Page 23 of Ashley & the A-Listers (Sweetverse)

23. THE GAME

DYLAN

Dylan came to consciousness with a face full of dark hair, Ashley’s scent bright on his palette, the echoes of copper on his tongue.

He clutched her closer, peace welling within him for the first time in… years.

Then he recognized the echo, felt the dull, barely-there ache in his shoulder, and his eyes snapped open.

His face was buried in the back of Ashley’s neck as he spooned her, hair sticking to the shadow on his cheeks and getting in his mouth.

He inhaled once and sucked in a lungful of her scent, and something in his chest loosened as he realized he’d always carry a little part of her with him.

He squeezed her tightly and just as he was about to pull away, a repetitive chime sounded from a phone nearby.

Ashley grumbled, twitched, and froze.

“Good morning,” he said, voice still rough from sleep.

Ashley peered over her shoulder, eyes bleary, and blinked at him.

“Hi,” she croaked.

A grin split his cheeks and he pressed a kiss to the bite mark on her shoulder, feeling her shiver against him.

The phone continued to chime and Ashley eventually wiggled away from him, stretching for her phone on the nightstand. She silenced it, and then sat up.

“Oh shit, we have to go to the gym today,” she said.

Dylan stretched and groaned with it, treasuring the ache in his shoulder. “Yeah?”

Ashley’s gaze was stuck on the door, and she was nibbling her lip.

“What is it?” he asked, a pit opening up in his stomach. God, if she regretted it…

But he didn’t sense any regret. Only a tinge of embarrassment… no. Shyness.

“Why are you feeling shy?” he questioned. They were so far past that at this point, the sheets all tangled around them.

“I don’t know,” she said, and turned back to face him, dragging the sheet with her to cover herself.

“No regrets?” he checked.

A soft smile curled her lips as she stared at him. “No. No regrets.”

A sigh spilled out of him before he could stop it.

“I think I’m just afraid to face Cameron after fucking his bodyguard in his apartment,” she said, biting her lip.

“So? He and River fuck all the time,” Dylan said.

Her cheeks turned even redder. “Well, that’s— actually a very good point.” Then she covered her face. “Oh my god, Nic is going to have a field day.”

Dylan’s lips twitched. Why was she freaking out? It was kind of cute. “Your boss?”

“Yes. He’s been trying to get me all packed up for ages, trying to set me up.”

“We’re aware,” Dylan drawled.

Ashley peeked out from behind her hand. “What?”

“He was the one who offered you up as a trainer for Cam. Cornered me in the gym, trying to catch my vibe,” Dylan told her.

Ashley rolled her eyes. “He’s such a gossip.”

“Hey, it worked out alright, didn’t it?”

“I guess,” she said, throwing her hands up in the air before finally crawling off the bed to grab the tote Dylan had brought in before they’d fallen asleep. “We have to face them eventually.”

“Of course,” Dylan said, sliding to the edge of the bed. “Do you want me to wait for you before I go out there?”

She paused by the door to the attached bathroom. “Yes. I think we should face them together.”

She smiled at him, and then crossed the room to kiss him on the lips.

Dylan almost didn’t let her go, but knew she had a job to get to.

“I could join you,” he suggested.

Her gaze narrowed. “No. We’ll be late. And I need to be… thorough,” she said, cheeks flushing.

Dylan smirked. He couldn’t help it, and she smacked him on the arm gently before spinning away and closing the door behind her.

Dylan starfished on the mattress and grinned up at the ceiling like a schoolboy.

He released a slow breath to combat the utter happiness filling his chest, like he could float right up to the ceiling, cheek pressed against the flat white surface.

They were bonded now. Ashley was his and he was hers. Forever.

He wouldn’t leave her again; he’d meant it when he’d promised. And now that promise was physical, a real tether.

Now he just had to keep proving to her that he was worth it. Worth a lifetime together. He’d be a good alpha for her. The best.

Through their bond, he felt Ashley process a slew of emotions as she showered, but by the time the door was opening again, he sensed nothing but a bit of nerves.

“My turn,” he said. He was loath to wash the scent of her from his skin, but hurried so they weren’t late.

“Will they be able to tell?” Ashley asked as Dylan pulled a shirt over his head.

