by Tia Siren
I couldn’t stop the climax from breaking over me. I rocked against his fingers, pushing them deeper inside. He kissed me and then moved to my neck to that overly sensitive area, leaving his fingers inside me. Within minutes, I could feel the familiar stirrings of another climax. I moved my head to one side and then the other, wanting it but wanting to hold out a little longer.
The hot water and the steam were making me hypersensitive. It was an erotic setting that heightened every touch. Just when I thought he would make me come again with his fingers, he spun me around. My breasts pressed against the once-cold tile wall. He stepped behind me and pressed his dick against my butt. I shimmied my butt back, rubbing his hard cock as I did.
One of his arms went around my waist, and he pulled me back before using his other hand to press on my back, bending me over. He stepped close and pushed one finger inside me before pulling it out and replacing it with his dick. I groaned low in my throat as he pushed inside me. Both his hands were on my hips. I braced myself as he pulled out and pushed back in. The pace was slow and hard before it quickly increased, each thrust pushing my body forward only to be yanked back in place by his firm grasp.
I wasn’t prepared for the powerful orgasm. It crashed through my body, making me moan in supreme pleasure as he kept pounding into me. He stiffened, grunted in pleasure, and jerked my body against his while he spurted into me.
He stepped away from me and back into the shower stream. I righted myself, turned to face him, and then quickly stepped out of the shower, needing to get away from him. I grabbed the towel off the rack and began to quickly dry off. I had to make my escape before he got out of the shower. I had made a colossal mistake—again!
After a minute, he stepped out of the shower and walked naked to the linen closet to grab another towel. I was pulling on my clothes when he wrapped the towel around his body and walked out of the bathroom. I quickly followed him into the kitchen, buttoning my shorts as I went.
“Why did you ask Anna to work for you?” I shot out.
He handed me one of the glasses of orange juice he had just poured. “Why do you keep having sex with me?”
My mouth dropped open. “It was a mistake. It won’t happen again.”
He grinned. “That’s what you said last time. Don’t get me wrong, I am perfectly happy to make these mistakes. Use me all you want, Ash. I’m here for you.”
I stomped my foot. “Brock.”
He shrugged. “I’ll let you use me for now, but you do need to make up your mind. I’m not going to let you walk in here and fuck me whenever you want for the rest of my life.”
“I wouldn’t! I’m not!” I protested. “Why did you hire Anna? That’s all I came over here to ask.”
He looked down at the glass he was holding. “Helen has breast cancer. She has to take some time off. I know Anna’s pregnant and could use a job that doesn’t require her to be on her feet all day. It just seemed like a good idea. Why do you care? It isn’t like you’ll be sticking around for long.”
“Oh,” I said, instantly feeling bad about his secretary. I remembered Helen. She was a nice woman. God, I really hated cancer.
“Yeah, oh. I didn’t ask Anna to work for me because I had an ulterior motive. It was an opportunity for her and me. Not everything is about you, Ashley.”
I rolled my eyes. “I have to go.”
I headed to the front door, making sure my clothes were situated, and pulled it open. Brock grabbed my arm firmly and pulled me back. His mouth was on mine in a sweet kiss. I fought the urge to wrap my arms around him and squeeze him close. I pulled away before I found myself flat on my back with him buried inside me once again.
“Just like old times, huh, babe?”
“No. It is definitely not like old times,” I said before walking out and not looking back.
I got in my car and quickly backed out of the driveway. Once again, I was running away from a sexual encounter with my ex, the father of my child, the man I left standing at the altar six years ago. I couldn’t keep doing this. I was not a young woman who could sleep with whoever she chose when the desire arose. I had a son to think about.
Brock had been wrong when he had said it was like old times. It was a hundred times better. Maybe it was because we were older and more mature, or maybe it was better because there was an element of danger when I had sex with him. I knew it was wrong and I shouldn’t, but I was so drawn to him. It had been a moment of weakness, and I vowed to never let it happen again.
I wouldn’t put it past Brock to use this as evidence against me. He would tell a judge I was a floozy and unable to care for my child because I was a sex maniac. I couldn’t have sex with him again. It was fantastic sex, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t risk it. I would make sure all further talks were through his attorney.
Chapter 16
Brock
I felt like whistling. I knew it was cheesy, but having Ashley back in my life was making me a little giddy. She wasn’t “back in my life” in that sense exactly, but there was something there. She would deny it, but there was an undeniable chemistry between us. We were drawn to each other—moths to a flame, magnetic attraction, or whatever a person wanted to call it. We were made for each other. There was no arguing with chemistry. When she was near, I could feel the pull, and I had learned by now that she could feel it too. She couldn’t get enough of me, even if she did hate me.
I didn’t whistle because I knew that would result in Anna asking questions. One thing Ashley and I agreed on was the fact that we didn’t want to advertise our little trysts. As of now, that was all they were. Two healthy people who were fiercely attracted to each other were having consensual sex. If anyone knew, there would be drama, and clearly, we both wanted to keep it drama free.
Anna had arrived about five minutes after I had. I’d been pleasantly surprised.
