by Thayer King
“For the moment, it’s being neglected. I brought my laptop with me, but I’ve been slacking. I’ve been taking a mini-vacation. Shopping and treating myself to decadent lunches. Wish you were here with me.”
“You’re not the only one. Keep me posted, ok?”
“Sure thing.”
Ashley rested in bed for another ten minutes but sleep was gone. She really needed to check her e-mail. But business could wait until after she’d had breakfast and a warm shower.
“Pack your stuff. You’re coming home with me.”
Ashley’s mouth dropped open. This was more than she had hoped for. Stephen had used the card key to let himself into her hotel room. Last night had been wonderful but the war had yet to be won. He hadn’t told her that he loved her. Nor had he said he wanted her back. “Does this mean…?”
“Let’s call this further research.”
She licked her lips. “I need more than that to go on. What are we talking here? A couple of nights? A week?”
“As long as it takes.” He glanced around and then crossed to the closet. He removed her suitcase and tossed it onto the bed.
Ashley placed her hand over his, halting his movements. She didn’t like the way he was avoiding eye contact. He was concealing something. “Stephen, spell this out for me. What are we doing here?”
“You started this. I’m floundering. But I do know you offered me anything.”
She bit her lip. Maybe she was pushing him too far too fast. She didn’t expect him to forgive her overnight. “So…this is another part of your anything?”
“Yes.”
“Well, then…ok.” She gathered the few belongings she had scattered about and was ready to go in ten minutes. He carried her suitcase down to her car and waited for her to check out. She followed him to his house in her car. Once there, he took her bags upstairs to his bedroom.
She looked around the spacious master suite. Gleaming dark hardwood floors contrasted with the light cream walls. The comforter on his king sized bed was cream with pale olive leaves. Floor to ceiling windows overlooked the back yard where the blue of the pool shimmered from below.
“You can unpack later. This room has two walk in closets. I put your bag in the empty one.” He crossed to the bedroom door and closed it. “Robert is preparing dinner. That gives us approximately an hour.” He undid his tie and placed it on the bed. “Take your clothes off.”
His hands dropped to his belt buckle. The large bulge in his pants left no doubt as to his intent. Her breath hitched. “Now? I don’t get a tour of the house?” She had never seen the entire house. She’d been invited for dinner once. It had been an uncomfortable affair. Stephen’s parents had asked her a few questions and made some polite conversation, but their reception of her had been decidedly chilly. On that occasion, she had seen the dining room and the den. Once Stephen had brought her over to swim in the pool and hang out. She’d ventured inside the house on her own to use the bathroom and become hopelessly loss for a few minutes. She’d had the misfortune of running into his father who had questioned her as though she were making a mental map of the place for a future robbery. If she hadn’t been wearing a bikini, she was certain he would have believed she’d already begun her stealing spree. She had been too embarrassed to tell Stephen the details of that interrogation, but she did make it clear to him that she didn’t want to go to his house anymore.
“Later. I’ve been fantasizing about having you naked in my bed. And until that happens-” The peal of the doorbell reached their ears. “Robert will get it,” he said, but was no longer removing his clothes.
She crossed to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Sliding her fingers into his hair, she pulled him down for a kiss. Bowled away by his demand that she move in with him, she hadn’t taken note of the fact that he hadn’t kissed her or touched her until this moment. He used to always greet her with kisses. When she opened her mouth to him, he took over, his tongue driving inside to explore. His hands curved over her buttocks and brought her into close contact with his turgid cock. She moaned into the kiss, wishing that they had removed their clothes.
A knock sounded at the door. Stephen groaned. “Yes,” he practically growled.
“Ms. Burke has arrived, sir.”
“Ms. Burke?” Stephen scowled. “What the hell?” Muttering, he fastened his belt and straightened his shirt.
Ashley trailed him down the stairs, thinking she should feel some guilt. Aster and Stephen had been building towards a commitment. But she didn’t. Not a bit. Stephen was hers. Aster stood in the foyer, dressed impeccably as always in a pale blue blouse and matching floral skirt. The blue played up the color of her eyes. Her long, dark curls were swept up with a few tendrils floating in front of her ears and at the nape of her neck. She held a bottle of wine.
