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“You sound exactly like Weston and Easton. Seriously?” I sigh, a bit exasperated. “I did it because I don’t need her. She’s wrong.” I study him for a brief second, searching his eyes. “Her plan included me never speaking to you again. She wanted me to sign an unbreakable contract that erased you from my life. And even though we argue and purposely drive each other insane, I knew I couldn’t do that in good faith. I know I said I’d do anything for Bellamore, but I can’t …” I swallow hard, setting my jaw. “I don’t want to erase you, even if she believes you’re very bad for my business.”
He doesn’t take his gaze from me, his expression serious. “She said that?”
“Yes. And so, after her pitch, I told her to get fucked. Then I told Easton and Weston to fuck each other. The looks on their faces—so priceless. I walked out of Calloway headquarters, furious that they thought they could control me. This is my life. This is my business. And I will win in the end,” I explain. The mood grows more serious. “There are other ways for me to come out on top without resorting to that, and I will find them.”
He shakes his head. “Why would you choose me over your company? Why would you do that?”
“Because when you kissed me, I felt something I hadn’t felt before,” I confess. “Even if you piss me off and try to destroy or ruin me, I can’t deny how the world faded away. It was the only sense of calm I’d experienced after living in a fucking storm for years, not knowing if I’d ever find that again. I will never be able to deny that, even if I wanted to.” My voice cracks, and I’m overcome with emotion. “So, if this is all a game to you, Asher, now would be a really fucking great time to tell me so I could avoid heartbreak.”
His lips crash into mine like a fucking wrecking ball, and I’m already gone, lost in the heat of him. His mouth is hungry, savage, like he’s been starving for me and I’m his first fucking meal inyears. His tongue slips past my lips, claiming me with a possessive urgency that makes my knees buckle. I grab on to his shoulders, digging my nails into the fabric of his shirt, wanting to tear it off, to feel every inch of him against me.
His hand grips my waist, fingers digging into my flesh like he’s marking me, branding me as his. I can feel the heat of his palm through my clothes, searing into me, and I’m already soaked, my panties clinging to me, slick with want. His other hand slides up my back, pulling me closer—so close that I can feel the hard ridge of his cock pressing against my stomach, and, holy fuck, it’s huge.
I whimper into his mouth—a stupid, desperate sound that I can’t control—and he growls in response, low and feral, like an animal. His lips move to my neck, teeth scraping against my skin, and I can’t think, can’t breathe. All I can feel is him—his hands, his mouth, his body. Together, we’re everything and nothing.
“You chose me,” he whispers against my throat, his voice rough and raw.
“Yes,” I gasp, arching into him, wanting him to take me right here, right now, on these fucking steps.
His hand slides down to my ass, squeezing hard, pulling me against him, and I can feel every inch of his cock pressing into me, demanding, relentless. My mind is spinning, my body on fire, and I want him so bad that it hurts.
“Asher, please,” I moan, his name tasting like sin on my lips.
He kisses me again, deep and dirty, his tongue fucking my mouth like he’s already inside me.
His hand slides under my shirt, rough fingers skimming over my stomach, and I’m shaking, trembling with need. He cups my breast, thumb brushing over my nipple through my bra.
“Fuck,” he mutters against my lips, his voice ragged, and I can feel him hardening even more against me.
I’m ready to beg, ready to drop to my knees and take him in my mouth, ready to let him fuck me raw right here in the sunlight. But then?—
“Asher!”
The deep, angry voice cuts through the haze like a fucking axe, sharp and sudden, and he pulls away from me, breathing hard, his eyes dark and wild.
“Dammit,” he mutters in a completely different tone, and I can see the frustration in every line of his body.
“Is that Brody?” I ask, my head swimming. “Shit. I forgot to tell him I was leaving the city.”
I want to scream. I want to grab Asher and pull him back to me to finish what we started. But he’s already standing, turning toward the house, and I’m left on the steps, wet, desperate, and aching for him.
“He’s worried. Take a rain check. You’ve survived not having me this long,” he says, his voice full of promise, and I can only nod, my body still throbbing with need.
But damn, I want him now more than ever.
My skin feels alive with the memory of his touch, the heat between us still sizzling in the air, and I can’t shake the feeling that we’ve only just started.
All I can think is,Please don’t break my heart. It’s currently taped together.
21
ASHER
The back door swings open, and Brody bursts out onto the porch, clearly in a panic.
“Fuck. There you are.” He strides toward Billie, worry radiating off him.
Billie glares up at him and stands to her feet, crossing her arms over her chest. “What are you doing here?”