Marlee’s heart sank. How could she give him the slip to buy him a present? She regretted teasing him by joking with Ash. He would watch her like a hawk now. Well, she had a week left before Christmas. Something would pop up. It always did.
After the meal, Ash went to pay the check. Marlee stole a peek at Colton, but he wouldn’t even look at her. She passed her hand across the table to touch his arm. “Listen, Colton. I’m sorry I antagonized you. I never meant to cause any bad feeling between you and Ash.”
He let out a sigh. “I’m just worried about you. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
She kept her witty remarks to herself. “I won’t. I promise.”
He raised his eyes to her face. “Are you sure? You won’t get involved with him?”
“How could I get involved with him? I’m only here for the holidays. Then I’m going home. Nothing can happen between Ash and me, and anyway, he’s your best friend. Don’t let any of this come between you.”
He clasped her hand. “Promise me you won’t fool around with him.”
Marlee’s cheeks burned. “What makes you say that? We’re just talking.”
He shook his head. “I’ve seen him do this before. He’ll charm the pants off you and leave you high and dry.”
“You keep saying that like I’m some innocent victim and he’s a rapacious hound. I’m a consenting adult. If I want to have a playful fling with him, why shouldn’t I? At least I know what I’m getting into. I don’t expect anything more, and I have you to thank for that. Ash doesn’t want it, and I don’t expect it. What can go wrong?”
Colton stared at her in horror. “You can’t seriously be considering this.”
“I never said anything about considering it. I’m just pointing out the fact. He’s a grown man, and I’m a grown woman. What’s a little sex on the side?”
Colton clapped his hands over his ears. “I’m not listening to this.”
“Suit yourself. Mom and Dad are thousands of miles away, and I’m on vacation here. Why shouldn’t I have a little fun with a hot guy?”
“You’re my little sister. I can’t think of you doing...that.”
“You better think about it, brother. I’m not some nun living in an ivory tower. I like men, and I like men like Ash. I like him the way you say he likes curvy women. If I decide to do it with him, you’ll have nothing to say about it.”
Colton groaned. “Tell me you’re not going to do this. Tell me you aren’t thinking of letting him touch you like that.”
Marlee giggled. “Come on, Colton. We’re both adults here. You don’t think I live my life a chaste virgin, do you? I’m going into this with my eyes open, so you have nothing to worry about.”
Before they could say anything more, Ash returned. They made their way back outside and got into the limo. It headed up Broadway, and Marlee gazed out the window at the huge lighted signs on every side. She turned around to see both Colton and Ash staring at her. She shrank down small in her seat.
This situation turned into exactly the opposite of how she envisioned her New York Christmas getaway. Colton was furious with her for even suggesting she would want to have sex with a guy.
Ash’s dark grey eyes bored into her from across the seat. He could be thinking of only one thing. Maybe he wanted something from her she wasn’t prepared to give. What if she let him hit on her and then didn’t take no for an answer? Why did she hit on him and let him hit on her if she wasn’t prepared to go all the way?
She would love to go all the way with a guy like that. She would love to smear herself all over him. She would love to find out what was the worst he could do in the bedroom. Was he all talk, or was he more of a demon than she imagined?
She couldn’t exactly go through with it, though, could she? What would Colton say? She might ruin their whole business relationship. Colton owed his success at least in part to his friendship with Ash and vice versa. What would either man be without that?
Colton must have seen Ash go through a lot of women. None of that ever bothered him before. His sister was a different story. He probably felt responsible for her. Here she was, a country girl in the big city for the first time. If anything happened to her, even a broken heart, he would blame himself.
Marlee found herself staring across the seat at Ash. He fascinated her. Everything about him sparked her deepest curiosity. What would he look like naked? What would he look like when his muscled midsection contracted in lust?
All of a sudden, the limo stopped in the middle of traffic. Colton startled out of a trance. “What’s going on?”
Ash leaned forward to look outside. “We’re here. Let’s go.”
“Where?”
“The bar. I said we’d go out for a drink afterward. Here we are. Let’s go. Are you coming?”
Marlee put out her hand for the door, but Colton grabbed her. “You’re not going in there with him.”
Ash pushed the door open himself. “I’m going in. You guys can come, or you can go home. I don’t care.” He got out.
Marlee tried to shrug off Colton’s hand. “Come on. Let’s go inside and have a drink.”
He yanked her back. “No way. You’re walking right into his trap.”
She struggled against his fingers digging into her arm. “Cut it out, Colton. I want to go in. This has nothing to do with Ash. I don’t want to slink home and go to bed. I want to go out.”
He threw his hand off her arm and sat back in the seat. “If you go in there, you’re going alone. I’m going home. You want to play around? You’re on your own.”
She shot one more glance toward the bar. She looked back at her brother. Should she do this, even knowing what would happen?
What the heck. She came to New York to cut loose, and that’s what she would do. She shoved the door open and burst out into the frosty night.
Chapter 4
The music in the bar thumped so loud she could not hear herself think. Marlee pushed her way through acres of waving arms and sweaty bodies. Strobe lights flashed in all directions. Colored spotlights slashed the air through clouds of steam and smoke.
