by Parker, Ali
But, dinner first. Then we would talk. I was forming a game plan about how to approach the topic without deceiving her as we spoke. “I’m sure they loved it. How long are they staying?”
The elevator arrived on our floor and I stepped aside for Aston to exit first, then followed behind her to the deck. “They’re staying until Friday. I’m hoping they extend their stay for the weekend. They’re so sweet.”
I almost cringed. We would need that suite by the weekend if everything went according to plan. I’d already spoken to marketing about sending out social media blasts about the property. I might not like social media, but I knew I needed to harness its power if I was going to get this done on time. Especially the free services it provided.
“I’m sure they’re eager to get home. They must have a truck load of children wanting to celebrate with them.”
She looked pensive when she answered. “You’re right. They definitely have a daughter, she booked this week for them.”
I hoped she was paying full price for whatever room they had actually booked, as douchey as that sounded. We couldn’t afford to give them a discounted rate and a suite, as much as I would’ve liked to.
Aston and I were seated on the deck outside. The last rays of sun dipping were low over the ocean, and the candles were out in full force already. A soft breeze rustled Aston’s hair, but she had it pulled back so it wouldn’t get in her way.
We each ordered the dish of the day, a steak salad just like Aston had suggested. Our waiter poured glasses of wine as we got caught up. When our salads arrived, it was time for me to get down to business.
“I wanted to talk to you about something.”
Aston looked up from her salad, swallowing the bite she had just taken. “Yeah, I’ve been kind of nervous since you mentioned that.”
So was I. “Don’t be. I hate to do this to you when you’re off the clock, but it’s about work.”
Her brow furrowed. “Work? I thought you said you weren’t trying to poach me for your company.”
“I’m not trying to poach you.” I assured her. “I do own stock in the company you already work for, though.”
“Really?” Surprise filled her eyes. She picked up her glass and took a big gulp of her wine. “Okay.”
“I’ve been looking over the numbers for the company, for this branch in particular.” She sat back in her chair, eyes locked with mine.
“Okay. I don’t really know how I’m supposed to respond to that.”
“You don’t have to. I just need you to listen.” Here goes nothing. “The California branch is the lowest performer of all the big branches at the moment.”
Her voice cooled. “I looked over our numbers just the other night when our quarterly report came in. We’re not under performing.”
“I know, but given the possibility of cuts like we talked about the other night after that announcement was made, I thought you should know. Overall, the branch is doing well. But it’s not doing well enough.”
“What are you saying? I compared our numbers to other hotels in the area. We’re on par,” she said stubbornly, but I could hear a hint of fear creeping into her voice.
“I’m saying that if you want to avoid cuts, we need to do something to push your numbers. The sooner, the better. I’ve got all the information ready for you in my room, if you’d like to see for yourself.”
Branch managers got sent the numbers for their branches once every four months. The report Aston saw wouldn’t have shown where they rank overall in the company. The information I had would show her everything. Including some stuff she probably shouldn’t see if I didn’t want her to panic, but she needed to realize how serious the situation was.
Aston pushed back her chair, her salad mostly untouched. “Let’s go. Show me. I’ll do anything I can to avoid cuts here. If what you’re saying is true, I need to get to work to improve the numbers immediately.”
“It is true. And I agree, which is why I wanted to bring it to your attention. Let me get the check, then we can go.”
I motioned to the waiter, charged our barely eaten meal to my room and led Aston upstairs. The door to my suite had barely closed behind her when she was marching to the workstation I had set up overlooking the balcony and the beach below.
She pointed at the two files I had open to the California information. “Is this it?”
I nodded. “It is. Go ahead and have a look, then I’ll answer any questions you might have.”
“Thank you,” she mumbled, sitting down and getting right to work. She studied the papers, blanching when she got to the parts printed in red. “Fuck. This doesn’t look good for us, does it?”
