Asher (The Casanova Club Book 10)

by Ali Parker

  Although admittedly, we were pushing things a little too far.

  I dropped to a crouch to collect my wet jacket from the floor and hurried past her, giggling as I followed Asher down the hall to my suite. Our steps became faster and faster the closer we got until we were both practically running.

  We came to a skidding stop outside my door, and I struggled to slide the key card through the reader. Asher poked fun at me as I put the card in upside down three consecutive times. Then he shouldered me out of the way and plucked the card from my cold fingers.

  “Give me this.” He swiped the card, and the indicator light blinked green. He pushed it open and pulled me in behind him. The door closed, and he locked it in our wake and then faced me. “How is it possible that you look so beautiful after a downpour like that?”

  I slicked my wet hair off my forehead. “Rain is my color.”

  “Indeed,” he said.

  And then he was pulling me close again, sealing me against him as he kissed me, sharing his warmth and his body. My jacket hit the floor again as we walked backward to the bed, and I struggled to undo my jeans, which got caught up around my ankles because I’d forgotten to remove my sneakers.

  Asher pushed me down on the bed as I laughed at my own clumsiness. He slid my shoes off and then helped me out of my jeans. They were practically glued to my skin. Once they were off and I was in nothing but my wet T-shirt, Asher stripped out of his pants. His shirt came next.

  I propped myself up on my elbows and soaked in the sight of him. “I didn’t see that coming.”

  His body was a map of muscles. He had a six pack that didn’t make sense based on how much I’d seen him eat and drink, swollen shoulders and biceps that looked like he’d just done a hundred push-ups, and a chiseled chest with a modest amount of hair in the center running down to his navel and then disappearing beneath his pants.

  I licked my lips.

  “Did you think I’d be all soft and squishy?” he asked, coming to his knees on the bed and crawling up the length of my body to stare down at me.

  “Isn’t that what most royals are like? You live in your cushy palace and sit in your cushy chairs and get pampered all day?”

  He chuckled. “I’m not like those pompous clowns. You should know that by now, Piper.”

  I smiled and reached up to hook my arms around his neck. “I do.”

  He kissed me again. This time, there was nobody there to interrupt us, and things went from zero to a hundred really quickly. One minute, I was beneath him in my wet T-shirt, and the next, I was naked except for my panties.

  Our hot damp skin pressed together as he ran a hand down my stomach to rest over my panties. Then he slid a finger under the thin fabric.

  I let out a shaky sigh when he touched me. He started slowly at first, rolling his fingers over my clit in a delicious circular motion. He was patient and determined, and even when I grew restless beneath him and rolled my hips against his hand, he never wavered. His motions remained controlled and glorious, and it was only a matter of minutes before my toes were curling and I was on the edge of coming undone.

  “Don’t stop,” I pleaded.

  He pressed his cheek to mine. When he spoke, his hot breath tickled my skin. “Never.”

  I came hard and fast. My fingers curled in his hair, and a short cry escaped me. Asher silenced it with a kiss and ran his finger down my slit. When he slid his finger inside me, I saw stars. They popped and exploded against the inside of my eyelids, and I arched my back. Asher held me down and fucked me hard with his finger until a second climax rolled through me. Fresh wetness bloomed between my legs, soaking the inside of my thighs and the sheets beneath me.

  Asher ran kisses across my chest and breasts. “Good girl.”

  “I want you,” I whispered. “Do you have protection?”

  Asher pushed himself off me and went to his discarded pants near the foot of the bed. I smiled down at him and watched him search through his pockets. When he straightened, he held the condom up victoriously. “Praise the lords.”

  I giggled as he jumped up onto the bed and lay on his back beside me. Then he put the condom on top of my right nipple.

  “Don’t move,” he said.

  I held perfectly still as he lifted his ass from the bed and stripped his boxers off. His cock taunted me, thick and long and hard, and I fought to stay still as he’d told me. He took the condom, tore the wrapper open, and rolled it over his length.

