Embrace: The Secret Billionaire Asher Christmas Duet, Two (The Dark Christmases Book 9)

by Z. L. Arkadie

  Several of his fingers slid into me, and I lifted my chin and gasped when I answered, “Okay.”

  Asher’s mouth come down over my erect nipple. His tongue swirled around the hardness, sending shivers through my pussy before he gently bit down. I gasped.

  “Fuck it. Let’s just stay here all day.”

  I chuckled but then released a strong exhale across my lips as his mouth stimulated my nipple again. “You know Chief Brown thinks you’re going to quit,” I managed to say.

  “I know.”

  Damn, that felt good. “You do?”

  His mouth was moving to my other nipple. “I know Si. He’s panicking. I’ll put his mind to rest. I’m the one who landed this hospital Roland Agnew and Expansive Brain Health Institute. And Roland isn’t going to work for anybody but me.” He sank as much of my tit as he could into his mouth and kept sucking while guiding me onto a lone shower bench. Asher helped me straddle the bench and laid me back onto the wood. Our dazed eyes remained locked on each other until his hot tongue slid up my slit, then his mouth latched onto my clit.

  “Ha!” I cried.

  Asher had gotten hard again, and the only reason we didn’t do it again on one of the on-call beds was because our cell phones kept beeping and ringing. Greg was my only patient of the day, and I was grossly neglecting him. I wasn’t sure what Asher’s day looked like, but I knew for certain it didn’t involve any surgeries.

  We walked down the empty hallway, going in the opposite direction from where we’d arrived on the floor. Asher and I discussed some probable causes for Greg’s memory issues.

  “Don’t forget to check for syphilis,” he said.

  I laughed because I could see by his wry smile that he enjoyed saying that.

  “I’m serious,” he said, faking sounding professional.

  “I know.”

  Asher pressed the down button for the elevator. “That’s what you get when you fuck around with pussy-monger football players—syphilis.”

  I touched my chest, laughing. “Are you lecturing me?”

  The elevator doors opened, and he swept me up in his arms as he brought me inside. “I know you have better taste than that guy.”

  Beaming at him, I said, “I do.”

  “Mmm,” Jake moaned before he kissed me in his slow, sensual way.

  The elevator made it to the ground floor way too fast, and it felt like a mild form of torture to have his lips and tongue abandon mine. But when the door slid open, I was caught off guard by the sight of a dark warehouse.

  “What’s all this?” I asked after stepping out of the elevator and onto the concrete floor. Large boxes, brand new office furniture, and medical equipment were neatly stacked on tall shelves.

  Asher patted an X-ray machine. “All the equipment, furniture, everything’s going to be new here. We’re making this a cutting-edge hospital.”

  I ran my hand over the new steel until the tips of my fingers touched his. “Wow.”

  His hand captured mine, and he interlaced our fingers. My eyebrows flitted upward and stayed there as he drew me against him. “I’m glad you’re impressed,” he whispered thickly.

  Our gazes remained locked until we kissed each other tenderly, keeping it short and sweet so we wouldn’t lose track of time again.

  He went on to tell me about more of his plans to upgrade the hospital.

  “So, is this what you’re going to be doing instead of surgeries?” I asked as we walked up a ramp that led to the main hospital.

  He shook his head adamantly. “No. But Si is right about one thing—I can’t be on staff here. I’ll perform high-risk and experimental surgeries through EBHI.”

  “Ooh,” I said, feeling the excitement light up my eyes. “Fun.”

  We were in a more crowded hallway when he winked at me and said, “You’ll be with me.”

  I bumped into him flirtatiously. “Oh ... You’re not hiding your surgeries from me anymore. Remember the last time we were in the OR together?”

  He sniffed. “Yes. That was very difficult for me.”

  I was about to say something witty, but I suddenly noticed how people stared as we passed them.

  “However, I want you to work closely with Roland too. In my opinion, he’s the best neurosurgeon in the world. You’re going to learn a lot from him, babe,” he said as if he didn’t notice how everyone was staring at us. He probably didn’t care.

