by Aria Cole
I was enraged by the amusement in his voice, and I was instantly ready to snap at him, before I remembered my place. His eyes widened when he caught a glimpse of my expression, but I managed to control myself. “It’s been a long day.” I was tired and hungry and emotionally spent. My eyes flared as I couldn’t bring myself to bite my tongue, not completely. I waited, kicking myself and thinking I’d just stepped in it with him. Maybe he did in fact have a dark and dirty dungeon downstairs, and he would lock me in it for talking back.
“I knew you had fire.” Asher shook his head with a slow chuckle, then proceeded to stack bread and tomatoes and meat up for our sandwiches. I watched him silently, his deft hands putting together the basic meal, the simple act making me smile. It had been a very long time since a man had been kind to me, but I didn’t trust the illusion of safety. The men in my world had always been kind in exchange for something, and pretty girls always had something they wanted. Asher was playfully laughing at me, and the most surprising thing of all, I loved the sound of it barreling from his beautiful, full lips.
Chapter 8
Asher
I watched in quiet fascination as she picked at the sandwich I made. I’d never met a woman quite like her. Her generous curves surely pulled many men in, she was experienced in the act of being a coquette, I could see it bleeding from her eyes and that pretty red pout. A woman who wore red lipstick knew what she was doing, confident, eager, no pretense. She was seducing me.
“Don’t tell me you’re a vegetarian. I can make you a salad if you want. But you will eat. I require it,” I commanded, but she took nothing more than small nibbles.
“No.” Her eyes widened and trained on me. Her gaze was like a knife slicing my heart. It felt like she saw through me, saw past every wall I’d constructed around my heart, and was ripping me bare for her perusal.
She made me uncomfortable, she made me feel challenged, she made me feel more excitement than I’d ever felt.
“Is something wrong with the sandwich?” I pressed, urging her to speak, open up. The more she kept silent, the more my mind spun in circles wondering what she was thinking. I’d given her space tonight, let her settle in. I hadn’t heard a single footstep from her bedroom, which apparently meant she’d laid in bed. Dear God, I hoped she hadn’t been crying. Maybe she’d been napping. I couldn’t tell. She didn’t look so distressed, like she was ready to bolt out my door and never look back, but this girl was unpredictable. For some reason I didn’t trust the light behind her eyes. Her walls were taller than my own, I could see that. I’d expected that. I just hadn’t expected to be so damn turned on by it. I didn’t expect to see her as such an outright challenge. A beautiful, sassy challenge.
I sighed, standing up from the island and taking both of our plates to the sink.
“Maybe this will help.” I pulled a bottle of the most expensive wine I had from the rack and popped the cork.
“I’m underage,” she muttered, and my heart instantly fell. Oh yes, she was only eighteen.
“That’s right. Guess this is a learning curve for both of us.” I poured a tall glass for myself, then returned to her at the kitchen island.
“I didn’t say I hadn’t drank before.” Her eyes burned with amusement as they crawled from my glass and up to my face, landing on my lips when I took a slow swallow of the red wine.
I arched an eyebrow at her cheeky response. “Well, I wouldn’t want you to feel peer pressured or anything,” I flirted back, feeling a slow burn at the base of my spine hum to life. “And I am a man who likes to follow the rules.”
“Rules are boring. Maybe just a little sip?” She hummed and tipped the glass in my hands to her mouth, taking the smallest sip before licking her ruby lips so sweetly I almost came in my fucking pants.
This woman was going to be the death of me. And for two years I’d have her in my house, prancing around in her short dresses and those long curls that just begged to be wrapped around my fist while I kissed her. I took another long sip, then offered her the glass again. Her eyebrows arched before a slow smile split her lips, and she placed the glass at her lips and took another slow drink.
Her eyes fluttered closed, and I instantly saw her shoulders relax, the muscles in her jaw loosening, her smile lifting a little more at the corners.
“It’s good,” she said and licked her lips, one drop of red liquid hovering at one corner. On instinct, I pressed a thumb to the line of her top lip and swiped the offending drop away, sliding it in my own mouth to taste the sweetness. It was almost like kissing her, taking the wine off her lips and bringing it to mine. Almost like tasting her for the first time.
