Page 26 of Ashley & the A-Listers (Sweetverse)

26. SCARS

DYLAN

Still damp from his shower after the movie night, Dylan tugged on a pair of boxers and padded the few feet over to his bed.

Ashley lay there, waiting for him, and he’d never tire of the sight.

She lifted the blankets for him to crawl under, and she snuggled close. It took him a moment to realize her hand was resting over his scar.

“You promised to tell me about these.” Her voice was quiet, the bond full of curiosity and worry.

“Of course,” he said. “You can ask me anything. It’s not… uh, it’s kind of a rough story. Heavy.”

“Tell me,” she said softly.

So he did.

“I work for a private company,” he began. “So anyone can hire us, though Wes is pretty picky.”

She nodded, her cheek smushed to his chest, and he curled his arm around her back, stroking her hair to give himself something to do with his hands. Her fingers brushed a pattern over the scar.

“We were hired by this woman, a beta.” He felt Ashley’s interest flare. “She worked for some big company, and was being harassed. I fit the compatibility test, so I was brought in to mitigate, to escort her to work and back.

“At first it was fine, and she was more embarrassed that I had to be there than anything. Kept telling me it wasn’t so serious.

“It was serious,” Dylan continued. “Death threats, stalking, the works. It got so bad that Gabi had to work from home, couldn’t leave.” The swell of Ashley’s empathy made his chest tight. He had to clear his throat before he continued. “Eventually, it all calmed down. We got comfortable.” Dylan shook his head. He shouldn't have trusted it.

“Gabi—Gabrielle wanted out of the house, understandably. She wanted food from a specific truck, one that was always parked on Maine. I thought: city center, it would be busy, we’d blend in. Since it had been so quiet, I… agreed. And I thought I was so careful.”

Lights. The flash of a blade. A shout. Darkness.

“I swear I checked if we were being followed, but there was nothing. I let my guard down for one fucking moment…”

Dylan’s lips flattened into a thin, unhappy line. He’d replayed the moment in his head a million times. If he’d been faster, if he’d seen the guy at all .

Ashley’s scent flared and the bitter bite of ginger, the soft touch of her hand on his side, kept him going.

“I didn’t see him. Took me out with a knife to the gut and killed Gabi. By the time I got my gun out, it was too late. She was dead before she hit the ground, according to the coroner.”

“Dylan… oh my god,” Ashley said, and sat up, a hand on his chest.

He scrubbed a hand down his face, fighting back the anxiety the memories always brought him. “I utterly failed. I was on desk duty while I healed, and they put me in therapy for a while. Then several months later, Cam came along, and Wes wanted to put his faith in me again, even though I didn’t deserve it.”

“Who was the guy? The one who did it.”

“Some fucker who wasn’t happy with the work she was doing. A stalker, I guess. She was a scientist. I didn’t really understand what she was working on. Too over my head.”

“Did you get him?”

“Yeah. I shot him,” Dylan answered. “He came out of nowhere, and he knew to get me first, so he must have been watching for a while. I don’t know how I didn’t see him.”

“You got him, though. That counts for something.”

Dylan swallowed. Not to the firm. Not to Gabi.

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Is that why you’re so intense about Cameron?” she asked.

Dylan nodded. “I don’t want to fail him. That’s why it’s so infuriating when he doesn’t cooperate.”

“Cameron is adored, though. I think the most you’d have to worry about is a too-enthusiastic fan.”

“Oh, really? A famous omega who is notoriously marketed as a bachelor, an omega that could belong to anyone?”

Ashley pursed her lips, and her scent went even more bitter. “Oh. I guess I didn’t think of it like that.”

“Yeah. I’m here for a reason.”

“You take your job seriously,” Ashley said.

“I have to. I know what can happen if I don’t.”

Her silence spoke volumes. “Wow, you’ve really thought about this, huh?”

“I don’t want anything to happen to him.”

Dylan frowned at the thought. As annoying as Cameron was, Dylan was… fond of him. He wanted to protect the little shit, and not only because he was paid to.

“You care about him?”

“I mean, sure.” He paused. “Not like you, though.”

“What does that mean?”

