Damn these heels.
My fingers gripping the handrail tightly, I straightened my spine and did my best to take each step carefully. My mouth was dry. When I reached the bottom stairs, Ashton took my hand and spun me around.
“You’re gorgeous.”
I felt the heat race to my face. “I’m not, but thank you for saying that.”
He pulled me in and lifted my chin to meet his gaze. “I wouldn’t lie to you. I’m not the type of man to give empty compliments.”
Very true. Since I’d arrived, Ashton hadn’t sugarcoated anything. He was honest, almost to a fault.
“Thank you.”
He sighed. “Please listen. I’m out of ideas on how to help you.”
I laid my hand on his arm. “I don’t need help. You’ve taught me so much since I’ve been here.”
“Not enough, or you’d appreciate how fucking sexy you are.”
Stunned I was frozen to my spot. That was the first time anyone had ever called me sexy. I didn’t know how to respond.
“Let’s go, before we’re late.”
He took my hand, leading me to the garage and the cars. He turned the key in the ignition and the Aston Martin came to life. I waited until the car started to move before I turned to him, my heart pounding in my chest, unsure whether to ask the question but needing to know the answer at the same time.
“You think I’m sexy?”
He slammed his foot on the brake, throwing us forward. Slowly, he turned to face me. “Fuck yes, I think you’re sexy.”
I twisted my fingers in my lap. “I’ve never seen myself that way.”
His hand moved over the center console to take mine, linking our fingers together, and he lifted his other hand to my face. “I know. I wish you would.”
Staring in his eyes, I was lost in the moment when his hand dropped from my face to my neck, his fingers finding their way into my hair. Lowering his head, he brought my lips to his. The first connection and I let myself fall into the kiss. No one had ever kissed me and left me feeling it all the way to my toes. The light taste of cinnamon flooded my senses when his tongue caressed my lips, coaxing me to open. Ignoring the voice in the back of my head screaming that I shouldn’t be doing this, I parted my lips and let him in. The glide of his tongue against mine was hesitant, but not in a way that made me think he didn’t want this. It made heart want to pound out of my chest. Everything around me fell away. It was just him and me. Ashton and Elena, and their kiss.
This kiss.
And as quickly as the kiss began he was gone, his hands falling away to grip the leather of the steering wheel. His knuckles flexed and I could see his skin turning white with the effort.
“I shouldn’t have done that. I apologize.” And without another word, he sped off toward his parents’ place.
Without the noise of the radio to cut through the silence, the air around us filled with a tension you could have cut with a knife. I was shaken to my core. I couldn’t speak or think. Everything I’d ever known had just been obliterated by one simple kiss. In all my years with Dominic, I’d never once felt this way. Our kisses had always been fairly chaste, and he hadn’t really kissed me at all in the last five years. Usually he told me to get on the bed and lay there. No touching, no feeling. No connection, no tenderness. Nothing personal. The kiss with Ashton was very, very personal.
So why did he pull away?
Why did he say he shouldn’t have done that?
Did I do something wrong?
Doubts and desire warred within me. From the moment I’d met Ashton, he’d made me question everything. From Dominic’s treatment of me, to the views I held of myself. It shouldn’t surprise me that tonight was the first time I’d felt desire in forever. Anyone would feel special after what he’d given me over the two weeks I’d been with him. But I didn’t want to just be special. I wanted to be special to him.
I still hadn’t come up with an answer when we arrived at his parents building.
Ashton had warned me earlier in the week that his parents preferred to live in the city instead of the surrounding suburbs. As he pulled the car up alongside the valet, the desire to jump out of the car and run down the street was overwhelming. I wasn’t done processing the kiss, or Ashton’s withdrawal. I couldn’t even begin to process what was about to happen. Not once in my life did I ever think I’d be faced with a crime lord. And to top it off, his son brought me here.
The valet opened the door for me. Taking deep, calming breaths, I exited the car, tamping down any residual nerves as best I could. Regardless of what had just happened, I didn’t think Ashton would let anyone hurt me; his family included.
I let Ashton guide me through the doors and into the elevator. He still hadn’t said a word to me, but the tension poured off of him in waves. It only got worse when the elevator doors closed us in. The air grew static—like there was electricity dancing all around us. I kept my eyes on the doors, only chancing a look when I thought he wasn’t paying attention. The third time, our gazes locked. My body burned. All I wanted was for him to back me into the wall and kiss me like we were in some stupid romance novel.
But this was real life, not some fairytale. The man I wanted more than I should obviously didn’t see me the way I saw him.
The bell dinged and the doors opened, breaking the connection for only a second before he placed his hand on the small of my back and guided me out of the elevator, toward voices that came from the other side of what looked to be a front door. My stomach was buzzing with butterflies, which only got worse when Ashton bypassed knocking and pushed the door, revealing a group of people sitting around, drinking and enjoying each other’s company.
“Ashton.”
An older version of the man beside me stood from the couch, his eyes zeroing in on me as he moved around the furniture to join us in the entryway. “And you must be Elena.” He took my hand in his and brought it to his lips.
“That’s me.”
For the second time in an hour, a blush burned my face. So much for being self-assured. Not even a minute in and I was already tongue-tied. “It’s nice to meet you . . .” The blush on my face intensified. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t even thought to ask Ashton his father’s name.
He laughed. “Call me Malcolm. Come, let’s introduce you to everyone else.”
He kept hold of my hand and walked me into the room. Everyone’s eyes were on me. Even after all the years I’d spent on stage, center of attention, it still made me nervous to be in a roomful of people. It didn’t help that I hadn’t been on a stage in at least five years, if not more.
“Elena, this is my son, Miller.”
A very attractive man with dark hair reached out his hand to me and let out a low whistle as his fingers tightened around mine. “Holy shit, Ashton, you failed to mention she was fucking gorgeous.”
Malcolm smacked Miller upside the back of his head. “Language.”
“Sorry, Dad, but look at her.”
Miller gestured toward me and, unsure of what to say, I just stood there . . . mute. I was so caught up in what was going on around me that I missed Ashton step up behind me. “What did I tell you?” he whispered, his hot breath on my ear making me want to groan. I suppressed a shudder and focused on Malcolm, who was introducing me to a woman with long blonde hair.
“Elena, this is my sister, Veronica.”
The woman smiled and, dispensing with any kind of formality, she stepped forward to wrap me in a hug. “I’m so glad to meet you. I would love to get a chance to talk later.”
“Of course.” I couldn’t imagine what she might want to talk about, but she was Ashton’s aunt and as a guest in his family home it would be rude to question her.