by CR Robertson
To save her any more embarrassment, I threw my clothes over the chair and climbed into her bed. A Kindle sat on the nightstand at one side, and was obviously the side she slept on. I took the other side. She crept in around ten minutes later, her eyes huge and her hair cascading around her.
In my head, I imagined her sleeping in silk and lace, and was definitely not prepared for the Minnie Mouse nightdress with ears strategically placed to draw attention to her breasts.
My lips turned up into a smile. She pointed at me. “Not a word,” she warned.
How the hell was I turned on by a Disney character nightdress? Yet, right now, my dick was paying attention to every little detail about her, including the fuzzy ears.
“I wasn’t going to say a word.”
Her eyes narrowed at me and I watched her retreating figure disappear into the safe room beside her bed. She returned with her sketchpad.
“You wanted to see my designs,” she reminded me.
I’d completely forgotten all about the reason for me being here. Lucrezia sat cross-legged on the bed and I tried not to notice the way that ridiculous red and black nightdress rode up her thigh.
She flicked through the pages, pointing out designs and the different collections for each of the gem types, all connected to nature and the four elements. She’d obviously been thinking about this a lot and now I felt like a dick for not texting her. All she wanted was someone to bounce ideas off.
We ended up propped against the headboard two hours later, chatting about how she could infuse different display ideas into the collection to make her jewellery stand out. She didn’t realise the display was as important as the pieces she was going to put on it. It had been a long time since I’d been this closely involved in setting a business up and everything about it was refreshing. What was even more surprising was how easy it was to be in Lucrezia’s presence.
It was only when she turned to say something to me and our noses touched that I realised how close we were sitting. Her eyes stared into mine and I was lost, completely and utterly drowning in her depths.
Lucrezia Black would either be my salvation or my ruination.
***
Chapter Eleven
Lucrezia
The world stopped spinning and the night held its breath. Ash’s eyes bored into mine and my heart stumbled erratically in my chest.
Ash was here. In my bed. I had no idea what to do with that situation.
We’d spent hours talking and it was the first time I’d been able to have a real and meaningful conversation about my business with anyone. It had always felt like scraps being offered by people before—pats on the head or the jewellers indulging me in a whim. Ash didn’t do that: he called bullshit when he saw it and encouraged me in the areas he thought would succeed.
“Maybe I should sleep in the safe room,” he muttered in a deep, husky voice.
“I thought we were pretending to be adults.”
He pursed his lips and closed his eyes for a brief moment. “I’m struggling with that concept right now.”
“What do adults normally do in this situation?”
His eyes blazed into mine. “Which situation? Being locked in a room because your father doesn’t trust men around his daughters? Or being in bed with a woman who is slowly eroding my sanity?”
I traced the tip of my finger down the centre of his chest. “How do I erode your sanity?”
His hand grasped my wrist. “I don’t do gentle deflowering of virgins.”
“Did I ask you to be gentle?”
His grip tightened until I was sure there would be a bruise tomorrow. “Lucrezia,” Ash growled in warning. “This isn’t a game.”
No, it wasn’t. This was my life and I wanted more than I ever had before. Existing in a gilded cage wasn’t the same as experiencing the world and all the wonder contained in it. I wanted to open the door, stretch my wings, and learn to fly the same way Sofia had. She was different since she went to university, and I craved that change as well.
I refused to overthink this anymore. Instead, I closed the small space between Ash and me, and pressed my lips to his. Papa always said that if I wanted something, I was to grab it before someone else did.
His body froze for an instant before his other hand buried itself it my hair and he angled my head to receive his onslaught. This time, I was ready for him, my tongue eagerly meeting his, my mouth moving with his in perfect synchronisation.
I moaned and crawled closer to him. He radiated heat that I craved and needed to soak into my cold and lonely soul.
“Fuck it,” he muttered, his body rolling over mine to trap me under his powerful frame. My legs widened to accommodate Ash and my hands lodged in his hair when he released my wrist. His hips pushed mine into the bed and I dragged him even closer.
My body burned with an intensity I’d never experienced before, my pulse pounding in my ears. Every muscle and nerve ending in my body craved his touch, goosebumps rising on my skin as if it was trying to reach him.
He slowly pulled back. His breathing was ragged, his cheeks flushed, and his eyes bright. “I should go.”
Neither of us moved because a magnetic force stronger than both of us slowly wrapped around us to bind us together.
“Stay,” I pleaded in a low voice. Nothing made sense anymore unless Ash was here.
His forehead pressed to mine. “If I stay, I’ll end up fucking you and then everything we have will be ruined. I’m poison, and everything around me gets destroyed.” The pain in his voice made my heart ache. This was a strong, powerful man who was in agony.
“Stay,” I repeated, my arms tightening around him to pull him into my embrace until I was wrapped around him like a koala bear. He resisted for a moment before his body sank into mine and I felt his lips brushing my shoulder.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he whispered for only me to hear.
“Then don’t.” It was as simple and complicated as that.
