by Gemma James
I bet he has, and he’s so self-involved that he doesn’t remember meeting me the first time a few weeks ago.
But I remember him.
“Did you hear about me from Joseph, or Sadie?” I look him up and down as I speak, taking in his slicked-back blond hair and perfect suit.
“Both, actually. It’s obvious you and Amanda are important to Sadie.” He shifts, hands going behind his back. Chest puffed out. “So that makes you important to me.”
I raise a brow. “And why is that? She isn’t your concern anymore, so you should have no vested interest in her friends.”
“Sadie is very much my concern.”
I want to stuff a dirty sock into his mouth to quiet that superior tone of his. Then I want to land a fist into his equally smug face. Fucking chump in a high-priced monkey suit. I can’t for the life of me see what Sadie ever saw in this self-important prick.
“She broke up with you,” I point out.
“That was a misunderstanding. We’re working through it.” He pauses a beat. “I want to make myself clear. You’re just a friend. I’m the man her father approves of.”
I can’t fucking help it. A grin twitches at the corners of my mouth. “Let me make myself clear. You’re just the asshole who cheated on her. I’m the guy she comes to for mind-blowing orgasms.” I stuff my hands into my pockets and finger her panties. “She’s quite insatiable, if I do say so myself.” I imitate his smug expression and give a mental fist-pump when the superiority melts from his face. “Nice catching up with you, Jack,” I say, purposefully using the wrong name. “I should probably mingle.” I turn on my heel before he can reply.
If I were wearing a tie, I’d have it removed by now. This place is suffocating enough all on its own. Caterers move around, preparing for the elaborate meal in the dining room, and this portion of the evening must be happy hour, Joseph Sawyer style, since guests are situated in small groups, nursing cocktails and beers as they talk about their importance in the grand scheme of things.
Jesus. I want out of here.
And I want to drill Sadie about every aspect of her relationship with that asshole. How far did she go with him? Suddenly, I want to know every detail. The thought of him touching her paints my vision with nothing but red.
I’m jealous as hell, and that doesn’t happen often.
A waiter passes by, and I grab a drink off the tray, unmindful of what it is I’m about to guzzle like a lifeline. But damn, a guy needs a drink to get through something like this. I settle against the wall in one corner of the room and down half the bubbly.
Definitely not my usual poison, but it’ll do.
Jake has reinserted himself into the crowd as the center of attention. But he’s not immune to me any more than I’m immune to him. Between sips of his drink, and gruff laughter interspersed with serious discussions of God-knows-what, he keeps shooting me death glares from across the room.
The hard lines on his pretty-boy face say it all.
I’m about as welcome here as the underbelly of this city.
A few minutes pass before Sadie returns on the heels of her father, and as she follows him like a sheep across the room to fucking “JJ,” I don’t miss the apologetic look she aims in my direction.
She didn’t stand up to her father.
I don’t have to ask to know it’s true. The guilt is written all over her beautiful face, her porcelain skin marred by self-disappointment.
Her father picks up a flute of champagne from a passing tray. “Attention, everyone!”
The room falls silent, and in that moment, I understand Sadie a little better because Joe Sawyer’s commanding presence is unshakable.
“I’d like to congratulate JJ on all the hard work he’s put in at Sawyer and Bennett these past five years. He’s the youngest to make junior partner in the firm’s history, and we’re all proud of him. To JJ,” he says, raising his glass, and everyone else follows suit, their voices a collective echo of Joseph Sawyer’s toast.
“Thank you, Joe. It’s an honor to have learned from the best.” The suck-up sidles up to Sadie and wraps an arm around her shoulders. “I have an announcement of my own to make. As most of you know, Sadie and I have been dating for the past couple of months, and though this might seem hasty, Joe has given me permission to ask for this extraordinary woman’s hand in marriage.”
People’s lips move. Glasses clink together. I hear none of it, and I suspect Sadie doesn’t either. She’s too busy staring right at me with that look I hate so much, her body rigid at Jake’s side.