Now she stood in my doorway. “So, is Helen coming back?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said, but there was no way I could know that for sure. Helen had already picked up and gone to Morgantown for treatment. It was the best care she could get.
“Fine,” Anna said, pouting. “What am I supposed to say when I answer the phone?”
I looked at her. “Brock Trenton’s Realty.”
She nodded. “Very clever.”
Anna had been doing this strange mood-swing thing that I chose to attribute to her pregnancy. She could be very nice or very sarcastic, and I never knew what I was going to get. I just hoped the potential clients always got the nice, amenable Anna.
“Thanks. Keep it simple,” I told her, leaving off the last part of that statement. I wasn’t sure how she would react to it.
Anna was actually a smart woman and a real computer whiz. I had assumed I would need to explain all the little details, but she’d picked right up on it.
“I’m going to run out and get some lunch,” I told her. “I’ll be back in about fifteen minutes. Anything in particular you like?”
She looked at me strangely. “Turkey. And bacon.”
I nodded. “Got it.”
After grabbing my keys, I headed to one of the nearby sandwich shops and ordered our lunches. When I got back, she was surprised that I’d actually brought her lunch.
“This is weird,” she commented a second before digging into the sandwich.
I sat down in the chair clients typically sat in. “What’s weird?”
“You. You’re not an ogre—that I’ve seen yet anyway. I think I half expected you to chain me to the desk and deny me food, water, and bathroom privileges.”
I laughed. “I do have an ogre side, but I rarely let it come out. I know I have a bit of a reputation, but I promise, I am really a nice guy.”
“Ha! The way you’ve been talked about in recent months, you would think I signed up to work with the devil himself.”
I cringed. I hated that certain people had such a negative opinion of me. I really didn’t deserve it. I had done nothing wrong or illegal. A lot of the repu
tation came from my younger years and a whole lot of gossip.
“I’m sure your family thinks I’m a real dick, right?”
She smiled. “Kind of. I think they mostly pity you.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Why would they pity me?”
“Because of Ashley.”
“What about her?”
“The way she ran off and left you. It was really stupid. None of us really knew why she did it. But now that you are trying to buy the family farm, I guess you could say they don’t trust you. They assume you want revenge for what she did,” she said nonchalantly. “I don’t. I understand it’s just business, but they are somehow convinced you gave my dad cancer and then made him lose a bunch of money so you could steal the farm.”
I rolled my eyes. “It has nothing to do with Ashley. Not everything I do revolves around her. And while I’d like to think I’m some kind of super powerful person, I don’t think I am quite that powerful. I offered to buy a small piece of the farm to help out your dad, but he turned me down.”
She smirked. “Well, clearly you didn’t know that Ashley hung the moon. The world revolves around her, and everything that happens is somehow related to her.”
In my eyes back then, that statement had been true. She was the first thing I thought about when I woke up and the last thing I thought about when I closed my eyes. She had been the center of my world, and I’d loved her right down to my core. If she had walked back into my life a couple years ago, I would have taken her back with open arms. It would have been foolish, perhaps, but she had my heart. I was still struggling to keep hold of it now that she was back in town.
“I’m sure your family thinks I hired you so I could mistreat you, but I’m not like that,” I said, feeling a little defensive.
“Relax. Don’t worry so much about them. Honestly, none of them care. I mean, I didn’t tell Hank, but I’m sure one of my sisters probably whined to him by now. Who cares what they think? I don’t. Besides, you can’t mistreat me. I wouldn’t tolerate it.”
That got a chuckle from me. “Yeah, I get that. You Parks girls are not pushovers; that’s for sure. Your daddy raised you right.”
She waved a hand. “Ashley just pushes and pushes until she gets her way. I’m not quite as bad as she is. I can be flexible and consider other people’s feelings.”
I felt a little uncomfortable talking about Ashley with her sister and quickly changed the subject. There had been animosity between the two forever. I remembered consoling Ashley many times after a fight with her sister. I didn’t want to hurt Ashley and certainly wouldn’t play into Anna’s hand. She was a smart girl. I knew anything I said or did would be used against me. Hiring her had been a risk, but I wanted to help her out, and I was in a bit of a tight spot myself.
“The farm is on a great piece of land. It would mean a lot to the growth of the town to get that property. I want to put condos on it, condos that will attract young people who want to start families here. It will be good for everyone, and it has nothing to do with what your sister did a long time ago.”
I hoped I sounded convincing. My desire for revenge had set me down this path, but once money had gotten involved, revenge wasn’t really at the top of my list. I wanted more money, and I really wanted to build something that would change the way the town functioned.
“You don’t have to convince me,” she said, clearly seeing right through me. “I really don’t care. The farm is just a farm. I mean, yeah, I live there on occasion, but I’m a big girl and can support myself. I only went back to help out Dad,” she said, shrugging her shoulders.
“If Tanner wanted to keep that farm, I think he would have done things a little differently. I think it’s only one person who is making the big stink about it,” I said with a grin.
She smiled. “Yep. The same person who likes to stir up trouble that makes her out to be a hero.”
