Take Me Again

by Carly Phillips

  “Hell no. I figured we have to decide what the hell to do,” Parker said. “So I called you.”

  Sebastian didn’t miss the fact that Parker had turned to him for a solution. He ran a hand over his hair and groaned. “We get the full story of what went on here, and then we bring it to Ethan, no speculation involved.”

  Ashley’s eyes gleamed with approval.

  “Agreed,” Parker said. “Sierra doesn’t want to hurt him, either. So we’re all sworn to silence until you two figure out their relationship. Any ideas how to do that?”

  “We’ll head over to that club tonight and have a talk with Mr. Nichols,” he said with no respect in his use of the man’s name. “I’ll get back to you when I know more. Hopefully this is a lead on what is wrong with the locks, too. I’m going to meet with Greg Munson this morning. Discuss the Sparrow components with him. I should know more then.”

  “Thanks, Sebastian. You’re doing great out there,” Parker said, taking him by surprise.

  His heart warmed at his brother’s praise. “Thanks, man. I’ll be in touch.” He disconnected the call and met Ashley’s gaze, her expression disturbed.

  “This is awful,” she said.

  He couldn’t deny the obvious. “Listen, I want to take you to buy a dress for tonight’s trip to Marquee. Something you don’t normally wear, that won’t look out of place. We don’t want to stand out. I want Nichols to talk to me, not run the other way.”

  “You want me to buy a sexy dress?” she asked in a husky voice, running her fingers through his hair as she spoke.

  His entire body responded to her teasing touch, his cock now tenting the white covers. “One that’s going to make every guy in the place look twice. At which point I’m going to have to kick the ass of anyone who glances at you sideways,” he muttered, suddenly not liking his plan all that much.

  “I’ll need a pair of fuck-me heels,” she murmured. “The kind that’ll let me swivel my hips and make you drool.”

  He curled his hands into the covers. “As long as I’m the one who gets to bring you home and fuck you in them later, I’ll live with it,” he said.

  She lowered her head, brushing her lips back and forth over his before lifting her head. “I don’t want to think about Mandy cheating on Ethan.” Pain flashed in her eyes.

  “Me neither.” Not until they had to. “So let’s do something to make us forget.” He pushed the sheets down to his legs and kicked them the rest of the way off. “C’mere,” he said in a gruff voice.

  She pushed herself up and straddled his lap with her naked body. His erection stood proudly between them, just waiting for her to act.

  She slid her fingers over the droplets of come on the tip and his cock twitched at her sensitive touch.

  “Condoms?” she asked.

  He reached over to the nightstand where he’d stashed some and handed her a packet. Eyes gleaming, she tore open the foil and pulled out the latex covering, placing it over him and rolling it down his shaft.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  A seductive smile pulled at her lips as she rose and positioned herself over him, teasing him by gliding down oh so slowly.

  “Oh God,” she said and, without waiting, released her tight hold and took him inside her completely.

  “Fuck.” He gritted his teeth at the amazing feeling of being clasped in her wet heat.

  And then she began to move, a seductress, gliding herself up and down on his shaft, as she rode him, head thrown back, her moans uninhibited.

  He grasped her hips and held on as she took her pleasure. He didn’t know how he held on as she built higher. She was gorgeous, cheeks flushed, breasts bouncing, the sounds of ecstasy filling his ears.

  And then her tone changed, her eyes closed, and she let out a shuddering moan that undid him, sending him spiraling into his own climax. They came at the same time, his entire being lost to the woman holding not just his cock inside her body but his heart in her hands.

  Chapter Nine

  Ashley didn’t believe in cheating, which was why she was so upset about Mandy and Ethan. Love might not be something she understood, but commitment was. And Mandy had violated the most basic of understandings between two people. Even Ashley, for all her faults when it came to deep relationships, would never cheat on someone she cared about. And she certainly wouldn’t want someone doing it to her.

