Page 32 of Dangerous Men (Fortune City Mafia #1)

My place is neat, but not exactly decorated .

My personal library has expanded beyond my one giant bookcase and spread to cover every open surface.

There wasn’t much to do living with my grandmother, so books became my favorite escape, and I can’t bear to let any of my favorites go—even the ones that are almost falling apart from being read so many times.

I don’t have art on my walls, preferring them bare.

Which means my only real decorations are the collections of pillows and blankets I have scattered around the place, piled on the couch, and in the armchair in the corner where I like to read.

Cozy is what I would call it. Jade once described my style as librarian chic.

“Have a seat,” I tell him, motioning toward the couch and the coffee table. “You can just move the blankets if they’re in your way. I’ll get us some plates.”

Yeah, I eat on the couch. Sue me. I like to be comfortable.

When I return with a stack of plates and a bottle of wine, Ash has already made himself right at home.

I’ve always thought my giant couch could seat a small party, but Ash has managed to take up more space than I thought possible for one person.

He sits with his legs spread wide and arms draped over the back of the seats on either side of him.

“I love this couch,” he says. “Top tier comfort levels, right here.”

I laugh, setting the plates in front of him .

“Oh! I forgot the wine glasses,” I realize, straightening and turning toward the kitchen again. “Let me just?—”

“No, please, sit,” Ash says, standing up. “I’ll get some. Where do you keep them?”

I’m so stunned by the offer, I answer without thought, “Uh, above the sink, in the cupboard on the right.”

Ash returns with two wine glasses and some napkins, making quick work of the containers and dishing out a full plate of food.

I’m surprised when he hands it to me.

“Ladies first,” he says with a grin.

It smells delicious. Giving him a small grin in return, I take it from him and dig in.

“So, what’s in the box?” Ash asks, after a few minutes of eating in silence. He nods towards the gift from Alec, sitting next to the couch.

“Oh.” My cheeks heat, and I try to play it off by leaning over to take a drink of wine. “It’s, uh… just a gift. From Alec.”

Ash looks amused. “He sent you a gift?” he asks, smiling. “Sly dog. What did he get you?”

“It’s nothing, really. You know, just… a gift.”

“That’s so intriguingly vague, Sydney. You know I have to open it now,” Ash says.

“No, really, it’s?—”

Too late. Ash sets his now-empty plate down on the table and pulls the box into his lap, tipping the lid off.

If having Jade see what was in there embarrassed me, it’s nothing compared to the mortification of watching Ash as he peers down into the box.

“Huh,” he says, both eyebrows raised and face unreadable.

“I think it’s a joke,” I tell him quickly, reaching for the lid to cover it up again. “An inside joke between the two of us. ”

“The only joke is the idiot didn’t think to include any lube,” Ash says, straight-faced.

Oh.

My fingers pause mere inches from the lid. I look back into the box. I guess he didn’t, did he?

“Maybe that was on purpose,” Ash says, voice dropping an octave. “He knows first-hand how soaked you can get with the right motivation.”

My thighs squeeze together, a flash of heat going through me.

“Have you tried any of these yet?” Ash asks, looking over at me. God, his eyes are so intense suddenly. When he looks me over, gaze slowly moving down my body and then back up, I almost feel like he’s touching me.

I shake my head.

“It… it just came this morning. I’m not in the business of getting myself off at work. Think that would be a whole different type of job,” I say, laughing. I surprise myself when I say it. I never make sexual jokes. Chase always said they made a woman sound cheap.

Ash grins and turns his attention back to the box. After a few more seconds of staring into it, he sets it aside, next to him on the couch, and I breathe a small, shaky sigh of relief.

But no.

“We’re going to need room for this,” he says in a husky voice, stacking the empty takeout containers and grabbing his plate. “Have you finished eating?”

I look down at my forgotten plate, clenched in my hands. It’s empty.

“Uh… yes,” I say.

He hesitates. “You’re sure? There’s plenty more. And I can wait. ”

I don’t think he can. Ash looks ready to explode. But he patiently stands there while I consider it.

Finally, I shake my head, and he takes my plate, carrying it to the kitchen. I hear the tap turn on, followed by the sound of him rinsing our dishes and placing them in the dishwasher. A few seconds later, I can hear him putting the leftovers into my fridge.

When he emerges, I shrink back on the couch, slightly unnerved by the intensity in his gaze.

“Do you want to tell me why Alec sent these to you?” he asks, setting the box on the table in front of us and sitting back on the couch. He’s closer to me now, our legs almost touching. “I don’t think he would have done something like this out of the blue. It’s not exactly his style.”

