Undeniably Asher (The Colloway Brothers Book 2) (13 page)

“Have dinner with me tonight.”

“Yes,” I reply without hesitation.

“My place.”

I know exactly what that means and, remembering our wicked phone call last night, I feel my body readying itself for him. “Okay.”

“I’ll pick you up at seven.”

“Okay.”

Sighing heavily, he unwraps his arms and takes a step back. The immediate loss of his body warmth is startling and chills run the length of my spine. Scrubbing his hand down his face, he walks back over to his desk chair, sitting. His erection is evident through his thin slacks and I want nothing more than to kneel down in front of him and take care of it. He watches me. As our eyes connect, I swear he knows what I am thinking.

“If I don’t stop touching you now, Alyse, I’m going to end up fucking you on my desk. That
will
happen, just not today.”

“Asher—”

“How was your meeting with Sheila and Aaron?”

“So it’s like that, huh?”

“Did Aaron hit on you?”

Laughing, I shake my head, hoping he takes that as a no. Aaron did, but by the tone of Asher’s voice, I am
not
about to reveal that little factoid. Something tells me Aaron Hinton will be escorted out by security in about six-and-a-half minutes if I say yes.

His jaw ticks and he pierces me with a hard glare, which I stubbornly return. His voice is low and gravelly when he speaks, like he swallowed broken glass. “Do you want me to fuck you on my desk, Alyse? Is that what you want?”

I didn’t, until he just challenged me. I hadn’t moved from the edge of his desk where he placed me earlier, but now I stand and make my way in front of him. I sit back on the desk again so my feet dangle, spreading my legs ever so slightly. Gripping the edges, I lean forward toward him.

Today I’ve worn a simple, short black A-line dress with three-inch nude peep-toe shoes. It’s cold, but I didn’t wear tights or hose, so my legs are bare and the chilly desk gives me goose bumps.

“And if I said yes?” I have no idea what creature just took over my mind or my mouth, but at this second, I can’t even care.

Asher’s hooded, lusty eyes haven’t moved from mine. The sheer hunger I see in them slays me. He’s probably trying to gauge whether I’m serious or a tease, but God help me, I mean every single word I’m saying. I want him to fuck me.
Now
. I don’t want to wait another second. One week ago if you told me I’d be in a client’s office offering my body for his pleasure, I would have said enjoy your one-way free trip on the crazy train.

Now I’m afraid it’s me that’s hopped on and the train seems to have jumped the tracks.

Rolling his chair closer, a slow, devious smile curves his full lips as his hands make their way to my bare thighs. Firmly grasping them, he runs his palms up until he reaches the juncture of my aching flesh. Thumbs tease the edges of my panties, slipping slightly underneath. Teasing, but not touching where I need. A low moan escapes my throat and suddenly my head is far too heavy for my neck to support, so it falls back as my eyes drift shut.

“Eight years,” he whispers so soft it takes a minute to register.

Then his hands are on my ass, pulling me toward him. His mouth against my inner thigh startles me. It’s soft. Too soft. I want hard. I want rough. I want wild. I’m like a caged animal and if he doesn’t fuck me hard soon I think I might attack.

“Jesus, Alyse. So wet,” he rasps, dipping a finger fully inside my panties.

“Asher…” His name comes out on a breathy exhale.

Hot kisses are scattered up one inner thigh and down the other before he takes my cloth-covered clit in his mouth and sucks. I barely catch the cry his wicked move forced from my lungs. “So fucking tempting,” he rumbles right before he scoops me off his desk and onto his lap, holding me tight.

Confusion rattles my brain and embarrassment tightens my skin. This is the second time in just days I’ve practically thrown myself at him and the second time I’ve been gently let down. That is definitely not good for my fragile feminine ego.

Ugh.

“Hey.” His finger hooks under my chin, forcing me to look at him. I shift my eyes. “Alyse, look at me,” he demands. Reluctantly, I do, because as with every other time he gets that bossy tone, I want to comply. I want to please him.

