Fallacy

by K. A. Berg

  Right now, Ashley’s in a deep med haze. We came home from the funeral, and she immediately asked for her pain meds and went to bed. She’s numbing her pain with pills. I can’t say I blame her, but I don’t want to sit around and let her do this to herself either. I know she thinks her world has ended, but there’s still a whole world around her. People who love her. People who want to help her. But all she wants is the darkness.

  “It’s not going to be easy, but she’s going to need everyone to stay and support her even when she’s trying to push you away. She’s going to go through many different emotions. When things start to look up, you’ll know it was worth it,” Alex coaches. I didn’t even hesitate to call him earlier after Ashley drifted off. And this is why. He always has the right thing to say. He always knows just how to settle my fears and calm my thoughts.

  “I just want to sleep for a week. I wasn’t even in the accident and my body feels like it was hit by a car,” I yawn. It probably wasn’t the most compassionate thing to say out loud. I’m glad Ashley is zonked out and couldn’t hear me even if I had a megaphone.

  I feel Alex shift under me. He lifts me and kisses my forehead. “I’ll head out. You can get some sleep.”

  I do something I haven’t ever asked any man to do. “Will you stay with me tonight?” Alex and I have spent the night together before, but it’s been after we’ve had sex so freaking amazing one or both of us have passed out. It’s never something one of us has asked the other to do in the months we’ve been doing this thing.

  His heads snaps in my direction and he just stares at me in surprise. I try not to laugh because the look on his face is priceless. “Yeah…yeah, of course, I’ll stay if it’s what you want,” he stutters.

  Nodding my head, I add, “I don’t want to be alone tonight, and I’m expecting Ash to be out for a while.”

  “Whatever you need, angel,” he replies and pulls me back into his arms, only this time, he scoops me up and carries me back to the bedroom. Setting me down alongside the bed, he pulls down the sheets on my bed and tips his chin toward it, “In you go.”

  I appreciate the sentiment, but I have another idea in mind. “I don’t think I’m quite ready to sleep yet.”

  “Angel…” Alex chides. “You’ve had a long day. A long week.”

  “So?” I counter. “I think I can handle some distraction and satisfaction right now.”

  “You think it’s a good idea?” He has seemed hesitant to have any kind of sex with me since the accident. It hasn’t really been on my mind either, but right now it sounds likes the perfect idea.

  “Why not? I’m not some chick you’re taking advantage of in her emotional distress.” A fucking is just what I need right now. I need something to give my head just a moment to turn off.

  Sensing Alex is having a moral dilemma, I take matters into my own hands and slide my fingers under his shirt and run my fingertips along his rib cage. It’s one of the spots that instantly turns him on.

  “I can see you’re pretty determined,” he concedes with a sigh. “But I’m the one in control. You want to shut your mind down, then you do what I tell you.”

  Fine with me. I’ll take what I can get at this point. I nod my agreement.

  Alex pulls my hoodie over my head and drops it on the floor. He proceeds by pushing my sweatpants down to the floor. “Step out.” I follow his orders and stand before him in my thong and tank top.

  “Lay down, angel,” he commands, his voice husky for a man who didn’t want to do this a few minutes ago.

  I sit on the bed and skootch up to lay my head on my pillow. Alex climbs up after me and straddles my legs. He slides his hands up my shirt now until he reaches my bra and pulls the cups down. Leaning over, Alex pulls my shirt up with his teeth, exposing my breasts. Releasing my shirt, he pulls a nipple into his mouth and lavishes it with his tongue. Shifting attention to the other side, he circles my nipple before giving it a little bite.

  “Mmm,” I moan as my back arches up off the bed, my body demanding more. The only thought occupying my mind is anticipating his next move.

  Releasing my nipple from his mouth, he drags his tongue down my stomach and circles my belly button. My body lets out a shiver when he blows on my wet skin, goosebumps peppering my entire torso.