  She glanced down at her hand, firmly clasped in Sebastian’s bigger one, and her heart flipped over. If another woman laid a hand on him, her claws would definitely come out, she thought. She understood that much about their relationship.

  A few minutes later, as they walked into Knight Time Technology, her phone rang, and seeing Jonathan’s name sent her reeling.

  “Who is it?” Sebastian asked as they walked through the lobby.

  “A friend from home,” she said. Which wasn’t a lie. She just didn’t want to get into an argument with him over nothing. “I’m going to take it down here. Why don’t you go meet with Greg Munson.” They’d agreed the man would be more comfortable talking to Sebastian alone anyway.

  “Sure.” He shot her a glance but kissed her lips and headed inside anyway.

  She answered the cell, stepping toward an empty bench by a glass window overlooking the parking lot. “Hello?”

  “Ashley, finally. I’ve been trying to reach you.”

  And she’d been ignoring his calls. “Jonathan, I told you, I have a lot going on here … and we’re over. I don’t think we should be talking on the phone.”

  She wasn’t a fan of men and women being friends after they broke up. She knew some of her girlfriends enjoyed keeping in touch with their exes, but she wasn’t one of them.

  “That’s why I’m calling,” he said in his formal British accent. “Because I think, being in the States, you’re forgetting what we shared. And I wanted to remind you of the good times.”

  She sighed and glanced out at the palm trees lining the parking lanes. “We did have good times,” she agreed with him. “But I explained to you, I don’t love you and you deserve that from someone. Goodbye, Jonathan,” she said before he could continue to try and talk her around to his way of thinking.

  Her heart beat harder in her chest. She hated hurting him, but she’d been honest. Kindly honest, until he kept calling. She disliked having to explain her feelings over and over again. And the more he pushed, the harder it was going to be when she got home to London.

  Having taken a call from her boss earlier in the day, she knew her time off was running out. At that thought, nausea filled her, which she attributed to the upsetting phone call. Clearly Jonathan had talked himself into believing they had something they could build a lifetime on, but she just didn’t feel that way about him.

  She didn’t get flutters in her stomach when she thought about him, and never had. She didn’t have feelings of longing when they were apart. Nor did she look forward to seeing him in a way that had her insides flipping with excitement and joy. All things she felt when she thought about Sebastian.

  She cared more for him than she had for Jonathan. More than she did for any man in her past. She liked waking up with him in the morning, knowing his face was the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes. He always made sure she ate lunch and dinner and he’d bought a stack of chocolate bars when they were at Ghirardelli and snuck one in her purse every day. There was something special about Sebastian Knight, and she would be a fool not to recognize that or the fact that she was falling for him.

  He was showing her what a real relationship was all about, digging his way into her heart, slowly but surely. She was feeling things that were new to her, and she was afraid that what should have been a simple affair was becoming far more emotionally complicated, when she’d always kept things with men casual and easy.

  But she also knew her entire life was in London. The flat she rented and had turned into her refuge, the plants her neighbor was watering for her, and the job she really did enjoy. One she’d had since
graduating university. She couldn’t deny that the satisfaction she found working with Sebastian to save the Keystone contract was greater than any work-related success she’d had back home … but London was just that. Home.

  And when this project with Sebastian was over and she knew Ethan was settled, she was headed back there.

  For good.

  Ignoring the pain in her stomach at the thought, she headed for the elevator to go meet up with Sebastian and get back to work.

  * * *

  Ashley was more subdued after her phone call, but she said she was fine, and he didn’t want to push her to open up if she didn’t want to. Instead, after finishing his meeting with Munson, where the engineer examined the bids and receipts from Sparrow Electronics and promised to look into those specific parts, he guided her back to the limousine.

  He helped her into the back, then walked around to talk to the driver, where he found out his best bet for women’s dresses was the Filmore Street shops, and he instructed the man to take them to that shopping district.

  He joined Ashley in the back of the limo, closing the door behind him.

  “Where are we going?” she asked.

