Ashley's Bend (29 page)

I nodded my head where it rested against his chest. Even though I was ecstatic to see the change in him, I knew that I had to tread carefully.
Should I kiss him? What the hell do I call this thing going on between us
? I wanted to show him more affection, but I knew that he struggled with it. Having never been in a relationship before, would I scare him away if I showed him how I felt about him?

Deciding to just go with it, I lifted up on my tip toes and pressed my lips to his cheek. I felt the smallest of a flinch as I did, and I knew that it was going to take some time for me to break down more of the walls around his heart. I knew he felt the fierce connection between us, but was that enough to loosen the knots of control he held so strongly to?

All I knew was that I wanted to show him the love that he needed, but didn’t think he deserved or wanted. I only hoped that my own heart didn’t get damaged in the process.

I watched Ashley’s retreating form go up the stairs before I turned to Knox.

“I want security on her day and night. Don’t make it obvious. I do not want to scare the shit out of her before we find out who the fuck did this,” I said sternly but with caution.

“You think the note was targeted at her too, don’t you?” Knox said exasperatedly.

“Yeah, I do, and I will not make any compromises where her safety is concerned. Make sure they watch over Kelly too. Whoever the fuck is doing this could target the people close to her as well.”

“I’m on it. I’ll assign Drake and someone else to keep an eye on them. Have any clue who could have done this, Nic? You don’t think it was Carter do you?”

Thinking about Ashley’s ex made my blood scorch with vehemence. I thought back to the conversation I had with Jared after I found out he had Ashley fired from her jobs.

“Surely he wouldn’t do something so stupid after all the money I gave him. I will look into it and find out though.”

Ashley came back down the stairs carrying her purse and jacket. I still couldn’t get over how my body always came to attention just at the mere sight of her. It was odd and new for me to react to a woman, the same woman, every time I saw her.

“Ready to go, princess?”

“Yes, I could use a shower and some food, I’m starving.” She chuckled, still trying to hide her anxiety over the events of the morning.

I felt the same. A shower and some nourishment were definitely on my list of things to do for the day. Only it wasn’t food I was hungry for, but more of Ashley Woodson.

We left the club in Dominic’s gunmetal grey Aston Martin DB9 coupe. It was sexy, sporty and made Dominic look ten times hotter than he already was. The power of the motor could be felt through the butter-like feel of the creamy leather seats. My attention was focused on Dominic’s strong, capable hands as he manipulated the wheel of the powerful car through the crazy Chicago traffic. It was those same hands that manipulated my body the night before in the Rapture Room
.
I could feel the wetness form between my legs from the memory.

“How would you feel about just stopping at your place to grab some clothes and taking them over to my place to shower?” Dominic asked into the silence of the car breaking me from my erotic thoughts.

“I...I guess that would be ok. But, don’t feel like you have to make a special effort on my behalf, Dominic. I know that you said you would try, but I don’t want you to feel threatened by me.”

My confession was something I had worried about.
Where do we go from here
?
How do we proceed in this relationship when he is still so timid and new to the aspect of it
?

“I want you to, Ashley. I would truly enjoy being able to cook you breakfast.”

“That would be nice, thank you, Dominic.”

After a brief pit stop to grab some of my clothes and toiletries, Dominic and I made our way to his downtown Chicago apartment. I didn’t know what I expected to find in Dominic’s apartment once we got there, but what I walked into was completely unexpected.

The apartment was gorgeous. The walls were darkly painted which offset the lightness of the cream-colored couch. The kitchen was just off to the left of the living room that faced the buildings outside through the large glass window. Where a dining table would normally be placed, sat an elegant mahogany pool table. The track lighting made the cherry wood floors glow, and illuminated thousands of books on the built in shelves that adorned the back wall. It was very clean, very masculine, and nothing like I expected.

“Wow, your place is beautiful,” I told him in awe as I continued to take in the opulence of the place.

“Uh, thanks. I had someone decorate it for me. I’m not good at stuff like that.”