  “I would love to work closely with him. I mean, just stick me in his armpit twenty-four seven.”

  He smirked. “As long as there’s room for me.”

  Being self-conscious about all the eyeballs on us didn’t stop me from batting my eyelashes at him. “There’s always room for you.”

  We beamed at each other, wearing silly grins.

  “Asher Nathaniel Christmas.” The woman had a silky voice and almost sounded as if she had an English accent. Perhaps she was attempting to sound elegant and above us mere mortals.

  But I knew exactly who she was when Asher grew stiff. He turned to me, closed his eyes, and shook his head.

  “I thought we should talk sooner rather than later, don’t you?” she asked even though neither of us had turned to face her.

  “I don’t want you near her. Go. Now. We’ll meet up later,” he whispered.

  It was as if my feet were on autopilot. My head was climbing a stairway to the moon. His words sat in my brain like a weightless object. That was why I turned to see her. My eyes expanded at the sight of a well-dressed woman in a tight black suit. She wore a red silk shirt under the jacket. Her heels were high, and her skin was dewy and blemish-free, and her makeup perfectly applied. Her long dark hair lay across her shoulders—the strands were silky and soft like she had just left the salon. In a few ways, I saw how we could be related. Our hair color was the same and under all her makeup, I guessed, so were our complexions. I was taller, though. My features were more Ross than whatever she was. However, in the grand scope of it all—her outfit, shoes, fake accent, and the way she stood there, smirking at me—I had glimpsed more differences than similarities.

  And she watched me with the same penetrating and assessing glower as I had given her. For a moment, I wondered what she thought.

  Asher rubbed my shoulder gently. “Penina, please go.”

  I looked up at him. He was still facing away from her.

  I wasn’t one to run from confrontation, but I saw no reason not to respect his wishes. I put my small hand over his large one. “Okay.”

  His lips came toward mine, and we kissed once, but that wasn’t enough, so we did it two more times quickly. We said we’d see each other later, but I wasn’t sure about that. I took another quick glance at Julia. Her arms were crossed, and she smirked at us as if she thought we were putting on a show for her. A sense of dread gripped me because he would be alone with her soon. Will he kiss her? Remember he loved her? Those were the questions I asked myself as I walked away.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Asher Christmas

  She could’ve at least changed her perfume, but it was still the same syrupy scent that made my stomach turn. She wore the same hairdo too, like a woman who couldn’t picture herself without the long tresses of a little girl. Penina was different. She embraced womanhood, and that was sexy as hell. Not only that, but Julia also had the same fabricated walk where she intently put one foot in front of the other. Our pace was brisk, but she didn’t miss a beat. Nothing could stop her from strutting like a sex kitten.

  “So, Asher, why didn’t you return my call?”

  I narrowed my eyes, refusing to engage in even the slightest conversation with her. I realized she was taking my temperature and testing my willingness to engage with her.

  “Was that my sister? She’s … plain.”

  Again, she was aiming to get a rise out of me. She and I both knew that wasn’t the truth.

  When I reached my office, I had second thoughts about being alone with her and in close quarters. It would’ve been beneficial t
o have witnesses. Si was occupied with Greg Carroll. My brothers weren’t around. I glanced at Julia, and her eyebrows flew up.

  “Scared?” she asked, smirking.

  “Yes,” I replied.

  “Then you feel the chemistry too.”

  I grunted bitterly as I stuck my key in the door, trying to take Bryn’s advice and be nice to her. I wanted to tell her there could never be chemistry between us. I hadn’t known what chemistry felt like until Penina came along. What I felt for Julia was distrust.

  I opened the door, and she strolled through, perfecting her fuck walk. When I walked into my office, I didn’t close the door all the way. We needed some amount of privacy. I didn’t want a passerby overhearing our conversation. I stopped in the middle of the space, making sure there was plenty of room between us. We observed each other. My gaze held suspicion—hers, amusement.

  “You’re still handsome to the extreme,” she said, grinning.

  “Why are you here, Julia? And how did you get my number?”

