Tease Me (The Temptation Duet Book 2)

by Roxy Sloane

  That gets my attention. “Mentioned how?” I ask.

  He laughs again. “Now, now, I shouldn’t have said anything. But rest assured, we’re all taking notice of how hard you’ve worked.”

  There’s a pause, and I realize he’s waiting for some ass-kissing. “Well, thank you,” I say, mustering as much sincerity as I can. “I couldn’t have done it without your mentorship.” Read: passing off all his unwanted cases, and forgetting my name half the time. “I appreciate the opportunity.”

  “Good to hear.” Peyton sounds satisfied. “I’ll keep you updated when we have more news.”

  I say goodbye and hang up, holding the phone to my chest. I should feel ecstatic: I’m close to the promotion I’ve been working so hard for, sacrificing countless late nights and weekends for years so I could make partner.

  Everything I wanted, mine for the taking.

  Except it’s not everything anymore.

  I drag myself off the couch – but only as far as the kitchen, to grab a glass of water. I catch sight of my reflection in a mirror on the way.

  I look like hell. Greasy hair, pale skin, my eyes red from all the crying I swore I would never do. I can pretend like I’m just mad at Ash, but I can’t hide from the truth staring back at me: this hurts like hell.

  The ‘painful knot in the middle of my chest’ kind of hurt. The low ache that makes me want to curl up in a ball and block out the world.

  I don’t do heartbreak. I’ve never cared enough to hurt when it’s all over. There’s never been a guy to get so close.

  Until Ash.

  Fuck. It’s like after law school all over again, except even worse. How many times will I let this guy in, only to have him betray me?

  He used our friendship against me. All those late nights we joked about our secret fantasies, all that dirty talk and more. I felt like the mystery guy sending the invitations could read my mind – as if he knew exactly what would turn me on the most.

  Because he did. He knew everything.

  Ash knew it all.

  A knock comes at the door.

  I whirl around so fast I nearly send a vase crashing down, but I catch it just in time. My mind races. The doorman didn’t call to let me know anyone was coming up, but Ash could charm anyone, even Juan.

  “Hello?” I call cautiously. My eyes go back to the mirror, and my miserable reflection.

  “It’s me, Keely.”

  Thank God. She knows everything: she was the first person I called, to come drink tequila with me and hear the whole sorry story.

  “Hey, just wait a sec.” I do my best to finger-comb my bedraggled hair and tug at my schlubby sweatpants. Then I go open the door.

  Keely blinks. “Umm, hey. You weren’t picking up, so I got worried.”

  “Sorry. I’m fine.” I head back to the living room, and slump onto the couch. I reach for the nearest takeout pizza box. Cold pizza. Works for me. “You want some?” I offer Keely the box.

  She strides inside and puts her hands on her hips. “This is not fine. This is pathetic. You’ve been locked in here for days!”

  “I’m just taking some time,” I protest in a small voice.

  “To what? Sink into total misery and depression?”

  “Well, yeah.”

  Keely gives me a sympathetic smile. “Look, I know you feel like crap right now, but it’s my duty as your best friend to get your butt off the couch and feeling better.”

  “I don’t want to go anywhere,” I yawn. “And besides, TCM is just starting their Meg Ryan marathon. C’mon, sit. I’ll order more pizza.”

  “No way!” Keely grabs my hand and drags me up. “I’ve booked us a spa day. Hair salon, mani-pedis, the whole package.”

  I look at her. “Is this your way of telling me I look like hell?”

  She grins. “Yes. But you won’t be for long. It’s OK, Justine,” her voice softens. “You’re gonna be okay.” I feel tears prick at my eyes.

  Keely grabs my arm and pulls me towards her. “Don’t let Ash win,” she adds.

  Her words send a sharp burn of determination through me. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing,” I warn her.

  Keely laughs. “But it’s working, right? You want to stay here crying over him, or get back to being the fabulous, ass-kicking Justine we all know and love?”

  I pause. I’m still hurting, but Keely’s right. I can’t hide out here forever. “Give me ten minutes,” I tell her. “I need to take a shower.”