  “Shopping, like I said earlier.” He slid a hand behind her back and pulled her close. “We’re going to dress you up for the evening on the company dime.”

  She glanced up at him with wide eyes and a big smile. “You know what? I’m going to let myself enjoy it,” she said, surprising him by not arguing with him over money. He was glad. He wanted to treat her and let her have some fun.

  The car pulled to a stop in front of what looked like a boutique, with short women’s dresses in the window, sequins shimmering as the sun hit the glass.

  The driver opened the door and let them out, and Sebastian escorted her up a few brick steps and into the store.

  A saleswoman caught sight of them as they entered and rushed over to greet them. “Good afternoon! Can I help you with anything?” she asked, her gaze going from Sebastian to Ashley.

  “She needs a dress,” he said.

  “For going to a nightclub,” Ashley explained.

  The woman nodded. “Which one? That way I can guide you to something appropriate.”

  “It’s called Marquee. A friend of mine recommended I check it out while I’m in town,” Ashley said smoothly.

  The saleswoman smiled. “Then you want something chic and fun.” She tipped her head to the right. “Come. I know just what I want to show you.”

  A few minutes later, Sebastian was waiting outside the fitting room while Ashley changed inside. The saleswoman went to answer the phone. Sebastian glanced at the time on his phone. He knew women took a while to change, but he couldn’t help but think this was excessive.

  He walked over to the open doorway leading to the dressing room. “Ashley?” He called.

  “Yes?”

  “Are you coming out any time soon?” he asked.

  “No,” came her reply.

  They’d been in the store long enough for him to know nobody else was back there with her, so he strode through the doorway and toward the one room with the closed curtain.

  “Ash? Let me see.”

  She peeked her head out. “I’m naked.”

  He chuckled. “I’ve seen you naked, so that’s not an issue. Come out and show me.”

  “You’ve seen me naked. The rest of San Francisco hasn’t.”

  He laughed harder but now he was really curious. “Let’s see.”

  “Fine.”

  She stepped out from behind the curtain in a beaded silver dress that barely covered her private parts. Her cleavage exploded from the center of her chest, deep cutouts ran along the sides, revealing her flat stomach, and the hem was extremely high on her thigh.

  His body tightened at the sight of her curves in that sexy dress, but that wasn’t the reaction she was looking for at the moment.

  He cleared his throat, and before he could speak, she turned around, revealing the line between her thighs and buttocks and a definite hint of cheek. No way was he giving any other men that glimpse of her ass.

  “I am not going to a club like this,” she muttered, at the same time he said, “You are not going out in that excuse for a dress.”

  She spun around, a pleased grin on her face. “Well, since we agree…”

  “We’ll find another store.” He wasn’t exposing her body for the sake of finding out anything about Mandy and who she was or wasn’t sleeping with or buying shitty electronic parts from.

  The saleswoman was disappointed and wanted to show them another dress, and Ashley gave in, letting her bring in a different type of garment. Half an hour later, they left the store with a short, flirty, according to Ashley, dress that covered her breasts and ass.

  Later that night, every man in the nightclub still turned and looked at Ashley as she entered. In high silver heels with red-soled bottoms and a matching silver dress that dipped low in the front but left enough to the imagination and a hem that ended high on her thigh, her hair in spiral curls down her shoulders and back, her lips a teasing red pout, she was a guy’s wet dream.

  But she was his dream and he wasn’t leaving her side in that sleazy club. Because the saleswoman had been on target with her initial dress choice and even at his most inebriated, Sebastian wouldn’t have touched any woman here.

  What the fuck had been going on with Mandy?

  Drugs, he thought sadly. She’d been addicted. Had Jasper Nichols helped supply her?

  He held on to Ashley’s hand as they wound their way to the bar area, all the while scanning the place for the man they were looking for.

  “White wine?” he asked her.

  She nodded.