  When he made to roll back on top of me, I stopped him with a hand on his chest. “Wait.”

  His eyebrows drew together as I pushed more firmly until he went back onto his back. I rolled with him and hooked one leg over his hips so that I could right myself on top of him. I sat on his lap, straddling him, my knees sinking into the plush mattress beneath us.

  I lifted up. Asher didn’t need to be told what to do. He eased his cock into me and held my hips as I lowered myself slowly, taking him inch by inch, reveling at the intense pressure and delirious euphoria that broke over me as he filled me up.

  “You’re so big,” I moaned.

  His fingers pressed into my hips as he guided me down the rest of his shaft. A growl left his throat. “And you’re so fucking tight. Damn.”

  I rocked back and forth on top of him, bracing myself with my palms against his chest. He held on to me as we both descended into a perfect rhythm together. I bounced as he bucked his hips, and right when I started coming apart at the seams, he rolled me over onto my back.

  I gazed up at him, breathless and needy, and he pushed my legs back as he fucked me deep and slow. I gasped as he lowered himself between my thighs. Our kiss was deep, and his hips never slowed.

  I whimpered.

  He quickened his pace. The world melted around us, and I clung to him, my nails pressing into his shoulder blades as he buried himself deep inside me over and over until I couldn’t hold on any longer.

  I cried out his name as I came. Asher buried his face in my shoulder as he lost himself, and I held him to me until he finished. Then he collapsed on his side, and we both stared up at the ceiling, catching our breath.

  And then I started giggling.

  Asher chuckled and put a hand on my thigh. “That was worth the wait.”

  I rolled onto my side and stroked his chest. “I’d say.”

  Chapter 15

  Asher

  A cool September breeze blew through the slightly open window of my office at Sutton Place, disturbing the loose papers on my old cherry oak desk. They fluttered and shifted, and a few fell to the floor. I pushed my chair back and stood, stooping to collect them, and then went to the window, which I pulled closed and latched.

  Then I braced myself on the windowsill and gazed out at the expanse of gardens on the other side of the glass. The garden darkened by the minute as night rolled in.

  It had rained for the last three days, since the night Piper and I spent together. Usually, my mood was as gloomy as the weather around this time of year in London when summer came to an abrupt end and autumn rolled in, wet and cold.

  But not this year.

  This year, there was a bright, warm, cheery ray of light in my life.

  Piper.

  She was so bright, in fact, that it was as if there was an invisible force field around me that protected me from all the usual negativity in my life. In other words, my mother.

  The past three days had been demanding work-wise. There was a lot I needed to see to, which meant I only had been able to steal one breakfast date with Piper since our evening together in her hotel. It wasn’t nearly as much as I wanted, but it was enough to protect me from my mother’s scolding glare and bad attitude.

  Literally nothing could get me down.

  I was about to leave my office when a soft knock came at the door.

  “Come in.”

  The door cracked open, and Antoni’s brown mop of hair appeared as he poked his head into the room. “Evening, boss. Your mother is done with me for the da
y, and I thought I’d check in and see if you need anything. Nightcap?”

  “No, I’m all right, Antoni. Thank you. Come. Sit. You and I haven’t had much time to catch up this month.”

  Antoni took the seat in front of my desk, and I sat down at my chair. It was the same cherry oak as the desk, with dark green leather cushions stitched into the wood. I leaned back, and it creaked beneath me as I kicked my heels up onto my desk, crossed one ankle over the other, and clasped my hands over my stomach.

  “I hope my mother isn’t working you too hard,” I said.

  “Never.” Antoni shook his head. “Even if she does, it’s all right. Your family compensates me more than fairly.”

  I frowned. “Why is it easier to talk about work than other things lately?”

  Antoni shrugged. “I don’t know. Routine?”