“That we fucked or that we bonded?” And did it matter? Dylan certainly didn’t care if they knew. In fact, he wanted to shout it from the rooftops.

“Either. Both,” Ashley said, and he was reminded she was… a professional. She had to be; she was a female alpha in a male-dominated field. They lived by two very different sets of rules, and he wasn’t going to jeopardize her image or whatever she might have been worried about. He’d follow her lead on this.

“They’ll know we slept in the same room last night,” he said. “Cam’s on suppressants, so I don’t know that his sense of smell is as strong as normal. Do you want to wait to tell them?”

Ashley threw her hands up. “I don’t know! What do we even say?”

She groaned, and he felt her frustration and confusion as his own. She sat on the edge of the bed, watching him get ready, and there was something so intimate about it even though he was putting clothes on. Dylan walked over and put his hand on her unbitten shoulder.

“We don’t have to say anything, if you don’t want to,” Dylan said softly, and squeezed, eying the clock on the side table.

“It’s not that I want to hide it or anything,” she said, and it unknotted a tension between his shoulders he wasn’t aware had been rooting there. “I just don’t know what words to use. ‘Good morning! We’re bonded, by the way’ seems abrupt. Should we just wait until it comes up?”

Ashley’s anxiety was taking him right back to high school, and it was endearing that despite all the things that had changed, she was still the same Ashley.

“Maybe we wait for them to notice. We can make a game out of it,” he suggested. The expression on Cameron’s face would be worth it.

“Oh,” Ashley said, peering up at him. “Yeah. I guess it can be as simple as that, couldn’t it?”

“It’s as simple as you want it to be,” he said, and leaned down to kiss her once. And then again, because she was his and he was hers and he could do that kind of thing.

Her lips were so soft against his. Petals and pillows and clouds and whatever other soft things existed in the world had nothing on her.

“I love you,” he said, lips bumping hers with the syllables.

Ashley melted against him, her head tilting back, a smile on her face. “Sounds different in the light of day,” she murmured.

“Say it back,” he grumbled petulantly.

“I love you, too,” she obliged, grin widening.

Dylan cupped the back of her neck and kissed her again before standing. “Let’s go face the music and then head to the gym. I’m sure Nic will be so excited that you’ve started collecting your pack,” he teased.

Her flare of emotion was like a strobe light as her hand caught in his. “Is that what you want? A pack?” Ashley asked suddenly.

Dylan glanced back at her. “Hmm?”

“Do you want a pack?”

Dylan cocked his head to the side, considering. They’d had this conversation before, but that was a different lifetime ago, imagined notions on the bleachers after school.

He’d always imagined himself with one, though packing up with omegas was rare. However, now that he had Ashley…

“I don’t know, might like having you to myself. Do you want one?”

Ashley shrugged. “I don’t know,” were the words that came out, but she wasn’t telling him the whole truth. Or maybe she hadn’t even recognized it yet, but he felt that longing she had. Or just maybe she wasn’t ready to admit it.

“I see no issue with that,” Dylan said, and tugged her into him. “One thing at a time. Having doubts?” he asked, just checking.

“No, no doubts.” She squeezed his hand and let him pull her from the bed. “I just want to make sure we’re on the same page. There are a few conversations we probably should’ve had prior to… you know.”

“Bonding ourselves together forever?” he said, a smug smile tugging at his lips.

“Yes. That.” Ashley rolled her eyes.

“There’s time for all of that later. For now, we can face our client.”

“Oh, he’d hate you referring to him like that,” Ashley said, and laid a hand on his side, over the scar beneath his shirt. “And I still want to know the story behind this,” she told him.

Chills spilled out from her touch, and his stomach tightened with nerves. “It’s a long one. Can I tell you later?”

She nodded, and then motioned for him to open the door. “Well. It’s now or never.”

Dylan felt Ashley’s jitters as they entered the room, but in her defense, she didn’t appear flustered on the surface.

Her poker face was impressive, remaining solid even as River remarked, “That didn’t take long.” River sat at the kitchen bar, sipping coffee from a basic white mug.

They couldn’t see the bond marks, but their scents were mixed enough that the two of them, at the very least, could tell something had happened between Ashley and Dylan.