“Lucrezia,” he groaned, trying to pull back but I wouldn’t let him. “It’s not my choice. Darkness surrounds me and takes everything I care about.”
I sighed and snuggled closer. “Papa always said that evil was not a thing, but a person. If they don’t know what you care about, then they can never take it from you.”
My pride already lay in tatters on the ground when it came to this man. He always appeared confident and in control. Maybe he was the same as the rest of us—afraid, lonely, and hurting.
“Don’t block me out, Ash. I don’t know what this is, but it belongs to just you and me. No one else needs to know.”
He sighed and used his strength to push himself up, even though I remained attached in my marsupial hug. He flopped onto his back and dragged the blanket over us. “Get some sleep, Lucrezia. Your father will probably kill me in the morning.”
It wasn’t a victory, but it wasn’t a rejection either.
I snuggled down beside Ash and closed my eyes. His strong arms held me, and for the first time in as long as I could remember, I felt safe. Having a guard with you wasn’t the same as lying beside someone you trusted, and that was the issue. I did trust Ash, completely. He made me feel empowered and able to take control of business. He listened to me and treated me as an equal.
Ash made me visualise a future that I didn’t have to play a role instead of living. He was the white knight I envisaged as a child, only this one rode a black Harley and was chased by demons. Dare I take a chance and risk my heart and my future on a man who resisted me? Were the sensations he evoked in me worth losing the independence I had desperately craved?
***
Chapter Twelve
Ash
For years, I’d been a chronic insomniac, only sleeping when I filled myself with enough alcohol to drown the demons that tormented me. Tonight, I slept because a small, feisty woman guarded my dreams and protected my soul. The blinding sunlight woke me up to find myself restrained by long hair that was every-fucking-where, including in m
y mouth.
Lucrezia had stayed with me the entire night and clung to me like I was a buoy and she was adrift on the ocean. I tried to move, but she tightened her grip. What the fuck was I supposed to do now?
I hadn’t fucked her last night, but this was more intimate than that. I’d actually slept with a woman for the first time. Lucrezia slowly lifted her head and stared at me with those huge brown eyes that displayed every emotion that I wanted to drown in. She was my weakness and that fucking terrified me because nothing had left a vulnerability in my armour before.
“Morning.” Lucrezia watched me as if she was getting ready for me to hit her, and that made me feel like a complete asshole.
“Hey.” I put my arm that wasn’t around her under my head and stared at the ceiling because the expression in her eyes terrified me.
She chewed the side of her lip and stared at me until I finally gave her my attention. “This has to stop, Lucrezia. You worry about what your papa thinks, but Xavier and Jordan will skin me alive as well for even contemplating what is in my head. You’re their little sister and I’m their closest friend.”
She studied me for so long that I thought she was going to run away in a flood of tears or have a tantrum fit. Lucrezia shocked the shit out of me when she straddled my waist and stared down at me.
“Is your only objection what my family and your friends think?”
“Those are the people who know me best, Lucrezia. If they think I’m not good enough for you, maybe you should listen to them.”
She pressed her forehead to mine, her breath mingled with mine while her hands griped my shoulders. “I’ve spent my life doing what others wanted. You’re the only person who saw through the illusion of an airhead socialite who spends all day painting her nails and gossiping with her friends.”
My lips twitched. “Sounds like a busy day.”
Her nails dug into my shoulders and I wanted to groan at that bite of pain. “Seriously, Ash. Tell me that you feel nothing for me and I’ll never bother you again.”
That was the problem with this situation—I felt too much for her. She was the perfect woman for me with her sass and determination. I wanted her more than I should because she wasn’t just forbidden fruit, she was the poison apple that would herald my demise.
“We can’t, Lucrezia.” My hands gripped her waist to try and move her, but all that did was make her grip me harder with her knees and squirm on top of me. My dick was certainly paying attention to the situation and started to harden under that luscious ass. Her nightdress had ridden up her thighs to expose her long, tanned legs and the red lace panties she was wearing.
She was going to fucking kill me if this continued. Technically, it would be murder because I’d tried to escape.
Lucrezia froze and moved back until she stared down at my dick straining to get to her through my boxers. She tentatively reached down and traced her fingers along its length, only to snatch it back when I hissed a warning.
She swallowed. “I’ve never seen a man’s penis before.”
She really was going to end up killing me. Her eyes were locked on my groin and I swear my dick was going to attempt to do tricks just to get more of her attention.
“Does it hurt when I touch it?” Those huge eyes of hers met mine and the look in them made me want to claim her and hide her far away from the rest of the world.
I bit into my bottom lip when her fingers fluttered over my hard flesh again. “The opposite of hurt.” She must have been a snake charmer in a previous life because my serpent was practically purring at her touch. “Lucrezia!” I almost shouted when she squeezed.
“What?” Her brow was furrowed but she was still transfixed on watching my groin.
“My body is not a petting zoo!”
A slow, sensual smile spread across her lips. “No one has ever been aroused by me before.”
I seriously doubted that. There was no heterosexual male who wouldn’t give her a second or third look. Shit, I was surprised that Lucas had managed to keep her hidden from lust-filled advances this long. The man must have had to triple his security level lately.
