by Levine, Nina
“No, I’m going out for the night.”
That thought scares me. Jack out on the town with all the alcohol in the world available to him is a recipe for disaster.
Before I can protest, he says, “Don’t stress, Ashton, I’m going out with Sienna. She’ll keep me on the straight and narrow.”
“Good,” I mutter before heading to answer the door.
Finding Lorelei on the other side eases some of the tension from my body. She’s been by my side as much as she could be this past week, and has pretty much kept me going when the stress and exhaustion have gotten to me.
Snaking my arm around her waist, I pull her to me. “Do you have any idea how good it is to see you?”
Her eyes light up with pleasure as she loops her arms around my neck. After brushing a kiss across my lips, she says, “Don’t judge my outfit, okay? I was running late.”
I chuckle as I take another look at her body. “I’ve got no issue with this outfit. In fact, you should start wearing it more often for me. Have you just come from the gym?” She’s wearing the tightest multi-coloured tights and a fitted bra top thing under a jacket. The fact I can see skin makes me more than happy, not to mention that her legs in these tights look fucking amazing.
She presses herself against me with a sexy smile. “You would say that. And yes, I’ve just come from the gym, so you need to feed me. I’m starving.”
I bend my face to her ear. “No one’s going to be eating if you keep pressing yourself against my dick.”
Her arms tighten around my neck, and she pushes herself against me again. “I could wait to eat, I guess. Your mad skills more than make up for food.”
I run my hands down to her ass and smack her there. “No, I’m going to feed you first, because once I get started on this body, there is no way I’m being dragged from it.”
Twenty minutes later, we’re finishing up our dinner while chatting over a glass of wine. We’ve discussed our weekend away that we rescheduled after I had to cancel our last one and have gone over what we want to achieve. Lorelei’s filled me in on her tenant issues and the fact she’s hopeful they may be resolved soon. And I’ve updated her on Mum’s health.
“So you didn’t see your dad today?” she asks as she finishes her glass of wine. My gaze is firmly fixed on her lips as she drinks. I’m imagining them wrapped around my dick later. “Ashton, did you hear what I said?”
I find her eyes again. “I was busy thinking about fucking you, but yes I did hear what you said. And no, I didn’t see him today.”
Heat flares in her eyes and a smile fills her face. “I like it when you think about fucking me, but before we do that, I want to tell you some exciting news.”
“You’ve decided to stop working so you can spend all your hours naked with me?”
She laughs and leans forward to place her hand on my leg. “Someone’s playful tonight.”
I lean forward and cup her breast through her top. “No, just ready to be inside you.”
“Let’s be real, you work too much. You wouldn’t have enough time for all that sex.”
I slide my hand into her top. “Who said anything about not working? I can multi-task. I would fuck you while I close deals over the phone. Hell, I’d probably be more productive.”
She bites her lip and stands. A moment later, she’s straddling me and undoing the buttons on my shirt. “Okay, let’s be really real, then. You would be bored as hell with a woman who didn’t do something with her life. The sex-on-demand would grow old very fast for you.”
I reach a hand into her pants and find her clit. Rubbing it, I say, “This is why you’re the woman for me. Not only are you beautiful, you’re smart as hell.”
Her eyes close and she bites her lip again as she moans softly. I could watch Lorelei experiencing pleasure for the rest of my life and I still wouldn’t get my fill.
When she opens her eyes again, she hits me with a smile. “Guess what your woman did today?”
I return her smile. I fucking love her calling herself my woman. “What?”
“I agreed to invest in an apartment complex in Bondi.”
Alarm bells ring in my head, and I frown. “With Ryan Shandwick?”
She nods excitedly. “Yes! It’s an amazing deal. I can’t believe I was lucky enough to meet him at that party you took me to and have the opportunity to be involved in this.”
Fuck.
I’d meant to look into this, but I got sidetracked with everything else going on.
Before I can say anything, she asks, “Why are you frowning?”
I remove my hand from her pants and place both my hands on her legs. “I don’t trust Shandwick.”
“Do you know him?”
“I know of him and his reputation.”
“What’s his reputation?” she demands.
“He’s been involved in some shady deals.”
Her lips press together. “That doesn’t mean this is a shady deal. I went through all the documentation today, and it all looks legit to me. Even the local council is supporting him.”
“Fuck, Lorelei, that doesn’t mean much. Politicians are as dishonest as criminals. Shandwick must be giving them a kickback of some sort to endorse it.”
She straightens, her body tense. “You don’t know that for sure. I’m telling you, I went over all the information with a fine toothcomb. I couldn’t find anything that concerned me.”
I rake my fingers through my hair. “Okay, leave it with me. I’ll look into it.”
Her eyes widen, and the angry expression on her face tells me I’ve said something wrong. Moving off me, she snaps, “I don’t need you to look into it. I’ve looked into it.”
I stand, too. “I know you have, but I’ve got a lot more experience with this than you, so I’ll look at it, too.”
She stares at me for a long few moments. Anger radiates off her, and I wonder why she’s so worked up about this. When she scoops her bag up and slings it over her shoulders, I’m even more confused.
