Page 27

27

ASHER

ONE WEEK LATER

I glance at the clock in the corner of my computer screen, watching the minutes tick down.

Twenty minutes later, Josh Lustre enters the office I’m occupying while working at his headquarters. He carries a tablet in his hand, then slides it across the desk to me.

A Royal Wedding Is in the Works: The Diamond Princess and Her Prince.

He glares at me. “How did this happen? They’re moving too fast.”

I shrug, knowing this is a losing argument. It always is when it comes to Billie. After working this closely with him, I understand why she left. He’s okay in small doses, but in large ones? Annoying as hell.

“My job isn’t to stalk Billie Calloway. You know how I feel about her. She’s boring . You can do much better,” I tell him.

“They cannot get married, Asher. They cannot! I will not allow this to happen!” he screams in my face.

I smile, understanding his frustration, but knowing this lie is a very large piece of a puzzle.

“Please sit,” I say calmly, and he does.

Once he’s settled down and is no longer having a toddler fit, I breathe out slowly. Somehow, I’ve become one of the few people who can calm him down when he’s having a meltdown like this. Always pathetic, consistently over Billie.

“Okay. Now listen to me. If she does marry the prince, she’ll acquire royal duties and no longer have time for Bellamore. That benefits you directly.”

“But if I lose her, I’ll lose her forever. I can’t bear it,” he says, his fist clenched.

The way he’s acting makes me want to bash his fucking face in. I want to shake him and ask him why he didn’t treasure her while he had her. What’s sad is, had he not cheated, she probably would have never left him. Even if she wasn’t in love, she was happy. Comfortable. They were comfortable.

“Then what?” I ask. “What will you do?”

“I have a plan,” he tells me. “One that will guarantee that palace will not approve of this marriage.”

My heart rate upticks slightly, but I remain calm. “Which includes?”

“Sex tapes,” he says. “ Lots of them.”

My nostrils slightly flare. “What are you talking about?”

He grins mischievously. “I used to secretly film us having sex in my house. Maybe a few of those videos should find their way onto the internet somehow. No way the palace would let a whore like her be a queen—not with her pussy and tits all over the web. They want a princess, not Billie Calloway.”

The fact that he would take their intimate moments and weaponize them against her has me cracking my knuckles. “That’s also very illegal. ”

“So? No one will care. They’ll just remember what she did and how she begged for my cock. It’s career-ruining.” He stands, agitation radiating off him. “I swear to fucking God, Asher. I can’t have her with Prince Louis any longer. I must end this before I lose my damn mind. After what I share, no one will want her. She’ll be reduced to a whore.”

“Let it go, Josh. You’ll destroy your family’s company if you don’t. Be logical,” I tell him, trying to snap him back to reality. “This is a felony. Jail time. She’ll know it was you, and she has the money to prove it. She’s a Calloway. You really don’t want to do this.”

“The consequences can get fucked,” he shoots back defiantly. “I love her. After what I show the world, I’ll be the only one who will want her.”

“What does that even mean?” I ask, feeling my mask begin to slip.

He’s crawling under my skin. I picture myself slamming my fist into his nose, imagining him crying like a little bitch afterward.

He laughs, and I join in, but for a different reason—my amusement is laced with irritation.

I want to ask him if he sent her that text message. The way he’s acting feels like a confirmation. He’s oozing jealousy and anger, upset that it’s Louis instead of him. If only he knew the truth.

“My best friend and I used to share her,” he tells me. “Every other weekend.”

“Too bad I wasn’t your bestie back then,” I reply with a shit-eating grin.

He buys it, smiling wide and giving me a high five. “She was such a whore for the cock. Loves it in her ass.”

“Hmm. You should’ve told me that before. Would’ve been great info to have,” I say, and while the locker-room talk makes me sick, I know it’s just part of the game we’re playing.

It encourages Josh and makes him overly comfortable when he’s surrounded by people who are as crude as he is. So, I mirror his personality, giving him what he gives .

“If she takes me back, consider it done. We’ll fuck her until she can’t stand, and then we’ll keep going,” he says with a laugh.

It takes every last drop of control I have not to knock the hell out of him. With that, he’s officially pushed me to the very edge.

“Appreciate the offer, but I’m good. Sick of sluts, to be honest. I want a good girl next. One who knows how to follow the rules and do exactly what I say,” I tell him with a laugh, knowing Billie is that girl. “You can keep the Ice Queen. Not really my type.”

“The way she used to look up into my eyes and whimper when I shoved my cock down her throat—seeing spit run down her chin and hearing her choke on me—it was music to my fucking ears. Makes me miss her,” he says, pulling his phone out. “Let me show you.”