Not to mention that they entered from the same direction, the sound of only one door opening to announce their approach.

Pride filled him as Ashley kept up appearances, and he wondered how long their little game would last. How long could they keep Cam and River from finding out they were bonded?

“Can you blame them?” Cameron answered, leaning casually against the kitchen counter.

“You owe me a hundred bucks,” River said, and Dylan arched a brow. They’d made their own game out of his situation with Ashley.

Cameron sighed and pulled out his phone. “I’ll send it over now.”

“There was a bet?” Ashley asked, sharing a glance with Dylan.

“Yes. I thought Dylan would blow it. River had more faith in you,” Cameron said, shaking his head as he tapped at his phone.

River’s phone chimed and the beta beamed. “Thanks, babe.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Cam grumbled.

“Don’t get so pouty about it,” River said. “We’re not the winners here,” he teased, and shot the two of them a wink.

Dylan certainly felt like a winner as Ashley’s cheeks flushed. Then she checked the time on her fitness watch and reality was approaching. “I don’t want to be late to the gym, so…”

Dylan chuckled softly at her desire to escape, and nodded. “I can walk you down to your car,” he began, but?—

“We’re ready, we were just waiting on you two,” Cameron said, gaze jumping from one alpha to the other.

Ashley arched a brow. “Wow, maybe we’ll actually get started on time today,” she drawled.

River chuckled and stood up from his lean on the counter, grabbing his bag from the floor. “A miracle.”

Dylan opened the door, checked the hallway, and motioned for them all to exit so he could set the alarm and secure the locks.

“He takes his job seriously,” Cameron was murmuring to Ashley.

Dylan shrugged, not taking offense to it. He did take his job seriously, because when one didn’t… no, he didn’t need to rehash that memory again.

The building Cam lived in was a private building, with a gate and elevator codes for maximum protection. No one was getting in who wasn’t invited, which did make his job a little easier. Dylan knew better than to get complacent and lazy, so he always went first, making sure there were no reporters or paparazzi that had tracked the movie star down.

So far, not a single one had bothered them. Whoever was on Cam’s social media team was working wonders, keeping the press off his tracks.

Ashley was parked in one of the guest spots, so they all walked her to her car first. “See you there,” she said, with another glance in Dylan’s direction, before slipping inside.

Dylan dreaded the moment she left, if only because it meant Cam was going to pounce.

And the omega was nothing but predictable when it came to Ashley.

“So?” Cam asked as soon as they shut the door to the SUV.

“So what?” Dylan played dumb as he started the vehicle and waited for them both to buckle up before backing out of the space.

Cam was, surprisingly, sitting shotgun, with River in the back looking endlessly entertained.

“What happened?” Cam asked, the question practically exploding out of him. “You guys were barely making eye contact last week and now you’re—“ He groaned.

“Now you’re spilling out of your room after a daring night of passion,” River filled in dramatically.

Dylan rolled his eyes. “It’s not like we planned it or anything. It just… happened.”

“Yes, and that’s what we’re nosy about,” Cameron informed him.

Dylan didn’t know how to explain it. Neither of them had wanted to part after the hike. It had felt… wrong to drive away and leave Ashley all alone in that big house with so many memories. After such a momentous day, that kiss…

It had felt too similar to abandoning her all over again, and he’d made a promise he intended to keep.

Then the evening had passed as they ate and curled up in the living room.

It felt… right.

“I tried to carry her to the guest room last night. She didn’t want to go,” Dylan said, and shrugged, as if his heart hadn’t been beating out of his chest when her sleepy little voice had told him where to take her.

Cam’s arms were crossed in the front seat, and Dylan recognized a pouting omega when he saw one.

Dylan’s very first instinct was territorial.

That was his Ashley. His mate. His partner. He didn’t want to share her, because he’d waited so long for her after convincing himself that he’d never have her. That she was the one who got away—meaning he was the one who’d walked away and ruined any chance.

The bite on his shoulder tingled, as if to remind him of his new reality.

Neither Cam nor River had commented on the slight scent change, but then again… Cam was on suppressants, which dulled his own scent and his sense of smell, and River, as a beta, didn’t have a very strong sense of smell when it came to pheromones anyway.

For now, it was just their little secret.

Dylan wondered how long it would stay that way.