“Now, now, I’m not here to bash your sister,” I playfully scolded. “I think her heart is in the right place, but it just isn’t going to work. I want that land, and I intend to get it.”
“Then go get it. I’m certainly not going to try to stop you. Do I get a bonus if I help you close the deal?”
I laughed. “We’ll see. We still have three weeks before I can make a move. Your sister may come up with a way to hold back my plans.”
“As usual,” she commented under her breath.
“Okay, I need to go out and check on one of the properties. You think you can hold down the fort?”
“Yes. I can sit here in this chair and stare out the window. Got it covered.”
I laughed. “I’ll be back around two, and then we’ll close the office for the day.”
She nodded. “Okay. I’ll be here.”
I left the office and picked up my phone. I called Helen’s cell to make sure she was settled in and doing okay. She asked about work, and I assured her all was well and her job would be waiting for her when she was healthy again.
Out at the property, I assessed some minor damages due to a recent storm. There was nothing major that required immediate attention, which was good since I had just purchased this property. Once that was done, I went back to town and showed Anna how to close everything up at the office for the day. Like with the computer, she picked up on it all quickly. I’d have to be sure to watch my mouth around her, but otherwise it was looking like she might turn out to make a decent employee, and I was pleased.
When I got home, I walked into my big house and immediately felt how empty it was. It was always empty, but today it felt lonely. I’d bought the home because it was gorgeous and I imagined it would be great for a family, but there was no family here. It was me and me alone. The furnishings and lack of pictures and personal touches in the home reminded me of just how stark it was.
Walking to the fridge, I grabbed a beer and headed for the deck. I had a massive yard, all fenced in. The deck was huge and had a patio set and a barbecue on one side. I was ready for that family barbecue, but I would never have it if I didn’t change things.
I wanted Jasper in my life. I wanted to watch him play in this big backyard with the mountains in the distance. Maybe he could even have a dog. He could pick his room. Mine was the master, but there were three others to choose from. The house was too big for me alone. I wanted to fill it with laughter, love, and toys that tripped me when I was walking around in the dark. I wanted a little chaos instead of the perfect home that never had anything out of place.
I walked back into the house and drifted down the hallway, opening one door after the other. Each of the spare bedrooms was empty. I figured Jasper would like the last one I walked into the best. It had a view that overlooked the backyard, and I could imagine posters of rocks and a shelf filled with rocks he had collected on one wall.
Ashley had to let me have a relationship with my son. I had no idea how it would work with her living in New York, but I was willing to work a little harder to pay for the plane tickets back and forth. I would do whatever it took to have a real relationship with him—except move to the city. I wasn’t built for city living. That was Ashley’s gig, even though I could tell she really loved it here.
I let out a long breath. I had to convince her to change her mind. Jasper was mine. I would fight for him.
Chapter 17
Ashley
I had a lot of reading to do, which was going to require copious amounts of coffee. Coffee and liquor. I added a dollop of Irish cream to my coffee to calm my nerves while giving me a little boost of energy. It was a complete contradiction, but I needed both to get through this next hour or so. I wasn’t much of a day drinker, but I figured it was close enough to dinner that I wasn’t breaking any rules. I had made the rule anyway, so I could certainly override it when I wanted.
I opened the file filled with various loan documents and other information about my dad’s farm. Janna had managed to sweet talk the bank manager into giving us the paperwork on my dad’s mortgage. She’d offered to go through i
t all with me and apply her business sense, but I told her it wasn’t necessary. I was a little ashamed of the situation. Plus, I didn’t want to burden her. I didn’t want to make my problems her problems.
Janna had her own life to get back to. She was heading back early tomorrow morning and had opted to stay in town at a small bed and breakfast. She said she didn’t want to intrude. I didn’t blame her for wanting to escape. I was feeling a little stir crazy as well. The house had been chaotic and this was supposed to have been a getaway for her. She deserved a little time to rest and relax before she headed back to the city and into the fray of our business.
I took a sip of my coffee and then dragged in a long breath, preparing myself for what I was about to discover. I started with the summary page, but I couldn’t believe what I was reading. I reread it several times, making sure I wasn’t reading it wrong. It had to be wrong. There was no possible way the numbers could be right. Someone had to have added an extra zero or two. First, I couldn’t believe the land was worth that much, and second, I couldn’t believe my dad owed that much.
“Holy shit,” I muttered as I read through each of the pages and the terms of the equity loan. Someone had truly screwed my dad over. That pissed me off, but I was even angrier with my dad for not paying attention. How could he have signed the loan without reading it more carefully? He was going to lose everything!
I considered calling Janna to come back and help me sort through everything but this was my problem, not hers. I couldn’t suck her into my family’s drama any more than I had.
“That looks serious,” Dad said, coming into the kitchen to sit down.
I resisted the urge to say something snide. “It is serious,” I muttered.
He picked up a few pages, but he didn’t actually read anything. He flipped through them and dropped them back down on the table.
“Dad,” I said in a serious tone, “look at this.” I spread my arms wide to encompass the table filled with papers.