  I sighed. Antoni and I were best friends. At least, I considered him mine. Truth be told, I wasn’t certain where I placed on his list of relationships. “I’m sorry, Antoni. I think recently I’ve been treating you more like an employee than a friend. And you are a friend, first and foremost.”

  “I know that. It goes both ways. Let’s talk like friends tonight, then.”

  “I’d like that. Can I pour you a drink?”

  “I can get it—”

  “Sit down,” I said firmly as Antoni made to go to my liquor cabinet. “Let me serve you for once.”

  He lowered himself back into his seat and chuckled. I went to the cabinet and poured us each a whiskey neat. I brought him his drink and set it down in front of him.

  “Thank you,” he said, lifting the glass to his lips. “Cheers.”

  “Cheers.”

  My friend let out a contented sigh after the whiskey passed his lips. Then he shifted in his seat to make himself more comfortable. “Tell me how things are going with Piper.”

  I smiled. “Brilliantly.”

  “Yeah?”

  “I couldn’t have asked for better, to be honest. She’s delightful. She’s funny and smart as hell, and she’s not afraid to say what’s on her mind the minute she thinks it. It’s incredibly refreshing to be around someone so transparent. There are no mind games like there is with my family. No wondering if you’re saying the right thing. No fear of gossip. No walking on eggshells. It’s just easy. Does that make sense?”

  “Of course, it does. She’s a breath of fresh air.”

  “More like a hurricane of it.”

  Antoni chuckled. “I’ve been wanting to point out how happy you seem. There’s something different about you. Like you’re not carrying extra weight on your shoulders anymore.”

  “That’s how I feel,” I said.

  “I’m happy for you, mate.”

  “Thank you.”

  Antoni swirled his whiskey around in the glass. It licked at the edges and nearly sloshed over the rim. He took another sip as the wind picked up outside, howling against the glass like a lone wolf that wanted inside.

  “Do you think she feels the same about you?” Antoni asked after a lengthy moment of comfortable quiet.

  I frowned. That was a good question. And one I’d been deliberately not asking myself for the last couple of days, since something became very clear that night in bed with Piper.

  I had feelings for her. Real, genuine feelings.

  “I’m not sure,” I said. The words were hollow in my throat.

  The thought of Piper not feeling the same about me as I felt about her was a jarring one. This was all moving very quickly. I knew that. Too quickly to be considered normal. That was for sure. But that didn’t mean my feelings toward her weren’t valid.

  I was quite sure I would be able to spend the rest of my life with her. I’d be happy. We could start a family and settle down at our own estate. Somewhere far enough away from my parents but close enough where they could come visit on holidays. Somewhere the kids could play outside and where Piper and I could sit and drink our tea in the morning while watching them on the lawn.

  “You still have two weeks to find out,” Antoni said.

  “Find out what?” I’d zoned out thinking about Piper.

  Antoni smiled. “How she feels about you.”

  “Right.”

  “Don’t you want to know?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, I don’t know if that’s the point of the Casanova Club. She doesn’t have to validate my feelings at any point of this process, and she doesn’t have to tell me what she’s thinking about us either. The really hard part about this is there are eleven other men fighting for her, too. And I can’t deny that several of them are stand-up guys.”

  “They can’t possibly be as worthy as you,” Antoni said.

  I chuckled and ran a finger along the side of my glass. “I appreciate the sentiment, Antoni. I really do. But I need to be honest with myself.” Otherwise, reality might give you a kick in the ass at the end of the year when she picks someone else. “There are other men who might already have her heart. And there’s nothing I can do about that.”

  “All Americans?”

  “And a Canadian.”

  “Is he decent?”

  “He’s a threat to be sure,” I said.

  “Fucking Canadians.” Antoni glowered. “How can you compete with that level of politeness?”

  “Joshua is more than polite. He’s a talented artist. A good man. A family man, to boot. He’s a romantic. I can see him sweeping Piper off her feet in a matter of days.”

  “Maybe he’s not her type.”

  “Isn’t tall, dark, and handsome with a French accent every woman’s type?”