“It doesn’t.” I could never be accused of not being a straight shooter. I walked over to crouch down beside her. It looked like she was going to faint. “But that doesn’t mean it’s over. I’ll help you and we’ll turn it around. We’ll do everything we can to save as many jobs here as we can.”
Her green eyes searched mine, burning into them. “Why are you doing this? Why would you show me this or offer to help? It’s not your problem, or your job. It’s mine.”
Wasn’t it obvious? “I’m doing this because I care about you, Aston. You’re the best damn manager this hotel chain has, but you ended up on the smallest ship in the fleet. It’s not your fault.”
Despite the circumstances, a small smile played at the corners of her mouth. “You care about me?”
“Of course I do.” Still staring into those burning emerald orbs, I lifted my hand to brush a strand of hair out of her face. She leaned into my touch, her eyes fluttering closed for a second as I tucked the hair behind her ear.
Her lips parted slightly, so pink and inviting. I couldn’t help myself. I’d been wanting to kiss her for too long. The moment was the perfect opportunity served on a silver platter. No way was I letting it pass.
Leaning forward, I brought my lips to hers slowly. She had plenty of time to move if she wanted to, but she didn’t. Her eyelids grew heavier, turning her expression sultry. Her lips connected with mine, as soft as they looked.
My hand moved to the nape of her neck, holding her to me. Her lips parted for me on a quiet moan. The sound woke my cock, making it as hard as it had ever been. It pressed into my trousers, straining to get out.
My tongue slid into her mouth and she accepted it, stroking it with her own. I groaned, holding her closer to me. Aston kissed me, hesitantly at first, like she was unsure of herself. I pulled back. “I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have done that.”
She brought both her hands to my face, stroking my cheekbones with her thumbs. “You did exactly what I wanted you to do.”
This time, she kissed me. I let her take control because I sensed she needed to. When she opened up, deepening our kiss and relaxing into it, I took it back. Tugging her off the chair, I pulled her onto my lap.
Her legs hooked around my waist. She was straddling me exactly as I’d imagined it that first day when I watched her walk away, noticing how her enticing ass swayed when she walked.
I planted my hands on her hips, squeezing before I let my fingers travel to her back. They met the cold metal of her zipper and I traced it all the way to the silver bump that told me I’d reached the end.
Aston moaned again, then sat up. The weight of her ass was on my cock. I desperately wanted all the layers between us out of the way, but something in her expression caught my eye. “What’s wrong?”
“There is something you should know before we carry on.” Her voice was raspy, her breathing coming fast.
“Okay?”
She took a deep breath, looking me right in the eye. “I’m a virgin.”
Chapter 18
Aston
Blake blinked up at me. “What?”
“I’m a virgin.” Electricity crackled through my entire body as soon as his lips hit mine. I’d almost decided not to tell him, but he had to know before things went any further.
Desire flowed like a living thing be
tween us, taking hold of every rational thought. But then Blake pulled away abruptly, sliding out from underneath me. “Fuck, I’m sorry. Good night, Aston. I’ll see you tomorrow.
I grabbed his wrist when he started to get up from the carpet and his eyes snapped to mine. No more than a second passed before he was on me again, kissing me like he couldn’t stay away. When we broke apart, I cupped his chin in my hand. “No, please don’t be sorry. I want to—do this. With you. I just thought you should know.”
He drank in my expression and then Blake tugged me towards his strong chest and kissed me like I’d never been kissed before.
Without breaking the kiss, he picked me up off the floor and carried me over to the bed. It was only once my back hit the hard mattress that our frantic kisses turned gentle. Roaming and exploring as he dipped his tongue possessively into my mouth.
He kept his body to my side, but I’d already felt how much he wanted me. As soon as he pulled me onto his lap, I’d felt the evidence tenting his pants. It sent a powerful thrill through me, knowing I could have that effect on a man like him.
His hands skated across my sides, my stomach, avoiding the areas I so desperately wanted him to touch. I moaned and arched my back, trying to call attention to my aching nipples.