His demeanor seemed nervous and jittery. His hands were shoved in his pockets as he shifted from one foot to the other. A look of trepidation obstructed his beautiful face and it made me feel distressed that he seemed to be so uncomfortable.

“Everything ok, Dominic?” I asked him out of concern. He let go of a rushed breath before walking over to where I stood in the middle of the room. Taking one of my hands, he rubbed his thumb over the back side.

“I’ve never done this before. I’ve never had a woman, here, in my apartment,” he admitted.

“Do I make you nervous?” I asked with a small teasing smile.

“To the tenth fucking degree, Ashley.”

It made me nervous to know that he was feeling so overwrought. I didn’t want his flight instincts to kick in and for him to start pushing me away again. I knew that in order for him to feel comfortable, he needed to feel like he was in control, so control I gave him.

“Close your eyes,” I demanded, “pretend we are at the club. We are alone, no one around. What would we be doing?” I asked him.

“Well, I would probably have you tied to the bed, writhing with need. Your pussy would be so dripping wet, you would be begging me to fuck you just to ease the ache.”

Holy shit.

His bold declaration sent an electric tidal wave straight to my clit. I pulled my hand away from his and brought them up to his face vigilantly and he closed his eyes. I didn’t want to scare him away by showing him too many emotions at once, but I did want to show him affection.

“What are you waiting for then?” I asked in a seductive voice.

When he opened his eyes, they were dark with heat and conflagration. Without hesitation, he grabbed me by the hand and all but raced down the hall to his bedroom. I glanced around as we entered and noticed that it had pretty much the same theme as the living area did. Clean, masculine lines with dark walls and a dark wood platform bed. The covers were a dark charcoal grey and the two side tables were black, with modern lamps that had square shades. The one contrast in the room was the ruby red curtains that hung over one side of the wall. Windows adorned the wall on the other side of the room, but those had dark shades over covering them to minimize the light flooding into the room.

I wondered for a few moments why he would have shades on one side, and a large curtain on the other, but the thought escaped me as Dominic came up behind me and pinned my hands behind my back. His face delved into the crook of my neck and it sent shivers running down my spine. This was dominant Dominic. The one always in control, and if that made him feel more comfortable about what was happening between us, then I would give that to him.

“Take off your clothes and go sit on the edge of the bed.” I shivered as I followed his directive and made quick haste of ridding my clothes until I was stark naked and sitting on his bed. My body was buzzing with anticipation for the bliss I knew that only Dominic could bring to my body. He disappeared into a walk in closet off the side of the room and when he emerged, he held several neckties in his hand. My core clenched and I could feel the wetness between my thighs. I squeezed my thighs together to try and get friction to help ease the ache in my clit.

“Since I do not have any restraints here, we’ll have to improvise. Choose a color, Ashley.” He said with a sexy as hell grin. I loved the way his eyes darkened when he was turned on. His dark hair was mussed up in that sexy windblown way. I watched as his muscles constricted under his charcoal grey t-shirt as he stalked toward where I was perched on the bed. I thought I was going to have to wipe the drool from my chin as my mouth hung open in awe of just how beautiful he really was.

I was stunned speechless by the gorgeous Adonis in front of me, so all I could do was point to a random tie. I didn’t care what color it was, I just wanted him inside me, and the sooner I complied, the faster that would happen.

“I think it is time for a lesson. What do you think?” Dominic questioned me with a splendid gleam in his eye.

“Sh−sure…” I stuttered, not able to form a coherent sentence.

“Since we don’t have ropes, we will just use these neckties. I’ve been experimenting with a new knot.” He smiled as he took two of the ties and held them up in his hands.

“An
Ashley's Bend is very strong and secure when used to join similar ropes, or in this case, these ties. It does not slip even when brought under severe shock loads, but can be untied easily when
desired
.”

Holy Shit. Only Dominic would find a knot that was named after me. I listened intently as he tried to remain professional with his lesson. What was not professional, was the large bulge in his jeans as he started to demonstrate the process of tying the knot.