Moving closer to her, I ask, “Where are you going?”
“I need a moment. Or fifty.”
“Where?” I’m hopeful she means somewhere else in this house.
“At my place.”
“So you’re going home? Because I offered to look into this for you? That makes no sense, Lorelei.”
Her eyes flash with wild energy, the kind that screams her fury. “Oh, it makes perfect sense to me. I’m so offended you would think I’m not capable of this. I need some space to calm down.”
“Calm down here.”
She madly shakes her head. “No, I don’t want you anywhere near me at the moment, Ashton.”
I attempt to hook my arm around her waist and force her to stay, but she’s running on anger and smacks my hand away.
Those wild eyes of hers meet mine. “This is not the night for you to do your usual bossy shit. I’m telling you that I need the night to calm down, and then we can discuss the way you take over without stopping to think about my feelings. I understand that you’ve got more experience, but you need to understand there are ways to say and do things.” She pauses to take a breath and then adds, “I can see myself out.”
With that, she stalks out of my house, and for the first time in my life, I resist the urge to go after what I want.
I want nothing more than to stop her, throw her over my shoulder and drag her back inside.
I do not want to let her walk out of here tonight. But I’m coming to understand that when Lorelei is angry, she needs a moment. And if I’ve got any shot at keeping her in my life, I need to step back and give her that. What she’ll need to understand very quickly, though, is that after she’s had that moment, I’ll be coming for her and no fucking way will I be leaving without what I came for.
41
Lorelei
Sienna whistles low when I walk into our shared office the next morning. “Babe, you look like you partied all night, got no sleep, and tried to cover your exhaustion
with concealer. Tell me you did party. With Ashton.”
I dump my bag on the table and slump into a chair. After taking a long gulp of the coffee I picked up on the way to work, I grumble, “There was absolutely no partying with Ashton last night. Instead, he upset me, and I left his place early so I could put some space between us. I spent the night thinking about what happened, and only got about an hour of sleep.”
Her eyes widen, and she sits next to me. “What did he do? It’s not like you to get upset for no reason.”
I rake my fingers through my hair, still feeling annoyed and unable to shake it. I fill her in on the conversation that took place between Ashton and me and then ask her, “Do you think I overreacted?”
“No, I don’t think so. Ashton can be super arrogant, and it sounds like you reacted to that more than anything else. You work hard on your business, and I’m sure you did your due diligence on this deal, so it would have been like a slap in the face for him to insinuate you didn’t.”
I sigh. “See, that’s where I did overreact. He didn’t really insinuate that. It was more like he said he’d look into it because he has more experience, and he’s right, he does. I got my back up at the way he just kinda took over and said he’d do it. It made me feel inadequate, which meant my ability to think logically flew out the window.” I take another gulp of coffee and then groan. “I hate overreacting like this. He probably thinks I’m an idi—”
Sienna cuts me off. “There is no way Ashton thinks anything bad about you. And while it would have been good to be logical, it’s not always possible when our emotions take over, so don’t beat yourself up. Just reach out to him today and talk it over.”
I’m more annoyed at myself now than Ashton. And it’s ten times worse being annoyed at yourself than someone else.
A text comes through, and I check my phone.
Boston: I’m doing some work today with Crave. You should come meet them.
Crave is one of my favourite bands, but there’s no way I’m going to go meet them. That would send the wrong signal to Boston. I decide to ignore his text, hoping he might take me more seriously.
“Why are you suddenly looking stressed?” Sienna asks.
I hold up my phone. “Boston. He invited me to meet Crave today. I just wish he’d get the message that we’re over.”
“Crave! Holy shit! I’ll go. I wanna get my Jett on.” Jett’s the lead singer, and Sienna’s had a slight infatuation with him for years.
“Settle down, Jett’s getting married. You’re out of luck there, babe. What about Van?”
“Ugh, that’s right. I keep reading all about the plans they’re making for their wedding. Presley this, and Presley that. I wanna vomit at how perfect they seem for each other. But I don’t think Van’s my type. If I couldn’t have Jett, I think I’d have to choose Hunter.”
I laugh. “You do know that the stuff you read in those magazines is rubbish, right?”
“Don’t burst my bubble, Lorelei. According to what I read yesterday, Hunter is looking for a woman, and he has this thing for blondes. I could totally be who he’s looking for. You know I’ve always had a thing for drummers.”
Before I can respond to that, a delivery guy knocks on our door. He’s holding a huge bunch of red roses. Glancing between us, he asks, “Either of you Lorelei Winters?”
“Wow,” Sienna murmurs. “The man doesn’t muck around when he sends flowers.”
I take the flowers. “Thanks.”
As the guy leaves, Sienna says, “There has to be at least a hundred roses in that bouquet.”
I pull the card out of the envelope.
Lorelei, I’m sorry for being an asshole. Please forgive me.
My tummy does somersaults. No man has ever sent me flowers after an argument. It’s not so much the flowers that mean so much to me, but rather the fact he’s making an effort.