  He drags the pads of his fingers up the outside of my legs until he reaches my panties. Gripping them in his fists, he pulls them slowly and torturously down my legs. The cold air hitting my pussy as he spreads my legs gives me a chill. But it doesn’t last long as Alex lowers his mouth to kiss the inside of my thigh, his hot breath heating my core.

  It feels like an eternity until his lips make contact where I want it most. Alex places soft pecks above my clit and on my pussy lips before he drags his tongue through my slit.

  “Yes,” I cry, finally getting what I want.

  Up. Down. Up. Down.

  Each stroke of his tongue is taking me higher and higher. He pulls my clit between his teeth and flicks it repeatedly with the tip of his tongue until I’m soaring. Flashes of color are playing behind my eyes as I hit my peak.

  Alex releases my clit but continues to lap at me until my body returns to its initially flat position on the bed.

  Sitting up, Alex pulls his t-shirt over his head and throws it on the floor. He rises to his knees and undoes the button on his jeans. He wrestles his jeans off, and they make a thud as they hit the floor.

  I run my eyes over his glorious naked body. The man is a marvelous distraction, which is just what I asked for. I take in every magnificent detail. The broadness of his shoulders. The well-defined muscles in his arms. The spatter of hair in the middle of his chest. The definition of his six-pack. The contours of his V, which is like an arrow to the wonder that is his cock. The cock standing long, thick, and proud. The cock my pussy is aching for.

  Clutching it in his fist, Alex drags the broad head of his dick through the wetness of my folds. The soft warmth gliding through my pussy causes my eyes to roll back.

  “Watch, angel,” he growls at me as he lines himself up at my entrance. He glances up at me, making sure I’m following his commands before sliding into me slowly. Feeding me one inch at a time.

  We watch together as my body takes him entirely. I’m not sure what’s hotter—watching him watch my body take him or watching the show myself.

  I moan loudly when I feel his balls on my ass. I love this feeling. The feeling of the first thrust when he’s buried fully inside of me. I lie back and close my eyes, relishing the fullness.

  “No way,” Alex groans, “Eyes, angel. I want to see your eyes.”

  Well, fuck! How do I say no to that?

  I open my eyes and gaze into his as he pulls himself out and pushes back in. Slowly. So slowly he hits every ignited nerve ending I have in my lower body. Everything feels extremely intense, but the pace is slow and unrushed. I don’t know if it’s the lack of sex over the last week or the continuous connection he’s demanding.

  Usually, Alex only asks me to open my eyes when I come. He’s never asked for this level of attention from me. It’s a struggle to maintain eye contact when all I want to do is close them. But at the same time, I don’t want to close them. I don’t want to miss a second of the way his eyes bore into mine. I can see all the pleasure mounting, and it gives me a feeling of total power.

  Alex lowers his body to mine as he continues to thrust in and out of me. He rests his forehead against mine and slips his hands under my back, sliding them up under me until he has my head cradled in his hands. This is different than any other time we’ve had sex. The intimacy we’re sharing at this moment is unlike any other. It’s slow and sensual. Alex never gets past a slow rhythm. He’s treating me like I’m a fragile piece of glass, and I’m enjoying every bit of it.

  I’m lost in the connection, and my orgasm sneaks up on me, catching me off guard as it barrels through me.

  “Alex,” I cry out as my body begins to quake and then explodes in an indescribable pleasure.
I feel the orgasm in every molecule of my being. There’s not one part of my body that doesn’t feel what he can do to me.

  I feel his hands tighten in my hair and his own orgasm takes over his body, each pulse of his cock as he comes, every grunt as he prolongs his release with each thrust, every exhale on my cheeks as he lets go. I love it all.

  I feel empty when he pulls out, but it doesn’t last long as he rolls off of me and pulls me into his arms. I’ve never been one to spoon, but something should be said for it. The only thing fluttering in my mind as I close my eyes is how nice and secure this feels. I can see why women love it. A calm takes over my body as I drift to sleep with no thoughts of the horrible events overtaking our lives recently.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Quinn

  “You will be back to work on Monday, Quinn,” my father says sternly into the phone. “You can’t afford to take any more time. Work needs to be your priority. That girl isn’t even your family.”

