Page 54 of Dangerous Men (Fortune City Mafia #1)

My heart soars. Perfect. Ashton really is the perfect man.

“I’ll grab my car and?—”

“Actually—” I interrupt, feeling suddenly daring. Suddenly bold. “I could use your help with something inside. Before we go.”

I can feel the blood flooding my cheeks as I say it, like it’s so obvious. And maybe it is. Alec’s lips twitch slightly, and Sebastian glances at me, quirking an eyebrow.

Only Ashton seems oblivious.

“Yeah, of course!” He grins. “Whatever you need. Tonight, I’m all yours.”

I manage a quick goodbye to the other two, blushing even harder when Alec kisses me and murmurs “have fun, darling” in a voice that makes it very clear he knows what I’m planning. Sebastian refuses to meet my eye, slipping on his helmet and taking off on his bike without a word.

I usher Ashton into the shop, flipping the open sign to closed, and shooing Jade outside. She snickers as she leaves, waving to me over her shoulder.

Am I really doing this? I engage the deadbolt, heart pounding.

I’ve never been good at initiating sex. Chase seemed almost disgusted the few times I tried. He liked the hunt, liked to think he cajoled me into it. A woman who wanted it unprompted was just too easy.

But Ashton isn’t Chase. I swallow hard, suddenly nervous.

“So, what do you need help with?” Ashton’s voice is chipper as he follows me deeper into the store. “You need some boxes moved, or?—?”

The moment we’re far enough away from the windows that I hope we can’t be seen, I push him against the nearest bookshelf, shift forward until I’m standing on the tips of my toes, and kiss him.

There’s no hesitation. The moment our lips touch, Ashton gives a single grunt of surprise and then kisses me back, threading his hand into my hair and pulling me closer so he can slip his leg between my thighs and press my body tightly against his.

He kisses me greedily, groaning as he opens his mouth to let my tongue slide over his.

“ Oh ,” he murmurs when I finally break away to catch my breath. “So this is what you wanted help with.”

There’s no derision in his voice, no disgust. He sounds excited. When I nibble a line down his jaw and to his neck he groans loudly, sliding his hands down my back to grip my ass.

I’m going to do this, I think wildly, reaching my hands under his shirt to feel the hard plane of his muscles. Oh God, his muscles. How many times have I fantasized about touching him? Feeling him under my fingers? I run my hands over his chest and abs, over each impossibly perfect inch of him.

More. I need more.

Ash swears low and in his throat when I finally reach for his belt, my fingers fumbling with the metal and?—

My stomach growls loudly, the sound cutting through the haze of lust between the two of us like a knife.

“Sorry,” I mumble, mortified, still fumbling with his belt. “Ignore that, I’m?—”

Ash takes my hands in his, pulling them away from his pants.

“You’re hungry ,” he says, grinning.

“I’m hungry for more than just food,” I tell him with a half-smile.

“Nope,” Ash says. He lets go of my hands and starts to do his belt back up. “Trust me. It’s no good fucking on an empty stomach. Not when your body needs fuel.”

“But—”

Ash interrupts me by pulling me in for another searing kiss, parting my lips with his tongue and stealing every thought from my brain.

“Let me take care of you, Babygirl,” he whispers against my lips. “ Please .”

My stomach growls again, almost angrily this time.

“I am pretty hungry,” I admit sheepishly.

“I know the perfect place,” Ashton says. “Do you like Mexican food?”

Thirty minutes later, we’re seated at a plastic outdoor table in front of a food truck, surrounded by an ungodly amount of food. When Ashton told the cook we wanted two of everything, I thought he’d been joking. But...

“You have to try this one,” Ashton says, handing me another compostable plate with a pile of carne asada tacos. “At least one bite. This has got to be the best one so far.”

I’ve tried at least four different dishes Ashton swears have been the best, but I take the plate from him without complaint and have a bite of the small taco, moaning as the rich flavors hit my tongue.

I’ll admit it—Mexican food has always been my favorite, hands down. And with Fortune City so close to the border, I can be a bit of a snob about what’s authentic and what’s not.

This food truck Ashton brought us to? It might be the best Mexican street food I’ve had in years.

By the time we’ve finished off everything (with Ashton eating at least four times what I could manage), I’m pleasantly full and more than content. I feel happy. Happier than I have been in years.

“There’s an amazing ice cream place just down the street,” Ashton tells me after he clears away the empty plates from our table. “What’s your favorite flavor?”

I can’t help but laugh. Of course Ashton still has room for dessert after devouring what had to be at least ten pounds of food. The man must have a black hole for a stomach.

“I’d never say no to chocolate,” I tell him with a smile.

“Great choice.” Ashton grins back. “You stay right here, Babygirl, and I’ll be back before you know it.”