  She sniffed. “Do you really have to ask me that? Your whore gave me everything I needed.”

  I bit down on my back teeth. She knew Gina was no longer practicing prostitution, but she didn’t care. Julia needed to view Gina as someone in a lower category of human being than herself. On many occasions, I’d tried to convince Gina that Julia could never be her friend. But Julia was a master manipulator. She knew how to prey on the wounded. With insincerity, she listened to Gina’s hardships and offered bad advice, and was disingenuous while consoling her. She even started a sexual relationship with Gina, who used to believe sex, regardless of who she engaged in it with, equated to love. The handful of times Gina and I had sex, though, she never got confused about love, simply because fucking me made her realize how unworthy of love she felt. Before Penina, my relationships with women amounted to shit. And standing there, looking at a pile of it, I was reminded of that.

  “Okay, I’ll tell you why I’m here,” she said, smirking.

  I kept my expression hard. “I’m listening.”

  She dangled a ring with two keys on it. “I purchased the penthouse from Gina, for one.”

  I sniffed bitterly. “What the fuck do you need the penthouse for?”

  “Oh.” Her eyes gleamed, proud she made me snap at her. “There you are.”

  I took a deep breath, rounding my shoulders. Stay in control, Asher. Don’t let her get to you. “Why do you need it?”

  Julia kept sneering. “I have a new job in town.”

  “Well, it’s not for sale.”

  “The problem is, Gina sold it to me.”

  I bared my teeth. “The problem is, she can’t sell it without my permission.”

  She smirked, seemingly unaffected by how riled up I was.

  “Don’t you …” She ran her fingers down her collarbone and unfastened the top button of her blouse. She was on cue. The moment had come for her to use her pussy for advantage. “… miss me? Even a little?”

  “No.”

  “See … I think you do.”

  “And,” I continued, narrowing my eyes to slits, “not only won’t I sell my penthouse to you, but Gina no longer owns it. You can set my keys on my desk before you leave my office. And I’ll have the locks changed and the security system reset by the time you make it to the end of the hallway.”

  She stuffed the keys into her blouse. “Come get them.”

  She was a sad sight, actually. After six years, she was still snatching tricks out of the same tired bag. I’d thought not having Arthur to run to when her blunders needed his fixing would’ve made her grow up. Apparently not.

  “Haven’t you noticed how peaceful it is around here? The missing Christmas brother hasn’t left the building, yet there’s not a reporter lurking.”

  I frowned, thoughtful. That was true. I’d walked right through the front entrance that morning, and no one was camping out, trying to capture me with their camera.

  “They were here before you arrived. But now they’re not.”

  “Ha! Are you implying that you’re responsible for their departure? Because you’re definitely responsible for them being here.” My accusation hung in the air.

  “Humph,” she said then watched me with a tight smile. Julia was assessing me, choosing what she would say next carefully.

  “Asher, I promise, I never contacted the press.”

  My face tightened. “I don’t believe you.”

  She shrugged nonchalantly. “To each his own. But don’t you want to know where I work?”

  “Not really.”

  “Here at the hospital.”

  I let out a bitter laugh. If that was the case, then the fix was easy. “You’re fired.”

  She sucked a sharp breath of air between her teeth before she sighed. “Bryn.”

  Oh … I recognized the tone. The time had come. Julia was on the verge of dropping a bomb. My jaw tightened as I braced myself for impact. “What about Bryn?”

  “I know how much you love your sister. And listen, I heard about all the remarkable steps she’s taking to change her unremarkable life.” She smiled to take credit for her insult.

  “What. About. Bryn?”

  “Before my father was set up by your brother and sent to prison, he left me a goodie basket. And I have all the proof I need against Bryn Christmas. As you know and I know, she was the one who was dealing drugs at her college and yours. She hired her own chemist to change your highly addictive and synthetic compound. And she made your—oh my god.” She closed her eyes, pressing he fingers against her temples. “What was it? I remembered it. It’s so fascinating, how smart you people are. It was Xynalycophene Yellow.”

