One night a week or so ago, I’d told Ashton about what happened the night of the trade, remembering how excited I’d been to finally see a game. Telling Ashton was so embarrassing, but he hadn’t made it awkward. I shivered at the thought of seeing Dominic at the game. He went frequently. How could I be sure he wouldn’t be there when I was?
“Don’t worry, I don’t want you anywhere near that asshole. You stay here for the game tonight, we can deal with him when the time comes.”
I nodded and continued with my breakfast, my stomach better. Ashton finished eating long before me and sat sipping another cup of coffee. Picking up our dishes, I walked them to the sink and as I came back to my seat, Ashton’s hand grabbed mine, stopping me in my tracks. His glasses were conveniently gone, the green in his eyes even brighter.
He growled and tugged me to him, his mouth devouring mine. Electricity zipped along my nerves when his tongue plunged into my mouth. Demanding. Possessive. Sexy. Braver than I thought I could be, I let my hands slid up his chest, tracing each ridge of his muscled abdomen, the skin silky beneath my fingertips. He pulled away suddenly, and I thought for a minute I’d done something wrong.
Taking hold of my shoulders, he spun me around and my hands fell forward, my palms flat against the table. A primitive desire took hold, my core throbbing with need.
“Ashton.”
Fingertips wrapped around the waistband of my pants and they, along with my panties, were yanked down around my thighs. Sensation spread through me. One of Ashton’s fingers slipped through my core to circle my clit, the warm heat of his body covering my back as he pressed himself against me.
“You have a sexy ass,” he said, taking little nibbles of my shoulder between his words. “And one of these days I’m going to fuck you right here.” His finger traced around the edge of the one place I’d never considered letting a man go and I gasped, my hips bucking forward. It was scary, yet exciting at the same time. His finger moved away, then there was a slight sting when his hand smacked my ass cheek, the feeling so delicious that my thighs quivered.
“But right now I want hard and fast.” The commanding timbre of his voice was almost my undoing.
“Please,” I begged, sliding my ass back, searching for him.
Smack!
“Oh no, no, my sweet.” His hand gripped my hip, holding me in place, while the thumb of his other hand pressed into my core, the spicy musk that was uniquely Ashton surrounding me. “So fucking ready. You like being told what to do.”
“Yes.” I whimpered. “Please.”
There was a tear of foil; a sound so delicious I clenched in anticipation. Ashton pushed into me in one long thrust, filling me completely.
“Oh God.”
“Never get tired of the feel of you around my cock,” he grunted.
Each time he sank into me my body tensed, looking for the sweeping pleasure of the previous night.
“I’m so close.”
His hand reached around to pinch my clit and sparks shot off through my body, clenching tight, pulling him into me as he continued to thrust. It wasn’t long before he his thrusts lost their rhythm and came in short hard bursts, his fingers biting into my skin until, finally, he grunted, pressing himself against me, holding himself there.
For a few minutes, we were both unable to speak. Eventually, he stood, pulling me up with him. “You, my dear, are absolutely amazing,” he said against my ear. When I turned my head, his lips once again took possession of mine. The kiss wasn’t animalistic in its passion, but it burned me to my toes anyway. He pulled away, breathless, staring at me for a beat before helping me to right my clothes.
“I’ve got to get ready to leave. I want you to enjoy your day. Don’t worry about anything.”
“I’ll try.”
“Do you have to rehearse today?”
“No. They still need one more cast member and the auditions are today.”
I was extremely glad I didn’t have to go anywhere because the excitement of waking up in Ashton’s bed had worn off and I was exhausted. The question of whether or not to move into his room began to swirl through my head. I couldn’t make my decision based upon sex. I needed to be smarter than that. And to be smart, I needed headspace.
“Okay. I’m going to head over to the stadium straight from the restaurant so I’ll be late. Text me if you need anything.” He pressed a brief kiss to my lips and left me alone in the kitchen with nothing but my thoughts.
Deciding to blow off some steam, I went down to the basement and hit the treadmill. With each mile, I wondered if I should feel guilty for sleeping with another man. A little voice in the back of my head said yes, while the rest chanted a resounding hell no. Dominic had given me permission to have sex with Ashton. Technically, I was doing as I’d been told.
From the moment I met him, Ashton had encouraged me to stand up for myself, to see myself as worthy. There was no need to feel guilty about a man who treated me the way I deserved to be treated. Not to mention his dominant ways were more of a turn on than I’d ever expected.
Is it too soon to move into his bedroom?
For hours I pondered the answer, but even if I had a hundred valid reasons not to do it, I knew that I wanted to wake up in Ashton’s bed every morning. If he planned night after night of delicious torment for me, I was jumping into the deep end with no lifejacket on.
I was done making everyone else happy.
It was time to be a big girl and make decisions for me.
CHAPTER 15
Ashton
Walking toward the doors of the restaurant, my mind was completely focused on Elena. Mentioning Dominic to her only hours after she’d spent the night in my bed hadn’t been the best move. It was obvious the idea of facing him still made her nervous; something I hoped to help her with before she saw him again.
Even though she shot me down, I had a feeling she was considering my offer to sleep in my room every night. I was thrilled she hadn’t caved immediately. It proved she was becoming stronger—standing up for herself. I wasn’t kidding when I told her she’d need to face him eventually, and if she had a chance of getting away from him once and for all, she’d need to be able to hold her own.
I really wished I hadn’t chosen to conduct these meetings at the games. I used to love to go there and relax, have a few drinks and unwind, but now I’d begun to dread being there. Having to deal with Tolley just made it that much worse. The more time I spent with Elena, the more I realized just how much damage he’d done, and that made it harder to curb the desire to knock his head off.
“Morning, Mr. Hawes.”
I rolled my eyes at Dustin, the bartender. No matter how many times I told him to call me Ashton, he never listened. For some reason, he thought it was funny. I failed to see the joke.
I stopped briefly to discuss the liquor order, then headed to my office.
My desk was full of paperwork, which was my own fault. For the past few weeks I’d been leaving early to get home to Elena. It felt weird to hurry home to someone, but so right at the same time. Except there was a shit-ton of guilt attached to it. Never once had I slept with a married woman. I may have a skewed moral compass, but I still had one. And one of the things my father had drilled into us over the years was that you don’t cheat on your spouse, or sleep with someone else’s. Although Dad didn’t seem to have an issue with the current situation.
Pushing the guilt to the back corner of my mind, I began tackling the orders for the next week. It took me longer than normal; thoughts of Elena in my bed every night more than a little distracting.
Maybe Dad was right when he said I felt more for Elena than lust.
I had feelings for Elena that went a whole lot deeper than saving her from a bad situation. Figured that, for the first time in my life, I wanted a woman for more than a few weeks, a woman who happened to be the perfect match for me in every way imaginable, and she was married to a man that gave a new definition to the word asshole.