  Two hours, one massage, a facial and seaweed wrap later, I’m feeling better. Way better. Keely booked us in for blow-outs and manicures at her fancy salon, too, and now I’m sitting in a chair beside her while people fuss around us, bringing mimosas and trashy magazines.

  I relax back with a sigh. “Thanks,” I murmur. “This is exactly what I needed.”

  “Good,” Keely smiles. “Now, I’ve waited long enough. Spill.”

  I look over. “Spill what?”

  “How you’re feeling, what’s going on,” Keely shrugs. “You’ve been on lockdown all day, not one word about Ash.”

  “That’s because he’s dead to me.”

  I close my eyes and try to recapture that blissful feeling, but all I see is his face, the way he looked in the hotel room, before I walked out on him forever.

  Wounded. Determined.

  So fucking sexy.

  I groan in frustration. My eyes fly open again. “Look what you did! I’d forgotten all about him.”

  Keely gives me a look.

  “Well, almost,” I admit. “I just… I don’t know what to tell you. He lied, all along he had me running around over this mystery guy, and the whole time was him. He just wanted to watch me make a fool of myself.”

  “I don’t know…” Keely bites her lip. “It doesn’t sound like it to me. I know I’ve never met the guy,” she adds, “But from what you’ve been telling me, he’s not the mind games type. That was why you were friends in the first place, right? You were both no-bullshit kind of people.”

  “Yeah, well things change.” I gulp my mimosa.

  “Maybe…” Keely muses. “Did he tell you why he sent you the invitations in the first place? Did he explain at all?”

  I pause. “No,” I answer in a small voice. “I didn’t give him the chance. I was too mad.”

  “Hmmm…” Keely murmurs.

  “What?”

  “Nothing,” she says.

  I glare. “Tell me.”

  “I just…” Keely sighs. “I just wonder if maybe you should hear him out. I know you’re angry,” she adds quickly. “And you have every right to be. He lied. But don’t you want to know his reasons? It might help you understand. Or move on. But either way… you’d have answers.”

  She’s right. One of the worst things about this whole mess is not knowing. Why Ash disappeared after law school, why he didn’t contact me when he was living in LA. Why he chose now of all times to start up this sexy scavenger hunt and string me along. It doesn’t make any sense, and it’s driving me crazy.

  I want answers.

  “I can’t face him,” I tell Keely, my heart twisting at the thought. “After everything he’s done. We’ve done,” I correct myself. After all, he never forced me. I willingly followed his wicked instructions, played all the thrilling games. I touched myself, bared myself to him. Invited him to fuck me.

  And loved every minute of it.

  Even now, remembering our nights together, I shiver. My nipples harden, my thighs clench at the memory.

  His hands. His mouth.

  His thick, driving cock.

  “Justine?”

  I hear Keely’s voice and snap back to the bustling salon. She’s looking at me cautiously, like she has something on her mind that she’s afraid to say.

  “Do you think maybe the reason you won’t talk to him is because you’re scared?” she asks carefully.

  I frown. “Of Ash? No way! He would never hurt me!”

  “No, I don’t mean like
that,” Keely yelps. “I just mean… You said yourself, you’ve never really had a relationship, not one that lasted, anyway. Ash is the only guy you’ve ever opened up to, back in college, and now again.”

  “So?” I ask, feeling a weird flush.

  “So now he’s back, and you still have this intense connection,” Keely continues. “Plus, he’s proven he’s got what it takes to keep you interested in the bedroom.”

  Understatement of the year.

  “So maybe you’re angry at him right now because you’re scared of what might happen if you aren’t.” Keely gives me a gentle look. “Maybe that’s what you’re really angry about: that you care about him so much that he has the power to hurt you.”

  “I don’t—” I try to argue. “I mean, I’m not….”

  But she’s right. As much as I hate to admit it, Keely’s right.

  I care about Ash. He’s hurt me. And if I give him a chance to explain, to make things right….

  What happens next?

  Can I ever trust him again?

  Do I even want to?