  God, the man is such a heartless bastard.

  “Can you give me just a few more days?” I ask again. “Or I can pick up all my files in the mornings and work from home.”

  “You will most definitely not be working from home. You barely manage things here. Think of how much more your work would suffer if you had a distraction like her around you. You’ll be at your desk at nine am Monday morning. End of discussion.” He disconnects the call without me getting in another word.

  I hate the man.

  I can barely manage things at the office? Fuck him! I rock at what I do. He’s just a bitter motherfucker because I’m better at this job than he is.

  The man has no compassion whatsoever. Ashley’s not a distraction. She’s a woman whose entire world imploded four weeks ago.

  I have no idea what I’m going to do. Ashley is in no shape to be home all day by herself. On a typical day, I’m at the office for ten hours without the commute. Even if I leave every day at five, she’s still going to be alone for nine hours a day.

  The old man is wrong. I’d work better from home because at work all I’m going to be doing is worrying about Ash. This has become more of a parent-child relationship than a friendship over the last month.

  I know I need to have a conversation with her about what to do when I go back to work in three days. The asshole didn’t even give me any time to prepare. I honestly thought he’d give me an extra week.

  I have a huge fucking migraine.

  The last few days have been a nightmare.

  I’m not built to handle all this drama. I don’t have the tolerance for it. But I’m trying to temper down my anger because Ash is hurting.

  Our discussion about me having to go back to work didn’t go well, which I expected. But I didn’t expect her to tell me I was overbearing! I’d like to see how that ungrateful twat would handle things if she had to worry about me waking up from a three-day coma.

  Then the stubborn bitch insisted on staying home alone claiming she’ll be fine. I spent the weekend rearranging her bedroom to make it more functional for her while she’s on her own.

  “What’s wrong, angel?” Alex asks as he walks through my front door to find me drinking a very large glass of wine.

  “I’ve had the day from hell,” I sigh, bringing the glass to my mouth.

  He drapes his coat over the back of the couch and joins me on it. “I figured as much from your text. What’s going on?” he asks as he pulls my feet into his lap and rubs them.

  “I spent the entire day being berated by my father for letting my files slack for the last month. Nothing was lacking. I checked in with all the investors and the CEO’s of my clients today. Not one had anything bad to say,” I divulge, enjoying the way he’s rubbing the tension from my body through my feet. I was surprised by everyone today. Neither my clients nor investors know exactly what happened. Just that I had some personal matters to attend to. Hearing everyone tell me how glad they were to have me back was very rewarding and unexpected. It was nice to hear I’m appreciated by them.

  I continue getting everything off my chest. “I wasn’t prepared for the shit show going on when I got home, either. I should’ve known it was too good to be true when everything went all right today. I hadn’t gotten any calls from Ashley. Stupidly, I assumed everything went okay.”

  “Stop being so hard on yourself. I guess since we’re here and not at the hospital it wasn’t anything too bad,” he says trying to make me feel better.

  “I walked in to find a fuming Tanner. Ashley fell coming back from the bathroom and got stuck on the floor for over an hour. She couldn’t get to her phone, and she passed out on her bedroom floor.” I’m thankful as hell Tanner agreed to check on her, or I would’ve come home to Ashley stuck on the floor in her bedroom for hours. “She somehow wound up falling on her bad knee, and now we’re worried she did more damage. She’s going to the doctor tomorrow, and Tanner has to take her. Guess who’s getting the brunt of her anger?”

  “Quinn, you can’t do this all on your own and Ashley isn’t going to ask for help. Let Tanner help you. He needs this as much as you do. He needs to feel like he’s doing something. You’re going to wear yourself thin trying to do everything,” he advises me while applying pressure to the arch of my foot, which right now feels better than getting off.