There my girl is again, caught in the headlights.
Unable to stomach any more of this twisted game of elitist charades, I set my half-empty drink down and exit the room.
Because if I stay in there for another second, I’m going to lose my shit.
Chapter Seventeen
Sadie
Jake’s announcement winds around my throat like a boa constrictor. I sneak a glance at my father and feel like throwing up because he looks too damn thrilled.
More like ecstatic.
But what slices me to the soul is Ash. I watch, frozen in this twilight zone of a reality, as he leaves the room with a look of disgust and anger tainting his handsome face.
I want to call out to him. I want to tell my father and Jake they can shove this absurd marriage idea up where the sun don’t shine. I want to do something.
I need to do something.
Instead, I do nothing.
My heart is beating too fast, threatening a panic attack. Voices swirl around me. More congratulations, followed by intrusive questions.
Have we set the wedding date yet?
Are we going to have a traditional church wedding, or something less extravagant?
Will the ceremony be intimate, or something more newsworthy?
The whole time, I refrain from arching incredulous brows. But on the inside I’m screaming are you fucking kidding me? I never even said yes. Fuck, he never even asked.
Unable to take any more, I break away from Jake, ignoring his protests and the disapproving eye of my father, and go after Ashton. I leave the din of voices behind and enter the hall to find him leaning against the wall, arms crossed and head down. I spare a glance behind me, but my father and Jake are both distracted by the praise and attention of the guests. So is my mom. She’s got the hostess persona down to a science, and her face is glowing as people congratulate her on her daughter snagging such a good catch.
I might barf after all.
Drawing in a deep breath, I move toward Ashton. “Please don’t be mad,” I say, coming to a stop in front of him. “You know how my father is.”
He lifts his head, and I’m taken aback by the fervor in his ice-blue eyes. “You just let them walk all over you, Sawyer. I don’t understand it.”
Cheeks flaming, I dip my head. “Bad habits die hard, I guess. But there’s no way I’m getting engaged to Jake. It’s not happening.”
He points in the direction from which I just came. “Then go tell them that.”
“Not now, Ash.”
“When? On your way down the goddamn aisle?”
His caustic tone makes me flinch. “Of course not.”
“Come here, Sadie.” His heated gaze pins me to the spot, and my lungs work extra hard to pull air in. He raises a hand and crooks a finger. “Now.” The undeniable command in his tone has my feet eating up the space between us. He takes me by the chin and whirls us until my back is against the wall.
“What are you doing?” My voice trembles too much in his presence lately and now is no exception.
“I’m debating.”
“Should I be scared to ask about what?”
“Yeah, I think it’s fair to say you should be scared.” He reaches to the right of us and turns the doorknob to one of the guest bathrooms on the main floor. A small push later, and it swings open. “I’m going to make you come right here in your parents’ fucking house, with your new fiancé just a few feet down the hall.”
> I clamp my lips shut. Arguing with him is futile, considering how his words just soaked my core. I press my thighs together to keep from dripping down my legs.
“Do you have any objections?” He lifts a brow, and I’m positive he can smell my arousal pooling at the apex of my sex.
“My only objection is that you took my panties.”
His mouth tilts into a grin. “Are you worried you’ll soil your parents’ spotless floor?”
“Maybe,” I say, breathless.
He dips his head, lips brushing my ear. “Beg me to take the ache away.” His voice is a throaty caress, chock-full of seductive promise with a dangerous undercurrent of dominance.
I inch back and hold his gaze. “Please, Ash.”
Hoisting me into his strong arms, he carries me into the dark bathroom. The door closes behind us, and I detect the unmistakable sound of the lock clicking into place.
Ash doesn’t bother turning on a light. A streetlamp shines through the frosted window, providing just enough illumination to make our way to the counter. He lets me slide to my feet, and I sense his lips hovering close to mine, can hear his heavy breathing and feel the heat of it on my face.