It’s no surprise when several women—and even a few men—turn to watch Ashton as he walks away. I feel a strange sense of pride knowing I’m the one he’s choosing to spend his night with. I’m the one he’s dating.

I watch him as he disappears around the corner, smiling at him and admiring the view .

“So what’s his name?”

I jerk back, startled, as Chase slides into the seat across from me—the seat Ashton just vacated. The bruising on his face looks even worse today. He looks like something out of a horror movie.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I hiss at him, my chest tightening.

“I think I at least deserve to know his name, don’t you?” Chase’s lip curls in an angry sneer as he says it. “So tell me. What’s the name of the man you’re whoring yourself out for now?”

“How dare you,” I seethe, the fury in my voice rising.

“How dare I?” Chase places his palms flat on the table, leaning toward me, and I flinch back reflexively. “How dare you ? You think your little stunt at Katie’s was cute? Slapping me like that?”

“I think it’s better than you deserve.”

“Careful, Sydney,” Chase says in a low voice. “No one likes an angry woman.”

It’s a phrase he’s thrown in my face since our first big fight. A phrase that’s never failed to make me do what I’m told.

“I saw you, you know,” Chase says, smirking as I back down. “You and Mr. Movie Star, back in your shop. Didn’t take you long to shove your hand down his pants, did it?”

My heart stutters in my chest. He saw us. He was watching me.

“Are you following me?” I ask. I can’t keep the tremor of fear out of my voice when I say it.

Chase’s smile is anything but friendly. “Maybe I am. Maybe I’m not. Guess you’ll find out.”

“I’m getting a restraining order,” I tell him, my voice hardening. “I’m sick of this, Chase. I want you out of my life for good. ”

“And you think a little piece of paper is going to stop me?” he taunts, leaning closer. I feel untethered, lost, as he forces himself into my personal space. “I’m done playing nice, Sydney.”

“You were never nice, Chase,” I say. “Not to me.”

Rage flickers in his eyes. And the way he smiles then chills me to my core.

“You’re going to regret fucking with me,” Chase promises.

Fear. Acidic, dizzying fear sweeps through me, and?—

“They had three different types of chocolate,” Ashton says, his voice light and carefree as he approaches, cradling three bowls of ice cream in his arms. “Chocolate fudge, rocky road, and something called death by chocolate. I wasn’t sure which one you’d like best, so I got all three for us to share, and?—”

Ashton stops, looking up from his armful of dessert to notice Chase sitting across from me, and his smile falters.

“Oh! Hey, who’s this?” He sets the bowls down on the table with effortless grace, not missing a beat.

Who is this? I look from Chase to Ashton, and I’m struck by the differences between the two of them. Not just their size—Chase works out, but he’s never come close to looking like Ash—but everything about them.

Ash is kind. Ash supports me. Cherishes me. Maybe even loves me.

And it’s so obvious to me now that Chase was never capable of any of that.

“He’s nobody,” I say, my voice firm and unwavering. I stare Chase straight in the eye as I say it, meaning every word. “Nobody at all.”

A flash of anger crosses Chase’s face before he smothers it. He stands abruptly, his chair scraping loudly against the concrete .

“We’ll see about that,” he tells me, staring me down.

Something shifts in Ashton at those words, and his body goes taut. Until now, he and Sebastian were nothing alike in my mind. Smiling, warm-hearted Ash, who wears his heart on his sleeve and every emotion clear on his face. The mirror opposite of cold, unreadable Sebastian.

But the anger that creeps into Ash’s bright blue eyes is so familiar to me, it’s suddenly impossible not to see the resemblance between the two of them. That icy rage that’s ever present in Sebastian’s gaze fills Ashton’s as he stares down at Chase.

“Is this guy bothering you, Babygirl?” Ashton asks, his voice low and deadly.

Chase doesn’t even glance at him. He’s too focused on me, disgust etched into his face.

“Babygirl?” Chase mocks, his lip curling.

“Go,” Ashton says, taking a step forward. His voice drops, and there’s a menace in his stance I’ve never seen before. “Walk away.”

“Fine. I’m gone.” Giving Ash one dismissive glare, Chase shrugs his shoulders and walks away, his hands shoved deep into his pockets.

“Huh,” Ashton mutters, his gaze following Chase, brow knit in confusion. “Kind of a weird guy, right?”

He settles into the seat Chase just vacated, shifting his concern and focus to me.

“Did he do something to upset you?” Ash asks, frowning. “Is everything okay?”

I pull the bowl of rocky road toward me, picking up the little plastic spoon sticking out of the heaping scoop and taking a big bite.

“Everything is perfect,” I tell him. And in that moment, with a bright smile blooming over Ashton’s face and the taste of chocolate on my tongue, it is.

“Here.” I scoop some ice cream onto the spoon and hold it out for him. “You have to try this one.”