by Parker, Ali
Bucking my hips against his hand, I was rewarded when his fingers dipped into me. He worked his magic with his hands before moving them swiftly to my ass and tugging me against him.
The move had his cock pressing right where I needed him to be. A shuddering moan escaped me.
Blake brought one hand up to brush my hair behind my ears before tucking his fingers under my chin and holding steady so I would look into his eyes. “You are so fucking exquisite, Aston. I’m so lucky to have found you.”
He rubbed his rock hard shaft through my silky wet center. “I’m yours, baby. I’m not going anywhere. When I have to travel, I’ll be missing you every minute of the day. Never doubt that I will always be coming back to you.”
Each word was punctuated with the glide of his shaft through my seam. My thoughts were scattering from my mind as his head hit my clit over and over again. Already there was tension building deep inside me. “You’re too good at this. It’s not fair.”
His hips kept moving relentlessly as he punctuated his words with kisses. “I need you to believe me.” Kiss. “When I tell you that no matter how busy I get.” Kiss. “I will always be there for you.” Kiss. “And I need you to promise me you’ll tell me when you feel I’m not there enough.”
Claiming my mouth with possessive, hungry kisses, he pulled back and waited for my answer.
“I believe you.” My breaths were coming fast and hard. I only hoped I would be doing the same thing soon. I could hardly remember what he asked me, but he was clearly waiting for more as he hovered above me.
Oh, yes. “I’ll tell you. I promise I’ll tell you. I would never just up and leave when you got caught up in work. I promise.”
Apparently satisfied with my answer, he gripped the back of my neck with one hand, looking deep into my eyes as he slid all the way into me. We both cried out before he sealed his mouth to mine again.
Kissing me passionately, he began thrusting into me with deep strokes that hit exactly where I needed them. His muscles locked as he moved, never once losing his rhythm. Stroking me higher and higher, I felt the edge fast approaching.
“Fuck, Aston. You’re so perfect. So fucking tight. It’s like you were made for me.” I rocked against him, meeting his thrusts as he reached down and pressed his thumb against my clit as his mouth and his body worked together to make me crazy for him.
“Come for me, Aston.” His eyes were begging as he drew circles with his thumb, increasing the pressure until it was so perfect that I had no choice but to surrender. A flash of beautiful white light exploded behind my eyelids as my orgasm took hold.
My fingers dug into his hips. I screamed his name, riding out waves of intense pleasure that kept crashing into me over and over again. When I was just resurfacing, I felt him tense above me and inside me. He let out a long, low groan and growled my name as he came. “Aston. Fuck. Yes. Fuck.”
Blake and I panted as we separated, each falling to the bed without losing complete contact with the other. Our ankles were crossed and his arm was around my back, drawing me closer to his side so my head could rest on his chest.
As he breathed in and out, my head rose and fell with him. He stroked my hair, his voice suddenly tired now that it was no longer thickened and rough with lust and desire. “Sleep well, Aston. I feel like I’m about to pass out any second now.”
“Go ahead,” I whispered, drawing random patterns on his toned abdomen with my fingertip. “I’m not far behind you.”
Taking my hand in his, he brought it up to his mouth to kiss my palm before his breathing evened out. As he predicted, he fell asleep almost immediately.
Though my own eyes were heavy and my brain hazy with exhaustion and post-orgasmic bliss, I took a minute to reflect on our day. Nothing had really changed since we woke up this morning, but at the same time everything had.
We woke up knowing I was pregnant and that he was going to take over the company, but now we knew for sure I was not only pregnant, but that the baby had a heartbeat and was growing well. It was also no longer hypothetical that Blake would take over the company, it was now official.
The contracts were signed and according to a message Blake got over dinner, they had been filed and lodged. Blake was legally the head of one of the largest companies in the country, with expanding interests in several countries around the globe.
Despite it all, I felt cherished and adored by him today. Like the baby and I really were at the center of all his plans. It warmed me and made me fall even harder for him; seeing this family oriented man striving to protect what was his, all while taking on the world.
I knew without a doubt that I had fallen in love with him. Hard. Not because I was unexpectedly carrying his baby or because he was in charge of the company, but in spite of those things.
Blake meant so much to me. All day I’d been wanting to tell him, but it was never the right time. Although I knew he was asleep now, I couldn’t help it. The words wanted to come out and I couldn’t hold them back any longer.
In the darkness, I looked up at him and whispered, “I love you, Blake. I love you so much.”
Chapter 57
Blake
Aston’s eyes were glued to the scenery as we drove to the company’s headquarters. She seemed so thrilled by everything. “The last time I was here, I was so nervous about surprising you that I couldn’t focus properly. It’s a beautiful city, Tampa.”
“I never used to think so,” I told her, remembering how much I hated the place even just a few short months ago. “But it’s growing on me.”
“Yeah?” She smiled, finally tearing her eyes away from the window long enough to look at me through her rose gold sunglasses. “What changed your mind?”
I reached over and patted her leg. “You.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “Me? How?”
