was on birth control.
“In the bathroom,” he said.
Relief nearly had her fall over on his chest. “Go get them.” She rolled off him. Russell jumped up from the bed.
Just to be sure he didn’t let regret or thoughts of what they were doing stop him, Ashiya sat up against the pillows, knees bent, and spread her legs wide. Russell rushed out of the bathroom, took one look at her open and ready for him, and his jaw dropped. The heat that blazed in his eyes let her know if any doubts had tried to creep into his brain, they were gone.
He was across the room in two seconds. His body covered hers and his lips took hers in a searing kiss before he lowered himself and eagerly pulled one nipple into his mouth. Ashiya lifted her hips, pressing the wet heat of her need against him, then groaned in frustration.
“Take off your fucking clothes,” she said in a rough voice.
He pulled back and jerked off his shirt. The gold chain that had taunted her so many times before hung around his neck, the cross resting right in the space above his pecs. He reached for the back of the chain.
Ashiya shook her head and waved a hand. “No. Leave that on.”
Russell grinned and got his pants off in a blink. When he pulled her back, the warm weight of the gold cross against her breasts and the heavy press of his erection against her slick heat almost took her over the edge.
Foolish Hearts Page 16