  “Call him,” Keely urges me. “You don’t have to forgive him, not if it doesn’t feel right. But at least you’ll get the answers you need. Otherwise, you’ll be wondering about it forever.”

  I let out a frustrated sigh. “Since when did you get to be such a know-it-all?” I ask, with a smile to let her know I’m kidding.

  Keely laughs. “Let’s just say I know a thing or two about infuriatingly mysterious men,” she grins. “But sometimes, if you give them a chance, they might just surprise you.”

  “I honestly don’t know if I want him to or not,” I tell her, feeling torn. I don’t know what good reasons he might have for acting the way he did. Or if I could forgive him, either way.

  She takes my hand and squeezes it tight. “Hey, at least you’ve got one thing going for you.”

  “What’s that, my awesome BFF?” I joke, grateful she’s here to pick me up and talk some sense into me.

  “Thanks to Eduardo here, you’re going to meet him looking like a fucking supermodel.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  JUSTINE

  I text Ash and tell him to meet me back at my apartment, but the minute I arrive there, I realize my mistake. I should have picked a public place: bright lights, a crowd, somewhere I’d have to keep my shit together.

  Somewhere he can’t push me up against the wall and fuck my brains out, the way only he knows how.

  Pull it together, I order myself. But my body betrays me. My heart is already beating faster, knowing he could knock on that door any minute now. My skin tingles, my breath comes fast.

  I want him, even after everything.

  Fuck.

  I go pour myself a glass of whiskey and take a huge sip. The dark liquid burns the back of my throat, soothing and warm in my stomach.

  I can handle this. We’re just talking. I’ll hear him out, listen to everything he wants to say, and then I’ll decide.

  I’m not wrapped up in that haze of lust and hormones anymore. I can think clearly, like the ass-kicking lawyer I really am.

  I can do this.

  I check my reflection, sending silent thanks to Keely for dragging me to the salon. Thanks to my day of pampering, I’ve never looked better. My hair is glossy, my skin glows, and I sweated out all my pity-carbs, enough to fit back into a butt-hugging pencil skirt and casual silky T-shirt with a deep V-neck.

  Cool, casual, and totally hot. Nobody would guess I’ve been moping around for days eating my body weight in Ben & Jerry’s.

  The doorbell sounds.

  Shit. This is it.

  I take a deep breath and try to collect myself.

  Just talking. You’ve got this.

  I cross the hall and fling open the door. Ash is standing there, looking hotter than hell in a pair of dark jeans and a casual white button-down shirt. Damn. I ignore the shock of lust that shoots through my body, and fix him with a glare.

  “You better have a damn good explanation—”

  I don’t even finish before Ash grabs my face in both his hands and pushes me back inside against the wall, kissing me hard and hot and dirty.

  Fuck.

  I soften against him. My head is screaming at me to pull away, but my body is totally overwhelmed. The scent of him, his distinctive aftershave; the feel of his hands, holding me tight; his body, hard and lean, pressing into me. And his mouth.

  God, his mouth.

  Ash pries my lips open and plunges his tongue deep inside my mouth. He strokes against my tongue, deeper and hotter than anything in the world. His hands move to my hair, tangling, gripping tight; roving over my back to squeeze my ass and mold me against him. He grinds against me, the thick outline of his cock digging into my thigh and making me weak with lust.

  Oh God, I could drown in him. Strip naked and spread myself for him, right here with the door open where everyone could see.

  I don’t care. I would take his cock, every inch, and scream for more. I would ride him, fuck him, anything to have him buried deep inside.

  Him. All of him. Now.

  No.

  I find my last reserve of strength and shove him away. Ash stumbles back, his eyes dark with lust.

  “I’ve been waiting three years to do that,” he growls, panting for air.

  My head is swimming. My knees are weak. I fight to keep control. “You can’t just do that!” I cry, as furious with myself for caving as I am with him. “I gave you a chance to explain, but I can’t… I can’t think straight when you kiss me like that.”

  Or touch me. Or even just look at me with that disheveled hunger, like he wants to fuck me for days.