“We uh… he called me last night,” I admit in a small voice.

The look Ash gives me, full of naked lust, lets me know he understands exactly what sort of phone call we had.

“He wanted me to… use a toy,” I continue, voice barely audible even to my ears. “But I didn’t have any.”

Ash’s brows raise in surprise.

“Not even one?” he asks, stunned.

What is with these men? Are women out there hoarding sex toys and I’m the only one crazy enough not to own one?

Making a mental note to check that with Jade, I shake my head.

Lips curving to a grin, Ash nods slowly. “So, he sent you a variety,” he says, understanding. “For you to try. Smart.”

He reaches into the box, plucking an item out of it.

It’s the pair of wrist cuffs.

Ash runs his thumb over the leather for a moment before asking, “Have you ever been tied up before?”

I shake my head .

“Is it something you’ve ever thought about? Maybe even… fantasized about?”

God, yes.

I nod a little too quickly. I can’t believe I’m admitting this to him. I’ve never admitted it to anyone.

Ash sets the cuffs next to the box with a grin and reaches in for another item.

This one I don’t recognize. It’s a thick strap of leather, with a long handle. Ash watches me closely as he holds it, assessing me.

“Do you know what this is?” he asks, voice low.

I shake my head.

“This is a riding crop,” he says. He reaches out to take my hand, and I give it to him.

He strokes the leather over my palm. Then, with a quick flick of his wrist, he snaps it.

I cry out, more out of shock than pain, as the leather strikes my palm with a loud slap. The skin where it struck me tingles.

“Is that something you might like?” Ash asks, and the way his eyes move over my body, I know he doesn’t want to use it on my palm.

I hesitate, a beat too long.

Nodding as if that’s answer enough, Ash lets my hand drop, turning back to the box and putting the toy away.

“Wait!” I say, too quickly.

He stops, glancing over at me.

“I…” My heart is beating so fast, my body aching to know what he would do with the crop. “I… need time, I think. To work up to that. But I’m not… uninterested.”

Something flares in Ash’s eyes. He licks his lips, his breathing a little heavy as he nods. But he keeps the crop in the box.

“Thank you,” Ash tells me. He leans over me, pushing my thighs open and lifting one leg onto the couch so he can get closer to me. “For being honest with me. And if you want to try that, fuck .” He shudders when he exhales. “I could make it so good for you. You have no idea.”

Oh God. I want it now. Ash’s gaze burns into mine, and I want it, want to feel it. I want to know exactly what he’d do to me if I let him.

“Not tonight,” he tells me.

My disappointment is short-lived when he reaches down and slides a hand over my shirt, cupping my breast. I gasp when he rolls his thumb down, catching my nipple between his fingers and giving it a light tug.

“I love that you want to try that,” Ash says. “And I can’t wait to show you all the fun we could have together. But let’s keep things simple tonight, okay? Let’s go slow.”

I swallow, my mouth suddenly dry.

I feel like I’ve agreed to a game without knowing the rules, but Ash is already grinning, releasing my breast, and going back to the box. He pulls me closer as he does it, wrapping an arm around my back until I’m flush against his side.

His hand rubs up and down my back as he reaches into the box and pulls out a toy.

He holds it up to me, eyebrow raised.

It’s a vibrator, the insertable kind, slim and slightly curved.

“Have you used one of these before?” he asks.

I nod.

The next one he brings out is bigger.

I shake my head immediately.

“Why?” he asks, sounding genuinely curious. “What’s wrong with this one?”

“That’s… too big,” I tell him. But, the idea of it, of putting that inside me…

I clench, trying to hide the movement. But I’m pressed so hard against him, I’m sure he feels me wriggling against his hip .

“Too big?” he repeats, looking between the toy and me. “I saw you take three of Alec’s fingers, Babygirl. This isn’t that much bigger.”

Isn’t it? It looks huge, even in Ash’s massive hands.

Before I can summon a response, Ash sets the toy on the table and takes my hand in his.

“This? This is much, much bigger,” he says, pressing my palm against the bulge in his pants.

Oh my god .

I squeeze reflexively, and a shudder goes through him, his head tipping back with a groan. He’s massive. I run my hand over the length, through the fabric of his pants, mouth dry with need.

It is bigger than the toy. Much bigger. I think back to Alec, the sheer size of him during our video call. Could I take that much? Would it even fit?

“Fuck, if you don’t stop, I’m not going to be able to control myself,” Ash groans, hips jerking forward under my touch.