“Let me give you the tour,” I said, my head already feeling lighter from the wine and her. She only nodded, then took a few steps out of the room. I followed behind her, a hand at her back like the gentleman I prided myself on being, while my cock ached and flexed in my pants, desperate to see what she wore under that dress, and if the rest of her body tasted as sweet as that rogue little droplet at her lips.
“My office is back here. I spend most of my time here when I’m home, but I'm out at the office a lot, too. You’re free anywhere in the house, but please don’t go in here unless I’m home. This door stays locked at all times, but believe me, you’re welcome at any time while I’m working. I’m not one of those growly assholes that needs complete silence.”
“You have the same view I do.” She stepped up to the lone window in my office. “I love the weeping willow.” She hummed as her fingertip traced the glass, as if she were tracing the outline of the tree. “Do you ever swim in that lake?” she asked sweetly.
“No, but I have a boat, I’ll take you out sometime,” I offered, stepping closer to her, hovering just above her so I could take her in, scent her, feel the energy bouncing from her body to mine. She spun and looked up at me, her big eyes round and innocent, making my dick pound with every ragged breath of my body.
“Can you take me upstairs? I didn’t want to rummage around in the closets or drawers, and this dress isn’t exactly comfortable,” she said simply, and my heart instantly cracked. Because that was the heart of it, wasn’t it? At the end of the day, she was still a stranger in my house, and would probably always feel like she was because of the means by which I’d brought her here. I’d bought her, outright and without an ounce of shame on my part. She couldn’t grow to care for me. This was a job to her, a means to an end. I instantly regretted signing her up for this two-year stint. I should have offered her a trial period, sixty days or ninety, but I was so desperate to have her in my life that I didn’t think about anything other than having her here and away from the nightmare she called a life.
She'd only shown me the tip of the iceberg, I could tell there was so much more she couldn't bring herself to say just yet. However, she'd been victimized, it made me homicidal. I wanted to find every man who ever looked at her and rip them apart. The mere thought that any man had leered at her flesh made me see red. I could feel my blood boil, the anger looming over me. She was mine and I let that happen. I wasn’t able to protect her. Now she was here, and I had two years to show her that she belonged to me. I wanted so much from her, and nothing was enough until she knew she was mine. I wanted more.
I was twenty-eight, and I wanted someone to share this life with. Someone who mattered to me and someone I mattered to. Every woman I’d met before, whether on my own or on a blind date, I’d never felt that connection. I’d never been able to shake the feeling that there was something else out there for me. I had always been a man with a purpose. I didn’t like to waste time on tasks that I knew would lead me nowhere, women were no exception. I would be patient and wait, I knew one day she would be here and I would be complete.
With her, everything was different. I was different, and she was the one I’d been waiting for. I felt the need increase in the depths of my cock. I wanted to fuck her until she couldn't remember anything but my name. I wanted my cum all over her, I wanted her to know tha
t she was my queen and I owned her. Biding my days until the time was right, watching with astounding interest until she was ready for me. Until she was mine.
“Sure,” I finally answered, feeling more than a little defeated. Just when I thought she’d been opening up, she was too tired. I’d pushed her too far and expected too much. I’d bring her back to her room and then head back down to my office and leave her alone, give her time to settle in, even if that took a few weeks. I would leave her be until she came to me and was comfortable to talk. “It’s late. I have an early morning, and I’m sure you need some sleep.” I spun and left my office, hoping she was trailing after me. She did follow me, up the stairway and through the hall to her bedroom. We stepped into the dim space, lit only by the bright moonlight filtering in one window.
I flicked on a soft lamp, then headed for the spacious walk-in closet off the bathroom. I opened a drawer and found an array of panties and bras laid out, all in the perfect size, all in variations of my favorite colors, white, red and black. Lace, satin, and cotton, undergarments for every occasion.