  He continues, “Ashley’s a big girl. She’s grieving, and her body is mangled. Her whole world is upside down. She’s going to lash out at you to express her anger. But don’t let her use you. Don’t let her use your compassion against you. You can still be here for her while standing up for yourself.”

  “No matter what I do, it’s wrong. First, I was overbearing, now I’m a bitch, and she’s an inconvenience for me. Everything I say lately is being manipulated into something else. I don’t know what the hell to do with her,” I sigh, utterly exhausted. Too much shit in a short period.

  “I know you want to do whatever you can to help, and you will, but don’t let this overtake your life, angel,” he says, dropping my feet off his lap and pulling me into his arms. “You’ve given her everything you can over the last month. She needs to start pulling herself from this hole she’s in. You won’t be able to do it for her. I don’t want to see you lose yourself in grief and anger with her.”

  I needed to hear that. It’s nice to hear someone give a shit about me and what I’m going through. This month has been extremely hard, and everyone has been so focused on how Ashley’s doing. It’s nice to have someone care about how I’m doing through this. I’ve become her nurse, chef, servant, and for fuck’s sake, I help her shower. I’m glad to do it all because I’m grateful she’s alive, but damn, it would nice to hear her say thank you. It would be nice to hear her speak without disdain. This is going to be a long few months while she gets herself back on her feet. If she keeps this up, I don’t know how long until I explode.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Quinn

  I stomp back into my room and grab my phone off the bed immediately to call Alex. It only takes him a ring to pick up. Almost as if he’s been holding his phone knowing I was going to need him.

  “You okay?” he asks immediately.

  “I am. I’m upset, but I’m fine,” I tell him.

  “Okay. I’m sorry you’re upset. Talk to me,” he urges.

  I take another deep breath before I replay my entire tiff with Ashley.

  It’s been four months since her accident, and I deserve an award for the amount of patience I’ve used to keep from slapping an injured woman. Until now.

  Ashley has been a nightmare. She refused to eat and cried constantly. She has been a stubborn bitch. She’s still a bitch, and she’s still stubborn, but at least now she functions and eats. The crying has diminished as well.

  She’s only made those improvements because Tanner and I forced her into seeking help when she finally hit an all-time low. Ashley still holds Tanner responsible for her accident. He finally had enough of her constant abuse and gave up on her. I can’t say I blame t
he man. I’m about at the end of my rope with her too.

  But the fact she has Tanner so convinced that he won’t let his agent talk him out of the shit Melissa put him in is beyond crazy. And Ashley’s letting him. She’s letting the press run with this story Melissa told them about him abandoning Ashley and his child. Melissa told someone Tanner threw Ashley away, and because he refused to acknowledge her and the baby, she had to work a second job, and that job led to the death of his child.

  She said some awful things to him, and I’ve tried to get her to see reason, and her therapist has, too. Ashley’s convinced herself Tanner’s leaving her led to her car accident, and if he hadn’t left her, she would’ve never been out that night. He’s convinced of it too. Christ, he’s heard enough from her. No wonder he blames himself. And I still get a lot of shit because I’ve allowed Tanner to keep helping her. She has never once thought about how all this is on us.

  It’s not what happened at all and Ashley knows it. She knows he wanted everything to do with their baby, but she’s not defending him. She’s letting him be blasted through the media as a piece of shit. I have a problem with it. A big one. No one else can fix this, but Ashley couldn't care less.

  I can’t believe I slapped my best friend but fuck if she didn’t deserve it. Someone needed to knock some sense into her. She’s an ungrateful bitch, and I’ve had enough of it.

  I put my entire life on hold for her for a month. I didn’t go to work. I didn’t leave her side. I planned her son’s funeral. I was her nurse. I was her shoulder to cry on. She needed round the clock care with all her injuries, and I was there to make sure she got it. But it also meant I was the only one there when the anger set in.