God, I hate myself. I am
not
this weak woman who wants to do a man’s bidding. I’ve been nothing but strong my entire fucking life. I’ve suffered heartbreak, death, abandonment. I survived my own debilitating depression, twice. I started my own business right before my twenty-fourth birthday, for Christ’s sake.

I am woman. Hear me roar.

But around Asher, I just want to let it all go. Around him, I can set my heavy burdens down and take a much-needed rest for the first time in my entire life. I don’t feel like I have to be that strong woman I pretend to be with everyone else.

“Do not doubt how much I want you. I’m in utter misery with want. But,
God
, I have to do this right. For the first time ever with a woman, I need this to be right.”

Leaning down, he snares my lips in a gentle kiss and just like that, my awkwardness dissolves in a cloud of mist, replaced strangely enough with peace.

I try to sit up and gain some distance, but his arms tighten. “I—This is not who I am, Asher. I’m like a completely different person around you.”

Cupping my cheek so I can’t look away, he shakes his head, a smile tugging on his lips. “This is exactly who you are, Alyse. I don’t know how you keep the real you hidden from everyone else, including Livia, but you do. You’re very good at it; I’ll give you that. Even better than the last time I last saw you.

“But I saw into your soul the very first time I looked into your eyes eight years ago and I still see it now. It’s darker, worn around the edges, but Jesus, it’s brilliant. It’s magnetic. I see my reflection in it. This is exactly who you are, Alyse, because with me, you can let your guard down and just be you.”

I’m captivated. Every word is a warm ray of sunshine that settles on my skin and seeps into my pours. It fills those lonely parts of me I don’t like to acknowledge. It makes me feel lighter. Happier. Greedily, I want more of it.

“How do you know?” I’m not even sure what I’m asking, but Asher does.

Smiling gently, he pecks the tip of my nose. “I know, because that’s exactly how you make me feel.”

“Asher.” I let his name linger, because I don’t know what to say. I’ve known him for so many years. I know so many things about him, yet I don’t know him at all. Except I can’t help but feel that it doesn’t really matter, because I do. It’s like my soul recognizes him as mine. It’s confusing and may not make a lot of sense to anyone else, but it makes perfect sense to me. Everything he’s said is true. I can be myself with him. I always have. It almost feels like my person, the one I’ve been looking for my whole life, has been under my nose the entire time.

“Let me in, sweet Alyse,” he tells me softly.

I swallow hard. Unwelcome tears prick and a traitorous one escapes, rolling slowly down my cheek. “I’m not sure I know how.” My voice is quiet and it cracks upon my weighty confession. I wasn’t even this truthful with Finn and I was with him for a year. It gives me hope that maybe I’m not a lost cause after all.

Asher’s smile puts me at ease. His thumb wipes away evidence of my vulnerability, which is making me nauseous. “I have my own issues, Alyse. My own trouble letting a woman close. But I can honestly say I’ve never wanted to try more than I do with you.”

I’m quiet, absorbing his confession. “Okay.”

He nods, pressing a prolonged kiss to my hair. “Okay.”

I take this as my cue to leave, but he pulls me back into his lap and settles my head on his shoulder. “I’m not ready to let you go yet.”

Good. I’m not ready to be let go. I don’t think I ever will be.

After a couple beats, he asks, “How was your meeting? Did you get what you need to start?”

“This doesn’t feel very businesslike,” I tease, running my fingers up and down the buttons of his grey dress shirt, unable to stop myself from touching him.

“You are far more than business to me, Alyse Kingsley.”

Good answer.

I finally grasp the courage to ask him a question that’s been plaguing me since last Monday when I figured out Asher was coming to see me. “Did you hire me because you wanted to sleep with me?”

He laughs. Not the response I was expecting.