I grab a vase out of the cupboard and arrange them in it. “I’m going to call him now and talk this through.” I don’t want to wait for him to reach out. If I could, I’d go to him so we could discuss it in person, but I have an appointment in an hour that I need to finish preparing for.
“No need. I’m here.” Ashton’s deep voice sounds from the doorway.
I turn to find him coming my way. His eyes burn with determination. I can’t deny it—as much as he sometimes pushes me to places I’m not sure I want to be pushed, this fierce drive of his is one of the things I like about him the most.
“I’m just going to pop out for a bit and leave you two alone,” Sienna calls out, but neither Ashton nor I respond. He’s on a mission, and I’m held captive by it.
“Thank you for the roses,” I say softly, suddenly feeling unsure of this conversation.
He comes all the way to me. “I didn’t come to discuss flowers, Lorelei. I came to apologise in person. I won’t make the mistake of taking over and not thinking about your feelings again.” He closes the tiny distance between us and snakes his arm around my waist to hold me close. “But you need to understand that the best way to deal with a disagreement like this is not to run from me.”
His commanding tone and bossy words snap me out of the spell I’m under. Pressing against his chest, I say, “I appreciate the apology, but not the directive that went along with it. If I need a time-out, I need it, so don’t come here telling me how to deal with a situation.”
God, can the man be any more arrogant?
He refuses to budge, not allowing even a small gap between us. His hold on me tightens. “I’m not telling you that you can’t have your space. What I am telling you, though, is that I don’t like leaving a disagreement hanging between us when we’re apart from each other. Next time this kind of thing happens, have your time-out, but do it under the same roof. And when you’ve calmed down, come to me so we can fix it then rather than waiting the night.”
It’s in moments like this that I wonder about my mental state. One minute I’m irritated with him because of his arrogance, the next, my irritation is completely gone. I often swing between emotions with Ashton, and that’s not something I’ve experienced with a man before. My emotions have pretty much always remained steady when I’m with someone.
Steady and a little boring.
Not a moment with Ashton is steady or boring.
Grasping his shirt, I say, “How do you always get away with being arrogant and bossy?”
His brows lift. “You think I got away with it last night?”
“Well, no, but—”
Ashton cuts me off by backing me up against the wall and gripping my waist with both hands. “No buts, Lorelei,” he growls. “I fucked up last night, and I didn’t get away with it. I respect you standing up for yourself, but just so you’re aware, it was the longest fucking night of my life. I’ve never wanted anyone like I want you. To not know where your head was at, fucked with my head, and I never want to go through that again. Promise me we won’t.”
My legs go weak at the passion blaring from him, and at his honesty and willingness to lay himself bare like this. Taking hold of his face, I nod. “I promise I won’t do that to us again.”
His eyes search mine for what feels like forever before he finally lets out a breath that sounds like it’s been trapped for a long time. “Thank fuck.”
42
Ashton
“You’re in a better mood tonight than you were this morning,” Jack says over a drink that night.
He called and asked me to meet him at this bar after work. I could hear in his voice that this was important to him, so instead of arguing about his drinking, I agreed.
I take a drink of the whisky sitting in front of me. “That’s because I fixed things with Lorelei.”
“Does that mean you told her how concerned you are about the Shandwick deal?”
“No, it means I’m still looking into that. For now, I’ve apologised and just left it, but I’m certain I’ll need to bring it up again soon.”
“You really think it’s a shady dea
l?”
“I do.”
“I hope you’re wrong for Lorelei’s sake.”
“I’m not wrong, Jack. All I can hope now is that she can get out of it by the time I make her see what’s going on.”
He throws some whisky down his throat. “I saw Cassia at the café near your work today. Couldn’t get away from her. She went on and on about how good your parents are to her. Are they that close now?”
I squeeze my whisky glass. “Apparently so. She’s there every time I visit Mum.”
“What’s going on with her?”
“I don’t know, and I don’t want to know.”
“Did I ever tell you I don’t like that woman?”
I chuckle. “Only every opportunity you got.”
He grins. “And you chose never to listen to me. Maybe when it comes to Lorelei you’ll listen to me.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “I thought you liked Lorelei.”
“Oh, I do, and that’s why you need to listen to me. I’m concerned you’re going to fuck it up with her otherwise.”
“How would I fuck it up?”
“Let me count the ways. The Willow Street plans you have. Your need to take control of her and everything she does. There’s probably a hundred other things you’ll do, but these are the main ones.”
“I’m not trying to control her. I’m trying to help her. There’s a difference.” I ignore the reference to the Willow Street development. We’ve already discussed that, and as far as I’m concerned, he’s wrong.
“We’re going to have to agree to disagree, Ashton. But just don’t screw things up. I like that woman.”
I drink some more whisky. The bar is getting busy as all the suits head out for a drink on their way home from work. I want to discuss whatever Jack brought me here for before it gets too noisy.
“What’s going on, Jack? What did you want to talk with me about?”
He eyes me over the rim of his glass and takes his time drinking before he replies. “I’m going back to the States.”