“If we’re going to do this, we’re going to take it slow,” he whispered against my skin. “We don’t need to do anything tonight. We can take all the time we want.”
I could feel him, hard as a rock against my thigh. It was sweet of him to say we could wait, but I’d waited long enough. “No, I told you. This is what I want. You are what I want.”
He brought a hand to my face, stroking my warm cheek with the back of his fingers. “I don’t want to do anything you’re going to regret tomorrow. If you want me, I’m yours. But I don’t mind waiting.”
“The only thing I’ll regret is not doing this with you.”
Blake groaned, screwing his eyes shut and grinding his jaw, his pulse beating in his neck. Holding himself back. I needed him to get out of his head, to persuade him I was ready to give myself to him.
Gently, I extricated myself from our tangled limbs and slid off the bed. His eyes followed me hungrily. I reached behind my back and tugged on my zipper, feeling it start to give. I pulled it down slowly.
“I’m not a child, Blake. You don’t need to worry about me or whether you’re making the right decision. I’m making the decision. I’ve never met anyone I wanted as much as I want you, and that’s why I’m still a virgin. I don’t expect marriage or even a relationship, but I’ve wanted my first time to be with someone I would never forget. Someone I really, truly wanted. That’s you.”
His eyes grew wide when my dress came loose. I let it fall to the floor, revealing the lacy black bra that I was wearing underneath. Thank God I like wearing nice underwear, even if it was just for myself.
Standing before him in my matching underwear, his gaze dipped to my breasts, lingered, then dropped to where my thighs met, roaming to linger on my pussy before coming back up to my face.
By the time they met mine again, the hesitation from before was gone. Those stormy blues were hot and filled with raw lust. Wetness pooled in my center under his heated eyes. My clit began to throb dully. If he could do this to me with just a look, I shuddered to think of what he could do with what he was packing in those pants.
My heart pounded, but I wanted more of that look. It made me feel like the sexiest woman alive. I craved more of it. Reaching behind my back, I unhooked my bra and let it slide down my arms.
Blake sucked in a sharp breath. I took it as my cue to climb onto the bed, raising a leg over his lap so that I was straddling him again. “I want you, Blake. So damn much. Say you want me too.”
In order to drive home my point, I moved my hips and moaned when I felt the swell of his cock beneath me. “I want to hear you say it, Blake. Unless you don’t want to.”
Our eyes met, caught. Suddenly, he grabbed my hips and rolled us so I was on my back. “Of course I want you. Christ, you drive me out of my damn mind.”
“Good, then we’re on the same page. What are you waiting for then?” Every bit of self- consciousness I worried I would feel when I was naked with him disappeared. All I knew was that I wanted Blake. Badly.
He covered my jaw with soft kisses, then moved down to my neck. I shuddered at the feel of his butterfly kisses against my skin. Moving down to my chest, he sucked a pebbled nipple into his mouth.
His hand slid to my lacy panties. “It’s a good thing my self-control is the stuff of legends or I would’ve taken you right there on that rock the first night we went out.”
“Really?” I whimpered. I never would’ve thought a man like him would’ve been thinking about sex with me. Especially not risky, outdoor sex where anyone could’ve seen us together. The thought made me even hotter. The dull throb became more insistent. I rocked against the hand cupping my mound.
“Trust me, okay? Just relax, I’ve got this.”
I nodded, but I was close to going mad with need.
“I’m gonna to give you what you want, Aston. But you need to trust me to know when. I have to be sure you’re ready. Otherwise I’m going to hurt you and I don’t want that.”
He pressed down on my clit. My panties were in the way, but I could feel the heat of his skin on me. I cried out, unable to hold back from the pleasure flowing though me from that one brief touch. “Blake, please.”
He licked a path between my breasts, all the way up to my mouth and kissed me senseless as his hand finally dipped into my panties, his thumb circling my clit as one of his thick fingers slid into my folds.