  Antoni opened his mouth and promptly closed it again.

  I laughed. “Yeah. Exactly.”

  “In Piper’s defense, she’s not like every woman. She’s her own woman, right?”

  “Right,” I said.

  “So who’s to know what her type is? And more than that, someone of royal blood is also every woman’s ideal man. Hell, you’re more than ideal, mate. You’re the cherry on top. The whipped cream. The crème de la crème.”

  “This is getting weird.”

  Antoni shrugged. “I’m trying to be supportive.”

  “Noted.”

  Antoni rolled gracefully to his feet and arched his back like a cat. A series of cracks rolled up his spine, and he chuckled as my face contorted with repulsion. “Don’t get in your head about this, Ash. You’re not even halfway through the month, and you’re already psyching yourself out. For all you know, you’re a front runner in Piper’s mind. For all you know, you’re the guy she sees by her side at the end of this.”

  I wanted to believe him. I wanted to trust that the words my best friend was saying were objective and not so painfully biased. But I’d never been that much of an optimist. Reality was reality, and the truth of the matter was still that the other men in the Casanova Club were good, well rounded, and intelligent, worthy men.

  Most of them, anyway.

  And if at the end of this Piper chose one of them over me, I would have to pick myself up off the floor and move on. My mother would always have a parade of women waiting on my doorstep, so it wasn’t like I had to fear loneliness. If I needed company, I would have it.

  I just might not have the company of the woman I wanted.

  “Don’t look so morose,” Antoni said as he refilled his glass. “I’m rooting for you, mate. Mostly because I want you to be happy. But partially because I want to see your mother’s face when she realizes you’re going to marry an American girl who wears sneakers and band tees.”

  I sighed. “Wonderful, isn’t she?”

  Chapter 16

  Piper

  “It’s part of the process,” I told my reflection as I braced myself against the counter in my hotel bathroom.

  My reflection stared back at me, her resolve unwavering.

  No. You betrayed him.

  I hung my head, and my hair fell around my face in a curtain, the longest strands grazing the top of the sparkly
quartz counter.

  “Idiot,” I breathed.

  I should have known the guilt would come for me sooner or later.

  After my night with Asher, things were all warm and fuzzy and almost glorious. I was full of hope and optimism, but that had ebbed away little by little over the last few days. Not being able to see him except for one time since that night probably wasn’t making things easier.

  We needed more time together to bond, to solidify whatever this thing was between us. Because even though part of me didn’t want it to be true, I couldn’t deny there had been sparks between us that night. Sizzling, popping, cracking, white-hot sparks.

  But now in the aftermath of all that chemistry, I was left with the one feeling that wouldn’t fucking leave me alone: guilt.

  All I could think about now was Levi. Not only had I betrayed him by sleeping with and beginning to care for another man, but I was doing all this while he was in rehab. Levi was doing the hardest thing he could to improve himself, and here I was, whoring myself out with a royal.

  I gripped the edge of the counter and shook my head at myself.

  How could I be so selfish?

  How could I have forgotten about him while I was pinned beneath Asher, chest heaving, heart racing, muscles aching for him to touch me in all the right places…

  Slowly, I lifted my head to look at myself again. The girl looking back was not the same girl she was from the end of last year. This girl was a woman now. She was hardened by love and heartbreak and farewells that stole little parts of her along the way. Her soul was shallower than it used to be, her chest cavity an empty cavern of hopelessness.

  There would be no love story at the end of this. No way for me to justify my choices.

  There would only be money.

  “Money earned by breaking hearts and weaving lies,” I muttered as I pushed away from the counter and turned my back on my reflection. I couldn’t bear to look at her anymore.

  At me.

  I went to the mini-fridge in my room and grabbed myself a can of beer. I popped the tab and sipped at the foam as I sat down at my makeup vanity. More mirrors confronted me, and I wondered how I would manage to put my makeup on for the Elton John concert tonight without making myself sick.