“I’d be lying if I didn’t say yes, but that’s not the only reason I hired you.” He sits me up so we’re looking eye to eye. “Nothing I said in our meeting last week was untrue. I did do my homework and I’ve heard nothing but rave reviews about you and your company. I’ve never wanted to get a woman in my bed as much as I do you, Alyse, but I would never put my company in jeopardy to do that.”

“Thank you. It means a lot that you put your trust in me.”

“You have no idea,” he mutters right before he kisses me again. Just as Asher deepens it, his assistant’s voice echoes through the speakerphone.

“Asher, Mr. Grandy is here for your lunch appointment.”

He sighs. “Give me five minutes, Tara.”

“Yes, sir.”

I glance at the clock to see that it’s already almost noon. I’ve spent nearly an hour in Asher’s office doing nothing but flirting. The sweet ache between my thighs will have to wait until later to be assuaged, I guess.

Helping me off his lap, he tells me, “I’ll be tied up for the rest of the day. Is there anything you need from me?”

“Ah, no. I have what I need to start.” I run my hands through my long hair and underneath my eyes, trying to make sure I don’t look like I’ve just almost been fucked before walking out of the boss’s office.

“You look gorgeous, Alyse.” He leans down to my ear. “Desire is a good look on you. The flush of an orgasm will look even better.”

“Oh God,” I groan, unsure if I’m embarrassed or turned on.

“Seven,” he says with a peck to my lips.

“Seven.”

I’m about halfway to the door when he calls, “And, Alyse, to be clear, you will be in my bed tonight.”

My steps falter, but I don’t turn and I don’t reply. He doesn’t expect one.

God he’s bossy.

Why do I like that so much?

Chapter 12

Asher

“I can’t believe you live in this building and didn’t tell me.”

That’s because you probably would have said no to my proposal.
“You didn’t ask,” I reply, putting the finishing touches on the salad. I could give a fuck about dinner; what I’d rather be eating is her. I spent the entire rest of the day in a state of semi-hardness, which did not go unnoticed by Phil Grandy. And since he plays for the other team that was one awkward lunch.

“Are you sure I can’t help?”

“No, baby. This is my treat.”

I can’t believe how easily that endearment just rolls off my tongue with her. Even more, how she lets me say it without putting up a protest. Besides Natalie, I haven’t used an endearment on another woman. And I wish I could stop comparing every fucking thing I do with Alyse to Natalie, because she is not her. She could never
be
her.

I already see that Alyse is trustworthy. Maybe I’m a fool, but I can’t imagine she’s the type of woman who would ever cheat. I had my doubts about Natalie from the very beginning, but I was in love with her. And love truly does blind. I ignored all the signs, all the warnings, all the neon fucking flashing lights. I made excuses. I rationalized.

I was stupid.

“Okay, soup’s on. I hope you like chicken. I should have asked.”

“I do.” She smiles. “I’m not terribly picky.”

I set two plates containing chicken piccata over brown rice and fresh green beans on the table, along with a loaf of sliced multigrain bread and arugula salad. Two glasses of my favorite Chardonnay await our consumption. I’ve set the mood, going all out. Candles, low lights, some sultry music playing softly in the background. I don’t need it, because we both know where tonight will end, but I
wanted
to do it.

I want to fuck Alyse. Badly. The need to take her in a hundred different ways is almost animalistic. The things I want to do to her would scare her if she knew. I am demanding and I am adventurous. There are certain things I enjoy that not just any woman would go for and I want them with her. I want her to
want
them. At the same time I’m terrified she won’t.

I can’t believe I denied her earlier today, but the first time I’m inside of her is not going to be on my desk. As much as I want to ravage her, I also want to romance her. I don’t want her to think I’m only in this for sex, because while I can’t wait to get her underneath me, I want so much more from her than just her body. I want her heart.

It makes mine palpitate a bit when I think about how much I
really
genuinely like this woman already. The more time I spend with her, the more I know I could easily, so very easily, fall in love with her. Hell, if I’m honest with myself, I’m already falling.

“Where did you learn to cook?” she asks, taking the seat I’ve pulled out for her.