Josh shows me a video of Billie masturbating—a FaceTime call he recorded. She shoves the toy deep inside her, and my face stays neutral until I realize what’s in her hand.

“Oh my fucking God,” I say, shaking my head before I burst into laughter. “That toy. Do you know what it is?”

“No,” he says, turning it toward himself and zooming in on the golden cock.

“It’s a mold of Prince Louis’s dick. There was a huge scandal a few years ago. You don’t remember the slogan, Wear the crown and ride the prince ? Look at the emblem on the end. Each toy came with a crown ring. Women around the world kept talking about how it felt to fuck a royal,” I breathe out. “If I were you, I wouldn’t post that one. It would only help Prince Louis’s second chance at romance, especially with her masturbating with his dick. For you, that’s such a bitch move. It’s like she did it for him.”

Josh growls with rage, shoving his phone in his pocket. “She will pay for this.”

“Choose your next move carefully,” I warn. “Let me take care of this for you.”

“Please,” he states. “But I doubt she’d listen to you. She fucking hates you. ”

I smirk. “Yeah, well, maybe a dose of reality will be helpful for her. You have to change your rule about me not seeing her. I want it in writing.”

He pulls his phone from his pocket and seconds later, I receive an email from him recanting that I never see Billie again.

“Good enough for you?”

I grin. “Yep. I’ll do my best.”

“It’s about time you helped me,” he says, before he storms out of my office, acting like a brat.

I close my laptop, lean back in my chair, and stifle my laughter. Billie always held the upper hand with him. She was also so much more intelligent than those she dated. Even though I can’t help but feel the jealousy creep up my neck.

While these manipulative conversations make my stomach twist and do bother me at times, I love looking him in the face, knowing my name is the one released from her lips every night. Billie has fallen asleep in my arms since she told me she wanted to wake up to me every day. Sure, there are mornings when I sneak away, but our nights are spent holding each other like the other might disappear.

Billie Calloway is mine, and I will make her my wife.

Once we’re official, Josh won’t dare mess with her. One phone call and a suitcase full of cash is all it would take for me to end him. But after what he’s done, I’d rather play with him a little before I legally end it. I want his entire fleet of battleships to be sunk, not just one, which means infiltrating from the inside.

Lustre Fashion is just the beginning. When I finish with him, his personal and professional life will be a living hell. I’m called the Boogeyman of Business for a reason. Everyone was warned. Josh fucked around, and now he’s finding out.

I am his worst nightmare.

I pick up my lucky ball and throw it in the air, catching it, knowing I need to slightly reroute my plan. I toss it higher and lower, watching a loose thread in the leather dangle .

This ball reminds me I can make anything happen, even a bases-loaded, out-of-the-park home run. I watched a star fall before I went to bat, then made a wish that’s currently coming true.

That was the summer my parents finally stopped arguing over me and decided to file for divorce. My mom let me stay with Nick and his mom, Silvia. I was fourteen, and my big brother spent the summer with me while he was home from college. My dad insisted that I sign up for an extracurricular activity, so I joined a summer baseball league. There were only a few times when I felt like a normal kid; that was definitely one of them.

Nick lived on a cul-de-sac in a small town just outside of New York. His mom always had grape Kool-Aid in the fridge and fresh oatmeal cookies on the counter. I understood why my dad had cheated on my mom with her; she was everything my mother wasn’t, right down to being genuinely nice. I got high for the first time in his backyard, kissed a girl four years older than me, and spent countless nights dreaming about seeing Billie Calloway again as I stargazed on my back in the grass.

Now I smirk as I realize I’m completely in love with her, to the point of wanting to ruin the life of the last guy who hurt her. Nothing Josh could expose would ever change how I’ve always felt about my diamond princess. What we have has been building for a long time, and now that it’s finally here, I won’t give her up for anything or anyone.

I check the inner pocket of my laptop bag to make sure my USB drive is safely tucked away. I grab my lucky baseball from my desk and flick off the lights at my office at Lustre.

On the way to my firm, I text Harper. We have our own little code.

I text her a simple, Hi .

She replies with, How are you?

I send her a thumbs-up emoji. Until this whole thing with Lustre is over, I can’t text Billie directly. This little exchange tells Billie to meet me on the top floor of Banks’s Advertising and Marketing Firm.

As soon as I arrive, I take the elevator to the top floor. It’s a space for remote workers visiting the city, but right now, it’s completely empty. I find myself staring out the expansive windows while I wait for her.

Fifteen minutes later, the door to the conference room swings open and then clicks shut. I hear the sharp sound of high heels tapping against the floor, and I turn my head to see her. It feels surreal when our eyes finally meet, and she beams at me, looking stunning in a white pantsuit.

“Wow,” I whisper, taken aback.