  I felt all the tension drop out of my face. How the fuck did Arthur know that? We all knew he had something on Randolph. Was that it?

  “That was why your father had Bryn pulled out of college after her freshman year. Or was it Jasper who did the pulling? He’s always been your real daddy, hasn’t he? I wouldn’t be surprised if he fucked Amelia. I mean, they were just so weirdly close.”

  Speechless, I shook my head.

  “But nobody has to know what Bryn did if Jasper wants to deal.”

  Finally, we were getting to the point of her showing up in New Orleans and scheming herself into a job in my hospital. I folded my arms. “What do you want?”

  “My father’s innocent of all charges.” Uncertainty flashed in her eyes when she said that.

  A bitter laugh escaped me. “Have you consulted with your brother?”

  “He’s a peon. Your father was the pervert, not mine. Your brother ruined his life, and mine.”

  I couldn’t stop shaking my head. I hadn't thought about Julia since I became Jake Sparrow. But I wasn't surprised she was still singing the hymn of her father’s innocence. But I wasn't invested in what Julia believed. I could give a damn. There was one thing for certain, he was a rapist and murderer, and it wasn’t just Jasper who would make sure Arthur Valentine would die in prison for his crimes, but Spencer and me as well. There was something else going on inside me. The longer I observed her sameness and smelled her syrupy perfume, the less angry I became.

  “Get out of my office, Julia.” I would’ve called HR and security right then and there and had her fired and thrown off the premises, but I had to consult Jasper first. So far, we had gone virtually untouched by my father’s sins. Thanks to my brothers’ efforts, the public had never held us accountable. But the cover-up and Bryn’s fuckup could make us all look rotten to the core. She had been young and rebellious back then. I had to do whatever it took to make sure her actions didn’t come back to bite her and me in the ass.

  Julia’s smirk revealed that she knew she had me in checkmate, at least for now.

  “I want my penthouse, and I’ll keep my job,” she said as if she had no doubt I would give her what she wanted. Then she took a few steps forward to stand right in front of me. Her breath smelled the same, turning my stomach.

  Then, to my fucking s
urprise, she squeezed my cock. “And I want your golden dick.” She sighed as though touching me was getting her off.

  I gripped her wrist, wishing I could crush the bone. “Don’t you ever fucking touch me. That’s reserved for your sister.”

  There it was, the flash of anger—no, it was rage—in her eyes. “Let go of me,” she said with clenched teeth and tried to snatch her wrist out of my grasp.

  I wasn’t ready to let go yet. “You should walk away while you still have the shit you own.” Then I let go of her.

  Julia tugged the hem of her suit jacket and pulled her shoulders back. Then her lips slowly formed a smirk. “See you around, Dr. Sparrow—and my sister too.” She winked.

  I stared daggers at her as she strolled out of my office, but I kept my composure, not wanting her to see that I was indeed alarmed. How did Valentine fucking know about Bryn? There was supposed to be no paper trail left behind. How did Arthur Valentine find one? I almost didn’t believe her, but still, it would’ve been negligent to ignore her threat. So I took my phone out of my pocket and called my brother, Jasper.

  Penina was the second person I looked for. No one I asked had seen her. I found Deb at the care station, combing over charts, and asked her too.

  “No, but don’t you feel you owe me a conversation?” she asked.

  “Not now, Dr. Glasgow.” I was shorter with her than I wanted to be.

  “Don’t you want to know why I don’t know where she is?”

  I tensed up. She had regained my full attention. “I’m listening.”

  “She’s no longer a resident as of”—she checked her watch—“twenty minutes ago. She’s now a fellow. As always, it’s who you know, or more.”

  Whoa. She sneered like she wanted to spit in my face. I’d never seen Deb that angry. The time she came to my office when I was with Penina, I’d known what her visit was concerning. However, Penina would never have guessed that her boss was coming to make her play for me. Deb was always acutely aware that I was within proximity. Even seconds ago, when I walked into the care station to find Penina, she’d gone rigid and doubled her efforts to pretend as though she hadn’t noticed me.