“How far did you go with that jerk?”
“Not far.”
“Not a good enough answer, Sawyer.” His arms cage me in, and his chest brushes my hardened nipples. I can practically taste his lips.
“What do you want me to say? You already know we didn’t sleep together.”
“Did you go down on him?”
“Ashton, please.”
“Tell me. Did you suck him off?”
“No! I mean I tried once, but I…”
“You what?”
“I couldn’t do it.” For fuck’s sake. He should already know this by now, considering he agreed to teach me.
“Did he touch you?”
“Yes,” I say, not liking his possessive tone.
“Where?” He brings his hands to my breasts and flicks his thumbs over my hard nipples. “Did he touch you here?”
“Y-yes.”
Slowly, he trails a hand down the front of my dress and grasps the hem. “Did he put his mouth on your pussy?”
“Uh-huh,” I mumble as his hand disappears under my dress. He’s rendering me incoherent.
His finger draws a shiver-inducing path up my wet slit. “Did you come?”
“No.”
“I love that answer.” The scruff along his jaw chafes my cheek, and more warmth floods my core. We’re too damn close.
“Did he kiss you?”
“Yeah.” The word glides off my lips, little more than a sigh.
“God, Sadie. I want to kiss you.”
And that’s when I know it’s going to happen. Maybe not now in this bathroom, or even later after we leave. But eventually, we’re going to cave.
I’m going to cave.
His mouth teases the corner of mine, and my vocal cords freeze. I want to tell him to stop, but all I manage is a choked moan. He veers to the sensitive spot below my ear, and sharp disappointment rips through me. I don’t have time to dwell on it. Next thing I know, he’s grabbing me by the ass and lifting me onto the counter. Something crashes to the floor and shatters, but I can’t bring myself to care about my mother’s perfectly staged home, or how inappropriate our behavior is.
Nothing matters but Ash shoving my thighs apart until I’m spread before him. “Kissing is against the rules, so I guess I’ll have to taste you elsewhere.” He drops to his knees, pushes my dress up, and drags his tongue straight down the center of my slick pussy.
“Ash!” I grip the counter, squirming against his mouth, my poor excuse of a dress gathering around my hips. His hands are hot on my skin, palms sliding up inner thigh, fingers digging into feverish flesh. Keeping me spread wide open for his hungry mouth.
Oh God.
This might not be the first time someone’s gone down on me, but it is the first time I’m not too self-conscious to enjoy it. Everything around me fades, save for Ashton’s dark head between my legs.
The wet heat of his lips lightly sucking.
The tip of his tongue stroking my clit.
The press of his fingers, demanding I submit to his mouth.
My head falls back, and a whimper escapes me. I’m as hot as the sun, blazing several million degrees past an inferno. Sweat tickles my brow. My nipples tighten. Limbs tremble and grow heavy. I can’t hold the pose anymore. Ashton grabs my legs and hauls them over his shoulders, and I tilt back toward the wall.
I’m spread out before him, a buffet of sexual offerings.
He catches my gaze, and the glint in his arctic stare is brimming with power and ownership. In this moment, no matter the rules or emotional walls between us, I have no doubt that I am his.
“Try not to make too much noise,” he says, mouth tilting in a cocky smile as he lowers his head to the apex of my sex again. Pumping his fingers between my legs, he flicks his tongue back and forth over my clit, launching me so high I can’t breathe.
Moaning. My moaning.
It’s all I hear.
And Ashton Levine is all I feel.
My head’s swimming. Stars explode behind my eyelids. I’m a fissure, split down the middle from the force of his will. It’s stronger than my fear. I’ve never been so vulnerable and exposed in my life.
So out of control.
So unashamed.
So fucking free.
Cries burst from my throat, and he smothers my mouth with a hand just as someone knocks on the door.
“Sadie?”
Jake. Dammit.
“Are you in there?”