I left before she woke up this morning, and seeing her now is just … breathtaking.

“Thank you,” she replies shyly, making her way toward me.

When she’s close enough, I rest my hand on her hip, feeling a rush of warmth.

“No more black?” I ask, intrigued.

“I’m ready to play my own game,” she tells me, perching on the edge of the desk, exuding confidence.

“I need to tell you something,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest, my tone turning serious.

Her brows knit together in concern. “I don’t like that look on your face.”

“Josh is losing his mind over the potential engagement between you and Princy. You need a scandal to break you two apart that will make you look like an angel,” I explain, watching her reaction closely.

Billie shakes her head vehemently. “No. I can’t do that.”

“Listen to me. Josh has recorded videos of your and his sexcapades. He had hidden cameras set up at his place.”

The color drains from her face. “What?”

I nod gravely. “A sex scandal never really disappears, princess. It will follow you for the rest of your life, even if it’s fake. It’s not worth the fight. Trust me, it’s not something you ever want to deal with,” I tell her firmly. “Just play his game for a few more weeks for me, please .”

“He’s lying,” she whispers, tears spilling down her cheeks. She looks utterly horrified.

“He showed me a recorded FaceTime call. I’m curious why you used the Prince Louie,” I mutter against her mouth, pulling away just enough to lift my brow in question.

Her cheeks flush, and she buries her face against my chest. “I thought it was hilarious.”

“I want it thrown away immediately,” I state firmly. “No way his cock is going inside of you ever again. Mold or not.”

She grabs my tie and pulls me closer, her eyes fierce. “I haven’t needed to touch myself since we’ve been together. I always save myself for you, Ash. All of me. That’s yours. Just like yours is mine.”

I steal a kiss, melting into her, wanting to stay hidden with her at the top of my building until the sun sets.

“What else did he say?” she asks.

I open and close my mouth, my jaw setting. “He said he and his best friend railed you.”

Now she looks pissed. “Does that bother you?” she asks, her voice sharp.

“I don’t know. I haven’t been the best boy either, if you know what I mean,” I admit, not wanting to have this conversation.

Jealousy overtakes her, and I love seeing her worked up over me.

“Tell me about it,” she says, blinking up into my eyes.

“I dated two best friends. The three of us used to spend our weekends together. I also fucked both their moms,” I say, smirking a little.

“Wow,” she says, and I see something flicker behind her eyes. It’s rage. “I didn’t realize you had it like that. I mean, the swagger it must take. ”

“Billie,” I whisper, trying to hold back a smile, “the man I was ten years ago is not who I am now. Okay?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

I see her putting up a wall, and I grab her hand, pulling her back to me.

“How do I stop him?” she finally asks, desperation creeping into her voice.

“You and Louis must break it off very soon. Pretend, behind the scenes, that you want to get back with Josh and hold him off until the fashion show. Afterward, it won’t matter. I need you to call him and use your Calloway acting skills. For me, pretty please.”

“When?” she asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Right now,” I tell her, my tone serious.

She sighs. “Do you know what you’re asking of me?”

“Yes. And it’s why I’m begging you. I know how this ends, Billie. It’s not good,” I whisper, grabbing her hand and forcing her to stand as I drop to my knees. “Pretty please. I’m so fucking sorry it’s come to this, but trust me. I will never lead you astray. Ever. I promise,” I say, looking up into her eyes, drowning in them, as usual.

She runs her fingers through my hair, and I lean into her hand, feeling the warmth radiate from her touch.

“You’re so strong. You can do this,” I offer, my voice soft.

She pulls her phone from her pocket, unlocking it with trembling fingers. She swallows hard, determination slowly replacing her uncertainty.

“Your brothers said you weren’t cutthroat enough,” I say as I unbutton her suit pants. They fall to the floor and pool around her feet. I lean forward, inhaling her scent. “I told them they were wrong. Call him. ”

“Asher,” she whispers.

I encourage gently, “Say everything you think he’ll want to hear.”

I hook her panties with my fingers, peeling them off her. I wrap my arms around her, kissing her stomach and sliding my mouth down, peppering kisses around her soft skin. I guide her back onto the desk, spreading her thighs wide and moving closer. “I’ll turn pain into pleasure, as promised.”

“Asher,” she moans out as I swipe my tongue up her wet slit. One of her palms slams against the desk, the sound echoing in the quiet room.

“Mmm. My favorite fucking flavor,” I mutter against her sensitive little bud as I suck.

Billie puts the phone on speaker, and it rings and rings. When Josh picks up, I dart my tongue inside her wet hole, slurping her up eagerly.

“Josh,” she says breathlessly.

“Billie?” he replies, genuinely surprised.