“Lucrezia, this isn’t a game. We’re living in the real world, not fantasy. If you get hurt, people I care about will hate me. I don’t have that many people in my life to be able to afford to lose them.”
She had the audacity to crawl over me until our noses almost touched. “Then don’t hurt me.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “Sitting on my dick doesn’t help.”
Lucrezia grinned and ground her soaking wet panties onto my dick. Fuck it all to hell and back, I was only a man with the willpower of one. Without speaking a word, I rolled her onto her back and ripped those lace panties, pushing my boxers down. Lucrezia gasped but her legs fell open. I desperately wanted to sink deep inside her, but I restrained the beast that paced inside me. Instead I rubbed my hard length through her pussy lips to stimulate her clitoris.
Her nails dug into my shoulders, shredding my skin and making my back arch. My lips met hers in a kiss and said everything that I refused to voice. Yesterday she didn’t know how to kiss, today her lips met mine without hesitation.
“Ash,” she moaned into my mouth and like the fool that I was, I pressed her deeper into the mattress.
I descended into the madness that Lucrezia created, dragging her with me. The cold, detached Dom who existed in the Twilight Rooms evaporated and in his place was a creature controlled by emotions and chaos. Something about this woman destroyed the rigid laws I abided by. She carved her initials in my heart with those sharp nails of hers and left me breathless. I had experienced every type of pleasure this world had to offer, but nothing matched what this woman made me feel.
The sensation of my dick sliding through those moist lips sent tingles racing up my spine. I ignored the niggling voice that screamed that she was too good for me. Nothing would stop me from experiencing feeling her surrounding me with her heat. I couldn’t resist her anymore.
She arched under me, her heels digging into my ass while she trailed those nails down my spine. “Ash!”
Hell, yeah…
Pleasure danced down my spine and my balls tightened in anticipation. Lucrezia’s entire body stiffened as she screamed her orgasm into my mouth. My cum erupted from me to coat her ass, my hips grinding into hers.
Sanity crashed into me in a cold wave of reality.
“Don’t,” Lucrezia said in a low tone. “Don’t regret what happened, Ash. Silver tarnishes so easily that most people don’t want to use it in jewellery, yet it’s one of my favourite metals to work with.”
I closed my eyes and just lived in this one moment because there was no way I could ever let this happen again. Someone as pure as Lucrezia deserved to be with someone who matched her goodness. The darkness that dwelt inside me would slowly smother her essence and destroy her to leave her nothing but a shell like Mum.
I would never do that to a woman. It was the reason why I planned on remaining single forever.
Summoning all my courage to create the illusion of the man everyone knew, I finally pushed myself onto my arms to take my weight off her. Lucrezia watched me warily as if she expected me to lash out at her. She was more vulnerable than I ever imagined and not the girl that she portrayed to the world. It seemed that both of us had excellent acting skills.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I warned.
“Like what?”
“Like I’m the type of man who’ll come and rescue you from your ivory tower.”
“I thought you were more the type to have his own personal pleasure tower.”
I rolled my eyes at her and moved onto my back to stare at the ceiling. Her head appeared to stare upside down at me a few moments later.
“You defiled Minnie Mouse. She has stuff all over her.” Her indignant tone brought a smile to my lips as she learned closer. “I don’t think Mickey can ejaculate because in all the years they’ve been together there has been no baby mice.”
&n
bsp; A laugh escaped at the idea of the beloved children’s characters getting frisky.
“Please, Ash, I don’t have many good things in my life. You’re one of the few that I’ve found.” She sat beside me and peered at me. “Since you’re my business partner, I need your phone number.”
“Business partner?” My eyebrows rose fractionally.
“Someone paid for those diamonds. I doubt you bought them for me as a gift.”
There was no way I was telling her what they cost me. This fiery little woman would move heaven and earth to repay me. “You want me as a business partner?”
Her smile made my heart ache. “You’re the only one who understands.”
If she kept this up she would end up breaking my miserable heart. “I don’t try to have sex with my business partners,” I replied and raised an eyebrow.
“How many female business partners do you have?”
I threw her the stink eye. “One, apparently.”
She squealed and threw herself at me, pressing kisses to my face. I couldn’t help myself smiling at her nonsense. No one ever treated me like this. I’d expected sulky temper tantrums, not someone who threw herself at me again and again with joy on her face. Lucrezia was a refreshing change to what surrounded me in my world.
“Fine!” I lifted her off me and set her on the floor while I stood up. “I need to get dressed, because if your papa finds me in here and you covered in my cum, he’ll kill both of us.”
She twisted and lifted the bottom of that damned nightdress, flashing a quick glimpse of her pussy. Fuck my life, she was going to end up being the death of me.
***
Chapter Thirteen
Lucrezia
I watched from the window upstairs as the three motorbikes drove down the driveway and out of my life. When he emerged from my bathroom with a towel around his waist, Ash had his blank expression back in place. There was no point in trying to tear those walls down since I knew how much effort they were to erect.