“Aster,” Stephen said, greeting her with a kiss to each cheek. “What are you doing here?”
“You invited me to dinner. Don’t you remember?” She peeped around him and smiled at Ashley. “And I guess I can see why you’ve forgotten. Hello, Ashley.”
The doorbell sounded again. Robert appeared, but Stephen only handed him the wine from Aster before opening the door himself. It was Jeremy and his wife Jacqueline.
***
Stephen cut his steak. Ashley didn’t seem perturbed that their evening had been disrupted. But then, she didn’t know that this was supposed to be a celebratory engagement dinner for him and Aster. He’d been a presumptive ass and invited his friends here before even popping the question. Jeremy kept shooting him speculative glances as if to question his sanity to plan a dinner with both Ashley and Aster in attendance. On that score, he was unconcerned. Aster would never cause a scene. And Ashley.… He loved her confidence, but it also irritated him that she was so certain that she could waltz back into his life after what she’d done.
He eyed her for any sign of discomfort. She, Aster, and Jacqueline seemed to get along well. If there was any tension among the ladies, they hid it well. They chatted amicably about movies, shopping, and books.
Jeremy leaned towards him. “Why is she here? Who are you punishing? Aster, Ashley, or yourself?”
“I forgot about tonight,” he said, hiding his mouth behind his glass of tea.
“Really? You invited us only last Friday.”
Stephen took a long swallow of his tea. “Yeah, I know.” It had been his contingency plan. Planning this dinner and asking Aster out yesterday evening had been his way of making sure he proposed. Ever since he saw Ashley, he’d been concerned about falling back under her spell.
“If you’re not careful, you’re going to screw up your situation with Aster.”
“Aster dumped me.”
Jeremy’s fork clattered onto his plate. The women turned to stare at them. Laughing, Jacqueline patted her husband’s hand. “Poor, baby. Need I cut your meat for you?”
He wrapped an arm around her and kissed her cheek with a loud smacking sound. “Thanks, Jack, but I’ve got it. Such a good wife you are. Always there when I need you,” Jeremy said, cutting his eyes at Ashley meaningfully.
The last, Stephen knew, was a dig at Ash, a reference to how she had abandoned him. But if she noticed the barb, she ignored it. She happily dug into her steak.
***
Jacqueline excused herself to go to the bathroom, leaving Aster and Ashley alone in the den. Stephen and Jeremy were still sequestered in his office, ostensibly discussing contracts. Ash didn’t believe that for a second. She knew Jeremy was probably trying to talk Stephen into throwing her out.
“If I’m being too personal, please feel free to tell me to mind my own business, but I was wondering how were things between you and Stephen? When last I spoke with him, I had my doubts about his intentions towards you.”
Seated at the other end of the couch, she turned to face the other woman. “I know he asked you to marry him.”
“And you can guess why. For his father. He’s not in love with me, Ashley, and he never has been.”
She knew that in her heart, but that he’d been willing to marry the other woman still stung. She knew he’d told her about his proposal as revenge to hurt her like she’d hurt him. And it had worked. She’d pushed through that pain the other night to achieve her end goal – winning Stephen back. There was little that could sway her from that ultimate goal. She had been without her man too long to give up at the first hint of trouble. “Well, I haven’t been given a ring like you, but he did ask me to move in. I consider it progress.”
Aster nodded. She bit her lip. “Be…patient with him. I didn’t see him much after you left. He kept to himself and worked hard. When we finally did meet up again, he seemed changed. He’s harder, less open to the gentler emotions. It might take him some time to forgive you.”
“Thank you, Aster. You’ve always been kind to me despite the circumstances.” She wasn’t blind. She knew when a woman wanted her man. As Aster had his parent’s stamp of approval, she could have made life very difficult for her. But Aster had never done anything to interfere with her relationship with Stephen.
She laughed, a tinkling polite expulsion of sound. “Well, a girl does have her pride. I’m not one for chasing behind a man who has made his preference for another woman obvious.”
