She grabbed her purse and headed to the Starbucks on the corner where Jess said she’d be waiting for her.
“Hey, there you are,” Jess said as Ashley dropped her purse on a spare chair and sat down.
There were already two coffees sitting on the table.
“My treat,” Jess said. “It’s that new latte you tried the other day and liked so much.”
Ashley smiled and took a sip. “Thanks. So you’re pretty chipper this morning.”
“Yeah, well, things are going pretty well with Eric.”
“That’s great,” Ashley said, glad her friend’s love life was going smoother than her own right now. “So are you going to kiss and tell?”
Jess laughed. “Well there’s not much to tell except that we did kiss. It was a first date.” She grinned. “But talk to me after our second date and we’ll see.”
Ashley smiled. “He asked you out again. That’s great.”
Jessica had been so nervous about how things would go, because she really liked this guy. Ashley was happy that things seemed to be heading off to a good start.
“It may not be as exciting as you seeing a billionaire Dom who makes you surrender to his every sexual whim”—she grinned—“but you never know.”
“Well, not everyone’s as lucky as me.” Ashley had meant it to sound lighthearted, but her words came across with an edge that caught Jessica’s attention and she frowned.
“Hey, what’s up?”
Ashley shook her head. “Oh, no, nothing.” She didn’t want to bring Jessica down from her euphoria of starting a relationship with someone special.
“Don’t do that. I can see it in your eyes. What happened?”
Ashley frowned, her hand tightening around the warm coffee cup in front of her.
“When I was at Dare’s last time, it got a bit … tense. Not between him and me but…” She shook her head, her cheeks heating. “Helen showed up.”
“Showed up? So she caught you at Dare’s house again?”
Ashley sucked in a breath. “She caught Dare and I … together.” She hadn’t intended to tell Jessica that. It had just slipped out. But Jess was her best friend and she knew if anyone could make her feel less crappy about the situation—less mortified—it would be her.
“Oh, God, that’s … awkward.”
Ashley nodded. “You have no idea.”
“What did she do?”
Okay, there was no way Ashley was going to give her details.
“Well, she didn’t just leave. She was just…” A shiver raced through Ashley as she remembered. “I don’t know. I don’t really want to talk about that, but…” She stared at her coffee cup. “I think she’d been drinking.”
Jessica nodded. “Did you know she used to drink in high school?”
Ashley gazed at her friend. “Well, sure, we all used to sneak one sometimes.”
“No, I mean, she used to drink in school. She carried a flask around in her purse.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I caught her one day and she made me swear to secrecy. Her parents—well, her mom and Dare—were going through some rough times, leading up to the divorce. They didn’t tell her they were getting divorced until after graduation, but I suspect Helen knew it was coming, or was afraid it was anyway.”
“And you didn’t tell me?” Ashley felt a little hurt.
Jess shrugged. “I wouldn’t have told her if you had told me something sensitive and swore me to silence.”
Ashley nodded. “Of course. Sorry.”
“So right now life is kind of sucky for you. You’ve got an awkward situation with Dare, since Helen is in the picture, and it’s got to be tense with you and Adam. How’s that going?”
“We have sort of an unspoken agreement to give each other space in the office and he suggested that we suspend our usual running and movie night for now.”
“I can’t imagine that’s going to last long. I’m sure he’s going to make another move soon. To convince you to change your mind and start seeing him.”
Ashley shook her head. “I just wish everything wasn’t so complicated.”
Jessica smiled. “Yeah, well, that’s what happens when you get involved with these older, dominant types,” she teased. “They turn your world upside down.” She took Ashley’s hand and squeezed. “You know, I think you should just have sex with both of them. Preferably at the same time.”
“Jess, you’re terrible.”
“Why? Because I suggest you live out every woman’s fantasy? Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about it.”
* * *
Ashley sat at her desk, staring at the computer screen.
Being with both Dare and Adam. She hadn’t thought about it until Jessica mentioned it, but now she couldn’t stop thinking about it.
What would it be like to have one suckling her breasts, his hand stroking her inner thigh, while the other nuzzled her neck from behind? Being sandwiched between their two big, muscular bodies while their hard cocks glided into her, filling her with wild pleasure.
Her phone rang, startling her from her reveries. Cheeks heated, she picked it up.
“Ashley? It’s Dare.”
Her back stiffened and her cheeks grew hotter.
“Oh, yes. Hi.”
“I was hoping you could meet me for dinner. Tonight. Around six?”
That was less than an hour from now.
“I’ll need a little more time than that. I have to go home and change first.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“But I’m just in jeans.” And she’d like to put something sexy on for him.
“It’s okay. We’ll go somewhere casual. I can pick you up from the office if you’d like.”
“Sure.” She glanced at the clock on her computer. “How about forty minutes?”
She finished up a bit of paperwork, then grabbed her purse. When she walked out the front of her office building, Dare was waiting there in his sporty silver car. He got out and opened the door for her, helping her into the low seat, then a moment later, he put the car into gear and pulled into the city traffic.
He took her to a roadhouse on the edge of the city, not too far from her apartment. It was very rustic, with solid wood tables that had been polished to a glossy shine and waiters dressed in black pants and plaid shirts. Dare asked for a quiet booth and the hostess led them to a corner of the restaurant.
“I wanted to apologize about what happened the other night with Helen,” he said.
She bit her lip. “Thank you. That was pretty awkward. Is Helen okay?”
His gaze jerked to hers. “Why do you ask that?”
“Well, she was pretty drunk.”
His lips compressed. “Yes, her judgment was impaired, but that’s no excuse for her wildly inappropriate behavior. Again, I’m sorry.”
Ashley nodded. “Thank you.” There didn’t seem to be anything else to say. Though she wondered if he’d send Helen away now. Boot her out on her ass after what she did.
If he did, then at least she and Dare could have time together again without fear of Helen interrupting them.
“So has Helen gone back home to Cambria?”
“No, she’s still here for another couple of weeks. That’s another reason I want to talk to you.”
Oh, God, he wasn’t going to ask her to let Helen stay with her, was he? She pushed aside the random thought. Of course he wouldn’t do that.
“You and I and what we’ve been sharing has been great.” His somber gaze locked on hers. “We both knew it was a temporary thing—just while I’m here in town. Now that Helen’s here, making it more difficult, it just seems … It’s probably better to end it now.”