“Cam and I aren’t… compatible. The company does a scent test before we’re paired with a client. It cuts down on complications. Cameron just doesn’t have the same… draw to me.”

“You don’t like his scent?”

Dylan lowered his head to brush his lips over her shoulder, inhaling. “Too sweet for my taste.”

She hummed, and Dylan kissed her bite mark beneath her tee once before relaxing again. “You like it, though,” he guessed.

Ashley shrugged, and he could tell she was blushing even in the dark.

He loved that she still did things that reminded him of the younger Ashley. Her awkwardness and embarrassment.

But he also loved that she was an alpha—that she could bark him into place, or best him in a sparring match.

“You’re an alpha. It’s normal to want a pack,” he said.

“I know, but…”

There, in the connection, was the real answer. She was scared.

“But…?” he prompted.

“We just figured us out.”

Dylan laid a hand over the one she had resting on his chest. “Hey. Damn right we did. We’re bonded. I’m not going anywhere. Even if you decide you want to try courting Cameron.”

Ashley swung a leg over his lap and stared down at him.

“Now that’s a terrifying thought. Courting? I don’t think I can court Cameron.”

“Why not?”

Ashley frowned, stroking a pattern into his chest. “Uhm, he’s my client?”

“He won’t be forever,” Dylan replied.

Ashley rolled her eyes, fingers tapping on his pecs. He felt something building inside her, and he stayed quiet, waiting for her to work up the courage to share it with him.

“I like being good at my job, and I think professionalism plays a big role in that. I’m usually very good at boundaries and lines when it comes to my clients, but ever since Cam…” Ashley huffed, and her frustration fizzled in the bond.

Dylan hummed softly. “If it helps, I don’t think Cam minds.”

“I know, I know,” she groaned, blowing her hair out of her eyes. “That makes it even more difficult. I mean, going out to dinner, fucking his bodyguard?—”

“Hey, we’re doing more than fucking—” Dylan interjected with a small grin.

She covered his mouth and continued, fighting a smile. “—Staying at his apartment. Having dinner every night?” She covered her face. “Ugh!”

Dylan reached up, gently removing her hands from her cheeks.

“Do you want to know what I think?” Dylan asked.

Ashley nodded, gazing down at him.

“I think Cameron is different from your other clients. I mean, you don’t want to alpha them all, right?”

He felt her emotions buck in the bond, further cementing his point. “Of course not,” she said.

“There you have it. I think you are a kick-ass trainer, with high-profile clients who respect you. I also think you have it bad for an omega, and those two things can coexist.”

“Does that make me a bad trainer?” she asked. “If I can’t separate my… my feelings from the job?”

Dylan felt like his chest was going to cave in with the weight of his adoration. She was opening up to him—she was admitting there was something between her and Cameron! Finally! He felt honored that she was sharing these thoughts with him.

“Ashley,” he said, low and soft, and tugged her down to his chest. “You are not a bad trainer. It’s not like the situation is interrupting his training. You’re still doing your job, and he’s still learning what he needs to. I don’t think your emotions are getting in the way as much as you think they are.”

She melted against him, nuzzling her cheek against his chest. “I guess if I look at it that way, you’re right. I’m not doing anything to hinder Cameron’s progress.”

“Exactly. So, what’s the real hang-up here?”

Ashley huffed, and he felt her frustration, the tangle of her emotions that he couldn’t sort any easier than she could. He just wanted her to be happy .

“Remember that place we went to celebrate the end of the first month? That’s way out of my league,” she said. “And if those are his standards…”

She blew out a breath, puffing her cheeks for a second in the cutest way.

“He also had fun hiking. And ordering in. And putting together snack trays,” Dylan said. “And I know you’ve been eying this apartment like a proper alpha does.”

Ashley cocked her head to the side. “It’s so white! And harsh! Where’s the string lights and all the warmth? Why is the couch so small?”

Dylan’s lips twitched. “I feel like seventy percent of courting is presents. Sounds like you have a list.”

“Okay, you’re putting ideas in my head now,” she said, shaking it and shifting as if she was going to lay back down. He framed her waist and kept her atop him.