She couldn’t see a thing in here to distinguish one person from another. She would probably never see Ash again. Oh, well. She had to find the bar and get herself something to drink. She jumped up and down while she looked over people’s heads. Finally, she caught sight of the bar. In the distance, she recognized a buzz-cut head with long hair sticking out the top. She made her way there and found Ash.
She elbowed him to get his attention. His eyes widened when he saw her. The music faded near the bar just enough to hear when someone shouted in your ear. “Oh, there you are. I thought Colton would have taken you home.”
“I’m here to have a good time,” she yelled back. “I wasn’t ready to go home.”
Ash looked around. “Is he here?”
“No, he had to get his beauty sleep.”
Ash’s lips twisted into a grin, and he shook his head. “You’re a real firecracker, aren’t you?”
“You have no idea.”
“No, I don’t, so tell me.”
“You said you’re a shark. Well, I’m a shark, too.”
Ash stared at her. “What does your brother think of that?”
“He doesn’t know. He left home when I was a teenager. He doesn’t know what I get up to on the other side of the country.”
“Really? What do you get up to?”
“All kinds of mischief.”
“Do tell.”
She grinned at him playfully. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“Yes, I would. That’s why I asked. What sort of mischief do you get up to?”
“I chew up guys and spit them out. I have my way with them and leave them high and dry. I do everything Colton says you do with girls, so I guess we’re two of a kind.”
He stared at her with wide eyes. “Are you—dare I say it? Are you picking me up?”
She leaned close and smiled up into his face. “I’m tryi
ng my hardest. How am I doing so far?”
“Pretty damn good. I’ve never met a girl like you before.”
“Ha! You’ll probably never meet anybody like me again, either, and you should thank your lucky stars for that.”
He took a massive gulp of his drink. Sweat sprang out on his forehead. “Holy shit.”
She swatted his arm. “Come on, Ash. I’ve seen you looking. Do you want to do this or not?”
He shrugged. He chuckled. He gulped. “I guess I do.”
She couldn’t wait any longer. She slithered up to him and slipped her hand under his suit jacket and around his waist. His rock-hard abs felt even better than she imagined. “Hey, baby. Come on. I want you.”
His deep grey eyes looked fixedly into hers. “Is that how you do it?”
“Colton says you have a different woman every night. I guess tonight’s my turn.”
He lowered his voice. “You’re asking for it. You know that?”
She moved in closer to him, until her body was pressed firmly against his. Already his cock hardened inside his pants. That iron prick excited her more than she dreamed. She wanted it. She wanted it right now. “You never did tell me what you’ve got in your dungeon in Queens. Do you want to take me there? Huh? Do you want to tie me up and spank my ass?”
He gasped out loud, then put his hand on her backside and gripped tight. He didn’t shrug or look away now. “Is this the ass you mean?”
She caved under his monster grip. She nudged her hips towards him, teasing his hard-on. “Oh, God, yeah.”
His kept his hand on her ass and stroked across it steadily with his thumb. “Fuck, that ass is so damn juicy. You want me to smack that ass for you? Huh? Do you want me to bend you over and make you beg for my cock?”
She bit her lip and stared doe-eyed up at him. “Spank me, baby. I’m a bad girl, and I need a spanking.”
He looked down at her face. “Is your pussy wet, baby? Is your pussy dripping wet for my cock?”
She couldn’t bear it any longer and rested her head on his chest. She could feel his breathing had become faster and deeper with excitement. “God, baby, fuck me. I need it so bad.”
He caressed her behind the neck with his hand. He set his drink on the bar and cupped her head with the other hand. He raised her face to his, and his mouth devoured her lips in craven kisses.
Marlee collapsed into his embrace. He was so incredibly hot; she couldn’t hold back. She hugged him around the neck and gave herself over to his kiss. His tongue met hers between their lips. His technique was hotter than she’d ever had in her life. The hand against her back glided down to her ass again. He lifted her off her feet to kiss her harder.
She pressed her breasts against his chest. God, yes! This was going to be one for the record books. He dug his hard-on between her legs, and her thighs fell apart. She rode his knee and mewed into his mouth. He knew just how to touch her, and his lips and tongue lapped her to greater delight than ever.
He pulled his mouth away to stare at her. His eyes filled her whole awareness. “You’re a real bad girl, aren’t you? Do you want to do this?”
“You know I do.”
“What would Colton say?”
Marlee looked away. “If you’re worried about what Colton would say, we probably shouldn’t do this.”
He hesitated. “I never thought I’d be doing his sister. This could get sticky.”
She locked eyes with him. “If you don’t want to do it, I understand.”
He laughed. “Oh, I want to.”
“Then what are you waiting for?”
“No one has ever picked me up like this before.”
She arched her eyebrow. “So now you know what all those women felt like.”
He blinked. “I never thought about that before.”
All this talking wasn’t getting anywhere. She swooped in to kiss him again. She rose on her tiptoes to reach him. She moved her hips back and forth to toy with his bulging crotch. She could tell he would not be able to stand the wait much longer. He stood impassively for a moment, but he couldn’t stop his lips responding. Little by little, his hands crept around her until he grappled her harder than before.