“Oh fuck, you’re so tight,” he groaned. “I can’t wait to feel this on my cock, but we’re going to have to relax you first.”
He certainly succeeded at it. His hands reduced me to a shivering, moaning mess. My hips rocked and bucked against him, but his strong hands kept me right where he wanted me.
He kept going until I saw fireworks and white light, feeling like I was about to fly off the bed if it wasn’t for him anchoring me to it.
Stopping just before I succumbed to the pleasure, he groaned against my mouth. “I think you’re ready, am I right?”
“God, yes.” I whimpered. “Please, I need you inside me. Now.”
I’d never felt so empty. It was like I needed him to make me whole again, to provide a piece I didn’t even know I was missing.
Blake practically ripped the suit he had on from his body. When he was naked, he stood in front of the bed and let me look at him, like I’d done. His body was absolute male perfection, just like I thought he would be. He had hard ridges on his abdomen and narrow hips that tapered down to a thick, long erection that saluted me like it would never go down again.
I was practically panting for him by the time he crawled back onto the bed. He reached over to pull a condom from his wallet, then rolled it on so fast it was like he was competing for a prize.
Positioning his cock at my entrance, the broad head nudged me open. Blake looked deeply into my eyes, muscles tight with restraint. “Are you a hundred percent sure about this?”
I nodded. “A hundred and fifty. Stop teasing me.”
He let out a low growl and pressed his lips to my neck. Gently, his hard cock pushed against my seam. He slid in slowly, watching every facial expression closely.
“Fuck, so tight” he breathed, still moving slowly. So damn slowly.
A sharp tug pulled at my insides, then the head slipped in. It was followed by a burst of pain as he pushed further and broke my hymen. It wasn’t nearly as painful as I expected it to be.
The incredible fullness of having him inside me outweighed any pain or discomfort I felt. Clinging to him, I ran my hands through his hair and down his corded back muscles.
When he was all the way in, he stopped to let me adjust to the feeling of having him inside me. His eyes were blazing with need, but he didn’t act on it, keeping still. “You doing okay?”
<
br /> “No. Move. Please move,” I whispered, rocking my hips against his.
He groaned. Finally, his resolve broke and he started moving. Sure, steady strokes licked every sensitive, swollen part of me. He moved slowly, but it was the most incredible feeling.
Pleasure cascaded through my body. The only thing that existed was the feeling of him inside of me, his body on mine, his deep breathing and low moans in my ear.
Blake rocked into me rhythmically, perfectly. Too soon I felt the pressure start to build in my core. I trusted his promise that he would give me what I needed, to release the tension he was winding up inside me.
His breathing was ragged and needy, but he was gentle. Still taking care not to hurt me. Keeping up his delicious pace, he drove me higher and higher until my world shattered into a million pieces. The tension released. My first mind-blowing orgasm ripped through my body with the force of a beautiful thunderstorm.
But he wasn’t done with me yet. Blake kept going. He stroked me through it with reassuring murmurs that I couldn’t quite make out. When I finally broke through the storm, he was staring at me with heavily lidded eyes. “Fuck, you’re gorgeous when you come. Think you have one more in you?”
“I think I’ll manage,” I breathed. There was nothing I wanted more.
Cradling my hips in his hands, he rolled us over. “Take what you need, Aston. Use my cock to make yourself come.”
Holy crap. Dirty talk. So that was how it worked when you did it right. I always thought it was a bit tacky, but from him it made me feel hot, and desperate to make him feel as good as I did. I followed his instructions, ignoring the slight burn from the constant friction at my opening.
I anchored my knees on the sides of his hips and started riding him, getting carried away by the pleasure of all the new ways he was hitting me. The muscles in his thighs started to tremble and his hands moved to my thighs, gripping hard as he drove into me more forcefully.
Clearly, he was getting closer and closer to the edge and it sent a rush of power through me. I was the one who did that to him. Knowing I responsible for his pleasure drove me right back to the edge.