“Socks and shoes here,” I muttered, thinking I needed to get through this mini tour. Just the thought of her in those skimpy things made me nearly mad with lust. “Dresses hang here, a few pairs of pants, but I prefer dresses. I want you to look feminine when we go out,” I finished, turning to find her shockingly close to me. Her eyes were soft and open, the tiniest of smiles on her face.
“A man that knows what he wants. I like that.” Her eyebrow arched as her fingers trailed across the lace and satin cup of one bra. “So what do you prefer I wear to bed?” Her voice lowered an octave.
My heart hammered at her question, and I shifted on my feet. My collar suddenly feeling ridiculously tight, I tugged at it and tried to restrain myself from throwing her up against the wall of the closet and fucking her senseless.
“Whatever is most comfortable for you.” I tried to hide my reaction to her.
She sucked a lip between her teeth, and her eyes glanced around the room. “But I don’t have the kind of figure the girls in magazines do.”
My heart ached for her. Didn’t she know that she was the measure of all female beauty? “Allie, you are the most beautiful woman in the world. No woman on earth is as ravishing as you are. I look at you and I feel urges that I didn’t know I could feel. I want you like I have never wanted another. Those women you see in magazines don't hold a candle to your spark.”
I swallowed the ball of desire cutting off oxygen to my brain as my hands clenched at my sides. She was so fucking beautiful. She’d been standoffish all day, and now, late at night, up here in this tiny confined space, she was ruining me. I was telling her how much I wanted her, just how much she meant to me.
“What are you doing to me?” I whispered, my fists digging into the shiny curls of her soft hair, threading the strands and tugging as my lips finally attached to hers. I plunged my tongue between her pouty lips and thrust and devoured rhythmically, one palm running across her hot skin, sliding down one strap of that glittery fucking dress I’d been imagining peeling off her all night.
And the best part, she kissed me back. Her hands crawled up my biceps and clutched at my shoulders, one hand running across the nape of my neck and tugging on the short strands as her lips pressed against mine. Her tongue swept out and languidly tangled with mine, her soft lips kneading and caressing as I finally tasted her, finally had her.
“Asher,” she sighed as I pushed her against the small dresser her delicate undergarments had been placed so neatly in. I lifted her by the hips, setting her on the glossy wood, and felt her legs wrap around my waist, ankles locking me into place between her thighs. Sweet Jesus.
My hands fisted at her creamy legs and yanked her tighter around my body until I felt the press of my cock against the delicate flesh between her legs. One palm went up her thigh of its own accord and shoved at the flimsy fabric of her dress. I clutched it in my palms and tore at the offending garment, pulling it higher up her waist so I fit between her legs at a more favorable angle.
Before I knew what was happening, her fingers were clutching at the rippled muscles of my back while her head tossed feverishly against the wall. With her delicate throat open to me, I attacked her skin with gentle nips of my teeth and soft caresses of my tongue. I pressed my cock between her legs and worked in small rhythmic circles while my pants grew more strained. Her eyelids fell closed. I watched riveted as one slow moan fell from her full lips and she bit down hard, stifling another groan as her muscles went rigid around me. My heart thundered with longing and joy. Her fingers tightened at my biceps and pulled at my hair as she rode my dick through the thick fabric of my dress pants.
Jesus Christ, she was a fucking goddess like this.
Her body heaved, her muscles finally loosened, her eyes opened before her gaze finally landed on mine. I stood there frozen, still incredibly hard and even more turned on than I’d been just minutes before, until I realized this was probably her first orgasm, at least at the hands of a man.
“I-I…” She paused, stumbling to find words, a red wave of embarrassment coloring her cheeks.
“You're beautiful, Allie.” I pressed a hand at her jawline, my own libido suddenly taking a back seat to the siren song I’d just witnessed. “Was that your first orgasm?” I said, only wanting open honesty with her. I had to be prepared, had to know everything about her before I took her for my own.
Her eyes darted away, before she bit her lip and nodded slowly. Tears of shame soon pooled in her eyes, and she pushed my body away, hopping off the dresser and righting her torn dress.