  He ordered himself a scotch on the rocks and her Sauvignon Blanc, wanting to hold a glass in his hand. He’d been going light on alcohol since his self-revelations and didn’t intend to change that now.

  Sebastian tipped the bartender, then leaned in and asked if the man knew Jasper Nichols.

  He pointed toward the back corner of the bar, a dark area that Sebastian hadn’t focused on before. “He’s back there with his crew.”

  He glanced at Ashley, suddenly wondering if he should have left her home.

  “Come on,” she said eagerly. “Let’s go meet the man.”

  She obviously didn’t have any qualms about who they were dealing with.

  Drawing a deep breath, he pulled her behind him, keeping her close as he started toward the small crowd of people congregating together.

  He reached the group and cleared his throat.

  “You want something?” a beefy-looking man asked.

  “I’m looking for Jasper Nichols.”

  “Who wants to know?” the man asked, folding his arms across his chest.

  “He was friends with someone I know. She told me to look him up when I got to town.”

  “What’s the friend’s name?” the man grunted at him.

  Ashley stood beside him, letting him handle things.

  “Amanda Knight,” he said. “Mandy to her friends.”

  Awareness swept across the man’s expression and he pushed through the crowd, the parting of people revealing Jasper Nichols, who sat at a table, white powder in front of him. With his long, shaggy hair and lean face, he looked exactly like his photograph.

  The bigger man whispered something in his ear, and he looked Sebastian and Ashley’s way.

  Nichols rose from his seat. Unlike Sebastian, who wore a pair of black pants and a button-down black shirt, Jasper Nichols dressed in a pair of jeans, a tee shirt, and a shiny jacket. His hair was slicked back off his face. “I heard you’re a friend of Mandy’s,” he said, glancing at Sebastian.

  “You could say that,” he said.

  His gaze then raked over Ashley, his eyes taking in her body, darkening at the sight. “You a friend of Mandy’s, too?” He licked his lips and Sebastian drew a steadying breath.

  “Yes,” she murmured.

  “Well, you’re as f
ucking hot as she is.”

  Pissed now, Sebastian wrapped an arm around Ashley’s waist and pulled her against him. She’s with me, asshole, he thought to himself.

  Getting the hint, Nichols raised his hands, as if to say, I didn’t mean any harm. “Where’s Mandy been?” he asked, changing the subject. “She said she was going to New York and she’d be back. Instead she’s gone radio silent.” Nichols met Sebastian’s gaze.

  “Mandy died,” Sebastian said bluntly, and beside him, Ashley leaned into him, offering support.

  “Come on.” The other man nudged Sebastian’s free side with his elbow. “That’s a bad joke, man.”

  “No joke. She OD’d,” he said, remaining deadly serious.

  Nichols’ eyes opened wide. “No shit.” He took in Sebastian’s intent expression. “What do you want from me?” he asked, finally realizing Sebastian wasn’t here to shoot the breeze.

  “I want information. I want to know why Mandy was doing business with a company as new as yours. And why she paid you way above market price for parts we could have gotten at a more reasonable rate from better-known places.” And that was just for starters, Sebastian thought.

  “Whoa. All I know was Mandy asked me to get her cheap parts and I did.” The man’s face flushed red.

  He’d done a hell of a lot more than that and he knew it. “Did she ask you to write up bids for higher prices, too? So we’d pay more for piece-of-shit components?” Sebastian asked, curling a hand into a fist.

  Ashley grabbed on to his arm but he shook her off.

  “What did you two do with the extra money?” he asked, continuing to push for answers.

  Nichols looked panicked, as if he wanted to run, so Sebastian grabbed him by the collar. “Talk,” he said. “Or I’m calling the cops and they can deal with the cocaine on the table behind me,” he said into the other man’s ear.

  “The bitch wasn’t worth it,” Nichols muttered. “She wasn’t even that good of a lay. Fine. We split the profit,” he spat.

  “Did you split the blow, too?” Sebastian asked in disgust before releasing the man.