“Still, you could have accepted his proposal. In college and now, you could have made my life a living hell. I appreciate that you haven’t.”
“I love Stephen enough to want him to be happy. And as I explained to him, I want the type of love that he has for you. I don’t want a husband who will only ever see me as the approved choice.”
Jacqueline flowed back into the room and flopped down on the couch. She was entirely too nice for Jeremy in Ashley’s opinion. She wasn’t sure how that asshole had wrangled such a down to earth and seemingly smart woman. Jacqueline smiled at the two of them. “What did I miss?”
***
“I didn’t think that it required explanation that you don’t set your mistress up in your own home. What were you thinking to have her move in here?”
Stephen settled back in the leather desk chair and studied the brandy in his glass. This had been his father’s office. He could recall many times coming in here to talk with his dad. The room still had the smell of cigars though his father had quit smoking almost a decade prior. He’d done little to redecorate it as it would have been as though he was obliterating his father’s memory. The same shelves lined the walls. He’d had the leather chairs reupholstered, but they were the very ones his father had purchased years ago.
He bristled at the term “mistress” being applied to Ashley. In no mood to argue with his friend, he simply said, “I find it convenient to have her here.”
Jeremy dropped into a seat with a sigh. He pushed his glasses up his nose. “Anything from Dallas yet?”
“Not yet.”
“How long are you going to keep her?”
Stephen sipped from his glass. “I haven’t decided.”
“You’re really beginning to worry me.”
Stephen shrugged. “I’m a grown man. I am quite capable of handling my own affairs.” But he was feeling defensive. He couldn’t really explain his actions even to himself. He didn’t want to forgive Ash. She’d ripped his heart out once and he couldn’t go through that again. Yet at the same time, he didn’t want to let her go. Saying no to her was impossible. The best he could hope for was that in a few weeks he’d discover that he didn’t feel anything for her anymore other than some lingering lust. He simply needed to fuck her out of his system. And he intended to start tonight.
“So what are you going to do about Aster, genius? I thought you wanted to marry her.”
Stephen shrugged. His wants had never been a factor in his relationship with Aster. “Plans change. I asked Aster to marry me. She said no.”
“She’s crazy about you. If you applied yourself, she’d take you back.”
He shook his head. “She deserves to be with someone who can love her back. I can’t do that.”
“Why? Because-”
“Let’s drop this, Jeremy. I’m going to respect Aster’s feelings and not pressure her into marrying me. She did us both a favor by saying no.” He sipped his brandy. In an obvious attempt to change the subject, he said, “Enough about me. Tell me how the renovation on your house is going.” Jacqueline had recently given Jeremy permission to add a man cave to their home. It was a topic sure to distract his friend.
“I’m putting in a wine fridge.” Jeremy launched into a very detailed and technical description of the electronics he was having installed. Though he could have done without hearing some of the specs of Jeremy’s new gaming system, television, and wireless gaming chairs, Stephen had to admit that his excitement was catching. “I may never come out,” Jeremy ended with a satisfied smile.
“How about you come out long enough to invite me?”
“You have a standing invitation whenever you want.” He smirked. “Besides, you’re going to need the stress relief when this situation you have with Ashley goes to hell in a handbasket.”
“You know, it’s perfectly acceptable to have an opinion and keep it to yourself.”
Jeremy laughed. “But then I wouldn’t be able to say I told you so later.”
***
“That was surprisingly…pleasant,” Ashley said to Stephen as they retired to his bedroom. He disappeared into his closet and she heard the rustle of clothing being removed. She always forgot what a nice person Aster was. Of course, she was not about to go singing the other woman’s praises to Stephen right now. She took off her earrings and placed them on the dresser for lack of anywhere better to put them. “I liked Jacqueline. How she can put up with-”
“Ash, could you come in here?”
“Sure.” She entered his closet and stopped short. Completely naked, he stood in front of a floor to ceiling mirror. Her breath caught at the sight of him. He was magnificent. His body was all hard lean muscle.