“You like the ideas, though. And you already know he’s jealous. He’d love to be courted by you.”

“What about you? You’re just… there? While I spoil him?”

“Are you asking if it’s okay to cuck me?” Dylan teased. Ashley’s groan was cut off mid-sound as he continued, “Don’t hate the idea.”

“What.” She said, not asked.

Dylan grinned, squeezing his hands on either side of her. “I mean, you put him through hell on the mat. The idea of bringing that to the bedroom? Watching you take what you want?”

A purr rumbled up her chest, and she choked it off at first before it spilled out again.

“You liiiike him,” Dylan breathing, riling her up as if they were young again. “And there’s nothing wrong with that. I’m giving you the green light, no pressure added.”

Ashley laid a hand on his chest, shifting against him, where he was already half hard. With only one of his shirts on, he could feel her through the cotton of her panties, warm and enticing, and fuck, he wanted her.

“You like the idea of me taking what I want, hmm?” she asked.

“I do,” Dylan murmured.

Ashley’s lips curled into a little half smile, devious and arousing all at once.

“Alright,” she said, and leaned down, purring softly, lips humming against his own. He tilted his head up to her, chasing her taste.

Ginger and citrus, downright candied from how sweetly she kissed him. Her hands combed through his hair, and chills spread from his scalp down his spine and to the rest of his body.

He was… obsessed with this alpha.

Mine.

She rolled her hips against him, nothing but the thin layers of underthings separating them. They rocked together, until Dylan was completely hard and his hands were holding onto her waist, tugging her into him again and again.

The kiss broke with a gasp, and Ashley twisted her hand, gripping his hair tightly and tilting his head back.

She shimmied, moving herself up his chest, his hands falling away as she positioned herself over him, her thighs by his ears and a hand on the headboard for balance.

Her scent hit him like a slap, but he couldn’t move with that hand still in his hair, holding him still.

His heart raced as she sat above him, staring down at him as if it was a challenge, as if daring him to please her.

He kept his gaze on hers, felt like a mistake if he didn’t, and slowly her hand released from his hair.

“Go on,” she said, voice soft.

Dylan nuzzled up at her, his nose nudging against her slit, her panties still in the way. If this was part of the challenge, he was not one to back down. Ginger and citrus was heavy on his palate as he parted his lips against her. He stiffened his tongue and pressed it into her, through the fabric, and her hips surged, shifting, as if seeking more.

He mouthed at her through the fabric, and it had to feel like nothing more than a tease, but she rolled against him, and he tasted her through the barrier.

“These are in the way,” he murmured. He wanted her against his tongue.

Ashley swung her hips side to side. “Sounds like your problem, not mine.”

Heat struck Dylan at her tone, so commanding. Sliding his hands up the back of her thighs, over the curve of her ass and around her hips, he tapped his fingers against the waistband. Her skin was so warm against his.

“You could rip them,” she suggested.

“What?” he asked, blinking up at her.

Instead of repeating herself, she arched a brow, expectant, and it sent a dark and delicious tremor through him.

Don’t have to ask me twice, he thought, and then pinched the fabric beneath the waistband with his fingers before tearing?—

They fell away easily, tatters that he tossed off the side of the bed.

She gasped before it melted into a purr, and Dylan felt like he’d done something right, his cock twitching at her praise.

Dylan wasted no time, her scent stronger now that the fabric was gone, filling his head like a drug.

Addicted, he could do more than taste, and she bucked her hips into the first touch of his lips.

He drew his tongue through her folds, gathering her taste before swallowing her down. He repeated the same motion, the bud of her clit hard against his tongue as he lapped at her again and again. Her thighs tightened around his head intermittently, encouraging him to keep going.

Every little sound she made, every grind of her hips against him only made his own arousal flare to life. Trapped beneath his boxers, he was rock-hard and had to be welling precum. He wanted her to touch him, or wanted to touch himself.

He curled his arms around the front of her thighs, fingers digging into her inner thighs. He gripped and squeezed and held her open for him as he arched his neck to lick at her, seeking more of her taste.

He speared her with his tongue, found a well of that arousal, and drank her down.