  I flash back to laying spread-eagled on a hotel bed, blindfolded, Ash buried between my thighs. His tongue swirling at my clit, his fingers pumping deep and fast.

  Oh God.

  I turn my back on him and search the apartment for a safe place to talk.

  “Let’s talk on the balcony,” I decide, grabbing my drink. I open the sliding glass doors and step out onto the narrow terrace. It’s set with chairs and a small table, looking out over the busy street below. It’s not much, but I hope the public view will keep my head screwed on tight enough to resist him.

  Unless he fucked you here too. Bent you over the railing and slid inside you from behind, grinding deep, rubbing your clit until you came hard and fast…

  I take a gulp of whiskey and choke.

  “Are you OK?” Ash asks.

  “Fine!” I yell, recovering. What the fuck is wrong with me? I sit in one of the chairs and fold my arms. “You came here to talk, so talk.”

  Ash slowly takes a seat opposite me. Now there’s no escape from his magnetic presence, and the electricity that crackles between us when I force myself to meet his eyes.

  They burn into me, searching, raw. Now that I’m calmer, I can see that he’s got shadows under his eyes and two-day stubble on his chiseled jaw. For a man who always looks immaculate, this is a big deal.

  He’s hurting too.

  Good.

  “How have you been, JJ?” he asks softly.

  I shiver to hear my old nickname, so familiar on his lips. “I’m great,” I force a big fake smile. “Just hanging out, enjoying the city before I head home. Thanks to my win, they can’t wait for me to get back to work. I’m probably getting a promotion,” I add.

  “I’m glad,” Ash says. “You deserve it.”

  My stomach twists. Why does he have to be such a good loser?

  “And you?” I ask, expecting him to pull the same bullshit about being fine, but instead, he fixes me with a dark look.

  “What do you expect? I’ve been terrible. You wouldn’t talk to me. I’ve been going out of my mind.”

  I feel a flush of pride – and then guilt. The thought of Ash in pain should make me feel better, but instead, it makes me feel worse.

  “You’re here now.” I keep my arms crossed, defensive. “And I’m giving you exactly ten minutes to expl
ain what the hell you’ve been playing at.”

  “I’ll tell you everything.” Ash’s gaze is sincere. “Just ask.”

  Where do I even begin? My mind races. I’ll start at the beginning.

  “Why did you disappear on me after law school?” I demand. “Just cut me out, like I never even existed.”

  Ash runs one hand through his disheveled hair. “I told you before, I had too much to deal with. My father died, I suddenly had the weight of all this responsibility running the business and taking care of my family… I didn’t want to drag you into the bullshit, I’m sorry,” he adds. “It was stupid, and I wish I could take it back and just call you, but it’s too late now.”

  I take a deep breath. I try and put myself in his place: suddenly crushed under an inheritance he never wanted.

  The knot in my chest untangles, just a little.

  “What about LA?” I ask, my voice cracking. “You were right there, all that time, and you didn’t care enough to even look me up.”

  “But I did.”

  Ash’s reply makes my head snap up. I look at him in disbelief. “What are you talking about?”

  “In LA, I looked for you,” he admits. “I checked the alumni records, found out the firm you’re working at. I went to see you one day, sat in the coffee shop opposite the office and waited for you to come out.”

  My head is spinning now. I can’t believe this.

  “I saw you,” he adds, with a private smile. “You were with a brunette girl, it looked like you were friends.”

  “Keely,” I answer numbly. “She’s my best friend. This is her apartment,” I add.

  He nods. “You guys got a drink from the cart outside, and sat and talked a while by the fountain.”

  “But… why didn’t you come say ‘hi’?” I demand. “I don’t understand.”

  Ash’s face darkens. “I wasn’t ready.”

  “For what?”

  “This. You. Us,” he grounds out the words. “Don’t you get it? This is for real. The two of us. After that night, I knew, if we were together, it would be better than anything. Hotter, wilder. Everything.” The heat pulses between us. My body tightens. “If I was going to do this, I had to be all in,” Ash continues. “And I wasn’t free yet.”