He extended a palm to her. “Come here.” She took another moment to marvel at his form and the fact that he’d managed to undress so swiftly. He positioned her in front of him so that she faced their reflections in the mirror. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder. Her eyes met his. He studied her silently, his expression unreadable.
“What are you thinking?”
His arms tightened around her waist and his eyes narrowed. “That you’d look good sucking my cock.”
She inhaled. He was lying to her. “Stephen-”
“Take your clothes off.”
She thought of arguing with him, but changed her mind. She’d agreed to this. Whatever he wanted, whatever it took for him to forgive her, she would give to him. Unbuttoning her blouse, she kept her gaze on his. He helped her slide it down her shoulders and then tossed it onto the floor behind them. He didn’t wait for her to unclasp her bra. He reached in front of her and opened it with ease. The bra soon joined her blouse. He cupped her breasts, squeezing and kneading the warm flesh as she removed her pants, shoving down her panties as well. She toed off her shoes and kicked them and the remainder of her clothing aside.
Insinuating a hand between her thighs, he held her close. He bent at the knees a little so that the thick, hot bar of his erection rubbed against her ass. Ashley moaned and wiggled against him. “You feel good,” she murmured.
“You, too, baby.” He tugged her nipples until she was moaning and grinding against him. He held her that way for long moments. By the time he stopped, she was so wet that her thighs were slick with her moisture. Dropping his hands to her hips, he spun her around and then placing pressure on her shoulders, urged her down onto her knees so that she was at eye-level with his erection. “Show me how much you want me.” Cupping her jaw, he stroked the pad of his thumb over her bottom lip. “Kiss me.”
She ran her hands up the outside of his legs lightly so that the hair there tickled her palms. She braced herself on his thighs as she leaned forward and ran her tongue
from the base of his erection to the tip. When she rolled her tongue over the glistening head, he inhaled sharply.
She wanted to tease him longer, but she couldn’t wait. After a few taunting licks, she took him into her mouth and hummed. What she couldn’t fit into her mouth, she worked with her hand. She kept her motion slow and simply let him slide in and out of her heat.
Stephen growled. “Suck me,” he ordered gruffly.
She smiled around his erection and released him instead. She’d never been particularly obedient. Placing openmouthed kisses along the considerable length of his cock, she made her way back to the juicy tip.
“Ash, if you don’t suck me now-” He broke off with a strangled groan as she enveloped the head of his cock and suckled.
Little by little, she took more of him, but she continually returned to the sensitive tip and lashed it with her tongue. Stephen released the most arousing deep growls as she loved him orally. Her cunt clenched at each of the low pleasured sounds.
Stephen hadn’t been the first man she’d given a blow job to, but he was the only one who made her enjoy it. He was also the last. For whatever reason, she hadn’t gotten around to sharing this intimacy with Shane.
She loved everything about this with Stephen. She loved reducing him to grunts and growls. She loved the smell of his skin and the taste of his essence.
Increasing her pace, she bobbed up and down on him. He angled her head to the side. When she looked up at him, she noticed that he was watching them in the mirror. Meeting his reflected gaze, she had to admit that the sight of them together, she on her knees in front of him, her mouth filled with his cock as he sawed in and out, and he standing tall and fierce above her with his sculpted body on display, was a highly arousing visual. Her pussy clenched and released still more moisture. Moaning, she pressed her thighs together to relieve some of the ache. Stephen swelled and a gush of fluid leaked from the tip of his cock. Suddenly, he pulled back.
He helped her to her feet and spun her around. He placed her hands onto the cool glass of the mirror. “Keep them there,” he murmured, nuzzling her neck with his lips. The heat of him surrounded her. His hard chest burned at her back. His cock was like a brand on her ass. He wrapped his arms around her waist and gave her a brief squeeze before he gripped her hips and positioned her with her legs slightly spread. “God, you’re beautiful,” he breathed. He spread a palm low over her belly, following the flow of her body until he cupped her mound. “You’re so wet.” He insinuated a finger between her nether lips and stroked over the swollen bud of her clit until she was undulating into his touch.