He pulled free for another moment. “All right. That’s it. We’re leaving.”
Marlee bit the saliva from her lips. “It’s about time.”
He grabbed her hand to tow her out of the bar. He left his drink sitting where he left it.
The cold outside bit into her skin after the heat inside. Bodies fell away, and Marlee found herself standing on the sidewalk with Ash. He spun around to kiss her again with all his animal ferocity.
He pushed her back against the concrete wall and held his hard-on between her legs so firmly he nearly pushed her off the ground.
He teased her bottom lip and then filled her mouth with his tongue with expert application. That man could kiss like no one she ever met. He towered over her and continued to nail her to the wall through her clothes. His cock stabbed at her clit until she shrieked with pleasure. She had been looking for excitement like this forever.
People passed by, but no one took any notice of them making out on a public sidewalk. They hurried to the bar to get out of the cold. Ash panted and groaned against her mouth. God, she wanted to get hold of his bare body right now. She slid her hands down his back under his jacket, but she couldn’t get hold of him.
She would have been happy to have him fuck her right here against the wall, but he wouldn’t do that. She knew better. A guy like him didn’t take his conquests in any rude corner of a dirty street. He would do it right if he did it at all.
He ripped himself away before she could stop him. “Come on. You’re coming with me.”
He took her hand, and they set off down the street. “Where are we going?”
“My house. That’s what you want, isn’t it?”
Marlee almost tripped over when she stopped, and he kept walking. “Your house! Do you mean your house in Queens?”
He didn’t answer. He hailed a cab and opened the door for her. “We’ll get my car out of the parking garage. What do you say?”
Marlee grinned excitedly. “Let’s do it.”
The minute he got her into the cab, they were all over each other once again. He needed her. He tipped her back in the seat and kissed her neck intensely while caressing her breasts with his hand. He tore up her shirt and slipped his fingers under her bra. He twiddled her nipples gently as he kissed her deeper and deeper. He pushed her shirt upward the rest of the way to tease her nipples between his teeth.
Marlee lay back and moaned with pleasure. What was he going to do to her? She ached for him between her legs, but at least now she could touch him. She unbuttoned his shirt to fondle his chest. As she touched him, his muscles jerked under her hands.
She tugged his shirt out of his waistband, but that wasn’t enough. She started working on his belt, but he snatched her hands away. Marlee caught her breath. “I thought you wanted to.”
He pushed her hand up next to her head. “That’s for your ass, baby. If you want my belt, you’re gonna get it.”
A thrill shot through her, and she felt tingles of excitement. So that’s what he wanted? Holy Jesus! What a man! She gave herself over to his kiss once again.
In a second, the cab stopped sharply in front of Colton’s office building. They jumped up and scuffled to adjust their clothes.
Ash led the way into the underground parking garage where he unlocked the door of his silver-grey BMW. Marlee settled into her seat. Ash got behind the wheel and roared onto the street. Within minutes, they had crossed the bridge heading out toward Queens.
Chapter 5
Ash didn’t talk much on the drive out of town. He couldn’t talk. He was so focused on getting her home. Marlee’s mind roiled in a ferment. What kind of man did she get herself mixed up with this time? He had one hand firmly gripped the wheel. The other on her knee which he only moved to jerk the gear shift around.
; The car tore in and out of traffic. She felt a rush of adrenaline buzzing through her the whole journey. He knew what he wanted, and Marlee did too. Ash would stop at nothing once he got her inside his own house. She said she wanted action. Well, she got it this time and no mistake.
He drove through Queens. Marlee had no idea where she was or where she was going, but she recognized when the neighborhood faded into tree-lined drives and sweeping lawns. He wasn’t taking her to any brownstone. Maybe he had something more sinister in mind. Maybe all that vampire talk wasn’t just a joke.
She shook those thoughts out of her head. He was no vampire. He was a man, a man with a very stiff cock between his legs and a boatload of testosterone to go with it.
In the end, he turned into one of the driveways winding between gardens so large Marlee couldn’t see the end of them. The trees cast the driveway in shadow, and the headlights swept one curve after another. Stars twinkled overhead.
All of a sudden, the car stopped. Ash put it in gear, set the emergency brake, and shut down the motor. He opened his door and got out. Marlee unlatched her seatbelt. Ash opened her door from the outside and offered her his hand.
Her breath caught in her throat when she saw the building behind him. “You said you lived in a brownstone.”
“I lied. This is my house.”
She stared up at a mansion of gleaming white stone. Colonnades flanked the tall steps leading to the entrance. Darkness gave the place a ghostly appearance. Not one light shone in that house. You could hardly call it a house. It wasn’t even a mansion. It was something closer to a palace. Buckingham Palace. In fact, it was exactly the way she pictured Buckingham Palace, but without the servants buzzing around all over the place.
He gave her arm a nudge. “Are you coming inside?”
Why did he even ask that? She let him bring her here. What else was she going to do?
She heard her footsteps as she climbed the steps. He opened the front door. It wasn’t locked. He conducted her through a hall bigger than the atrium in Colton’s apartment. This place made Colton’s apartment look like a kindergarten playground.
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