Ash lets loose a displeased growl against my clit, and the vibration of his lips sends me over the edge. Even though Ashton’s warm palm muffles my cries, I’m positive Jake can hear every uncontrolled moan.
For a few seconds, I don’t care.
For a few liberating moments, I manage to cling to all the don’t-give-a-fucks in the world. It’s just me and Ashton and his talented tongue driving me insane between my thighs, working my body to perfection for what seems like forever.
Until the last wave of pleasure shoots me soaring before sending me into a gliding free-fall toward ground zero.
To the tune of reality knocking on the door.
“You taste so fucking good.” Ashton licks me clean before rising to his feet. He removes his hand from my mouth, and we’re face-to-face once more. The nearness of him, the smell of myself on his lips, the rise and fall of his chest—all of it binds me to him, keeps me tethered to the ethereal plane of existence he sent me to.
A fist pounds on the bathroom door, and I slam back to reality, my mind hitting concrete. How are we going to get out of here without Jake knowing exactly what we were up to?
“Jesus Christ, Sadie. I can’t wait to get my cock in your mouth again.”
Obviously, Ashton isn’t worried about the wolf pacing outside our stolen haven.
“We can’t,” I say.
“Not here, I know.” His words heat my collarbone as he runs his lips over my skin. “I want you in my bed, taking your time with that sweet mouth of yours.”
“Ashton?”
“Hmm?”
“How are we gonna get out of here?”
“Walk out the fucking door?”
Jake calls my name again, and now he’s resorting to trying the handle.
“He’ll know.”
Ash veers back, and even in the dim light, the scowl on his face is unmistakable. “I don’t give a fuck who’s out there. You brought me here as your date, so who cares if your ex catches us fooling around?”
There’s no way I’m going to make him understand. And maybe he’s right because part of me doesn’t understand this feeling of shame crawling over my skin either.
Five minutes ago, I had no shame.
But that’s the problem with reality—it shines a spotlight on the things you don’t want to see. Sticks needles in the things you don’
t want to feel. Croons a song in your ear about the things you don’t want to hear.
And I don’t want to witness the possessiveness in Ashton’s eyes. Don’t want to experience the shifting foundation of what we are. Don’t want to listen to the truth in his words because it shouldn’t matter who’s on the other side of that door, attempting to intrude upon our stolen moments in my parents’ bathroom.
Jake is the one who cheated, so why do I feel like the guilty party here?
“I just don’t want him knowing,” I finally say, for lack of an explanation that makes sense. “What I do isn’t his business.”
It’s not my father’s either.
“You’re right about that.” Ash pulls me off the counter, and I barely have time to straighten my dress before he hauls me to the door. I dig in my heels.
“No! Ashton, wait.”
“I’m not hiding in the dark with you.” With that, he unlocks the door and yanks it open.
Jake takes one look at us—our laced hands and the flush that is undeniable on my cheeks—and his eyes go wide.
“Did you need something?” Ashton asks.
“Unbelievable.” Jake darts his gaze between Ash and me. “Are you doing this to get back at me?”
The fact that he even thinks I’d do this because of him digs under my skin. “Not everything is about you.” I pull on Ashton’s hand, desperate to get away from the accusation in Jake’s eyes.
As if I have anything to explain.
We return to the sitting room, as my mother refers to it, and find that guests have begun trickling through the open French doors leading into the formal dining room.
And I’m certain I have a sign on my forehead that reads just got eaten out in the bathroom by hot, perverted friend.
Jesus, my face is flushed. It feels like a hundred degrees in my parents’ house. I let go of Ash’s hand and make a beeline for two open spots at the other end of the table from where my father usually sits. My legs are shaking as I dip into the seat. I shoot a glance at Ashton as he slides in next to me, hating him in that moment for making me a nervous wreck during this dinner.
He leans down, lips lingering near my ear. “Just breathe. We’ll be out of here soon.” Under the table, he takes my hand and squeezes, and any trace of anger I harbored toward him vanishes.