“I just …” she mutters as I shove a finger inside her and curl it just right. “I just ran into Banks. He’s a fucking bastard,” she groans out, riding me as I plunge as deep as I can inside her. “He told me I was a bitch for leaving you and …” She sighs, her body trembling with pleasure. “He’s right. I was thinking about you, just like old times.”

A moan escapes her lips, and I can see her pulse quickening in her neck. I didn’t even have to tell her what to say; she just knew.

Josh has severely underestimated Billie Calloway. So have her brothers. This woman is ruthless.

I twirl my tongue around her clit, her cunt glistening for me—a sight I can’t get enough of.

“Are you touching yourself?” Josh asks.

“Mmhmm. Remember when I used to need you so bad?” she grunts, and I want her to remember who’s giving it to her now and forever. “We should start over. Be my best-kept secret.”

Her eyes meet mine; she’s talking directly to me, and the connection is electric.

“Can I see you now? Finish you off?” he begs, sounding desperate .

It’s pathetic.

“No. I can’t see you until after Fashion Week in London. I’m seeing Louis then, and I want to tell him to his face that it’s over. It’s the least I can do for the future king.”

“FaceTime me,” Josh tells her as her eyes roll into the back of her head.

“I can’t,” she whispers, already teetering on the edge for me. “I’m in my office. Touching myself. So fucking horny,” she whimpers as I drive her even closer to the brink. Her muscles tense, and her pussy squeezes my finger so tight.

“Come for me, princess,” I whisper across her pussy, just loud enough for her to hear. “Let him listen to what I do to you. What I’ve always done to you. How I make you desperate.”

That’s all it takes, and her pussy convulses as she rides out her orgasm. I stand up, spinning her around. I carefully place my hand around her waist, holding her steady as I undo my pants, then slam my cock deep into her. She screams out, dropping her phone on the desk so she has both hands free for better leverage.

“I wish I could see the look on your face,” Josh says.

“I wish you could too,” Billie replies, and I hear the smirk on her lips. “I wish you could see me right now.”

Billie continues to cry out as I fuck her so hard that we both see constellations. Seconds later, she’s squirting and coming again on my cock as I empty inside of her, holding back my grunts. I bite her shoulder, and she sighs as my cum slides down her leg.

“Did you hear what you did to me? How I lost control?” she asks.

I nod, my scruff brushing against her back as I hold her steady.

“I heard you, baby,” Josh says. “I’ll be your secret.”

“Okay,” Billie whispers and then ends the call.

She turns to look at me, her legs spread open.

We hold a silent conversation, knowing there’s nowhere else for us to go from here. We’re wild and desperate and dangerous together—an utter fucking mess .

Her mouth crashes into mine, as if she can read my mind, read the words of my heart in my eyes.

Our tongues swirl together, and she captures my heart and soul.

“How did we end up as secret lovers?” she eventually asks.

“I don’t know,” I admit.

“We won, Asher,” she confirms. “We found what we’d always been searching for.”

“I know,” I say matter-of-factly, and we’re on the same team without me even having to tell her the plan.

We clean ourselves up, and Billie turns to me.

“I never slept with Josh and his best friend. They begged me to one weekend when we were drunk in the Hamptons, and I said no.”

I laugh. “I never dated two best friends and banged their moms. But kudos to me because you thought I could pull it off,” I say, and she steals a quick kiss.

“You’re an asshole.”

“And you’re my dream girl.”

“When were you going to tell me you were lying?” she asks, raising an eyebrow.

“I planned to tell you right now. I just wanted you to squirm a little,” I admit with a smirk.

She chuckles, shaking her head. “I don’t want to think about anyone touching you.”

“Same,” I mutter, feeling a little defensive. “But unfortunately, your exes are shoved in my face nonstop.”

“You’re better than both of them combined,” she encourages, leaning in for another kiss before leaving. “Yes, even better than a future king. He doesn’t understand me in the ways you do. No one does. I think that’s why I’m so scared of losing you.”

I wrap my arm around her waist, smiling against her lips. “I’m not going anywhere, I promise.”

“Thank you,” she says, pulling away from me. “Have you had a good day so far?”

“It’s much better now,” I tell her, feeling a warmth in my chest .

Billie shoots me a wink. “Love the way you look at me.”

She disappears, and I try my best to come down from my high. I sit in the desk chair and check my phone, seeing that Josh texted me.

Josh

Thanks, man. Thanks for always coming through and having my back.

I smell Billie on my fingers, and I can’t help but smile as I reply.

Asher

She knows who she belongs to.

Me.

Josh

Yes, she does.

Asher

I have some meetings to attend at the firm. I’ll return soon. Good luck. I wish you the best.

Josh has no idea what’s coming.