“Don’t do that, don’t shut down on me.” I snagged her wrist and paused her nervous movements. “Don’t be ashamed of a single fucking thing with me. I want all of you. The beautiful parts, the messy parts, the sexy-as-hell parts, the emotional parts, I want it all. It may take me two years to prove it to you, but I want everything you have to offer. And I expect the same from you,” I ended, finally feeling like I’d gotten through to her when she peered up at me with wide eyes. “Understand me?” I clasped her chin between my thumb and finger. She nodded silently. “Say it,” I instructed, knowing I needed this reassurance from her more than anything else.
She nodded again, her eyes riveted on mine for the first time all night. She’d been dying to look away at every interaction before now, and yet at this very moment it seemed she couldn’t bring herself to, no matter how hard she tried. I was getting to her. “Yes, Asher,” she said quietly and clearly, before her eyes dropped down to my lips, still parted and panting from the unsatisfied sexual tension rocketing between us.
“That’s a girl.” I smiled, placing another kiss on the tip of her nose before adding another more meaningful one at the bow of her lips. “Now get ready for bed. Peggy will mend this in the morning,” I touched her bare thigh peeking through the golden disaster of a dress. “If it can be.” My lips lifted in a cocky grin as I internally beat my chest for her.
I wanted her. She knew it now, and I knew goddamn well she wanted me. Gone was the infuriating game of cat and mouse. Now I only had to make her mine. I only had to convince her why she should give me her heart on top of everything else.
Chapter 9
Eve
With my hands quaking, I watched Asher Strong walk out of the closet, leaving me turned on and shaken all at the same time. I heard the soft snick of the bedroom door closing and knew I was alone. I collapsed in a weakened heap on the floor and let out a soft sob. What the hell was I doing here? Who was this man?
Tears poured down my cheeks in streams as I clutched at the fabric of the cheap dress my foster mother had made me wear just this morning. I didn’t want it mended, I wanted it burned. I choked on the lump in my throat as my thoughts reeled, feeling like I’d somehow been plucked from a world of dark misfortune and plopped into a fairy tale with a handsome Prince Charming with an enormous house that may as well be a modern-day castle. I wasn’t this girl. I didn’t
fit in here. Fairy tales weren’t real and there was no such thing as a handsome prince coming to save me. Why did he even want me? Why had he paid so much for my time? I was a virgin. Didn’t men like him want an experienced woman who knew how to please them? When it came time to have sex with Asher Strong for the very first time under contract, when I would lose my virginity, how would that make me feel?
Just having an orgasm at his deft hands and the enormous, rigid, steel length between his legs made me nearly lose my stomach. I liked him. Of course I liked him. What wasn’t to like? He was handsome, kind, thoughtful, incredibly intense with the sexiest smile.
But what did I have to offer? An awkward girl in too-tall heels who was too young to drink and didn’t know the first thing about pleasing a man. I had a curvier form than the girls I’d seen on the magazine covers. I had nothing to give Asher, and here I was, set up to play the ruse of his friend, his girlfriend, his whore… I was surprised to find my heart aching with the uncertainty.
A slow headache began building at the base of my skull. I wiped at the tears tickling my cheeks, then pushed myself from the floor, pulling the dress over my shoulders and stopping to stand in front of the closet mirror. Here stood Eve White, the girl who was orphaned before she hit puberty, the girl who had never even held a boy’s hand as they walked through a park. Until tonight with Asher, I had never even been kissed. You would think with the depraved things Judy had me do that I would have some actual experience, but I didn’t when it came to men. I was completely naive. Until Asher, I’d hated them. Other than the boys, I found men to be repugnant. They weren’t as kind or as attractive as Asher.
I padded to the bathroom Asher had gestured to earlier. My feet connected with cool tile as I flipped on the lights and took in my surroundings. A huge bathroom, much larger than any I’d ever seen and outfitted in Spanish tile and modern glass fittings, nearly took my breath away. A giant soaking tub complete with jets looked out over a corner window and the expansive property beyond. A double vanity sink and fluffy white towels waited, enticing me toward the hot spray of the built-in shower.