“Being anywhere with you makes it beautiful. It’s the way you look at things, it makes me really see them.” It sounded corny, but it was true. Blinders came off my eyes any time I was with her.
Like now, I had driven these same streets a million times, but I’d never really seen any of the things she pointed out to me. The people lining up outside one food truck while others were empty, that the sidewalks were wide enough for a mom pushing a twin stroller without having to struggle, and even how the tops of the trees bent in the breeze to look like they were kissing the buildings in the distance behind them.
“You see everything as if the world is this wonderful, magical place—even if we’re just on our way to work.”
Aston pushed her sunglasses into her hair, squinting at the sudden brightness before focusing on me. “The world is a wonderful, magical place. Especially your world. It’s so big and filled with possibilities.”
“I guess I just never saw it that way.” Maybe it was because my world was so big I never stopped to pay attention to the small things around me until Aston was there to make sure I took the time to do it. “Where you see possibilities, I see the inevitable.”
“Perhaps.” She blew out a deep breath. “Or, maybe you just think it’s inevitable, but it’s really only one possibility out of many. For example, what are you planning to do today when you see your brother?”
“I’m letting him go,” I said, without any hesitation. Dad might not want Danny out of the company completely, but I did. Keeping him around would cause nothing but trouble, and I had enough to deal with as it was. “Legally this time. He can’t argue. I have the paperwork in my briefcase to prove I have the authority.”
“Letting him go is inevitable?” I didn’t need to look at her to know she didn’t agree with my point of view.
Nodding, I pressed the corners of my mouth in. I hadn’t made the decision to fire Danny lightly. While I knew Aston wasn’t judging me for it and wouldn’t push me to give him another chance, I needed her to understand why I made the decision.
She was only just starting to trust that I wasn’t the type to run away, that I wasn’t going to leave her or push her
away because of the baby. The last thing I wanted was for her to think it was easy for me to let my family go, or that the prospect of no longer working alongside my brother didn’t hurt me.
I didn’t want her to think I was callous or petty. She needed to know I wanted nothing more than to keep Danny around, I just couldn’t. He was too much of a threat to the company with the way he was acting at the moment. The agenda he was pushing so hard could damage the company beyond reparation.
I wasn’t letting him go because it was easier for me to do that, I was doing it because Dad had entrusted his legacy to me and I sure as hell wasn’t going to let Danny tarnish it to make a name for himself.
“Letting Danny go is inevitable. Whether it happens today, tomorrow or next month, he’s moving in a different direction than the company is. If he doesn’t get out before moving too far in the opposite direction, I’m afraid it’ll tear the company in half and I can’t allow that to happen on my watch.”
“You’re sure the two of you are moving in such different directions that it will cause a tear?” She didn’t sound at all convinced. “Or is that just one possibility?”
“Danny is stubborn,” I told her. I loved my brother, but the guy was a damn mule. “Once he’s got his mind made up, that’s it. If he keeps working on his own stuff from the inside, he’ll end up convincing enough people that’s he’s right, even when he’s not.”
“And in doing so, tear the company apart?” She finished for me when I trailed off.
I nodded. “The company needs to be on solid ground with a clear vision for the future—now more than ever. As soon as it becomes public knowledge that I’m in charge and Dad has stepping aside, confidence in the company will waver if it seems like Danny and I are battling it out over where to lead the company now.”
“There needs to be a smooth transition of power.” She summarized succinctly, getting to the heart of the matter in one short sentence.
“Exactly. I couldn’t have said it better myself.” It would never stop surprising me that she seemed to be able to voice my thoughts with such ease, and better than I could do myself. We made a perfect team. “You have a way of making my thoughts make sense, you know that?”
“It’s because I’m a woman, we see things with more clarity than you men do. You just don’t usually realize it quite so fast.”
I chuckled. “I’d have to give up every man card I have if I agreed with you on that point. Let’s just leave it that I’m glad you have such insight.”
Giving me a playful salute, she leaned to the window and looked up at the McAllen Group corporate office building when I stopped at the red light right outside the parking garage. “I’ve dreamed of working here one day, and I’ve always wanted to come see it.”
“I’m sorry you’re finally here, but under these circumstances. I wish I could give you a tour and end it with showing you your own office.” I had no doubt that it would come to that, not because Aston was with me, but because she was extraordinarily talented at her job. If anyone was going to be promoted from a branch to the headquarters, it would be Aston.
Again, not because she was my girl. She was driven and capable, ambitious but grounded. With or without me, she was always going to achieve whatever she set her sights on. If that was the McAllen Group Headquarters, that was where she would have ended up.
Aston sighed. “I wish that too, but maybe another day. For today, let’s get this business with your brother over with so you can finally start sleeping again.”
I wasn’t surprised that she knew I’d been losing sleep over this. Of course she would know I’d been tossing and turning a lot the last couple of nights since she spent them next to me. I’d actually been worried she would think it was because of her and the baby, rather than my brother.
It gave me a sense of calm that she was secure enough in our relationship now that she knew what it was about and didn’t assume the worst. “Do you want to come up with me, or should I get someone to give you a quick tour of the highlights?”