Her moans were growing louder, and he wondered if she was doing that on purpose, if she was imagining River and Cameron listening to them.

They were likely in the nest, but it was an… enticing thought.

He wanted her to take whatever she wanted. From him, from them.

He already belonged to her. That wouldn’t change if she had a pack.

Dylan purred at the idea of being amongst the favorites she’d collect.

She gasped, arching into him, and he flattened his tongue against her, giving her something to grind against.

“Fuck,” she whined, and he heard that pitch in her voice.

He couldn’t take it anymore, and lowered one of his hands to his stomach, inching his fingers beneath his waistband and?—

“No,” Ashley drawled, and reached behind herself to grab his hand, drawing it back to her thigh.

“You don’t get to come until after me,” she purred, the slightest bark in the whisper of her voice.

He couldn’t disobey, and he didn’t want to.

Dylan’s hips lurched, aching for something he couldn’t have, and moaned into her, lost in her flesh as she rolled her hips into him.

Fuck.

His moan dissolved into a purr at her demand, and she cried out as the sound worked up his throat, spilling into a vibration against his tongue. He purred harder, louder, and her thighs tensed around his head as she rode his face.

Her hand squeaked against the metal of the headboard, and he glanced up to find her lips parted, head tilted back, jaw sharp and strong as her hair fluttered around her shoulders.

She was beautiful.

Mine.

Dylan dug his fingers into her skin, leaving more marks, more proof of his claim on her, and the idea of River or Cameron ever seeing them made his head go blank.

Would she talk to them like this? Put them in their place and have their way with them?

Dylan’s cock twitched at the idea.

Ashley. His alpha.

His hips bucked and he wished there was any friction, any touch against himself. He was so close, on a hair’s edge just from her taste, the way she moved against him. The way she felt about him and all this arousal wrapped up in the bond until they were indistinguishable.

Her hand dove back into his hair, holding him still while she dragged herself against his tongue. Soft moans poured from her lips and the moonlight was silver against her skin.

She was using him to get herself off.

And it was the hottest thing Dylan had ever experienced.

He slid his grip up her thighs and stomach, bunching the shirt up until it fell down his arms, and cupped her breasts. With deft fingers he plucked at her beaded nipples and felt the chills skitter down her skin.

He felt it in her entire body, her grip tightening, thighs tensing around his ears, body stilling for a split second before she came.

She cried out before muffling herself by biting her lip, thighs clamped tightly as she shook and rocked against his face.

Her arousal burst on his tongue, and he was suffocating in her scent and he could think of no better way to go.

He stiffened, trying to distract himself, but all of his senses were filled with Ashley, his nose and mouth full of citrus and ginger, her soft skin beneath his hands, her moans in his ear, the sight of her something he’d never forget.

He came before he could stop it, cock kicking in his boxers as she danced on his tongue.

Their dueling purrs filled the room as they melted together, and Ashley lifted her right knee before tipping over, collapsing to the bed with a satisfied smile on her face. Her calves and feet dangled over his chest as Dylan watched her come down.

She cracked an eye open, found his gaze had never left and… smirked.

“Guess you don’t need a turn after all.”

Dylan sighed. “No. Just new boxers.”

He felt how that pleased her, and tugged on her calf to pull her back across the bed.

She kissed him, lapping the taste of herself from his lips, his tongue. When they parted, their breaths were harsh and she chuckled, combing his hair back.

“Like a teenager,” she drawled.

Dylan groaned and tried to bury his face beneath her hair. “Don’t tease me.”

“But it’s so easy,” she teased, and unearthed him.

Things were easy with her. Always had been. He was stupid for running from it.

He wouldn’t run again, and stroked a finger over the bite on her shoulder, the reminder.

Indulgent adoration filled him as she shivered.

“Tease me all you want, as long as that happens again,” he murmured.

Her gaze darkened as she stared down at him.

“As long as I take what I want?” she asked, and Dylan was reminded of their conversation before they’d gotten… distracted.

“Yes. Anything.”

Ashley laid her head on his chest. “Might take you up on that.”

That was as close to an answer as he was going to get, but he felt her warming up to the idea.

His alpha deserved a pack. She just had to see it for herself.