“I’ll come up with you, but I’ll hang out somewhere while you’re talking to your brother. Just point me in the direction of a break room when we get up there. I’ll have some tea while you’re busy. I doubt your brother would appreciate an audience for this and I don’t want to meet him on a bad note.”
I didn’t really give a shit what Danny would or wouldn’t appreciate at this point. For me, it was more about not putting her in an awkward and uncomfortable position. Danny wasn’t going to go quietly and I would hate for her to get caught in the crossfire.
When we got to Danny’s receptionist outside his office, it turned out the whole thing was going to have to wait. I didn’t know Danny’s current receptionist, largely because he had a way of firing and changing them from within the secretarial pool on a whim.
One perceived mistake and he would move on to the next. The current woman was homely looking and wore a jersey I wouldn’t have been surprised to learn she had knitted herself. She smiled at me from behind oversized glasses, revealing slightly crooked teeth.
“Mr. McAllen, how can I be of assistance?” She spoke brightly and was quite pleasant.
I motioned toward my brother’s closed door. “Is he in?”
“No,” she shook her head. “I’m afraid he’s not. He won’t be back for the rest of the day. He’s overseeing some work in New York at the branch there. He’s scheduled to return in two days.”
New York? I sighed inwardly. That was the last place he should’ve been, given what was going on there. I had no doubt he was partying it up with his friend, who just so happened to be the manager I had to go up there to fire.
Fun times. Fuck.
“Would you like to leave a message?” The receptionist continued, “He calls in a couple of times a day. I’ll make sure he gets it.”
“That’s okay.” I turned to Aston. “I have to go up there anyway, looks like my trip has been fast tracked.”
After saying goodbye to the receptionist, Aston and I made our way back to the elevator. The doors closed behind us, leaving us mercifully alone. Taking her hand, I pulled her against my side and looked down into her gorgeous green eyes. “I want you to come to New York with me, will you?”
“Of course,” she agreed with a soft smile, leaning forward to press a kiss to my chest. Right on my heart. “If that’s where you want me, that is where I’m going.”
My heart did a crazy clenching thing. Pressing my lips to hers for a quick kiss before we reached the lobby, I wondered if she knew I would always want her by my side wherever I went. I made a mental note to look up at which point in the pregnancy it would be unsafe for her to travel with me, just in case she agreed to coming with me wherever I had to go in the coming months.
Back on the company jet later that afternoon, Aston buckled her safety belt. “It feels weird to know I’m going with you to New York to let your brother go when I’ve never even met him.”
“I wish you could’ve met him before all this happened.” Back when Danny and I were starting out at the company, he would have been the first person I wanted to introduce her to. I never would have imagined a time would come when I was dreading having her meet him, and wondering how he was going to react when he realized I was dating one of our managers.
It wasn’t going to be pretty, that was one thing I was sure of. It wouldn’t surprise me if he blamed her for my being adamant that Dustin was never going to be promoted. He would think I was blackballing the manager he wanted in the top spot, purely so I could give it to the girl I was seeing.
Only he wouldn’t put it in quite such eloquent terms. I took Aston’s hand, wanting to prepare her for what might be coming. “Whatever he says when we get there, ignore it. It’s not about you, it’s because of me. He’s a good brother, but he makes terrible decisions. That’s why I have to let him go.”
“You think he might fire some shots at me?” Her eyebrows lifted in surprise. “Why?”
“You are the m
anager at a branch he wanted to downsize and I refused. He’s bound to think I fought for California because of you, and that this is my way of getting back at him. It won’t help that all this is about to go down in New York where he’s undoubtedly been making promises to his friend about that promotion he announced.”
“Do you think his friend pushed him for that position?”
I nodded. “His plan to announce a round of promotions came pretty much out of nowhere. When we started discussing it with Dad, Danny insisted that Dustin from the New York branch had to be the one to get the general manager spot.”
Letting my head fall back onto the soft headrest as we started taking off, I turned to Aston. “Danny has great potential, if only he wasn’t being influenced by so many other people. I’m not sure when or how it happened, but he’s become vulnerable to manipulation. He lets people influence his way of thinking and he’s too damn stubborn to realize it.”
Aston was quiet for a minute, contemplative as the jet lifted from the ground and climbed into the clear blue sky. “Maybe this is your chance to make Danny see his potential, to rid him of the outside influence and bring him back into the fold.”
“Yeah,” I released a heavy breath. “It could’ve been, but I don’t think that’s going to happen with Dustin being there.”
Chapter 58
Aston
“Wow,” I said, drawing an extra breath as I stepped off the plane and onto New York soil for the first time in my life. “Breathing even feels different here.”
Blake laughed, slinging my bag over his shoulder and waving off the attendant who wanted to take it from him. “It’s the smog.”
Swatting his shoulder, I giggled and gave him a look. “It is not. It’s the fact that this is New York. I mean, think about it, New York, Blake. People come here from all over the world, hoping to make their dreams come true.”